It is hard to believe summer is coming to an end. This week at school we have our Parent Orientation and next week it is back to work with school starting on Thursday. I've been easing myself back into school with little bits here and there. The boys have all of their school supplies and the first day of school outfit ready to go. They are excited! Especially Luke with starting Kindergarten!
I am still on Phase 2 of the Du*kan Diet. Alternating between a protein day then a protein + veggie day. It is tough. The protein + veggie days are relatively easy. It's the other days that are hard. I've had a few weak moments over the last couple weeks but I feel like a treat (frozen chocolate YOGURT :) from Bruster's) is okay. We may or may not have been there twice. Ahem. Anyway! I made a healthier choice, right?! I'm still running and HAVE to find a way to keep going once school starts with the 50 hour work weeks. So all in all I have lost 5.4 pounds. Not too shabby!
We finally got the playroom cleaned up and organized. It looks great! We made Luke a new art shelf with all of his creative supplies. We are donating two boxes of stuff to Good*will. (FYI: I will NOT be going back to the shed that almost broke my hand...ouch!). The boys can actually enjoy their toys now. I am so bad about putting stuff away. I'm kind of messy at home. So I am really trying to put stuff away after I use it and still encouraging the boys to do the same. I feel so much better when the house is picked up/organized so I need to be proactive!
Before school starts we have a day trip to Cincy for CCH appointment, a day at the lake with Andy & CCY. Hopefully a few more trips to the pool.
July 31, 2011
July 22, 2011
Dieting...is for the birds.
So. I started a diet on Tuesday. The Dukan Diet. The one Ka*te Midd*leton was on prior to the royal wedding. My friend told me about it and it sounded doable. I bought the book and read up on it. I have NEVER dieted before. I've always been an "everything in moderation" type of girl. But I've been unhappy with myself for a long time. So I decided I needed to do something about it rather than just complain and feel bad about myself. The best part is that Andy thinks I am beautiful and perfect just the way I am. He puts no pressure on me in this area. He has been supportive because he wants me to feel good about myself. I'm thankful for his love and support with this crazy diet thing!!
I've been running. Not a crazy amount but trying for 2-3 times a week when possible. Haven't lost any weight but have noticed my legs are getting toned. Andy said that is to be expected as you are building muscle mass and probably eating more due to the running. So. Diet phase 1 began on Tuesday.
It was the hardest three days ever. But I have lost 3.4 pounds for phase 1. My goal overall is to lose 10 pounds. Phase 1 was protein & non-fat dairy plus 1 1/2 T oat bran per day. Since my weight loss was 10 pounds I only needed to do Phase 1 (ATTACK) for 3 days. So I ate greek yogurt with oat bran, cheese sticks, cottage cheese, tilapia, shrimp, turkey with fat free cheddar, eggs, grilled chicken etc. Those were foods on the approved list.
Now I begin phase 2. I actually cheated on day 3 of ATTACK and had vegetables with my fish. I couldn't stand not eating vegetables any longer. So for phase 2 you do 1 day of all protein (foods listed above) followed by 1 day of protein + vegetables. There are some starchy vegetables I can't eat but that is okay. No fruit still. That hurts. I love fruit! I haven't had anything chocolately since Monday. It's weird. Plus you do 2 T oat bran per day. No carbs.
I have a newfound respect for people who diet and count calories/points. It is so hard. I never realized just how hard it was! Everyday I have thought I should just quit the diet and not do this anymore. But then I remember how unhappy I have been with my belly and go get something protein/nonfat dairy related from the fridge. I didn't realize how many carbs I ate. EVERYTHING has carbs it seems! So here's to phase 2 and seeing if I can lose about 6.6 more pounds...
I've been running. Not a crazy amount but trying for 2-3 times a week when possible. Haven't lost any weight but have noticed my legs are getting toned. Andy said that is to be expected as you are building muscle mass and probably eating more due to the running. So. Diet phase 1 began on Tuesday.
It was the hardest three days ever. But I have lost 3.4 pounds for phase 1. My goal overall is to lose 10 pounds. Phase 1 was protein & non-fat dairy plus 1 1/2 T oat bran per day. Since my weight loss was 10 pounds I only needed to do Phase 1 (ATTACK) for 3 days. So I ate greek yogurt with oat bran, cheese sticks, cottage cheese, tilapia, shrimp, turkey with fat free cheddar, eggs, grilled chicken etc. Those were foods on the approved list.
Now I begin phase 2. I actually cheated on day 3 of ATTACK and had vegetables with my fish. I couldn't stand not eating vegetables any longer. So for phase 2 you do 1 day of all protein (foods listed above) followed by 1 day of protein + vegetables. There are some starchy vegetables I can't eat but that is okay. No fruit still. That hurts. I love fruit! I haven't had anything chocolately since Monday. It's weird. Plus you do 2 T oat bran per day. No carbs.
I have a newfound respect for people who diet and count calories/points. It is so hard. I never realized just how hard it was! Everyday I have thought I should just quit the diet and not do this anymore. But then I remember how unhappy I have been with my belly and go get something protein/nonfat dairy related from the fridge. I didn't realize how many carbs I ate. EVERYTHING has carbs it seems! So here's to phase 2 and seeing if I can lose about 6.6 more pounds...
Tilapia
Last night I made a very delicious fish recipe! I haven't had a lot of luck with fish recipes before but this one I will make again. I found it on allrecipes.com. Andy & I both really enjoyed the fish.
Marinade:
2 shallots, minced --I just used 2t minced dried onion
2 T chopped garlic
2 T fresh oregano --I just used 2t dried oregano
2 T while sugar -- I used splenda instead
2 T olive oil
2 T red wine vinegar
2 T lime juice
2 T tequila - optional --I omitted
1 t salt
1 t pepper
4 tilapia fillets
Directions:
1. Comine all the ingredients except tilapia in a gallon sized ziploc bag. Shake to combine. Add the tilapia and store in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours, turning every 30 minutes.--I marinated ours for about an hour.
2. Preheat oven to 450. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
3. Arrange fish on foil and discard remaining marinade.
4. Bake for about 10 minutes, until fish flakes easily with a fork.
Marinade:
2 shallots, minced --I just used 2t minced dried onion
2 T chopped garlic
2 T fresh oregano --I just used 2t dried oregano
2 T while sugar -- I used splenda instead
2 T olive oil
2 T red wine vinegar
2 T lime juice
2 T tequila - optional --I omitted
1 t salt
1 t pepper
4 tilapia fillets
Directions:
1. Comine all the ingredients except tilapia in a gallon sized ziploc bag. Shake to combine. Add the tilapia and store in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours, turning every 30 minutes.--I marinated ours for about an hour.
2. Preheat oven to 450. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
3. Arrange fish on foil and discard remaining marinade.
4. Bake for about 10 minutes, until fish flakes easily with a fork.
July 16, 2011
We Survived!
This week has been good but hard. Andy was out of town for his second week this summer. He was in Florida on a Mission Trip with his youth group. Eight days of single parenting was a challenge to say the least. 3:1 is very overwhelming, at least at the ages of 7 1/2, 5 1/2, and almost 3. The boys have kept me non-stop busy from 8am (or earlier) until about 9pm. I love my boys. Very much. But they have been difficult. When daddy is away Wilson especially tries to get away with more misbehaviors. All in all it has been a good week and I tried to plan something fun for each day.
Fun things we did this week:
Bou*nce U
Pool
Library
Big boys went to a movie with my dad while Ty & I went to lunch at Sarabeth's
Dinner @ Cara's
Dinner @ Maw & Paw's - he made the BEST strawberry-rhubarb pie. YUM.
Met my dad for dinner
Mc*Donald's playdate with friends for icecream and playland
Bike riding
playing t-ball outside
I'm so thankful for my family for taking care of us so many nights with dinner. Daniel & Charissa came over to baby-sit the boys one evening so I could go to dinner with a friend. They just wanted to give me a break and it was so nice. The boys had a blast with them. I know that was one of their highlights of the week! I'm thankful I got all the boys to the Y one time to run. Even though I wish it would have been 3 times.
At this point the house is a mess - AGAIN. I'm at the end of my rope. The boys miss their daddy a LOT. So glad he gets home today. 8 days was too many. I'm tired.
Fun things we did this week:
Bou*nce U
Pool
Library
Big boys went to a movie with my dad while Ty & I went to lunch at Sarabeth's
Dinner @ Cara's
Dinner @ Maw & Paw's - he made the BEST strawberry-rhubarb pie. YUM.
Met my dad for dinner
Mc*Donald's playdate with friends for icecream and playland
Bike riding
playing t-ball outside
I'm so thankful for my family for taking care of us so many nights with dinner. Daniel & Charissa came over to baby-sit the boys one evening so I could go to dinner with a friend. They just wanted to give me a break and it was so nice. The boys had a blast with them. I know that was one of their highlights of the week! I'm thankful I got all the boys to the Y one time to run. Even though I wish it would have been 3 times.
At this point the house is a mess - AGAIN. I'm at the end of my rope. The boys miss their daddy a LOT. So glad he gets home today. 8 days was too many. I'm tired.
July 12, 2011
I provide great entertainment...at the DOCTOR!
So. Last week I really hurt my hand. Here is the story. I went to take two garbage bags of stuff to Good*will. I drove to a donation shed. The shed had these two small swinging doors on the top half of a side of the shed that you pushed in. They automatically started swinging shut - they didn't stay open. So I pushed in a garbage bag and tried to super fast pull my hands out so they wouldn't get stuck. Believe me, I don't know what I was thinking. Next thing I knew the right side of my hand was killing me. It was scraped and smashed by the swinging door. I looked at it and it hurt so bad. I shoved the other bag in with a little more grace and didn't hurt myelf. My hand was hurting terribly and I looked at it again and it was bruising, bleeding and swelling. I was shocked! I just thought it was a bad scrape. The boys were in the van and as I got in Wilson could tell I had hurt myself and asked it I was ok. I wasn't. I was fighting back the tears and trying to figure out what to do. There was a Son*ic next door so I went over and went through the drive thru (they had a drive thru! I was so glad. I didn't know Son*ic had one). I had to tell them I just hurt my hand and needed some ice. They let me buy some for 27 cents and had it in a bag. I pulled over in the Kro*ger parking lot and iced my hand. Then I started crying cause it was hurting so bad. Thankfully I had a band-aid and neosporin in Ty's backpack so I took care of the cut and calmed down. Then we drove home.
So over the weekend my hand was very sore. A bruise developed over half of my hand. I took ibuprofen everyday and that helped. But it was still swollen and sore after 4-5 days. So yesterday Jenn and Abby separately saw me and looked at my hand. I had tweeted about it after it happened. They both said I should go to the dr. So I did.
I showed up and explained to the nurse how I hurt my hand. Also asked about my ankle that has been hurting after running. So then I had to explain how I almost fell walking down the stairs while carrying a load of laundry a couple months ago. (I basically missed the last step and landed with all of my weight on my left foot - it hurt but no big deal). Then the dr came in and I explained all my clumsy accidents to her. So they did x-rays on both. And I had to tell the radiologist about the two clumsy incidents. I was feeling more and more stupid each time I told the story. Even though everyone was super nice and kind. The dr came down to read the x-rays and I asked her about a tetanus shot because several people said with cutting my hand on the Good*Will shed I needed a tetanus shot. (Those are good for 10 years). They asked me when I had my last tetanus shot and I said oh 3-4 years ago. (Which I really didn't want to explain why). They asked me where and I said at a walk-in clinic. I'm a little clumsy. (That was when I was stabbed in the foot by an ink pen. I didn't want to tell another clumsy story). So thankfully they didn't ask any questions but in my head I was like oh, wow. I am a big, clumsy, loser!
So all the x-rays were fine. My hand is just bruised and swollen but is ok. I am supposed to alternate heat and ice on my hand. My ankle is fine and I can keep running. She just told me to put ice on it after I run if it is hurting. So all in all I'm glad I went. I don't have any injuries it was just a little embarrassing to keep telling my clumsy stories. They probably laughed after I left and I can see why!!
So over the weekend my hand was very sore. A bruise developed over half of my hand. I took ibuprofen everyday and that helped. But it was still swollen and sore after 4-5 days. So yesterday Jenn and Abby separately saw me and looked at my hand. I had tweeted about it after it happened. They both said I should go to the dr. So I did.
I showed up and explained to the nurse how I hurt my hand. Also asked about my ankle that has been hurting after running. So then I had to explain how I almost fell walking down the stairs while carrying a load of laundry a couple months ago. (I basically missed the last step and landed with all of my weight on my left foot - it hurt but no big deal). Then the dr came in and I explained all my clumsy accidents to her. So they did x-rays on both. And I had to tell the radiologist about the two clumsy incidents. I was feeling more and more stupid each time I told the story. Even though everyone was super nice and kind. The dr came down to read the x-rays and I asked her about a tetanus shot because several people said with cutting my hand on the Good*Will shed I needed a tetanus shot. (Those are good for 10 years). They asked me when I had my last tetanus shot and I said oh 3-4 years ago. (Which I really didn't want to explain why). They asked me where and I said at a walk-in clinic. I'm a little clumsy. (That was when I was stabbed in the foot by an ink pen. I didn't want to tell another clumsy story). So thankfully they didn't ask any questions but in my head I was like oh, wow. I am a big, clumsy, loser!
So all the x-rays were fine. My hand is just bruised and swollen but is ok. I am supposed to alternate heat and ice on my hand. My ankle is fine and I can keep running. She just told me to put ice on it after I run if it is hurting. So all in all I'm glad I went. I don't have any injuries it was just a little embarrassing to keep telling my clumsy stories. They probably laughed after I left and I can see why!!
A funny story
Today I needed to run some errands so I told the boys we'd stop at the library for new books while we were out. We had the books in the van on our way to Tar*get. Wilson was reading one of his new books about Castles. There was a section on how to make your own castle. This is our conversation during the van ride.
Wilson: Hey Mom it tells you how to make your own castle!! This is what you need: poster board, masking tape, (etc, etc).
Me: Oh sounds fun! (Faked enthusiasm while thinking to myself how I reeeally don't want to make a castle).
Then Wilson started reading some of the steps. It continued until we pulled into the parking lot. I was half listening with the occasional ummhmmm and oh. But then he really caught me by surprise.
Wilson: You also need paint, paint brush, and...cock
Me: What? I don't think I heard you correctly. Spell it for me.
Wilson: C-O-C-K
Me: Hmmm...I don't know what that is (while dying inside!). Let me see what it says.
Finally I get the book and it says cockTAIL sticks. Too funny. But keep reading. We start walking into Target and Luke who has been listening this whole time says:
Luke: Where will you build a castle?
Me: oh at the kitchen table
Luke: how will it fit?
Me: realizing that he thinks we have been talking about building a REAL castle. and I just laughed and said - we'll build a MODEL of a castle. Not a real castle. I'm laughing about it now typing this. I hope it was funny to you because in real life it was hilarious!!!
Wilson: Hey Mom it tells you how to make your own castle!! This is what you need: poster board, masking tape, (etc, etc).
Me: Oh sounds fun! (Faked enthusiasm while thinking to myself how I reeeally don't want to make a castle).
Then Wilson started reading some of the steps. It continued until we pulled into the parking lot. I was half listening with the occasional ummhmmm and oh. But then he really caught me by surprise.
Wilson: You also need paint, paint brush, and...cock
Me: What? I don't think I heard you correctly. Spell it for me.
Wilson: C-O-C-K
Me: Hmmm...I don't know what that is (while dying inside!). Let me see what it says.
Finally I get the book and it says cockTAIL sticks. Too funny. But keep reading. We start walking into Target and Luke who has been listening this whole time says:
Luke: Where will you build a castle?
Me: oh at the kitchen table
Luke: how will it fit?
Me: realizing that he thinks we have been talking about building a REAL castle. and I just laughed and said - we'll build a MODEL of a castle. Not a real castle. I'm laughing about it now typing this. I hope it was funny to you because in real life it was hilarious!!!
July 10, 2011
Happy 4th!
We had a great day on Monday. We started by meeting some friends for a small town parade where Andy grew up. It was great! The parade was at 10am, was only 30 minutes long and the boys loved it. They got candy and saw lots of fire trucks and tractors. Win - win! Then we headed back to our downtown for more festivities. We looked at a few vendors, let the boys play a shooting game, & bought kettle corn for the evening fireworks. I bought two Christmas gifts that I am really excited about!
July 9, 2011
Wedding Pics!
Here are some wedding pictures that Andy's Uncle Bill took.
The ring bearers and 3 of the 4 bell ringers. Finley is missing...
Lily & Rori - the flower girls
My two bell ringers! Aren't they handsome in their bowties?!
Bride & Groom after the wedding
Katie & her dad walking from the horse & carriage to the aisle. so sweet and beautiful scenery!
Post wedding - during pictures, a little distraction was necessary with Mommy's phone.
Katie & David
July 6, 2011
Peanut Butter Baking Kick
Luke and I have been baking with peanut butter. First we made Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins twice last week. Cara & Jason make these about once a week and love them. I have eaten one before but hadn't made them myself. They are super easy and have ingredients you probably have on hand. Go ahead and make a double batch so you don't have to make them twice in one week!
Then we made cookies. We were going to make Snickerdoodles but I didn't have any cream of tarter. So instead we made Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies that have been on my bookmarks to make for a while. These were chewy and have a lot of honey in them so you taste that flavor as well. Not overly peanut buttery- (I wouldn't like that). These were delicious!
Two more excellent recipes from Annie's Eats!
Then we made cookies. We were going to make Snickerdoodles but I didn't have any cream of tarter. So instead we made Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies that have been on my bookmarks to make for a while. These were chewy and have a lot of honey in them so you taste that flavor as well. Not overly peanut buttery- (I wouldn't like that). These were delicious!
Two more excellent recipes from Annie's Eats!
Our Furniture -- finally!
My dresser - my favorite part is the middle door. Inside are three small drawers. All the drawers have whisper close which means they finish closing on their own!
One of our 2 nightstands. This is Andy's but mine looks the same! Notice our wedding album underneath the nightstand!
The king sized bed that we love! Our temper pedic mattress and pillows are fantastic. Lottie and Ty are on the right!
Andy's dresser
Here is a pic that Luke took of Ty! Isn't he a cutie! Can't believe he'll be 3 in September.
Katie's Wedding
Unfortunately all the pics we have are on Andy's camera and I can't access them. So since so much time has passed already here is a link to pics from Katie and David's wedding! The kids all looked adorable and Katie was a beautiful bride!
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