Photo Dump Wednesday: About last weekend...

We always manage to pack a ton into our weekends and last weekend was no exception. But even though we do that and are always very tired when Monday rolls around, the best thing about the weekend is the family time we get to spend together.  

Last weekend, JOE and JAE's grandparents (J's parents) and their Uncle M came to watch JOE play soccer. JOE was really excited to have them watch her and it was all she talked about all week. She did great and is following instructions very well. I didn't get a chance to take pictures since I bombarded you with them when she first started playing :-). 

After the game, J's parents treated us to breakfast at a local diner. Then we headed home to get ready for a birthday party. We got home a little after noon and I thought to myself "oh we have 3-hours before we have to leave. Not bad." But by the time I was done giving both girls a bath, washing and braiding JOE's hair, I barely had 30-minutes to take a shower and get ready before we left. Why does time go by so fast?

The party was for a friend of mine's daughter who turned 3. It was a Peppa Pig themed party. 

My and my girls at the party. 

J and one of his girls. JAE loves to eat :-). You'd think she'd be in the 90th percentile weight-wise with how often she eats but she was only in the 10th percentile as of her 3 month appointment. Hoping she's moved up since then.

They had a zumba instructor for the kids who just made it an absolute delight. The kids stayed on the dance floor. Good way to burn off some of their endless supply of energy :-).

J and the other one of his girls.

How awesome is this idea? Kids often can't finish a full size cupcake anyways so this was absolutely the best. Plus the kids definitely don't need the excess sugar. I am definitely going to consider doing this or perhaps a slightly bigger size for JOE's birthday. I love it and JOE loved the "yummy cupcakes!"

Peppa pig cookies. YUM!!!

How cute is that cake?

It was a lot of fun and JOE had a fabulous time. By the time we got home, we were all really tired and had just enough time for me to pump and get things ready for Church the next day. J brought JAE in to keep me company while I pumped since I was practically falling asleep at this point. 

The next day after church, I proceeded to cook our lunches for the week. I have deep fried fish perhaps 3 times in my life. This was the 4th and I think last time. I have come to realize that I'm not very good at it. Perhaps if I find an awesome recipe or a good teacher in the future, I'll try it again but for now, I am going to stay clear of deep frying fish. The sad part is that I often love it when my mom does it. *hint*hint* mom :-).

I also made fried plantains. J loves these.

And what better to go with fried fish and plantains than jollof rice?

My lovely view while I cooked. There's one tired JAE.

I'm not a fan of fried food smells in the house so I decided to use one of the very ripe bananas we had at home to make some banana bread. The banana bread was yummy. BUT it didn't take away the smell of the fried food. Oh well...

J took JOE out for her second date on Sunday afternoon. She came back with a fireman hat. I love this picture of them. JOE smiling after being "saved" by fireman dad and JAE thinking "what in the world? Can you see this ish going on?"

Overall it was a busy but fun weekend! Now to tackle the rest of the week. We're hosting friends for JAE's "welcome" party in a few weeks so I'm going to spend the weekend planning that event. FUN FUN!!!