At first glance, it might not seem like we have a lot to be grateful for right now. Chris is still unemployed and money is running out, but I AM grateful for a lot of things right now.
1) All the time Chris has had at home with us. Between working his main job at Convergys, doing a side job with my brother, and school, plus my school, it seemed like we hardly saw each other at all this year. I'm happy for all the time we've had to just spend as a family, without worrying about how we'll fit in cleaning house and grocery shopping.
2) A generous family. Really, couldn't have made it this far without them.
3) The temple. Add that to the list of things we've been able to do more often. It's been a much-needed and often-used source of guidance, direction and comfort.
4) Swagbucks. It may be more trivial than the others, but I'm grateful for it all the same. The rewards I've earned will be providing Christmas for us this year.
As we go into the Christmas season, I'm a little more conscious of how things have changed this year from years previous. I really miss being able to give as generously to others as we have before. Having been married for 5+ years before Averie was born, we accumulated a lot of "stuff" that we might not have afforded once she came along (now that 90% of our discretionary income goes to her and her needs).
As a result, this year, I find myself wanting for very little, and just wishing we could afford to give Christmas to someone who otherwise might not have one. Who knows? Maybe we will still be able to do that. The job we are waiting to hear from has 4 more shopping weeks before Christmas to let us know :).
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
More Healthy Eating Tips
Eat your calories! This is an important one. Don't skip meals. When you eat too few calories per day, your body goes into starvation mode and hangs onto every calorie that you do eat, which can make it even harder to lose weight. I use MyFitnessPal to calculate how many calories I should eat to maintain or lose weight and to track what I have eaten (they have a HUGE food database!).
Cut the cheese. Haha :P. Seriously though, cheese has a ton of calories compared to the small amount you get to eat (think 100+ calories per ounce) so I'm being a lot more stingy with the cheese, and looking for lower-fat options. And fat-free cheese? I'm sure some people like it or will at least eat it, but to me, it looks and tastes like plastic, so I'd rather have no cheese at all.
Have a drink. Drinking a glass of water before a meal helps me not eat as much during that meal. Plus, being thirsty can also be mistaken as hunger so you may eat a sandwich when what you really need is a drink.
Snack. I do better throughout the day when I have a small snack in between the three big meals. Eating those snacks in between makes it so I'm not starving by dinnertime and I don't inhale twice as much as I would have if I had just a little something in my stomach.
Get a food scale. I think it makes our lives a lot easier. I like that I KNOW that I'm eating only as much as a recipe calls for so I'm not eating "accidental" calories. I even weighed out glasses of milk the first few times -- good thing, too, because at first, what I would have guessed was 8 ounces was actually 12! (and that made a noticeable calorie difference). And sometimes I get to eat more than I thought -- when we weighed the chicken for the pizza, I was surprised at how much 3 ounces of chicken actually was!
SOME EASY, HEALTHY SUBSTITUTIONS:
Sorry, but I can't look at an article that says "eat carrot sticks instead of potato chips for a snack!" and think those two things are equal. These are some painless substitutions we've found so far.
Use "sandwich thins" instead of regular bread. Home Pride white bread is 70 calories per slice. Oroweat Sandwich Thins are 100 calories for TWO slices. For someone like Chris who eats 2 sandwiches for lunch, that saves 80 calories on the bread alone, and he loves them!
Drink Crystal Light instead of juice. For someone who can only take so much "plain" water, I love Crystal Light. It's the only product made with artificial sweeteners that I use so I'm not too concerned about that aspect of it (and the Pure Fitness flavors do not use aspartame at all), and at only 5 calories per serving, I'm not drinking a lot of extra calories. The fruit punch flavor tastes exactly like Kool-Aid, but my favorite is the Strawberry-Orange-Banana.
Cut the cheese. Haha :P. Seriously though, cheese has a ton of calories compared to the small amount you get to eat (think 100+ calories per ounce) so I'm being a lot more stingy with the cheese, and looking for lower-fat options. And fat-free cheese? I'm sure some people like it or will at least eat it, but to me, it looks and tastes like plastic, so I'd rather have no cheese at all.
Have a drink. Drinking a glass of water before a meal helps me not eat as much during that meal. Plus, being thirsty can also be mistaken as hunger so you may eat a sandwich when what you really need is a drink.
Snack. I do better throughout the day when I have a small snack in between the three big meals. Eating those snacks in between makes it so I'm not starving by dinnertime and I don't inhale twice as much as I would have if I had just a little something in my stomach.
Get a food scale. I think it makes our lives a lot easier. I like that I KNOW that I'm eating only as much as a recipe calls for so I'm not eating "accidental" calories. I even weighed out glasses of milk the first few times -- good thing, too, because at first, what I would have guessed was 8 ounces was actually 12! (and that made a noticeable calorie difference). And sometimes I get to eat more than I thought -- when we weighed the chicken for the pizza, I was surprised at how much 3 ounces of chicken actually was!
SOME EASY, HEALTHY SUBSTITUTIONS:
Sorry, but I can't look at an article that says "eat carrot sticks instead of potato chips for a snack!" and think those two things are equal. These are some painless substitutions we've found so far.
Use "sandwich thins" instead of regular bread. Home Pride white bread is 70 calories per slice. Oroweat Sandwich Thins are 100 calories for TWO slices. For someone like Chris who eats 2 sandwiches for lunch, that saves 80 calories on the bread alone, and he loves them!
Drink Crystal Light instead of juice. For someone who can only take so much "plain" water, I love Crystal Light. It's the only product made with artificial sweeteners that I use so I'm not too concerned about that aspect of it (and the Pure Fitness flavors do not use aspartame at all), and at only 5 calories per serving, I'm not drinking a lot of extra calories. The fruit punch flavor tastes exactly like Kool-Aid, but my favorite is the Strawberry-Orange-Banana.
Healthy Recipe - BBQ Chicken Pizza
Yes, you can eat pizza and still be healthy! This is a recipe from the Biggest Loser Cookbook that I found online. My own BL Cookbook should be arriving soon :). The brands we used are specified in parentheses.
BBQ CHICKEN PIZZA
- 1 whole wheat flour, 96% fat free tortilla, 8" diameter (Mission. Note: it's important to not use a low-carb tortilla as it won't crisp up properly)
- 2 tbsp BBQ sauce (Stubbs Original)
- Finely shredded cheddar cheese (Target's brand Market Pantry Pizza Blend, each serving was 1/3 cup and that was plenty)
- 1.5 ounces chopped, grilled chicken breast (Tyson Grilled and Ready fajita chicken strips - all our chicken was frozen, so we used these in a pinch. Note: The original recipe called for 3 ounces of chicken per pizza, but that actually made 2 pizzas for us)
- 1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh cilantro (This is the original recipe measurement - we didn't use that much)
- 1/4 slivered red onion (Optional - we didn't use)
Place the tortilla on a small nonstick baking sheet. Bake for 4 minutes per side, or until crisp. if air bubbles form, poke them with a fork, then press out the air with a spatula or oven mitt. Remove the sheet from the oven. Top the tortilla evenly in layers with the sauce, cheese, chicken, onion, and cilantro. Bake for 2 to 4 minutes, or until the cheese is completely melted. Slice into wedges. Serve immediately.
Getting Healthy
Ever since we started feeding Averie solid foods, we have been committed to making sure she eats better than us so that she gets off on the right (healthy) foot. She got all organic baby food, lots of fruits and veggies and lean meats. It's no secret that Chris and I have more than a few extra pounds and we didn't want Averie to struggle with weight the way we have.
Recently, we've found the motivation to get our weight under control. We've cut back calories and started exercising more. The calorie cutback hasn't been as hard as I would have thought - I was envisioning days of counting the minutes until the next mealtime, but really, I am surprised at how much I get to eat for so few calories!
Just since last week, I've lost 3 pounds and Chris has lost 4. I plan on sharing some of our favorite new, healthy recipes as we go!
Recently, we've found the motivation to get our weight under control. We've cut back calories and started exercising more. The calorie cutback hasn't been as hard as I would have thought - I was envisioning days of counting the minutes until the next mealtime, but really, I am surprised at how much I get to eat for so few calories!
Just since last week, I've lost 3 pounds and Chris has lost 4. I plan on sharing some of our favorite new, healthy recipes as we go!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Paaaaarty!!
Saturday was Averie's birthday party. Never did I realize how much hosting a 1-year-old's birthday party would wear me out. By the end of the day, Chris and I were both completely exhausted but it was so worth it. We all had a great time and everybody was so generous to our little girl. Our living room looks like Toys R Us threw up :P.
Going into it, I knew we wanted to make her "smash cake" ourselves. I guess we did a good job since several people asked where we ordered it!
Averie was a little unsure at first...
I had to help her get to the cake itself (it was a little hard for her since it had been in the refrigerator) but once she had her first bite, there was no stopping her!
(click to see the collage bigger)
Going into it, I knew we wanted to make her "smash cake" ourselves. I guess we did a good job since several people asked where we ordered it!
Averie was a little unsure at first...
I had to help her get to the cake itself (it was a little hard for her since it had been in the refrigerator) but once she had her first bite, there was no stopping her!
(click to see the collage bigger)The end result:
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
1 Year!!!
We made it! At 1:23 PM today, our sweet baby turns 1 year old!
Averie has been such a joy to have in our lives and I can't believe we were blessed with such a good, happy baby. We dealt with jaundice and acid reflux in the beginning, and are now facing 1-year molars (read: very fussy baby), but all in all, we could not have asked for an easier baby. She has slept through the night since 3 weeks old and at 1 year now, still sleeps for 11-12 hours straight each night and two naps a day. In fact, we feel that we've been so lucky with her that for sure, our next baby will be much more difficult!
Averie is walking and talking! At this point, she's taken up to 10 steps in a row without falling. When she first started walking, we had to coax her to let go of whatever she was hanging onto, but she has gained the confidence to let go on her own and venture out! She says "mama", "dada", "hi" and "ni-ni." She's always adding new sounds to her "vocabulary" and we still love hearing her baby babbling.
After a rough start on solid table foods, Averie is finally reliably eating "real" food. She's been getting 3 solid meals a day and 4 8-ounce sippies of formula (yay, no more bottles!), but that will be going to whole milk now that she's a year! We gave her a taste a couple weeks ago and she loved it so I'm hoping we won't have any problems once she's on it all the way. Her favorite foods are waffles, string cheese, and whatever Chris and I are trying to eat :P.
We'll be moving her into 12 to 18-month clothes soon. She only has one pair of 12-month pants that are long enough for her and that's only because they haven't been washed and dried yet! Of course, the 12 month pants do fit perfectly in the waist so I expect we'll be hiking up her pants more often than not once she moves to the next size :P.
We had to push back her 1-year well baby visit to next month so here's her probably-less-than-precise weight and height that we measured on our own.
She is 22 lbs, 13 oz which puts her right back in the 75th percentile for weight (she was the 50th percentile at her last doctor's visit) and exactly 30 inches long, which is also in the 75th percentile (last time she was almost off the charts so it has really slowed down!).
And now for the pictures! Just a few of our favorites from her "shoot" yesterday.
Happy birthday, Averie!!
Averie has been such a joy to have in our lives and I can't believe we were blessed with such a good, happy baby. We dealt with jaundice and acid reflux in the beginning, and are now facing 1-year molars (read: very fussy baby), but all in all, we could not have asked for an easier baby. She has slept through the night since 3 weeks old and at 1 year now, still sleeps for 11-12 hours straight each night and two naps a day. In fact, we feel that we've been so lucky with her that for sure, our next baby will be much more difficult!
Averie is walking and talking! At this point, she's taken up to 10 steps in a row without falling. When she first started walking, we had to coax her to let go of whatever she was hanging onto, but she has gained the confidence to let go on her own and venture out! She says "mama", "dada", "hi" and "ni-ni." She's always adding new sounds to her "vocabulary" and we still love hearing her baby babbling.
After a rough start on solid table foods, Averie is finally reliably eating "real" food. She's been getting 3 solid meals a day and 4 8-ounce sippies of formula (yay, no more bottles!), but that will be going to whole milk now that she's a year! We gave her a taste a couple weeks ago and she loved it so I'm hoping we won't have any problems once she's on it all the way. Her favorite foods are waffles, string cheese, and whatever Chris and I are trying to eat :P.
We'll be moving her into 12 to 18-month clothes soon. She only has one pair of 12-month pants that are long enough for her and that's only because they haven't been washed and dried yet! Of course, the 12 month pants do fit perfectly in the waist so I expect we'll be hiking up her pants more often than not once she moves to the next size :P.
We had to push back her 1-year well baby visit to next month so here's her probably-less-than-precise weight and height that we measured on our own.
She is 22 lbs, 13 oz which puts her right back in the 75th percentile for weight (she was the 50th percentile at her last doctor's visit) and exactly 30 inches long, which is also in the 75th percentile (last time she was almost off the charts so it has really slowed down!).
And now for the pictures! Just a few of our favorites from her "shoot" yesterday.
Happy birthday, Averie!!
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