My 5am-9pm: April 28 - May 4 & life with my toddler

Evidently I haven't been jotting notes down as I should because I've been getting my weekends mixed up!  I totally omitted writing about attending a birthday party for one of Sami's friends.  Sami calls her her "best friend" which is absolutely so cute.  These little girls hug when they see eachother - it's sweetness overload every time!

The party was fantastic.  Breakfast foods because most kids eat breakfast (kudos Julia/Jeremy).  The cake was super cute - a round cake to make a troll's face with cupcakes for the ears and the hair.  It was really creative and well done.  The kids had fun running around and playing together.  I was proud of Sami for sharing, which isn't always her strong suit.  Sami had a blast running around, going up and down the stairs, and she just had a ball.  I tried my best to not hover over her - my best effort yet! ;)

Saturday:

Saturday was pretty uneventful.  I did some organizing - tossing things we weren't using, placing like things together and removing it from areas they were cluttering.

I also filled up a photo album (600 photos).  I'd purchased pictures from my phone and camera through Shutterfly when there was a really good deal, and sat down as I caught up on General Hospital and just filled it up.  It goes from Sami's birth to just after her first birthday.

Now I need to work on ordering the next batch, and another album.  I'll be on the lookout for good deals on Shutterfly again!

Sunday:

I cleaned out the fridge including taking out the shelves to wash them.  I guess the spring weather is bringing in that feeling of needing to do some spring cleaning.  It looks a lot better now.

Exciting weekend right?

Monday-Friday:

On Monday Annual check-up with my gastroenterologist.  We decided that we'd check my blood work at my next Remicade treatment (end of the month) and from there decide if we need to adjust my dose or if further tests would be a good idea.

I've been feeling good overall, but if I was to compare how the last 3-4 months have been compared to the last 3-4 years, I'd say the last 3-4 years I've been a 9, and now I'm an 8, or maybe a 7.5 at times.  I get pain a little more often.  My legs have been itchy lately and seem to coincide with when my treatments are due but it could just be a coincidence because it's been a really dry Winter and Spring.  I'm not worried, but I rather catch it on the front end if something is starting up.

The week was pretty uneventful.  It was busy at work.  I started re-watching an old season of Survivor on Hulu (Pearl Islands season).


As for life with my toddler; we've had excursions to the park, and she's discovered that she can remove and stick gel clings on the patio door.  That's been a great source of entertainment, although they are starting to have seen better days and most have gone to the trash due to tears.  Potty training continues to go at the same pace - just need her to start telling us when she needs to go.  Her vocabulary and sentence structure continues to grow leaps and bounds.  She's starting to know numbers by sight.  And she's a toddler, so she easily reaches tantrum mode when something doesn't go her way, or doesn't get what she wants.

Still, she's the sweetest in my eyes, and I love her dearly.  She's a blast to be around when not in tantrum mode. <3

#MealPlanMonday: May 5-11 & adding healthy snacks

I hope you had a beautiful weekend, we absolutely did with the sunshine and warmth!  Here is this week's menu:

Pan-Fried Chicken (recipe from Blue Apron)

Burgers (Hubby's delicious burgers)

Nachos with pineapple salsa (making it sans pineapple bowl)

Penne alla vodka

Greek quinoa bowls

I managed to do my meal prep this weekend, as planned - fruit/vegetable prep on Saturday and the rest on Sunday.  Saturday's prep was more intense because I cut a lot of fruits and veggies.

You see I usually chop raspberries and strawberries every morning for Sami to bring to daycare.  Having done it Saturday, I just had to portion it out this morning and will do so the rest of the week. #Win.  I then cut up veggies for the salsa, for the quinoa recipe and for snacking.  

I've always struggled with eating a lot of vegetables but hopefully being on Remicade will make it so it doesn't cause me a lot of stomach issues.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  I've attempted this in the past, but have had a few bad experiences.

All month, I'm going to have some cut up veggies with a dip (this week homemade tzaziki) for snacking at work or on the weekend.  I also decided I'd make some sort of salad I can snack on, or have as a side with lunch/dinner.  This should lead to smaller lunches/dinners - at least that's my theory.  

So you'll see that I added a section to my meal plan called "Snack for the week", and that will be my healthy snacking option so that I don't get overly hungry and then eat more than I should for lunch and/or dinner.

And then, I won't feel so guilty for having a chocolate bar here and there, or some chips :)

Added bonus, these healthy eating habits will hopefully rub off on my family and home life.  Perhaps Sami won't be eating these types of snacks in the near future, but it will help me reinforce the types of snacks she should have once she's old enough to understand the concept of healthy foods.  Here's to hoping anyway.  

We'll start with this month though because it's ambitious to think you can make a big lifestyle change  Having it on the meal plan is half the battle.  I'm more likely to do it than if I was just thinking about doing it.

My5am-9pm: April 21-27 and the best/worse words

Saturday:

Went to swim lessons with Sami – nothing new there.  Saturday night, I was feeling rather nostalgic after seeing that Friday had been the Backstreet Boys’ 25th anniversary.  I went to a couple concerts in my teenage years and have really always enjoyed most of their music.  I watched some of my favorite music videos for a couple hours.  As I recalled how big they were in my teen years I remembered other videos that had been popular around the same time.  We watched Aqua’s Barbie Girl video, which made me chuckle quite a bit.  We also watched a few Spice Girls’ videos – while I used to enjoy their music, can I just say how terrible it now sounds?  They do have a few songs I still like (Viva Forever comes to mind), but listening and watching some of those videos – wowwee…

Sunday:

We drove by a neighboring area my husband wanted me to see.  The homes are beautiful.  For the past months, we’ve been debating whether the best idea is to redo the basement of our current house, or move.  I’ll eventually write about my pros and cons, but if we can find a house on a specific street, on the correct side of the street, I could definitely be persuaded to move.  Right now, I’m 50/50.  Some days, I’m all for moving, and others I don’t even want to consider it.

Monday-Friday:

On Monday, Sami had her first dentist appointment.  I was concerned because she kept complaining about her mouth hurting.  She seemed a little apprehensive when we first got there, but got to playing with some toys and was happy as can be.  We met the hygienist who noticed Minnie Mouse on her pants and told Sami she might have a Minnie Mouse toothbrush for her.  Sami was all excited and got to pick from 5 toothbrushes and of course went straight for the Mickey/Minnie Mouse one.  Sami brushed her teeth with it for the entirety of the appointment when someone else wasn’t cleaning her teeth. 

She did absolutely awesome, and the dentist didn’t notice any issues, but did point out that her last bottom molars had pierced through.  I guess that explains the midnight waking up sessions lately!  I kept checking, but I guess they pierced through without my noticing.

She was awarded tokens to put in gumball machine for toys, which she picked bouncy balls (which she all of a sudden calls ballies – odd).  We went to make an appointment and she started saying “I wanna go see…” and would trail off, so I offered “Dada”?  She said, “No, I wanna go see the dentiss!”.  She melted everyone’s hearts and earned herself another toy in doing so – a princess duck for her bath.  Overall, I would say it was a great experience!

On Wednesday, it was my turn to go to the dentist for my bi-annual cleaning.  No issues – yay.  All week at work they celebrated Staff Appreciation which was really nice.  We got nice treats like a nacho bar, frozen yogurt, company swag and a gift card.  Yay Bath & Body Works because I’m in need of cute foaming hand soaps.

I’ve come to realize that there are two words, regardless of the language, that can be the best and worst words on earth. 

Mama…  Dada…

When you first hear your baby say those words to you, it is heartwarming.  If you ask me, it’s one of the most special memories and feelings once can ever have.  And when they are happy to see you, and say it,  it’s sound is sweet to hear.

And then there’s the gut-wrenching “Mama” in the middle of the night because your child had a nightmare, or woke up because their teeth hurt.  It’s the saddest sound in the world.  Much like when you put your child down to sleep but they don’t want to sleep and just yell “Mama” or “Dada” over and over and over and over again.  You want to go see them, but know that you at least have to give them a little while to try and fall asleep on their own.

I embrace try to embrace the gut-wrenching sounds of hearing “Mama”, and try to comfort her when appropriate.  While it is painful to hear it’s also rewarding to know that you’re the one they want to see when nothing seems to be going their way.  Still, the best is hearing it when say I pick her up from daycare and a huge smile comes across her face as she runs toward me yelling “Mama!”.  What a perfect way to end each (or almost each) workday!

#MealPlanTuesday: April 28 - May 4 & needing more routines

It's #MealPlanTuesday because life happens! ;)

Brown Sugar Pineapple Chicken
Hambuger Helper (Lasagna)
Savory waffles
Frozen leftover casserole

With my new meal planning template, I'm finding myself making more tweaks as I get ready to make my grocery list.  It's not a bad thing either because things come up especially when you meal plan a month at a time.  For example, two nights this week, my husband won't be home for dinner.  That means, less leftovers being eaten, and frankly less time to prepare dinner with my two year old running all around me.  "Up, up".  "Wanna see it".  And as capable I have become at doing everything one handed, sometimes it's not an option with cooking, especially with a hot stove.

Nice weather has started gracing us and I'm starting to want some really fresh and cool meals as opposed to hearty, meaty meals.  I made a Caprese Pasta Salad to bring to work as a snack.  It felt like a healthy option - perhaps not the best option for losing weight since it does have carbs but it's a step in the right direction.  Maybe next week I can make a quinoa salad of some sort and have some sliced veggies and fruits ready to go - and not just for Sami.  I slice fruit up for her every morning and I'd be doing myself a service if I sliced everything up on the weekend, but somehow I never get to it.

I blame having a two year old.  I guess I blame a lot on having a two year old.  I keep hearing that 3 is a turning point.  Don't get me wrong, I love my girl, and she's absolutely amazing.  She's a sunshine in my every day.  But I still feel like I don't have enough time in a day.

All in all, I think it's just about establishing new routines so that it becomes second nature and doesn't feel like it's time consuming.  I've basically gained an hour every weekend by picking up my groceries instead of doing all the shopping myself... so where did that hour go?  I wish I knew the answer.

Plan for this week - make my meal plan for May while my husband is out since doing it over lunch will be too much of a challenge this week.
Plan out some meal planning strategies for the weekend - possibly:

• Slice up fruits and veggies on Saturday
• Complete the rest of meal prep on Sunday 
• Make a salad/veggie dip for the week (healthy snacks) on Sunday

Do you have routines and strategies that you try to abide to every weekend when it comes to meal prepping?

Love me some Spring weather!

Loving the park!