...So The Boys Got A Piano

Santa (a.k.a. Aunt Abigail) came early and brought an amazing gift to the boys...

I see rock stars in our future!!  They are in HEAVEN!  It's the perfect gift for our little music-lovers.  Even the box was a hit for the little boogers.  

You know you want to hear their first time stroking the keys...

They're gifted I tell ya!

Maybe next year they can lead the carols at Coffee Bar Blue Door's Annual Community Christmas party.  I'm thinking we could make it a family event.  I'll do my thing and read 'Twas The Night Before Christmas and we'll have Mickey dress up as Santa...That gives us a year to work on the beard and the belly.  Haha!  Other than some first time kinks and an overwhelming turnout, I'd say tonight's event was a success.  Thanks to Miss Rabe for helping with the carols and the bubble machine for doing its thing.  The candy canes were a nice perk too.  I love our little town and was so happy to see how many people showed up for our little event.

In workout news, I feel like I've hit a major roadblock.  I finished the 8 weeks of Best Body Fitness Boot Camp and LOVED the workouts but found myself even more frustrated with the state of my tummy post-bootcamp.  It seemed to have gotten worse....  So I consulted Bethany Learn of Fit2B Studios.  I am desperate to fix the sad state of my tummy.  It seems like I still have some work to do with my diastasis recti and all the burpees and running I was doing were actually aggravating it and making it even worse.  NOT GOOD AT ALL!  

Her advice--a 2 month break from running and boot camp workouts, while substituting some ab rehab and healing exercises.  She's got lots of tummy safe workouts on her site.  The ellipcial is safe too and you all know how much I love that thing.  I'm scared about the state of my running after a 2 month hiatus but feel like I've just got to give her advice a try...scary but if it means avoiding surgery in the future, I've got to give it a try.  If I can get back to running after a pregnancy of NO running, surely I can survive 2 months...RIGHT??  I'm hoping I can learn to love yoga and can get my fix from the allowed weightlifting and other workouts.  Who wants to be my new speed-walking buddy?  

My predicament reminded me of this fitness rebellion I stumbled across the other day.  It's time to "give my one, precious body the respect it deserves" which for me = time to heal and exercises to restore my core.  Here goes...

Weekend Update

Leah made it to Florida!!  Needless to say, the weekend's joy was a bit overshadowed by the sad events in Connecticut.  It made me especially happy to have extra family close by.  Life is too short to take the things we value for granted.  My family is everything to me.  I don't know what I'd do without them.  Don't let a day slip by without making sure your loved ones know how much they mean to you.

I feel like I hit the jackpot this weekend.  Not only do we get Leah for the week, but she came bearing gifts, one of which came in the form of some really cool new GIANT crayons...

These bad boys are apparently available at Target.  They are definitely a hit with my kiddos and would make great stocking stuffers.  Thanks Aunt Leah!!

Aunt Leah is also available for taking photos of the boys that include me for a change...

...at our other favorite store, Publix, where shopping is ALWAYS a pleasure.  

Another perk of Leah's visit is the ability to go for a run without the stroller...

...well hello speedier legs.  It's been a long time!  Nice to see you!!!

It's great to have another set of eyes to help watch the boys at the beach as well...

Our rainy Saturday morning turned into a gorgeous day for a visit to the beach.  The boys got to see those fishermen catch a fish too.  SCORE!

I scored pretty big in the "getting the boys to eat their veggies" department too when I got them to devour this lovely concoction, made by mixing pureed spinach into the cheese sauce for Annie's Organic Mac N Cheese.  I may have stirred in some pepperoni to up the yum factor as well.  

You can see it was a hit with the boys...

It was by no means "health food" but definitely took the healthiness factor up a notch with a food my boys ADORE.  

Today we also made some yummy cranberry oatmeal walnut and white chocolate chip cookies as well as a DELISH kale salad inspired by this one from Iowa Gril Eats.  Love her blog!!  I subbed dried cranberries for the cherries and left out the onions.  It's my new favorite thing to do with kale.  SOOO good!

We had a very exciting Saturday night out in Palm Beach at "A Latte Fun."  The boys were bit overwhelmed by it all and stuck to the puzzles or the stairs most of the time...

They did finally brave the giant trampoline when we were about ready to leave.  They thought running on it was pretty cool...

 

I didn't know we needed to bring socks and may have spent $10 buying socks that didn't fit any of us.  So much for getting a good deal with the Living Social deal.  I spent the money I saved on CRAPPY socks!  Live and learn...so frustrating!

In other weekend news, this lovely thing finally came in the mail too...

I'm proud to be able to add that certification to my personal training certification.  Now I just need some clients!!  Let me know if you're interested...

Speaking of working out, there's still time to sign up for Round 4 of Tina's Best Body Fitness Boot Camp.  Are you up for the challenge with me?  Let me know if you sign up so we can encourage each other.  

Have a fabulous week!

I See Fun in My Future

We're still in REST UP AND GET WELL mode over here which meant our evening was pretty uneventful.  I didn't even make anything fun for dinner; we just ate leftovers.  BORING!  We did get to have an impromptu play date which was pretty cool, though!  Once the boys were in bed, I snuggled up on the couch to watch...

I've always been a fan of Jack Black and think Matthew Mc Conaughey is pretty darn hot so I added it to my Netflix queue but had kind of forgotten about it until it came in the mail.   What a funny movie!  If you like dark comedy, I highly recommend it!  SOOOO funny!

The boys didn't give me the luxury of sleeping in this morning.  Bummer!  On the flip side, we were able to make it to the gym for a little cardio on the elliptical before the produce truck arrived.  Bonus!  I lasted about 45 minutes before feeling like it was a good idea to call it a day.  I'm still not feeling 100%. So frustrating!

Mason decided he wanted to push the stroller out of the gym.  He did a pretty good job until this point, where he got distracted by the robot stickers and started heading straight for the wall.

Their vocabulary is really coming along.  Mason kept saying "I push it! I push it!"  Their other favorite phrases are "I work" and "I build."  They love their tools.  100% boy!!

One of the most exciting things in our produce share today is the brussels sprouts.  I'm hoping to get the rest of the ingredients to try out this recipe which showed up on my blogroll thanks to Diva-Dish today.  How timely!

Source 

I always just roast my brussels sprouts--big surprise there-- but what's not to love about walnuts cranberries, garlic, shallots, and maple syrup with them.  YUMMY!

I'm hoping to squeeze in a little bracelet-making and a 15 minute Jackie Warner lower body workout while the boys nap.  

It's no Best Body Bootcamp but I'm still not back to my fighting strength so this will have to do.  Speaking of Best Body Bootcamp, Tina has opened up registration for the next round which begins January 7.  Who's with me?

We finally have some cooler weather, too, so I'm hoping to get the boys outside for a little fresh air tonight.  Exciting times over here in Plankerville.  We've got an exciting guest coming tomorrow.  I see some fun in my future.  Can't wait!  

Sunchokes and Sunshine

I went to bed SUPER early last night, like 8:00 early...needless to say I was up before the sun as a result.  I enjoyed 2 cups of coffee along with this month's issue of oxygen magazine in complete silence before the boys got up.  It was DIVINE!

While I was reading my magazine, I finally had roasted those sunchokes I got last Thursday.  I diced them up, tossed them with olive oil, salt, and pepper and stuck them in the oven for 45 minutes at 400.    They were super yummy!!   What a unique flavor.  If you get the chance to try them, I highly recommend you seize the opportunity.  I enjoyed them alongside some scrambled egg whites.  What a yummy way to start the day!  So far no gastrointestinal distress either...TMI!  Guess that vegan experiment was good for something...

We're still in recovery mode over here in Plankerville but we were able to make it out for a play date at the park.  It was good to get some fresh air, especially after all the rain that we've been having around here.  I'm tempted to complain about how hot it has been here, but I know I should be counting my blessing since it's COLD in most other parts of the country.  I wouldn't mind needing a sweater or having an excuse to wear my knock-off Ugg boots.  Good thing they were on clearance since I'm certainly not getting my money's worth living in this part of the country.

The boys had a blast at the park.  They got to try out a friend's tricycle...

The pedal concept is still a bit tricky for them.  We had a lot of forward backward action going on that was pretty cute though.  I'm glad I decided to hold out on trikes for Christmas, but at least I know what to get them for their birthdays in March!!  How cute are they?

Of course they had to wear their boots this morning.  They seriously might need a support group--Boot Lovers Anonymous anyone?

They played hard and had no trouble falling asleep on the ride home...

I was able to run (SLOWLY!) to the park and back but I'm feeling pretty drained from our outing as well.  Guess I'm still recovering too.  Darn sinuses!

Our family has some serious downtime on the docket again for the rest of today...hopefully including a viewing of last night's episode of Parenthood (love that show!) and a quick little pedi for myself.

We're still trying to find our way back to health.  Wish us luck!

Back In The Land of the Living

It seems like there is FINALLY light at the end of our family's tunnel of sickness.   I was able to sleep through the night for the first time in 10 days--thanks to tylenol PM, Augmentin, Flonase, AND Zyrtec.  Not sure which one of those meds was the magic cure but I feel like I could kiss the feet of the wonderful doctor who prescribed them to me.  That arsenal works!  So much for going the all-natural route...  Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do and I'm looking back on the last 5 days and wishing I would have gone to the doctor much sooner than I did.  Live and learn!!  I feel like I say that phrase a lot as a mom...but I digress.

It was a rainy morning and story time was cancelled AGAIN.  Bummer!  I missed seeing my Tuesday morning buddies.  Hopefully it doesn't rain next week and we can get in one more story time before the holiday break.  

The rain didn't keep us from music class today.  After missing last week, we were very happy to be able to rejoin the group.  I can't say enough good things about Miss Rabe.  She is so good with the kids and the parents.  I think I learn as much from her as my kids do.  We love her!

 Mason loves to drum with his friends.

  The boys LOVE the piano.

Miss Rabe has a player piano and she had it play Christmas music for the boys.  They thought it was magical the way it could play without anyone touching the keys.  SO COOL!

The boys crashed on the way home, clearly still recovering from being sick.  Good thing our agenda is wide-open the rest of the day other than one quick errand.  God has a funny way of helping me see when it time to just slow down a little and take a break.  I'm learning to appreciate the opportunity to rest.  On that note, I'm off to put my feet up.  I'm still recovering too!

Maybe I can stumble across some more fun YouTube videos like this one while I'm resting...

...or this one...

Happy Holidays!

Dreaming of A Hot Toddy

The boys are feeling much better today and I wish I could say the same for myself.  Other than some runny noses, they seem to be back to their old selves.

I, on the other hand, am keeping the cold medicine companies in business.  Here are some of my favorites...

My original plan of attack was the all natural approach, but I ended up giving in and adding Mucinex Fast Max to my arsenol.  Boy am I glad I did!  It's a little miracle-worker.  I highly recommend it if you wind up with this nasty bug.

Since I can't work out, and I can't seem to be able to nap either, I've been entertaining myself by making some bracelets when the boys sleep.  I'm happy with the way yesterday's creations turned out...

I may have just ruined some Christmas surprises...woops!

I'm hoping I can muster up enough energy to take the boys to the parade tonight.  Wish I had the fixings for a hot toddy.  Couldn't hurt, right?  Happy Weekend!  Stay Healthy!

...Still In The Sick House

We are definitely on the mend here, but still can't seem to shake this crazy cold.  To keep things interesting, my body decided to get in on the action so I'm fighting the bug myself now too.  It was bound to happen sooner or later so hopefully we're paying our dues now and getting all our colds out of the well in one fell swoop.

We've come up with some pretty creative ways to entertain ourselves.  The boys and I did some decorating today...

I made a Christmas tree and the boys drew some lovely designs on the cabinets.  Gotta love the magic eraser!  I got the Christmas tree idea from a magazine and it seriously only took me about 10 minutes.  It's just a matter of folding each page.  Cute, huh?

Today's produce delivery got here earlier than normal so at least we were able to get that out of the way by noon.  Love when that happens!  I'm very intrigued by the sunchokes, also called Jerusalem artichokes,  I received in my share today.  

They look kind of like a knobby potato and even a bit like ginger.  I think I'll try them out using my tried and true method---roasting!  Shocker!  Don't they look yummy here on the Kitchn blog?  

source

I'm a bit afraid of them after reading the comments on that blog though...sounds like they give people alot of GI issues.  Maybe I'll try just a bite the first time...I'll keep you posted, unless that's too much information.  Haha

I'm not sure it's in my best interest to work out today since I'm feeling pretty crummy, but I think a little walk for some fresh air might be just what the doctor ordered once the boys are up from their naps.  

To keep the excitement for today going, I'm off to steam clean the floors.  No more dirty feet for this family...

I'll leave you with a video of my cuties from last night.  Love the little chatterboxes!

Another Doozy of A Day

We're on day 4 of this awful cold and I'm SOOO over it!  It reminds me of the boys' infant stage...up every couple of hours, crabby because they're tired, stroller naps, feeling exhausted, minimal workouts with less than stellar performance, feeling like I'm just in a fog, I could go on but I'll spare you.  I don't know how we survived the boys' first year...no wonder so much of it is foggy for me.  I'm glad this is not the norm for us.

This morning's 4:00 wake-up call seemed especially early after staying up a little later than usual to go to a holiday party featuring a scarf exchange.  I was the lucky one who got to end up choosing from ALL of the opened scarves.  Lucky me!  That kind of thing never happens to me so I was thrilled.  I ended up getting the gorgeous scarf I wanted after an interesting turn of events.  Some people never cease to amaze me.  Thanks for a great party, Debi and Doreen!  It was a great kick-off for the holiday season.  I'll be sporting my scarf for sure this holiday season.

Our day has been filled with lots of jammie time and lots of nose-wiping.  Good thing we've got new toys and jammies to keep us happy.

I made some yummy pumpkin pancakes for all of us this morning.  The boys actually devoured them.  I was glad to see their appetites returning.

I made them using the following recipe:

Pumpkin Protein Pancakes 

Combine the following ingredients in a large bowl.

• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup buckwheat flour
• 2 scoops SunWarrior vanilla protein powder
• pinch baking soda
• pinches of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 T ground flaxseed

Cook just as you would regular pancakes then enjoy.  I topped mine with a little bit of maple syrup but the boys just ate theirs plain.  YUM!

That early wake-up made for some crabby boys come 10 am and they were NOT interested in taking a nap so I had to resort to my old tactic of loading them up in the stroller for some snooze time.  Of course they needed their necklaces and sunglasses for the journey...

The old trick worked and they were asleep before I was even half a mile down the road.

Mason snoozed the whole time but Colton faded in and out, depending on the excitement of the scenery.  He never lets a truck go unnoticed.  I had only planned to run 3 miles but since they kept sleeping, I kept running, taking advantage of the opportunity, regardless of how slow my pace was.

They've suckered me into watching Elmo for a bit.  It's the only thing they've ever seen on tv besides sports.  I think they think it's the only show on tv.  I'm hoping to squeeze another nap out of them once it's over...wish me luck!  I wish I had ambitious goals for their nap time but I'm actually hoping to close my eyes for a bit as well.    

So Long Veganism...

I gave the vegan thing a fair shot, and I really wanted to be good at it and have it work for me, but things just aren't going my way and I don't think the lifestyle is for me.  I don't think I can take the gastrointestinal distress that it causes me any longer.  In trying to avoid soy, my protein options were extremely limited and I know I wasn't consuming enough protein most days of the week and was consuming WAY more than enough fiber.  I have been unable to find a healthy, happy balance.  For a fit gal like me, sacrificing protein long-term just isn't an option. It seems like the easiest way for me to not feel deprived, not have to eat completely different food from my family, and not feel gassy and bloated 24/7, is to return to eating clean.  I am planning to continue to minimize and, hopefully one day, eliminate dairy, as it just doesn't seem to agree with my stomach.  I also instist on consuming antibiotic-free and grass-fed meat sources whenever possible, eating red meat on a VERY occasional basis and seafood will have a regular appearance on my menu as well.  This is sounding very Paleo to me...maybe that will be my next adventure.  I love a good adventure/experiment.

My vegan experiment wasn't for naught, however.  I did find some products that I love and will definitely be continuing to use.  Here are my top 3...

This is the perfect butter substitute for me.  SOOOO yummy!

Love this replacement for half and half in my coffee.  

This is my favorite protein powder by far.  I use it almost daily, usually in smoothies.  It will allow me to continue on working to eliminate dairy, since whey protein in milk-derived.  I tried the warrior blend but returned to the traditional protein since I think it tastes much better. 

Enough diet talk...I know you're really here to find out about my kiddos, right?  Poor things are still sick but finally slept through the night and seem to finally be on the mend.  Thank goodness for all of our friends who have helped us out.  I think I would have lost my mind without all of you.  

We called today a sick day and hunkered down to hopefully kick this thing in the butt.  We started off our morning with a run to get some fresh air.  I needed it as much as the boys.  We could have done without the rain, but were able to find shelter as we waited it out.

Thanks to the rain there was no story time.  I swear it was a gift of god so that we could just stay home and rest.  He is good!

The boys stayed in their jammies extra long this morning...wearing their boots of course!

Colton still enjoys putting on the giant boots even though he has some that are his size.  I am starting to think he needs to join a support group, maybe something like boot-lovers annonymous?  

Instead of story time, we got in lots of coloring...

They seemed to think this pose was funny...monkey see monkey do, right?

They also played with some new toys from a wonderful friend...

All while breathing the healing vapors from this little miracle-worker an angel dropped off for us...

It's like a plug-in with vicks in it.  Even if your kids aren't sick now, get one so you're prepared when they do get sick.  It really is amazing!

While they boys napped, I baked and decorated my tree...

Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. 

Pear bread, recipe thanks to Smitten Kitchen.  It's my favorite thing to make 

when I have an abundance of pears from my organic produce.  

Being the lazy person that I am, rather than get down the Christmas decorations, I made my own ornaments out of starfish and ribbon.  No sentimental value = no big deal if the boys decide to play with them = winner for me!

Here's to hoping we get another good night of sleep and the boys feel a million times better tomorrow morning.