I Heart My Kids (and Matzo Ball Soup)

She loves me.

See the heart-shaped matzo ball she made for me last week?

What you don't see is the floating head she put in her daddy's soup. Aren't kids fun?

I hope you are enjoying yours this weekend. Make some fun memories together. It goes by so fast. In a blink, your one year old will be fifteen. Trust me on this. I know first hand.



P.S. Because I know someone will ask... This soup was a Matzo ball kit from the grocery store (Manischewitz) - my daughter made the balls, home made chicken broth I made from a previous night's rotisserie bird, shredded carrot, diced onion and celery (all pan fried in butter before dropping in the soup), a few dashes of hot sauce, some pink salt and fresh ground pepper. Mmmm.

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Creamy Cauliflower and Potato Soup

Cold nights deserve warm soup. Even if you are planning to eat sandwiches, a creamy soup is just what the doctor ordered. Most of us are trying to eat more vegetables as a resolution, too... so what better way to eat them than blended in to a cream soup?

Creamy Cauliflower and Potato Soup

Ingredients tablespoon of butter
1 head of cauliflower
2-3 diced potatoes
1/2 cup diced onion (or a small onion/few shallots)
1 stalk of celery, chopped
2-4 cups chicken broth (depending on how many people you are serving)
1-2 cups half and half (depending on how creamy you want it)
1 cup water (as needed or if your broth is thicker - like stock)
black pepper and salt (to taste)
garlic powder or crushed garlic (to taste)
spices: coriander, savory, white pepper (1/2 to 1 teaspoon each)


Instructions Saute the onion, garlic (if you use fresh) in butter until clear or slightly browned. Bring pot to a boil with broth and rest of the ingredients except half and half. Add onion and garlic to soup pot. Cover and turn heat down to low after potato and cauliflower are soft enough to mash with your spoon. Add cream and stir. Get another (same size or larger) pot to pour soup in after you blend it. Puree the soup in the blender (usually takes 2-3 sessions to get all the soup - be careful not to burn yourself!). Return the soup to a pot to stir well before serving.

.....

I used up my turkey broth from Thanksgiving on this soup and it was wonderful. We had grilled cheese sandwiches with it (a treat - since we don't eat a lot of bread around here). Everyone enjoyed it, and my picky eaters had no idea they were putting away an entire head of cauliflower in one sitting!

Hope you are keeping warm and making happy memories this January. Remember to take those resolutions in stride - and remember to get back on the saddle if you slip!





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A Yummy Way To Use Up Left Over Chicken - or Turkey

Other than Thanksgiving, we don't cook turkey that often. I have very few recipes for turkey. It isn't that different from chicken, though, so you could pretty much use it in any dish that calls for chicken. Just be prepared to take a little snooze after lunch - ha!

I made this before the holidays, and it is one of my easy meal favorites when there's not enough time to cook (or not enough energy). This easy casserole makes a great way to use up left over chicken or thanksgiving turkey.

I know I don't usually post recipes in here (especially recipes with turkey), but I'm considering moving my recipe blog over to this blog and merging the two together. I don't have time to keep up with both of them (as you can see by the date of my last post over there). I'm just not sure how easy it would be to search through them over here. I'd love some ideas on blog organization - but that's for another day...

And so here's the recipe... We'll tackle the big blogging issues of life when the tryptophan has worn off.

"Broccoli-Cheese-Rice-Chicken (or Turkey) Casserole"

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked white rice (I use basmatti - boiled and then simmered 15 minutes with 1 lump butter and a teaspoon of salt)
• Leftover chicken or turkey - shredded or chopped
• garlic salt (to taste)
• dash of pepper
• teaspoon of salt
• cup (or more if you love it) of frozen broccoli (cooked - I microwaved mine)
• 4 oz or less of grated Velveeta (I hate grating the stuff, but you want it to be evenly spread)
• Dehydrated onions (dash) - or you can pan fry chopped red onion (and even some celery)
• small bag of cheddar or colby jack cheese (I put a large handful of cheese in the mixture and use the rest for the top)
• Can of cream of something soup (celery, chicken, or mushroom work great)*

*If you don't have cream soup or don't like to use them because of the MSG and other additives, you can add a little chicken stock, and either some half and half, milk, or sour cream. If I use the thinner substances like broth and milk, I also add some butter - and if you like it thicker, add a tablespoon of flour.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350. Mix everything together in a large bowl until creamed and consistent. Spread in to a flat baking dish with a raised side (like a brownie pan). Cover top with a layer of shredded cheese. Bake for 30-40 minutes depending on your oven - or until sides are bubbly and the cheese looks melted and slightly browned at edges.

Enjoy!

The Pros and Cons of a Farmish Field Trip on Friday

I missed my blogging deadline yesterday at the Homeschool Post. I was supposed to say "The polls are closing" and few other fun announcements... but I was busy all day from the time I woke up - hardly stopped to eat. The day was so eventful, that I wanted to recap it for you. It was worth sharing.



The big event was a field trip to a dairy farm where they make raw milk, cheese, yogurt, and sell other good foods like jam, salt, soap, and maple syrup. I'll review the field trip for you on my Field Trip Foto Friday series later. For now, just sit back and enjoy the photos and have a little laugh at my expense.



Friday Cons

1) Getting everyone ready for the field trip took forever.
2) I rushed around cleaning up for the in-laws to visit before we left.
3) When giving my daughter her antibiotic, I absentmindedly TOOK it myself.
4) McDonald's drive-thru was renovating, so I had to go in and carry everything out.
5) We got there 45 minutes late and missed the trailer ride.
6) Had to drive 20 minutes out of the way coming home because I was so low on gas.
7) The gas hose malfunctioned and sprayed my entire arm with gasoline at the pump.
8) I had to smell gas the entire way home on a long drive and my arm was stinging.
9) When I got back in my car, the tea spilled on my leg.
10) My inlaws beat me home and had to wait outside for 20 minutes.




Friday Pros

1) The outhouse made me so very thankful for running water and indoor plumbing.:::
2) It was grey and not too much sun (makes for great photos and less sunburn).:::
3) Very thankful that the vehicle got us there without excitement; boy those dirt roads were bumpy!:::
4) The farm was awesome and all of us enjoyed being out in the fresh air and seeing the animals.:::
5) Oh, my - the goodies we brought home are delicious.:::
6) My in-laws bought us pizza, so I didn't have to cook.:::
7) Payday came early.:::
8) The iPhone Mapquest and Gas Buddy apps work like a charm.:::
9) I got some fantastic iPhone pictures with the 4S (it was worth the upgrade just for the camera).:::
10) The baby looked cute in the shirt grandma got him (Kaden called him the "Techno-color Sith Lord"):::
11) I found a Four Square location called "Middle of Nowhere" and checked in - gave me a chuckle!:::




So, the day was not a loss after all. Even if you can still smell gasoline on my arm despite the scrubbing.

And, while I didn't get my blogging done, I enjoyed a busy day of IRL. You know - you won't have much to blog about if you aren't really living. Our farmish field trip fun inspired me to get back to my homeschool series in here. Nice to have a field trip to review for a change. The babies both behaved perfectly, so maybe I will venture out more with my two under two. Helps to have teens around for sure... (another Pro I forgot to list).

Losing Weight: 17 Day Diet and Meal Ideas

1. Day 2 lunch... Fruit and bacon. Pretty sure I'm breakin' some rules. Sue me. #4eu, 2. Day 1 - Lunch... 17 Day Diet #4EU (4ever Unfrumpy), 3. Last night's dinner: day 1, 17day diet. #4eu, 4. Day 2 breakfast, 17 day diet, cheating with the refried beans. #4eu, 5. Day 3 - 17 day diet, chicken sausage with peas, jalapeño sour kraut and a beet. #4eu ... lost 5 lbs so far!, 6. Day 4 #4eu sausage, egg scramble with cheese, onion and pico. Served w/ blackberries & yoghurt, 7. Grilled Tuna and chopped egg salad #4eu #incourage, 8. Day 8 #4eu cheating at @chickfila with sugary dressing and breaded spicy chicken #oops #lost6lbs #incourage, 9. Day 8 #4eu #17daydiet Chicken & veggies never tasted so good., 10. Asian Salad with Pan Fried Rotisserie #incourage #17daydiet #4eu, 11. Day 9 of #17daydiet #4eu : Chicken Satay, 12. Mt. St. Helens Cake #incourage #whateverworks

A friend of mine started the 17 Day Diet a few months ago and I didn't think anything of it. She had more weight to lose than I did, and I have always been one of those people who believed what I had heard from some health care professionals: "dieting doesn't work - you gain it all back - just change what you eat as a lifestyle and you'll be able to keep it off". Changing what I ate meant giving up chocolate and cookies... and I wasn't ever going to do that.

Then I got older. I'll be 39 not long from now, and my metabolism hasn't been keeping his end of the bargain lately. Maybe it is the 3 pregnancies in the past 4 years? I don't know. I have felt more like the Stay Puff Man than myself for a long time, though. I felt fat enough for long enough that I decided to really DO something about it this time. I gave up the usual culprits: Cokes and excessive fries. That usually did the trick before - at least 5 lbs. worth, right? Nothing this time. Maybe I really was getting old.

Then my friend started looking thinner. She started sharing about her diet with me and told me she and her husband both had lost 20 lbs. in just a month and a half. I decided to buy the book.

The 17 Day Diet is more of a lifestyle cycle of eating. There are three cycles... Activate, Accelerate, and Achieve.

Activate is really strict and more like a "diet". You eat very little carbs (all in the form of vegetable and fruits), no sugary fruits like banana or watermelon, only eat your fruits before 2pm, eat as much chicken or fish as you want, eat eggs for breakfast (this is the one tip that really works to set your daily metabolism - no carb-filled breakfasts), drink green tea (which is said to help people lose weight) and water only, use no sugar - besides Stevia, use very little oil besides flax seed or olive oil, and exercise 17 minutes a day.

It is designed to give you fast results so you won't quit dieting and give up... and it works. It helps cleanse your body, improves your digestion, cleans the sugar from your blood so you start burning fat, and helps you pay attention to how much you eat and move your body. I couldn't make it through the first 17 days. I lost 7 lbs that first week and quit the cycle at about day 12.

I moved on to the next cycle for a little bit and lost another 3 lbs. The next cycle adds whole grains, red meat, more fruits and veggies... and sweet potatoes back in to the diet - and increases your exercise. You also add probiotics to your diet to keep your gut healthy : which can be in the form of Yogurt, Kefir, or vegetables in probiotic liquid (think brine pickles - yum). Part of the inability for some folks to lose weight is just an imbalance of bacteria in the digestive tract.

Good thing? Hormonal women (for whatever reason - be it periods, pregnant, nursing, or just cranky) can have a handful of dark chocolate chips every day. You better believe I took advantage of that rule!

After a while I fell off the bandwagon because of life circumstances and not enough money for organic produce. We have 4 kids and it gets busy around here, so we tend to eat out more than we should if we have to go places. Two of my kids got braces, too - and we resorted to chocolate Atkins shakes and soft foods that weren't on the diet for a while. Then we had one or two weeks in there where there was ice cream, pizza, burgers, and more. All the while, though - we tried to eat more responsibly (maybe not eating the 4th piece of pizza, skipping the chocolate sauce, having oatmeal cookies instead of chocolate pie, and not pouring the sugar in our tea...).

I have to be honest, though... it was sometimes hard to come up with food ideas that weren't already sort of burned out. My friend and I shared some recipes and ideas with each other. It is always better to diet with support. I was encouraged that she was sticking to it. She and her husband have lost about 26 lbs each now. I'm amazingly still at 10 - even with about a month totally OFF the diet. Which means - I really did reset my metabolism and plateau at this weight - which is what they say will happen when you reach the last phase of the diet - you stay at that weight and then can "cheat" on weekends and not regain the pounds.

You might not be able to stay on a burger and fry diet and keep your weight off, but if you are willing to make some changes to how you eat and only have the "bad" stuff on the weekends, you really can change your metabolism and lose the weight. It can be done. I never exercised when I was on the diet last time, so I'm looking forward (hoping) to losing more the next time I do cycle 1. Right now we're back at the "I can't afford all that produce" stage.

Check out some of my photos to help you get ideas on what you might be eating. This diet is really similar to the gestational diabetic diet that I was on during the last few months of my pregnancy (on which I lost a lot of weight - managed to not gain any weight for 3 months while pregnant!).

10 lbs down for me, another 15 or so to go! I look forward to getting back on the 17 Day Diet soon.

Have any questions? I'd love to encourage you on your journey to a thinner and HEALTHIER you!



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Asian Salad, Diet Failures, Homeschooling and Great Advice

Just some random updates...

1. I don't know how many licks it takes to get to the center of the Tootsie Roll Pop for the same reason I don't know how many pounds you can lose on cycle 1 of the 17 Day Diet. It's called lack of will power. Add that to a little laziness, and you would have my diet dilemma. I made it through about 2 days of exercise and about 5 days without chocolate... and about 10 without carbs and red meat... and then all bets were off. I lost 8 lbs. and then gained back 2. I think I am hovering at about 7lbs total... and I may or may not be removing ALL of my clothing to get that number. I'll let you know how much that plate full of chocolate cake affected my average tomorrow.

The good thing about this diet is that it has really helped me to eat healthier. I eat a LOT of veggies. I cook a lot of things from scratch - including chicken broth, chicken soup, gourmet salads, baked veggies like asparagus and cauliflower... and we generally eat healthier than we ever have and eat less processed stuff than probably 95% of Americans. We also have decreased our sugar intake by about 90%. The image of 150 lbs of white sugar in my garage was enough to really spur me on towards making changes. 150 lbs is how much the average American puts away in a year (.5 lbs per day). Our eating out budget has gone down substantially, too - and we are eating at healthier places like Jason's Deli, Chipotle, and local Greek food places when we eat out. It almost makes up for the intense amount of produce we have been purchasing.



2. Because I love you, I'll share my amazing recipe for Asian Salad. I'm going to merge my food blog in here when I find a designer who will work for free. Until then, I'm cooking lots of great foods and taking photos. Getting ready for the day when I have free time to blog about it all...

Asian Chicken Salad with pan-fried Rotisserie Chicken

(all ingredients are to taste - I don't measure)
red cabbage
green cabbage
shredded/grated carrot
chopped/julienned jalapeno
cilantro
chopped leeks
chopped/shredded bok choy
chopped celery (with or without leaves)
bean sprouts
chopped broccoli
chicken topping (pan fried rotisserie - pulled white meat fried in butter and garlic with pepper and garlic salt)
home made sesame dressing (soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, lime juice, brown sugar, toasted sesame seeds, sesame oil, olive oil, dash hot sauce)

Oh, my dear it is wonderful... and the leftover chicken bones and dark meat made a wonderful broth for my chicken and rice soup (photo above). My kids said it was the best chicken soup with rice they had ever eaten. Eat your heart out Campbells. No more MSG for us. I've been freezing chicken broth off of our once-a-week rotisserie chickens for about a year now. I think we should probably invest in a rotisserie oven.



As for teaching my kids?

3. We are entering week 4 of homeschool next week and so far we've managed to get 4 days of school done each week - which is great - considering last year... all year long. If you spread that out, school will take about 45 weeks to complete. That's if we actually do 4 days each week... and we really have to have a day off each week just for the sheer volume of laundry and housework we have keeping up with our little dudes. Sometimes we make up history and reading assignments on Saturdays, too. There are fun projects like computer illustration, free-time reading, sporadic book reviews, and kid-blogging on weekends, too. Life is all about learning. I'm feeling so much better about 'school' this year. It is a huge relief to me. So are these book cases - even if they aren't fully functional yet. It's all a work in progress.

I'm finding the joy. It feels like a long awaited healing of my soul.



4. While I've been busy finding joy, the baby has been busy learning how to get his little busy grabbing hands a lot farther - a lot faster. My 6 month old is completely mobile now: crawling, pulling up, cruising, using two fingers to pick up and ingest small objects... you know the drill. This makes life very interesting and busier than ever. Good thing he's cute. He looks like my husband would if you shot him with a shrink ray and took off about 39.5 years worth of him. His smile melts me... both the big guy, and the little guy (and the two other dudes that live here). Morgan and I are outnumbered by all these good lookin' fellas.



5. I wrote something over at the Homeschool Post this past week. It's great advice. Most of my best articles are just me giving myself great advice that's really difficult to follow. Working on following it and needed to hear it again (it is an old article I wrote for Heart of the Matter a few years back that I updated). Good advice never grows old.

You can also link your field trips up over there this week. Don't miss out!

Thanks for stopping in and sharing my crazy homeschool journey. I hope you have a super homeschool week!

I Love Homeschooling: The School Year and a Slide Show

Our 2011-2012 school year began without a bang yesterday. You see, we school year round, so we had only taken 2 weeks off ... and are just picking up on the path we were already trodding down a while back. No fanfare. No horse and pony show.

We still had a couple of distractions to deal with... which refused to nap. #gofigure

I kind of miss those elementary days when we had back to school breakfasts and goals days. I think we'll probably take one this week - just for old time's sake. We're also finding that we are in need of a few school supplies to get organized in our new space (moved to the dining room again now that the book cases are almost installed)... so I foresee a trip to Walmart for binders and mechanical pencils in the near future.

Our big thing yesterday was history review. I'm using Mystery of History, Tapestry of Grace, Story of the World, and a slew of other books and curriculums to make our way through ancients (still). Funny that art and history are my favorite subjects and I seem to tackle school like I do my plate at the dinner table : get all the unsavory stuff done first and THEN "dessert" or the favorite dish. That didn't work last year. History and art were shuffled aside (well, at least history - since both of my big kids draw like they breathe - on everything, including math scratch sheets).

I can't wait to show you the after photo of the dining room... when we finish painting and installing the shelves. Yesterday they brought in the middle piece and the counter for it... and screwed the cabinets together and to the walls. It may take another week or so, until the entire job is finished and the school and cookbooks can be moved to their new homes. The amount of time this new set-up will be saving mama is going to help our year ROCK! Already we noticed a big difference yesterday as little kids were able to play in the living room divided by the dining room half wall -- and still be SEEN and HEARD, even though the TV wasn't a distraction to my teens. Yay!!! It helps to be closer to the kitchen downstairs, too -- because teenagers need snacks and drinks to stay focused on tedium.

As for mama, I have some goals for this school year, too. One of them is to lose between 15 and 20 lbs by the end of October. I started the 17 Day Diet today (my husband started yesterday). We cleaned out our local grocery store's produce section last night (the poor checker was on her 2nd week of her first job and I gave her a real hard time at the register figuring out what all that strange organic stuff was). Eggplants may not be a really popular dish, I take it? The 17 Day Diet looks pretty good. I have a friend who has lost 22 lbs. on it in nearly 2 months... so I'm optimistic - and know that even a few pounds will be worth it.  

You wanna go on it with me? [If so, let me know. I'll start a Facebook Group and we can do it together.]

I have to get going and get back to my amazingly long list, the menu, the bills, the school schedule for today, and my never-ending laundry pile. Here's to 2011-2012... may this school year be the best ever!

Enjoy this little slideshow of some of Jennifer's and my photos from the THSC Convention:



I love homeschoolers!

Texas Homeschool Coalition Conference 2011: I Heart Conference Photography

Once upon a time I took pictures. And then there was a conference (Type-A Mom); at which I took photos - for free. And another conference (Blissdom). And another (Relevant). And then finally, I was 'hired' to do it (THSC). Which is so much 'funner'. Because if you are going to drive insane distances to go to a conference, you might as well get paid back some of your travel expenses. Right?

And now, after all these years, I finally found my dream job. Right under wife, mother, homeschooler, and eater of dark chocolate. I think conference photography might even trump blogging. But that's too deep of a subject for tonight.



It was so much fun taking pictures for THSC. I'm counting the days off until next year when we can do it again! Maybe somewhere in-between now and then I can upgrade my camera. Playing with so many great cameras has extended my wish list. Jennifer and I both had 2 cameras dangling from our bodies all weekend. It was a photographer's dream come true.

Later this week, I'll share the slideshow that they made from mostly Jennifer and my photos of the event. 



And this is my new best girlfriend that hired me to take pictures. Did I mention that I love her? And one day she's going to be a famous blogger. She's like Pioneer Woman mixed with Ann Voskamp - just waiting to happen online. You should have heard her tell the story about the missing barbed wire fence. Southern women are the best of the best. I love me some Texas twang, too. I can't wait to introduce you to her as soon as Jenn and I talk her in to starting her own blog. Give me a second and I'll let you know when we convert her.

The nice dude in the picture above tried to fix my hard drive that crashed. You know that "what can go wrong, will". And it did. My week-old hard drive crashed - along with all the photos of Jennifer and my trip to San Antonio (the Alamo and Mi Tierra's), the Bob Bullock History Museum, and our twitter meetups.

Thankfully, we have a few Instagram shots for the memories:



There's no telling what else was on the hard drive that I lost. Family reunion photos from June -- I can't even bring myself to think back to what photos I took in the past few months. Partly because I haven't slept good enough for deep thinking in nearly three years. But I digress...

Oh, yes - lost pictures.

I'm still not talking about it. The trauma is deep, people.  DEEP and wide.

I made a vow to back up my other hard drive this week on two different computers. And I'm probably buying a subscription to Carbonite. It pays to have multiple copies of your photos. I learned that this weekend THE HARD WAY.



Blog conferences -- especially ones in which you must be everywhere at once -- are much easier to do with some assistants. These girls helped care for the nursing baby and kept us in stitches. And nearly made us pee our pants when they jumped out of the curtains in our room.



Blog conferences -- especially ones in which you must be everywhere at once -- are NOT much easier with milk ticks. But you might have guessed that a 25 lb chunk of slobber might slow down a photographer. However, they make great subject material when you are testing your camera settings. One of the other photogs took this picture with a dreamy professional Nikon. He didn't have a business card. Someday I'll come back in here and give him proper credit. The baby, of course is my own property - but credits go to the Big Guy in the Sky for his creation.



Isn't he cute? His mama, however, needs to go on a diet. Thankfully Jennifer knows to take photos from the waist up. God love her.



And then there was this guy. Some of you may know him. He's like a homeschool rock star. TIM HAWKINS - the comic: @timhawkinscomic on Twitter. I had so much fun photographing him - and enjoying the show at the same time. He's even funnier in person than he is on YouTube. I couldn't believe that Jenn's little girl slept through his show.



So did this guy. He and Maggie had their own laughs, though. They are the bestest of buddies. In fact, we tried to talk Jenn in to leaving Maggie in Texas, but she wouldn't hear of it. Apparently Maggie is a pretty good navigator - and Texas is a long way from Florida. I'm still crushing over the fact that Jenn drove so many thousands of miles to hang out and take pictures with me.



What a Texas sized bunch of conference photographer fun we had. I can't wait to take peekshurs with her again in October.

A McDonald's Review? No, Really!

1. Forget the salad. Give me CHEESEBURGER., 2. MickyD's, 3. Two Generations of McDonalds restaurant owners, 4. McDonalds Blogger Event, 5. Met Ronald #McDonald today. As seen on TV., 6. Meeting Ronald

A while back, I found out about a local blogging event that was put on by McDonalds. They wanted to invite some mom bloggers to try new healthier menu items. They wanted to get the message out - that they are listening to the public about what we want to eat - that we want healthier foods. Looks like all those Supersize movies are finally getting the official response... and honestly, I think McDonald's gets a bad rap on many fronts. I learned quite a few things about McDonald's that really impressed me during our short visit. The two year old survived hanging out with their clown mascot, too. They invited a nutrition specialist and a few local restaurant owners to the luncheon ... and quite a few good points about nutrition and people's food habits were brought up. I listed some of the take-aways below...


McDonalds Pros:

1. You can put a million healthy choices on the menu - and there are people out there that will order the cheeseburger and fries anyway. [Like me. I love the tagline for their sandwiches page on their website: "You so want one."]

2. You can put the calorie and ingredient list on every single tray liner - and there are people that will order the cheeseburger and fries anyway. [Like me.] Want to see the nutritional content of your favorite meal at McDonald's? Check out this "Bag a McMeal" interactive site!

3. If you are the cheeseburger and fries type (like me), it's OK to eat your burger... but "please don't eat something rich and then just sit around - exercise and work it off"... "back in the 1970's kids were playing outside - not playing Nintendo". Part of the reason high calorie foods aren't great now days is our lazy lifestyle. McDonald's can educate, but they can't force you to get off the couch.

4. There aren't many other burger chains that have as many healthy food alternative options for moms on the go... especially not at McDonald's prices.

5. The Egg-McMuffin actually uses REAL egg. Still. [I saw them myself in the cooler! I love Egg-McMuffins.]

6. Every 2 hours, the entire line of cheeseburger ingredients is tossed out and replaced. No old lettuce, cheese, mayo or tomato. No heat lamps, either. Not any more! Their managers do internal inspections TWICE A DAY also - every employee, every machine... in addition to the health department's inspections.

7. They don't flip burgers any more. No more chances of meat not meeting temperature requirements. [Loved the kitchen tour I got - great for a homeschool field trip idea - and was able to check out the new state of the art equipment.] You can see videos of how they make your favorite menu items if you follow the kitchen link in this paragraph! You can also see the FAQ page and ask questions of your own if they aren't answered there.

8. McDonald's kids meals have less than 600 calories - even with the fries.

9. They were the first restaurant to willingly offer their nutritional information to the public - did you know that? Yep - back in 1973. [I was in diapers back then.]

10. McDonald's restaurants are involved with the communities they are in - and the company as a whole donates nearly $44 million dollars per day (returning more than 52 cents of each dollar earned to their local economies). They also award scholarships, fund the arts, host teacher nights, and send their managers to nutrition school.



The McDonald's Cons:

1. White bread. I know you guys don't want to throw away food - but honestly... white is so 1970's. Let's move it up a notch, shall we? I get my burgers without a bun if I can, but I would get the bread if it weren't "white bread in disguise". Even the wheat buns are enriched flour... and closer to white than wheat.

2. High Fructose Corn Syrup and MSG. MSG is found in the sausage and egg scramble and the ranch dipping sauce. High fructose corn syrup is found in most of the dips, toppings, chocolate and syrup items - including the chocolate milk, Oreo Pieces, frappe mixes, BREADS, and of course - the carbonated drinks.

3. I look really fat in the photo above. Maternity clothes five months after the baby was born is a cryin' shame. Oh, well - I'll use this to spur me on towards more healthy menu choices the next time I dine in -- sans the cheeseburger and fries. [Salad and me need to get a little more friendly in the near future.]

BUT TO BE FAIR... I have to be honest about the corn syrup thing. As much as I hate high-fructose corn syrup - and won't buy anything processed in my own home (we get bread that has no HFCS)... my very favorite thing at McDonald's is their HOT MUSTARD SAUCE.



No, really. I dip my fries in it. I will turn around and drive BACK to get some if they don't put it in with the order. I could DRINK it. I have been known to lick the container clean once the fries are gone. [For shame.]

So... I can imagine that it would be a challenge to make a stable sauce without these overused bad ingredients that are on everyone's hit list these days. I feel for McDonald's, really, I do.

I will continue to eat organic as much as possible, buy healthy foods for my house - with the least amount of processed and packaged stuff possible.... I'll continue to read my labels and work REAL HARD at adding exercise to our weekly homeschool routine (point taken, McDonald's team!)...

... but I wanted to speak up for the record - and for McDonald's - and admit openly that we are thankful they are around - and we're glad to know that they care about our opinions, our kids' health, and our communities. The field trip they put together for us blogging moms was very educational and I was thrilled to see them reaching out and trying to get the public to see them in a positive light.

I mean come on - can you imagine a world without the Golden Arches? Here's to many more years -- and many more healthy menu choices -- from our Fry-Guy friends!




Disclaimer: I was given a free meal (for me and the kids), a fun kitchen-tour field trip, a tiny Golden Arches lapel pin, and a nifty 'green' tote at the Austin mom-blog lunch at McDonald's... but my opinion in this review is my own and was not compensated.

Note to the Skeptics: Even if you aren't the fast food type - you should really check out the smoothies on their menu. Real fruit, lowfat yogurt and ice has never tasted so good (and they sure beat the fatty frappe menu at Starbucks). My husband is a McDonald's HATER and he loves the strawberry-banana smoothie.

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Instagram Addiction (and other iPhone Photography Aps)

Hi, my name is Heather and I'm an iPhone photography ap addict.

((Hi Heather!!))

I have a fancy camera and three lenses that I could never replace were I to break them... and all I seem to take photos with these days is my iPhone. Seriously, it's become an addiction since I discovered all of these really fun new iPhone aps.

You can upload your pictures in to all sorts of new aps and fix exposure, contrast, color temperature and saturation (Photoshop Express)... you can crop or make collages (Diptic), you can add bubbles or sparkles of 'light' (More Noel), add labels (Labelbox), make comic strips with captions (Halftone), ....and SHARE the pictures with your friends and the world (Instagram).



That way you can share important moments and capture every-day memories... like your trip through the Starbucks drive-thru (which you are making today between 2 and 5, right? Free cake pops anyone?).



And you can harass your family while they try to eat dinner by taking photos of them chewing their food. And then tweet and facebook them instantly with Instagram. Lovely, eh?



This one is one of my favorites... the boy going 'round the Thomas Table at Barnes & Noble. Collecting germs. Heavens! Maybe that's where he got it? And now grandma is in ICU because she stayed up with him so he wouldn't get the peanut sick...



Speaking of the peanut... I'm still reading those books about making your kid sleep through the night. I haven't started my plan yet because they suggested waiting until the toddler had adjusted to having a sibling at home first (too traumatic to change sleep patterns at the same time as a family change or a new skill learned). Baby K has been a trooper - learning to sleep with just about anyone in the family instead of just mama. My heart is broken, missing his cuddles, but I'm so happy that he's strengthened his bond with Daddy. Bonus: he's finally started to kiss and notice the baby (and doesn't understand why we're not letting him do it while he's sick, poor thing).



This was my dinner out with the grandparents last weekend. We had an out of town funeral to attend and I actually left THREE of my kids with grandma while we took the peanut and went out of town. Grandma and Grandpa took us to Pappadeauxs for dinner as a treat. If you haven't been there, I highly suggest you go - if you have one nearby. It's been a fave of ours for decades and because it's rather pricey, we don't go that often. Their banana pudding in a mason jar is divine. Our standard order is blackened salmon and dirty rice (split between us both), and Greek salad (split between us both). The Pappa's Brothers are Greek, so they do Greek Salad like no-where else on Earth. Splitting meals leaves us room for dessert... and Pappa's restaurants have amazing desserts.

So... there you have it... a week or two of Instagram love. You can find more on my Flickr account because Instagram instantly uploads to Flickr, Facebook, Twitter and more... with just a few clicks. You pick each time where you want the photo to upload. I sound like an advertisement, but honestly, I'm not working for Instagram and it's FREE anyway! Check it out if you have an iPhone! Then look me up so we can connect there, too!

Blessed Thanksgiving

May your blessings be so great that there are leftovers.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. ~ Psalm 23:5

'Can We Have Thanksgiving Next July?'... or.... 'My Pre-Holiday Pregnancy Update'

Pregnancy is a strange experience; wonderful and horrible all at the same time. The little swishing limbs and eager expectations of meeting a miniature, brand new family member are such indescribable joys. The stretch marks, strange body malfunctions, spreading hips and feet, swelling and heartburn... not so enjoyable.

I hesitate to give updates because they usually tempt me to complain. At least I find the whole ordeal rather humorous to some extent - I haven't lost my sense of humor yet (ask me about that during the next 'transition' phase of labor and I'll let you know if I still have it).

The photo below was at 31 weeks last time... and I look at least that big now. Not brave enough to get the camera out.



I'm 28 weeks and 3 days today. That means, if my doctor's calculations are correct (and she's a smart cookie - so I don't doubt they might be) this baby is likely to be big enough to float in the Macy's Parade. Well, maybe not this week - but by the time he gets here for sure (assuming I don't split like a faded car-seat before then).

I was 2 months away from having the Viking when things started getting this bad last time....

The Viking in my Ribs and Other Pathetic Complaints

12 more weeks to go. Oh my. That's like 3 FULL months.

Let me give you an idea of why 12 more weeks is very worrisome:

Let's start WAY back so I can give you a clear picture of what pregnancy usually looks like for me....

Imagine me at 118 pounds. Boy, those were the days. I believed all that 'eating for two' stuff. It didn't help that my first child was incompatible with anything (including MEXICAN FOOD) unless it was dripping in cream and chocolate. The fact that all of my children are Winter babies - born just after the holidays certainly hasn't helped my figure through the years. In case you haven't noticed, there's a LOT of really GOOD food available during the holidays... and holiday food is my favorite.

To make a long story short, here are my pregnancy stats:

Baby 1: 118 lbs. + 60 during pregnancy = 178 delivery
Baby 2: 134 lbs. + 36 during pregnancy = 170 delivery

Then I swallowed a Diamond Ring...


Sad First Week of School
Miscarriage: 139 lbs. + 6 during pregnancy = 145

Baby 3: 144 lbs. + 30 during pregnancy = 174 delivery

Baby 4: This pregnancy... starting at 147 + ? = ?

You would think that I might be having this kid in the 170's. Right? That seems to be a pattern... no matter how thin I am, my body has an internal timer near 175 pounds and OUT POPS THE BABY.

All would be great with that idea if I wasn't still THREE MONTHS out and already 166 lbs! Did I mention that the holidays are coming up... and there will be food?



Here's me the week before Baby K was born, at Target - on the old-people scooter because I couldn't walk. Mind you, I was only 174 pounds. That's only 8 pounds away from RIGHT NOW, people. So you can imagine how miserable I already feel. My doctor is considering going on vacation for the next three months so she won't have to listen to me beg her to 'get the baby out'. She has nightmares still from the last pregnancy she endured with me. Poor thing.

I guess I shouldn't complain that the heartburn is beginning again... because I'm pretty sure there won't be seconds for me of anything this Thanksgiving or Christmas. If I were a 6 year old, I would be stomping my feet and crossing my arms because "It JUST ISN'T FAIR." Thanksgiving and Christmas foods are my favorite in the whole wide world. Even better because I'm not the one having to cook them all.

Wanna know what's on the menu at Kevin's Mom's side?

Turkey
Dressing
Sweet Potato Yeast Rolls
Mustard Greens
Sweet Potato Casserole
Broccoli and Rice Casserole
Cabbage
Corn Pudding
Brussell Sprouts?
Green Beans
Pinto Beans
Macaroni and Cheese Casserole
Sweet Tea
Sugar Cookies
Chocolate Pie
Pecan Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin Bread
Fruit Salad
Green Jello
Oreo Balls
Cheesecake

We aren't going to this feast, unfortunately. However, I can't help but think that it is very fortunate for my next doctor appointment that we are missing it this year.

Sadly, I'm pretty sure that the food at Kev's Dad's house will be equally wonderful, with only a slight bit less focus on dessert. Nana makes a mean stuffing and her Nut and Jello Salads are AMAZING (she has a green one and a really pretty wine colored one).

[As I was typing this, Pop just called to ask me what I needed to make my Sweet Potato Bliss. Oh, about "6 sticks of butter" I told him. I was only exagerating a little bit. Sweet Potato Bliss is my favorite.]

So... today, I'll be getting my glucose screening at the blood lab and trying to avoid the cheeseburger I'm craving. And then later this week, I'll be watching the scale as closely as I watch the sales for Black Friday. The online ones that is... because this pregnant mama is NOT standing in lines at 5AM for anything.



...Because I'm already grumpy about having to skip seconds on Thanksgiving.

All I want for Thanksgiving - and Christmas - is a really slow weight gain, relief from the pressure of this elephant sitting on my chest, very little if any heartburn (so I can actually enjoy my cranberry and dressing)... and the promise of an easy delivery (of a baby that is NOT bigger than the last one - HELLO 9 pounds of agony with your arm folded beside your head!). Oh, and it would be nice if my relatives would all commit to having another Thanksgiving meal in June. Or even July. We can crank down the A/C and pretend like it isn't 104 degrees, even. By then, I'm sure I'll be breathing a lot better - and I'll even volunteer to make more than one of the dishes.

Thanksgiving in July. I like the sound of that.



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Quick Links
What to Take to the Hospital When You are in Labor and Delivery
Owly Baby Shower
Labor and Delivery for the last Baby Bee
Trees in the Baby Nursery
Memo From My New Blog Editor