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.  

Footwear Fun

My boys LOVE footwear.  Doesn't matter if it's a flip flop...

 or a boot....

There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to their footwear choices, but they have recently discovered that they prefer a shoes they can put on themselves.  Mr. Independents! Since they love those GIANT frog boots so much, which were a hand-me-down from a dear friend, I decided to get them boots that actually fit for Christmas.  I had planned to  wait to surprise them on Christmas morning with their new kicks but couldn't hold out any longer and caved this morning.  Merry Christmas a month early boys!


Check out my stylin' boys... (don't mind the runny noses)

We could all probably take some fashion notes from them and their SERIOUS style!  

Today we also learned how to say robot...fun stuff over here in Plankerville.

We also picked up our tree this morning.  I'm looking forward to decorating it a bit tomorrow once it has "settled" a bit.  Don't think I'll brave brave lights or anything breakable with my two adventurous little guys on the loose.   It sure does smell good and is helping me get into the Christmas spirit though, something I always have a hard time experiencing here in sunny Florida...not that I'm complaining.  

The boys even let me squeeze in my last workout from week 6 of the Best Body Fitness Bootcamp.  2 more weeks to go.  I'm really hoping I enjoy the last two weeks as much as I did the first 2.  Weeks 5 and 6 were NOT my favorite.   Partial reps and insane amounts of burpees...I'm over it, but still very glad I followed through and stuck to the plan.  Bring on the final phase! 

Hoping to try out these tofu and swiss chard stacks for dinner tonight....hopefully along with a glass or two of wine.  

source

Happy weekend everyone!

Getting Things Done

I had a million things on my to-do list yesterday and actually got all of them done...except blogging.  I can't remember the last time I stayed up til 11 just so I could get things done.  Usually I'm over it by the time I put the boys to bed and call it a night shortly after they do.  It felt good to be productive but I'm glad the only major things on the to-do list today are Laundry and Produce.  I love produce day!  I'm especially excited for all the Thanksgiving goodies that are coming next week.   Organic cranberries--score!  We're supposed to be getting the BEST POTATOES EVER, buttercream fingerling potatoes, today.  Good think because one of  Mickey's favorite foods is potatoes.  I even switched my share so he could have them.  I see mashed potatoes in his very near future!


Before I tackled my to-do list, I did enjoy 2 lovely cups of this yummy coffee.  I highly recommend it...

It probably tasted especially yummy because it was BOGO at Publix and I had two coupons so I got each bag for $2.50.  Gotta love Publix and their wonderful coupon policies and sales.  

While I was busy getting things done yesterday, this is what my boys discovered...

They have just discovered how to make silly faces on windows and were really cracking each other up yesterday.  I love when they get the giggles like that.  It reminds me to stop and enjoy the moment as well.

We had a million errands to run including a stop at PetSmart for cat food.  No trip to PetSmart is complete without checking out the current rodents for sale...

Have you ever seen one with such geometric shading.  Crazy stuff!  It looked like he had been stamped. 

This was the boys' favorite.  He was VERY interactive...and actually kind of cute but still a rodent, nonetheless, and therefor never allowed in my house.  I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to convince the boys that we are not a pet family...

They LOVE every animal they meet and make it their mission to learn the sound that every animal makes.  I'm amazed by how much they already know about animals.  The animal sound of the week is "ribbit ribbit."  LOVE!

We also swung through BJs for some goodies and Mason spotted these lovely boots which he had to try on.  I think we might have to go back and get them.  We are traveling to the midwest this winter and need something besides flip flops to put on our feet, especially if it snows which I hope it does.  He'll fit right in with these boots...

The crazy thing is, if I buy them, I'm pretty sure he will actually wear them.  In fact, he'd probably never want to take them off.  They love shoes.

We also squeezed in a trip to the mall for a MOPS playdate in the food court.  That play area really is great.   All the kids had a blast.  My boys took a 3 hour nap after all that running around.  I hope everyone else's kids did too.  

The boys let me squeeze in some cardio at the gym too right before dinner time.  I had wanted to go for a run but the weather just wasn't cooperating so the elliptical became my workout instead.  I started our new book club book, which was my choice, and I am LOVING it so far.  We're reading The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver.  

I know it's not her latest, but I hadn't read it yet and love her other stuff so wanted to check this one out as well.  I hope it continues to be great and everyone loves it as much as I am so far.

The busy day left me with little energy to object when Colton wanted to wear his boots to bed, so rather than fight him, I gave in and now have one of my favorite pictures of him so far.  Like my friend Dana said, "choose your battles."  It just wasn't worth fighting him on it and I'm so glad I didn't.  Look how cute he is...

 ...and he fell asleep reading his books.   I hope they never lose their love of books.  We read every chance we get.   I love this quote that just happened to be on Macaroni Kid (which is a great resource for finding things to do with your kids, by the way) this morning.  Says the reading teacher..."Read to your kids as much as you can!"

 ...and don't forget to make time for play too.  You won't regret it!

(I couldn't show you that cute photo of Colton without showing off Mason's block building skills as well.  He's really getting the hang of stacking.