Archive for July, 2010
It’s Baby Time!
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
The title says it all!
In nine months, or around…
We’ll have a new addition to our family!!!
Almost three months to the day after my miscarriage I found out I’m ….
AGAIN!!! I’m pretty shocked myself. I truly wasn’t expecting it to happen again so soon. But God is amazing like that.
And…. I’ve held it in for almost a week!!! I’m about to explode and couldn’t hold it in any longer. My first prenatal appointment is already scheduled. I was a bit apprehensive and wanting to get past that fifth and sixth day after I found out I was pregnant last time and started to miscarry. Thankfully I’m almost a week past finding out and there has not been one sign of miscarriage. I know that sounds a bit superstitious. God has given me peace about this pregnancy and I fully trust that he has this little life in his hands. I plan on and look forward to lots of updates on this pregnancy. However, we’d really appreciate your prayers too!
We told the girls and they are excited but a little clueless still. I had to explain to Katelyn that the baby is not only coming after Christmas, it’s coming after Valentines day and the first day of Spring! I’m sure I’m going to have to put up with many questions about when the baby is coming.
For now I’m thrilled and feeling fine (so far).
Thank you all for the prayers and support while we prayed for another baby.
An Afternoon At The Park
Monday, July 26th, 2010
We went to the new park/playground in our town the other day for some family fun. We took Timber so he could get out a little bit too. It was a fun, much needed, relaxing afternoon.
The girls chased Timber around and he got pooped fast. ( I was holding his leash so that means I was running too!)
Ready, set…..go!
Although the girls had a lot of fun on the playground, they enjoyed running around in the grass the most.
I heart this picture of Madelyn
The girls also loved it that I was chasing them around.(What a sight that was!) Mike did get pictures of that but I consider those black mail pictures. Here we are laying in the grass looking at the clouds. The girls were looking at clouds. I was recovering from running.
Aaaand Timber was ready for a nap. (As was I)
It’s days like these that we’ll remember so it’s important that we do more of this. Our children won’t remember the toys we bought them today in five years. But mom chasing them in the grass? Ten years from now they’ll say ” Mom, remember when you chased us in the grass at the park and you looked really silly? That was fun.”
Sigh.
Kid-Terview Friday Is Back! With A Makeover?
Friday, July 23rd, 2010
A while back I started a blog meme called Kid-Terview Friday where I featured a different child each Friday and an interview done with them by (usually) their moms. The interviews were really cute and some of the answers were so funny! I then ran out of interviews so Kid-Terview Friday had to take a break. I’m thinking of starting it up again but have a few changes/ twists I’d like to make and a few questions to ask you readers:
1. Is this meme something you’d be interested in participating in? I know there are so many out there!
2. If I made it a monthly thing instead would that make it more fun? I was thinking of adding these options/changes in:
a) Either a typed out interview or a video of the child answering the interview questions.
b) Making this meme only video clips of an interview with your child OR just a funny/cute/precious moment you caught on camera that month.
c) Instead of me featuring just one interview a week on my blog, doing a monthly link up of videos and written interviews. Each mom who participates can just post the interview/ video clip on her blog and then link up on my blog. Then we could all blog hop and catch the cute video clips that were linked up. C’mon…we all think our children are stars and worthy of a little adulation.
What do you guys think? Would you link up and participate? I personally am leaning towards the video clips. I think they would be hysterical! We could call it “Precious Moments” or something like that….
Hmm…
What do you guys think? I know you must get some great moments caught on video of your children.
Here’s an old Kid-Terview Friday post from my old blog for you to take a peek at.
Losing It Week 16
Friday, July 23rd, 2010
A couple of days ago I put on my Facebook status that with my consistent exercise this week I would be ticked if I didn’t lose weight this week.
Well, I’m ticked.
Can you believe that after FOUR days of exercising I didn’t lose a thing? I maintained! And I can honestly say that I ate well this week. No overeating. Unless you count the two hot dogs I had at the block party last night. But still! It’s not like I walked around eating brownies and cookies. It was two hot dogs!
Anyway, I’m ticked and I can honestly say I don’t know what to do differently. Maybe my body is gearing up for a big loss next week?
Let’s hope!
Anyway, I’m more ticked than discouraged because I just knew I’d get on the scale this morning and at least see two pounds gone. But, I’m super proud of my exercise commitment this week. For the record, I haven’t measured myself in ages. I should probably do that, huh?
For more inspiring women and their weight loss journeys check out the Losing It weight loss challenge at House Of Hills.
I can honestly say being a part of this group has done wonders for my weight loss. The encouragement and accountability have been so good for me. If you’re on a weight loss journey please consider joining us. It’s fun. It’s easy. And it helps!
WFMW- Repurposing Envelopes
Wednesday, July 21st, 2010
You know that annoying junk mail you get? The credit card offers and such? Well, I used to throw them right into recycling. But, I discovered a much better use for these. My girls love to color pictures and then pretend to mail them. I was forever giving them my good envelopes to put papers in. And we were going through envelopes way too quickly. So, I started saving all the envelopes that come in the junk mail for my girls to use for themselves.
Now, I get to keep and use my own, nice, envelopes and my girls can have a ball and use as many of “their” envelopes as they want!
This is also a great idea for preschool teachers. If you’re a preschool teacher, ask parents to save these envelopes for your preschoolers to use in class!
As a side note, I also keep every piece of paper that has a blank side to it for them to color on. I feel like this saves money and is a good repurposing method for paper.
This post is linked to Works For Me Wednesday over at We Are THAT Family.
10 Foods I Want To Cook In Bulk
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010
I’ve really wanted to try the Once A Month Cooking (also known as Freezer Cooking) for a while. Since I’m totally new at this I’m starting slowly and cooking only a few things at a time. (And hopefully I can make it only once a month!)
Here are ten foods I’d like to start cooking in bulk:
1. Whole Wheat Pancakes.
I think these are healthier choices than cereal and toast every morning. We also love them for dinner too. (With grilled kielbasa. Yum!!) I usually make them with flax as well. Mike will only eat plain ones but the girls and I like banana and blueberry so we’re getting some fruit in there too. You can look up whole wheat recipes on Cooks.com or Allrecipes.com. I want to make a huge batch of them and then freeze them in smaller portions. When we want a pancake I can just take it out of the freezer and defrost it!
2. Whole Wheat/Grain Waffles.
I got a waffle maker for Christmas a couple of years ago and have used it once. Waffles are a fun alternative to pancakes and I like them for all the same reasons I like pancakes!
3. Homemade Granola Bars.
I haven’t found a recipe I just love yet but I’m going to keep trying. The ones posted at Kitchen Stewardship sound great so these will be the ones I try next. The last batch I made (with chocolate chips) tasted like dessert so I wasn’t convinced it was that healthy. I can make a big batch of these and freeze some of them. Again, I’ve been using Cooks.com or Allrecipes.com for these. If you have a delicious, healthy granola bar recipe please share it with me! As a side note, I’ve also heard plain, homemade granola is really good too. I want to make some of that as well.
I made these a few weeks ago and they were a hit!
5. Homemade Muffins.
Again, I try to make these with whole wheat flour, flaxseed and blueberries. We like corn and bran muffins too. There are some good recipes online too. I’m still in search of the one I like best.
6. Taco Meat.
I want to start precooking and freezing taco meat in bulk since we love tacos around here. If I keep several cans of refried beans and tortillas on hand that’s a simple and easy meal on weeknights and especially for weekends when we’re most tempted to eat out.
7. Homemade Calzone.
I make a super easy calzone. I make the dough in my bread maker and then roll it out. I then cook up ground beef and mix it with cheddar and mozzarella cheese. I lay the mixture on one side of the dough and then fold over the other side of the dough and pinch the edges. Then I bake it at 350 degrees until it looks done. I know this version doesn’t sound very healthy so I’d like to modify it a bit (Adding tomatoes, onions and mushrooms maybe?). Although, I’ll probably be the only one to eat that one. I want to make a couple of these and freeze them. Can I freeze them unbaked? Does anyone know?
8. Oatmeal Cookies.
I really want to find a healthy(er) oatmeal cookie recipe to make. (Sans raisins since we don’t like them in baked goods). I think that would also make a great snack and dessert. Mike loves them.
9. Fajita Chicken.
Another meal we love. I want to make it in bulk and freeze smaller portions so it’s ready to go on a weekend when mealtime rolls around and I don’t feel like cooking. (Thanks to Kathy at House Of Hills for this idea.) I love it with peppers, mushrooms, onions and avocado. Mike and the girls will only eat them with chicken and cheese. We’re going to have to work on that…..
10. What foods do YOU make in bulk? What is your go-to, must have freezer recipe? Please share!!!
For more Top Ten Tuesday head over to Oh Amanda!
4th Of July Recap
Monday, July 19th, 2010
So, here we are, the 19th of July and I’m finally putting up my 4th of July pictures. I would say this is one of the most fun 4th’s we’ve had in a long time. We tagged along with our neighbors and their friends to the elementary school where they hold the 4th Of July festivities in my town. We live walking distance from the school so we all walked there.My girls were super excited to be able to spend time with their friends, Julia and Norah. We set up camp on the school grounds with blankets, drinks and snacks. There was a neat local band playing and singing the most popular songs out right now. We danced, we snacked, visited and played. Then, once it got dark we watched the fireworks. Then walked some pretty festive, but tired girls back home. All in all, a great day!
The girls are ready and waiting in their red, white and blue. (The little girl on the left is the daughter of some close friends of our neighbors)
At the school after setting up camp. The adorable little boy is Julia and Norah’s cousin.
Madelyn stayed close to daddy and enjoyed her snacks and toys. (By herself, as usual)
Mike and Me
Another one of the girls
Maddy gets her Patriotism on.
There’s something to be said for spending Independence Day in the area where our nation started. That’s pretty cool. Not cool enough to make me want to stay here fi I got the chance to move to Texas but…. pretty cool anyway.
He he.
Losing It Week 15
Friday, July 16th, 2010
I lost 2.5 lbs since last week! Yeehaw!! Seeing those higher numbers was really discouraging me. I felt them, if you know what I mean. They were sitting in my midsection taunting me. I still have to lose another 2.5 pounds before I’m back to my 10 pound loss. I have to give kudos to my two cousins Lydia and Grace (who also happen to be sisters) who have recently lost twenty and thirty pounds respectively! They definitely motivate and inspire me. Way to go, ladies!!!
I was able to exercise three times again this week. I would really like to get at least four days in and in a perfect world, five. Of course, I’m also still trying to get pregnant so if that happens any time soon I won’t be trying to lose weight anymore. But, until then, cheers to losing me some poundage!
It really helped this past week that we had no food in the house! I literally had NO snacking or dessert options!! Of course I had to listen to everyone complaining but it was good for them. (*insert evil laugh*) I’m going to the grocery store today but I still want to keep our unhealthy options at minimum. I’m trying to instill a monthly bulk cooking day in this house and that hasn’t happened. On that day I want to cook large quantities of healthier, homemade snacks and breakfast foods. Granola, granola bars, oatmeal cookies, whole wheat waffles and pancakes and yogurt freezer pops are some of the things I want to make.
How was your week?
Run, walk, bicycle over (you know, for the exercise) to Kathy’s blog, House Of Hills, for her Losing It link up. There’s a great group of gals over there working hard to lose the weight and they are awesome.
The Case Of The Phantom Writer
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Apparently we had a phantom wall writer a few weeks ago. A regular “whodunit”
Looking closely I could see that an “N”,”M” and a “K” had been written on Katelyn and Madelyn’s newly painted bedroom walls.
I was not a happy mama. (The writing below had already been scrubbed a bit so it was even darker originally)
So, we have a few possible culprits.
Possible Culprit #1-
Possible Culprit #2-
Possible Culprit #3-
Solid evidence points to the fact that #3 didn’t do it.
I had a pretty good idea of who had done but I wanted to give her (cough, Katelyn) a chance to tell me the truth.
Let’s look at the evidence:
1. The letters “M” and “K” were written on the wall. Katelyn (#1) has both of those letters in her name
2. The writing was in her handwriting.
3. #2 (Madelyn) Does not know how to write letters as testified in her own words ” I didn’t do it becauth I don’t know how to write letters!!”
Katelyn swore she didn’t do it. She named other possible culprits. Since I questioned them before bed I told them that until this mystery was solved there would be no bed time stories or dessert until the person who wrote on the wall came forward with the truth. This prompted Katelyn to ask all sorts of “hypothetical” questions about what sort of punishment the perpetrator would receive. We all went to bed with no cofession that night.
The next morning we had a break in the case. Mike (otherwise known as Daddy) had a talk with both of the girls about telling the truth and Katelyn finally came clean about having written on the wall. She apologized for lying and accepted the consequences with a good attitude.
Case closed!
A Girl And Her Puppy
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
We acquired a new family over the weekend.
Meet Timber.
He’s our new, 3 month old Siberian Husky. Katelyn loves him. Madelyn is afraid of him. (Although you can’t tell in this picture)
So far he’s been pretty good. He’s not shedding (yet) and his accidents have been minimal inside. Katelyn has taken on the job of taking him outside whenever he needs to go.
She’s very proud of him and is very willing to help out with him (for right now anyway!) I’m not sure how long it’s going to take Madelyn to like him or be willing to be near him. That’s been a challenge so far.
This is about as close as she’ll get to him at this point. There has to be someone in between him and her. Of course, she doesn’t understand that he’s trying to play with her and not hurt her.
Katelyn loves to lay in Timber’s bed too. I think she spends more time in it than he does!
This is going to be interesting! Or crazy. I’ll keep you all updated on how it’s going!
This post is linked to Wordful Wednesday over at Seven Clown Circus.
