I heart sweets and Jillian Michaels

My huge downfall is sweets.  I just really love about any form of desert.  I found this a while ago when I heard about how great coconut milk is (initially from Jillian Michaels's book).  I tried it and loved it.  I do love coconut, and this has just a hint of coconut, so if you aren't a coconut fan, you might not like it.

It's also not that bad for you. Only 150 calories for 1/2 cup, and 6 grams of fiber.  I also appreciate the list of ingredients, you can actually pronounce each ingredient.  See- INGREDIENTS: ORGANIC COCONUT MILK, ORGANIC AGAVE SYRUP, CHICORY ROOT EXTRACT, CAROB BEAN GUM, GUAR GUM, VANILLA EXTRACT, NATURAL FLAVOR, VANILLA BEAN SPECKS.  It's pretty light, not the rich creaminess of something like Hagan Das or Ben and Jerry's but when you just need something sweet, a little bit is just enough.

A friend of mine got me hooked on the Biggest Looser several years ago and so began my love for Jillian Michaels.  I read her book "Master your Metabolism" about a year ago and really appreciated her scientifically based explanations for how different foods effect your body. 

Having hypothyroidism myself, it really helped to know how different foods/chemicals manipulate your hormones and how we can eat to balance our bodies.  When I ate from her food plan I felt so much better.  You don't realize how much you feel like crap until you feel really good.  Munchkie's Daddy even liked her recipes, they were full of real, organic ingredients and tons of flavor.  Sometimes he even makes some of her recipes just for himself.   Jillian was on the cover of Self magazine for January and inside are more meal ideas/recipes that I am excited to try out.  I can definitely handle eating her recipes such as the Southwestern Slam in which you cook together 1/2 cup corn, 1/4 cup canned black beans, 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper, 1/4 cup chopped red onion, 1/4 tsp cumin, pinch of cayenne, 1 whole egg, 1 egg white, 2 tsp cilantro, and then serve with 2 cups cubed papaya. Mmmmm!

A few months ago Munchkie's Daddy and I did a juice detox together and I wanted to start the year off with a detox.  I felt more energy and overall well being after the detox, and found that I was able to eat much smaller portions without feeling hungry afterwords, as well as not having any cravings for sweets.  When I tried to start the year off with a detox I could not get the juices down, I would bring it to my lips and immediately start gagging because I remembered how horrible they tasted before.  I realized if I could not get the vegetables down than it was not really worth it to just drink fruit juices.  I will give it one more shot on my next stretch of days off, but then it's back to Jillian for me in my quest for better health in 2011.


I have been doing better in exercising and started Jillian's 30 Day Shred yesterday before work.  I think it's called a shred because your muscles feel like shredded cheese when you're finished.  I did it before work yesterday and could hardly move for the entire shift.  I still can hardly move, and I know that's a good thing.

Tomorrow I am going to measure myself as suggested on ehow in this article and see how I do in the 30 days.  I am hoping that between this healthier option for my sweet tooth, Jillian Michael's diet concepts and her 30 Day Shred, I will feel like a new person by Valentine's day. 

Daycare day #1 = success

We are very sad that our babysitter that has been watching Munchkie for several months has returned to Brazil.  Munchkie was miraculously accepted into the daycare where we've been on the waiting list for almost a year and a half.  When I called they just had an opening for her and so I jumped on the chance.  The daycare is right across the street from the children's hospital where I work and is very highly ranked.  We joke that she's getting an early start on her ivy league education.  The daycare has a transition period  of five days where the parents slowly spend less and less time, transitioning to the child spending the whole day.  Today was our first day, Munchkie and I went for two hours to get a feel of how things go.

Munchkie ran right into the classroom, completely oblivious that I was even coming with her.  She went right to play with another girl.  Due to the snow storm yesterday there were only two other kids in the classroom, so there was one girl, ten months older than Munchkie and a seven month old baby.  Munchkie was so excited to play with other kids.  She was watching the little girl and doing everything the little girl did.  The little girl played the tambourine, so did Munchkie.  The little girl sat and read a book, so did Munchkie. When the little girl tilted her head back during snack time, so did Munchkie.  I can already see new habits coming home, the good and the bad.

I don't even think that Munchkie needs the transition time.  She could have cared less if I was there.  I know it's probably comforting just to have me in the room, but she definitely didn't cling or cry.  While I am so proud of her for showing her independence, it makes me a little sad that she is fine without me.  I think being one on one with the babysitter was a good transition to leaving us.  Now she needs to transition to being around other kids.

My huge fear is that she is going to hit or hurt someone because she's so used to rough handling the dogs.  I don't want to have the child who the other parents hate because she hits when someone wants to play with a toy.  I know the teachers are trained and have had many children come through so they are used to all kinds of kids, but it still makes me nervous.  It's completely different being the only child, never sharing to playing with other kids where everything is shared.  There are little things, like teaching Munchkie not to color on other people's paper and waiting your turn for hand washing, that she has to learn.  Hopefully she's a fast learner and I don't get bad notes home.

Tomorrow we go longer and I leave her there for a little while.  I'm sure it will be fine, but you just never know.

Pas-sa

Now that I have an opinionated and decisive toddler on my hands the option to just put food in front of her is completely gone.  She has to have input in what she eats.  Then she has to help make it.  Lately when I say "Munchkie what do you want to eat?" her answers are "Pas-sa! Pas-sa!" (pasta) or "Rice! Rice!"  These are the two foods I can always count on her to eat, besides insane amounts of fruit.  However, by pas-sa she means that she wants Annie's Organic White Chedder and Shells out of a box.  When I try to give her pasta with red sauce, or anything else, she looks at me like "What in the world do you think this is? I asked for pasta."   Tomorrow I think my plan of attack is going to be a recipe I found a while ago.  Last year she ate cans and cans of organic pumpkin during the winter.  She looooved it.

I found this recipe during her pumpkin stage and she loved this as well.  It's called "Super Mac and Cheese" and to be honest I thought it sounded disgusting.  I made it for Munchkie and as with all of her food, just tried it to see what I was giving her.  And really, it wasn't that bad.  Here is the recipe.  I will be adding some broccoli to it tomorrow I think for a little added vegetable.

This isn't the Super Mac, but it's Munchkie enjoying some pasta about a year ago.  I couldn't pass it up because she's just so cute!

Super Mac and Cheese

Thank you simplebites.net for the recipe.  

Click the link above for original blog post with recipe.

• 1 box (8 oz.) whole wheat macaroni pasta
• 2 Tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 Tablespoon All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk, warmed
• ½ cup canned pumpkin*
• 1 cup grated mild cheddar cheese
• Pinch freshly grated nutmeg (optional)

Cook the pasta in large pot of boiling water according to package instructions, about 8-9 minutes. Drain and set aside in large bowl.
Begin making the cheese sauce by melting butter over medium-low heat in a saucepan.  Once completely melted, add the flour little by little and mix with a whisk to prevent lumps.  Cook flour and butter mixture for about 3 minutes, but do not let brown. Remove from heat and slowly add milk; mix with whisk until well combined. Return to medium-low heat and cook for about 5 minutes until the sauce is thick and coats the back of a spoon. Add nutmeg and pumpkin. Remove from heat and add grated cheese; stir until cheese is completely melted and sauce is smooth.
In a large bowl, pour cheese sauce over cooked pasta.  Mix sauce and pasta until well combined.  The mixture may appear a bit soupy but the pasta will absorb more of the cheese sauce as it sits. Once cooled, chop slightly in food processor for small babies or keep whole for toddlers.
*Can substitute pumpkin with puréed sweet potato or butternut squash.

Truly Amazing

I get a couple emails each week with several links that are favorites of other bloggers.  I was truly touched by this and wanted to pass it along.  What an amazing story of the generosity of people.  People from all backgrounds.  There is good in this world we live in.

I can't figure out how to repost this, so I'll just have to give you the link.

Photo from www.debretts.com

http://thebloggess.com/2010/12/my-heart-grew-three-sizes-and-now-i-have-an-enlarged-heart-worth-it/

Waiting........

A few years ago for my birthday my brother and I went and got tattoos together.  I knew if one of us was going to, we both had to, because our parents couldn't disown both of us.  This past year a friend and I went for our birthdays and I added to my tattoo.  I have thought of a Bible verse many times throughout my life and it has brought me much comfort.  Psalm 30:11 "You have turned my wailing into dancing, you removed my sackcloth and clothed me in joy."

This verse gave me hope.  No matter what happens, there is a happy ending.  No matter how much pain and suffering we endure, there is always an end to it.  I had a tattoo of a dancing angel to remind me that in the end there will be dancing, dancing for joy.  This past year I added to the tattoo this verse, and wanted it to look like one of the coptic tattoos I had seen in a library book.  I went for a consult and they sketched out the tattoo, I thought it looked good, they permanently inked it into my skin and then I went home.  It was covered with a gauze dressing and so just before I went to bed, I uncovered it and had Munchkie's Daddy take a picture so I could see how it looked.  When I looked at the tattoo, I realized how one little line can change the entire meaning of something.

When I got home I realized that my permanently permanent tattoo said "You turned my waiting into dancing"

 Little did I know how much waiting I would be doing.  Munchkie's Daddy has a life plan that includes getting his PHd.  He did not get into the programs he applied to last year due to an unfortunate situation, so this year he has reapplied.  He has now submitted his application to eleven different schools.  And now we're waiting.  Do you know how hard it is to just wait?

There's nothing we can do.  Nothing we can plan.  Nothing we can count on.  All we can do is wait.  Wait to hear from these schools.  We don't know when we are going to hear back from these schools, could be the end of January, could be middle of March. We are just waiting to see what the next five years of our lives will entail.  I can hardly handle waiting in the drive-thru line at Starbucks and now I have to wait for the rest of my life to be determined by people I have never met. 

And so now, my tattoo makes a lot more sense to me.  While it may not have been exactly what I had in mind, it gives my life a little more meaning.  My waiting will be turned into dancing.  I don't know when, and I don't know what I will be dancing about.  But it seems that there will be a good ending to my waiting.  I will hold onto this when I get scared and panicked about what the future holds for us.  So here I am, waiting.  Waiting to see how my life will be changed.

You know you're a mom when.....

With the reflecting and remembering we've been doing lately I've been thinking about years past.  It's amazing how much your life changes in just a short amount of time.  The changes I see in Munchkie are astounding, but how she's changed my life is really even more incredible.  And so I have been thinking, man I am really a mom now.  A real, wear jeans that don't fit and go out without makeup kind of mom.  It make me think about all of the other things in my life that have changed.  Oh how things change.....

So, these are things that I've noticed lately that make me kind of crack up thinking about the changes in my life.

You know you're a mom when.....

• You step into the shower and aren't even phased by the 3 ducks and a dolphin, mindlessly pushing them aside with your feet and continuing your shower.
• You almost consider your new bathroom accessory matching, the Elmo on the potty seat kind of matches the red rugs and towels.....
• You find yourself saying "yummies" in public.  When your child isn't with you.
• You have to spell out loud half of your conversation.
• You hear Elmo's voice every time you trip over something. 
• Not having milk in the fridge literally is the end of the world.
• You have to sing the cleanup song whenever something is on the ground.
• When you go grocery shopping, you hesitate with each item in your hand and think "how big of a mess can this possibly make?"  and then put the item back if the cleanup makes you cringe.
• You can't get into some of your cabinets because the child proof lock is too confusing.
• Going out to eat is way more of a hassle than actually cooking the food at home.
• You can fall asleep anywhere, but don't know the last time you slept through the night without waking to some kind of noise.
• The camera is sitting out at all times, ready for action.
• There are designated hours of the day that you are trapped in your house, they are called naptime, and bedtime.
• Your social life is going to Target, and you're on a first name basis with the Starbucks girl.
• jj;m;.m.m.mxfvfzhyug78u8nhn9; hgyn8 hyjkj;[l[=l\l=lnmj JKI hdhy, u8tj
• You walk away from your computer for a minute and whatever you are doing gets altered slightly, because buttons are just too fun to not push.
• The words "No you have already brushed your teeth enough times today, you do not need to brush them again" come out of your mouth.
• You have to teach about sharing, sharing toys with other kids, or not sharing food with the dogs.
• There are 23 episodes of Sesame Street on your DVR.  And you know what each one is about.
• You don't need an alarm clock because about the same time each day you hear "Mooooommmmmmyyyyyyy" coming from the other room.

There are a lot more, but these are the ones I can think of now.  

Where oh where has my hair gone???

I have always had ridiculously thick hair.  So much hair that every single stylist who has cut my hair makes comments and I have to request more time for my appointments.  On my honeymoon I chopped 11+ inches off my hair and the poor girl in the hotel who cut my hair took over 2 hours to cut, thin and style my hair.  I have tried all kinds of products, straightners, blowdryers, brushes and tricks to make my hair smooth, straight and not so big.   

Holy big hair! And I thought this was a tamed down day!

Lately I have noticed a huge difference in my hair.  At first I was pretty happy that my hair was becoming thinner.  That's what I have spent years of my life trying to obtain.  I started loosing it some after Munchkie was born, but only slightly more than usual.  However, the last several months it has become scary.  When I wash my hair, I literally have hand fulls of hair on my hands.  I have to pull the hair from my hands several times just to be able to shampoo my hair.  I cleaned my shower drain out last week (and by I, I mean Munchkie's Daddy because I gag and can't do it myself) and today when I was showering, by the end, there were several inches of water in the tub.  My shower drain is already clogged up again.  After one week.

I wore my hair in a pony tail yesterday for the first time in a while and noticed how small my ponytail was.  It was only a couple years ago that I would go through several hair bands just trying to pull my hair back.  My hair would be so thick that they would just snap, sometimes at random times throughout the day.  Now my ponytail is about a third of what it used to be.

I'm starting to get pretty nervous now.  Why is my hair falling out?  Does stress cause this?  Is it a delayed response to having a baby?  Is it because my hair is also turning ridiculously gray as well?  Am I going to have no hair soon?

I know this is a very superficial and vain thing to be concerned about, but I am nervous that hair doesn't just fall out for no reason.  Because I believe that every aspect of our bodies are intertwined and what we put in our bodies greatly affects even the smallest things, I am concerned that there is something causing my recent hair loss.  I just don't know what it is.

I need to do some research, but I'm nervous to even type the words into Google for fear of all the ridiculous results and "treatments" I will get.  I hope that I can figure something out soon, before I have no hair left.