What's for dinner & Friday Phone Dump

I have been wanting to put recipes on my blog for a while now and so I decided to start sharing some of our favorite weekend recipes! We love eating out!! We have been trying to cut back on our eating out budget lately, so I have been cooking a lot more on the weekends. During the week we like to eat pretty healthy. Lots of grilled chicken, fish, and vegetables.. boring (I know)!! We like to splurge a little on the weekends so I try to find stuff to make that is more fun than what we eat during the week. I usually make pizza, or maybe a copy-cat recipe from one of our favorite restaurants.   This recipe is one of my all time favorites... its quick, easy, and YUMMY!

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 or 2 chicken breasts (depending on how meaty you like your pizza)
• Salt & Pepper
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (more or less depending on how spicy you like it)
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 pizza dough (either store bought, frozen, canned, homemade) 
• 1 cup (or more) mozzarella 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (eyeball it)

Directions:

Heat oven according to dough directions.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a non-stick skillet

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and pan fry in olive until cooked through (it should be golden brown)

Remove to a plate and let it rest

Clean your non-stick skillet (or just use a new one)

Melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant. Be careful not to burn the butter and garlic.. you will have to start over! I have done this several times! Add the flour and cook until light blonde in color. Whisk in heavy cream, reduce heat to low, and let simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and season lightly with salt and pepper.

Dice chicken as big or as small as you would like

Pour sauce onto whatever dough you have decided to use and top with chicken and mozzarella bake according to dough directions or until crisp and golden.

A few notes:

I use a store bought frozen dough. Its taste just as good as home made dough and takes no time at all to prepare. I found this at walmart.. its awesome!

I have also used the Pillsbury pizza dough in a can and it turns out pretty good. You can add as many toppings as you would like to this!! I happen to have a very picky husband so we usually just do chicken and EXTRA cheese. You could top with tomatoes, spinach, bacon would probably good... anything your heart desires!! I am telling you this recipe is so yummy and easy to make!! Enjoy!


Friday Phone Dump...

This was my first time using Picasa to edit picutres.. its cute, but once I figure out how to use picasa I will make better collages! :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Day 3 & Isabella's Dr. Appointments!!

Today is day three of Jenna's Commenting Challenge! The topic today is share what my favorite website are and where you can find me on social media!

You can find me on twitter @brittany_david

A few of my favorite websites are:

NWAdealpiggy.com (for the locals)
Babysteals.com - special sale item twice a day for kids and babies! They usually have pretty good stuff
Amazon.com - lightening deals and deals of the day
Woot.com - special deals on home, electronics, and childrens items.. they have AWESOME stuff!!

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We have had such a crazy week and it's only Wednesday!  Yesterday was Isabella's two month check up. She is 9lbs 4oz, 21inches...(10th Percentile) I had Xander with me so he could get his Hep A shot, and it actually went better than expected. He didn't cry at all.. and Sister just cried for a minute. Isabella is obviosuly behind on her milestones (tracking, holding head up, and smiling) but that was to be expected. That is why we go to physical therapy! Her pediatrician also recommended that we go ahead and start speech and occupational therapy.  So we will be having an evaluation for those coming up soon!

Today we had a cardiologist appointment and her weekly physcial therapy session. Her cardiologist appointment went well. They did an echo of her heart (which she slept right through) and said we are looking at surgery in about one month. 

Sweet Girl!

Physical therapy did not go as well today. Isabella was tired and hungry, but she did work hard and got a few good head lifts in! Yay! :) Once you read my blog for a while you will come to find out that every little milestone with Isabella is going to be a big deal!! Because she has down syndrome she is going to have to work extra hard to reach her goals. When she finally starts reaching her milestones and goals it's going to be so exciting because all of the work and effort it took to get there.. So I will be celebrating all of the small things!! :) Her therapist was very excited too! We will start doing physical therapy two times a week next week (Mondays and Thursdays).. add in occupational and speech -- I am going to be one busy mama!! Here are a few pictures from her session today. Sorry again for the poor quality! I dropped my phone and it doesn't take pictures as well anymore...

Trying to get her to wake up! :)

Hope everyone is having a great week!! Almost Friday :)

Linking Up & Our Weekend!

I am linking up with Jenna for her Commenting Challenge. Today's topic is to share a little about me! I am a 24 year old wife and mother. I live in North West Arkansas with my husband James and my two sweeties, Xander and Isabella. Xander is 2 and Isabella just turned 2 months!

James and I were both raised right outside the city of Atlanta. We married in December 2006 and moved to Los Angeles in February 2007. Talk about a culture shock! We lived in L.A. for 2 years before moving to Arkansas. After living in such a crazy city I was happy to get back near the south. While we were in the process of moving I found out I was pregnant with my son Xander.. SURPRISE! It was a very exciting time! New state, new house, new job (for James) and a new baby!! Time as FLOWN by and I just gave birth two months ago to my sweet little girl Isabella. I was 23 weeks pregnant when she was diagnosed with Down Syndrome. This came as quite a shock to us, but through faith and prayer we made it through. Isabella has been such a blessing to our family and has already changed our lives for the better! She also has a heart defect (AV Canal) and will be having open heart surgery next month. More prayers, more faith, and more waiting!

Thanks for stopping by.. and for more about me, check out the About Me tab at top... I have a list of 25 fun facts about myself! :) 

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Our Weekend...

James Worked...

 Xander Played...

Sister Slept...

 















James and I did find time for a movie date at the house. We watched This Means War with Reese Witherspoon. It was cute.. maybe a little cheesy, but thats okay! :) We enjoyed spending time together, snacking on popcorn and candy!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Two Months!

I can't believe our sweet girl is already two months old! These past two months have flown by and I have loved every minute. There have been some stressful moments, but I wouldn't change a thing. We have been blessed with the sweetest little girl. I love being her Mommy. I love that every morning I get Xander out of his crib and he runs into her room yelling "Good Morning Sissy!" He adores her, I adore her, and of course she has Daddy wrapped around her tiny little finger! 

At two months:

You weigh 9lbs 4oz
Wear 0-3 month clothes
You dont really enjoy tummy time any more :)
You are still taking about 2-2.5 oz of formula every 2-3 hours
You are basically sleeping through the night 12am-6:30am - Ill take it! :)
You are doing one hour of physical therapy a week 
You only cry when you are starving.
You love to hang out in your swing or bouncy seat
You do not like bath time any more


Our photo shoot did not go as well as it did last time, sister was hungry and you can tell she is upset in her pictures...She still looks cute though! :)

Early Intervention

Did you know that children with Down Syndrome can learn and do anything a "typical" child can do. Isabella will reach all of her milestones: rolling over, sitting up, crawling, talking, walking, potty training, etc. she will just need a little more time. We will have to work with her a lot more and she will need physical, occupational, and speech therapy to help her. She had her Physical Therapy evaluation at 6 weeks, and officially started her therapy on Wednesday. She only needs physical therapy for now, and we will add the others as needed. I had no idea that every state has an Early Intervention program for children with special needs. They will provide therapy for Isabella until the age of 3 - which is a huge blessing. For now she will go every Wednesday for one hour. Her therapist (H) said she would like to work up to three times a week in the near future. Isabella will be having open heart surgery for her AV Canal next month and she will not be able to do tummy time for 6 weeks after that, so she will most likely lose some muscle tone. H said she will need three one hour sessions a week after surgery so we can build up her strength. Life is about to get crazier than it already is. Seriously, taking her to all of her appointments and therapies is going to be like a part time job! I am NOT complaining at all, I am SO thankful that she will be getting the best care to help her develop. I am also very thankful for my sweet friends who help me with Xander during all of Isabella's appointments! 

Right now we are really working on building her neck strength and eye tracking. So far she does not seem to mind therapy. She tolerated a whole hour of tummy time, rolling over, and eye tracking so well. It also helps that she has a SUPER sweet therapist that will (hopefully) be with her for the next three years.

A couple pictures from her evaluation, then her first session... sorry for the poor quality, they are from my phone.

 

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!! SO happy its Friday! 

Father's Day Fun!

We had a great weekend celebrating Father's Day! This is James' first father's day as a dad of two kids! I wanted to do something special for him, so I took pictures of the kids holding "DAD" wearing Braves outfits. Anyone who knows James knows he is a die hard Braves fan, so I knew he would enjoy this. I got the idea for the letters off of pinterest, and I am pretty sure at least 5 of my girlfriends had the same idea!! I have been seeing them all over facebook! I think they turned out pretty cute. I wish I would have gotten better pictures of course.. but James LOVED them. I put them in a frame that has three place holders so he could take it to work. Here are the pictures I ended up using.

We woke up Sunday and gave James his gifts - he had no clue I had anything at all - so it was a great surprise! We went to church and lunch then spent the rest of the day relaxing, and hanging out with the kiddos.

Xander and Isabella are so blessed to have a Daddy that loves them so much!! I am so thankful for my sweet husband and all he does for us!


Here are a few of the outtakes from our photo shoot... Enjoy! :)

Father's Day...

Every year as this day approaches I am overcome with emotions. Every year I am flooded with memories. Memories of my father. I think back now and just smile. Smile as I remember things like Mr. Butthead -A Halloween mask that was literally the shape of a butt that my dad would put on randomly to make us all laugh. Trips to the mall where he would let us pick out anything we wanted from the Disney Store. The father daughter dances. His cowboy boots. When he braved the screaming mobs of tween girls to take me to see Hanson and NSYNC. The way I would get embarrassed at church when he would sing way too loud or whistle and yell "amen brother" at pastor Johnny during service. The stories he used to tell me about growing up in Brooklyn, going to catholic school, and working with the mafia... (Can't wait to find out if that was true!) The way I would get embarrassed in the car when he would blast the music and play the air guitar, air piano, and air drums. Yes he played all three... in the car while he was driving. The way he would have the AC blasting in the middle of winter because he sweated so much. - we had to wear like 3 layers of clothing to stay warm!! The way he would stir my ice cream up really really fast and make the spoon stand up. The way he made sure we always had fun everywhere we went! All the fairs, festivals, firework shows, Braves games, Hawks games, fun family vacations, and trips to the zoo. I remember them all.

There is one story I love that he used to tell about a three year old little girl who sat on his lap and asked him if he was going to be her daddy. That story is special to me because that girl was me. I'm so thankful that he married my mom and raised me as his own. Thankful that I have a childhood filled with good memories of my father. Yes there were hard times as well. Specifically during and after my parents divorce that things got tough for everyone, but I choose to remember the good times. The happy times. The bear hugging, piggy-back riding, crazy driving, AC freezing times!

I was 19 when he passed away and not a day goes by that I don't think about him. I am so thankful for the memories he gave us. The memories he gave my whole family. Now that I am getting older and have children of my own I appreciate him even more. I can now look back at the tough times and realize he always wanted what was best for me. He is in a better place now and I know I will see him again one day. But in the mean time I will keep remembering the good times! Happy Father's Day Dad! I love you!

 

A Trip To The Dentist!

Xander had his first trip to the dentist last week! I have been putting it off for a little while because I knew that he would be terrified. Thankfully James was able to meet me there so he could help calm Xander down in case that was necessary. The pediatric dentist here in town is SO MUCH FUN! Seriously, I am jealous that Xander has such a cool dentist office to go to! He was so excited when we walked in because it looked like a new place to play! The excitement was short lived however and when we were called back for his cleaning Xander started to grow suspicious and quickly became clingy, whiny, and nervous. I definitely could not have taken him without James!

This was the "Theater" The whole office was set up like a safari. I only took one picture of the waiting area, but they had lots of other fun stuff!

 

"Pep" Talk ;)

Save me Mommy!!

They had flat screen TVs in the ceiling so the kids could watch a movie while in the chair! Xander chose to watch Cars!

So proud of my big boy!

All Smiles!