Flashback to Summer 2013

This past summer our friends Estelle and Oriana were nice enough to invite the whole family down to their beach house in Narragansett.  Whole family invites don't happen very often when you have toddlers, so that was a very gracious offer!  I was a bit of a basket case that day--ok a lot of a basket case--because I was a bundle of nerves.  First because my boys are like tornados and they have a beautifully decorated house fit for a magazine.  Second, because neither boy would listen or cooperate, and, third, because Natalie our nanny was starting the next day.  As much as I felt that hiring a nanny would be a good thing for our family, I was still incredibly nervous about it.  And my nerves were obvious that day.  They were good sports to put up with me.

After some play time in their yard and a delicious meal, we headed down to the beach, which is only a few blocks from their house.  Oriana is a great photographer, and she snapped some awesome shots of us playing on the beach.  She just sent them to me, and oh man, I love them!

Sorry for posting pretty much all of them.  I love them all and want Carlos's family to see!

This photo is the story of my life right now...Adrian's face is priceless.

Estelle and Gloria

LOVE LOVE LOVE this one.  So sweet.

WLC One Week Update

As of tomorrow, I will have been following this Whole Life Challenge diet/lifestyle change for one week.  I actually am enjoying it!  First off, I haven't been hungry at all.  I can eat as much as I want of the foods that are allowed, and I have been diligent about preparing snacks for myself and for Carlos so that we won't be tempted to cheat.  Second, having my colleagues (and Carlos) involved has made things infinitely easier.  We help each other out when we're at the dining hall--we determine together what we can and cannot eat, give each other recipes, and take walks together after we eat.  It's been fun, actually, and a great way to spend more out-of-the office time with the people I work with.  

Finally, my jeans feel a tiny tiny tiny bit looser this morning...motivation to keep going!

Perhaps the biggest thing that has come out of this experience so far,though, is the realization of the crap that I was putting into my body.  And, unfortunately, the crap that I am letting the boys eat.  I started off serious about not giving the boys a lot of processed foods, etc., but then life and work and everything else took over, and I was happy to give them pretty much whatever they would eat.  They still eat a lot of healthy foods, don't get me wrong, but they aren't eating cleanly like I am this week.  So that is the next big challenge: get Carlos and me under control and slowly work the boys into eating better as well--not as many crackers and starches and cheese.  Luckily, Sebastian adores fruit and will eat pretty much any fruit you put in front of him.  But Adrian will not eat almost any fruit at all.  Lately, he won't even eat bananas, which used to be his favorite.  But I guess we have to just keep setting the example by eating well ourselves as parents and limiting the options available to the boys.  

So that's it!  Still feeling great about having taken on this challenge, and I'm grateful for what it's taught me about my eating habits even in just this short amount of time.  My health--so that I can do my best to maximize my time with my boys--is so much more important than any chocolate dessert or craft beer!

Whole Life Challenge

I'm watching the Pats play the Colts, and I can't even have any nachos?!?!  WTF!?  Today was Day #1 of the Whole Life Challenge.  As of about 4 days ago, I had never even heard of this before.  Milton was encouraging a team, and we get reimbursed for $20 of the $50 cost.  I figured why the hell not?  My clothes don't fit, I feel gross, and this is the fattest and most out of shape I've ever been in my life.  My health and fitness has gone way down hill since we moved from Watertown.  I used to walk to and from the bus every single day, walk the dog at least once a day, and also noodle around Harvard Square on a daily basis.  I walked a TON.  Now I walk from my car to my office to the dining hall to my office to my car.  It's horrible.  And without Lexi around :-( there's no one to force me to get out and walk.

Anyway, I don't want to go into what the Whole Life Challenge is, but basically, it seemed manageable to me.  The challenges run a few times a year, and everyone who signs up starts together.  1/11/14 was day #1 of this challenge.  The diet is pretty restrictive for me--it's essentially Paleo--so I can't eat bread, cheese, milk/cream, or honey to name a few of the foods what will be challenging for me to give up.  But I can eat pretty much any kind of meat, chicken, pork (including bacon!!), vegetable (no potatoes), or fruit.  Then, there are other challenges presented, like trying to drink a lot of water, sleeping more, and fitting stretching and *some* form of exercise into your day.  I convinced my office mates to join, and so that will help.  We are all into it, at least for now!

I was so good today.  I didn't break the diet at all.  Of course, it's just the first day, but I figure if I couldn't do it even the first day, I would never do it at all.  And I convinced Carlos to do it with me.  We had eggs and black beans for breakfast.  I had a cherry tomato "salad" and an apple and peanut butter for lunch (because I had to work today at Milton and missed lunch--that was the best I could do when I got home at 1pm), and chicken fajitas with brown rice for dinner.  We went to BJ's and bought a ton of nuts for snacks, plenty of fruit and vegetables, and some chicken and meat.  This won't be a cheap diet since I try to avoid buying meat because it's expensive (and gross these days...), but I figure our health is worth it.

We'll see how this works...

Back to Reality

What a lovely two-week vacation it has been.  Despite the frigid cold, the snow, and the feeling of being rather cooped up for the past week or so, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at home with my boys (and that includes Carlos).

Sebastian's language has exploded in the past two weeks...he's now capable of speaking in full sentences.  (Not all the time, but he can do it.)  His favorite two sentences are currently "I'm driving the car!" and "Come on, Adi, Let's go!"  And Adrian speaks non-stop as well, but most of the time we can't understand what's coming out of his mouth when he babbles on and on.  Then, suddenly, he says something and we figure out what he's talking about and are surprised by what he's actually communicating.  He's funny because he's so sure of what he's saying, but it often is just unintelligible when he tries to string words together.  Hopefully that will resolve itself quickly?!  His pronunciation is very clear when he just says a few words at a time.

Here are a few random photos from the past few days.

Sebastian likes to play with the turkey baster which he has affectionately just dubbed "the turkey."

The day of the snowstorm, the boys had a great time watching out their bedroom window as Papi cleared the snow.  Watching killed about 45 minutes worth of time!  (Excellent to have a distraction when you are locked in the house for 2 days and experiencing cabin fever!)

One day, Adrian posed the two Ernest dolls and his giraffes for a photo.  He got his pretend camera and took photos.  Too bad the camera was backwards (facing him)...I didn't have the heart to tell him! ;-)  Anyway, this is the picture he was attempting to capture.

I found Thomas sheets at Target and thought they might fit the crib since they were labeled as "toddler bedding."  Turns out they were twin-sized sheets.  My mom still had the pattern for crib sheets from when she made the boys their nursery set.  So she cut down the sheets and made them fit their cribs.  The boys were SO. DARN. EXCITED. They rolled around and jumped on the sheets.  They say hi to Thomas in the morning when they wake up and good night before they go to bed (they usually kiss the sheets goodnight, too).  I love seeing them so happy about something.

Well, that's all.  My next vacation--two weeks long--is in March.  I'll be counting down the days.

New Dishwasher

Well, the old dishwasher is out and the new one is in, thanks to Carlos and Sebastian.  I have been trying to post this for days now, but I wanted to upload the best video in the world of Sebastian helping Papi "fix" the dishwasher.  I couldn't get the video to upload until I finally did a Google search and found out I need to use an app called Capture to upload.  Now it works!

Here's the video:

http://youtu.be/Yx8HzeeNZtE

And here are two pictures of Sebastian working hard!

The dishes are so much cleaner looking...no water stains on the silverware.  Plus, it's just so much quieter to run.  Yeah for clean dishes!!

Happy New Year!

Last night was a quiet new year's eve at home.  And it was great.

Carlos had to work, so I had the boys in the morning.  One of Adrian's favorite new activities is getting swaddled by me.  He asks for me to do "burrito" to him.  

Later, the boys spent about an hour playing with their kitchen from "Kitchen."  They take their cooking very seriously.  They arrange the food, stir pots, put things in the "hoven" and fight over the utensils.  Santa added to their pretend food collection--he brought a set of Old El Paso, Mexican-themed food, including little boxes of taco shells, cans of refried beans, and a burrito and some tacos...they love all their food accessories.

Then after nap time, my mom watched Adrian so that Carlos and I could take Sebastian to a surgeon at Children's Hospital in Weymouth.  At their two-year check-up, the pediatrician thought that it was possible that Sebastian had a hernia and he referred us to a surgeon for further exploration.  Well, anyway, thank God the surgeon didn't see or feel anything unusual.  So for now, we just have to keep an eye on it and make sure we don't notice any bumps or something out of the ordinary.    That was good news.  Hernia surgery is not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things, but they still have to put the person under, so it's certainly a good thing that for now the doctor felt we can just keep an eye on it.

Then we came home, played some more, gave the boys dinner: chicken and broccoli pasta (they love it).

And after they were in bed, Carlos and I had spicy chipotle pulled pork tacos.  It doesn't look like much here in the crockpot, but it's delicious with sour cream and cheddar cheese!  The first time I had this recipe was actually with my college roommate Aja.  We went to visit her when she was staying with relatives in Cambridge and they served this for supper.  That was 2004, I believe!!!  I asked for the recipe and it came from a Martha Stewart Every Day Food magazine.  Thanks, Aja!  I still remember that day, I still make this meal, and I still think of you when I eat it!

We had a bottle of wine between the two of us, and then we broke into the white chocolate Godiva liqueur that I got at Auntie Carol's Yankee trade.  It was sooooo good.  The wine relaxed us and made Carlos sleepy so by 9 we were in bed.  But I was fine with that.  It was a nice, quiet night at home in our new house with the boys sleeping soundly (and they woke up at 6:30 this morning--another nice treat!) right down the hall.  We were warm, full, happy, safe, and together.  To me, that's a great new year's eve!

It will be hard to top 2011, which was the year of wonders, miracles, and twins for us.  2012 was full of changes: new job, new car, selling condo, moving, sickness...I was glad when it was over.  2013 brought a new home, relief from our terrible condo living situation, and Natalie-- our nanny and savior.  Happy 2014--I hope this year is another good one!

Best Advent Calendar Ever

My brother texted me a photo of a beer advent calendar and I just about smacked myself upside the head for not thinking of this myself sooner.  What a fabulous idea!

Here are a few examples I found online.  I'm definitely doing this next year.  I'll take a trip to the Craft Beer Cellar next year during Thanksgiving break and stock up!

The first two are super easy to make.

And the last one is already done for me...I think I'd rather choose my own, though, or have someone go and choose for me so it's a surprise (and I'll pay for it!).

A Few More Recipes...for Safe Keeping

I am not trying to turn this into a cooking blog, but I have a few more recipes for things that I make all the time right now that I want to make sure I have in one place.  My recipes are not organized (mostly they are ripped out of magazines or written on scraps of paper or found online) so I can never find what I want.


Crockpot Buffalo Chicken

• 2 lbs raw boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 12 oz bottle of Buffalo wing sauce (I used Frank’s Wing Sauce)
• 1 oz packet of dry Ranch mix (I used Hidden Valley)
• 2 tbsp light butter
• 2 cloves garlic minced

1. Place the chicken breasts in your slow cooker.
2. Pour the bottle of wing sauce over the top of the chicken.
3. Sprinkle the packet of ranch mix over the top of the wing sauce.
4. Add your minced garlic to the slow cooker, making sure to cover it with sauce.
5. Place the lid on your slow cooker.
6. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or until meat shreds easily.
7. Remove meat and shred it using two forks.
8. Return shredded meat to the sauce and add the butter.
9. Stir to combine.
10. Continue to cook on low for another hour so the meat can soak up the sauce.

Tex-Mex Corn Chip Chili

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 pound lean ground beef

• 1/2 sweet onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped

• 1 tablespoon chili powder

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1 15 ounce can  black beans

• 1 15 ounce can  pinto beans

• 1 10 ounce can  tomatoes with green chilies

• Salt and pepper

• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

• 12 ounces pepper Jack cheese, shredded (about 3 cups)

• 1 bag  (about 10 ounces) corn chips, such as Fritos
• 
  

1. In a Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook for 7 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, chili powder and cumin and cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add the beans, with their liquid, and the tomatoes; bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Stir in the cilantro, then top with the cheese, cover and let stand until the cheese melts, 5 to 10 minutes. Place a handful of corn chips in each of 4 bowls. Top with the chili and serve.

No-Bake Energy Bites

• 1 Cup Rolled Oats

• 1 Cup Coconut Flakes

• ½ Cup Ground Flaxseed

• ½ Cup Mini Chocolate Chips

• ½ Cup Raisins

• ½ Cup Peanut Butter (or other nut/non-nut butter)

• ⅓ Cup Honey

• 1 tsp Vanilla

1. In a medium bowl, add oatmeal, coconut flakes, flax seed, mini chocolate chips and raisins.
2. In a small bowl, whisk peanut butter, honey and vanilla.
3. Pour wet mix into dry bowl until thoroughly incorporated. Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour. Once chilled, roll into balls and enjoy! Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Light and Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon ginger

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 pinch clove

• 1 cup 1% low-fat milk ( can be any kind)

• 6 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree

• 2 tablespoons melted butter

• 1 egg
• 
  

1. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, spices and salt in a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl whisk together milk, pumpkin, melted butter, and egg.
3. Fold mixture into dry ingredients.
4. Spray or grease a skillet and heat over medium heat: pour in 1/4 cup batter for each pancake.
5. Cook pancakes about 3 minutes per side. Serve with butter and syrup.
6. Makes about six 6-inch pancakes.

Settling Back into the Routine

I always get a little down after the holidays.  I love fall and early winter and the traditions that come with the seasons, despite the fact the weather is getting cooler and the days shorter,   After Halloween I love looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas--it's such a festive, fun-filled, family-oriented, tradition-minded time of year.  Then boom.  There's nothing to look forward to until late March/April and, in my book, Easter and my birthday are not really all that exciting.  Winter is a long haul, and reality sets in after the last Christmas gifts are opened, the holiday parties are over, and my clothes don't fit from all the holiday treats.

I'm glad, at least, to have Carlos home for a few days on vacation with me.  He took this Thursday and Friday off so that he basically has a 5-day weekend.  We've been out and about and having fun with the boys.

First off, let me back-track a little.  My post on Christmas Day didn't include my visit to my dad's in the evening because I wrote it during the boys' nap time.  But as usual, it was a really nice time.  He goes overboard with really nice gifts which usually include something for the kitchen (at least for the past 2 years) and Talbots clothes for me.  He buys me really nice stuff because he has great taste!  So this year, I received a nice pinstriped Oxford shirt, a black quilted jacket, and a tweed blazer.  We got a framed picture of the boys (which we hung up in the playroom), a Vitamix (yeah!!!  great for salsas and smoothies!), and a box of Golden Books.  I collect vintage ones when I find them cheap enough.  We also saw some good family friends who showed up at his house.  The boys were pretty good considering they were overtired and had a lot of energy.  It's so hard to take them anywhere these days, though.  This is the only picture I have from the evening because we were too busy running after them trying to keep them out of trouble!

One of the best gifts of the night was an airedale statue.  We've had it for as long as I can remember--at least since we had Pippi when I was a child.  My dad thought we should have it now.  It made me cry.  It IS so much easier without Lexi, and I admit to feeling relief that we no longer have to take her out in the rain and snow, but I do miss her.  She was such a sweet, pathetic, loyal little thing.   The boys were so excited about the statue that they were all over it trying to hug and kiss it.  They wanted to hold it and pet it.  I think they really thought it was Lexi.

 Adrian loves the balancing cactus that Santa brought them.  He likes to put the pieces in and then knock it down.

As he was concentrating on putting the pieces in, he happily turned to me and said, "I'm making it!" So cute!

Sebastian continues to play a lot with the Thomas trains.

Here, the boys both decided they would take a nap and declared "night, night!"

Sebastian will now tell me, occasionally, when he has poop and wants to be changed.  If I talk about pooping, he'll go sit on the potty.  But he does it with his clothes on and he doesn't actually poop while he's sitting there.  We're getting there, though...I guess!

Today, we went to Joann Fabrics in Raynham so I could see if they had any good Christmas clearance stuff.  They didn't.  Then we went to the Silver City Galleria so that I could get the jeweler to take a few links out of the beautiful watch Carlos got me for Christmas.  I will post pictures of it later!

The mall wasn't open yet when we got there, but we went in anyway and let the boys run around.  We did a lap around the entire mall with them running pretty much the whole way--they had so much energy to burn off!  They were in their glory!

This afternoon we went to BJs to get some diapers, wipes, and groceries, and Sebastian was mad that the "choo-choo hiding" (the Lionel one that was on display before Christmas) and kept saying, "Choo-choo, VEN!" which means "Come here, Choo-choo" in English.  And the boys enjoyed, as usual, eating all the free samples--various times.  Carlos has no shame about basically feeding them at the store.

That's it for now.  The house is all undecorated now.  Everything but the tree and the two wreaths we have is down and put away.  Sad, but having the decorations up after Christmas actually makes me sadder.  It just reminds me that the season is over every time I see them!