Our big (little) news!

Now that we've told most of our friends and family, its time to share our big (little) news with the rest of the world!  We are expecting our first baby in early February and are feeling so blessed and excited.  So that means our little one is currently 12 weeks along and the size of a peach.

We had so much fun sharing the news with our families and here are a few photos of Chris and I with our adorable twin nephews who helped us break the news to C's family.  The little shirts I made are hard to read but they say "Big Cousin Feb. '12".  With the help of their mommy, we secretly got them dressed in the shirts and walked around with them until everyone noticed....the reactions were priceless!

Shirt Close Up!

As you can imagine, it was hard keeping this news to ourselves and REALLY difficult during the week we spent living with my parents in between houses (the baby was 5 weeks then, so we weren't ready to tell yet).  Especially since weeks 5-11 brought typical first trimester symptoms: nausea, tiredness, and I wasn't working out much...a red flag to anyone who knows me :)

I know that not everyone want's to read about the in's and out's of pregnancy but I do plan to share our experience here (instead of posting a lot on Facebook) so those who are interested can hear how things are going.

I hope this explains the lack of blogging/baking/working out and I hope we are rounding the corner to feeling better and having more energy!  I've went on a few 3 mile walk/runs and made it back to yoga yesterday....I'm hoping to continue both through the pregnancy.  We've selected a hospital and a great midwife for the pregnancy and delivery (this could be a whole other post).

We are living up to the title of our blog "Adventures with Chris and Sonya"...so excited to see what is in store!
  

Grilled cauliflower pizza

I posted this photo on Facebook and immediately had requests for the recipe :). For good reason, it was delicious! I just threw it together so I don't have exact measurements but here's my best guess.

First, we need to go over tips for grilling pizza. Our grill, a Holland grill, has a very close waffle pattern grid instead of the traditional grates. It also used indirect heat so the food cooks evenly. If you are using a traditional grill, you may need to use a baking sheet and turn on low or turn off one side and place your pizza there. The other to remember is to make the pizzas small to make it easier to transfer to the grill.

Now, on to the pizza!

1. Slice cauliflower into small, flat pieces. I used about 1 cup per pizza. Toss in a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper and roasted red pepper flakes.

2. Roll out pizza dough (I always keep whole wheat bread dough in the fridge) into thin 6-8inch circle, flour bottom well. Place on cookie sheet to transfer to grill.

3. Top dough with pesto (about 1 tsp?), completely to the edge.

4. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

5. Top with cauliflower and a bit more Parmesan cheese, if desired.

6. Next is the trickiest step, transferring to the grill! Carefully slide pizza into grill. This is why we make the pizzas small, it still takes both of us :) and still gets wonky sometimes. Rearrange toppings if neccesay.

7. Because we are using indirect heat, we start the grill after cooking (also makes it easier to transfer to the grill). You can preheat the grill if you are using baking sheet.

8. Cook 15-20 minutes until crust is done (ours is usually a bit charred on the edge kind of like a wood-fired oven pizza), cheese is melted and toppings are cooked! Depending on the grill, timing may be different so keep an eye on your pizza. We then slide off the pizza with a large grilling turner. Enjoy!

New house-second floor

Here's a sneak peak of the 2nd floor of our new house. Craft room, bathroom, bedroom, guest room, hallway, linen closet and master bedroom. Over the weekend we had a house full of guests, 8 adults and 2 babies, for a family wedding and we had plenty of room for every one.

Please excuse my fuzzy iPhone photos :)

Craft Room-so excited to have a space to work!

Upstairs bathroom

Extra Bedroom-We've got plans for this one!

Guest Room

Hallway-waiting for some paint!

Hall Linen Closet-LOVE all the space
(especially with the smallish bathrooms)

Master Bedroom-What do you think of the blue walls?  I'm not sure yet...

Master Bedroom Again (yes, it has 4 closets!)

Hoping to get photos posted of the first floor SOON!

Back to it- meal planning

First of all, I made this yummy zucchini bread over the weekend! Straight up put of the Betty Crocker cookbook. I'm low on "healthy" ingredients so no whole wheat flour or apple sauce subbing out butter! Guess I better get to Trader Joes to stock up :).

Here's what we're having this week:

Sunday-chicken and potato ranch bake. I thought this was going to be yummy but it was just okay so I'm not linking the recipe. Too many processed ingredients (condensed soup and ranch mix).
Monday-grilled chicken, broccoli and microwave twice baked potatoes.
Tuesday-per the husbands request, sausage, kale and potato soup
Wednesday-burgers on the grill and sautéed green beans
Thursday-left overs
Friday-buffalo chicken pizza and salad

Different

Now that we, and our things, have been here a week I wanted to discuss the differences between our last home and this one.  I'm sure there are many that we haven't discovered yet.

1. No fenced in yard- This is a bummer for Max and Lila (and Chris and I) because they can't run free in the back yard and explore.  We've got a line set up for them so they do have plenty of space but its not the same.
2. No Central Air- Last week it was 93 degrees IN THE HOUSE.  Thankfully, the heat has subsided but the window air conditioners just weren't able to keep up.
3. More space- Our last space was pretty small (1400 sq. ft).  We're enjoying having more space.
4. Nicer kitchen and more open to the rest of the house.  I'm excited about the double ovens and that the kitchen is more open.  We love to entertain at home so this should be a great party space.
5. Partially finished basement-Chris finally has his own space and can hang his beer lights.
6. Attached car garage-Not too big of a deal now but come winter and the feet of snow Cleveland gets, this will be so nice.

We're still alive....still unpacking!

Today was my first day back to work this week! Short week, so nice! I took Monday and Tuesday off to unpack boxes. C and I also spent all of yesterday unpacking and organizing. Slowly but surely, everything is finding its "home". We have *most* of the boxes unpacked and broken down. I've also checked off a few other items on my list: order a couch for the living room (yay, no more man-couch in the living room!) and a new washer and dryer (laundry needs to be done).

I was even able to make dinner tonight in the kitchen (we've been doing a lot of take-out and restaurants). Hopefully, I'll have some photos to share this weekend!

How was your 4th? Anything fun going on?

Max and Lila, trying to get comfy despite the chaos!.

Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning

Since we took possession of our house on Friday, we've done a lot of cleaning! I focused on floors (and the mountains of cat hair), base boards and walls and Chris took care of the bathrooms and kitchen. Yes, I'm a lucky, lucky woman! Here's a photo of him washing the drawers of our new fridge. So much sexier than the new weekend blockbuster, Magic Mike, don't you think :)