I lost :(

10 lbs :) !! Now I just want to lose 30 more, but I'd be happy with 20.

Knocking me down from my high was a little brat on the girls' bus. Someone told Apani that I was the fattest mom in the universe. Nice, huh? Kids are mean! I don't know why it bothers me so much. I told her his mom is probably really, REALLY fat so he was just jealous. Then I told her to tell him that I'm "so fat" because I eat children so he better be careful!

I really love this diet, I wasn't even trying to lose weight, just change my eating habbits.

Here's a recipe for ya... One of my favorites. Seriously, fireworks went off as I ate it. It wasn't supposed to be a wrap, but it'll add great texture.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cans no-salt added black beans
1 avocado
3/4 green bell pepper
3 scallions, chopped
1/3 cup fresh cilantro (I used a whole bunch, because I love cilantro)
2 Tablespoons lime juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup mild low-sodium salsa (he has a salsa recipe that is by far the best I've ever made)
8 large romaine lettuce leaves

DIRECTIONS:

Drain and rinse beans. Mash beans and avacado in a bowl, then mix all ingredients except lettuce. Use lettuce as tortillas and place about 1/4 cup of the bean mix in to the center of each lettuce leaf.

And there you have it. Soo good. I recommend the book, just as a recipe book if nothing else, most of what I've tried has been awesome. You want Book II.

Naughty Words

Abby asks me this morning, "Mommy? Why does Daddy say naughty words? Is he on Lucifer's side?"

Seriously...SOOO yummy

And I can't get enough. For those of you, not on facebook...Have you ever seen one more delicious?















Other yummy things, Trader Joe's Strawberry Licorice, just ask Maddy. (I think it's actually Darrel Lea, but it tastes different in the bag than the box at TJs)


Kaitlyn finally lost that tooth. Yay! She was looking too much like a child of "Cletus" You know that slack jawed yokel? But that tooth fairy forgot 2 nights in a row to stop by. Oops!

My new diet

I would LOVE to lose weight. But that's not why I'm on a diet. I want to eat healthier. It's not that I eat poorly, I just don't get enough fruits and veggies.

My mother found this book by Dr Fuhrman. She said it sounded interesting and wanted me to do it with her. I thought, why not?

It's almost a vegetarian diet. You're supposed to stay away from animal bi products as much as possible. You are allowed 2 servings of meat a week, chicken, turkey, and fish. I haven't seen beef or pork yet, I don't think it's "allowed". No dairy, soy cheese is ok, nut milks. Fat should come from nuts.

I love it! It's been so much fun. One of the books is basically daily meal plans and recipes. It has 4 phases. The first week was amazing. The recipes were delicious! I couldn't believe how good the food was. Every day I would look at the menu and think, ugh, this doesn't sound good, but make it anyway. Each time I was surprised. But we seem to have hit a slump. The past few days, the recipes have been only ok. I'm hoping to get some yummy ones again.

The diet has taken a toll on my body. I'm not used to eating so much vegetables. I've had some bad stomach cramps, bloating, and GAS. Oh my goodness, the gas! haha! It's terrible. Gas is common, the Dr recommends cutting down on the veggies and slowly ease into the diet. So yea, my body is still adjusting. I feel great otherwise.

I start the day with a smoothie, lunch is raw vegetables and a wrap or sandwich, big salad, or soup of some sort. Before dinner every night, I eat a large salad with homemade gourmet dressings and whatever is on his list for that night. He even has desserts which I have yet to make, I'm never hungry enough. I feel full and satisfied that I don't need it.

I'm learning about lots of things I never knew I liked, no LOVED. ... like dates, mmm coconut rolled dates. Roasted eggplant! I've always loved eggplant, but simply tossing it in the oven with a tiny amount of olive oil is heaven!

The only negative thing I can say about this diet is that it involves a lot of work...cutting lots of vegetables takes time. But the dressings, nut butter spreads, and meals, make plenty for leftovers. So all the work from one day pays off for the next and sometimes more.

I'm not perfect, I still have a jar of chocolate covered edamame to snack on should I need a quick fix, but hey, it's better than other things I could be snacking on. Edamame is good for you and so is dark chocolate!

I highly recommend the books, very interesting...

Kaitlyn today

Kaitlyn was working on her homework when she asked, "Is a sentence a period or a question mark?"
Me, "You use a period for a sentence."
K, "OK."
Me, "Let's see what you're doing." Reading her questions aloud. "Are Bear and Mouse friends?"
K, "Yes."
Me reading the next question, "How do you know Bear and Mouse are friends?"
K, "Because I read the book."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I know I yell a lot...much more than I want to. It's a daily struggle and every night I go to bed with guilt and pray for a better day tomorrow. Well, just a day or two ago, a friend posted something on just that, her same struggle. This afternoon, Kaitlyn came up to me and said, "Mom, you need to sit down right here and say, Dear Lord, I'm sorry I'm always yelling at my children." Then, she started laughing. I'm glad she found some humor in it, but my sweet Kaitlyn, I do all the time. I am very sorry.

Homemade Play Dough

I look this recipe up a lot and looks like another snow day is coming. Rather than bookmarking it ...

Uncooked Play Dough

2 cups of plain flour
4 tablespoons of 'cream of tartar'
2 tablespoons of cooking oil
1 cup of salt
2 cups of boiling water
Peppermint/Orange/Vanilla... Extract
food coloring or glitter

Just throw it all together and mix! Store in air tight container in the fridge.

Dessert for Dinner

We are going through another dinner slump. More than not, the girls ate pasta last week for dinner. (They don't know the veggies I've pureed for Daisy are snuck in there.)

Tonight, I think we'll pass on the pasta. Let's have chocolate pudding! Seriously. Check out this recipe.

1/3 c lentils, rinsed
1/2 bunch kale, destemmed and torn to bite size pieces
1 small butternut squash, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 small beet, peeled and quartered
1/2 c broccoli florets
1 small zucchini, chopped
1/4 c raisins
1/4 c dates, chopped
1/4 c raw cashews
15 pitted dates
1 1/2 T cocoa powder
1 t vanilla
1/3 c soy milk
2.5 ounces organic baby spinach
1/2 T maple syrup (optional)

In a large pot, simmer first 9 ingredients, covered, with 4 cups water for 45 min...til tender. Remove beets, set aside.

Remove 2 cups of veggies. place in high powered blender til smooth. Add everything except beets, mix to a smooth pudding consistency. Add beets 1/4 at a time til desired pudding color is achieved. Place in cups and chill. Serves 6.

So you're telling me there's a chance ...

Post bath tub ...



CURLY MOHAWK or is it mowhawk?! HAHAHAHA!!



She wasn't cooperating for the camera, I guess I really shouldn't be expecting too much from a 6 month-old anyway. Don't get too excited, it slowly straightened out and with an hour or two it was straight.

Daisy at 6 months

Not much is changing over here, she still has the biggest (chewy and oh-so-yummy) cheeks and STRAIGHT hair!

She's getting better at grabbing things and is quite selfish actually...She "walks" around with her arms outstretched and like a venus fly trap, she grabs whatever she can as if everything is hers for the taking.

This is a rare site, especially over the past 2 weeeks when everyone was home for Christmas vacation.








That toothless grin is becoming a thing of the past. She even bit me the other day. Not only is she selfish, but she's ungrateful!



That's the best curl she could make. At least she tried.





Four kids in one picture?? This is the best we could do.