Happy Holidays!

Hey there! I know it has been awhile BUT I've been preparing for the holiday season. Cut me some slack :). It's Christmas Eve! For once I can say that I have nothing to do tonight. I usually have all of the gifts left to wrap after the kids go to sleep. I guess I finally decided to listen after years of hearing my mom tell me to get things done ahead of time. You would think I'd have learned after a nightmarish trip to Walmart on Christmas Eve in 2009. I still procrastinate but thankfully, I haven't made that mistake again. This year all of the shopping is done and the gifts are wrapped and ready to go. I'd say I deserve a pat on the back.

So, Kaylin is out of school for two weeks. Before I go on, I have to say that my holiday break was never that long. These kids are lucky. Anyway, for the first week we are home doing a bunch of nothing. The excitement comes on 12/27, when we head down to NYC for a week to visit the family. We cant wait! It's been almost four months since our last trip and that is just way too long. So we'll be going to make our rounds down there before we head back just in time for school.

How are you spending your vacation?

Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer

This stuff is great!! I love when fall comes around because you begin to see all of the seasonal flavors of just about everything. Usually I put this creamer in my coffee (Duh) but we didn't have any and I was in the mood for pumpkin. So I decided to try putting some in my tea. Now,  I will be the first to admit that I do not like milk or cream in my tea. Hate it! Anytime I have a cup of tea it has sugar and two slices of lemon. But this! Man oh man this tasted SO good! It reminded me a lot of a chai tea, which by the way I just tried for the first time a few weeks ago. I may even say I liked it better than the vanilla chai. I may have it a couple of times a month. Like I said, I prefer my tea with lemon and sugar. I may have to start trying something new though!

Proud parent here!

Good morning all! Yesterday was a great day. I am so proud of Kaylin!! He earned his gi (uniform) in karate yesterday. They had to remember the taikyoku shodan fight sequence to get it and he did! That is one thing I like about this karate program, they actually make them work to be rewarded. Other programs usually just give them (or should I say we buy it) the uniforms when they register. So here are his first pics in his gi!

 

He was so excited, and so was I. I also did karate when I was younger so I'm able to help him practice since I remember the moves. Now that he has his gi, he wants to take the Thursday class as well so I guess we'll be adding to our list of activities. No complaints here! I'd rather keep him busy, especially doing something he likes. Another good thing is that there are three other children from his class in the program. One of his friends already had his uniform since he started last year. So now Kaylin is SO proud that he has his too. Perhaps it gives them something to talk about in kindergarten? Who knows :). I'm just glad we found something he loves and we will keep moving forward from here!

Weekend in reverse...

Highlight of my weekend... painting Imani's toenails!! I have been waiting to do this since Kaylin was born and clearly I couldn't polish his nails. So yes, FINALLY! And she sat there like such a nice baby. She did end up with a pink spot on the top of her foot. I guess she got a little excited while waiting for them to dry.

What else did I do this weekend? Well, I made a quick trip to the grocery store with the kids in tow. Otherwise, I did a whole bunch of nothing. Moses worked all weekend so it was just me and the littles.
I did get around to cooking the homemade hot pocket (as I like to call it) yesterday. It's such a simple yet filling meal. All I did was cook some chicken and broccoli, mix in some cheese and mayo, and wrap in flattened crescent rolls (two cans). This is the short version, but the recipe I used can be found here. It wasn't as pretty but it tasted great and I'm sure it will be a regular around here. Especially since it only needs to bake for thirty minutes. My kind of meal :)

I want a pottery wheel!

Yes, yes, YES! I want a pottery wheel, and some clay, and some sculpting tools. I'm kind of into everything... I used to draw when I was younger and I want to learn how to paint, I love to cook and bake so I want every kind of cookware available, I took a pottery class in eighth grade (12 years ago) and now I want a pottery wheel. I JUST LOVE ART!

So, I'm checking out different sites to see what's available and my go to spot for everything is amazon.com. I looked up pottery wheels and of course it pulled up any and everything that has to do with the subject. Tools, paints, wheels, clay, wheels for kids (never knew these existed), EVERYTHING! I have officially found my new obsession. My next step is finding info. I'm checking out my online library to see what they have, blogs, and google will tell me what I need to know!

I guess this also goes along with me wanting to have some type of home business. I was thinking of starting a bakery. Now I'm thinking I could do some type of art... I'm pretty sure the art school across the street may have influenced this idea. If anyone knows anything about pottery, PLEASE shoot some tips my way!

Rain, rain go away!

Today is such a wet and gloomy day... very BLAH! What are we doing at this moment? The littles are harassing Daddy and eating oreos, while he is trying to watch the food network. Me? Currently watching the littles harass Daddy, while he is trying to watch the food network :). There is no trip to the library today because the last thing I need is sick kids.

On another note, yesterday was pretty productive. I went to the grocery store to get just a few things and managed to grab some healthy snacks. I got the two pound container of Yoplait vanilla yogurt ( they don't carry La Yogurt here, unfortunately), a container of peanuts, sliced almonds (mainly to add to salad), baby carrots, red grapes, and some honey crisp apples. Now, I have to say that these are some of the biggest apples I have ever seen. They taste great, but I thought for sure they were injected with steroids.

Aside from healthy snacks, I got salad fixings, canned chicken to make chicken salad, and baby spinach. I also got the normal snacks that the family likes but as for myself, I think I did pretty good. For dinner, Moses (the Mr.) made lasagna. One thing about him, his is a great cook. Tonight we are having leftovers because there is way too much left to go to waste. But tomorrow I'm thinking of making a homemade hot pocket that I found on Pinterest. I will post mine, along with the original recipe sometime tomorrow evening.

One thing I'm working on is meal planning. I would love to have my meals planned a week in advance, but usually I just decide the night before or the morning of. I also need to get a new crock pot. I love, Love, LOVED my crock pot but unfortunately it was left behind when we moved. So I'll definitely need to invest in one because there's nothing like cooking dinner without actually cooking dinner. With that being said, I'm off to play with the littles... I shall return!

November Goals

This month's goals are pretty simple... NOT! As of November 1st, I have cut out junk food. Why? I am ready to get back to my normal (to me) size. My problem is that I love snacking. Give me ice cream, candy, cookies, I'm in heaven. That crap has to stop. Luckily I'm a fan of most fruits and vegetables so that's great. The problem is that my lovely husband likes to eat apple pies and candy right in front of me... yes, he is a butt head. I've been trying to find healthy snacks that are satisfying. All I've come up with is yogurt and nuts... perhaps I could do a home made granola? We shall see.

My other goal for this month is to drink more water. I went from drinking almost only water in September, to drinking MAYBE a glass a day in October (hangs head in shame). So I'm back to drinking water and hot tea for the most part. The great thing about drinking more water is that it also promotes healthy skin and hair. You cant go wrong. 

So far I'm doing great. I swear Kaylin's Halloween candy is calling my name... but I ignore it :). As I sit here sipping my water, I only hope I can continue through the month (and the holidays) without junk food!