Menu Plan Monday 1/14/08

My menu did not go as planned last week either. My problem was also getting things thawed in time to prepare dinner. So this week should be a breeze to come up with since I have so many menus from last week. I am doing alright with the weight loss-still only losing 1-2 pounds a week. Which I know is good but I miss the 4-5 pound losses per week.

I got a surprise in the mail Friday. My very own copy of the Weight Watchers 5 ingredients 15 minutes cookbook, thanks to my in laws! So now I can rate each recipe and mark the ones I've tried and the ones I want to try! Also the 2008 version of the cookbook, which I ordered from ebay, has arrived at the post office. So we will be making a trip to the post office today to retrieve it-cannot wait to see what new recipes are in the new edition!

So here is our menu for the week-as of today. I am doing a little better about adding more fruits and veggies to my diet. I am trying to cut out some carbs-mostly during my lunch and dinner meals. I cannot cut them completely I just love them too much. I do need to start using some of my freezer meals. So this week I'll be using some of the ham and a bag of soup. No weight watchers recipes for this week. But the broccoli cheddar soup recipe came from the "Fix it and Forget it Lightly cookbook" and it is delish!

Monday: Salad and potatoes
Tuesday: Hamburgers, baked fries and salad
Wednesday: Chicken Roll ups and veggies
Thursday: Ham (in the freezer) and veggies
Friday: Broccoli cheddar soup (in the freezer) and sandwiches

She's Gonna Blow: Real Help for Mom's Dealing With Anger

Raising a three year old and new baby has strains of it's own. But when that three year old is extremely strong willed it can cause some "mommy blow-ups" like described in this book. I attended a MOPS meeting once that dealt with this subject but at the time my son was less than a year old. So I thought this was something I would never have to deal with, was I ever wrong. For some reason that 3 year old boy can really get under my skin and he loves it. This book really didn't offer me too many remedies that I had not already heard before, but it at least made me feel like I was not alone in the struggle to keep my cool.

Many of my friends and family will tell you how patient I am, but there are times my kids can really wear my patience out in a heart beat. One thing that really drives me crazy is when I am trying to dress my 3 year old. He is getting to the stage he wants to do it himself which will be a big help but most times he just runs around and jumps around while I am trying to get him dressed. Drives me nuts!! So if we are going somewhere that day I try to get him dressed early so I don't have to fight with him right before we leave. On days I know we won't go anywhere I usually just leave him in his pajamas. I've started using time out more than spanking. I believe in spanking-don't get me wrong-but he is to the age that time out works well for the both of us (at times mommy needs a little time out too (-:). He doesn't think time out is fun anymore like he did in months past. I'd ask him if he wanted to go to time out and he'd laugh and say yes and thought it was fun to sit for a few minutes-not anymore.

So if you are a mom struggling with "mommy eruptions" like the ones described in this book, this will be a great book for you to pick up. Remember you are not alone in your struggle. And remember when the kids are pushing your buttons they are blessings and before you know it they will be grown and out of your home. So cherish the good and the bad times.

Weigh in Day!

Tales from the Scales has extended the Looking Great in 2008 Challenge until February 27th!!! YIPPEE! I did not meet my end of the year goal, but that is alright because I still managed to lose a pound or two during the holidays.

I am still trying to add more veggies and fruits to my diet and make sure I get enough water in each day. I also need to work on the exercise. I did manage to do Taebo this morning-I know it is kinda old but I use to love doing it so I pulled it out this morning. I am doing good watching my calories. But my son is potty training and his reward for going potty is M&M's-and I have had a hard time reserving that little treat for him only. But that will change. I also had another temptation that is no longer around-not because I removed it but because I ate every last one of them-vanilla tootsie rolls.

So here is to a new year and a new me-well not a new me but a new healthier and hopefully slimmer body!! Good luck to everyone. Keep it up!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot! The good news! I lost two pounds this week!! Yeah for me! I want to lose eight more before we go on vacation at the end of the month. Three more weeks, I should be able to reach that goal.

Family Fun

Here is a video of J playing miniature bowling

We went to "eat and play" today-that is what J called anyplace that you go and you eat and play-simple huh?! Anyway, this was Daddy's first time to come to this new "eat and play". It is great! You pay for a buffet (kids 3 and under are free!!) then you go to the game room to play games. They have miniature bowling, bumper cars, and all sorts of arcade games. Instead of tokens you use a gift card-it's great fun and family friend of course!

We had a great time. This will be our destination on our next date night!

Create in 2008 Project #1-Paper Bag Flowers

Ok this was a very simple project just to say I tried it. Not cute I know, but maybe with the right color bag and a little more attention to detail it could be great. Who knows maybe I'll try a few for the shower I am giving this weekend. Paper Bag Flowers

Photos

Today was an unusually warm day so we enjoyed some outside time. It was really great not too warm for mommy and not too cold for baby sister. I laid a blanket out in the yard for her to play on while J and I played a bit.

Sweet Kisses
Huh?
He loves his baby sister and she loves her big brother
Daddy Daycare

What fruit are you?

Take the What Fruit Are You? test by Ellen!

MY 100th POST!!

Yeah my 100th post!! As with tradition in blog world (or so I have been told) the 100th post is usually set aside for a blog on 100 things about "me". So here goes, lets see how long it takes me to come up with 100 things.

1. My name is Tiffany
2. I have been married to the love of my life and best friend for 6.5 years
3. I have two living children and one in heaven
4. I want to have 2 more children but my husband is not on board with
that...yet
5. Our house is for sale... want to buy it??
6. I love scrapbooking
7. I dream of being a photographer
8. I love gardening-had a herb garden this summer-LOVED IT! I loved picking fresh
herbs and drying them in the kitchen-filled the house with sweet aromas!!
9. I would love to learn to sew-which is one of my goals for the year
10. I am very family oriented. My husband says my mother and I are still joined by
the umbilical cord (haha)
11. I am the oldest of three children
12. I have a twin brother and a younger sister
13. 13 is my favorite number-had it on most of my jerseys
14. I played soccer from age 5-22. Wish I could still play
15. I can't stand clutter-but you wouldn't know it if you walked into my cluttered
home
16. I love Anne of Green Gables
17. favorite television show-Gilmore Girls. I have all 7 seasons
18. I love the smell of fresh cut grass
19. I enjoy bubble baths but rarely get the opportunity to take one
20. I have been a stay at home mom for almost two years and love every minute of it..
well most of the time-hehe-I wouldn't trade it for anything
21. My husband and I met online
22. I enjoy getting my hair cut
23. I pay $7 for a hair but because I am cheap when it comes to haircuts
24. I loved being pregnant-I'd love to be pregnant again someday-not today
25. I have lost 27 pounds since September 3rd
26. I can be overly sarcastic at times
27. I am not an open book-I am usually very guarded
28. I am addicted to blogging
29. I have eaten 3 bags of vanilla flavored tootsie rolls since Christmas Day-YIKES!
(make that 3.5)
30. I enjoy cooking and trying new things-but my husband and I are both picky eaters
so our menus are usually very simple
31. I learned how to knit with knifty knitters.
32. I've made hats and scarfs
33. I have really strange dreams. Sometimes about people I know but haven't seen or
heard from in many years. Sometimes about people I "know of" but have never we
have never even spoken-weird. My dreams jump from one weird thing to
another-never making much sense
34. My favorite poet is Helen Steiner Rice
35. I had lasik eye surgery and very glad I did
36. I hate hospitals but my husband is in nursing school
37. My Myers-Briggs personality profile is ISFP-introverted, sensing, feeling,
perceiving
38. Wow this is more difficult than I thought
39. I am a pack rat
40. I would love to run a marathon
41. I am going to take up tennis this year
42. I would love to attend a spinning class and/or kick-boxing class
43. Think I need to take up boxing-think it would be LOADS of fun
44. I am a Christian-but don't attend church regularly-but really should
45. I enjoy camping and back packing-although I don't make time for either
46. I love peaking into other people's lives-I think that is why I like
blogging so much-love reading other people's blogs
47. As a kid we had 13 cats running around outside our home-most of them came from
a stray that had a litter in my dad's antique truck
48. I scored the first goal ever for my high school soccer team-my freshman year
was the first year we had soccer for girls
49. I have a scar on each of my shins from jumping boxes in basketball in 8th grade
50. I was on the 8th grade basketball team-practiced with them but never went to a
game-I wasn't very good and I hated the uniforms. So midway through the season
I was sent to study hall. Another teammate did the same thing.
51. Her and I skipped study hall a lot!
52. I take things too personally
53. Calliou is over-that means my computer times is about to be over
54. favorite t.v. shows: CSI, Law and Order, Biggest Loser, Missing, Without a
Trace, Two and a Half Men,
55. I hate flying-my husband wants to take flying lessons...again
56. I hate sushi-tried it once and gagged
56. I came in second place in a golf fish race
57. I function better on 4 hours of sleep rather than 8
58. favorite movies: Top Gun, StepMom, You've Got Mail
59. I wish I could sing
60. I took piano lessons for a short time as a kid-didn't do well with that
61. I enjoy crystal light
62. My favorite non-alcoholic drink is a Route 44 Diet Dr. Pepper with Vanilla from
sonic
63. The Italian chicken sandwich is the only reason I ever go to Burger King-but it's
a "limited time only" item that comes and goes frequently
64. My favorite alcoholic drink is a screwdriver
65. or a frozen margarita
66. My most favorite job was working at the YMCA one summer during college-loved it
67. Favorite places to eat: Logan's, Outback, McAlisters Deli, Newk's
68. I enjoyed watching HGTV and TLC when we had cable
69. I have an obsession for journals yet I rarely write in them
70. Love the smell of coffee but can't stand to drink the stuff
71. Would love to get a tattoo
72. I am not a morning person
73. I talk in my sleep (which could be dangerous see #33 above)
74. I want a wooden swing in my yard-maybe when we get a new home
75. I'm very modest
76. I don't like looking in the casket at funerals
77. Last year I had poison ivy on almost every area of my body-including my eye
78. I love geocaching-need to get busy on it though
79. I have hidden 7 caches and badly need to do maintenance on all of them
80. Last semester senior year my adviser told me I could not take 21 hours, I had to
beg the dean to allow me to do so.
81. that semester I got my highest GPA of any semester
82. I love driving down back roads...really really fast!
83. My love for camping began as a girl scout
84. I got a Cricut for Christmas
85. I have serious road rage issues
86. I rarely forget a wrong done unto me
87. I love to sing in the car
88. I rolled yards and egged cars in high school
89. My friends and I turned all the furniture upside down in our dorm lobby in the
middle of the night
90. A friend and I stole her roommates car. We returned it later that evening
91. I love to dance-but my husband refuses to dance with me
92. I just won two bids on ebay! One for Weight Watchers cookbook
93. won one in the last 20 seconds WOOHOO!
94. I hate going to the dentist
95. I have to go tomorrow
96. I am overall a happy person
97. I enjoy pedicures but would rather just have my feet rubbed than painted
98. I have had two c-sections
99. I paid $2.97 for hair color at wal-mart the last time I dyed my hair and everyone
loved it
100. I love it too

Menu Plan Monday 1/7/08

This week is pretty easy. I did the shopping yesterday and was very pleased with the bill-very small. If I keep it up I could actually come within our grocery budget for the month. I have several menu items that I carried over from last month that did not get cooked-so that has really helped.

I am still loving the Weight Watchers 5 Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook. (I've seen a 2008 edition on ebay-I might have to check it out also!!) I am going to have to try to find one of my own so I can return this borrowed book. Then I can tag my favorite recipes-which is just about every one in the book! There are many soup recipes I'd like to try this month.

I am also trying to add more fruits and veggies to my menu-I have somewhat slacked off in this area this last two months and the scale shows it. I haven't been losing as much as I would have liked-but at least I am losing.

So here it is...

Monday: Balsamic Pork w/garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli
Tuesday: Tortellini Primavera with Pesto Sauce and broccoli (new one for me)
Wednesday: DH's night to cook-probably something w/chicken
Thursday: Ham and veggies
Friday: Creamy Chicken Spinach Soup and sandwiches (new soup to try)


Balsamic Pork is one of my favorite recipes from the WW cookbook:

4 (4 ounce) boneless center-cut pork loin chops about 1/2 inch thick
1 tsp salt free lemon herb seasoning
cooking spray
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (this stuff smells really bad-but tastes great!)
1/3 cup fat free, less sodium chicken broth

Sprinkle chops evenly on both sides with seasoning. Coat a medium non stick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add chops, and cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove chops from skillet, and keep warm. (At this point I just pour the balsamic vinegar in the pan and cook the chops again on both sides for about a minute each side-but here is the rest of the recipe)

Wipe drippings from skillet with a paper towel. Combine vinegar and broth in skillet. Cook over medium high heat until mixture is reduced to a thin sauce-about 5-6 minutes-stir occasionally. Spoon sauce over chops.

This is quick an easy and delicious!

What book are you??

Found this quiz on another blog. Thought it was cute.

You're Adventures of Huckleberry Finn!

by Mark Twain

With an affinity for floating down the river, you see things in black
and white. The world is strange and new to you and the more you learn about it, the less
it makes sense. You probably speak with an accent and others have a hard time
understanding you and an even harder time taking you seriously. Nevertheless, your
adventurous spirit is admirable. You really like straw hats.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Not sure this is totally accurate-but it's just for fun anyways.

Create in 2008

I made one resolution this year-create in 2008. I am working on a list of projects I want to make this year-fun things like diaper-wipe cases, crayon cozies, advent calendar, etc, etc. I was thinking one project a month-but there are just so many things I want to do. So I am thinking one project a week?! YIKES. Could I really be that productive in a year?? I can surely try.

So what did I create the first week? A list-is that good enough?? No really. I need to look through my project list and come up with something quick and easy to make.

Another thing I want to do this year is learn to sew. Of course many of the projects I want to create require sewing so I need to learn FAST! And yes I know how to turn the machine on and have even used it a few times. But as far as creating lovely masterpieces-that has yet to happen. But hopefully by the end of the year I will be somewhat of a master at the sewing machine.

So I am off to decide what will be my first project of 2008. If you have any ideas of fun, easy things to create feel free to leave comments and/or links!

Looking Great in 2008

Well I got back on the scale this morning and I am back down to where I was last week-thank goodness those extra pounds didn't hang around long!! So I am doing well. I kept up with my online food journal yesterday and drank a lot of water. Still no exercise but I hope that will come soon! I need to get my stationary bike back-but I just don't have anywhere "kid safe" to put it right now.

Good luck to everyone. I hope to blog a loss next week!!

Looking Great in 2008

Ok I got on the scale this morning and YIKES! I was not pleased but should have known. I am too ashamed to post my results-I will try again tomorrow. I am back on track-and going to keep up with my food journal online again-that should give me a good visual and help me stay on track. I also plan on learning to play tennis. So that should be some great exercise.

Glad to know the "Looking Great in 2008" challenge had been extended to the end of February! That is great! I am going on vacation with my family at the end of January and really hope to drop at least 10 pounds before we leave. Then I will have another month before the end of the challenge and hopefully I can drop another 10 pounds in February.

I have 50 more pounds to lose to be at my goal weight and then the rest will be gravy-hehe. I would love to lose 80 more pounds but I don't know how realistic that will be. If I lose 80 pounds that will put me back to the weight I was when I started college. But I will be satisfied with losing 50 pounds. We will see how it goes. I want to meet this goal by August-my daughter's first birthday. Surely in 8 months I can lose 50 pounds!!

Hope everyone had a great new year. I know I did-and I am paying for it now.

Sacred Influence

I just finished reading "Sacred Influence: How God Uses Wives to Shape the Souls of Their Husbands" by Gary Thomas. I am not much of a reader-haven't been since junior high, but I am trying to change that. I have read three books in the last 3 months and have four more waiting on me.

So back to Sacred Influence. I think all couples should read this book. It has great spiritual insight on the role a woman plays in marriage. It describes the woman's role as a helper to her husband to encourage him and support him. In doing so actually helps her marriage and herself in the process. I learned a lot from this book and although I would love to pass it on to a friend I think I'm going to hang onto it to read again someday.

Looking Great in 2008

I did manage to brave the scale this morning and am logging a 1 pound gain. One pound is not bad considering the last four days! YIKES! I don't even want to think about the calories that have gone into my mouth the last four days! I am starting fresh tomorrow and hope to get as close as I can to my goal before Tuesday-the first of January. I still have a long way to go before I reach my goal weight-but I am on my way. Of course with the new year comes the custom new years resolution to exercise more-which will surely help in my weight loss. I have got to get into a good exercise routine.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas-we sure enjoyed ours. Hope to see less of each of you in the new year-myself included!

Tales from the Scales-Looking great in 2008

Well it isn't Wednesday-but I am down a pound so I wanted to document it. I am 14 pounds away from my initial goal and ten pounds away from my "revised" goal. Hopefully if I don't overdue it the next few days, and I really step it up the days between Christmas and New Year's-maybe, maybe, maybe I can still lose 10 pounds before the end of the year.

Hope everyone enjoys spending time with friends and family this Christmas!

Christmas Festivities

The Christmas festivities have started at our home. My Aunt and Uncle came into town Thursday and we had a good visit. We opened presents from them Thursday night-and I guess that got J interested in the presents under the tree-he has opened three since then. There have been presents under our tree for two weeks and he hasn't touched them. So I guess opening presents the other night sparked his interest.

I left J upstairs playing yesterday while I was cleaning the kitchen. I walked upstairs to find him asleep on the floor with one of my uncle's gifts open. My uncles gifts were in the rocker where he had left them the night before, J had pulled it out of the chair and opened the box. It was a fish for the hitch on his truck. So cute and so sneaky!

So we will be busy the next few days!! Merry Christmas to all!

Looking Great in 2008 weigh in #13

Seems I always end up going to dinner with my husband on the night before weigh-in. We ate at Logan's last night with his parents and it was wonderful. But I paid for it today. The scale showed no gain but not loss either. I really should not have been surprised, I haven't been eating well lately. Not getting my fruits and veggies in, haven't been exercising and certainly not getting my water in. I have done better today with the water.

So with all that said this next week I am not going to worry about weight loss, however, I am not going to over do it. I have a family gathering Saturday, another get together on Sunday to make Christmas sweets and treats, Christmas at my in laws on Christmas Eve and then Christmas with my family Christmas day. So 4 days of Christmas activities filled with plenty of sweets, treats and lots of other fattening foods.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Christmas. Remember the true meaning of Christmas and be thankful.

Weigh In #12

Well I have been on the scale this morning and was up a little-but I haven't nursed yet. So I will wait until late morning to do my "official" weigh in. I won't be surprised to see no loss this week-after the chocolate chip cookies and dinner out last night! Gotta get to it though-only three more weeks left in the year and I really want to lose 10 more pounds before January 1st. I know I can do it I just have to get back to eating fruits and veggies and drinking water.

So for this week my goal is to drink nothing but water. Even though I drink diet sodas I am sure cutting those out will help tremendously. I also need to exercise. My three year old son and I did Taebo one day last week. It was very tiring but also fun. I use to love doing Taebo many years ago. So I plan on getting that out and doing it again this week. I'd really like to start running-I actually enjoyed that during high school. I was never fast but I did enjoy it. So I plan on running at least twice this week and Taebo at least twice. Hopefully that will be enough to get me where I need to be to finish off the year 10 pounds lighter!

Good luck to everyone through the holidays-I know this is a tough time to stick to a healthy diet.

Weigh In #11 12/4

WOOHOO! Two more pounds down! I weighed Tuesday and was down two more pounds!! (I also weighed Wednesday morning but after eating close to a dozen chocolate chip cookies on Tuesday I was no longer down 2 pounds-so I opted to go with Tuesday's weigh in!). Up until Tuesday, I was making much better food choices and had exercised once. Not nearly exercising enough but still working on that. At this rate I still won't meet my original goal but I hope to lose at least 10 more pounds before the end of the year.

My husband says it's cheating to go by Tuesday's weigh in-but I don't care. I'm countin it!!

Good luck to everyone in the coming week.

Menu Plan Monday 12/3

Well we have eaten out more this week than we have in a while. So I really need to stick to the menu this week if I want to have a nice loss on weigh in day. These one pound losses each week are driving me crazy. I'd like to lose ten more pounds before the end of the year-won't meet my original goal (seventeen pounds to go for that)but I'll just have to set a new goal. I did much better sticking with the menu last week so hopefully I'll do the same this week as well.

We tried a few new recipes from the Weight Watchers 5 Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook last week. The 'grilled honey balsamic salmon' wasn't my favorite. Maybe I cooked it too long but it wasn't nearly as good as the Orange glazed salmon recipe I tried a few weeks ago. The Philly steak and cheese sandwhiches were really good. We will have to do that again. The terriyaki pork loin and terriyaki chicken I have cooked before and again they were good.

This weekend I sat down and planned my menus for the month-don't gasp yet it may seem organized and it'd be great if I'd follow my monthly menu for a full month but I never do. But I still sit down at the first of every month, plan my menus for five days a week, and even make out a grocery list for each week. Then every weekend I'll check the menu for that week and see what we already have and add the items we need to the main grocery list which is on the fridge. But there are days we might eat out or eat elsewhere, or there may be days I forget to defrost the meat and the menu gets a little jumbled. But I enjoy planning and even if I don't follow it perfectly it is much better than not having a plan at all.

Monday: Baked potatoes and salads (back to my easy Monday menus)
Tuesday: Tex Mex Pepper Steak
Wednesday: Skillet Ziti & veggies
Thursday: BBQ meatloaf-never made meatloaf before so we'll see how we like it
Friday: Taco Chicken tortilla wraps

All the menus are from the Weight Watchers 5 Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook. I cannot rave enough about this cookbook. I just love it! I've been using a lot of recipes from it the last few months. I borrowed it from my mom, and she had borrowed it from someone else. So I will have to return it someday. I am hoping to get one for Christmas!! *hint* *hint*

Hope everyone has a great week and happy planning!

Teresa McFayden

I ran across the blog of Teresa McFayden on Today's Creative Blog. And I fell in love with her calendar. She suggests getting a group together to make them and swap numbers with friends to mix it up a bit. Now I am not a crafty person by any stretch of the imagination but I am just dying to try this. So that is my goal for this weekend to make one for myself. Then I'll see if any of my crafty friends want to get together and make them.

You should check out both these blogs: Today's Creative Blog and Teresa McFayden's blog My Minutia for many great crafty ideas.

Christmas Crafts

Well I felt a little crafty yesterday and while at Walmart I bought a little kit to make these adorable ginger bread men/women, candy canes and candy. Everything is cut all you have to do is glue the pieces together and you can attach a pin or magnet to the back. For $5 I think it was great entertainment for little J who is now 3 years old! He loved working with the glue (he has had a little practice when helping his dad put together rockets). So we made a few and we'll save the rest for Sunday lunch at my in laws-my six nieces and nephews will be there too so that will give them all something to create and make a big mess with.

Since J is not in daycare I feel like he is missing out on a lot of crafty things and probably on a lot of educational things. So I am really trying to figure out a routine to include some "school work" and craft time. I've got a schedule all figured out, now only if my 4 month old and J would allow me to follow the schedule and if I was disciplined enough to follow one myself-we'd could get a lot of stuff done!

Weigh In #10

Well I lost another pound. I should be excited about losing a pound especially during the holidays but I won't reach my goal by the end of the year at this rate. I know I can do better if I'd keep up with my water intake and add some exercise to my routine. I need to get my fruits and veggies back into my diet also.

My goals for the next week: drink 8 glasses of water a day, exercise 3 days and have at least 3 servings of fruits and veggies a day.

Potty Training 101 ?!?!

Yikes. I have always heard potty training boys was difficult, but nobody ever said it was down right impossible!! My dear son just turned three. He has never really showed any interest in potty training-no matter what technique I use..bribery, cool potty seats, big boy underwear with this favorite characters-the boy has 12 pairs of underwear sporting Spider man, Thomas the train, Nemo and after Christmas will have Diego underwear. But still no interest in "going" in the potty. After changing him the eight time today I decided to put a diaper on him-not sure who more excited about it, me or him. Maybe we'll try again tomorrow, maybe not. We will see.

I have heard many myths that you can't potty train during the winter. Not exactly sure why. Someone suggested it was because you couldn't let them run around in just underwear during the winter months-but DS was just fine running around in underwear and a t-shirt today. So that can't be it.

I did see a little potty today at the store. I might go back and pick it up I just hate the thought of having to clean that thing out after every use-DISGUSTING! But if it'll help him get the idea it'll be money well spent.

Menu Plan Monday 11/26

We had lots of leftovers from Thanksgiving, so much that I opted to put them in the freezer for Christmas instead of eating leftovers by myself this week. Dh doesn't care for a lot of the holiday casseroles and I really don't need to be eating them since I am trying to lose weight. So into the freezer they went. So we have a small pan of dressing, sweet potatoes, lima beans, and dressing. Plus I had prepared two large pans of mac & cheese, one for Wednesday dinner with my in-laws and one for Thanksgiving day with my family. We only ate half a pan on Wednesday so we just used the leftovers for Thursday and put the full pan in the freezer. And a friend made us a HUGE pan of dressing and we halved it and only cooked half of it Thanksgiving day and put the other pan in the freezer (and ended up only eating about half of the dressing anyway). So that is a lot of cooking already taken care of for Christmas-hopefully they will all freeze well and recook well. Will see.

As for this week of meal planning, I am doing my best not to have to make a grocery run. I might have to make a run for milk and sprites but that will hopefully be it. Tonight we tried Philly steak and cheese sandwiches. They turned out very tasty. Wal-mart sells a small box of thinly slice meat in the freezer department, saw it the other day and thought I'd try it out. I pulled a few pieces of green and red bell pepper from the freezer (that I had previously cut up and placed in freezer bags) and stir fried them with the meat. Placed them on tasted buns with shredded mozzarella cheese-delish! This was a recipe from Weight Watchers 5 Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook Everything on the menu this week comes from this cookbook- I JUST LOVE THIS COOKBOOK!! I will let you know how everything turns out. I am not a fan of salmon-but I did cook it several weeks ago using a recipe from this book and it was WONDERFUL! So I cannot wait to try it again!

Monday: Philly steak & cheese sandwiches, w/apple slices and chips
Tuesday: Terriyaki Pork Loin
Wednesday: Grilled Honey Balsamic Salmon w/veggies and baked fries
Thursday: Terriyaki Grilled Chicken
Friday: Roast w/mashed potatoes and corn

Worn Out

Little boy was playing away while baby sister napped in her pack n play and I napped on the couch. I woke up to find him asleep in his sisters bouncy car. So adorable!

Weigh In #9

Well after two birthday parties, two nights of eating out and one night of pizza...I was not surprised not to see the scale go down this week. Actually it was up about .2 pounds-but I'm not counting that since I had only nursed once this morning and had about 40 ounces to drink already. I usually weigh in after I nurse the baby for the second time-but lately she has been sleeping until about 8:30-9am so I only get one feeding in before breakfast. Which is just fine by me!

I am hoping for better results next week. Which means I really need to watch what I eat at our two Thanksgiving dinners this week. Dinner tonight and tomorrow night will have plenty of non figure friendly foods-including macaroni and cheese-my most favorite holiday dish! Although I am making it this year so it probably won't be as good. Need to make sure my mom makes at least one pan of it in case mine is a bust! It just isn't Thanksgiving without that mac and cheese.

So here is to drinking more water and getting some exercise this week to offset all the good food we'll be eating.

I did get out yesterday and take the kids to the park. J and I played a little soccer. Of course I was carrying the baby in the sling so I couldn't do a lot of "running around" but I did work up a sweat. I sure miss playing soccer. I am looking forward to getting back into shape so maybe this summer I can plan on an adult league and/or coach J's team if he is old enough to play next year.

Good luck to everyone! And Happy Thanksgiving!

Something you don't see everyday

Our neighbor knocked on our door the other day to inform us that the HUGE oak tree in their backyard was split down the middle. She said she was having someone come out to give an estimate on what it would cost to remove the tree. She wanted us to be aware although she didn't think it would fall.

Two days later a ladder truck showed up and began cutting the branches off the big oak tree. It took them 2.5 days to get the tree down. Near the end of the second day they had completed removing all the limbs and began cutting the trunk piece by piece. When the first piece hit the ground I had just run upstairs to retrieve J's shoes and when it hit the ground it shook the entire house. J responded "mommy you scared me!". I had to explain it wasn't mommy that made the house shake, it was the tree trunk. And then another piece fell as we left the house.

It was interesting to watch them cut it down. I wish I would have thought about it and gotten out the video camera or even set up the digital camera to take still shots. Think it would have made for a cute video on u-tube in fast forward. Kinda like the lady that took pictures of herself everyday of her pregnancy or the person that lost weight. Cool videos.

anyway-here are a few photos I snapped of the tree removal.

Menu Plan Monday 11/19

We have two Thanksgiving dinners this week, plus I meet with my Bunco group tonight so the menu is very easy to plan this week! We have Thanksgiving dinner at the in laws Wednesday evening and then again with my family Thursday evening. Since my family is coming in Wednesday I will prepare taco soup in the crockpot-so that will be very easy. I am planning on leftovers for the rest of the week. So I really only need to plan for two menus outside of Thanksgiving dinner.

As far as the weight loss-I haven't been doing as well as I would like. I am not getting my water in nor am I getting my fruits and veggies. Gotta work on that!! Especially if I don't want to come to a screeching hault during the holidays. I also need to get back on the stair stepper and get started running.

I did come across a blog last night that really got me inspired to get on my bike again. While Dh and I were dating we would ride a lot. We had cheapo bikes but we knew we probably wouldn't stick with it so we didn't want to purchase expensive bikes. Good choice since they have been steadily rusting away in the storage shed. But I would like to get them out and see if they are ridable. Especially since J is getting his first "big boy" bike this Christmas. I have very fond memories of riding bikes through the neighborhood with my family when we were in kindergarten. It would be great exercise and great quality time together as a family. So we will see how that goes!

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Monday: Mommy has bunco-nothing planned
Tuesday: Philly steak sandwiches-a new recipes I'll be trying from the WW cookbook
Wednesday: Crock pot Taco soup
Thursday: Thanksgiving dinner!!
Friday: Leftovers!

Looking Great in 2008 Weigh In #8

Well I have lost another pound-unbelievable! We went to dinner last night at Outback-YUM! I couldn't resist those cheese fries. Thought I'd pay for it today-but looks like the scale loves me today. I would normally be disgusted with just a 1 pound loss-but I really haven't been getting in my water nor exercising so I am really happy with any kind of loss today. That puts me at a grand total of 22 pounds lost-still want to lose 18 pounds before the end of the year-doubt it will happen-but will see how close I can get.

This weekend is my son's third birthday party and then next week is Thanksgiving-YIKES! I really need to get back on the wagon so I don't get into a gaining mode for the holidays.

Well baby is up and crying-so that is all the blogging for now. Good luck to everyone!

Creative Blogs

I love visiting this site: Creative Blogs. This site lists several blogs of crafty and interesting people. It is full of so many ideas for decorating, scrapbooking, any just about anything you can think of! I love visiting this site-it give me such great inspiration! I only wish I could be half as creative as some of the bloggers showcased.

Family Pics

We gathered with my husband's family on Sunday for a big family picture that will be used for a Christmas card. We didn't take nearly as many shots as we did last year but I think we got a few good ones. Here is one of our family.

Looking Great in 2008 Weigh In #7

Well I can't believe it! Got on the scale this morning and I have lost one pound!! After a four day camping trip-full of roasted dogs, burgers, marshmallows and too many fast food meals-I still managed to lose a pound! I was excited to say the least.

So back on track now. And hopefully will have a bigger loss next week.

3-2-1 LIFT OFF

Yesterday my husband and son bought a model rocket. Building rockets and launching them was something my husband enjoyed as a child. So off they went and soon they returned home with a model rocket. They finally got it together even after J poured glue all over the instructions. So they then headed out to find the perfect place to launch it. Once they scouted out the perfect location they called me and I loaded up baby girl and we headed out to witness the launch. When we pulled up my husband was busy working on the rocket and J was running all over the open field-he was having a blast just being outside.

So we are ready for launch and J pushes the button and the rocket blasts into the air. I don't know who enjoyed it more, daddy or J. They retrieved the rocket and got it ready for it's second launch. The second launch was much higher than the first and it landed several hundred feet away.

It was great fun. Still think daddy enjoyed it more than J.

menu plan monday 11/6

We just returned late last night from a 4 day/3 night camping trip. So our menu planning will start today. After a quick inventory I realized we still had at least a weeks worth of menus that were planned for but not used. So except for a few items we needed and things we need for the upcoming birthday party, we really didn't need much this week to complete our meals for the week.

So here is our menu:

Tuesday: tacos, beans
Wednesday: italian pot roast sandwiches-frozen i
Thursday: chicken alfredo w/italian green beans
Friday: Easy quesadillas w/veggies

Halloween Pictures

Here are a few pictures from Halloween. JM was a little ham for the camera-she was all smiles. She is growing up so fast. She is starting to reach for objects and grab for toys. And J loves posing for the camera. He kept making funny faces and telling me to take his picture. He also likes to "crash" -which is basically means he just falls to the floor- and he loves doing it for the camera.

There is also a picture of my dad with the kids. He was here this weekend doing some work on our house so I had to take a few pictures.

Looking Great in 2008 Weigh-in #6

Well the scale loved me more yesterday so I am going with those results, which puts me at -2! I'll never understand how the scale can fluctuate in just one day-but oh well-what matters most is getting healthy.

I did the stair stepper a couple of times this week. And-hold on to your chairs-I got up yesterday and RAN! WOW! It has been so long since I have been running. I use to do it all the time in high school and college. I was never a fast runner but I did enjoy it. I won't be running any marathons soon but at least it was a start. Trying to get my husband to start running with me-will have to keep working on that.

So my goals this next week:

1. Run at least 3 times this week
2. Stair stepper at least 3 times
3. Need to work on getting my water in-haven't been doing well with that-guess that
is why the scale hasn't been my friend lately
4. Need to work on getting more fruits and veggies also-was doing well with that
but have somewhat slacked off in that area


Hope everyone has a great week/weekend and a Happy Halloween! Good luck!

UPDATE:
Well I just had to get back on the scale one more time today-yes I know-I am addicted. But I was just so aggravated with the thing. Anyway, it gave me same results I had yesterday. So that makes me feel better.

Menu Plan Monday 10/29

I have been loving these new Weight Watchers recipes. I have tried several of them this month and every one of them have been great. I cannot wait to try more of them this week. These recipes are really helping with the weight loss also. Trying new recipes that are low in calories is a great way to keep the menu fresh and delicious.

Monday: Dinner Out-Dad's in town and we are treating him tonight
Tuesday: Lemon-Lime Chicken
Wednesday: Italian Pot Roast-frozen
Thursday: Ham & Veggies
Friday: Left overs

Looking Great in 2008 Weigh-in #5

Well I didn't do as well as I had hoped, but considering I attended a baby shower this weekend and ate what I wanted to while there-I should be happy with a 2 pound loss.

I do have a little stair stepper that I plan to start working on this week-hopefully that'll give me the exercise I need to keep the pounds coming off. I am still enjoying the weight watchers recipes I got from a WW cookbook I borrowed. Can't wait to try the rest of them, they have been great so far.

Good luck to everyone-hope you all keep loosing.

Looking Great in 2008 Weigh-In #4

Our computer was out of commission yesterday, so I am a day late. But better late than never! I lost 3 pounds last week! Which I am overall excited about-but I only lost 1 pound since I weighed Friday-which was a little disappointing. But it is a loss so I am excited about that. Now only 24 to lose to reach my next goal-my weight before my first pregnancy-which I hope to lose by the end of the year. I still haven't added exercise-shame on me!-but I did clear out the closet that has bee storing my easy glide machine-so now I can get to it and pull it out into the floor and actually use it.

Congrats to everyone that lost the weight, and good luck to everyone this week!

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Rememberance Day

October 15th is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. On this day 16 months ago we lost our baby girl-Hope. The months that followed her loss were some of the hardest of my life. Even when we were blessed with another pregnancy five months later, mixed emotions of happiness and fear made for a long emotional nine months. I am happy to say our third baby was born healthy-although those first few days were bittersweet-embracing our new baby and remembering the baby I never held. I miss her dearly. I long for the day I will see her again in heaven.

Please remember to think and pray for those that have lost babies during pregnancy and infancy. It is ok to talk with them about their babies months and years after their loss, it helps keep their babies memory alive and lets them know you care and recognize their baby.

VICTORY

Yeah! I accomplished my first goal-a month late-but still accomplished it. I am now at my pre pregnancy #3 weight. I just couldn't resist getting on that scale this morning-who'da thunk it. And I was ecstatic to see another 2 pound loss!! Which brings me to a total of 15 pounds and to my first goal weight. I won't be including this weight loss in my official weigh-in to the right-as I want to keep that updated weekly. But I just had to know if I had reached my first goal. YIPPEE!

Now on to the next goal. To get to my weight before my first pregnancy-which is 25 lbs to lose. I have twelve weeks to accomplish that goal. If I keep it up at my current pace I'll make it. Hopefully adding exercise and more sleep (not getting off to a good start there) will help me keep the pounds melting off!

Still need to get some pictures. I think the last picture I of myself full body was the day we left for the hospital to have our daughter. So I can't really use that one.

Thea Thursdays-Story Boarding

OK I am two days late, but better late than never. So this week is about setting small goals to achieve, in order to keep us motivated. So far I have lost 13 pounds by just changing my eating habits. Ideally I would love to start running again. I loved running in high school and college-although I was never a fast runner, although at on time I could run a mile in under six minutes-I enjoyed being outside and inhaling the fresh air as I ran. But it has been seven years since I ran-except for one embarrassing run around the short track about a year ago. Yes the short track-that means it wasn't even 1/4 of a mile long.

As far as the eating I've done really well this week-I haven't had much of an appetite so I have been struggling to get in at least 1200 calories a day. Last night I had two slices of pizza and my total calorie intake was only 1152 calories. I know I have to keep my calorie intake above 1200 in order to keep my body from going into starvation mode, and as I am still nursing my 10 week old I really need to stay above 1200. So I'll need to work on that-go figure-I actually NEED to eat more-who woulda thunk it?

Sleep-well that doesn't come easy these days. My 10 week old went to bed last night about 10pm and she slept until 4:30am. You would have thought I'd gotten a great nights sleep-WRONG. I laid in bed for at least 30 minutes trying to get to sleep-but my mind was racing. So I got up-my mom always told me if I couldn't sleep to clean. With all the sleepless nights I've been having you would think my house would be spotless. And if I'd stay away from the computer and the blogging world it could be. So anyway, I know I need to try to get more sleep each night-better said than done around here.

1. Eat at least 1200 healthy calories daily

2. Walk/jog at least 3 times weekly in order to build back up to running

3. Try to get more sleep

So here is my story board. I know with these small changes the weight will continue to disappear.

Looking Great in 2008 Weigh-in #3 (#1 for me)

OK I joined the "Look Great in 2008" challenge on October 3rd but had started my weight loss journey on September 3rd. My initial goal was to lose 86 pounds-WOW that's a whole person-well a kid anyway. As of October 3rd I had lost 8 pounds in about 5 weeks. Not bad but after losing 6 pounds the very first week I was really hoping for at least 2-3 pounds a week.

Anyway, this morning I got on the scale...and I've lost 5 pounds this past week!! I have really been watching what I eat, trying to add fruits and veggies-still not a big variety of either but at least I am eating them. Funny thing is I have eaten out 4 times this last week. Went to a pizza buffet twice-but only ate one slice of pizza at one visit and none at the second. Went to Applebee's twice-got what I thought was a good meal, but looked it up when I got home to find it was a 1000 calorie meal!! YIKES! Still only had 2k calories that day. But did much better the second visit to Applebee's and chose something off the WW menu.




So I feel much better this week. Hopefully I'll be able to fit in some of my old jeans soon.

Menu Plan Monday 10/8

We I didn't stick to the menu to well last week so we have a lot of leftover items on our menu. I did make the Pan-glazed chicken w/basil-and I have to highly recommend it. It was great! I'll be adding it to my list of favorites.

So here is the menu this week:

Monday: Italian Pot Roast
Tuesday: Grilled Teriyaki chops
Wednesday: Taco Chicken Tortilla Wraps
Thursday: Hamburgers
Friday: Leftovers-as I will be out of town

Look Great in 2008 Challenge

While skimming through blogs tonight I found this wonderful challenge blog http://www.talesfromthescales.net/. So I joined in on the challenge. I started my weight loss journey on September 3rd. So far to date I have lost 8 pounds. I didn't meet my first goal by September 19th-which was to get to my pre-pregnancy #3 weight, so now I am working on my second goal: to be at my pre-pregnancy #1 weight by January 1st-that is the weight I was before I got pregnant with our first. That is 30lbs (oops had to make a little correction) to go-I know I can do it. After that I will work on the other 46 pounds-the weight I gained after meeting my DH.

I started back this week keeping up with my food on Calorie Count Plus Website. It has been really helpful. It gives food suggestions to replace some of the not so healthy food choices. It also graphs the protein, carbs and fat daily-which helps me to see what I need to work on to get a more balanced diet.

ziplock zip n' steam bags

I saw the commercial for these bags and thought I'd give them a try. Since trying to eat healthy I have been adding broccoli and cauliflower to my diet and I know boiling tends to take away some of the "nutrients" in the vegetables-or so I am told. I bought a box of them this week and gave them a try. They are wonderful! The vegetables come out wonderful. I prefer my veggies to be a little on the soft side so I steam them a bit more than the recommended amount of time. But it is so easy and quick and no clean up!! I highly recommend these bags.

Menu Plan Monday 10/1

Alright a start of a new month!!! Last month I lost a total of 7 pounds!! YIPPEE! But six pounds were lost in the first week and one pound in the last-so what happened in between??? Who knows. I did stray a bit but I still stayed below 2000 calories a day. So I am going to give it another try with the low calorie diet and try to watch my fat and carb intake. The website I use to track my food intake shows my diet is about 50% carbs, 32% fat and 18% protein. So I think I need to work on my carb and fat intake and get them both below 20%. My mom just did Atkins for 6 months and lost 50 pounds. But in reviewing the foods that you can eat-I just don't think I could do Atkins. I am a very picky eater and I don't care for too many vegetables. It seems most of the veggies I do like are not allowed on the Atkins diet. Plus I love sandwiches-cold or hot-and I just don't know if I could go without bread. So I am going to give another good go at the low calorie diet for another two weeks. If I don't see the results I want then I might just have to try Atkins. I really want to meet my goal of losing all my baby weight before January 1st. That is 33 pounds, in three months!!!

So this week I am going to try some new recipes from the WW Cookbook I borrowed a couple of weeks ago. I love trying new recipes so we will see how it goes.

Monday: Taco Chicken Tortilla Wraps pg 158 w/refried beans
Tuesday: Grilled Teriyaki Chops pg 93 w/corn
Wednesday: Pan-glazed Chicken w/basil pg 105 w/brown sugar sweet potatoes pg 184
Thursday: Roasted Garlic Potato soup pg 162
Friday: Italian Pot Roast pg 91 w/broccoli couscous pg 186 (if i can find couscous)

The dessert for this week is Caramel Banana Sundaes from page 30 in the WW cookbook.