Here's the Skinny... (at least mine)

(Nor Cal Mommy)

So after the calorie counting madness, I decided to not do something that would just discourage me in the end (although people assured me that calorie counting would get easier as I learned each food’s calorie content!? No thanks!). I’m smart enough to know that vegetables are good and cake is not. So I began implementing little tricks I had picked up along the way:

1) Make your dinner plate 2/3 vegetables and then split the other 1/3 between lean meat and complex carbs.

2) Eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day (for me, I still had breakfast, lunch, and dinner, just smaller portions because I added balanced snacks between meals).

3) If you took too much, you DON’T have to eat it all! (This one was hard for me because growing up I was always told, “Take what you want, but eat what you take.” I just package the leftovers for the next day.)

4) Smaller plates. This one is everywhere and at first I thought…I am not going to buy smaller plates or eat off of a cake plate! But I use this concept when having a treat after dinner like Chocolate Cheerios or frozen yogurt by using a coffee mug instead of a big bowl.

In addition to these small (but helpful) tricks, I committed myself to more exercise! I am up to 25 mins of hard stair stepper cardio and 25 mins of stretching, yoga ball ab exercises, and resistance band upper body toning 4 times a week! This was hard at first, but now I look at it as my time to de-stress and have a moment of solitude while doing something good for myself. What little tricks have worked for you?

Random thoughts...

(Montana Mommy)

Random thoughts forwarded to me by an aunt of mine (author unknown). I thought they were well worth passing on! Let me know what you think of them.

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer's history if you die.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map quest needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind-of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to the ten-page paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this --ever.

15. I hate it when I miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Darn it!) but when I immediately call back it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What did you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

17. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

18. My 4-year old grandson asked me in the car the other day "What would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the heck do I respond to that?

19. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

20. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

Calories?!

(Nor Cal Mommy)

Ok, I'm serious about losing this baby weight finally! So I got a gym membership, workout clothes and shoes, and made my orientation appointment with the personal trainer. I get to the orientation all pumped and ready to learn how to maximize my time at the gym. Only to find out we are going to sit and talk about how unfit I am now and what I am NOT doing that I should be...and it wasn't all about working out! So he asks me my goals and where I am at now. I tell him I think I'm about X lbs (increasing what I actually think so that when I step on the scale it won't seem so bad) and that I would like to lose 10 lbs in the next 3 months. Reasonable. He chuckles a little and says, "That won't be hard!" Ha! What does he know? He LIVES at the gym and eats and breathes nutrition. Ok now it's the time of truth...the dreaded scale. I take of my shoes, my sweatshirt, my iPod, and anything removable and step on. The scale is tilting further and further...what?! I am actually a half a pound MORE than what I had said I thought I was? Remember, I told him a little more so it wouldn't seem as bad. Now I'm depressed. We go back and do the fat pinch test (ouch! but whatever I'm over it), take measurements, etc, etc.

He says, "It's simple math. If you want to lose weight you have to burn more calories than you take in." He informs me that for my body type and goals I need to only eat about 1,000 calories a day! What?! I don't know, I have never calorie counted before, but that seems like I'd starve!

I text Montana Mommy. She is shocked too, but we decide to do calorie counting during my upcoming visit. First we want to see what we eat on a normal day, then try to stay within a certain calorie limit. Have you ever counted calories? It is HARD! Not everything comes with a handy dandy nutrition label and a measuring cup to portion out that measly 1/4 cup of cereal! You literally have to count and measure everything...this is going to be a long road ahead! If anyone has any tips or ideas, I'm all ears!

Mom! What’s for Dinner?

Montana Mommy

‘Sweet, Sticky, Spicy Chicken’ has become one of my “Go-to dinners” for our family.

This recipe was suggested to me by Nor Cal Mommy-she found it at www.allrecipes.com.
With a couple of minor changes to the recipe found on the website, I now make it often- and it’s not too spicy for the kids!

•1 tablespoon brown sugar
•2 tablespoons honey
•1/4 cup soy sauce
•2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger root (I use powdered)
•2 teaspoons chopped garlic
•2 tablespoons hot sauce
•salt and pepper to taste
•4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1/2 inch strips
•1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions

1.Mix together brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and hot sauce in a small bowl.
2.Lightly salt and pepper the chicken strips.
3.Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken strips and brown on both sides, about 1 minute per side. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Simmer uncovered until the sauce thickens, 8 to 10 minutes.

Montana Mommy’s changes
1.Dredge the chicken in flour first (many others suggested this too).
2.Double the sauce ingredients.
3.Only use 1 tablespoon hot sauce!
4.Add steamed broccoli to the chicken before serving.
5.Top it with cashews too!

Serve over rice and enjoy!

How nice it is to be me again!

(Nor Cal Mommy)

Since Baby Bear was born, Daddy and I haven’t spent much time together alone. I’ve heard over and over from other moms that it’s crucial to being happy. I, like many other moms I’m sure, felt that it was too difficult…getting a babysitter, planning the time away (whether it is dinner out or a weekend away), having the money…the list of excuses goes on and on! We finally did it though! Daddy’s birthday was the perfect “reason” to take this time for ourselves. His mom came to our house for the weekend- yes, I said WEEKEND- and we went on a quick overnight trip to San Francisco!

Leaving was the hard part, but about a half hour into the drive, we were talking and laughing like old times! We arrived around 1 in the afternoon, left our car at the hotel and went out for seafood and a drink. It was so different being out with just the two of us. No highchair, no food fight, no screaming, no clearing the table on one side, and we actually got to eat! We had a wonderful afternoon doing things we used to enjoy…walking all over San Francisco stopping and going whenever we wanted…we began to remember why we started this journey in the first place.

When we got home, Baby Bear hardly seemed to notice we’d left! It was so great to be home and so rejuvenating to have been gone. I was ready to take on Baby Bear, the messy house, the piles of laundry, and the work week ahead! Although it is so hard to get it together sometimes, it is more than worth it to take some time out for you, wouldn’t you agree?!

Teaching My Pre-Schooler that Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees!

(Montana Mommy)

Once Big Sister turned 4 and started getting curious about money, we started to talk to her about it and what happens when we want to spend (or not spend) money.

Back when she was the only child, things were a little bit different. When we ran to Target or some other similar store, she usually got a little surprise (chance to pick something from the dollar section or a very small toy from the toy section). Times have changed! With the arrival of two more siblings, I now stay at home, (I worked part-time when Big Sister turned 1) and purchasing one small toy is a whole different story than purchasing three (not to mention that we don’t have a ton of space for all these toys in the kids’ bedrooms)! That being said, our challenge with Big Sister was how to make her understand that money doesn’t grow on trees- so she can’t always get a toy like she used to, and like she wants to.

The first step I took in breaking this bad habit was to start telling her a few days ahead of time that we would be going to the store soon and that we wouldn’t be buying any toys or clothes for her on that trip-we would be getting just what was on the list. She was distracted enough with her snack that it didn’t really bother her that trip. The next couple of times I did the same thing: Warn her a few days ahead and then again in the car on the way. So far, so good- no fits! Since this started, a year or so ago, it has gone pretty well. When she is really tired, she whines for a toy, but everything can usually be made all better with the chance to pick out her favorite flavor of popsicles for the family!

What has worked for your kids when trying to teach them about money?

No More Sucker!

Upon the advice of my trusted cousin, I decided before Baby Bear was even born, that there would be no more pacifier (better known in our house as “sucker”) after the age of one. After doing some of my own research I found that extended sucker usage can inhibit baby’s language and orthodontic development (just to name a few), but what I was really afraid of was trying to battle an unruly toddler that will remember for days that her mean mommy took away her sucker security. I definitely didn’t want to go through what some of the parents on Supernanny had to go through! This is the process I used and so far (officially two weeks sucker-free!) so good:
Around 10 months, we began only offering Baby Bear the sucker at nap and bed time, although every once in a while she’d find one and start sucking on it during the day
o No issues there as she didn’t seem to even think about it
• As her first birthday approached, I put all the suckers (but one) in a ziplock and put them away. The one I left out, I put on top of a bookcase by her bed so she would only have it at bedtime.
o That made naptime difficult. We were back to crying it out. Thankfully it usually only lasted about five to ten minutes. Then after about a week of that, she began going down for her nap with no fuss. She wasn’t necessarily going right to sleep, but she was quiet!
• About two weeks ago, I was dreading what I knew I had to do…make her sucker-free for good. I chickened out the first two nights, then bit the bullet and put her down with no sucker. I think it hurt me more than her!
o I was feeling so good- I put her down without a sucker and no fuss! I quietly exited the room and waited outside the door expecting to hear her screaming…hmmm…nothing. Wow! This was way easier than I thought. NOT! About five minutes later, she was screaming. Now what? I waited for a few minutes, then re-entered her room, held her for a minute or two, put her back down and quietly exited.
• Here we are exactly two weeks after her first birthday and Baby Bear goes down without a sucker and without a fuss!