I've been hiding for the last 2 weeks...enjoying the family and getting a lot done around the house. I've also been purposely staying away from the blog because there was a secret running around the house that I wasn't sure I could contain if I got anywhere near the blog.
I've been fighting with WW and suspected something was up, and then an old friend didn't show up. So here it is: I'm pregnant. *laughs* I'm happy, Dean's warming up to the idea, and Poppa just wants a boy. All we want is a healthy baby, but if it happens to be a girl that would be great because I've a lot of clothes for a girl. ;)
It's really funny because every time Dean gets a raise or I lose weight I end up pregnant. His first words to me after getting that promotion were, "I hope you're not pregnant". That just might have tempted fate a bit too much. ;)
27 May 2008
17 May 2008
Some of my favorite recipes
By request, I am going to share a couple of my family's favorite WW-friendly recipes. These are in constant rotation in our house and are very filling and point friendly. I have a family of 4 and these two recipes usually have enough left over for lunch the next day.
Vegetable rice skillet
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
2 medium carrots, sliced
1-1/2 cups cauliflowerets
1-1/2 cups brocoli florets
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon pepper
In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook onion in butter until tender. Add carrots; cook 5 minutes longer. Stir in cauliflower, brocoli, rice, and garlic. Add broth; bring mixture to a boil.
Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or rice is tender. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese, parsley, salt, and lemon pepper.
Serving size: 3/4 cup
164 calories, 5 g fat, 2 g fiber, and 7 g protein.
Inside-out Cabbage Rolls
1 pound lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1 small head cabbage, chopped
1 can (10 ounces) mild rotel
1 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
Cook the beef, onion, and green pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
Stir in the cabbage, tomatoes, broth, and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until cabbage is tender, stirring occasionally.
Stir in rice; heat through. Remove from the heat. Sprinkle with cheese; cover and let stand until cheese is melted.
Serving size: 1-1/3 cups
244 calories, 8 g fat, 5 g fiber, 21 g protein
Vegetable rice skillet
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
2 medium carrots, sliced
1-1/2 cups cauliflowerets
1-1/2 cups brocoli florets
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon pepper
In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook onion in butter until tender. Add carrots; cook 5 minutes longer. Stir in cauliflower, brocoli, rice, and garlic. Add broth; bring mixture to a boil.
Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or rice is tender. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese, parsley, salt, and lemon pepper.
Serving size: 3/4 cup
164 calories, 5 g fat, 2 g fiber, and 7 g protein.
Inside-out Cabbage Rolls
1 pound lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1 small head cabbage, chopped
1 can (10 ounces) mild rotel
1 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
Cook the beef, onion, and green pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
Stir in the cabbage, tomatoes, broth, and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until cabbage is tender, stirring occasionally.
Stir in rice; heat through. Remove from the heat. Sprinkle with cheese; cover and let stand until cheese is melted.
Serving size: 1-1/3 cups
244 calories, 8 g fat, 5 g fiber, 21 g protein
13 May 2008
Claudia Puts on a Show
This weekend Claudia was in full-out comedian mode. It started Friday night. I hear her coming out of her room and down the hall screaming bloody murder. "Mommy, Nadine, help, HELP, it's CHASING MEEEEEE!!!!!!" I jump up ready to kill something and here she comes running with the string for her balloon in her hand. I tell her, "Baby, just let go of the string". She does, watches the balloon float away a bit with a look of awe on her face, and then says "You SAVED me, MOMMA!" I worry about that child...
Apparently that was the warm up for Sunday. It's Mother's Day, and Nadine is doing her best to make Claudia mad. Nadine is lying on the couch watching TV under a blanket Grandma gave her, and she's throwing a fit and kicking at Claudia because Claudia's sitting on "her" couch. After a few minutes, Claudia walks up the couch standing on the blanket so Nadine can't move, pulls her panties off (this is when I look up), squats, and PEES all over Nadine and the blanket. I probably would have given her a hell of a spanking if I could have breathed. I was laughing so hard I couldn't do anything else. I've been telling Nadine to be nice to Claudia because pretty soon Claudia will get payback and it won't be fun...maybe she understands now?
As for other updates, I lost 1.6 pounds at weigh in yesterday. A good bit of that was likely due to the stomach bug Nadine also gave me for Mother's Day.
A girl named Sharon I've made friends with at school missed her exam yesterday...her husband works in the oilfield and something fell on him. He has a broken back, every one of his ribs is broken, punctured a lung, and in the words of the orthopedic surgeon his shoulders are destroyed. She had left a message at Co-Lin about what was going on (he's at UMMC in Jackson), but she emailed a fellow student as a backup to make sure Bullen knew what was going on. She's since ended up in the hospital there for panic attacks. I saw her last Monday and she was celebrating her acceptance to Alcorn School of Nursing. It's scary how fast things change and how easy it is to get hurt in the oilfield. Her husband was on a drilling rig, and Dean's on a production rig which makes it a little safer, but it still hits home when other bit of "oilfield trash" (as they call themselves) gets hurt.
Apparently that was the warm up for Sunday. It's Mother's Day, and Nadine is doing her best to make Claudia mad. Nadine is lying on the couch watching TV under a blanket Grandma gave her, and she's throwing a fit and kicking at Claudia because Claudia's sitting on "her" couch. After a few minutes, Claudia walks up the couch standing on the blanket so Nadine can't move, pulls her panties off (this is when I look up), squats, and PEES all over Nadine and the blanket. I probably would have given her a hell of a spanking if I could have breathed. I was laughing so hard I couldn't do anything else. I've been telling Nadine to be nice to Claudia because pretty soon Claudia will get payback and it won't be fun...maybe she understands now?
As for other updates, I lost 1.6 pounds at weigh in yesterday. A good bit of that was likely due to the stomach bug Nadine also gave me for Mother's Day.
A girl named Sharon I've made friends with at school missed her exam yesterday...her husband works in the oilfield and something fell on him. He has a broken back, every one of his ribs is broken, punctured a lung, and in the words of the orthopedic surgeon his shoulders are destroyed. She had left a message at Co-Lin about what was going on (he's at UMMC in Jackson), but she emailed a fellow student as a backup to make sure Bullen knew what was going on. She's since ended up in the hospital there for panic attacks. I saw her last Monday and she was celebrating her acceptance to Alcorn School of Nursing. It's scary how fast things change and how easy it is to get hurt in the oilfield. Her husband was on a drilling rig, and Dean's on a production rig which makes it a little safer, but it still hits home when other bit of "oilfield trash" (as they call themselves) gets hurt.
10 May 2008
The Girls Pick Momma's Clothes....
I got a great present from the girls for Mother's Day; took them to Walmart to pick me something out for me because Nadine knew Mother's Day was tomorrow thanks to Sprout. Dean's got something already for me but Nadine was freaking out that she didn't have a gift. I love that little monkey. So she decides she wants to buy me a necklace but doesn't find anything she likes. Next she decides she's gonna buy me a shirt (I guess she's been overhearing me say I need some clothes, lol). We go and pick a few things up and go to the dressing rooms to try them on. Nadine picks this turquouise and white floral shirt that I would never pick for myself. It's very girly. I tried it on to make her happy and that was it. It was gorgeous and I fell in love with it. The best part was that it was also TOO BIG! YAY! I had to buy 1X (16) in the blouses.
Funny little polar opposites that they are, the girls could NOT agree on which blouse they wanted to get me, so selfish mommy decided each of the girls could buy me a shirt...ROFL. It IS Mother's Day, after all, right? The one Claudia got me was very pretty. I have no idea even how to describe it. It is definitely very colorful and very girly. It even has *gasp* lace on it. I love it, but I wouldn't have even picked it up if it weren't for the girls insisting I try it on. I might have even pointed and laughed at it. Maybe I should let them pick my clothes more often...
Funny little polar opposites that they are, the girls could NOT agree on which blouse they wanted to get me, so selfish mommy decided each of the girls could buy me a shirt...ROFL. It IS Mother's Day, after all, right? The one Claudia got me was very pretty. I have no idea even how to describe it. It is definitely very colorful and very girly. It even has *gasp* lace on it. I love it, but I wouldn't have even picked it up if it weren't for the girls insisting I try it on. I might have even pointed and laughed at it. Maybe I should let them pick my clothes more often...
07 May 2008
Super Good News!
Dean found out today that he has been promoted to lead operator on the opposite hitch! This of course means more money (which is definitely a wonderful thing with prices soaring the way they have), but it also means that the next time he goes out he'll be out for 28 days. It's hard on the family for him to be gone that long but even harder on him. He's basically stuck on a floating prison for a month. Luckily school is out and I'm not taking summer courses.
We're both a bit in shock right now...
We're both a bit in shock right now...
05 May 2008
Aristotle lights me up and the girls impress at Subway
I lost 1 pound this week, which I consider a blessing because everything conspired against me this week. I managed only 18 APs (I planned for 35) because I strained a muscle in my right back and gluteus. I haven't been doing much of anything since then. It's difficult to stand long enough to cook anything that isn't instant. We've had Subway and Pizza Hut because I couldn't stand but I could drive.
When I input my weight I got a great quote by Aristotle from the Weight Tracker: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit." It reminded me not to worry so much about that number on the scale. The weight will come off as long as I'm habitually doing the things that make the Weight Watchers plan work. I'm a perfectionist about some things to the extreme. When I have a gain or skip a workout or eat something that isn't too great, I usually have a hard time just letting it go with "I'll do better next time". This perfectionist streak has been the downfall of many of my goals, not just the weight-loss ones. It applies academically, to parenting...I just had a lightbulb moment courtesy of Weight Watchers and Aristotle.
If you've never heard a 2-year old say "Angelina Ballerina", it's something to behold. Claudia's verbal skills are starting to scare me...we're starting to have conversations Nadine and I didn't until recently. *cue twilight zone music* She's a quirky little bundle of giggles who has no fear of making a mistake.
On one of those trips to Subway, we were in line behind a disabled woman in a power wheelchair. Claudia walked right up to her and started playing peep eye and chatting her up. Nadine let Claudia test the waters (as always) and then jumped in, too. I could tell the woman was eating up the attention. As she was paying for her food, she told me that it was rare for children to play with her in that manner without regard for her wheelchair and that she enjoyed the attention from the girls. She then complimented ME for their behavior, but it really has nothing to do with anything I've done as a parent. The girls had never seen someone in a wheelchair like hers or disabled to the point that this lady was. I never had the opportunity for a teachable moment such as that, and yet my girls passed with flying colors. It makes me even more proud as a mother that they did this on their own without any guidance, that it's just a part of who they are to take people at face value...
When I input my weight I got a great quote by Aristotle from the Weight Tracker: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit." It reminded me not to worry so much about that number on the scale. The weight will come off as long as I'm habitually doing the things that make the Weight Watchers plan work. I'm a perfectionist about some things to the extreme. When I have a gain or skip a workout or eat something that isn't too great, I usually have a hard time just letting it go with "I'll do better next time". This perfectionist streak has been the downfall of many of my goals, not just the weight-loss ones. It applies academically, to parenting...I just had a lightbulb moment courtesy of Weight Watchers and Aristotle.
If you've never heard a 2-year old say "Angelina Ballerina", it's something to behold. Claudia's verbal skills are starting to scare me...we're starting to have conversations Nadine and I didn't until recently. *cue twilight zone music* She's a quirky little bundle of giggles who has no fear of making a mistake.
On one of those trips to Subway, we were in line behind a disabled woman in a power wheelchair. Claudia walked right up to her and started playing peep eye and chatting her up. Nadine let Claudia test the waters (as always) and then jumped in, too. I could tell the woman was eating up the attention. As she was paying for her food, she told me that it was rare for children to play with her in that manner without regard for her wheelchair and that she enjoyed the attention from the girls. She then complimented ME for their behavior, but it really has nothing to do with anything I've done as a parent. The girls had never seen someone in a wheelchair like hers or disabled to the point that this lady was. I never had the opportunity for a teachable moment such as that, and yet my girls passed with flying colors. It makes me even more proud as a mother that they did this on their own without any guidance, that it's just a part of who they are to take people at face value...
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