May the Fourth be with you!
Couldn't resist!
Happy Friday!
Friday, May 4, 2012
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Tell the Truth Thursday! Registration for School!
In the next few weeks I have to register Delaney for School!
They call it kinder-start as they only go once a month to help the child adjust to going to school the following year but to Delaney it is SCHOOL!
She has been packing up her bags and suitcase and walking to the door to go to school for I don't know how long. Delaney has been ready for school for as long as she has known what school is!
She is so excited and I am too! Sure part of me wants to wrap her up in her blankalie and rock her to sleep like I did when she was a baby, protect her from the world she wants to explore and keep her all to myself. Sure part of me wants to cry and morn the loss of her toddler-hood not to mention her baby-hood... BUT a very large part of me is so happy that she is growing up. She is a happy, polite, smart and beautiful child and I am so glad that she is going to school!
Maybe I am adjusting well now because I know I have another baby still here in my arms wanting to cuddle and snuggle and who is just learning about the world around him, maybe its because I am deluding myself and the day will come when it hits me HARD that my first baby is going to school, but maybe just maybe I am doing ok because I am confident that she is ready for school and that learning is something that I feel she will excel at. I honestly feel like she is at a point now where there isn't much more I can teach her without getting into the kindergarden curriculum so school is really the best place for her because lets face it I am NO teacher.
We have decided that we are going to try (and yes I say try) to get her into french immersion because we feel she can handle the challenge and that she will excel with the program. However the demand for French means I have to line up at least an hour and a half before the doors open for registration, that I am not looking forward to!
Now don't get me wrong I'm fearful, I am scared that she wont fit in, I'm scared that she will have trouble with the work, and most of all I'm scared that we wont be able to keep up with her once she starts learning french and using it regularly. I'm fearful but I know that my very resilient little girl is ready for this next step and I am so ready for her to experience learning the way you do in school!
Are your little ones in school yet? Am I kidding myself? Should I bring tissues for myself on the first day of school? Did you feel fine about your kiddos going to school? Please leave a comment and let me know how your experience with kindergarden was!
They call it kinder-start as they only go once a month to help the child adjust to going to school the following year but to Delaney it is SCHOOL!
She has been packing up her bags and suitcase and walking to the door to go to school for I don't know how long. Delaney has been ready for school for as long as she has known what school is!
She is so excited and I am too! Sure part of me wants to wrap her up in her blankalie and rock her to sleep like I did when she was a baby, protect her from the world she wants to explore and keep her all to myself. Sure part of me wants to cry and morn the loss of her toddler-hood not to mention her baby-hood... BUT a very large part of me is so happy that she is growing up. She is a happy, polite, smart and beautiful child and I am so glad that she is going to school!
Maybe I am adjusting well now because I know I have another baby still here in my arms wanting to cuddle and snuggle and who is just learning about the world around him, maybe its because I am deluding myself and the day will come when it hits me HARD that my first baby is going to school, but maybe just maybe I am doing ok because I am confident that she is ready for school and that learning is something that I feel she will excel at. I honestly feel like she is at a point now where there isn't much more I can teach her without getting into the kindergarden curriculum so school is really the best place for her because lets face it I am NO teacher.
We have decided that we are going to try (and yes I say try) to get her into french immersion because we feel she can handle the challenge and that she will excel with the program. However the demand for French means I have to line up at least an hour and a half before the doors open for registration, that I am not looking forward to!
Now don't get me wrong I'm fearful, I am scared that she wont fit in, I'm scared that she will have trouble with the work, and most of all I'm scared that we wont be able to keep up with her once she starts learning french and using it regularly. I'm fearful but I know that my very resilient little girl is ready for this next step and I am so ready for her to experience learning the way you do in school!
Are your little ones in school yet? Am I kidding myself? Should I bring tissues for myself on the first day of school? Did you feel fine about your kiddos going to school? Please leave a comment and let me know how your experience with kindergarden was!
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Double Chocolate Banana Muffins!
This should have been yesterdays Make it Monday recipe but to be honest with you I kept putting off posting and eventually I forgot... Oops.
Either way this is one super easy recipe that you can mix up and have on the snack tray in no time! And they are certainly a crowd pleaser... as long as you don't spill the beans on the secret ingredient because for some reason when you tell people that a recipe has this ingredient they tend to turn up their nose and walk away because this ingredient has a bad rep...
People think that prunes are an old persons food, and that their only purpose is as a laxative but prunes are soooo good for you! Not only are they are low in salt and fat and taste sweet, mostly because they are just dried plumes but they are the second most cultivated fruit in the world!
No matter how you feel about them here is the recipe for my Double Chocolate Banana Muffins!
3/4 cup dried pitted prunes
1 cup water
1/4 cup butter
1 egg
1 cup white sugar
3 tbsp milk
1 mashed banana
1 cup ground quick cooking oats
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup chocolate chunks
Chop prunes and place them in a small sauce pan with the water, bring to a boil and allow to simmer until most of the liquid has been absorbed and the prunes are plumped up, allow to cool. Meanwhile cream your butter and sugar in a large bowl, add the egg and mix well. Once your prunes are cooled puree in a food processor or blender until completely smooth, then mix with your mashed banana. In a medium bowl mix your dry ingredients until combined then add the dry mix into the butter and sugar alternately with the mashed banana and prunes. Once all three are mixed well add your chocolate chips or chocolate chunks.
Bake at 350 in mini muffin pans.
Yields 48 mini muffins that are 56 calories each!
They are super yummy and go over well with just about everyone... little girls and grown men included!
PS: Calorie information for the muffins came from here! And the prune information is from here!
Do you always tell your family what your "secret" ingredients are? Will you give your kids a food and tell them that it was made with something else just to get them to eat it? i'd love to know if i am the only one keeping a few ingredients "secret"!
Either way this is one super easy recipe that you can mix up and have on the snack tray in no time! And they are certainly a crowd pleaser... as long as you don't spill the beans on the secret ingredient because for some reason when you tell people that a recipe has this ingredient they tend to turn up their nose and walk away because this ingredient has a bad rep...
People think that prunes are an old persons food, and that their only purpose is as a laxative but prunes are soooo good for you! Not only are they are low in salt and fat and taste sweet, mostly because they are just dried plumes but they are the second most cultivated fruit in the world!
No matter how you feel about them here is the recipe for my Double Chocolate Banana Muffins!
3/4 cup dried pitted prunes
1 cup water
1/4 cup butter
1 egg
1 cup white sugar
3 tbsp milk
1 mashed banana
1 cup ground quick cooking oats
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup chocolate chunks
Chop prunes and place them in a small sauce pan with the water, bring to a boil and allow to simmer until most of the liquid has been absorbed and the prunes are plumped up, allow to cool. Meanwhile cream your butter and sugar in a large bowl, add the egg and mix well. Once your prunes are cooled puree in a food processor or blender until completely smooth, then mix with your mashed banana. In a medium bowl mix your dry ingredients until combined then add the dry mix into the butter and sugar alternately with the mashed banana and prunes. Once all three are mixed well add your chocolate chips or chocolate chunks.
Bake at 350 in mini muffin pans.
Yields 48 mini muffins that are 56 calories each!
They are super yummy and go over well with just about everyone... little girls and grown men included!
PS: Calorie information for the muffins came from here! And the prune information is from here!
Do you always tell your family what your "secret" ingredients are? Will you give your kids a food and tell them that it was made with something else just to get them to eat it? i'd love to know if i am the only one keeping a few ingredients "secret"!
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Tell the Truth Thursday! I hate Liars!
Liars.... They burn my biscuits, they rot my socks, they just plain old make me MAD!
It's not much of a confession I know... but I do!
I am a fairly honest person I like to think, I don't even really like to tell white lies... Maybe its because I try to be honest, maybe its because I like to tell the people I care about what I really think, maybe just maybe its because I would rather that people not look me straight in the face and tell me what they think I want to hear rather than what they need to say.
Why can't we tell the truth?
Come on were adults lets just be honest with each other.
If I have bad breath and you don't want to spend time with me because of it tell me or offer me some gum and say you really need this... (I don't have bad breath... I think...) If you don't like my husband and don't want to spend time with us as a couple tell me rather than break plans at the last minute or wait to invite me until you know we already have other plans. If you feel like my kid is too rough then tell me that so I can help her realize that what she is doing might be too much for her friend do not tell me you cant make it to a play date or just not show up at all. Worst of all to me is the people who constantly say sorry but I can't afford to do that and then go out and spend a ridiculous amount of money on something that is frivolous and unneeded... why play poor when you can say hey I don't want to do this or i don't want to spend my money on that... I will understand.
I know that these are just little white lies and they make most people feel better, both the lier and the lied to... but keep in mind that smart people usually find out that your lie no matter how little or how white was a lie.
How do you feel about lies? Are you a regular liar, or do you try to tell the truth? let me know in the comments!
It's not much of a confession I know... but I do!
I am a fairly honest person I like to think, I don't even really like to tell white lies... Maybe its because I try to be honest, maybe its because I like to tell the people I care about what I really think, maybe just maybe its because I would rather that people not look me straight in the face and tell me what they think I want to hear rather than what they need to say.
Why can't we tell the truth?
Come on were adults lets just be honest with each other.
If I have bad breath and you don't want to spend time with me because of it tell me or offer me some gum and say you really need this... (I don't have bad breath... I think...) If you don't like my husband and don't want to spend time with us as a couple tell me rather than break plans at the last minute or wait to invite me until you know we already have other plans. If you feel like my kid is too rough then tell me that so I can help her realize that what she is doing might be too much for her friend do not tell me you cant make it to a play date or just not show up at all. Worst of all to me is the people who constantly say sorry but I can't afford to do that and then go out and spend a ridiculous amount of money on something that is frivolous and unneeded... why play poor when you can say hey I don't want to do this or i don't want to spend my money on that... I will understand.
I know that these are just little white lies and they make most people feel better, both the lier and the lied to... but keep in mind that smart people usually find out that your lie no matter how little or how white was a lie.
How do you feel about lies? Are you a regular liar, or do you try to tell the truth? let me know in the comments!
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Working Out Wednesday! Walking...
Welcome to...
Lets have a chat about Walking replacing your workouts during the Summer...
Walking is an ever popular "physical" activity...
It was the most popular reason for quitting the gym/stopping working out for the summer while I worked at the gym. Walking is a great form of exercise and don't get me wrong I think it might be the best form of exercise for some... you can go for a walk for FREE and you can do it no matter how fit you are or what it is your goals are. And hey I get that it's nice outside and that you enjoy being outside, so do I, but is it enough?
Lets break it down...
An average woman that weighs about 180 lbs burns 178 calories walking for 30 minutes.
If that same woman did a 30 min elliptical workout as well as a moderate weight lifting workout for 30 minutes she burns 604 calories.
So for that woman to equal the calories burned from doing both the strength and cardio workouts she would have to walk for 1 hour and 40 minutes! Are you going to walk for 1 hour and 40 minutes at least 3 times a week to make up for not doing a full workout?
While that may seem likely, and I'm sure that most have the best intentions and may keep that up but what about the muscle tone you have gained throughout the colder months? If you don't use it you lose it...
I know that no one wants to be inside at the gym on a sunny Saturday (least of all me) but to be honest with you, your more likely to keep up your strength and muscle tone over the nicer summer months (when more of your body is showing) if you do continue to go to the gym or at the very least continue your strength training workouts.
I know that you might be going to the cabin or going camping every weekend, but lets be honest how often do you workout on the weekend? Plus you can still get in 3 to 4 workouts if you go to the gym or make exercise a priority Monday to Thursday...
And finally how can we forget that the most common thing to do in the summer is to gather with friends and family... and what do we do when we gather?
We EAT!
Were are taught from birth that at a gathering there MUST be food! Which is fine and if you moderate your eating than its not a big deal but... the most common food we eat in Summer when we gather is BBQ and we wash it down with beer or other high calorie alcoholic drinks, even if you don't drink the fruity beverages we are more inclined to drink during summer are higher in sugar and calories as well... So BBQ is kinda of a lose-lose situation when you pair it with reduced workouts and no strength training.
Long story short...
Walking is great for you and your body, I love walking and its something you can do no matter your age, weight, or your athletic ability, however pair it with some strength training and you have the recipe for success when it comes to losing weight and toning up! Don't sell yourself short over the Summer... Enjoy the nice weather, family outings, BBQ and drinks but keep up with your strength workouts so you don't have to start over next fall!
Lets have a chat about Walking replacing your workouts during the Summer...
Walking is an ever popular "physical" activity...
It was the most popular reason for quitting the gym/stopping working out for the summer while I worked at the gym. Walking is a great form of exercise and don't get me wrong I think it might be the best form of exercise for some... you can go for a walk for FREE and you can do it no matter how fit you are or what it is your goals are. And hey I get that it's nice outside and that you enjoy being outside, so do I, but is it enough?
Lets break it down...
An average woman that weighs about 180 lbs burns 178 calories walking for 30 minutes.
If that same woman did a 30 min elliptical workout as well as a moderate weight lifting workout for 30 minutes she burns 604 calories.
So for that woman to equal the calories burned from doing both the strength and cardio workouts she would have to walk for 1 hour and 40 minutes! Are you going to walk for 1 hour and 40 minutes at least 3 times a week to make up for not doing a full workout?
While that may seem likely, and I'm sure that most have the best intentions and may keep that up but what about the muscle tone you have gained throughout the colder months? If you don't use it you lose it...
I know that no one wants to be inside at the gym on a sunny Saturday (least of all me) but to be honest with you, your more likely to keep up your strength and muscle tone over the nicer summer months (when more of your body is showing) if you do continue to go to the gym or at the very least continue your strength training workouts.
I know that you might be going to the cabin or going camping every weekend, but lets be honest how often do you workout on the weekend? Plus you can still get in 3 to 4 workouts if you go to the gym or make exercise a priority Monday to Thursday...
And finally how can we forget that the most common thing to do in the summer is to gather with friends and family... and what do we do when we gather?
We EAT!
Were are taught from birth that at a gathering there MUST be food! Which is fine and if you moderate your eating than its not a big deal but... the most common food we eat in Summer when we gather is BBQ and we wash it down with beer or other high calorie alcoholic drinks, even if you don't drink the fruity beverages we are more inclined to drink during summer are higher in sugar and calories as well... So BBQ is kinda of a lose-lose situation when you pair it with reduced workouts and no strength training.
Long story short...
Walking is great for you and your body, I love walking and its something you can do no matter your age, weight, or your athletic ability, however pair it with some strength training and you have the recipe for success when it comes to losing weight and toning up! Don't sell yourself short over the Summer... Enjoy the nice weather, family outings, BBQ and drinks but keep up with your strength workouts so you don't have to start over next fall!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)