WFD 6/8/2013

Marinaded flank steak and veggie skewers.

No picture of the steak because I thought I took a picture of it, but really my friend S did on her phone, lol.

G ate an entire veggie skewer and the steak.  Easy and delish!

WFD 6/6/2013

You may be wondering what the heck I'm talking about in my post title.  WFD?  What does that stand for?

Whales Fighting Dolphins?

Um, excuse me, can you please move over?

What Fun Dog?

why is this so funny?

Witches Flying Drunk?

for realz.

oooooor, None of the above.

The answer is NONE OF THE ABOVE.  Instead, it's a little acronym that I like to use for the ever popular.... wait for it.....

What's For Dinner?!?!?!?!  

(Did you read that and say it in your head like a game show host?  If you didn't, then please read it again and this time read it with the enthusiasm of a game show host.  Thanx.)

WFD is not to be confused with WFL (What's for lunch?) or WFB (What's for breakfast?  Though I suppose it could be "What's for Brunch" too?)

OK - now that we have an idea of what WFD means, here is what is for dinner in our house tonight.  Nothing very spectacular.  It's a dreary rainy day and I'm just trying to use up miscellaneous food items in the fridge.  

So, yeah.  Nothing fancy.  It's more food than it looks like.  Big plates will do that.   Zweigles hot dog, mustard, roasted broccoli, roasted baby carrots with cinnamon and a leftover salt potato.   Giselle ate an entire hot dog, broccoli, carrots, potato and string cheese, so I guess it was an OK meal for using up what was in the fridge.  :)

What did YOU have for dinner?

Fist Bump for the breast pump

I LOOOOOOOVE that Kristen Bell is most proud of her accessories - her high heels and her breast pump.

Last summer, I was fortunate enough to be asked to be in two weddings!    Giselle was still nursing, so my handy dandy breast pump came with me to 2 bachelorette parties, 2 showers, and 2 weddings.  I pumped in the back of a "limo" on a Prom Dress Wine Tour.  I pumped while riding in a car on the way to and from Boston.  I pumped in a spa in Geneva before getting a manicure.  I pumped in the car (EMX was driving) on the way home from a Dave Matthews Concert. I proudly carried that pump everywhere I went if G wasn't with me.  I totally related to Kristen Bell when I saw this article!

Nursing wasn't easy for us.  It was SEMI easier knowing that it would be difficult though.  When I had Reed, I had no idea how many tears would be shed, only to stop nursing after a week, and then exclusively pumping for 4 more.  Ultimately, I did stop pumping with Reed because my body was just not healing well from birth.  I wasn't enjoying my time home with him, and that was more important to me than getting a few ounces of breast milk here and there.  With Giselle, I made a promise to myself that I could make it 6 weeks.  And then 8 weeks.  And then, what's another 4 weeks?  With the help and support of a lactation consultant (Donna was seriously a Godsend) and my family, slowly I kept pushing my deadline out and ultimately, after 6.5 months of nursing, I did stop.  It definitely took a toll on my body - 3 bouts of mastitis (I've written about that here before), each one worse than the previous, an ER visit before hosting a birthday party, major hair breakage, vitamin D deficiency, and an emotional roller coaster with hormones all over the place.  But I don't regret one second of it.   I feel a very strong emotional bond with Giselle, which I'm thankful for, because with Reed, it felt like it took much longer to have that strong bond.  (Maybe it was the c-section drugs?)

Moral of the story:  I tell every expectant mom the following if the conversation about nursing comes up.  It's HARD.  If you want to stop, stop.  You will feel guilty.  But guess what, you will feel guilty for EVERY decision you make for the rest of your life.  Going back to work?  You'll feel guilty about leaving your child.  Staying home with your child?  You'll feel guilty about not "bringing home the bacon."  There is no right answer. Do what works for you and your family.  Everything will work out just fine.  :)

Sugar and Spice - wait, no sugar? WHAT?

So after a very fun filled weekend that included a Wegmans Avenger cake, a soccer ball cake, chocolate cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies for Reedster's 5th birthday celebrations, I felt it was time for me to start another round of a Sugar Detox.

Before you roll your eyes at yet another blog post on the internet about doing a detox to lose weight - STOP.  Here are a few things that I want to share.

• I'm not doing this to lose weight.  I'm doing this to get me back on the healthy eating train.  The last time I did the detox, I did lose about 5 lbs, but I attribute most of that to losing bloat.  My scale is broken right now so I cannot comment on my start weight right now but I'd imagine that I'm up 2-3 lbs from my lowest, which is when I finished the detox in March. 
• This isn't your "typical" detox, or at least what I thought a detox was before researching this one.  There are no shakes, or weird drinks (lemon water with cayenne - WHAT?) to consume. I'm eating real food, all day, every day - just NOT eating any processed foods and not eating as much fruit as I normally would. 
• I wouldn't recommend doing this type of thing if you haven't already in the past made changes toward a healthier lifestyle.  I think, if you are currently eating mostly or a lot of processed foods, starting with this is setting yourself up for failure.  Thankfully, I began looking more at what I'm consuming 3 years ago, so I've made baby steps toward this type of lifestyle and this wasn't a huge jump for me.  I started with tracking my food intake and exercise using myfitnesspal and a heart rate monitor.  I even continued throughout my entire pregnancy with G.  Laugh if you want, but I attribute my successful VBAC and getting back to pre-pregnancy weight mucho fast to eating healthfully and exercising nonstop!  Yes, I was the crazy prego woman in Booty Bounce the night I went into labor.  WHAT?  I was TRAINING for labor.  Guess what?  It worked!
• This detox REALLY works.  I completed the first round in March.  I had the support of a few people who did the detox with me.  This time, it's just two of us.  The things I noticed after the first round was done?  
• Increased energy.
• WAY improved mood - as in, I felt giddy.  
• Less cravings for sugar filled foods.

So, what DO I eat while on this 21 day sugar detox?  Here are some of the foods I've been eating this week:

(If you follow me on instagram, you can keep up with me.  I'll try to post at least one food picture a day.  My breakfast meals tend to be the same, and my lunches are similar ingredients during the week, so they can get repetitive.)

Breakfast: 2 organic eggs scrambled with organic chicken sausage, diced red bell peppers with some shredded cheddar cheese, coffee - either black, or plain milk or heavy cream

Lunches: Organic romaine lettuce, avocado, baked rosemary balsamic chicken, cherry tomatoes, yellow bell peppers - or today I left out the lettuce and ate some goat cheese with the rest of the ingredients

Dinners this week so far: Greek salad from Wegmans with olive oil and red wine vinegar for dressing, italian sausage link, red peppers, steamed broccoli and roasted cinnamon carrots, zucchini "spaghetti" with organic marinara sauce and leftover sausage and/or chicken 

Snacks: baby carrots or a cut up apple with my fave almond butter, veggies, almonds, pecans, cheese

I'm doing a combination of Level 1 and 2 and since this is my second round, I am being a little more lenient with cheese.  And I'm going to admit right now that I've been asked to do wedding cake taste testing with my middle sis this weekend and you better bet I'll be there.  I just plan on getting back on the detox train right after.  :)

So, is the detox something you would try?  What would be hard to give up?

Happy birthday Reedster!

I had the BEST morning today with my birthday boy.  Way better than the morning 5 years ago spent recovering from an unexpected c-section after a night of labor and 3 hours of pushing.  :)  After a super healthy breakfast of a mickey mouse chocolate chip pancake with syrup, chocolate ice cream and bacon, (eggs benedict for me), we headed to party city to get goodies for his party bags, and then to the mall where we bought him some new sneakers.

I dropped him off at school for some fun with friends and cake for their snack and I kid you not, every single kid yelled, "happy birthday" when we walked in the door.  Reed was in HEAVEN as everyone in his class gave him hugs and I teared up thinking of how grown up my little man is.

Before getting pregnant with Reed, I never really gave much thought to having a son.  Growing up with two sisters, it never really even dawned on me that I would have a boy.  When he was born, my heart was immediately taken by him.  I used to yell at EMX telling him that we had too many matchbox cars, but I often found myself in the car aisle at Target, or even Wegmans looking for cars that we didn't have yet.  I found myself buying 3 matchbox cars at Wegmans just today in fact.  It's a disease apparently.

So tough

We like to make weird faces.  WHAT?  

I know someday Reed won't want to give me hugs and kisses like he does now.  So any time he asks for ONE MORE hug and kiss, I never decline that request.  It won't be long before he's in Kindergarten, riding the school bus, and then going to elementary, middle and then, GULP, high school.

Someday they will hate me for this pic.

So for now, I'm going to enjoy every single hug and kiss from my "baby" boy, every snuggle, every "I love you mommy."  And right THIS second, I'm going to reminisce and look at pictures of Reedster from his early birthdays.  :)

2008

2008

2009

2010

Chelle's Chilly Weather Chili

OK, so it's "Spring."  But it's still freezing outside, so I figured I'd share my favorite chili recipe with you.  My "recipe" does change from time to time, but the basics are easy and you can substitute ingredients as you like.  My family doesn't like super spicy chili, so I stick to bell peppers, but you could certainly add some heat by adding jalapeno peppers to this!

Chelle’s Chilly Weather Chili
Adapted from Paula Deen's Chili in a biscuit bowl recipe

Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef
2-3 bell peppers, any color you like
2 onions
4 (14 oz) cans diced or stewed tomatoes
4 tbsp chili powder
cumin to taste
dash cinnamon
cayenne pepper to taste
2-3 cans beans (kidney, black, pinto)
salt and pepper

Brown ground beef in a stock pan. Add diced peppers and onions and cook for a few minutes until vegetables are tender.  Drain most of the liquid from the pot.  Add canned tomatoes, canned beans (drained and rinsed), and seasonings.  I usually add the 4 tbsp chili powder and then just sprinkle in the cumin, cinnamon and cayenne pepper.  I use more cumin than the other seasonings.  Stir together, cover, and simmer on low for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve with tortilla chips, shredded cheese, plain greek yogurt (in place of sour cream), fresh avocado.

NOTES: I’ve made this with Rotel as some of the tomatoes too and it is DELISH!  The tomatoes that I used today were what EMX picked up at the grocery store for me last night.  :)

Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

The boys are carving Reed's pumpkin while Giselle and I watch.   :)