Weigh-In Wednesday

<---- There they are, my Brussels Sprouts and they were delicious!

Last week I said I was going to try to cook some this week and it was a huge victory! This is Brussels Sprouts with Almonds. I will post the recipe in the "Mix In A Salad" tab on the top of my blog. If you like balsamic vinegar you will be a fan of these and they are a Weight Watcher's recipe so they are very diet friendly!

This week I have lost........4 POUNDS! How great is that! I am thrilled. This has been so much easier then I thought it would be. The best part is this.....when I tried to loose weight by counting calories it took me 8 weeks to loose 8 pounds. This time I have lost 9 pounds in 4 weeks. That's half the time! I know my body won't be able to sustain this sort of weight loss consistently but it is such a huge morale boost and makes me feel like my end goal is attainable!

I am unashamed to say, I AM SO PROUD!

49 pounds to go!

Haircuts

A couple of weeks ago the boys got their first hair cuts. It was so hard for me to take them! Haircuts, for me, mean that they are not babies but toddlers now. I HATE that. I want them to stay small and snuggley forever. However, it was time. Cort was starting to grow a mullet and Jude was getting mistaken for a girl waaaaay too much.

Cort was first and in typically Corty fashion he was quite unsure about the whole thing. He spent most of the time looking down and furrowing his eyebrows. I was really worried about when it came time for the clippers but the buzzing sound didn't seem to bother him. He did wince at the water bottle spraying him.








Then it was Jude's turn. Jude is fearless and getting a haircut was no exception. He was excited to sit in the fire engine chair and even tried to drive a little. He did end up being so wiggly that the stylist loaned him her name tag to try to keep him still. Colin and I have decided that we are going to try a long hair style on Jude so this was just a shaping trim for him. I am not sure I will like the longer hair on him but it seems a shame to not show off his beautiful blonde locks (who would have thought Colin and I would have a blonde hair, blue eyed child).







Zoe Scout also got a hair cut that day. There are no pictures of her because while she was getting her hair cut I was trying to entertain the boys and keep them out of trouble. It was a rather successful trip even though it took a couple of days to get used to the new short hair. The only down side was the cost....about $60 for all three of them. It seems to me that places should give you a discount if you bring in multiple children....I guess I just need to get used to it.

Weigh-In Wednesday

One of the things I am trying to change in my diet is eating more fish. I love fish so this hasn't been too hard.

A new thing I am going to try cooking is brussel sprouts. Several years ago my mother-in-law made them at Thanksgiving and I thought they were great so now I am going to try. I'll let you know how it goes.

This week I lost .6 pounds. Not as much as I would have liked but let me explain. We went out of state over the weekend which meant that every meal was eaten at a restaurant. Added on top of that, it was a highly stressful trip for me which can supposedly interfere with weight loss and, in my case, will cause me to choose comfort foods which always means I turn to salt. So taking all that into consideration, I am very happy with any loss at all.

This .6 also puts me at a solid 5 pounds lost in 2 weeks which feels really good!

53 lbs to go!

First Day of Spring!

After only 28 years I have finally decided that Tulips are my favorite flower. They feel so bright and spry standing proudly on their stems and they make me happy.

I love seeing their leaves coming up knowing that those sunny petals are soon to show themselves.

I feel a little like my family are tulips this year. We had a very long and shut in winter. We were sick most of the last 7 months and now we are just about to spring forth and enjoy the outdoors for the first time with the boys. I am looking forward to season passes at the zoo and children's museum and hoping to spend many days at the arboretum. There will also be swimming and sprinklers to be had in the near future.

Most years I long to live in the coziness of winter all 12 months but this year I can say with much enthusiasm......Hello Spring!

Weigh-In Wednesday

I'm back and this time I have a new strategy!

Weight Watchers

For anyone that knows me, even just a little bit, you know that I love rules and a system. I just perform better when I can work with dos and don'ts. This is what WW (Weight Watchers) provides for me.

I decided last week that I needed a system that was better then counting calories because let's face it, counting calories is hard! WW has been used, successfully, by several women in my family so I thought I would give it a try. I signed up for the on line version and committed to 3 months.

I have to say that it is soooo easy. I can just plug in whatever I eat and it tells me how many points it is. As long as I stay under my daily points I loose weight. It even has weekly flex points so I can still have a medium Dr. Pepper every day if I want!

So after one week I have lost 4.4 pounds! I am thrilled! As my dad would say......Good Job Bate!

I know this is the kick start I needed to get back into my weight loss journey again.

53.6 pounds to go!

Food Firsts

The boys had their first taste of spaghetti the other night. It was a big hit with Jude (that baby will eat anything) but Cort enjoyed playing with it more then eating it. It of course resulted in a huge mess and baths.




Neither one of them got nearly as messy as Zoe Scout did the first time she had spaghetti.......



This was taco soup night.....I think I was at a wedding so poor Colin had to bath them all by himself. It looks like they enjoyed it!




The boys always try to sneak food from their sister when they think we are not looking. This night Zoe Scout was having grilled cheese, which happens to be one of the boys favorites so Cort tried to get some before I saw.......


When I did see he tried to turn on the charm which, of course, worked.....how could you be mad at that face?


Jude has a couple of new things he likes to do. He has started wearing Scout's Thomas backpack all over the house. He looks a little too old for me!


They both also have a new found fascination with the dishwasher. I think this happened when Colin wasn't looking. You can tell by the look on his face that he knows he has been caught!


Another new game is playing "Where is brother?" This is one of my favorite incarnations of it. Jude stands on the arm of the chair in the living room and looks over the ledge while Cort runs around and tries to scare him.


This is probably one of the last times they slept together. After they starting getting so sick last year they stopped sleeping in the same crib. It makes my heart happy to remember them like this!

Zoe Scout: Fly Slayer

Last night, around 8pm I was sitting on the couch enjoying reruns of Good Eats when Zoe Scout comes rushing out into the living room. She was so excited about something and was carrying a spoon from her play kitchen.

As she got closer I could see that the spoon was sporting a very dead and squished fly. Here is the story as told by her:

"The bug wasn't looking then I smooshed him with the scarf. Then I hit the bug with the spoon then I came to tell you and daddy."

Best I can figure, I think she stunned the beast (it was a huge fly) with the scarf and then finished him off with the spoon! I was so proud of her but not as proud as she was of herself!