I talk a good game, I really do. And I absolutely 100% believe in organic food, avoiding trans fats, food coloring, and high fructose corn syrup. I know the importance of balancing the amount of protein and carbs in my kids' diets, and mine for that matter. I love to cook and to me that means cooking from scratch. We love water and drink it all day long. Plastic? Avoid it. Disposable diapers? Don't use them. And yet....
Towards the end of my third trimester (did I mention I went almost 43 weeks in the SUMMER in Atlanta?) this last time, I stopped enjoying cooking and planning. Sure, I could have packed snacks for everyone when we drove somewhere, but it was much easier to go through ChickFilA's drive thru to pick up some nuggets and fries, or Smoothie King, or even Steak n Shake. And once you start eating that way, you crave it more, I am convinced of it.
And where under normal circumstances a snack would mean cheese, nuts, fruit, whole grain crackers, and pretzels, the packaged snacks aisle at Trader Joe's and Harry's/Whole Foods became my friend. Joe's O's? Got 'em. Cat's Cookies? Got those too. The remote control was often orange from the "organic" cheese puffs. For the first time in my adult life, I programmed the phone number to the pizza place that delivers into my cell AND my home phone. And somewhere in there, my oldest had Sprite for the first time and loved it. Ten years with ZERO soda and now he's got a habit.
Enough. In 2008 I once again begin practicing what I preach. We are going back to home cooked meals most nights. Fast food once a month at the most and when I absolutely can not manage something better. Trail mix made at home from organic nuts and dried fruit, along with sesame sticks and pretzels. Smoothies made in my smoothie machine with good fruit plus flax seed oil and soy protein powder. Exercise five times a week for me, as I've turned into a slug.
I feel like Stella getting her groove back.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Christmas is over
Now I can move forward. I'm craving more of a schedule until the boys go back to school, although I'm sure once they're back I'll be cursing the fact that I *have to get up and out every day, but such is life.
Today went well, for the most part. When Noah, my oldest, started opening his presents, he made it quite clear that he was expecting at least one more exotic stuffed animal to add to his collection. I didn't start looking at the website he directed me to (This Place is a Zoo) until I'd already bought most of his presents, and at that point I no longer was willing to part with the major coin they wanted for a mongoose or a dingo in addition to the express shipping because did I mention I waited until the last minute? But as he continued opening, there really were lots of things he wanted, and in the end he said that he was really happy with what he got. Except for a DS, which we will probably never get him.
My sweet middle child, who is happy to a fault, exclaimed over and over how great his presents were. His three favorites for the day were a $5 Transformer, a $4 Batman sticker book purchased from the bargain table at Borders, and a $5 Spiderman figure from Target. Oh, and the Mickey Mouse t-shirt I bought him at WDW earlier this month. Nice and easy! It's funny that he's so into superheroes, he's the one that has the least amount of interest in television, and can turn it off within minutes of turning it on. I think he likes being so into something that his Dad was as a kid, hence the fascination.
The baby slept through the whole present opening, which was good because she had a rough night and really needed to rest. By the time she woke up many bars of candy and coffee cake had been consumed (no one had interest in the quiche I made last night from Mastering the Art of French Cooking and who can pass up a Twix bar at 7:30?), and everyone was ready to sit and watch her "open" her presents. We went super light, and picked up three toys at Whole Foods last week. She received a stuffed banana, some bath toys, and a fabric ball that has a rabbit inside. I also ordered her a Sandra Boynton book about belly buttons, and a Laurie Berkner cd.
I spent most of the day preparing food, and it all came out great. The rib roast was just as easy as Jamie made it look on tv, and it tasted delicious. We were so stuffed from dinner that we didn't even eat the carrot cake until just a bit ago. We sent our guests home with a huge wedge, and we enjoyed ours alone with a cup of hot green tea.
As I suspected, my husband went a little bigger than I did when selecting presents. He bought me a new set of stainless steel pots and pans, which I sorely needed as my old set was a wedding gift and was nonstick, which I no longer use. Until today, I only had one stainless steel saute pan, but now I have three. I did get a lot of stocking stuffers too, a zester, a few Burt's Bee's products, a set of makeup brushes from Sephora, and a Starbucks car cup so I do not have to take their paper cups each day.
Tomorrow I am getting us out of the house no matter what. It is supposed to be sunny with a high of 57, so the plan is to go to the park late morning to let everyone burn off some energy!
Today went well, for the most part. When Noah, my oldest, started opening his presents, he made it quite clear that he was expecting at least one more exotic stuffed animal to add to his collection. I didn't start looking at the website he directed me to (This Place is a Zoo) until I'd already bought most of his presents, and at that point I no longer was willing to part with the major coin they wanted for a mongoose or a dingo in addition to the express shipping because did I mention I waited until the last minute? But as he continued opening, there really were lots of things he wanted, and in the end he said that he was really happy with what he got. Except for a DS, which we will probably never get him.
My sweet middle child, who is happy to a fault, exclaimed over and over how great his presents were. His three favorites for the day were a $5 Transformer, a $4 Batman sticker book purchased from the bargain table at Borders, and a $5 Spiderman figure from Target. Oh, and the Mickey Mouse t-shirt I bought him at WDW earlier this month. Nice and easy! It's funny that he's so into superheroes, he's the one that has the least amount of interest in television, and can turn it off within minutes of turning it on. I think he likes being so into something that his Dad was as a kid, hence the fascination.
The baby slept through the whole present opening, which was good because she had a rough night and really needed to rest. By the time she woke up many bars of candy and coffee cake had been consumed (no one had interest in the quiche I made last night from Mastering the Art of French Cooking and who can pass up a Twix bar at 7:30?), and everyone was ready to sit and watch her "open" her presents. We went super light, and picked up three toys at Whole Foods last week. She received a stuffed banana, some bath toys, and a fabric ball that has a rabbit inside. I also ordered her a Sandra Boynton book about belly buttons, and a Laurie Berkner cd.
I spent most of the day preparing food, and it all came out great. The rib roast was just as easy as Jamie made it look on tv, and it tasted delicious. We were so stuffed from dinner that we didn't even eat the carrot cake until just a bit ago. We sent our guests home with a huge wedge, and we enjoyed ours alone with a cup of hot green tea.
As I suspected, my husband went a little bigger than I did when selecting presents. He bought me a new set of stainless steel pots and pans, which I sorely needed as my old set was a wedding gift and was nonstick, which I no longer use. Until today, I only had one stainless steel saute pan, but now I have three. I did get a lot of stocking stuffers too, a zester, a few Burt's Bee's products, a set of makeup brushes from Sephora, and a Starbucks car cup so I do not have to take their paper cups each day.
Tomorrow I am getting us out of the house no matter what. It is supposed to be sunny with a high of 57, so the plan is to go to the park late morning to let everyone burn off some energy!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Fa la la la blah
No matter how hard I try, I just can't get into the holiday spirit this year. Even my usual tricks are not working; holiday music, shopping, and baking are just not doing it for me. I really want to enjoy the season, especially since it's the baby's first, but I just feel so blah about the whole thing.
We got back from Orlando last Sunday, and the weather there was perfect, which made coming back to our dreary (albeit moderate) weather depressing. I want the sun to shine all year long, I never want to be hot or cold, and I want to feel the breeze every day too. The weather here is gray and it has been drizzling off and on for days, so we've not felt like doing much (ok, anything) outdoors.
I picked up the last two Christmas presents today, for my husband. We still have quite a bit of wrapping to do and since I'm not good at it, I don't enjoy it and therefore leave it for the very last minute.
We've been trying to go for a walk every Sunday right after breakfast, so tomorrow I assume we'll do that. We're having a really low-key holiday this year as most of my extended family is not coming into town until a few days after Christmas. On Christmas Eve it will be the five of us for tapas, and Christmas Day we'll have my mom and her husband over for a late afternoon dinner. The whole meal is comprised of items I've never made before. I watched Jamie Oliver make a rib roast on Martha Stewart's show a few weeks ago and it looked really great and relatively easy. It uses a horseradish rub, and I am all about horseradish. To accompany the roast I'll have roasted root vegetables and scalloped potatoes, as well as steamed asparagus. For dessert I'm making another Jamie dish, a carrot cake with lime mascarpone icing. Yum!
My husband and I decided not to exchange gifts this year, instead we're doing stocking stuffers only. This week a package arrived from Sephora, which made me wonder what exactly his definition of stocking stuffer is. Hopefully we're on the same page so that neither one of us is disappointed on Christmas morning.
We got back from Orlando last Sunday, and the weather there was perfect, which made coming back to our dreary (albeit moderate) weather depressing. I want the sun to shine all year long, I never want to be hot or cold, and I want to feel the breeze every day too. The weather here is gray and it has been drizzling off and on for days, so we've not felt like doing much (ok, anything) outdoors.
I picked up the last two Christmas presents today, for my husband. We still have quite a bit of wrapping to do and since I'm not good at it, I don't enjoy it and therefore leave it for the very last minute.
We've been trying to go for a walk every Sunday right after breakfast, so tomorrow I assume we'll do that. We're having a really low-key holiday this year as most of my extended family is not coming into town until a few days after Christmas. On Christmas Eve it will be the five of us for tapas, and Christmas Day we'll have my mom and her husband over for a late afternoon dinner. The whole meal is comprised of items I've never made before. I watched Jamie Oliver make a rib roast on Martha Stewart's show a few weeks ago and it looked really great and relatively easy. It uses a horseradish rub, and I am all about horseradish. To accompany the roast I'll have roasted root vegetables and scalloped potatoes, as well as steamed asparagus. For dessert I'm making another Jamie dish, a carrot cake with lime mascarpone icing. Yum!
My husband and I decided not to exchange gifts this year, instead we're doing stocking stuffers only. This week a package arrived from Sephora, which made me wonder what exactly his definition of stocking stuffer is. Hopefully we're on the same page so that neither one of us is disappointed on Christmas morning.
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