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?