Kindergarten

So Princess is now officially a Kindergartner!  I am officially a wreck... my head is spinning with all the changes and additional events happening in our lives.  All of these changes are good, and I know things will calm down in a couple of weeks/months (at least I hope they will).  I am struggling with the idea of the kids being in 2 different schools (Butterball at daycare and Princess at the elementary school at the end of my street) - this translates to 2 drop offs and 2 pickups... that's a lot of in and out of the car, buckling and unbuckling of seatbelts, parking, wandering around trying to figure out where to go, etc.  I know I will get the hang of things, but no one likes being the "new girl" in an otherwise known process. 

Now that Princess is in public school we are responsible for providing her lunch... don't misunderstand me we have always been responsible for providing her lunch - I paid the daycare to feed her!  And that process worked out beautifully!  The public school offers lunch and I could buy that too... but Princess is so excited to bring her lunch to school (transaltion - I make the lunch) she can't barely contain herself!  So in true fashion of being me I have become obsessed with her lunch (and snacks).  I wanted the lunches to be balanced, nutritional meals that were also eco-friendly... I like to make things difficult for myself (you might have noticed that about me).

I ordered a bento box set from Laptop Lunches, then spent an entire weekend trying to find a lunch bag that it would fit in (and yes you are correct I should have just purchased the lunch bag from the site as well... but I didn't so just keep your eye rolling to yourself).  I also purchased a thermos (Princess refers to this as a "Heater") so we could send pasta and/or soup for lunch, a water bottle, and yesterday I picked up a separate small insulated bag for her snacks. 

I spent hours searching for lunch menu ideas that would work with the bento box situation, and there are a surprising number sites with photos and ideas for inspiration.  I was starting to feel more confident I could make this work.  To really give myself another level of comfort I created a full listing of Princess's lunches and snacks, as well as our dinners for the week in a lovely comforting spreadsheet... aaahhh who doesn't love a nice neat spreasheet!  I get a warm feeling just thinking about it!

I will share my spreadsheet with you tomorrow, along with what I did to get a head start for the week!  For now I will leave you with a photo of her 1st day of school lunch:

Ham Sandwhich, hard boiled egg, strawberries & bananas, and oreos

I am back....

and I am tan!  Yes I have spray tanned my lovely self and I can honestly say this could become addicting!  Let me clarify - I did not actually spray the tanning stuff on my own body... I had a lovely gal from Beach Bum Tanning do the application.  And yes it is somewhat awkward to stand in front a slim, toned, overly tanned 20 something year old and have her spray you down with tanning solution... all the while trying not to think about what is going through her mind.  I definitely think I provided some potential birth control thoughts... because I (and  many other women who) have had 2 c-sections (and rarely get the appropriate amount of exercise) can instill a fear of a flabby, stretch marked stomach into all those who lays eyes upon it!  Look away - just LOOK AWAY I tell you!

I am off to Philadelphia this weekend for a wedding (hence the need for the spray tan) - thank you to my in-laws (once again) for being our saviors and watching Butterball and Princess! 



taken with the Hipstamatic App on my iPhone



I am seriously considering...

When I find a specific brand of a product - be it food, cleaning supply, beauty item, etc. - that I like I stay true to that brand.  I am loyal.  I am supportive.  I become a champion of that brand and will sing its praises whenever I can catch someones ear... you can often find me in the supermarket telling other shoppers why I think a particular product is superior.  Some people appear to be genuinely interested in my product "review" others just nod and back away slowly. 

There are 2 products that I may have to start (ok I already started) stockpiling...



 Victoria's Low Sodium Marinara Sauce and GE Reveal 60 watt light bulbs - 2 items I wish to not live without........ EVER!

Victoria's Marinara is (in my opinion... which is always correct and is should be shared by many) one of the best jarred marinara sauces found on the shelves of a supermarket.  It is delicious, all natural (only has 7 ingredients and I can pronounce all them!) and not too expensive.  When I can find the coveted Family Size jar - I (really it is ADG) will purchase 3 or 4 at a time.  But now I have sampled the Low Sodium variety and it is even more delicious than the original marinara. There are other brands on the shelves that are delicious and all natural, but most of them are priced too high for me.  You may be thinking gosh if you are that passionate about marinara sauce and all natural...blah, blah, blah... why not make your own.  Well, I will tell you I do make my own marinara on occasion and I have contemplated making/canning a years worth of homemade sauce... but let's face it that takes a lot of effort and if you know me (or read other entries from this blog) I am not one to put too much effort into tasks such as this.  I am fairly certain if I were to go ahead with making/canning my own homemade marinara sauce I would be out a lot money and have nothing to show for it (or feed my family with)... I would have to purchase the jars, the lids thingies, a special pot, special tongs, not to mention store all the sauce once it is in the jars and all the canning equipment.  And since I am not the best at following directions... I would probably end up with 40 or 50 jars of contaminated and/or poisonous marinara sauce.  And that is not a good use of storage space in my mind.  So for now I will continue to maintain my usual 2 to 3 jar supply of Victoria's Marinara sauce in my pantry and keep my eyes peeled the Family Size jars - get taste at and even better savings!

ADG read (in the newspaper - I think... I don't pay very close attention) the other day that "they" are considering outlawing regular light bulbs!  I am not exactly sure who "they" are but I am not happy with them.  I am not a fan of the newer energy saving, corkscrew like bulbs... they are ugly looking and give off the most hideous light!  It is a gross blue light that makes everything look sad and dreary... if you ask me... which I know you did not, but you are reading this sooo you kinda did.  Do not try and fool me with the whole "now they cover the corkscrew thing and it looks just like the old bulbs"... not true! They do not look the same AND they still give off the bluish sad clown light... yuck!
I like the GE Reveal 60 watt light bulbs - they give off a soft clean white light.  People and things look nice in this light.  I am seriously considering buying (many) cases of these particular bulbs to have for my home should "they" actually outlaw them... which I guess means that "they" will no longer sell them at the store... and not be searching peoples homes and arresting them for using non-energy efficient light bulbs.

So if you see me at the Stop n Shop with a cart full of Victoria's Marinara sauce in Family Size jars and GE Reveal 60 watt light bulbs, giving other shoppers my personal reviews of my favorite products just wave and walk on by like I am totally normal... because I am... right?

I am sure other parents have made the same mistake... right?

So the other day I was working on planning some family day trips for this summer and I happened to be on the Sesame Place website.  That was when I noticed something strange... I was sure this Sesame Street character:



was named Margarita. 

Apparently her name is Rosita - Rosita is an upbeat, playful Muppet whose full name, Rosita la Monstrua de las Cuevas, means “the monster of the caves.” Her name may sound scary, but there's nothing dark or frightening about this bright character; she is named that because she is a fruit bat. Rosita loves to play with her friends and help them learn more about Spanish, her native language. She comes from Mexico, and is the first regular bilingual Muppet on the show. Rosita often combines English and Spanish when she speaks, and shows her affection by touching and hugging the person she’s talking to.

I can not be the only parent who thought her name was Margarita... not only do the two names rhyme, but both are from Mexico!  And let's face it Sesame Place would be 10 times more fun if they had Margaritas available instead of (or at least in addition to) Rosita.





Early wake up call!?!?... not exactly!

I mentioned in earlier posts that I had not kept up my hope of waking up early in order to get myself ready before the kids wake up... well today was slightly different.  Butterball awoke at approximately 5:40 am - I know this because I opened one eye to check the clock as I heard him calling for ADG... yeah it is pretty awesome that he ALWAYS call out "DADDY" when he wakes up in the morning, he actually gets pissed when I walk in the room to get him.  So I have basically decided ADG should always be the one to go in (others do not share this opinion)... I prefer to not piss off anyone first thing in the morning (because I am thoughtful that way).  Back to this morning... so it was 5:40am (which is 5 minutes before my alarm* goes off) and after a few minutes ADG rolled out of bed and went to Butterball, a diaper was changed and they both came back into the bedroom and got into bed.  Butterball requested a bah-bah** and to watch Barney.  It was 6 o'clock at that point and I turned on the TV - Butterball drank his milk while ADG snored and I tried to sleep for a few more minutes.  Then I was rudely awakened by an excruciating headbutt to the nose... yeah that's right a 2 year olds rock of a skull slammed into my nose!  I let out a yelp (sort of) and jumped out of bed - which resulted in Butterball bursting into tears!  I never appreciate when a small child crys when they are the one who inflected the pain... yeah I know I startled him with my scream yelp, but really I was the one who should have been crying!  Not the best way to start the day, but thankfully there was very little blood and no swelling... Happy Friday to me!

*My alarm starts to go off at 5:45am, but then I hit the snooze button 3 or 4 times before I actually get out of bed.  I tried setting a second alarm - my cellphone - to go off 20 minutes after the first alarm.  I even put the phone on my dresser which would force me to get out of bed to turn it off... you would think well you are out of bed just head into the bathroom at this point - YOU ARE ALREADY OUT OF BED FOR GOD SAKE!  Yeah... that did not work after the 1st day... honestly I blame day light savings time and the weather.  It is so dark in the morning I swear (everyday) that the clock must be wrong, I actually ponder whether I may have accidentally changed the time on the clock when I turned on the alarm the night before...  I seriously think about that every morning!  It actually happened twice in my life - yes 2 times and I continue to think about it everyday (Monday through Friday... weird how I do not think about it on the weekends... huh?).

** Yes I admit my 2 year old son stills drinks milk from a bottle - one before bed and one first thing in the morning... I know you are "suppose to" discontinue the bottle soon after they turn 1 but I just could not.  I am actually feeling pretty proud of myself for not giving him any bottles during the day (even though he still asks).  We thought we were the last parents to stop sending a bottle to daycare for naptime but now we think one of the kids in his daycare class still drinks formula!  I can't wrap my head around a 2 year old still drinking formula- it is SO expensive!  I stopped buying formula the second Butterball turned 1 - I think I may have even run out a few days shy of his first birthday and did not buy anymore.  So we are still working on the whole bottle thing - it is comforting for everyone involved... it soothes Butterball and I hate to say it, but it gives me a few minutes of quiet as well.  I am sure we will be weaned off the bottle soon, but for now I am good with just the 2 a day... don't judge me (out loud anyway)... I generally keep my judgements to myself... unless you count this blog where I tell it all... whatever!

Still on track...

So the eating healthy is still working out for me... the early rising is dead and buried!  So I have a product review of sorts... Lean Cuisine Pot Stickers!

I have been pleasantly surprised with the Lean Cuisine Market Creations line and my absolute favorite is the Chicken Pot Stickers.

This meal is delicious and it really is a meal!  I mean you do not even need a salad to make you feel full - you get 5 or 6 pot stickers and lots of yummy veggies in a delicious "sweet chili ginger soy sauce".  It nukes up in 5 minutes in the microwave!  If you are a weight watchers member this meal has 7 point (that is the pp+ points value).  Sometimes I get a little fancy and steal borrow a real plate from my companies cafeteria and if it happens to be sushi day I grab some chopsticks and go to town (a fancy town) on this for lunch!

Today I tried the Asian Style Pot Stickers from the Simple Favorites collection:

This one was not nearly as good as the other one - the pot stickers themselves tasted the same, but that was the only good thing I could say about this.  The portion was small, the rice was so-so and the sauce was just OK.  The 2 main negatives on this item (I can't call it a meal - I was still hungry after eating it) was 1. it took 8 minutes in the microwave!  Seriously 8 minutes - that is forever in my book!  and 2. it has the same points plus value (7) as the other meal!  It was half the size for crying out loud!

When attempting to eat on the healthy side my main objective is to get the most out of every meal - I need delicious-ness (not sure if that is an actual word - but you know exactly what I mean) and a strong return on my health initiative investment.

Other things I am enjoying lately -
Wholly Guacamole 100 Calorie snack packs - portion control and absolute delicious-ness (there is that word again) all in one!

Laughing Cow Cheese wedges - I like all the flavors but this on is great in a turkey quesadillas!

Kellogg's Fiber Plus bars - not sure if they will have similar results to the FiberOne bar issue I wrote about earlier but these are equally delicious... especially this flavor:



It basically says - screw you Girl Scouts and your Samoas (or for the more politically correct - Carmel deLites) cookies!  This has all the same flavors and fiber too! 

I am hoping that maybe by posting pictures of these items and saying how much I like them that some one from the marketing department of the companies that produce these products will send me a free supply... I know that not that many people read this blog, but a girl can dream!

It has been a while...

I am happy to report that I am 1 for 2 in my quest for better habits - I am have kept up the healthier eating and I am thrilled to have lost 7 pounds at this point!  On the other side of the coin the whole waking up early has waned a bit.  I was really good the first week, the second week was OK, but this past week I am all banged up... from falling of the proverbial wagon.  The only thing keeping me on time in the morning is a new haircut that reduces the amount of drying time.
Princess was up to something - she was uncharacteristically good yesterday morning... no arguing about getting dressed, voluntarily went into the bathroom to brush her teeth, even brought her breakfast dishes to the sink without being asked!  As she was helping her brother on with his coat (actually helping him, not even trying to wrap it around him backwards like a straight jacket), ADG wanted to know if I knew what Princess wanted (as we have never seen this type of behavior unless she has a motive for getting something).  I said I was not sure yet... at the end of the day her motive was revealed... Justin Beiber!  It appears that our 5 year old has a mild case of Beiber fever! When ADG picked the kids up from daycare Princess told him she was so excited to see the Justin Beiber movie on Saturday - she just can't wait! We have tentative plans to see the movie on Saturday afternoon with a couple of her girlfriends (and their moms)... I am not sure if she will enjoy to the movie (she has never seen a movie in the theatre that was not animated), but I am pretty sure I will enjoy it.  I am a curious about Justin Beiber - I do not know that much about him, but ever since a couple of his songs were featured on GLEE I have felt my temperature rising!