Hello from the other (non-preferable) side of the weekend, friends! How was yours? 

We sort of kicked ours off on Thursday -- kind of genius, right? -- with dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. It's a wine and burger bar (they also have killer margaritas, which I obviously can't enjoy at the moment), and the kids' meals are huge and delicious so it's a win-win for family dinners. I treated the baby (ok, myself) to an order of onion rings and, man, they hit the spot. 

On Friday we did a Target run and then had a play date with our friends, which is always fun! By Saturday, the weather was gorgeous and we spent most of the day outside playing. The girls found our beach bag full of buckets, pails, and even some sand from last summer's beach trips and entertained themselves with that for a while. It's safe to say we're all very anxious for this warm weather to stick around. ;) 

I also snapped a picture of this growing belly at almost 14 weeks. 

Yesterday I met one of my best childhood friends for lunch and shopping at King of Prussia Mall. It's the second largest mall in the United States! Despite that, I didn't buy a single thing, but we had a lot of fun eating, walking around, and catching up for a few hours.

I have some fun posts planned for this week, including:

-Hadley's Big Girl Room Inspiration

-Easter Basket Ideas

-All About Baby #3

In the meantime, here's what's on our menu for this week:

Monday - Crockpot honey garlic chicken with rice & veggies (I didn't end up making this last week so it got moved to this week!)

Tuesday - Leftovers

Wednesday - Burgers, pasta salad & corn on the cob

Thursday - Crockpot Zuppa Toscana soup & salad (if it seems like this is on the menu every other week, it's because it's Steve's favorite meal!)

Friday - Chicken parmesan with pasta

Saturday - Out

Hope your week is off to a great start! 

Friday Favorites + Lucky Finds

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Friday... it's good to see you!

How has your week been? We've had a pretty good one here. Layla's condition has improved so much, the weather has warmed up a bit, and I'm just generally feeling energized and hopeful. :) The girls and I were looking at pictures of last spring and summer yesterday and I realized all the fun that we had. It's amazing how many more options there are for kid and family fun when the weather is nice. The grass was green, the pool was out, we were picnicking and hitting up playgrounds, taking trips, going to the beach. Bring. It. On!

What are you up to this weekend? We're kicking things off later today by heading to opening day of one of our favorite local farms/play areas with our friends. Tomorrow looks really warm, so I'm sure we'll be outside for most of the day. Sunday it gets cooler and rainy, but that's fine with me because I have a brunch and shopping date planned with one of my girlfriends (Hi Bec!) -- her birthday is tomorrow, so it'll be fun to celebrate and catch up.

On to this week's favorites:

+ I shared my first pregnancy update on the blog yesterday!

+ Have you watched Amy Schumer's new special "Growing" yet on Netflix? If you haven't, you need to. It's even funnier than her other stuff -- I was literally crying.

+ Made this yummy tortellini soup earlier this week -- the easiest weeknight recipe!

+ I've been using these cord hair ties all the time lately. They're especially good for thick hair, I think -- they really hold everything well!

+ I ordered these shoes from Target a couple of weeks ago (they're having a BOGO 50% off sale, so now would be a great time to try them) -- perfect for slipping on & chasing kids around.

+ I recently finished the book Where the Crawdads Sing and have started reading Michelle Obama's Becoming. Crawdads was so vividly written and touching. Becoming is both relatable and inspiring so far. What should my next book be? 

+ I really appreciated this piece about "navigating a special needs encounter" on Cup of Jo this week, written by a mother of a child with special needs. As my kids get older and have more questions (and more interactions with kids of all ages, stages, and abilities), I find these perspectives so valuable.

+ J.Crew Factory has some cute new stuff right now. Do we think I could pull this t-shirt dress off super pregnant this summer? (Say yes and I'll love you forever)

+ Have a wonderful weekend!