Fat Friday III

Ok, so at this very moment I have time for a "super fast" Fat Friday post. {Ok I really don't but I'll make up a really good excuse later why I didn't fold the laundry}

I will be perfectly honest... I am status quo... only because I spent 4 days at "Nana's" house and calorie counting would have given me a migraine and those blessed cupcakes she made were sooooo good. And then I couldn't make it to Zumba on Monday because Eron and Brac didn't make it back from Cincinnati until late.....

(BIG BREATH) I am however, focused now. I am nursing and maybe it's because I have taken on the roll of "stay at home mom" but I am NOT dropping the weight from this pregnancy like I did with the other too. Makes me really miss running the halls of a busy hospital. 

This weekend we are going at hyper speed. So I believe there will be much eating out at those dreaded places that have the fattiest foods. But I will do my best. I will drink only water (with a touch of MIO) and I promise not to have any fries....(insert big sobbing tears) :)

Happy losing all. 

PS way to go Courtney from Type B Mom ... 2 lbs more than I can say for my lazy, excuse ridden self :)

Happy Friday 

~THE S S BELLE~

Crockin' it up

If you are anything like me, life gets a little busy.

Recently (thanks a lot to Pinterest) I have learned to love and depend on my Crock Pot. Now... I have been married almost 9 years, we have had our crock pot that long and I promise it looks as good as the day that I pulled it out of the box... that's how much I have used it.

I usually kept it tucked away at the back of a cabinet.

Lately, I have just gotten so tired of fast food, I realize that it is so very unhealthy and I decided that I wanted a home cooked meal even when I really didn't have time to cook a huge spread... i.e. church nights, chemo days...etc.

Sundays and Wednesdays seem to be days that we are moving in hyper speed once Eron gets home. So I have been utilizing my new found friend and with the help of Pinterest.

I love the phrase "set it and forget it".  And with 3 kids under the age of 5, who really has time to stand over a stove for an hour? That's an hour they are sure to get into everything while my defenses are down.

My next endeavor is to see what types of deserts I can make. Who knows there may come a day when I have 5 crock pots on the counter awaiting dinner time :)

So I thought I would share a few of the recipes that I have tried with my family....

Bacon Ranch Chicken...

I made this last night and let me just say....yuuuuummmmoooo. It was so good y'all. Served over penne pasta... I was brain storming while I fixed it. I thought it might be good with some Italian sausage and diced tomatoes next time.

find the recipe here

Honey Chicken...

This was so very good. I don't usually like things that have been cooked in honey glazes but this was super good. I served it over rice with a side of sweet corn.

Find the recipe here

Sour Cream and Bacon chicken...

This was good too... I'll have to say not my favorite but good none the less.I served this over rice as well.

Find the recipe here...

And one more... let me just warn you, this is so good you could probably eat the entire pan alone... I almost did. It's really good with a cup of coffee....yes!! It's cake.

Find the recipe here...

Cinnamon Roll Cake (is it just me or is everything labeled "cinnamon roll" good?)

I've been told that I have a serious problem when it comes to the delicious goodness of cake. I fail to see the problem but others look at me like I'm nuts.

My cake consumption does require me to kill myself in aerobic activity and it has forced me to join a gym, but hey I'm not complaining... after those dreaded activities are finished there is usually a sweet piece of something yummy when I get home. :)

NOW if only someone would make a machine that makes a cupcake as fast as the Keurig makes a cup of coffee I could really be set for life.

Happy Monday to ya!

Today is a clinic day for Brac. Eron took him this month alone, I opted to stay home with the other 2. While I wish and want to be there, 3 kids in a small room is not exactly my idea of a fun time.

He has 7 more after today. I am so excited for him. I am hoping that he handles this month of chemo a little better than he has the last couple of times.

This past week I took the kids to see my in laws in Waverly Ohio. I have to say that I am so very thankful that my kids have such wonderful grands. Papaw and Nana spoil them a bit (wink wink) but I am so glad that they have them. Brac spent all day out with Papaw on Friday helping him build a fence on a farm, while me, Nana, and Zoe did a little shopping. Just a little :)

doing a little pony shopping

 Nana makes sure that her grand daughters are dressed to impress. She also got a couple new pairs of sunglasses that she has insisted on wearing EVERYWHERE. Bed included.

While I was away I got this nasty (for lack of a better word) eye infection. Now..... I ain't no sissy when it comes to pain but this was more annoying than painful. What started as a little itchy ended up looking like someone had hit me in the eye. Thank God that "dad" is a nurse practioner and knew exactly what to do. After one day of some "miracle" eye ointment I was getting better and I could see.



this was pre miracle eye ointment



I did not check in on "fat Friday" I was a bit busy eating cupcakes and other junk foods  enjoying my mini vacay snacking on only healthy foods. :) Sorry I know that I dropped the ball, but as punishment I promise to work out twice as hard this week.

I also found this super cool app (courtesy of my S I L) it's called myfitnesspal. Basically you put in your current weight, your goal weight, how fast you want to loose it and it journals it all for you. It gives you the amount of calories that you can consume that day and that is your goal. You can also journal your exercise and I liked this because it counts house work (something that I do on a continuous basis) and walking holding a child. It's very helpful,d it's letting you see what you have "consumed" for the day... and makes you accountable to some extent. You can also follow your friends that have the same app. In my case I can see that my SIL is doing fab and sticking to it while I'm cutting corners and conveniently forgetting to add that brownie that I had :)

Oh and on a side note... I live in a town where the Amish are prominent but for some reason, when I see them out in their "element" it still amuses me. I see them all the time in Walmart, I've even watched them come out of McDonalds (I mean you can't get more modern an amenity than that). So while driving down the road in Ohio I just HAD to get a pic like I was some tourist from the "Big city".

I hope that everyone has a fab week... TTFN

~ The Sassy Southern Belle ~

I just simply forgot....

I realized that my last 2 posts have been consumed with my weight loss plans but I wanted to post about Easter and the joys there after.

We had a fabulous Easter. I dressed all the kids in matching outfits for both services (I enjoy that so very much, I figure that I am going to do that as much as possible while I can). After a wonderful Sunday morning service all the kiddos went on the annual Easter Egg hunt. MORE candy. This year the Easter bunny did not listen to Mrs. Easter Bunny and our kids got nothing but a basket full of CANDY!! Not a happy mama for sure. I prefer books and swimming gear, sunglasses and things they can use rather than things they can consume, but oh well....

Let me just say that my babies looked adorable on Sunday morning.



the best pic I could get of them




and a family pic

Let me back up to the 1st... we had our sweet Caleb dedicated back to God. It's always such a moving time. To do as Hannah and give our child that we prayed for back to God to use however He sees fit. If you'll remember, when he was in utero he gave us a little scare. But since his birth he has been perfect... other than a little reflux and a little eczema, he is fabulous. It was a little sad for me that my mom and sister couldn't be there but when you have 500 miles between you it makes things a little difficult. (The second pic of Brac with his tongue out makes me laugh because it is him being all boy)

 After Easter Brac had to go for follow up labs on Monday because they have increased his chemo because he's a growing boy. Typically (and I have grown used to this) his labs are fine and they say we will see you in clinic in a couple of weeks. So when they called and said that his hemoglobin was 7.4 and that he needed a transfusion I was shocked and a smidge bummed. So they scheduled him for day hospital in Cincinnati on  Wednesday. My sanity as a mama is always tested on days like this. Because I know that I am going to have to take 3 kids with me alone to a huge hospital.FUN FUN!! {Kudos to Nana (Eron's mom) for driving an hour to help me.} On Tuesday, Zoe's right eye started to ooze (for lack of a better word) so to weigh on the side of caution I decided to get her into the pediatrician on Wednesday morning {I know I am a gluten for punishment}. The chalked it up to being allergy related. So she is on Benadryl around the clock trying to dry this mess up.... Brac received his transfusion, he dubbed it "Iron Man juice", rightly so. He seems better now, still complaining of tummy aches but other than that he's OK. The doctors believe that the stomach bug is the reason he is "tearing up" RBC's. I hope the transfusion was the worst of it.

So as I type this post, Caleb is laying down, Zoe is in a Benadryl induced "coma" and Brac is on his side kick (my Kindle, that I never see anymore).  Happy Saturday all  {I'm gonna enjoy this rare moment and finish my coffee}

I'll leave with these... because I just HAD to share :)

He's getting so big already

My little rays of sunshine

They are rotten, but all mine

She's a diva for sure... accessories are must :)

Fat Friday!!!

Ha... I'm dubbing these Friday posts "Fat Friday" only because I'm going to attempt to tell you that I have successfully dropped some sort of poundage whether it be from my waistline or just putting down my 4, 2 or 3 mth old. *At this point any weight lost makes me happy :)

I have teamed up with Courtney at Type B Mom Stays at Home in this weight loss "challenge" of sorts. I'm telling you, having someone to be accountable to really makes a difference.

So let me be 100% honest... have I worked out this week, well, technically no.... but if you count the "miles" that I walked around Cincinnati Childrens Hospital and the time that I walked up hill in a parking deck looking for the AAA guy  and the times that I ran after my older 2 and the times that I was NOT sitting down then I am sure that counts towards something.
I am claiming an upper body work out (carrying my 13lb infant in his 5lb carrier on one arm and my 27lb 2 year old in the other arm)
Not to mention the times that I have had to chase her around the church in 3in heels because she refuses to sit still and she waits for the exact moment that I have finally gotten everything situated to make a mad dash. My kids make sure that I am getting some sort of workout. :)

Oh yeah, AND last Saturday I went to a 5 year old birthday party at a gymnastics's place and I jumped on trampolines (Hey I take it were I can get it)

Because scales make me horribly conscience of what cake can do to your weight I refuse to buy one so I use the one at my friends house (and when it doesn't say what I want it to I swear that it's the scale and not me) ...
I have to say that my clothes are not fitting as snug as they once did and I fit into a skirt that I haven't been able to wear in months. So that made me feel fab. I figure that my kids will be on the mend next week and I will be able to get back in the groove then.
While I haven't gotten on the scale since last week I will say that I am status Quo but that may not be true hopefully when I get on the scale tonight it will say what I want it to :)

I so wish that "yelling" at the kids would burn calories because I would be 100lbs by the end of the week and I wouldn't ever have to lift any sort of weights and I could eat as much cake as I wanted :)

So until that becomes reality I will be taking a long walk later AND I am joining the gym. I think I'm going to have to be one of those 5am women in order to get anything done.

Positive encouragement from my family is always welcomed. While cooking dinner last night my son looks at me and says "mommy, are you still fat?" to that I replied "what do you think do I look fat?" he pondered the question for a moment and then says "well, yeah"... thanks son, I was skinny til I had you monkeys. :)

Weight loss... UGH!!

So Caleb is now 3 months old and I now realize that I CAN NOT use the excuse "it's baby weight forever".

Having someone to be accountable to makes staying on target some easier... not a lot easier, just helps take the sting out of things. So I have "teamed" up with my blogger friend The Type B Mom and together we are gonna lose those baby pounds.  

At my 6 week (more like 8 week) visit, I was NOT happy with the weight that I had lost. I was sure that I had lost more. Soooo, leaving the doctors office a tad bit depressed and feeling "blah" about my looks anyway, I became motivated. But lets just face it when you are a mom, and in my case a mom to 2 very active kiddos under the age of 5 and a newborn, eating healthy is a joke. Usually I am snacking off there plate and living on nothing but caffeine and energy bars and cake.  

So here is my plan... 1) NO MORE french fries... this may sound like something simple but it really is harder than in seems. Think about how easy it is to eat a large fry. How convenient for us moms to grab something super greasy and filling and sickeningly good.  SO ... NO MORE.

2) KILL MYSELF ZuMbA!!  After I had sissy, this was my must affective weapon (because I ain't one for weight watchers or diets). I decided that committing myself to a grueling workout schedule was my only options and I had to make it fun. Since I love to dance this was the ticket. If you haven't tried you MUST!!! I love it once I get back into the groove.

3) Only water and the occasional diet soda. (eventually I would love to wean myself off all soda, but hey why take all the enjoyment out of my simple life)

This is all just the beginning but I'm honestly excited. 

I am from the south and cooking healthy is not something that I was taught... or something that I enjoy eating. So fried foods are a regular in my house. I am trying to eat a smidge healthier but it's much harder than it sounds.

Anywho, to make a long story short, I am down 5 lbs, I have 10 more to go and then I do believe I will be satisfied. 

Who else is in??? Together we can do anything (well almost anything... I am under NO circumstances giving up CAKE)