My top 5 recipes these last 3 weeks

So if you don't live here in Lancaster you may not know that I am back on "the abs diet for women" from menshealth magazine.Yes almost ALL of Lancaster knows, just kidding, but all my friends here do. CUZ I have been complaining...

But not anymore!

It all started when I purchased the book after christmas. I started it shortly after and was on it for two months. I was picking and choosing which recipes and snacks I wanted and I was working out 3 days a week. I took my measurements at the beginning and then each Friday. I was losing inches which was encouraging but not losing lbs. I know you might say "muscle weighs more than fat, so that's prob what was happening". But no, you don't start gaining muscle weight till you have burned off most of your fat. Which I hadn't. So I gave up!

I went on a trip and didn't stick to my healthy choices and I quit. This time around Josiah offered to plan, shop, and cook my meals and prep my snacks for me. He knew that taking care of the kids and cooking for them I just end up eating what they eat and grabbing "quick" not healthy. And I don't cook something healthy for myself. So I took him up on the offer and am in the middle of my third week. I have lost 5 pounds and lost 1 1/2 inches in my waist along with more in other places.

It's actually exciting. My goal is to get back to my pre knee surgery weight before we move to India sometime in the fall. But the bigger goal is to be toned and in a habit of eating healthy and small meals. If the saying is true that it takes 21 days to make a habit then I am almost there in the eating small meals and healthy options.

These are my Favorite 5 dinner recipes so far, (not as fun without pictures, but you will just have to take my word for it):

1. Shrimp to nuts
2.Chicken little Italy
3. The orange and gold
4.easy cheesy
5. Italian Chowin

and my top 3 lunches:

1.guilt free BLT
2.Guac and roll
3. hot tuna

and my fav salads:

1.Crunch time
2. pimp my shrimp
3. popeye and olive oil

Not me!

I certainly didn't complain when my hubby, who has been making me 3 meals a day and 3 snacks a day for two weeks now, made me breakfast, that it wasn't big enough nor yummy enough and without my coffee. Not me I am completely grateful that he is SO dedicated to helping me stick to the Abs Diet for Women so I can look the way that I want.

When I picked my kids up from the gym and my son told me he had snot running into his mouth I totally did NOT use the inside of his shirt to wipe it off then have to confess to the childcare worker when she came over with a tissue to find the snot gone. Nor would I respond " hey!I am washing the shirt anyway!"

And I would never be caught dead wearing my grey sweatpants that have a hole in the rear to the gym because I would rather be comfortable than care if people at the gym saw my undies...( they are white today, they would blend in right?). I have much more class than that!

My oldest

Today we went on a family walk out in Lancatser city for about a mile. Josiah wore Vange in the backpack, and held Malachi's hand. Arwyn wanted to hold my hand. I made a heart note to soak this in.

Lately parenting has been challenging. With both of them. Lots of disobediance, laughter in the face of discipline, physically fighting (knowing that hitting and pushing etc. is something that is not acceptable) and worst of all lying. So coming across a moment where she is glad to be with me is rare.

I loved holding her hand. I can't believe she is going to be 5 soon! I just recently trimmed her hair to cut back on our night time screams of brushing out tangles. But in doing so I think I chopped the last of the curls off her head! So sad! Something so simple made her look so grown up.

This evening while Josiah was gone I spent about 3 hours just looking through this blog from back when I started it in in 2005! I loved reading the stunts they pulled, the personality that was captured in the pictures and the things they said. This would be my favorite Arwynism. But this is the one that made me laugh the most. I saw pictures (here the title should have been " a little preview") of her all dressed up just like she does now, she has just gotten more stuff to put on.

I miss when she was just a little chunk and I could carry her around. Now my cuddling moments are few and far between. That is why I cuddle with Vange every chance I get. Maybe that's why the baby is the baby. And why everyone can recognize that they are. I will take any cuddling that I can get, usually after nap when she needs to defog from her grump cloud she will climb up in my lap.

Now she gets to do things like, help me change diapers, and cook and go with me to help throw baby showers like below. Sometimes I need a "life" remote so I can pause and rewind and Fast forward as I want.

"Not Me" Monday

I have been reading my friend Mindy's "not me monday's" for awhile now and I just clicked over to the one who started it all, MckMama, to read how they started and hear more things that "weren't" done. I like the ethos behind it and decided to start my own in full support of diving off any pedastol.

This blog carnival was started by MckMama and you can read what she and others DIDN'T do this last week right here.

I certainly didn't bake home made granola bars with A and M after there nap while I am on the "Abs Diet for Women" drooling as we went. And if you were standing in my kitchen you would not have seen me dipping my finger in the bowl before bake time, because yummy granola dough is not on the menu today. So of course I didn't give half of the granola bars away to my neighbors after being told by my husband that they needed to get out of the house. Not me, I have more self control than you could dream of!

At dinner I didn't send M to go wash his hands to have him come down 5 minutes later completely NAKED to the dinner table. Not him, he listens all the time!

Just before bedtime I definately didn't hear my daughter say " mommy we need to brush our teeth or they will rot!", ( because I didn't forget) and I soooo didn't think , "oh, lets skip it tonight I just want to get you in bed". Not me, we complete All the Hygenic steps before bed every night that they get in bed ON TIME.

Malachi-ism

Arwyn: Malachi, why are you doing that?
Malachi: BECAUSE, I'm a man! Thats why.

Arwyn: look at that green car Malachi
Malachi: Arwyn that is clearly not green.

Talking with Aunt J on the phone:
Malachi: Hi aunt J,
I have skin on my knee,
I'm eating hot dog and, and, this stuff,
we just blew bubbles from my guitar,
sissy is laughing at me,
I can pee like a daddy,
Arwyn has my balloon,
I bit my toenail too short,
bye now.

Hike Part 2

Nap.

We have these pink trees (cherry blossems) all over the place! I love them!

Day Hike at Central Park

One of my goals before we leave is to go on 5 more day hikes in the surrounding areas here in PA, this was teh first.

Just resting

Josiah decided to lay her on her tummy over his knee, and she just chilled there for 5 minutes.

But proved to be very ticklish on her back.

Evangeline is 8 months old now (about a week ago)
She sits up
LOVES food, REAL food ...not baby food.
Can pick it up all on her own, and pushes my hand out of the way
so that she can grab it and put it in her mouth.
Yells Mama & whispers Dada
has two teeth.
Might match her brother in the HAM department
In fact, she is his biggest fan when putting on comedian acts
She loves to be held, taken outside
grab and eat grass (unlike her sister)
Can sign "MORE"
and doesn't stop.

Park Day

Worms and teeth

Are they still living?

can you see them? there's two.

Bath in the Sink

What does a not crawling, almost 8 month old, get to do when the older sibs are playing with worms in the backyard? Take a nice long bath in the kitchen sink where mama can work around her in the kitchen and watch the kids from out the window. Awe! A perfect morning!