Weigh In and the Holiday Weekend

Holidays weekends are rough. I may have had a few bites of a frozen chocolate pie. I may have had a few red vines and milk duds while watching a movie with friends. I may be kicking myself right now BUT, I am not going to get discouraged. I may also have cramps today which is why I was in a sugar frenzy this weekend.

I do not have everyone's measurements from Sunday because my cell phone has issues (curse you TMobile!), but here's what I have and I will revise this post when I hear back from Susan.

Caroline - Total lost this week 2 pounds!!
Stacey - Total lost this week - 4.8 pounds!!
Heather - Total lost this week - 3.2 pounds!!
Susan - Total lost this week - 4 pounds!! (I do not have her exact number yet)

Pretty impressive first week! You see what can happen when you stop eating an entire bag of Twizzlers while reading a book at night?! I am sure week two is going to be tougher and frankly this weekend I had a few treats - it was a holiday! But, I am committed. Way to go ladies!!!!

I do not have a ton of photos of what I ate this weekend, but this is my new favorite smoothie. I had it for breakfast/lunch yesterday and today. Frozen pineapple and mango from Trader Joe's - about 2 cups. 1 cup water, 6-7 ice cubes, big scoop yogurt and 3/4 cup orange juice.


This morning I had a hard boiled egg and a hard boiled egg white for breakfast as well and as we were on the go, I took a piece of cold steak with me and ate it in the car while driving. We went to a BBQ tonight where I ate a corn on the cob (plain) and a half, one piece of grilled pineapple, a couple bites of grilled halibut and a serving of grilled Tuscan Bread Salad (tomatoes and fresh basil topped with balsamic vinegar, a little olive oil and salt and pepper - grill a loaf of garlic french bread and then cube the bread and toss with the tomatoes). Yum!

I'll get back on the daily posts tomorrow. Right now, I've got to get some sleep. I have a little baby here overnight through Saturday so life is going to be really busy this week!

My Kids Are Back. I Missed Them.

Sailboat

On this day we decided to talk about the letter "W" and needed a craft about water. I had some scraps of wood in the garage so we used them to make this sailboat craft. It's really very simple.

Set out two shades of blue. Have the children paint the light blue on the top and the dark blue on the bottom.


Make sure they paint the sides.


While they wait for the paint to dry, have them practice writing the letter "W".


When dry, cut out scrap paper for the base and sails of your boat. Have the children glue them on.


Cut a length of straw for the mast. Help the children attach with glue.


These are easy to display as they can stand upright on thier own.

To Whom It May Concern

I hereby declare that all photos of me are to be taken from above so as not to show my double chin. Thank you for your cooperation.

Sexy Mommy Diet Day Six and Seven

So I'm a little behind on here and I got a little lazy with taking photos, so here's what I've got for you.

On Friday I ran 400 errands with only two kids. For breakfast, I had a bowl of vanilla greek nonfat yogurt (no one has told me why the Greek yogurt is so good for me and twice the price), Alpein cereal and cantaloupe and strawberries. Yum, yum, yummy. I could eat this every day and be a very happy girl.


Since we were driving a round at lunch time, I ran in Subway and bought a six inch turkey on whole wheat with no cheese, all the vegis and a little honey mustard and diet coke. The kids had McDonald's and I only stole three of their french fries.

At the Mall of America, I bought a strawberry/orange shake with only 144 calories. WHY do we not have one of these places near my house?! We also walked around the perimeter of the mall three times.

For dinner, I was so tired that I just finished off the yogurt, cereal and fruit combination.

Today I was a bit naughty - not so smart since we weigh in tomorrow!

I weeded for an hour this morning and got a sunburn on my shoulders. That's exercise - right? For breakfast I made a smoothie with ice, strawberries, the rest of the cantaloupe, 3/4 cup orange juice and a big scoop of nonfat Greek plain yogurt. This is my kind if shake - so delicious and tangy!


It made three servings this size and I drank all three for breakfast and lunch and ate a hard boiled egg.


After getting my hair cut and covering my gray hair (I feel like a new woman!), I went to a BBQ thrown by the McKinney family (they know how to throw a party!) and ate some fresh fruit, a piece of steak and a couple of bites of a bean, mango, blackberry salad - yum!

Here's the naughty bit. This evening I went to the Mall of America (again) with some girlfriends and we ended up going out for a late dinner. So at 9pm I ate a scallop appetizer (I only ate three of the four scallops) with Japanese bread crumbs and a little bacon and - I assume - a lot of butter. I also split a Chinese chicken salad with Kelly which seemed pretty light but could have had 500 calories for all I know.

Tomorrow I am making a vegetarian lasagna and weighing in. Yikes!

Sexy Mommy Diet Day Five

This was breakfast today: vanilla nonfat greek yogurt, cantelope and Alpen cereal. I was supposed to buy Alpen sugar free, but I could not find it. I was worried about this becasue I made it and then had to let it sit while a baby cried, another needed to be changed, I folded a load of laundry and loaded and started the dishwasher. I do not like mushy stuff. But, even after a good 1/2 hour sitting on the counter, the cereal was still crunchy! It was delicious even if I ate it with a screaming baby clinging to my leg.


I had some carrots and with dip at the park, a couple of bites of a Trader Joe's blueberry bar and then managed to really miss lunch. By the time I got most of the kids down for naps, I had people here for the next several hours so I just did not get to it.

For dinner, I had the last of the salmon salad in a warm pita.


One can diet coke today, crystal light, half a can diet 7-up and water. I am hungry tonight, but too annoyed with my ex to prepare any food so I am going to bed.

Love This

Sexy Mommy Diet Day Four

I'm calling today "Personal Chef Susan Day". Every single meal came from Susan and my tummy thanks her.

Susan dropped by at 6:15 this morning after working out at the gym (go Susan!). I was already up because: I went to bed at midnight, someone turned the air conditioner off so it was hot upstairs (I HATE being hot when I sleep), the printer in my room started printing a document at 3:30am (I had sent the document to the printer before I went to bed), both Sophie and Max had nightmares during the night and Sophie came and climbed in bed with me, at some point after that Calvin came and climbed in on the other side, they both snuggled up as close as humanly possible so I was squished and sweating - oh, and Calvin was naked. I figured sleep was highly overrated at that point.

I gave Susan some of my salmon salad last night that I have been eating and she brought over some delicious things she has been making.

For breakfast I had a slice of her egg and vegetable strata with red grapes and a glass of crystal light - I'll ask her to share the recipe.


For lunch I had chicken from a rotisserie chicken, green beans (because they are easy for the baby to eat and I had opened a can for him) and quinoa salad on spinach leaves.


For dinner, I pulled out a lentil vegi burger that Susan had made a while ago and I had tucked away in the freezer. I toasted a sandwich thin and spread one wedge of the garlic herb laughing cow light cheese stuff and added tomatoes and spinach. This was my favorite thing of the day - really filling and delicious.


Thank heavens for food all ready to go. I planned on cooking this afternoon, but the baby did not feel like napping for very long so the laundry got done and the cooking did not. We did take a walk over to the school this morning to watch Sophie at track and field day so that was my tiny bit of exercise for the day. Today was a two cans of Diet Coke day - must have been the lack of sleep!

The Untimely Demise of Angel the Fire Belly Toad

The last time the kids spent the weekend with their Dad, Sophie arrived home with a toad and 24 crickets. Great.


She named the toad Angel and luckily, I had picked up a little habitat for her at a yard sale last week. We filled the habitat with bottled water, let it sit for an hour and then added the toad. Sophie also added two crickets and then we set the habitat in the shade under a chair on the deck.


All three kids were very, very excited and found the little guy fascinating. The next morning, they all wished her well on their way to school. Unfortunately, Angle the toad died while Sophie was at school. Why? Was the habitat not clean? Was the water to warm/cold? Should the habitat been inside rather than outside (but I did not want a toad and 24 crickets in my house!)?


There were tears.
There was a funeral.
There was a headstone.
There was a reading of the will.


You have to turn your volume way up to hear Sophie, but it is pretty hysterical. My favorite line is "she was a unique, honest, fabulous toad". I also love how Sophie has all of the kids fold their arms while she says a quick prayer for her toad. I love my quirky girl.

Sexy Mommy Day Three

Today it was even hotter and the humidity is overwhelming. I was hungrier today than I was yesterday, maybe because I kept the Diet Coke to one can instead of two McDonals large cups that I consumed yesterday.

For breakfast I made a quick shake. Ice, one cup strawberries, one banana, a handful of spinach, scoop of no sugar vanilla soy protein powder and half cup skim milk and water.


Mmmmm! Doesn't it look cold and refreshing?


It was . . . nasty. Seriously, it tasted like sludge. I could not even drink a glass full. I think the problem is the protein powder. It makes the shake grainy. The spinach in theory is healthy, but it tastes gross blended up. So, this was a huge fail and I will not be making it again.

I have not managed to get in any exercise so far and today was no exception. I had 8 kids under the age of 5 here during the day with 5 more at school so - no time. We did walk over to the school and back to watch Max's track and field day. It was HOT and the hour and a half we spent there killed me! After I got the kids down for naps, I put on a movie for Calvin and fell asleep on the couch for a half hour. I had some low-fat Cabot Cheddar during our field trip.

For lunch, I planned on cooking but was too tired so I had the salmon salad from yesterday with some red grapes. For dinner I had chicken breast and green beans. Hopefully tomorrow will be less crazy and I'll have time to cook something new. The scale said I was down a pound this morning! Hooray!

Sexy Mommy Recipes

Day Two: Monday

This morning I had a four egg white scramble with a slice of low fat Swiss melted inside along with one cup of strawberries and two slices toasted sprouted whole wheat bread from Trader Joe's. Thoughts: Very filling and tasty. I put the eggs between the toast and ate it like a sandwich but I could not eat this every day. For some reason I get egg overload if I try and eat too many eggs and then I cannot stand to look at them for months. This happened the first time when I was pregnant with Max. This bread was delicious though and low calorie though I'm not really sure why the sprouted bread is better for me.


For a snack I had a nonfat Greek Honey Yogurt - soooooo good! These suckers are quite expensive - why? What makes it Greek and is it somehow better for me?


For dinner I made Salmon and Artichoke Quesidillas.


These are divine. I doubled the recipe and have enough for three other meals.


They are supposed to be made with two whole wheat tortillas, but my tortillas (which I bought on Thursday) were moldy - yuck. Instead, I used 1/2 a whole wheat pita pocket and saved myself some calories. I still toasted the pita in the saute pan and loved the crunch. These are seriously messy to eat!


So, feeling pretty good about myself today except for the two large McDonald's Diet Cokes. It was freaking HOT today! I had a couple glasses of crystal light and some sparking non calorie fruit water as well. Cooking this recipe took time and that is my biggest challenge. I cannot cook a meal for both lunch and dinner so I will need to explore quick options for at least one meal per day. How are you doing?

Sexy Mommy Weight Loss Challenge

Summer has definitely arrived around here. Today the high got into the 90's and the humidity is hovering around 100%. It's nasty.

This post is introducing you to our weight loss challenge that started today - well yesterday really. Four women - all Mommy's - 13 children between us. We have all struggled to lose weight, eat healthy and exercise so we decided to have a contest. Simple rules and a really great prize.

First one to lose 10 pounds wins a $100 gift certificate to Nordstrom to spend on shoes - or something great. We all chipped in $25 dollars and it must be spent on something you would normally never buy. I am kind of obsessed with this bag though it is still too expensive even with the gift certificate. You could buy $100 worth of expensive make-up or a fabulous necklace or the pair of blue pumps I saw there on Saturday that called to me.

I just got everyone's weight and measurements today. When this one is over, we may do another based on percentage of body mass, but this time we just wanted to keep it simple. I will post everyone's weight loss on Sundays - but not our actual weight - because we are just not that adventurous.

The rules:
No fad diets. That means no cabbage soup, no liquid fasts, no diet pills, no South Beach Phase One etc. We are trying to make healthier food choices, eat more whole foods, drink more water, consume less sugar and find some time to move while taking care of our families and working.

The players:

Me (Stacey): Single Mom, three kids, Full-time Daycare with 14 children in and out from 6:30-6:30 every day. Three kids in soccer and two side businesses making cakes (somewhat detrimental to weight loss) and selling pretty crafty things.

Susan: Full-time Ophthalmologist (call her for glasses, eye surgery or botox!), mother of 5 children who are involved in 512 activities including traveling soccer, piano lessons, swim team, oboe lessons, gaming competitions (Pokemon) and I can't remember what else. She spends more time in her car than anyone I know.

Caroline: Mother of three including a nursing baby. Two of her kids are named Calvin and Sophie which means we were meant to be friends. She will be putting updates on her blog as well. Sister to Kelly.

Heather: My sister out in Utah, Mother of two including a nursing baby. Works part-time as well as taking care of her growing family. She will be updating her blog as well.

So, yesterday I started this challenge. I started even though I had a cake order being picked up that morning and had to make this.


But, I did not lick the bowls. I have two containers of ganache and frosting in my fridge. If anyone wants to come and pick them up to use on top of cupcakes, let me know.

I did not eat some chocolate covered strawberries.

I fed them to the kids for breakfast because I am a cool - yet chunky, Mommy.


Instead of chocolate, I have a bowl of Kashi cereal for with skim milk. It needed some fruit, but I was in a hurry to get to church. For dinner, I cheated (already!) and had a Trader Joe's chicken tamale. It was actually quite tasty and low fat and I could not face cooking as I was exhausted. More on meals and a recipe in the next post. So far, I have done really well though I have noticed that I have upped my intake of diet coke. This could be due to the weather or the fact that I am seriously behind on sleep.

Wish us luck and if you'd like to play along, let me know!

Thing #102 I Love About Having a Daughter

Discovering Mommy/Daughter pedicures.

Cute Chicks

Sophie's second grade chorus concert was adorable - they always are. This year Sophie took her part very seriously, brought home a practice CD and sang and danced to the music for several weeks before the concert. As a result, I cannot get these songs out of my head!

I sent Max over to the school early to save for me and Calvin as I did not finish work until about 15 minutes before the concert began. He managed to save front row seats so we had a great view of the show!

If These Photos Do Not Melt Your Heart, You Are Made of Stone

Oh Calvin, I love you.