I weighed in a day early since I have family arriving this afternoon and I lost .6 lbs!! Even in my book, that is awesome since gaining or only losing .2 lbs is pretty normal for me.
My husband made Oreo Truffles and I may have ate one too many but they are so unbelievably good!!!
I wanted to share a green smoothie recipe with you that my picky 2 year old who eats no fruit and vegetables unless they are in a smoothie (I've tried everything, but I try not to stress, this too shall pass) loves! I was nervous that when he saw the color, he'd refuse it but he drank it so fast and then tried stealing his brother's:)
Annie's Eats posted this recipe and I've tried it with fresh pineapple and pear and canned fruit (in 100% juice) and it's great either way! Click here for the Green Monster Smoothie!
Also, moms out there, have you heard of Lindsay Brin?? She's a fitness expert and is known for getting her pretty baby body back including her six pack. This lady is phenomenal in my book and she has an amazing story of trying IVF 4 times, had a vanishing twin, a miscarriage, had 2 healthy babies.....and then....BAM...she gets a suprise pregnancy naturally and 6 months ago had a healthy baby! Go visit her website http://www.lindsaybrin.com/.
Then, I'm still trying to wrap my head around exactly what a molar pregnancy is after reading Lilblueboo.com. My friend sent me the link for Elf on the Shelf ideas and a few days ago I decided to read some other posts and long story short, she had a molar pregnancy and it fed her tumors and she is now undergoing treatment for cancer. Her motto is "Choose Joy" and it's inspiring to see how she handles her current struggles including losing her father recently. She has a great blog, she's definitely a super mom!
I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and get to spend quality time with your family!
Friday, December 23, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
Weight Loss and Crappy Friends
In great news, I lost 2.8 lbs on Weight Watchers new Points Plus program!! I never lose that much weight in one week so that was awesome. I didn't exercise so that was not ideal but I did track 5 out of 7 days and on those days I was consistently eating about 39 points which is 10 more than I'm supposed to eat:( It's the sugar dang it! I love, love sweets. I did want to link a couple recipes that got me through this week and I'd highly recommend:
Slow Cooker Mexican Pulled Pork Tacos from Can You Stay For Dinner?
Easy Crockpot Baked Potato Soup from Pearls, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour
Mini Apple Pies from A Little Bit Funky
The pulled pork was delicious and I made a 3 lb. pork loin and froze the leftovers. The potato soup- so easy and so darn good!!! I even ate the leftovers for breakfast 3 days in a row! It was my turn for Sunday family dinner and I made the mini apple pies but only left out 1 for each person, then froze the rest so I wasn't eating leftover dessert for 3 or 4 days and that's a big win in my book.
And on to crappy friends. This blog is not something I share with IRL friends and family so that I can vent and not edit down the content but in all fairness, I was trying to be an awesome friend this weekend and my friends decided to be crappy. A group of 8 of us were supposed to get together at my house at 7pm and each couple was to bring an appetizer or snack food and a bottle of wine. In the past, I used to throw huge get togethers with 40 people and I was the one who supplied and made all the food and drinks. Well, it's just not practical and it used to cost hundreds of dollars. One of my friend's sent a text at 6pm that said she had ate Taco Bell and no longer felt good and was going to stay home...for real? I wasn't buying it, I knew she'd bail, she's been known to do that. Then one person showed up at 7:20 that wasn't going to come until way later after his office Christmas party and boy did I feel dumb inviting him into the party where no one had shown up. 8:20 rolled around and here comes the first couple. They were out Christmas shopping and were running late. At 8:40 I finally texted the other couple because they are never late. Well they had stopped at their cousin's party and got caught up there and finally got to our house at 8:50. Needless to say I was ticked. It takes time and effort to get my house ready, plan everything, have my kids go to my parents for the night, etc. and in return I expect people to show up on time or very darn close to it. So I'm through with parties. It used to be one of the things I was known for but it causes more frustration that joy in the past few years. Everyone did stay until 1am and time flew by and we had a great time but showing up so beyond late was shitty or just plain bailing at the end was incredibly tacky. I think I much more prefer having someone over for dinner or brunch these days. Just one family or couple over at a time.
I also understand that turning down an invitation soon after it's extended is much more tactful than acting like you can come and bailing or not showing up at a reasonable time. Sometimes we are invited to a kids party or barbecue and we just know we have other things to do that weekend not necessarily that will conflict with the time but that just will have us running around dragging with two cranky kids so we just politely decline and we don't make up a lie, we just say we already have other commitments. I'm also not a fan of birthday invites for kids parties via Facebook, even an E-vite is more tactful, IMO, than sending everyone on your friend's list an invite via Facebook. Okay, I'm getting off on a tangent now! I hope everyone is having a good week and getting ready for Christmas! My sister and brother in law fly in Friday and I'm so excited to have them here with us for the next week!
Slow Cooker Mexican Pulled Pork Tacos from Can You Stay For Dinner?
Easy Crockpot Baked Potato Soup from Pearls, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour
Mini Apple Pies from A Little Bit Funky
The pulled pork was delicious and I made a 3 lb. pork loin and froze the leftovers. The potato soup- so easy and so darn good!!! I even ate the leftovers for breakfast 3 days in a row! It was my turn for Sunday family dinner and I made the mini apple pies but only left out 1 for each person, then froze the rest so I wasn't eating leftover dessert for 3 or 4 days and that's a big win in my book.
And on to crappy friends. This blog is not something I share with IRL friends and family so that I can vent and not edit down the content but in all fairness, I was trying to be an awesome friend this weekend and my friends decided to be crappy. A group of 8 of us were supposed to get together at my house at 7pm and each couple was to bring an appetizer or snack food and a bottle of wine. In the past, I used to throw huge get togethers with 40 people and I was the one who supplied and made all the food and drinks. Well, it's just not practical and it used to cost hundreds of dollars. One of my friend's sent a text at 6pm that said she had ate Taco Bell and no longer felt good and was going to stay home...for real? I wasn't buying it, I knew she'd bail, she's been known to do that. Then one person showed up at 7:20 that wasn't going to come until way later after his office Christmas party and boy did I feel dumb inviting him into the party where no one had shown up. 8:20 rolled around and here comes the first couple. They were out Christmas shopping and were running late. At 8:40 I finally texted the other couple because they are never late. Well they had stopped at their cousin's party and got caught up there and finally got to our house at 8:50. Needless to say I was ticked. It takes time and effort to get my house ready, plan everything, have my kids go to my parents for the night, etc. and in return I expect people to show up on time or very darn close to it. So I'm through with parties. It used to be one of the things I was known for but it causes more frustration that joy in the past few years. Everyone did stay until 1am and time flew by and we had a great time but showing up so beyond late was shitty or just plain bailing at the end was incredibly tacky. I think I much more prefer having someone over for dinner or brunch these days. Just one family or couple over at a time.
I also understand that turning down an invitation soon after it's extended is much more tactful than acting like you can come and bailing or not showing up at a reasonable time. Sometimes we are invited to a kids party or barbecue and we just know we have other things to do that weekend not necessarily that will conflict with the time but that just will have us running around dragging with two cranky kids so we just politely decline and we don't make up a lie, we just say we already have other commitments. I'm also not a fan of birthday invites for kids parties via Facebook, even an E-vite is more tactful, IMO, than sending everyone on your friend's list an invite via Facebook. Okay, I'm getting off on a tangent now! I hope everyone is having a good week and getting ready for Christmas! My sister and brother in law fly in Friday and I'm so excited to have them here with us for the next week!
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
A Moment of Truth, I Did it Again
That weight tracker you see at the top of my page that says I've lost 13 pounds, well, it's a lie. I did lose 13 pounds and then slowly I gained it back at .2 lbs, .4 lbs and then when between the time I went to Seattle for my birthday and the 2 weeks following, I gained back 5 pounds. Then I gained 1 pound, then 2 pounds and well now here I sit at only 2.2 pounds less than where I started 13 months ago. Damn!
In September my Mom decided she no longer wanted to do Weight Watchers because she wasn't following the plan at all and therefore not losing weight so she felt she was wasting $40 a month by still going. This wasn't the first time my mom bowed out of WW, this would be the 4th time she's done this and usually it takes me about 1-2 months before I follow suit. Then a year will pass and I'll regret having given up so I walk my chubby behind right back to WW, and sign up once again. It's a roller coaster, the least fun roller coaster I've ever been on. But this time was different. When my mom wanted to quit, I let her. I've realized you can't make someone do something they don't want to do and the stress it causes to convince my mom to stay takes away from my focus on losing weight. My mom had gastric bypass surgery in 2003 so we no longer share the same problems with weight loss.
I'm disappointed in myself for gaining it back. I now weigh 6 more pounds than I did a week post partum with Dylan and about 11 pounds more than I weighed when he was around 2 months old. And only 11 pounds LESS THAN WHEN I GAVE BIRTH. Granted I only gained 17 pounds during my pregnancy but still!! It's just not healthy and I do not feel comfortable at this weight. Dressing has become more about what makes me look less fat and that's just no fun. I do remember a brief period of time where dressing was actually fun, I weighed 160 pounds and plenty of things looked great on me.
I currently have 24 personal training sessions left that I've paid for, 10 sessions to Jazzercize that I purchased a month ago, and 9 more months left a gym membership. But how many times have I worked out in the past 3 months? Maybe twice? I did take a Zumba class and loved it! I used to love to go out dancing with my girlfriends in college, but this....this was following a routine and it was so fast paced I couldn't keep up but I'd love to go back and get some of the dance moves back because it was so much more fun than walking on a treadmill!! I just wish exercise was a part of my daily life, but it's not. Even when I prepay things so that I'd supposedly be more likely to use it, I don't.
And eating?? Well I love to cook and for some people they dread coming home and making dinner but for me it's relaxing and I don't think cooking dinner is what is really causing me to not reach my weight loss goal. I think it's the desserts and baked goods I make because it's not as if I make a batch of cookies or cupcakes and eat one or two and that's it. I eat them until they are gone. Often times it's like 6 cookies a day!! And Starbucks, yikes, it's like my go to comfort thing when I start gaining weight and I don't enjoy the "skinny" drinks so it's the real deal that sets me back about $4.50 and usually around 350 calories:(
So what to do? Keep going to Weight Watchers and start fresh. Clean up my environment, make a list of goals, think one day at a time and just keep repeating I'm worth the time and effort it will take to lose weight and keep it off. Because I honestly believe there is a life that's waiting to be lived by me as a healthy woman.
In September my Mom decided she no longer wanted to do Weight Watchers because she wasn't following the plan at all and therefore not losing weight so she felt she was wasting $40 a month by still going. This wasn't the first time my mom bowed out of WW, this would be the 4th time she's done this and usually it takes me about 1-2 months before I follow suit. Then a year will pass and I'll regret having given up so I walk my chubby behind right back to WW, and sign up once again. It's a roller coaster, the least fun roller coaster I've ever been on. But this time was different. When my mom wanted to quit, I let her. I've realized you can't make someone do something they don't want to do and the stress it causes to convince my mom to stay takes away from my focus on losing weight. My mom had gastric bypass surgery in 2003 so we no longer share the same problems with weight loss.
I'm disappointed in myself for gaining it back. I now weigh 6 more pounds than I did a week post partum with Dylan and about 11 pounds more than I weighed when he was around 2 months old. And only 11 pounds LESS THAN WHEN I GAVE BIRTH. Granted I only gained 17 pounds during my pregnancy but still!! It's just not healthy and I do not feel comfortable at this weight. Dressing has become more about what makes me look less fat and that's just no fun. I do remember a brief period of time where dressing was actually fun, I weighed 160 pounds and plenty of things looked great on me.
I currently have 24 personal training sessions left that I've paid for, 10 sessions to Jazzercize that I purchased a month ago, and 9 more months left a gym membership. But how many times have I worked out in the past 3 months? Maybe twice? I did take a Zumba class and loved it! I used to love to go out dancing with my girlfriends in college, but this....this was following a routine and it was so fast paced I couldn't keep up but I'd love to go back and get some of the dance moves back because it was so much more fun than walking on a treadmill!! I just wish exercise was a part of my daily life, but it's not. Even when I prepay things so that I'd supposedly be more likely to use it, I don't.
And eating?? Well I love to cook and for some people they dread coming home and making dinner but for me it's relaxing and I don't think cooking dinner is what is really causing me to not reach my weight loss goal. I think it's the desserts and baked goods I make because it's not as if I make a batch of cookies or cupcakes and eat one or two and that's it. I eat them until they are gone. Often times it's like 6 cookies a day!! And Starbucks, yikes, it's like my go to comfort thing when I start gaining weight and I don't enjoy the "skinny" drinks so it's the real deal that sets me back about $4.50 and usually around 350 calories:(
So what to do? Keep going to Weight Watchers and start fresh. Clean up my environment, make a list of goals, think one day at a time and just keep repeating I'm worth the time and effort it will take to lose weight and keep it off. Because I honestly believe there is a life that's waiting to be lived by me as a healthy woman.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Elf on a Shelf, Creepy=Cool!
I had heard about Elf on a Shelf but until this year when I saw it popping up on Pinterest constantly that I realized there was more to it than I had first thought. Once I looked into it I thought it was genius!! You mean I can try to convince my toddlers that this Elf is watching them and reporting their behavior to Santa? I'm in! My boys are loving the magic of Christmas! I can already tell this is going to be our best Christmas ever because I'm able to involve my boys more than when they were babies.
I went to Target and purchased my Elf on the Shelf box set and as many people have pointed out, it is a creepy looking doll. It's not the over the top cuteness you find in most stuffed animals and dolls we are accustomed too. But he does grow on you and becomes cuter by the day!
So here are a few of the antics our Elf, Buddy, has done in the past few days!
I went to Target and purchased my Elf on the Shelf box set and as many people have pointed out, it is a creepy looking doll. It's not the over the top cuteness you find in most stuffed animals and dolls we are accustomed too. But he does grow on you and becomes cuter by the day!
So here are a few of the antics our Elf, Buddy, has done in the past few days!
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| Buddy stayed up all night reading books! |
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| Buddy went zip lining across the living room! |
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| Buddy went fishing! |
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| Buddy had a marshmallow fight against some toy soldiers. |
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| Buddy toilet papered the tree. |
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| The little troublemaker himself! |
Monday, December 5, 2011
Foods that Could Ruin Your Fertility!
I usually am not one to jump on any bandwagon when it comes to not eating certain foods. However, as I've said before when I felt like I was at the end of my rope with not getting pregnant 2 years ago, I tried the Candida cleanse and even though I stuck with it for less than 2 weeks, it is when I got pregnant without the help of clomid or a trigger shot. The Candida cleanse is basically all organic, unprocessed food and very little meat.
So when my coworker who is cra-cra-crazy obsessed with eating all natural, no vaccinations, breastfeeding for 2 years and so on posted this article on Facebook, "7 Foods That Should Never Cross Your Lips" I clicked on it thinking it would be a good eye roller article. But then.........I saw 5 out of 7 of the foods my family eats on a weekly basis and often times several times a week. The foods they had listed that could affect fertility are canned tomatoes and microwave popcorn. Hummm, interesting right? Now I feel like I'm in a bit of a pickle- do I stop eating these items now knowing that I want to be pregnant in a couple years, or do I just wait until a few months before I start TTCing at which time I will probably go back to the Candida cleanse and obviously not eat canned tomatoes and microwave popcorn? I wouldn't even give two seconds of thought to this if it were in some extreme all natural eating newsletter or website but it was in Prevention and I would say they are a reputable magazine. Food for thought?
So when my coworker who is cra-cra-crazy obsessed with eating all natural, no vaccinations, breastfeeding for 2 years and so on posted this article on Facebook, "7 Foods That Should Never Cross Your Lips" I clicked on it thinking it would be a good eye roller article. But then.........I saw 5 out of 7 of the foods my family eats on a weekly basis and often times several times a week. The foods they had listed that could affect fertility are canned tomatoes and microwave popcorn. Hummm, interesting right? Now I feel like I'm in a bit of a pickle- do I stop eating these items now knowing that I want to be pregnant in a couple years, or do I just wait until a few months before I start TTCing at which time I will probably go back to the Candida cleanse and obviously not eat canned tomatoes and microwave popcorn? I wouldn't even give two seconds of thought to this if it were in some extreme all natural eating newsletter or website but it was in Prevention and I would say they are a reputable magazine. Food for thought?
Friday, December 2, 2011
What to Buy Kids for Christmas? Limiting Spending!
Have you heard of Design Mom? If you haven't, go check her blog out, I love her ideas and last year I read this post about what and how much to buy your kids for Christmas. For the first Christmas with kids, I just sort of shot from the hip and a few months after Christmas was over I knew next year I had to change my plan. I just bought too much and not necessarily things that got a lot of use or enjoyment.
#rehashingmychildhoodforthebillionthtime When I was little, my parents spent well over $1000 on me at Christmas. It was like it was a no holds bar and even though we made our wish list which was always completely fulfilled, my mom still bought more things we never heard of our asked for. She is a great gift giver but she gives too much. As a kid, I had absolutely no problem with it.....until my parents filed bankruptcy, lost a business and we were poor. Then it became a guilt thing paired with being sort of bratty and wanting everything at the same time every time Christmas rolled around. But you know what gifts I remember the most? My great Grandma's less than $5 gift we received and begged to open each Christmas eve. My Grandma had handfuls of grand children and lived in a very small country town so she bought at what she'd call the dime store but it's more like a tiny Walgreens. The gifts certainly weren't anything on our wish list, often times impractical (like the big fluffy cream colored granny mittens) but it was almost like the unexpectedness and thriftiness of the gift made it that much more special.
My dad was always a bahumbug (sp?) when it came to Christmas. Partly because he always works all the way up to Christmas day and the day after Christmas but more so because while he was working so hard my mom was out blowing that hard earned money on excessive gifts. And no offense to my mom, she was doing what she thought was the right thing and what she always dreamed of doing since she grew up on welfare and had very little as a kid and wanted something different for her kids. But finally around 6th grade, my dad started shopping for 1 special gift to my sister and I. My mom wasn't allowed to pick it out and it never came from our wish list. And we were over the moon when my Dad started doing this since we knew he never shopped or wrapped a single gift for us prior to that.
When I read Design Mom's blog post about giving her kids 3 things- something to play with, something to read, and something to wear I thought it was genius!! It didn't necessarily talk about the amount of money to spend but that still helped me keep my focus. Last year the kids play item was a train table and it's got plenty of great use. And before I forget, I'd highly recommend googling the item you are looking for followed by "discount code" or just going straight to Retailmenot.com to double check if there is a coupon code to save you more money. This year, here is what the kids will be getting and yes, I do wander a bit from the 3 things rule but for our family, this is practical and affordable. I linked items where I could to the items we bought.
The "Something to Read" items will be shopped for by my husband! He loves Barnes and Nobles and we've budgeted $30 a kid in books. Our rough estimate is $150 a kid. And I completely understand that my kids are at the age where they don't beg for a gift and certainly not a particular brand where once they start school and clear through high school we will have to go back to the thinking board but for now, this works! Does your family have any set rules on buying for your kids? Did you shop Black Friday at the stores or online? Are you doing things differently from your childhood or carrying on a gift giving tradition? I want to hear!
#rehashingmychildhoodforthebillionthtime When I was little, my parents spent well over $1000 on me at Christmas. It was like it was a no holds bar and even though we made our wish list which was always completely fulfilled, my mom still bought more things we never heard of our asked for. She is a great gift giver but she gives too much. As a kid, I had absolutely no problem with it.....until my parents filed bankruptcy, lost a business and we were poor. Then it became a guilt thing paired with being sort of bratty and wanting everything at the same time every time Christmas rolled around. But you know what gifts I remember the most? My great Grandma's less than $5 gift we received and begged to open each Christmas eve. My Grandma had handfuls of grand children and lived in a very small country town so she bought at what she'd call the dime store but it's more like a tiny Walgreens. The gifts certainly weren't anything on our wish list, often times impractical (like the big fluffy cream colored granny mittens) but it was almost like the unexpectedness and thriftiness of the gift made it that much more special.
My dad was always a bahumbug (sp?) when it came to Christmas. Partly because he always works all the way up to Christmas day and the day after Christmas but more so because while he was working so hard my mom was out blowing that hard earned money on excessive gifts. And no offense to my mom, she was doing what she thought was the right thing and what she always dreamed of doing since she grew up on welfare and had very little as a kid and wanted something different for her kids. But finally around 6th grade, my dad started shopping for 1 special gift to my sister and I. My mom wasn't allowed to pick it out and it never came from our wish list. And we were over the moon when my Dad started doing this since we knew he never shopped or wrapped a single gift for us prior to that.
When I read Design Mom's blog post about giving her kids 3 things- something to play with, something to read, and something to wear I thought it was genius!! It didn't necessarily talk about the amount of money to spend but that still helped me keep my focus. Last year the kids play item was a train table and it's got plenty of great use. And before I forget, I'd highly recommend googling the item you are looking for followed by "discount code" or just going straight to Retailmenot.com to double check if there is a coupon code to save you more money. This year, here is what the kids will be getting and yes, I do wander a bit from the 3 things rule but for our family, this is practical and affordable. I linked items where I could to the items we bought.
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Twilight Turtle From Cloud B- For Dylan. I love, love, love Cloud B products and we have the sheep, giraffe, and AJ has the regular turtle. Barnes and Noble's black Friday special was 50% off one toy, free shipping and 10% off for members so I paid under $15!! Normally $32.95.  |
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| No, that's not my kiddo but he sure is adorable!! Gymboree is where we got their clothes gifts this year. I did the black Friday sale but the current sale is equally as good so 50% off and free shipping! I love going to the store but during the holidays, they tend to run out of sizes after I already plan out what I'm going to get and I hate digging through their stacks of clothes while I am butt to butt with the other shoppers! I did not buy them just one thing, that's where I sort of cheat Design Mom's rules:) I did spend $80 on 10 items, so each of them got 5 items, $40 a kid on clothes. Not bad I think. Their Gymboree clothes have always held up for me so well from kid to kid and the stains come out so I'll continue to buy them! |
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| Step 2 Legacy Kitchen from Toys R Us -$129.99 - $10 Val Pak Coupon and I had $70 left on an old gift card so out of pocket was $50. On Cyber Monday it was listed for $103.99 but I missed it:( I'll be making all the felt food and here's a great website with links to free felt food patterns on Ohdeedoh.com. We have a ton of felt left over from projects so this is perfect! Grandma is getting them the pots and pans set from Toys R Us. my husband said 2 years ago he never would buy his boys a kitchen, then he realized how much they loved their friend's play kitchen and how they absolutely will not stay out of the kitchen and love doing dishes and helping me cook and he changed his mind. |
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