Today is veggie day.
Today is the day I starve.
All the veggies I want and cabbage soup.
P.U.
The saving grace is that I get a big baked potato with butter tonight.
I love that potato.
I’ve been staring at it since yesterday morning.
I was going to name it but it seemed wrong to name something I was going to eat.
I lost 1.6 lbs since yesterday, today’s weight is 157.6.
Vegetables, schmegetables.
It’s that time of year again.
Trisha talks me into something.
The Cabbage Soup Diet.
Again.
It’s actually good timing because I’ve gained like 5 lbs over the past 2 months, pretty much since football season started and our schedules are all crazy and messed up.
Ironically I’m at the weight that I REACHED doing this diet the first time with Trisha last year, 159.2. So at least I didn’t gain back what I had lost originally. That’s good news!
The bad news is that I’m eating cabbage soup all week.
It will definitely be worth it to get rid of these 5 lbs I gained and maybe even lose a few extra. I lost 7.8 lbs the first time.
Today I get to eat fruit and cabbage soup.
Woo.
I get to drink water, unsweetened tea and 100% cranberry juice. We discovered a trick last time, mix the cranberry juice and the tea. YUM.
I love the flavors and scents that fall brings, especially pumpkin. Lately on Facebook everyone has been talking about pumpkin lattes and pumpkin coffee, pumpkin creamer and all things coffee and pumpkin together.
YUM!
But I have two problems with this.
First, I hardly ever go out so I rarely have the chance to order a pumpkin coffee.
Second, I am a purist with respect to my diet and try to make as much as I can from scratch. I think people don’t realize how easy it really is to make some of their favorite things instead of buying it pre-made.
So I figured I would try to make my own pumpkin creamer, and it was pretty easy. My version is also healthy too!
I used these ingredients:
Heated the half & half, pumpkin and Truvia on the stove until bubbling.
Then I added in everything else, whisked until mixed and chilled.
| Homemade Pumpkin Spice Creamer recipe |
You can use full fat creamer or even milk with this recipe. It will affect the consistency. With the half & half, the creamer was thicker than normal. I think skim milk is probably the ideal for the right consistency with traditional creamer.
If you want your creamer sweeter, you can add more sugar to the recipe, or just add it in later so the whole family can enjoy and sweeten it to their preferences.
Calorie info is based upon fat free half and half and Truvia.
You can choose to top it off with some whipped cream and cinnamon or nutmeg sprinkled on top! Real whipped cream has around 25 calories so it’s actually a guilt-free treat.
Only 2 weeks after school actually started, Abby had her first day of preschool.
There were no tears.
Well, not from her anyway.
But she did cling a bit to me before I left.
She refused to smile for my pictures.
She acted rather strange (strange for her) when we got there and has been downright weird ever since. I never realized how much of a free spirit she was until now. She is definitely in her own little world. Someone asks her a question and her first response is “lady bug” no matter what. She makes funny noises and says “boo” when she isn’t comfortable talking to someone right away. And she does not stand still, even when standing still.
She insists one minute she doesn’t like preschool and doesn’t want to go, then the next minute she’s talking about it like she loves it. Today she tried to get me to bribe her to go when I was trying to get her out of the house.
She said “how about this, I’ll go to preschool if you take me to Taco Bell?”
She talks to her brother too much.
I think she’ll adjust. It’s harder because these kids had 4 classes together already and probably most of them had overcome their timidness and fears by now. I rather like the 2 1/2 hours to myself twice a week but man it goes by fast.
The one thing Abby is sure of is that she loves her new lady bug backpack. We received it from Stephen Joseph Gifts along with a lunch box that we put away for her to use eventually in Kindergarten.
They sent us their Quilted Ladybug Backpack and Vinyl Ladybug Lunchbox.
So cute and the perfect size for my little ladybug. The detail on the backpack is fantastic and both seem well made.
(Please forgive her outfit in the pictures below. She had a bad rash that kept her out of school and I had to keep her covered up in long sleeves and pants. To appease her, I let her pick out her clothes each day. Obviously.)
Stephen Joseph Gifts has quite a few great lady bug products, along with so many other wonderful and unique themed items.
Note: I received the backpack and lunchbox shown from Stephen Joseph Gifts. Opinions expressed are my own.
With a 7 year old and a 3 year old, there aren’t too many defining moments that stand out among the rest that I can remember really being proud of them for something that wasn’t simply a developmental milestone.
Sure, I was happy and proud of the first words, the first steps, the first day of school, etc.. But of all that is fairly typical. Most parents experience these things in one way, shape or form.
But every once in awhile, kids do something that stand out beyond the range of “normal” growth and development.
They do something beyond your expectations.
On August 24, 2011 my son started second grade.
Today, less than 1 month later, he started third grade.
Yeah I’m proud.
And I look at him and just smile a lot for no reason.
He keeps asking me “what?” when he catches me staring. I just respond “you’re a third grader now,” and he seems content with that answer and goes on about his day.
Just one question, does that make me a year older?
