Thanks...Oops!

I just realized that I haven't done a "Thankful" post in quite a LONG while! I got off track with the blog altogether for awhile and totally forgot about those posts. So here's my musings for today:

I'm thankful for:
1. John's enthusiastic swimming experiences & his awesome instructor
2. Our fabulous playgroup friends - Alexandra, Megan, Sonja and Diane
3. The warm weather we're having right now - I know it will cool down soon, but it makes me excited for the summer.
4. Cute summer dresses for Kara and her girlie side coming out in full form!
5. Definitely thankful for allergy medicines!
6. All the great upcoming activities on our calendar to spend time with our friends and family. So many things to look forward to!
7. My health - ITP seems to be staying away - yeah!!!
8. Great neighbors - the warm weather has brought everyone back outside to play and socialize and I love it!
9. The kids - they may drive me nuts some days, but they're great most of the time and I love them dearly.
10. The hubby - he works so hard and makes it possible for me to stay home and care for the kids - Thanks Honey!!!

Have a Thankful Tuesday everyone!

Swimming Again

So John started swimming lessons again this morning. This will be the last session of classes before the summer and John's loving it. He's made so much progress this winter with his skills. I'm constantly amazed by him. He's had great instructors and it's been a great winter of classes for him. I'm so glad I kept him in classes for most of the winter. His instructor, Miss Linda, told me today that he's very close to being ready for the next level of classes. We'll see. He has to jump into the water on his own and swim back to the wall in order to move up. When I told him that after class today, he said that next time (which will be Thursday) will be the last day of this level for him! What enthusiasm! I don't think they'll move him up mid-session, but I don't know. The other three kids in his current class are much further behind skill-wise than he is. So it would be nice if they could move him up, but I don't know if the policies at the community center will allow that. Anyway, he's excited and enjoying his swimming classes and I'm so proud of him. I learned yesterday that our neighborhood pool will be offering swimming lessons this summer and so I'm hopeful that we'll even be able to keep up our classes over the summer too.

Pool season, here we come!

Potatoes are Wonderful

So I thought I'd share a recipe for scalloped potatoes that is actually quite light, but very tasty, very flexible and very easy. I clipped this from Cooking Light many years ago.

Scalloped Potatoes with Cheese
1 garlic clove, halved
Butter-flavored cooking spray (I just use an olive oil sprayer)
6 medium red potatoes, cut into 1/8 inch thick slices
2 T. margarine, melted
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
1/2 c. (2 oz.) shredded Gruyere cheese
1 c. skim milk

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Rub an 11x7 inch baking dish with cut sides of garlic halves; discard garlic. Coat dish with cooking spray.
2. Arrange half of potato slices in dish; drizzle with 1 T. margarine. Sprinkle with 1/4 t. salt and half of pepper; top with 1/4 c. cheese. Repeat layers with remaining ingredients.
3. Bring milk to a boil over low heat in a small saucepan; pour over potatoes. Bake uncovered, for 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Makes 7 servings (size: 1 c.)

This recipe can be used with virtually any variety of potatoes (trust me, I've tried it with many), and also with many different kinds of cheeses. We had mozzarella in it last week and it was super yummy! Anyway, give it a try and enjoy!

Spring Pounds? Yikes!

So I've spent most of the winter feeling pretty good about my weight, despite the fact that I was getting virtually no aerobic exercise (I do love my yoga, but it's certainly not aerobic). Somehow I managed to eat with minimal restrictions and did not see any pounds creeping on. Yet recently, of course as spring and summer approach, I was appalled yesterday morning to find out that I have gained about 9 pounds in the last couple of months! I knew that things had shifted a bit and I had put on some weight, but never felt like it was more than just a couple of pounds. Saturday, as we had a hot summer-like day, I had to dig out some shorts to wear to the preschool picnic and chose a pair I knew to be fairly loose. They weren't so loose. They were not tight either, just not the same as I remember them. Not good.

Two years ago I was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder (ITP - immune thrombocytopenic purpura) and a thyroid condition. I spent the summer of 2007 on steroids for the blood disorder and started taking thyroid medication as well. My weight (which was already not where I wanted it to be after my 2nd pregnancy) was bouncing all over the place. At first I managed to lose 5 pounds, then I gained about 12. In the fall once I was off the steroids, I was able to shed those pounds, but it was slow going. Now I'm still on the thyroid medication, and will be for the rest of my life, and I think it has an effect on my weight. Last summer/fall I had lost some weight with zero effort on my part - no exercise and no change in my eating habits. I blame it on the thyroid condition. Now I've put on a few pounds and I blame it mostly on my own habits - still low exercise and some very relaxed eating habits. But I also wonder if the thyroid condition has righted itself a little and now might be working against me a little bit. Impossible to know without a blood test, but definitely a possibility.

It's a little frustrating because I never feel like I know whether my body is working with me or against me anymore. The blood disorder could come back at any time and get pretty serious before I'm even aware of it (there are virtually no early symptoms to ITP) and the thyroid condition is not full of tangible symptoms either. It's hard to know whether what I'm feeling is simply exhaustion from chasing the kids around all day, allergies, or just fatigue from being out of shape (which I definitely am).

This weekend the weather here was very hot, so we were able to get outdoors quite a bit. I was able to sneak in a fair amount of exercise and felt pretty good about it by last night. Since stepping on the scale yesterday morning, I've even made some adjustments to my eating habits and made better snacking and meal decisions over the last two days too (with only a few slip-ups...). Hopefully I'll be on the road to a healthier, and happier, me. I really can't afford to buy all new clothes for the summer! Motivation is the key, and right now I'm really motivated!

Our Easy Week? Not!

Okay, so I thought (mistakenly) that this past week would be a light week for us. We were between swimming class sessions, which is a 2 time a week activity; I thought I might not have to work at the preschool; and I finished up several bigger projects that I was working on for my old employer. It turned out that the weather was pretty good, so we spent large parts of our days outside, playing and exploring. We had a few errands to run, but were mostly free of actual time commitments. Then it turned out I also had to work at the preschool on Thursday and Friday afternoons, which I don't mind because it is lots of fun, but it is a day that I don't get to putter at home during school. Thursday I got to work at the science table and helped the kids dig at a decaying log in search of bugs and worms. So much fun! The week was pretty much non-stop, which I guess I really should have been able to predict. It seems anymore that unless one (or more) of us is sick, we are just on the go, all the time. It's good for all of us, but it is also pretty exhausting! And doesn't leave much time for blogging. ;-)

We'll start swimming again this week for John. We have one more Little Bits class for Kara. And we have our playgroup one morning as well. It's shaping up to be another busy week ahead. But again the weather is supposed to be pretty good, and that means lots of time outdoors with friends. Good for all! My attitude just feels better when we've had a day that has been spent mostly outside exploring and playing with our friends.

Yesterday afternoon we attended the preschool's family spring picnic. It was a very hot day -over 90 degrees! But the turnout was great and no one seemed bothered by the heat. The kids ran around for 3 hours straight and played so well with their friends. The food was good and we were all wiped out by the end. We came home, did a quick bath for the kids (to wipe off all the sweat!) and then straight to bed (after drinking a fair amount of water). It was a great day for everyone who could make it and reminded me about all the fun activities of warmer weather days. It felt more like summer than it usually does in April. I even had to dig in a box to find a pair of shorts to wear. But the picnic was definitely a success. A great family time for all.

Helmets and TV

Who knew that it's better to watch morning tv cartoons with bike helmets on? Well apparently my kids knew this tidbit. They are both currently watching "Little Einsteins" and are wearing bike helmets! Kara started it, but John thought it was a good idea as well and immediately put his one helmet on too. It's too funny.

We have been outside enjoying the wonderful spring weather the last few days and that has also meant several opportunities to ride bikes. They definitely need the practice, so it's been good for them. And thus the helmets didn't quite get put away last night when we came in from outside. So upon seeing the chance to wear the helmets again, they insisted on putting them back on. You never can be too safe! Hee hee.

Happy Spring!

Fishing

So one of the favorite activities John was able to do with my Dad last week was to go fishing. They went twice and caught one fish the first day and two the second time. John's very excited about being able to keep the fish, instead of having to catch and release them. So Dad made sure they went someplace where they'd be able to keep the fish. I'm not quite sure why John's so insistent on keeping the fish, since he's not all that interested in eating them. But like any good grandfather, Dad kept the fish, per John's wishes, and brought them home.

Instead of eating them, John was apparently interested in dissecting them. I was not much into biology as a child, so this intrigues me. But John was very excited to relate to me upon our return how they had taken apart the fish's eyes, head, and body. For example, the fish eyes have black "gooey" stuff inside them - yuck! Anyway, John was very scientific about the exploration of the fish insides and was thrilled to find that one of the fish had egg sacks inside its belly, and that the egg sacks had "thousands" of eggs in them.

It was one of those stories that as a parent you think it's a great experience for your child to have, clearly he's interested in science-type things, but you're SO glad you didn't have to be the one to experience it with him! Thanks Grandpa!!!

Chili dinner

As I was making my Mom's basic family chili recipe today for two preschool families who recently had babies and also for our family dinner tonight, it occurred to me that this would be a great recipe to share. I've given it out to many friends over the years and it is a favorite of ours. It's a basic chili recipe that uses ground beef. Of course since we don't eat meat, I use the vegetarian fake ground beef crumbles (sold by Morningstar Farms or Boca - both good and easy to use). So I thought it'd be a good recipe to share with others. It's easy and very yummy. Enjoy!

Mom's Chili

1 lb. ground beef
2 small onions, chopped
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 15 oz. cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 t. salt
1 T. chili powder
2 t. oregano
1 beef (or veggie) bouillon cube
1 T. cumin seed
1/4 t. cayenne

Brown the beef and onions. Add the other ingredients and simmer over low heat for one hour.

How much easier can it be?

Can we have more Spring Break?

We are back to things as normal around here, well, we will be tomorrow when classes, playgroups, and preschool resume for us. Last week was Spring Break for us. The kids had a FABULOUS week with the grandparents (and the grandparents are still speaking to us, claiming they had a great time too, so that's good). And Matt and I had a GREAT week in Kitty Hawk, NC without the kids! It was a very fast four-night trip, but we had a lot of fun. We ate dinner out every night, eating lots of yummy fresh seafood and enjoying the relaxed pace of child-free meals. Our days were very relaxed and pretty much schedule-free (since life at home is definitely NOT schedule-free). We shopped, walked on the beach, ate a lot, and played games. The highlight of the trip was probably the hang gliding (well, that and not waking up to yells of "MOMMY!!" each morning). The day we went hang gliding, the wind was pretty strong, making it a lot easier for everyone in the class to take flight, but also a little hard to tolerate standing on the top of a huge sand dune for 3 hours. We had a blast, but were very exhausted by the end. All in all the trip was big success and reminded us that the kids will be fine without us and we definitely need to do more small adult-only trips in the future.

In the days since we've been home we've had Easter, the joys of unpacking and getting resettled all while Kara's been sick. She came down with a fever and the blah's at the end of the week (I'm suspecting a light case of the flu) and has continued to be on the tired and cranky side since we've been home. Nothing like a clingy toddler to make you wish you were back at the beach! Easter was good, just us, just at home, not too exciting, but good family time together. The kids hunted their eggs, we had a yummy breakfast, then hung out most of the day. John helped me to make fresh noodles for a lasagna dinner (the best with fresh noodles) and we got out for a walk around the neighborhood before a nice early bedtime.

It's been a good start to our spring, but of course as it always does the list of chores has grown while we've been having fun. The yard is in desperate need of a spring cleaning (things are starting to grow and bud, and I haven't cleaned up the old stuff yet!), the house needs to be cleaned inside, the kids' closets need organizing, we have a few items that need to get cleared out (a.k.a. purged!), and the list goes on and on. For now, I'm looking toward getting through tomorrow - we start back to swimming class for John, playgroup for Kara, back to preschool for John, and then YOGA for me tomorrow night!

My motto right now - take each day as it comes - enjoy and cherish. It goes by so fast, even though it doesn't always feel that way. Three families in our neighborhood have newborns now and it has really reminded me how far we've come in such a short time. Sometimes I miss that newborn stage...and then I'm just glad for where we are today.

Fondue - Yummmmm!

This week was Matt's birthday and in order to celebrate last weekend we had a family fondue night. Fondue is one of our favorite special meals. We've never done it often exactly, but before the kids we did have it for special occasions, birthdays and anniversaries. This was only the second time we've had it with the kids. And John absolutely loved it! I was expecting them both to just eat the bread pieces without dipping it into the cheese, which is what Kara did. But John actually really got into the dipping process and ate a ton of the cheese fondue. It was a great family birthday dinner!

So I thought I'd share the recipes for the fondue I made last week and the one we will make next week on our beach trip. The first will be a pizza fondue recipe, which I know sounds odd, but it really is yummy. The second is for a basic swiss cheese fondue and is very simple and is our favorite. I hope you enjoy!


Pizza Fondue
14.5 oz. can stewed tomatoes
1/2 c. tomato salsa
4 c. grated cheese (cheddar/jack)
Fresh ground pepper to taste1 large loaf crusty bread - cut into 1" cubes
Assorted veggies - cut into bite sized pieces

In the fondue pot, use a pair of knives to chop the stewed tomatoes into bite sized pieces or smaller. Add salsa and bring to simmer. Adjust heat to prevent boiling. Slowly add cheese by the handful, stirring regularly to melt evenly. Reduce flame and grind pepper over the top. Makes 6-8 servings.

Often for the pizza fondue I will do the cooking part in a pot on the stove and then once it's all melted, then pour it into the fondue pot. Melting 4C. of cheese takes awhile and doing it on the stove saves the fondue burner. Just a tip.

Fondue Chablis (our favorite!)

1/2 lb. swiss cheese
1 1/2 t. flour
1 clove garlic, sliced in half
1/2 c. chablis (or other dry white wine)
1/4 t. salt
pinch pepper
pinch nutmeg

Grate cheese coarsely and toss with flour. Rub fondue pot and wooden spoon with garlic and then discard garlic. Pour in wine, heat. Add cheese and flour. Stir until melted, then add seasonings. Serves 3.

We often have this one with a big salad and the rest of the bottle of wine. How yummy!!!

Silly Putty

Yesterday we had a first around here. There was a silly putty in the hair experience! Yes, I know, it's hard to believe, but it did happen. Late in the day, as I was about to start making dinner, the kids were playing nicely together and I was puttering on the computer. Then all of a sudden they come running over to where I am and tell me that there is silly putty in Kara's hair. I looked and it was a big chunk of silly putty now nicely wrapped up in a sizable section of hair. Lovely.

Her hair is finally long enough (and occasionally she's willing) to put it up into pigtails or headbands. Cutting it now would likely take off her beautiful curls and make it short enough to not be able to pull it back. I was about to cry when I saw how much hair was being affected by the silly putty.

After a few declarations of amazement and frustration directed at John (who truly felt very badly for what had happened), I then got Kara to sit down and I gently pulled out as many strands of hair as I could in order to avoid having to resort to the scissors. I was actually able to get out most of it, but it took 15-20 minutes and was very challenging to do. Kara was a super champ through the whole process and John pretty much sat quietly and watched me. He went and got everything I asked him for and was very cooperative for the rest of the day. Anyway, I was able to whittle it down to just a small section of hair that was thoroughly entangled in the silly putty and then the scissors did have to come out. I was VERY thankful I only ended up having to cut a tiny bit of her hair. It really could have been much much worse than it was.

In the end no one will be able to tell it ever happened, except for me. But it was quite the surprise that I really was not in the mood for yesterday afternoon after what has been a very long week. I hope today is a quieter, less eventful, day!

A Walk for Sunshine

I am about to finish reading a fabulous book written by a man who thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1998. The book is titled "A Walk for Sunshine." He used the hike as an opportunity to do a fundraiser for Sunshine Home, a collection of group homes and services for individuals with mental retardation and other disabilities located in Ohio. The cover of the book says he's raised over $100,000. His original fundraising goal was $10,000.

It's a well-written account of his experiences on the Trail and provides insight into what a person must conquer during such a trek. Weather, animals, gear, other hikers, motivation and other obstacles must all be overcome to reach the final destination. It's quite an impressive task.

There was a time in my life when I thought I might section-hike the AT. I've never aspired to do a thru-hike, but section-hiking appealed to me. Who knows, someday that might still happen. It's a nice option to be able to say you completed the AT, without the intensity and grit required for a thru-hike. We'll see.

The AT is something that has always been around during my youth. I spent a lot of time camping and hiking when I was growing up. And have done many day hikes on the Trail. It's a beautiful place and I always find hiking a very peaceful and serene experience, not to mention the fabulous exercise it provides! Reading this book has reminded me of how valuable a resource the Trail is and how close it is to us. I am now inspired to get out and get on the Trail sometime soon! Anyone want to join us??