"E" Week

This week we've been tackling uppercase E at "Planker Academy."  So far, this has been the hardest letter for me to get creative with but we managed to have more fun than I expected we'd have.  Here's a peak into some of our activities...

We had lots of fun with EGGS.  The boys helped me make deviled eggs...

We did an experiment with vinegar and eggs...

....did you know the shell turns soft when you leave eggs in vinegar for an extended period of time?  They were like snake eggs.   It was a fun sensory activity for us.  We were even able to bounce them a bit.  

We also got some seed planted in the egg carton...

...we're hoping to grow some of the boys favorites--red peppers, cucumbers, and kale.  I selfishly have some beet and tomato seeds going too.  Fingers crossed we have a bit of success this year.

We made eagles...

We also got some exercise working on our hand-eye coordination...

...Mason actually even hit the ball once...

How cute is Colton with all his exercise gear??...

We did lots of eating...

...this time was frozen yogurt as a reward for the excellent behavior for their haircuts.  

We also did an experiment called elephant toothpaste...

...it was so cool watching it erupt out of the bottle...

We had to do it a second time to show Dad....

...needless to say, he was impressed too. :-)

We also did some fine-motor work painting E's with q-tips...

...we had to paint our names too :-)...

We also read some great E-themed books with some help from this list.  She's always got great suggestions there.  Some of our activities were a bit of a stretch but we still learned a lot and had a lot of fun, especially with the experiments.  

Nuttiness Cure

Today was an organic produce day which always makes me a little nutty.  I love all the yummy fresh produce though so the nuttiness is worth it.  Between the printer not working so I could organize myself for the delivery, needing to squeeze in a trip to the post office and hopefully a run as well before the produce got here and dealing with kiddos who were extra fired up, I was having a hard time finding my groove.  Look at this mess they created in less than 2 minutes...Silly boys!  This picture doesn't even show you half the room.

Thankfully, all the craziness was quickly quieted when a great friend played with my kids while I sorted all this produce...

...and that's only about half of it.  Look at these little gems that some people got:

I'm bummed that I didn't order the share that included them.  They look so fun!  They're the size of a large grape and apparently look like a kiwi when you bite into them.  I will definitely be getting them next time.  Now it's time to explore the recipes to see what yummy dishes I'll be making with my goods.  Check out the recipes the buying club provides for us.  I haven't found a bad one in the bunch.

I loved being able to let my mind wander a bit while I sorted everything, knowing that my kids were outside enjoying themselves with our friends.  Cecilia, you are a godsend to us!

I was working hard to finish up some of my produce from last week and enjoyed the following two yummy meals today, both enjoyed on my princess plate of course...

For breakfast I had scrambled egg whites with sauteed spinach and onions served with an english muffin on the side.  

Lunch included salmon in a honey, ginger and rum glaze with roasted cauliflower.  That sauce is to die for!  It might be my new favorite way to eat salmon.  I just combined the following as a marinade:

• 1/4 cup dark rum
• 1/8 cup honey
• 1 T grated fresh ginger
• Salt and Pepper to taste

I let it sit in the fridge all morning and then baked it, still in the marinade, for 20 minutes at 350.

Thankfully, I was able to squeeze in a 4 mile run this morning and even managed to combine it with an errand to the post office to get some stamps and mail a package.  Talk about multi-tasking.

I will NOT be repeating that route.  I totally forgot about all the construction on Colorado in downtown Stuart--not an easy path for the jogging stroller.  I forgot to stop the clock on my app while I ran in the post office and I'm guessing I spent about 3 minutes in there, so the run took about 37 minutes.  I'm good with that...

This afternoon's mission is to spend some quality time with my boys and hopefully get in a quickie leg workout.  I'm thinking drop sets so I can bust it out quick.  Maybe this workout...

Since I didn't get to watch What to Expect When You're Expecting last night, maybe I can make that happen tonight.  Tomorrow's a rest day so I won't feel too bad if I stay up later than usual.  We do have a fun play date planned for tomorrow though.  I'm hoping to get some good photos to share with you.

Oh, and I also need to VOTE.  Check out these crazy amendments I have to translate so I can vote on them.  SOOO glad I signed up for the absentee ballot.

I may not have time to watch my movie tonight after all if I get started on this...  Haha.  

I'll leave you with this thought that helped me get through the day yesterday.   I found it to be quite helpful...

Be happy where you are with what you have and know that God is good.

Rainy Sunday

After a wonderful date night but probably one too many glasses of wine, a diner-style breakfast was just what the doctor ordered, so I whipped up some fried eggs, hashbrowns, and a little sauteed spinach, to help me feel a little bit better about my meal.  With lots of hot sauce and some ketchup, it hit the spot! Oh, and lots and lots of coffee and water...

After a great church service, with a convicting message on pride using James chapter 4, we returned home to play with the kiddos on this rainy day thanks to Tropical Storm Isaac.  YUCK!  After play time was nap time for the boys and that meant time to tackle a workout I have wanted to try since I read it on the Peanut Butter Fingers blog and then saw it again on Facebook via FitFluential.  I get some great workouts from their posts.  This workout was AWESOME! I highly recommend you check out all her workouts.  I like her style!

It was super fun to workout with my husband.  We haven't done that in a while but we decided we'll dedicate the boys' Sunday nap time to Kick Our Butts time.  Sundays are cross-training days on my half-marathon training plan and this type of workout is exactly what I'm looking for.  My husband thought it was great too.  

Our recovery smoothie was as tasty as ice cream in my opinion, but much healthier...

 I combined the following in our Ninja blender:

• SunWarrior vanilla protein powder
• BIG handful spinach
• A couple mixed berries
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 scoop PB2
• 1 spoonful cocoa powder
• Pinch of xanthan gum
• Sprinkle of cinnamon
• A big pour of unsweetened almond milk

It's the ultimate cure for an ice cream hankering...and it contains spinach!  Meal 2 of the day including spinach.  Woohoo!

When the boys woke up, we hoofed it up to Vero for the Twins Club meeting.  The weather scared most of the families away but we were able to chat with 2 other families who have twins.  Ours were the only boys in the group but they sure did love the cars at the mall.  We had a hard time getting them to leave.

While in Vero, we were able to hit up the outlet mall.  We love scoping out the deals at Carters (got some super cute jammies, halloween shirts, play shirts and the liquid powder I love) and found some Crocs for ourselves and a friend at the Crocs outlet.  Our boys love theirs so we decided it was time to get some for ourselves.  Check out the ones my husband picked out...He looks very manly in them :-)  

I had the best intentions of cooking up my spinach and swiss chard stuffed turkey meatloaf, which I prepared earlier in the day, when we got home from our outing but our stomachs had different ideas when we starting getting rumbling stomachs in Vero.  With fussy boys who had no interest in fine dining, we settled on some sandwiches from Nature's Table Bistro.  I was surprised by how tasty they were considering they came from the mall food court.  Guess we'll have to try for spinach in every meal tomorrow...

Before I forget, last night I picked up Shape Magazine latest issue and here's some facts from it that caught my attention... I thought you might appreciate their research as well.  

My takeaway was...

• When you compare cost of serving size, not per calorie, you'll see nutritious foods don't cost as much after all.  
• Agave nectar might as well be sugar...in my understanding of the article.  I've been reading more and more about it as such a good marketing ploy rather than being as healthy as we've been led to believe so I'm eliminating it from our house as well.  We already cut out sugar and use raw honey instead.  It's yummy.  I encourage you to try it. I wish I wouldn't have wasted so much money on agave.
• I'm going to be cooking in my cast iron skillet more often.  It's safer than teflon and can boost iron, something my boys and I both need.

There was also an intriguing article about Jillian Michaels.  Boy has she relaxed now that she's a mom!  Check out the issue if you get a chance. I used to get really annoyed by her but I might be coming around a little bit now.

Stay dry Floridians!  Find a way to move.  You won't regret it.