Happy New Year!

The view from here:

I used to have more interesting New Year's Eve nights.  I remember parties with friends, big dinners, some drinking, and very late nights.  Well, we did have a nice, big dinner tonight, but there will be no partying, there will be no drinking, and hopefully there won't be a late night tonight.  But, there are comfy pants!  And, silly Christmas socks!  I'm okay with that.  I'm really okay with that.  Why?  Because I have 3 beautiful boys sleeping soundly upstairs.  One who loves to run on his tip toes and play choo choos.  One who loves babies, and thinks he is the silliest boy around (he really is).  And, another boy who is so big and mature for his 8 years on this Earth.

So, there will be no big parties tonight.  We're watching one of Robin Williams' stand up shows and laughing out loud.  Although, my ears aren't used to hearing all these swear words!!  I had a wonderful vegan dinner, mopped my floor, washed some of my dishes (my sister washed most of them) and picked up the living room.  So, it will be a "normal" evening.  We're all comfy and enjoying our time together.

Have a happy and safe New Year!

Christmas

Merry Christmas!!  We had a very nice Christmas this year.  My sister and her 2 kids have been living with us since the week before Thanksgiving.  Her husband is deployed, and she wanted to spend the holidays with family, so she chose to stay here.  We've had a fabulous time:  watching Christmas movies, finishing up sewing projects for Christmas, eating ice cream (ahem...) and talking.  I don't know what I'm going to do when I can't see her and her adorable kids (ages 2 1/2 and 7 months) everyday...all day.  Okay, I must not think about it.

Christmas was extra special this year because we're spending it our new (to us) home, closer to my family.  My Mom didn't have to drive 8+ hours to spend the holiday with us.  My brother was able to come up from downstate and spend the night with us.  The time we spent together this Christmas was the most I've spent with him in years.  We are closest in age, between the 4 of us siblings, so being with him is a lot like reliving my childhood. 

Since my brother was arriving on Christmas Eve, my goal was to get all the wrapping and prep work done so we could spend the night visiting and playing games, instead of him watching me wrap like a mad woman.  And, guess what?!  I did it!  I was done by the 23rd!  I know, those of you who know me are finding this hard to believe.  I'm quite the procrastinator, but I was determined, and I succeeded.  Yay for me!

So, what did we do?  We played Euchre!  With my 8 year-old son's Star Wars playing cards!  And, I drank his beer that he made.  It has been years since I've drank beer...and even longer since I've played Euchre.  I had to relearn the rules.  That was reminiscent in and of itself.  We had a great time, even though he and my hubby's team won...big time!  Oh well, I guess I need a little more practice.

This is my professional cookie decorator.   I'm wondering what's with his hair??

 And, someone was very interested in what was going on up where he couldn't see.

Big brother was doing a good job protecting the "goods".

The fruits of our labor.

The two youngest table stagers I've ever seen.

I'm finding it difficult getting a good picture where all boys are looking nicely (yes, I'm settling for them having a "not horrible" look on their faces).

Whoops, can't quite see boy number two's whole face.

Now boy number three isn't quite looking at the camera.

Someone has a case of the sillies.

We're getting there.

Okay, I guess I'll have to settle for this.

It took us most of the day to unwrap gifts.  We would pause to put toys together, eat breakfast, play...

My niece's ice cream cone set was a hit with everyone.

And, we spent most of the afternoon resting and putting together Legos.  That's a Mom of boys for you!

All in all, it was a great Christmas where we could all be together.

And, were all tuckered out at the end of the day.

I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas!

All or Nothing

A friend of mine, Jessica, is a diet and fitness buff who writes a blog (http://swimbikerunmama.blogspot.com).  She also includes cute (and sometimes not so cute!) stories about her family and raising 2 boys.  I can identify with a lot of her parenting methods and challenges that she faces.  Plus, she is a great motivator to get my body moving!  Recently, she got a little personal, and blogged about some of her struggles with weight and body image.  You can find the posts here and here.  Then, the other day she talked about "all or nothing" when it comes to diet and exercise.  I can completely relate.

If I set my mind to it, I can give up any food item.  Becoming vegetarian didn't result in this way though.  I became vegetarian because I identified the animal with the food I was eating and was extremely grossed out.  I never really liked meat so becoming vegetarian was an easy change for me.  Becoming vegan (of which I often fall off the bandwagon...that darned Moomers ice cream!!) was a decision made to better my health.

But, when I attempt to change my eating habits by cutting down on sugar (my only vice anymore...but it's a big one!) it's either all or nothing for me.

Crazy, huh?  I should be able to eat sweets in moderation, but I can't.  I've given up all refined sugar and white flour before, just before I became pregnant with my second son.  I wasn't vegetarian then, but I watched what I ate, exercised regularly.  I looked and felt great.  So, why did I change a good thing?  Because I thought I could have one little something and that opened the flood gates. 

I then try to convince myself that those sugary foods are just empty calories.  Why would I want to put all that artificial junk in my body and create more work for me to burn those calories?  I don't know.  I think I feel like I'm rewarding myself...in some strange way.  Other family members (who shall remain nameless as they did not ask to go public with their personal struggles...hee hee) have expressed the same thought process with me about how they view sweets.  I've heard of some people rewarding themselves with exercise, that's what I should do.  That would be the smart choice.  But, I don't.  But, maybe I will.  I could change...maybe. 

I've not been writing very personal posts before this one, but I really admire Jessica's honesty with her struggles with weight and mommyhood.  So, I decided I'd share one of my struggles with the blogging world.  Maybe next time I'll share something else I struggle with.  Hmmm, I'll have to choose one of the many!

This wasn't so bad afterall.  And, if you feel like sharing some of your shortcomings with me, feel free!  We can bask in the glow of imperfection together!

Commitment

I love running.  Lately, I haven't been able to run as much as I'd like.  It's difficult to fit into my schedule, since I'm the bus driver for both of my kids, and I still have a toddler at home, and the days are getting shorter, and I won't run in the dark.  Blah, blah, blah.  As you can see, I can come up with excuses, which are all good, I'd say.  Hee hee.

Anyway, that's all changing.  I purchased a bike trainer today that will allow me to work out every day, at home, in the dark, or whenever I want.  Hooray!  I'll be able to go on runs on the weekend, when it's light out, when my hubby is home and watching our beautiful boys.

I've run two half marathons, the first one I trained for 9 months with my friend.  We ran in rain, snow, wind, heat and humidity, everything.  We talked child-rearing, husbands, recipes, even some of our deepest secrets.  We were committed and dedicated and I loved every minute of it.  Well, almost every minute...

The second one I ran, we kind of decided last minute.  We were going to do the 5K, but once you run the 1/2, the 5K just isn't that special anymore.  Maybe I'll feel that way about the 1/2 once I run a full marathon.  Anyway, I had just started running again, after having my 3rd boy.  We had about 3 weeks until race day and we decided that if we could run 10 miles, then we should go for it.  The 10 mile run night went great and we signed up the next day.

Running a race like that is addictive, for me anyway.  It's so exciting, having all the other runners there, seeing all of the spectators cheer you on, the newness of a different course, and of course, having your family waiting for you at the finish line.  Fabulous!  Our second half marathon didn't go too bad, since we didn't really train that much for it.  But, I had one casualty, my right big toe nail.  It's finally healed (grown back), 9 months later.

So, now here I am, thinking about running another 1/2 marathon, and maybe 2 this spring!  The Ohskosh half marathon is April 16 (ohmygoodness I hope there's no snow this year) and the Bayshore Marathon (I think I'd still have to do the 1/2) is Memorial weekend (thanks Sarah!).

I'll keep you posted on my progress.  Tonight, my first night, I did 45 minutes on the bike.  It felt good, not too bad since it's been a while since I'd run last (about 3 weeks....eeek!!!).  I did have to break and let the dog out, but other than that I kept a steady pace.

Consider me committed! 

{this moment}

In soulemama's words:  {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Go to www.soulemama.com to play along.

Tofu

I'm vegan but am not a big fan of tofu.  I think I just haven't experimented with it enough.  Tonight, I began experimenting with a recipe of my own. 

A local all natural, health foods store makes their own tofu, and I've heard it's fabulous.  I've tried it on a sandwich that they make and it was delicious.  I just wasn't sure how well I could prepare it.  But, I thought I'd be adventurous this week.

I've made chicken tenders for the kids for many years.  My breadcrumb mix is pretty yummy and I thought I could coat  my tofu in the mixture I usually use for chicken.  I don't ever measure for this recipe, but here are the approximates.  Feel free to change up the amounts or ingredients to suit your tastes.

Breading
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (can be dairy or non-dairy)
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Wet mixture
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, or other non-diary milk

Press the tofu to drain the excess liquid.  Slice into small nugget-sized shapes (about 1 inch by 2 inches).  Dip into the pumpkin mixture and dredge into the breadcrumbs.  Repeat.  Press some of the breadcrumbs to adhere if it they fall off.  Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, checking to make sure they don't burn.  Eat with ketchup and enjoy!

They had a healthy coating on them, as you can see, but they were very yummy!  Even my oldest son liked them.  The baby loved them!  Probably because he could dip them in ketchup.  He loves to dip his food, especially into ketchup.  I should have taken a picture of him enjoying them, but I was enjoying mine too much to stop eating and grab the camera. 

And, thanks to my oldest son for taking the pictures.  I think he did a great job, don't you?

Oh, and I couldn't taste the pumpkin at all.  They really were fabulous and I can't wait to eat them tomorrow as leftovers.

Halloween...a little bit late

Happy belated Halloween!!  It is a week past the holiday which brought unGodly amounts of candy into my house.  All of which I would like promptly removed!!!  Before I eat any more of it!  Hopefully it won't be much longer before the boys forget about Halloween candy and it'll just mysteriously disappear.

Anyway, sometimes I get lucky on Halloween and my kids dress up in clothes they already have.  My sister sends the boys awesome dress up clothes.  We have 2 sets of camis and one flight suit that the boys love!  And, last year my oldest dressed up in his Marine camis, face paint and all, and poof, his costume was done!  My middle boy decided to dress up in a costume I had made a prior year for my oldest when he was about 3 or 4.  He was a dalmation.  The baby was little and I store bought (egad!!) a costume for him, mainly for me because he didn't much care as long as he was there in my arms.  Here's a picture of them last year with my oldest son's best friend, dressed as an astronaut.

Cute huh?  And easy.  Well, this year was different.  They wanted to be Star Wars characters.  Which, is fine, it's just that I'm not the most creative person in the world.  I can follow directions very well, but can't really come up with my own idea to save my life.  But, I think my creations of their costumes this year didn't turn out too bad. 

My oldest wanted to be Clone Captain Rex from the Clone Wars.  Middle son wanted to be Boba Fett.  And, baby got to be Clifford (a creation from a prior year - in which I was able to follow a pattern - when my oldest was 2 or 3).  Here are pictures from this year.

I measured and drew out my own pattern pieces to create the "armor".  I then cut out the pieces of fabric and doubled them up.  I was concerned with the gray sweatsuits showing through with the lighter colors.  Then, I placed them in their appropriate places on the sweatsuits using my 2 live models, who were very patient with me and my goal to have the knees in just the right spot.  What good boys...

My biggest challenge in creating these (besides deciding on the size and shapes of the various pattern pieces) was sewing the "armor" pieces to the pre-purchased sweat pants and sweat shirts.  My Boba Fett boy's costume was extremely difficult because the arms were so narrow and it was difficult to push and pull to get the arm into place.  Then, attempting to sew the fabric to the shirt without hitting my finger.  I was successful with that as well.  No blood was shed on these projects!  I did work on them down to the wire, finishing Halloween eve.  Just in time for the boys to wear their costumes out to breakfast Sunday morning. 

So, now I've taken about a week and a half break from sewing but am chomping at the bit to get moving on my projects for Christmas.  I won't be blogging about them until after the holiday since some of them are going to family members who read my blog and I'd like to keep the projects a surprise for them.

Is anyone else sewing for the holidays?  I'd love to hear about what you're working on.