CiCi's Pizza Stuffed Crust & Fiery Mango Tango Pizza

Yesterday the kids and I had the opportunity to visit CiCi's Pizza to check out their newest pizza inspired by one of the winning dishes on Food Network Star. I am a fan of that show and was already familiar with Eddie's win so I was extremely excited to trying out this new pizza at CiCi's.

I have to admit, I don't think I've been to a CiCi's Pizza since college. I remember hitting up that buffer for five dollars and some change, getting full and sharing laughs. Those were some good time with my girls. These days I'm hitting up CiCi's with a new crew and I have to say that even though my squad looks a little different we still had just as much fun.

Savannah was so happy to join the other kids and make her own pizza. They learned about baking and ate their masterpieces while the Moms and smaller babies got all the dish on the new Unlimited Stuffed Crust and the Fiery Mango Tango Pizza.

While Sav was busy making new friends, Mikey and I were making our very own Unlimited Stuffed Crust Pizza. The crust on this pizza is so yummy. Between now and October 25 you can treat yourself to 100% real cheese baked right inside a handmade garlic crust topped with pepperoni. 

Here I am giving my pizza some extra love with some parmesan cheese. Don't worry all of the Unlimited Stuffed Crust pizza have lots of cheese, not just mine. (get you some and thank me later)

While my pizza was baking away in the oven I learned all about the new Fiery Mango Tango Pizza. A sweet, tropical blend of pineapple and mango with a cinnamon sugar crust, cream cheese icing and a jalapeño kick - it tastes as good as it sounds. When I first heard all the ingredients I wasn't convinced that I'd love it but I'm eating my words now because it was love at first bite.

This pizza was so sweet and spicy all at once. A pregnant lady's dream. Just when I thought I couldn't be more satisfied my Stuffed Crust Pizza came out of the oven...

Ten extra cheesy slices of pizza just for me (and my Mikes - I shared). Each slice had enough sauce, cheese and pepperoni - soooo good! Little Mike even ate some and I can hardly get him to eat anything covered in sauce. 

CiCi's Pizza is such a great place grab lunch or dinner with your family. They have also made some updates to their salad bar so you can make sure your little ones get some veggies to go along with all that pizza while you're there.

When was the last time you visited CiCi's? Get there soon because the Fiery Mango Tango is only available until August 16!

Pole Fitness Experience

In an effort to keep getting fit fun I tried out a pole fitness class last night. I had heard great things about these dance classes so I figured it wouldn't hurt to try them out. There's only one pole studio here in San Antonio and that's how I ended up at Soft Sensuous Moves.

The reviews for the studio online were great. My expectations were really high and SSM did not disappoint.  Before class we all had to choose a name for our alter ego. I chose the name Caramel. It was the only thing I could come up with on the spot. I kinda wish I had known we'd have to pick names before hand. I'm one of those crazy girl's that actually cares about what my fake stripper name is. I think I picked a good one though.
My instructor was Victoria Contortia. I wish I had taken a pic with her. Her teaching style was so direct but fun. She made everyone in the class feel very comfortable. During the "Try Me Out Pole" class we learned a lot; more than I was expecting in an intro class. The fact that all of the women in class were doing spins by the end of class speaks to the talent of the instructor. All of the women in my class were completely different. We were all at different stages in our fitness journeys.

After this class I have to say that I have a whole new level of respect for strippers, exotic dancers (because I'm not sure if those are two different job titles) and all other women of the pole. You have to be in some serious shape to do this for a living. Dancers definitely earn their dollars. 

Have you tried a pole fitness class? Do you plan to try anything new to change up your workouts?
*I was not compensated in any way for this post. I paid for my own class. This review is based on my own experience with Soft Sensuous Moves.

Monthly Meal Planning

Back in December I decided that I was tired of making multiple trips to the grocery store. It seemed like every visit resulted in us getting things we had no intentions of buying prior to our trip. Which means that we ended up spending more than we intended too.

Then eventually at some point during the month I would wonder, "Where did all of our money go?". I know where it went. Right to all those extra little things I felt like we needed. Impulse buys.

In an effort to save money and stop spending so much of our extra money I started making a meal plan and shopping once a month. I still go to the grocery store once a week for milk and fresh produce. The difference is now I go by myself with a very short list. There's no one with me asking for Oreos or "tiger chips" (Cheetos).

So on the the last day of every month I sit down and make a menu for the entire month. I only plan dinners. My husband takes leftovers for lunch and the kids and I will have something here. We'll either eat leftovers from dinner, a salad or something else quick and kid friendly like sandwiches. 

What I love about meal planning is it takes the guess work out of what we're eating everyday. What I dislike about meal planning is that I literally cook everyday except for the one or two days I schedule a dinner out or eating leftovers. Pushing through my exhaustion and laziness did help in a big way in December. We only ate out twice in the entire month of December. Once for our wedding anniversary and we drove through Chick-Fil-A one day while we were hanging out. To give you an idea of how much we use to eat out -- On any given week we would probably visit Chick-Fil-A for lunch at least 2-3 times. Resulting in about $15-$20 per trip and that would be on the low end. Whenever I get a salad it's more than that.

Needless to say that was about $60 a week that we were spending on eating out. Not good. Creating a meal plan helps me to see what we're eating too. I cook everything from scratch. Everyday. (the black beans do come from a can. Sue me.) I try to create a mix of the soul food my husband loves with healthier options that I need and fun foods that the kids like.

I'm still working on getting it down to a science. The relief that monthly meal planning has given me is life changing. No more random grocery store trips. 

Do you plan your family dinners for the month? Have any tips for me?