Aug 31, 2012

{this moment}

A beautiful and fun Friday ritual. Inspired by SouleMama.

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. – Amanda Soule


Aug 30, 2012

Thursday Thoughts

Prince Charming and I went out dinner and a movie last night to celebrate our 11th anniversary.  It was fun.  I let him pick some guys movie full of testosterone and gunfire, but it was kind of funny and it was fun to see him like a little boy having so much fun.  Dinner was good although I ate too much and I feel a little guilty about that.

We are going to take all the kids to the doctor's office today to get various things checked out.  I HATE going to the doctor so I let these things build up on me. 

I have been having fun playing with my template.  I thought I would go with a coffee theme because I am more than a little fond of coffee and I like the idea of me sitting down with a cup of coffee to relax and write out my thoughts and my readers sitting down with a cup of coffee to read them.  Sort of like you are all coming over to visit with me and share a cup of coffee together.  I guess that is a little rambling but it is kind of my thoughts on it anyway.  So what do you think??

Aug 28, 2012

Weekly Weigh-in

I am now down to my pregpregnancy weight!  I aam very happy about this.

I am going to have to take better care to be sure that I am eating enough though.  I got pretty sick yesterday and it was because I hadn't been eating enough for a while now.  So, my weightloss may slow down a little, but I will still work at getting down to where I need to be in a healthier way. 

Aug 27, 2012

Favorite Snack

Even though I have been eating a pretty low calorie diet, I have been having lots of fruit lately.  And my favorite is fruit 'ice cream'.  I simply blend frozen fruit until it is creamy.  I add a little vanilla and a little sweetener and it is fabulous.  If the fruit is too frozen, I add a little water to moisten the bottom. 

Tonight I had:

1 cup frozen strawberries,
1 cup frozen bananas
sweetener to taste
vanilla to taste
a little water to moisten

I blended until creamy and it is by far the yummiest thing I have eaten in a LONG time!

I get my chocolate fix by blending up the following:

2 cups frozen bananas
sweetener to taste
2-3 Tbsp cocoa
splash of vanilla
a little water to moisten
(sometimes for a little splurge I add 1-2 TBSP peanut butter)

This is SOO chocolately and yummy!

I swear when I eat this stuff I don't feel like I am dieting, it am just enjoying yummy food!!

Aug 26, 2012

Fun Day at the Beach

We took the kids out to the beach yesterday.  There is a small one close relatively to our house and it was a LOT of fun. 

When we got there, Princess Belle helped to get her sisters ready for the water


Daddy helped the little girls who were afraid of the deeper water

Princess Snifflefritz was more timid of the water and spent the majority of her time playing on the sidelines, but when she thought no one was looking, she was sneak into the water again.



Little Princess DID NOT like the water but the rest of my little water babies loved it and had a wonderful time.


It is funny because he spent most of his time at the beach completely covered up like he was a little baby vampire and we were afraid to let the sun touch him at all





the girls had so much fun it was a blast just to watch them play




Once Princess Belle was in the water, I hardly saw her again, she was off and playing and splashing and completely out of camera view.  But I do have this pic as proof she was there . . .

Princess Snifflefritz was sweet because she would take off to play and then come running back to me to show me what she was doing and to say to the people next to me, then she was off running again, waving goodbye over her shoulder to us all. 









Most of the time, I sat with Little Prince and watched my girls run off and play and thought how very lucky I am to have this family to love.






Aug 25, 2012

Playdate with Homeschooler Friends

So our day started with a metro bus ride across town to our homeschooler friend's neighborhood.  Here are the girls waiting for the bus to arrive at our transfer point.



Our friend's loved Little Prince and the little girl loved being able to hold him and feed him.


The kids had fun dressing up in costumes (I have to admit, my friend has an AWESOME playroom for the kids.


Their keyboard was a big hit with my music loving girls



Even the simple pleasures of blocks are bigger at someone else's house.


We took the girls out to our favorite old shopping center for a snack afterwards and treated them to a little car stroller ride


Princess Belle and Daddy played thumb wars while waiting for everyone to finish their food



 On the bus ride home, ALL my tuckered out girls fell asleep, EVEN 10 year old Princess Belle.  But some of us didn't make it to the bus



Aug 24, 2012

{this moment}

A beautiful and fun Friday ritual. Inspired by SouleMama.

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. – Amanda Soule


Aug 23, 2012

Old Haunting Grounds

We went out to visit a fellow homeschooler and had a great time.  I have to admit, I am a bit tickled by their British Accent and when the young girl asked if we liked Harry Potter, I might have giggled like a school girl.  She sounded like she just stepped off the set of the movie. 

They are such a sweet family, warm, welcoming, friendly and fun.  We had a fabulous time.  I hope we get to do it again.

Afterwards, on our way home, we stopped into a mall that was nearby.  We used to spend quite a bit of time there and it was fun to walk around and see how many ways it had changed and how many ways it was the same.  I felt like a tourist at a museum pointed out where that store over there used to be and how that one there is new.  It was truly fun. 

And you all know me, you know that I have pics to share when I get them off the camera.

Wednesday Weigh-in (on Thursday LOL)

I guess I forgot to post my weigh-in this week!  I lost 3.6 lbs this week for a total of 17.2 in the last three weeks.  I am happy with the momentum.  I hope I can keep it up.  I had a cheat day yesterday and I felt so miserable afterwards that I don't think I will be doing that again next week.  Apparently my belly isn't used to big meals anymore.

Aug 21, 2012

Tuesday Tidbits

  • My weigh-in is tomorrow.  I hope I do well.  I am working hard to get fit and to win this contest!
  • My baby boy sleeps unswaddled now.  The first time I saw him sleeping with his little arms out from under a blanket, he looks so much like a big boy and not a tiny baby, it made me cry.
  • I also cried the first time I had to put away diapers because they didn't fit him anymore.
  • I bought the cutest little animal print cloth diapers yesterday and I love that they are so soft!
  • I am looking forward to getting back into homeschooling again. 

Aug 20, 2012

Eleven Years

Prince Charming and I have been married eleven years now. Our anniversary was just a few days ago. It amazes me that after all this time, we still have things to say to each other. He is the one I call when I have something to share, when I am out and bored riding on a bus. It still takes us at least 2 hours to watch a 1 hour show because we pause the show so many times to chat. I miss him when we spend too many days busy and have no time to connect at the end of the day. Eleven years and he truly is my partner in life.

Aug 19, 2012

Fun days

We have had a fun weekend! We spent the day yesterday at the local farmers market and I had so much fun picking out fresh veggies and discovering new ones (like cousa! Let me know if you have heard of it and what you like to do with it!). It is so nice to have the kids out and treat them to silly things like balloons and kettle korn Today we went to a community BBQ. The best thing about most of the events for kids here in town is that they are FREE!! I love to get to take all the kids out, have fun and not spend a fortune. After that we went to buy some school supplies. Even though we homeschool, I like to take advantage of the sales and get them some goodies. I am even giving them backpacks and lunch boxes. I will give them their backpacks with some new supplies on our first day of homeschool and some days I will treat them with lunch box lunches just for the fun of it. I got some pics I will share later!

Aug 18, 2012

Don't these sound yummy??

Here are two recipes that I can't wait to try!

Zucchini Pasta with Creamy Basil Sauce
Serves 2

FOR THE PASTA
2 medium zuchinni
1 cup cherry, grape or baby heirloom tomatoes halved
1 avocado

FOR THE SAUCE
½ cup basil
2 cloves garlic sliced
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, optional*
¼ cup water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

*Nutritional yeast can be found in most health food stores.

1. Using a julienne or vegetable peeler, peel the zucchini into “noodles” and set aside.

2. In a Vitamix or high-speed blender combine basil and lemon juice until basil is thoroughly ground.

3. Add the avocado, garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, water, and sea salt and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Toss the zucchini noodles with the sauce until thoroughly coated.

5. Top with sliced cherry tomatoes and a few basil leaves and serve immediately.


The Best Way to Cook Zucchini and Carrots

1. Preheat oven to 220 C/425 F

2. Cut your veg into 8-cm/3-inch sticks, making sure they are even in thickness.

3. Line a baking tray with baking paper and a light layer of olive oil.

4. SEASON – go with the usual salt&pepper and branch out to one or two of the following (Choose Your Own Adventure-style): paprika, cumin, cayenne, crushed red peppers, thyme, rosemary, sage – really, whatever takes your fancy and suits your meal. Using premixed spice blends is a great option too – Italian, Mexican, Old Bay – you know, just not all at once.

(Today I used salt&pepper + smokey paprika and crushed red peppers.)

Lightly toss your vegetable batons with a tablespoon or so of olive oil (not too much) and the herbs and spices.

5. Spread your seasoned veg over your lined tray and roast, tossing halfway through, for about 20 minutes or until golden and slightly browned at the edges.

The Saturday PhotoHunt * Can *

The theme this week is  * Can *.  My take on it is, "Yes I can!"  So here is a pic of my Little Prince, all proud of himself because he CAN roll over! And here is a pic of Princess Maggie showing that if she works hard, she CAN climb up the jungle gym.








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