Healthy Recipes

I love to cook.  Even more than that, I love to eat!  Since November, I've been trying to pick up some healthier eating habits. And, I think I'm finally making progress.  Yay!

I've had a hard time losing these last ten pounds of baby weight.  With Sister, it was a piece of cake and just fell off by the time she was a year old.  But, it's been a different story after Bitty Baby. 

Big Daddy's brother is getting married in May and I'm a bridesmaid.  Our dresses are really cute and a great motivator to get those last few pounds off!

I'm still keeping up my early morning workouts and have really been watching what I eat.  So far, I've lost about 5 pounds.  Yay!

Along the way, I've found some yummy recipes that I thought I would start sharing on my blog.  All of these are quick, easy and good for you, too!  Oh, and they are kid and husband  approved! 

I've calculated the Weight Watchers info in case that's helpful.  Stay Tuned!

Goooaaalll!!!

This weekend, Sister had her first soccer game of the season.  And, can I just say there is nothing cuter than a bunch of four and five-year olds playing soccer?

Pee Wee soccer gear is so adorable.  Tiny cleats and tiny shin guards ... I can hardly stand the cuteness! 

The weather for Saturday's game was so pretty and warm.  Nearly 70 degrees.  The kids had a great time.  And, this year, they were able to keep track of which goal was for their team :)

I hope Sister will always be this excited about playing sports.  Even more, I hope she finds a sport that she loves and sticks with it.   Sports are so awesome for girls!

Bitty Baby LOVED watching the game and was dying to get out on the field.  Finally when the game was over, we let her run around and she was fired up. 

And, of course, we couldn't resist ... we taught her to say "Goooaaalll!!!

On a sidenote, here a two of my niece's pics from the art show at the nature center.  I can show them now that she's made her debut :)

Oh, and Sister did make the paper with her Mardi Gras picture!  It was just the online edition, but we still had fun with it all the same.  (If I can figure it out, I'll try and post the pic :)  )

Olympics Fever

I don't know about you, but our family is addicted to this year's Olympics.  In fact, I've stayed up WAY past my bedtime the past few nights.

Tonight, our niece and nephew came over and it's been fun to see the Olympics through the eyes of kids.

We've had so much fun watching the skiing and snowboarding. Oh, and the men's figure skating was awesome!

 

Did you see the men's figure skating final last night?  Talk about drama!  We're so excited that Evan Lysacek won for the U.S.  

Sister has really been into the women's competition. She's always asking me, "Are these the girls?" I love that she's watching girls do awesome things in sports!

Last night, she and I watched the women's snowboarding competition and both of us want to snowboard now.

That's pretty funny considering we live where NONE of the winter sports are available!  But, we can still dream ... isn't that what the Olympics are all about?  :)

Shhhhh

Shhhhh.  I'm blogging and watching the Olympics instead of tackling the massive pile of laundry in our bedroom :)

Speaking of shhhhh ... Bitty Baby and I went grocery shopping today and she started to get a little cranky during the last leg of our trip.  I knew we still had to make it through a couple of more aisles ... not to mention the check out line. 

So, I thought it would be fun if we started to sing.  We head toward the diaper aisle with me singing "Wheels on the Bus" and Bitty Baby looks at me and says, "Shhh."  I thought it might be a coincidence, so I start singing again.  And, again, she says, "Shhh" and this time I could tell she meant it.  

I think today was the first official time that I embarrassed her in public.  I'm sure it will happen a million more times ... especially in her teen years :).

The weather has been so pretty this week.  It's been great to see the sun again and we actually got into the 60's today.  Bliss!

Yesterday we went to a nearby nature preserve with our cousins.  It's hard to believe we have over a 100 acres of preserved swamp right in the heart of town.

The kids loved the Nature Center and had fun seeing the different animals that were there.  Bitty Baby loved the turtles.

There were lots of snakes in aquariums, but I didn't get close enough for any pictures  :)

A local school had a display of art here and I realized it was my niece's school.  She is really talented at art and I found several of her pictures there.  I took a few pics of them, but won't post them now since my sister hasn't seen them yet!

Once we finished inside, we headed outside for a nature walk through the swamp.  We got a great workout pushing two strollers through the gravel!

I've never been here before during the winter time.  We really had fun seeing the cypress swamp through a different point of view.

The water was low so we could really see the cypress knees.

The kids had such a great time getting outdoors.  I think we'll definitely be planning more fun activities soon out in the fresh air and sunshine!

I hope you're finally getting a hint of Spring where you are :)

Happy Mardi Gras!

Laissez les bons temps rouler!  Happy Mardi Gras Day!


We took a little road trip and decided to take in a small town Mardi Gras parade.  That's just our speed now that we have little ones!  

The parade kicked off with bagpipers playing "When the Saints go Marching In."  Saints fever was definitely in the air!

Of course, there was Mardi Gras royalty

And, Big Daddy gave Sister the best seat in the house :)

Sister and Bitty Baby have very different personalities.  Sister is all about a party.  Bitty Baby ... well, let's just say a picture's worth a thousand words :)

The theme this year was "Romantic Legends"  So we saw Aladdin

And, Romeo and Juliet

And Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - who threw apples, of course :)

And then the themes kind of went to the wayside ... like the giant chicken powered by a go cart motor.  Only at Mardi Gras!

   

The chicken's name was really cute with the reference to Mamou

About half way through the parade ... the theme definitely went to the wayside and it became about one thing ...

 

  

This was Big Daddy's favorite ... he loved the sign

Sister caught some major loot at the parade.  In fact, she had on so many beads, that a newspaper photographer took her photo ... so we'll see if she made the paper tomorrow!

What a great Mardi Gras Day!

Who Dat?! AND Snow?

It has been A GREAT WEEK around here!  The Saints won the Superbowl, Mardi Gras is Tuesday and now it's snowing!!! What a week to be from Louisiana!

http://www.demonid.com/

We are all so proud of our New Orleans Saints -  Saints fever is everywhere ... statewide!  Signs all over our town say, "Who Dat?" or "Believe Dat!" or "Won Dat!" 

Monday and Tuesday regular t.v. programming was pre-empted for Saints specials and of course, live coverage of the Saints victory parade - Lambardi Gras - in New Orleans.

                                                                        http://www.nola.com/

You can't go anywhere without seeing people in Saints shirts, talking about the game and well, just smiling ear to ear. 

This win is about so much more than a football game for us down here.  New Orleans, the state and the whole Gulf Coast have had it rough for the past few years. 

FOUR hurricanes have seriously damaged Louisiana since 2005.  Of course, everyone remembers Hurricane Katrina in 2005 that left us black and blue and well, heartbroken. 

www.noaa.org

It is amazing for us to think that just 4 1/2 years ago, we didn't know if New Orleans would EVER be functional again.  The devastation was so widespread and I think everyone around here knows someone who was directly affected. 

During Katrina, the Superdome became the symbol of the human suffering caused by Katrina. 

www.iveknownrivers.org

When the Saints returned to the Dome for their first game after Katrina, something was different in the air ... their return symbolized hope, determination to rebuild, and a sense of destiny. 

www.uamont.edu

It's hard to believe that people still aren't home after Katrina.  They've settled elsewhere ... Houston, Atlanta, and beyond.  We've also lost casualties to our state's brain drain with many of our young people going off to college or accepting jobs outside of our state. 

But, everyone who's left Louisiana would agree that they miss the magic here.

No matter where you were, no matter how your life has changed ... for just one night ... everyone from Louisiana was "home" when the Saints won.

I think the ONLY thing around here that would get people to change gears from the Saints win ... is well ... SNOW!  Or, sneaux as we call it. 

I can't believe it's snowing for the THIRD time in just over a year.  I don't think it's snowed three times in my lifetime here before that! 

We're hoping it sticks, but it's okay if it doesn't ... we're just enjoying God's little surprise!

P.S. If you want to know more about why we say, "Who Dat?" you can click here :)

Garage sales are not for the timid

We're back!

I can't believe it's been nearly 2 weeks since my last post.  The past couple of weeks have been so crazy busy.  


After three rain outs, we were finally able to have our garage sale.  Yay!

www.sassysigns.com

It was a big success, but holy cow, are these things a lot of work!  And, they are definitely not for the timid.  The good news is that we were able to clean out a bunch of stuff, make a little money, and have lots leftover for donations.  

I've got a few fun posts in mind, so I hope my budding time management skills this week will help me get them done!  Oh, and I've got a little time tonight to catch up on my blog reading.  Yay! :)