Kicking my butt...

Working out. Ugh. Definitely not my favorite thing in the world. Growing up I was always involved in sports, and never had to worry about working out to stay in shape. I love gymnastics and dance, but don't have the opportunity for those things anymore (nor do I think my old body could handle them!). So when college rolled around, my metabolism slowed down (without anyone telling me.. what the heck!?!), I discovered Chipotle. Ahh Chipotle. Pardon my tangent but it seriously is the best place on earth. We used to eat there probably 3 times a week. Not only was it hard on the pocketbook, but one day I looked in the mirror and realized I had two chins. Seriously. And that my pants didn't fit. Um... wait a second! I had heard of the "freshman 15," but no one told me about the "marriage/Chipotle-addicted 30!" So there it was, my first venture into the of working out for no reason but to lose weight. Doing sports was fun for me and never felt like work. The treadmill, elliptical, and weight bench, on the other hand... torture. But I've made a weight loss goal for myself yet again, and so here I go, running every morning while pushing the boys in the stroller, and now working out occasionally with my neighbor.

My neighbor, Trisha and I, tried working out this morning and it started off sort of disastrous, considering we both have two kids. Between the two of us there were four boys.. Caden (4), Jace (20mos), Miles (20mos), and Max (2mos). Play upstairs in Jace and Caden's room? No, that equaled two screaming toddlers. Watch a short movie upstairs in Trisha's room? No, Miles lost interest really fast when he realized it was not Mickey Mouse.. and Jace (who is 10 days older than Miles) soon followed. So they all came back downstairs and played around while we worked out. Trisha's dog, Lady (this tiny little dog), liked to get under our feet.... and between that and the toddlers squishing bananas into the carpet, it was distracting to say the least. BUT I know I got a good workout because a) I can hardly walk I am so sore, and b) I was so tired I needed to lay down when the boys went down today for the first time in a long time.

But, I guess I can feel the pounds melting away--at least I hope it is the pounds and not my muscles just disintegrating from lack of use these past nine months :) I'll keep you posted on how I am doing. I've got the working out "under control", now if I can just avoid the package of brownies that is calling my name from the pantry.... :)

Cooking 101

Lately, I have really had the desire to cook, try new recipes, etc. I realized that I do love the cooking aspect, but my hardest thing is deciding WHAT to cook. So, to alleviate some of the pressure of having to make a grocery list NOW, and to avoid the stress of not knowing what to cook, I decided to sit down and make a monthly meal plan. I did this for September, and it was a LIFESAVER! It took me about an hour to go through my recipes to decide what to put where, but it was sooo worth it.

Here are some things I took into consideration. We lead a small group at our house every Tuesday. No matter what, it never feels like there is enough time in the day to get everything done on Tuesdays, so I tried to make all meals on Tuesdays as quick and easy with the least amount of mess possible. I know we usually have dinner somewhere else once a week. It might be the Shiver's house, Gma Ann who makes us dinner every other Wednesday, or a family night out somewhere. So I usually leave one day blank. And I also tried to have one crockpot meal per week; that way if something came up during the week and I knew I'd be gone for the day, I could put something in the crockpot, thus eliminating the temptation to just swing by and get fast food.

Now I'm on to planning October, and things are a little more crazy. Miles is in swim lessons until 6pm every Tuesday and Thursday, and I am working every Thursday from now on. But I did the upcoming month's calendar faster than last month, and I'm really excited about it (as is evidenced by an entire blog devoted to the topic) :) It really makes life easier. Now, every Thursday (I usually shop Fridays), I just sit down and make a list of all the ingredients I need to buy for the upcoming week. Easy as pie!!! (BTW--I don't know who made that saying up--pie is usually far from easy to make!).

That being said, I have taken a big liking to watching FoodNetwork. I've gotten some great ideas, and filled a lot of October's calendar up with new recipes to try--including Bruchetta Chicken, and Homemade Meatball Sandwiches! mmm!

My dad was an EXCELLENT cook, and loved watching Iron Chef on Food network. He was really into making new recipes and trying new things. I'm pretty sure that I got this cooking urge from him. My mom recently gave me a garlic press that dad bought but never used. And if you eat at my house, you know that I put fresh garlic in just about EVERYTHING. So almost every night I use it and think, "This one is for you, dad!"

Yesterday was a gloomy, rainy, and yet PERFECT fall day! I was reading a friend's blog and she had shared a recipe for Caramel Corn. I decided to try it and OH MY GOSH was it delicious! Thanks Nikki for sharing, I hope you don't mind if I pass it along! See below, and enjoy!

6 quarts popped popcorn
2 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. butter
1/2 c. corn syrup
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Place popcorn in a large bowl and set aside. In a large saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla and baking soda; mix well. Pour over popcorn and stir until well-coated. Pour into two greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pans. Bake, uncovered, at 250° for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool completely. Store in airtight containers.

And now I'm off to do a little reading, snack on a little caramel corn, and wait for my babies to wake up. Beef Strogonoff for dinner tonight---Papa Miles's recipe. Yummmmy!

xoxo,

To Blog or Not To Blog?

... That IS the question! Miles and I have been trying this blog thing for, well , probably about two years and have successfully completed, lets see, four, maybe five posts? Oh, that does not bode well for future blogging. BUT, since my family is so far away in the midwest, and not all of them are on facebook to see our pictures/family updates, we are going to try the blogging thing once more. So we hope you all appreciate it! :)

Here we are... Max is 7 weeks old today, and we cannot believe it! We had people here until he was four weeks old, so the last two and a half weeks have been our true time for adjusting. Max is doing GREAT! He is such a good baby. He sleeps about 6-7 hours at night without waking up (which is SUCH a nice change from his brother as an infant!). He has such a happy, easy-going personality, and is such a cutie pie! Miles V is having a bit of a hard time adjusting. Before Max came along, Miles was just such a good kiddo. And he still is, but now we have to tell him things several times, he has been hitting, acting up, and having tantrums. So, we are working through it. I am so thankful for our pastor who just recently preached a sermon on discipline, and how good and necessary it is. It really helps me when Miles is in time out for the fourth time in as many hours to remember that I am teaching him, and that this is beneficial for him. So please continue to keep us in your prayers as we learn and grow as parents!

In other news, we put our house on the market this week. It is a very very long shot, but houses are so cheap right now, and we found one up in the mountains that would be a perfect, long term home for us. It is on three acres, just beautiful and twice the size of our house now so it would accommodate our growing family. We continue to pray for God's guidance, and are truly 100% ok with whatever happens. We just enjoy doing this journey together.

Once I learn how to post pictures here, I'll post some, I promise! And hopefully it won't be a month before I get around to blogging again. But no promises!!!

:)