What's for "Pinner?"

For the next two weeks we'll be eating "Pinner"... Pinterest-inspired dinners!

These are all recipes from my Pinterest dinner board and all recipes we've never tried before (except the enchiladas, which are a tried-and-true Pinterest dinner). You're probably wondering how six meals are going to make two weeks worth of dinners. Here's how my system works...

Monday: cook

Tuesday: cook

Wednesday: cook

Thursday: leftovers

Friday: take-out

Saturday: breakfast for dinner (if we're home)

Sunday: big dinner at my mom's house

So technically I only cook three original meals per week. It's a great system. I love that we eat our leftovers so they don't get wasted. Bonus: our fridge stays clean and uncluttered! Rarely am I pulling a container of mystery food from the back weeks after it was put in there. It's also a night I don't have to start a new meal from scratch so it saves time. It also saves money both in that we're not wasting food, and that I'm not buying groceries for 5+ new meals every week. 

Rather than six individual posts, I'll write one big one at the end to let you know how our "Pinners" turned out, including photos, links to the recipes we used, and our reviews. Stay tuned!

Baby Prep Update: 4 Weeks Out

Welp, we're just a mere 4 weeks away from our due date as of today. I figured it would be a good time to give an update on our preparations.

The first of our new tiny girl's laundry = done! :)

Here's the original to-do list with a few new items added and completed items marked off:

By 8 Weeks out
-Carsens room painted, still working on textiles

By 6 Weeks out
-Set up baby book (printing done, assembly in progress)
-Create hospital playlist

By 4 Weeks out
-Hair cut (scheduled)
-Install infant car seat base
-Finalize "the plan" for day-of (primarily childcare arrangements)
-Print & post babysitting info
-Pack hospital bag
-Make "last minute" packing list

By 3 Weeks out

-Baby laundry (all clothes done; blankets, bibs, etc in progress)

-Fill dresser & closet (in progress as laundry gets done)

-Set up/clean baby equipment
-Clean nursery
-Stock changing table

By 2 Weeks out
-Set up bassinet
-Clean house for minimal maintenance
-Stock the kitchen

-Prep & freeze dinners for babysitter

There we are! I'm happily on schedule, save for the baby book, but luckily that's not totally essential before she's born. People say this all the time, but I truly can't believe how quickly the weeks have gone by since I first posted this list 6 weeks ago. It almost felt premature at the time, like I was way ahead of myself. All the sudden, we have our 36 week check up tomorrow, and I'll be a busy little bee for the next 4(ish) weeks waiting for this little lady's arrival! 

Baby Prep To-do List

Well, I'm 30 weeks pregnant today, which means we have just 10 weeks until the due date! Time to get crackin' on the baby-prep to-do list. I mentioned I'd share my to-do list when I got it together, so here it is. I'll preface it by saying that I'm positive other things will be added along the way. Also, it is set up as a countdown by weeks. Since I am trying to work on whatever I can whenever I can (in the general prioritized order they appear on the list) the items listed for each week are what I want to have finished by that week, not what I'll be starting that week (I hope!).

8 Weeks
-Carsens room: painted at the very least, possibly textiles (quilt, bedskirt & window valence) depending. I have no delusions that there will be art on the walls and shelves perfectly styled/accessorized by this point. I'd be totally impressed with myself if I got her book shelves up.

6 Weeks
-Set up baby book: since I won't need to fill in that much at this point I'm hoping this won't be too tough to have done. And if it's there, hopefully it will be even easier to keep up with.
-Create hospital playlist: you know- music for labor, delivery and beyond

4 Weeks
-Hair cut: nice & short, because who knows when I'll be back for another one! And less hair = less care.
-Install infant car seat base
-Finalize "the plan" for day-of: double check with our on-call folks and make sure we're all on the same page for when it's go-time!
-Print & post babysitting info: essential info for whoever will be staying with Carsen while we're at the hospital (we have 3 couples who have very generously agreed to be on stand-by, and our parents as emergency options/place-holders since they'll probably want to be at the hospital)
-Pack bags: packing early minimizes chances of forgetting something important. Make a "last-minute" list to leave on top of the bag so I don't have to remember that stuff when the time comes either.

3 Weeks

-Laundry: clothes, blankets, bibs, burp cloths, etc.

-Fill dresser & closet

-Set up/clean baby equipment: swing, pack 'n play, toys
-Clean nursery: dust, wipe, vacuum etc. since it has been unused for a while
-Stock changing table

2 Weeks
-Set up bassinet: requires rearranging our room slightly, so its something we'd rather not do too far ahead of time
-Clean house for minimal maintenance: to make sure nothing is in desperate need of cleaning when a babysitter gets here or right after the baby arrives. Sort of a mini "spring cleaning."
-Stock essentials: mainly for the babysitter, but also for when we get home. I'd hate to have a babysitter show up and we're fresh out of milk or toilet paper.

I cut things off at 2 weeks because I'd really love to think that I'll be totally ready at that point, and since you never know when babies are really going to arrive it's good to allow for an early bird. I'd also like to have a little bit of time to relax so I'm not stressing over a to-do list until the last minute before labor. Luckily most of this stuff is pretty easy and I could knock out a whole section in one day if needed. Like I mentioned in the beginning, I'm sure there are a few things that will be added along the way, too. There are probably also some of you who can look at this list and think of half-a-dozen things that are missing. If that is you- speak up.

So that's basically what I'll be doing for the next 10 weeks! I'm hoping to keep the blog updated throughout, but if it gets spotty at least you'll know why :)