Category Archives: activities

Weight a Minute…that Can’t be Right

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I like…chicken flautas, chips and queso, chocolate, ice cream, cake, pizza, … and sadly that’s what I’ve been eating for the last 10 weeks. I got extremely lackadaisical when it came to my eating. If I thought about it, I ate it. What, no veggie today? Who cares! Pizza for dinner! That’s got green peppers and onions, right? Bound to be the 6 daily servings I need.

Sadly, my carelessness and poor eating choices have gotten me into trouble. I weighed myself a few days ago at the gym and was so very disappointed to find out I weighed 12 lbs more than when I got pregnant. Two more lbs than 8 weeks ago. The initial deal I made with myself was to eat whatever for 2 weeks and give into the grief – eat, eat ,and eat. Well, 2 weeks turned into 3 weeks which turned into 4 weeks. Now that I’m on week 10 I’m ready to tackle this issue.

I have always been a physically fit person so this is not where I want to be right now. I have a few motivating factors although the biggest one is not fitting into my clothes.

So I’ve taken steps. For the past week I’ve altered my eating to be much more aware and conscious of it. Here are my rules: 1. drink more water,     2. eat bread (tortillas, sandwich bread, buns, biscuits, pretzels) only once a day,  3. exercise when I can (three times this week),     & 4. nothing to eat after dinner.

I wanted to give myself some leeway since going cold turkey on most foods would lead straight to cheating. For example, for Mother’s Day we ate at a Mexican restaurant where I ate chips and enchiladas (my only bread for the day).  The following day I ate ice cream when Andrew’s team celebrated a baseball win (I did not have dessert for 5 days leading up to this).

I’m posting this after one week and here’s my progress….

I have lost 1.9 pounds so far. While I would have liked to see a 12 pound loss (um, probably not) I’m happy with the progress.

Since I initially weighed in with my shoes on, I thought about giving myself a boost of confidence for the weigh in by only wearing my bra and underwear.  I finally nixed that idea since the scale is located in the middle of the weight room. Could be just a tad awkward for the other gym members.

Perhaps my tennis shoes really weigh 8 lbs & I haven’t dug myself quite as big of a hole as I think:)

Do you have any goals you’re working on?

Just Say No

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Never say yes to your children. Whatever it may be. Just say no.

I should have followed my own advice on Monday night.

Typically Mondays are crazy nights for us. We usually have several activities going on at the same time. Because of rain on Sunday night, our field activities were cancelled leaving about an hour of playtime we typically don’t have. The boys begged to go outside and ride bikes.

I looked at my watch, calculated there would be 45 minutes of bike time, 15 minutes for dinner, and then we would be off  to Andrew’s music class.

Before going out I placed frozen meatballs on a cookie sheet and some marinara sauce in a pot. Quick and easy meatball subs for dinner was the plan.

All 3 kids rode bikes up and down our street for 30 minutes.

Caroline and I were in the garage when Alex rode in.

“Mom, I need a styrofoam ball for school tomorrow.”

“What? Why?”

“We’re making the sun and I need to bring in the ball for my group.”

“How long have you known about this?” my voice getting loud

“Just today.”

“I don’t think so. A teacher’s not going to ask you to bring in a styrofoam ball with 1 days notice.”

“My group just decided today that we were going to make the sun.”

“What’s everyone else in the group bringing?” my voice getting louder

“Lucy is bringing paint pens and Hoyt is bringing a picture of the sun.”

“Why are you bringing the styrofoam ball? When did you plan on getting this? Why didn’t you tell me about this when you first came home from school.” my voice getting even louder

“I don’t know.”

I grab the phone and call my husband. In an extremely irritated voice I say, “Your son needs a styrofoam ball for school tomorrow. Can you go by the craft store on your way home? Here talk to him. I am so annoyed.”

They discuss the situation while I calm down.

I decided to start dinner so I gathered the kids and tell them to stay in the garage. “Get off your bikes and stand here. I just need to go in and put the tray of meatballs into the oven. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay mom.” Also known as,  “We haven’t heard a thing you’ve said. Nor do we care.”

I walked into the house, into the kitchen, grabbed the tray of meatballs, and put them in the oven. I was turning around to walk back outside, when Andrew came in running, “Mom, Caroline is crying and her chin is bleeding.”

In disbelief I say, “What? How did she get hurt?”

Alex (walking in calmly while his sister can be heard screaming in the background), “I was pushing her on her bike and she turned the handle bar quickly and fell off.”

I quickly think to myself – 1. she’s not supposed to be on a bike, and 2. you are not supposed to be pushing her!

I grab Caroline and inspect her chin. There is quit a bit of blood and I can see she’s got a gash. I quickly way the pros and cons of taking her to the hospital – on one hand the hospital visit will be expensive but on the other hand I don’t think she will especially enjoy looking like a turkey when she’s older.

I grab a bag of ice, throw everyone in the car,  and call Derek. “We’re on our way to the hospital, meet us there.”

After arriving at the hospital I must retell the story of how Caroline hurt her chin probably fifteen times. Each time I try to emphasize certain parts of the story to lessen the chances that CPS will make a visit to my house – I was inside the house when she fell off her bike BUT SHE HAD A HELMET ON. I don’t know if she hit her head on the concrete BUT SHE HAD A HELMET ON.

I think I managed to evade a home visit but just barely.

Turns out Caroline only needed a band aid on her chin. I can’t wait to get the bill for that band aid.

While waiting to be discharged Derek mentions he got a styrofoam ball. With his hands, he   demonstrates it’s about the size of a baseball.

I look at Alex. Alex looks at me then turns to Derek, “But it has to be bigger. It’s supposed to be the sun.”

Now it’s Derek’s turn for his voice to get louder. “You didn’t tell me it had to be big.”

“Daaaaaaaaaaaaad, it’s for the sun. The sun is huge,” whines Alex.

So after taking a post hospital trip to the craft store for a $15 styrofoam ball, we went home, ate cereal, and put the kids to bed.

Oh, and I threw the bikes in the trash.

At least I wanted to.

E’sta

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Last weekend I took Caroline and Andrew to our neighborhood Easter egg hunt. Derek and Alex were off at a soccer game so they missed out. As you can see, Caroline and Andrew were deeply disappointed to miss the soccer game.

Caroline is wearing her “e-sta wabbit dess” my mom gave her and Andrew is wearing a shirt from Aunt Kelly. Thanks for the adorable clothes!

She’s wearing her summer hat since it was roughly 90 degrees and sunny.

Andrew was very willing to take a picture with the Easter Bunny. Caroline, not so much.

One of my favorite pictures shows right before the egg hunt began – Caroline and Andrew look like they’re standing at an Easter crime scene…I can see the headline now:       Massive Mob Attacks Rabbit who Placed Fruit in Easter Eggs

After the Easter egg hunt, Caroline & Andrew came home and dumped their baskets on the floor. Caroline was excited to find plastic bracelets in each of her eggs. Andrew was happy with some of his finds – little erasers, spinning tops – but not so happy with some.

I am now the proud owner of 6 pairs of stick on earrings and 2 plastic rings.

Homemade King Cake

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We love King Cake around here.

Every time we have king cake the boys mention to each other, “Mom got king cake at school every week when she was little.” I try to tell them it only occurred during Mardi Gras season but I can’t deter their thoughts of what a pitiful school experience they are having compared to me.

My mom sent us a Randazzo’s king cake for Derek’s birthday. It was devoured in 3 days. The only reason it wasn’t gone faster was because I wouldn’t let them have it for breakfast. Alex “got the baby” in the Randazzo king cake so he knew it was his turn to provide the next cake.

Occasionally, Alex would remind me it was his turn to buy the next king cake . Our neighborhood grocery store was the only place which came to mind for buying a king cake but frankly, they looked quite unappealing to me.

While browsing the magazine section one day in Lowe’s, I started flipping through a Sandra Lee magazine. Behind all of the Valentine treats she was featuring was a small section on Mardi Gras recipes. Gumbo, etouffee, and king cake were listed as well as dirty rice.

While reading I whispered, “Homemade king cake.” Alex was at my side in a second. “Oh, can we try? Can we make that tonight?” Seeing as it was already 4:45 I appeased him by buying the magazine and promising to make the dessert soon.

A few days later, after gathering the supplies, I decided the time was right to make the king cake. We were once again stuck in the house all day due to ice. I was desperate for an activity (and frankly, something sweet) so I told the boys we were celebrating Friday night dessert early because of the weather.

Here’s a picture of our ingredients: 3 cans of cinnamon rolls with icing (we didn’t use the extra one shown here), a plastic baby, and sprinkles. Our sprinkles are not the traditional gold, purple, and green since we used what was in the pantry.

ingredients for king cake1) First we buttered the baking sheet.

2) We unrolled the 3 cans and separated each cinnamon roll.

3) We then formed an oval shape with the rolls. Sandra Lee suggests using 5 cans of cinnamon rolls but I thought that would be a tad gluttonous for us.

4) We baked the cinnamon rolls / king cake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.

5) We waited 15 minutes for it to cool (Next time we’ll try 5-10 minutes) , covered it with the cinnamon roll icing, and then covered with sprinkles.

The finished product!

Considering they each ate the king cake 3 times in 24 hours I’d say it was a big hit. (By the way, Andrew got the baby this time).

What!

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We rarely eat fast food for dinner but I decided the other night was the exception. The boys had 3 activities we needed to be at, all around dinnertime. We drove through McDonald’s on the way to our 2nd and 3rd activities of the night. I decided Caroline and Andrew would eat once we arrived at Alex’s practice but he needed to eat in the car on the way.

Here was my order at the drive through:

I’d like a #13, a 20 piece chicken nugget (yes, all 3 kids polished this off with no leftovers), 3 milks, and 3 small fries.

After receiving the food,  I placed Alex’s food on a tray and handed it back to him.

Andrew immediately wanted to know, “When do Caroline and I get to eat?’

When we get to the lacrosse field I will give you your food.

“What’s my food?”

I got you some chicken nuggets, a small fry, and a milk.

“What!”

What do you mean what. I got you the food you asked for.

“What do you mean I got a small fry?”

I got you a small fry, Alex a small fry, and Caroline a small fry.

“What! That’s all I get for dinner?”

What are you talking about? You have this meal every time we come to McDonald’s. There will be more than enough food for you.

“Why do I only get one small french fry with my meal?”

Ohhhh. No, you get a small bag of fries. With many fries inside the bag.

“Good because I need more than just one fry. I thought you were only giving me one fry. I’m hungrier than that.”

My Very First Giveaway!

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I thought the best way to celebrate my first guest posting was to have my first giveaway. When I told my husband he said, “Wait a minute…shouldn’t we think about this.” I told him to relax and not to worry. It’s not like I was planning on giving away our car or even his flannel pj’s…although on second thought. No, no I’ll stick with the plan.

What I am giving away is one completed coupon box of activity cards.

Activity Card Holder with pencils, eraser, and pencil sharpner.The winner will receive 48 activity cards, 3 pencils, 1 pencil sharpener, and 1 eraser.

In case you are not familiar with my activity coupon box, go here to read about my idea.

Here are the ways you can enter:

1 entry if you make a comment on this post

1 additional entry if you are a follower (leave a comment to let me know)

*You have until Sunday Jan 16 to enter*

Thanks and good luck to everyone!

Sweets for School

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I decided at the last minute to make some treats for the boys to take to school for their friends. Usually they come home from every holiday celebration at school with bags of goodies. There have been cellophane bags filled with miniature puzzles, themed pencils, candy, and even a stuffed animal one year. I never make these goodie bags because I kind of thought they were a waste of money and unnecessary. But I thought…new schools…new traditions.

Since I thought this would be a wonderful project to take on at 9:00 the night before the parties, I went to the pantry a little doubtful. I looked up into our dessert box and found marshmallows and chocolate chips – perfect!

I had seen something in blog world about using marshmallows as ghost  poop during Halloween so I thought I would do something along those lines.

I scooped little handfuls of marshmallows and chocolate chips into plastic bags and tied them off. I attached a note that said,”Enjoy your Texas snow and snowman buttons.”

marshmellows and chocolatesAlex wanted to put “Enjoy your Texas snow and reindeer poop.”

Clever, but I was afraid that wouldn’t go over so well at Andrew’s religious school so we went with the other version.

school giftsNow I say I implemented this plan at 9:00 at night but the thought about doing a treat had occurred earlier in the day. When driving through the car pool line I asked Andrew’s teacher if he could bring something for all of the kids in his classroom. She said sure, “As long as it doesn’t have too many sweets.”

Could she possibly be referring to the large box of Christmas candy I gave her the day before? I choose to think not. But I’m not too sure.

He’s no Rico Suave

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I swim several times a week on a masters swim team. This is also fondly known as old people trying to reclaim their youth while talking about every ailment they have.

I happen to be the oldest person one night a week at one practice. (I assure you the rest of the time I am one of the youngest but this practice is just an anomaly.) For this practice I am surrounded by 20 somethings trying to flirt with one another constantly. Somehow the fact that I have 3 kids turns some of them off.

I go to practice for the exercise but I also go for the drama. There’s lots of it. It’s like I’m watching a live version of As the World Turns.

Jason and Amy, both swimmers, are dating each other. No I’m not using their real names.

Jason is a young guy who struts around the pool with his gold chain around his neck, attitude galore, and little workout suit. Amy is an adorable, blonde, outgoing teacher. Can you tell who’s side I’m on yet?

The two have been dating for about a year. After 4 months of dating Jason moved in with Amy. After 6 months, Amy posted something to this effect on Facebook, “What do you guys think about a roommate who doesn’t pay for anything.” The message was taken down within hours. Apparently Jason had paid for nothing. No food. No electricity. No rent.

They broke up.

They started dating again.

Eventually he wore her down (in my opinion) and she agreed to let him move back in. He apparently was thrilled but then asked her, “Can you come clean my room at my mom’s house? She wants it clean before I leave.”

No friggin’ joke!

They broke up againn.

They started dating again.

He wore her down once again and she let him move in.

Then the other night.

I could tell something was up in the pool when Amy was on deck for a long time talking to our coach and Jason would stop practically every lap. Once she did get in he tried to grab her hands and pull her toward him. Amy wanted nothing of it.

By the way, in case you are wondering. I was not spying. They were in the lane next to me. I had goggles on. I had to see what was going on. Correct freestyle form requires a person to look forward. Glad we got that cleared up.

After practice a couple of us called the coach over where he gladly spilled the beans.

Apparently before practice Jason had told Amy she was getting fat. AND THEN as if it couldn’t get worse. STARTED MAKING OINKING SOUNDS AT HER….FOR A FULL MINUTE.

Just in case you are wondering, Amy is probably 110 pounds on a 5-7 frame. The girl is not fat. He is a moron and hopefully single soon.

I can’t wait for the next practice to find out what happens.