Friday Funnies

Not a lot to share today so I thought I'd give you a few nuggets that had me laughing this week... 

Every time.

I don't have one but now I'm going to be checking my shower with a can of Mace.

The grocery store.... The teachers lounge... My own kitchen lately! 

Happy Friday! 

I really hate ****.... Snow :)

Let's pretend I wrote this post Tuesday and Wednesday when all these pics were taken ok?

I apologize for all the typos... For those who don't know, I use all fingers on my left hand to type and only two fingers on my right...  It's weird but I can type super fast so there! So being limited with my left hand is not only challenging and slowing me down, but I hit random buttons as well... So reader beware! 

I love Amazon prime.... Except when it delivers useless products to me. Ordered a sample of Beachbody Performance line on Thursday.  Pre-shot. I'm saving these babies until I am back in full functioning mode so I can see if they really work! 

I have made two efforts to get a Starbucks Toasted Graham Latte at Target and they've been out both times. Last time they told me they were done selling them... So why the hell did I get a $1 off coupon that same day with my receipt? You twisted jerks!   

There is nothing worse than a dropped pop... Let this baby sit for an extra day just to be on safe side.  

Ok I take it back... There is nothing worse than snow! I love my office window this year but watching the snow blow was sickening.... I hate being cold. 

I wish my work car came with automatic start so this was melted when I got out there... Bleh! 

He truly is my child... Putting treats in bags for his daycare friends. Not only does he eat one but he started stuffinf them all back in the box... Mommy doesn't like to share her snacks either buddy! 

I sm getting back to my workouts. 30 minutes on treadmill on Wednesday and Lower Fix Exteeme today without holding weights... I will be happy if I can walk tomorrow. Holy moly do I love Autumn Calabrese's workouts! 

That's all for tonight- stay balanced! 

Change in perspective

Had I written this post on Friday morning, it would have a very different tone.  Friday I was fired up.   I had listened to some good podcasts and had a good attitude.  I felt like I was in a good place of acceptance about the process and what I was willing to do to live my life.  And then I went to the orthopedic doctor.  And got this...

That ladies and gentlemen is my brace that I have to wear for 14 days... what it doesn't show you is the immense pain I've been in since I got my cortisone shot OR the guilt I am feeling because I cannot lift more than 5 pounds for 4 weeks.  I'm not going to lie, I cried sitting in the doctor's office.  I agonized over the decision to do something that would hopefully heal me sooner rather than later or to just live with the current pain and continue on with life.  But after talking to my husband, we decided the best option would be to go with the shot and hopefully this fixes it rather than let it impact my life anymore.  

But oh man, the mommy guilt I am enduring.  I've definitely picked Lucas up more than I should.  And I haven't figured out a way to put him to bed with just one arm... sorry Doctor.  But I cannot sit there and listen to him cry while he cries for me.  Can't do it.  Mommy first.

And then there is the flip side of just personal guilt... because as soon as I got done with that appointment, instead of driving to Subway for lunch like I planned, I steered my SUV straight into the McDonald's drive through.  And I continued to eat my way through my emotions through Sunday.  

No, I don't have good coping skills.

But I am back to my positive self.  I am back on track with my eating.  I CAN work out, I just need to figure out a different way that doesn't use my arms.. it IS doable.  I can do this.  

But on the other hand, I have a peace with the whole 6 pack ab dilemma.  If I cannot workout regularly, eat healthy balanced meals with the OCCASIONAL (this is where I need work) splurge, then I am not willing to do it.  If you want some good, slap in the face truth, listen to the Cut the Fat Weight Loss and Happier with Gretchen Rubin podcasts.  They have been so motivating and inspiring to me.

One of the main points I have taken is that we all have to pay a price to get the body of a fitness model.  Each person has a different price.  And if we aren't willing to pay that price, then stop having it as a goal.  Which is exactly where my problem is... I'm not willing to pay that price.  I'm not willing to cut sugar and treats and dressing on my vegetables.  And if that means I'm always going to have my little baby belly, so be it.  That's where I'm at in my life.

And it feels so good.  To let go of that guilt when I eat a donut.  And FYI, the Hostess Pumpkin Spice mini donuts are the most amazing thing ever.

Something else that struck with me in one of the podcasts is that they talked about how it's okay to feel sad and grieve about the life you are leaving.  It's been a part of your life and it's been a good life.  But you need to focus on the goals for WHY you are changing  your life and the good things that are going to come out of that too.  I think I needed a reminder of that.

So I am moving forward with my positive attitude again.. or at least trying.  I'm sure I will have downfalls and tough moments 

Edit: I wrote this on Monday but didn't get it posted but here's an update. I got a call yesterday that my church group got moved to Monday so I was able to go. My immediate reaction was to say no because I wanted to work out and not be temped by the unhealthy food those little old ladies serve... But then I remembered my new thinking and I went. And I enjoyed a piece of pumpkin pie. And I came home SO relaxed. I did my meal prep, I hung out with my husband and I had a great night. What a difference your thinking makes huh? 

Meal Prep Madness

I think prepping my meals for the week really sets how my eating is going to go.... If healthy food is easy to grab, I'm going to eat it. But when I hear about people who take 2-3 hours to do it, I think God bless you... That's not for me. I got 20 minutes last night before Lucas was crawling up my leg.  I wanted something WARM this week (even though the weather is like summer here in the afternoons.... Go figure) so I went to my go-to: stir fry!

I had a bag of shrimp in the freezer so I decided to make shrimp stir fry. I love shrimp because you can eat a lot for few calories.... I don't love it's price.

I put a can of diced green chilies in it and added crushed red pepper for some flavor. 

I am lazy when it comes to rice so I usually splurge and buy the kind you can microwave for 60-90 seconds and it's done.

Bought this at Costco- one bag is a cup or 4 servings so that was perfect for me.

I divided into 4 containers and divided a bag of frozen stir fry vegetables on top. 

I did not cool the veggies because I knew I would be microwaving them and figured they would thaw in fridge. I did out some garlic salt on them.  Add shrimp on top, throw in fridge and done!

Other things I did was cut up watermelon, celery and broccoli, portion size out a bag of grapes into baggies, and put some PB2 and protein powder into small containers. I also like to pour milk into a shaker the night before so I don't forget it in the morning. Depending on my mood (and memory), I will fill my water containers as well. And here's a cheat- I put ranch into some containers too. Not a lot but enough to get me to eat raw veggies :)

Breakfast is just a bunch of grab and gos so no prep necessary.

My workout last night was 21 Day Fix Extreme- Upper Fix. I had to modify a few moves to accommodate for the tendonitis that is building in my wrist (I see orthopedic doctor on Friday) but it was a good workout....

Especially when I got to use a 23 pound toddler as my weight.

He is a mama's boy and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Today's weather was SO beautiful (81 degrees on my drive home!), I had to get or and run. 3 miles with a stop midway to help Mike and Lucas do some geocaching. It's our new family thing- fun,adventurous, and gets us outside with a purpose. 

We got home and I made some snacks for EVFE tomorrow.

Trail mix with graham cracker Teddys, pretzel goldfish and vanilla cupcake goldfish. Fruit cups with pineapple, mandarin oranges and cool whip to be added tomorrow so it looks like candy corn... Thank you Pinterest.

Other Pinterest ideas...

$1 Pom poms and a roll of toilet paper equals a great fine motor activity.

Lucas even took it to the next level and started scooping them into another container. 

Now that the weather is getting cold, it's time to find some things to keep us occupied inside. I will share more ideas as we test them!

Hope you all had a great Monday- one day closer to Friday! 

Bulu boxes

I enjoy sample boxes, I really do.  It's a weird little quirk of mine.  But honestly, I avoided blogging about my Bulu boxes (much like my Bluum boxes) because I just haven't been super impressed with the products.  So I am only going to provide links dear bloggers to the products I would actually recommend you use.  The rest of it is just a "Here are the products I got"

September Box 

Ginseng Energy Drink- I'm not even trying this.  We all know my past experience with energy drinks.

Hemp Pro Protein Powder- SO gross.  Gross flavor and the hemp seeds stay when you shake it up.

Omega 3 Gold Vitamins- I haven't tried these yet but I am actually excited about this product.  I don't eat a ton of fish but Omega 3s have a lot of health benefits.  PLUS, it was a full size!

RAP Protein Energy- I haven't tried these yet because I haven't had a long run since I got this box but maybe I will use it as my "red" one day.

Cave Man Bars- it was tasty but I devoured it in two bites... I want a little more bang for my buck!

August Box

Fusion Jerky- I was excited about the full size product, but not excited about the flavor.  Yuck.

Movit Energy Gummies- I have gotten these in the past and I really enjoy the flavor.  I used it before a long run and definitely felt the energy.

Runa Tea- 100% honesty....still sitting in my tea cupboard.

Simple Diet pill- trashed it.  I don't believe in these products.

Earth's Care Anti Itch Cream- we actually use a lot of itch cream in the summer so I was excited to get a natural product.  It worked similarly to the non-organic stuff, but probably better for the skin. Sadly, it's twice as much.  However, this product lasts a long time!

July Box


Ips Chips- These were a late night snack once Lucas went to bed and I loved them!  Plus, I convinced myself they were healthy since they had 6g of protein.

Sadly, they are $49.99 for 24... so probably won't be purchasing them any time soon.


Flavorall- I was super excited when I opened this and read the brochure... until I realized that I got ORANGE flavored.  What do you put orange in?  So I bought some tea for my Keurig and sweetened it with that.  Excited to try other flavors in the future!  $19.99 a container but it lasts forever.


Mediterra Orange and Honey Bar- tossed it one bite in.... yuck.

Please don't take pictures and drive... I'm a bad example.

Pocket Protein equals DISGUSTING.  I honestly thought I was going to have to pull over and puke. Even looking at this picture makes my face cringe... BAD BAD product.

Choice Organic Rest Assured- I just don't do a lot of tea in the summer but looking forward to trying this as the nights get colder.  Or maybe I should give some to Lucas... just kidding!

We have really been enjoying the warm fall days so far! I got out Friday for a 2 mile run and last night I did T25 Cardio.... I just don't think I am a Shaun T fan. I don't think he does a good job of explaining how to do the move. By the time I figure it out, he is on to the next one. Not sure what workout I am going to do tonight... It's currently 67 so maybe another run outside while I can. I'm just doing a couple miles each time this week- easing myself back into it after the hiatus I took post- half and PR ;) 

Back to the grind tomorrow which means some meal prep this afternoon. I'm over cold salads so trying something new- I will post about it tomorrow if it's a success! 

Hope everyone had a great weekend! 

Bluum Boxes-July, August, September

I am sharing a post that I wrote this weekend today because I'm ashamed of how my sugar detox is going..... I got a chocolate milkshake delivered to me yesterday as a thank you and I devoured it.... After I devoured a plate of spaghetti...

Lucas helped...

Then tonight Lucas picked donut holes as his bedtime snack... And I helped him. 

I bet all the women out there know what's going on this week ;)

I did attempt CVX from P90X3 today... It was a decent workout but it is not for people who struggle with bilateral coordination like myself. Crossing that off as a total body option ;)

And now to your previously written post...

I am so behind in posting about my Bluum boxes.  Two reasons:  1- I do the write-up on my computer so I can do the hyperlinks and 2- I wasn't really thrilled with them for awhile.  I felt like I was getting the SAME thing every month.  But now they've started to allow you to pick your own things for the box and I am enjoying them a lot more.

My September Box:

This was one that I selected.

Melissa and Doug Letter Puzzle

I was a little disappointed because the recommended age is 3 and up so we packed it away for awhile... there was also one letter where the paper wasn't actually on the letter but I'm too lazy to try to return it.

10 Little Monkeys Book with CD

I love this.  It's a fun one to read AND Lucas enjoys the CD.

Cup Catcher

At first I thought this was a great concept- it attaches to cups/toys and then to a stroller/bag/high chair so kids can't toss things.  But after I thought about it, we don't really need it anymore. Unfortunately, I couldn't take it out of my box.  

Natural Baby Laundry Pods

I love a good natural product and we were running low on laundry soap so I picked this one!

My August Box 

Bottle Buds
We haven't used this one yet.... not sure if we will.  It's a good idea but I never remember to bring things like that.
Leave In Conditioner
Mommy stole this one.  Lucas doesn't actually need conditioner.
Ice Bunny
I LOVED the idea of this but the first time I tried to use it on a bonk, Lucas wanted nothing to do with it.  Maybe when he's older.
Three Little Pigs Book
A great book and a good one for our collection, but like all the books they have sent us, WAY too worry for Lucas to pay attention to right now.

My July Box 


Lucas thoroughly enjoyed his push toy- I was actually going to buy him a push toy that week so this was good timing.


Lucas also loves his wacky wand!  Still one of his favorite bath toys.


Go Kitty Push Toy
Wacky Wand
The Ugly Duckling
Like I said above, a good story and glad we have it in our collection but too wordy for his age.
Green Eggs and Ham plate
Cute, but since we had gotten two plates previously I was disappointed

French Kids Eat Everything

I actually read this book in July but I forgot that I had never blogged about it until I was going through my camera and deleting photos.

I actually read this book at a good time because we were really struggling with getting Lucas to eat a decent amount of food-- he's always eaten a good variety of food, but he is definitely a snacker. Which is the antithesis of this book.... because French Kids don't snack.  But, at his 18 month appointment, our doctor recommended letting him eat often as he is such a tiny little bugger so let's just throw that rule out the window right?

I don't feel quite so guilty posting the rules since it was on the back cover.  But I did add my own commentary below.

1.  Parents, you are in charge of food education.
In France, they actually have a whole curriculum in their schools focused on teaching kids about     food and health food practices.

2.  Avoid emotional eating (no food bribes!)
Come on, if you are a parent you know you have said "Just eat one more bite of vegetables and you can have a cookie".  Tsk, tsk according to this book. And it makes sense when they explain why but it is so hard.  You don't want kids to link vegetables to being a bad food.  Same thing with saying things like "If you're good, you can have dessert".  You don't want kids to link their behavior to food either. Studies have shown that's actually linked to childhood obesity (I don't know if that's in the book or from a Jillian Michaels podcast..true story, either way).

3.  Parents plan and schedule meals and menus.  Kids eat what adults eat.
"Don't be a short order cook" as the book says.  I think this is pretty easy for us to avoid because we just have Lucas to worry about and so we just plan our meals around things he like or at least something he will eat a portion of.  But I can imagine if you had more than one child, this would be difficult. The book poses the argument that by catering to your child's favorite foods, you never make them try other foods and they might not discover they like a food they initially didn't like.

4. Eat family meals together.
We do our best but unfortunately with Mike's job/work schedule, we don't always succeed. What we DO a pretty good job at is no TV while we eat.  When Lucas gets older, I will probably implement some kind of family tradition like sharing the highlight of the day or something like that.

5.  Eat your veggies (think variety).
One of the best things I ever got from a Bluum box was a plate that has separate sections labeled-meat, grains, veggies, and fruit.  And I do my best to make sure Lucas gets a balanced meal, even when I don't use the plate.  It's easy to let our kids fall into the habit of just eating a plate of pasta, but trust me, it's not that hard to heat up a can of green beans.  Or just open a can of green beans-Lucas actually likes them that way too!  They're not organic, but at least they have nutrition.

6.  You don't have to like it but you do have to taste it.
Don't force your child to eat something.  Trust me- I was traumatized by a daycare that would make me finish my plate.  They actually told my mom I couldn't come anymore because I threw up every day- because they forced me to eat.  However, asking your child to taste something and then choose not to eat anymore of it will not kill them (unless they have a food allergy....then it might).

7.  No snacking (It's okay to feel hungry between meals).
Like I said, the book promotes no snacking.  You eat breakfast, lunch, a meal after school and a late supper.  And I agree that kids need to realize what hungry feels like so they don't overeat.  But if that doesn't work for your family, do what does.  If your child (like mine) likes smaller meals but more frequent snacks, just make sure they are all healthy.

8.  Slow food is happy food- as in, eat slow!
Lucas is a slower eater so this naturally makes us slow down.  But I think it's hard when you have kids in activities and you need to be here and there... I know on ECFE nights, we are eating as we walk to class.  However, rushing through a meal doesn't allow us to 1) enjoy it or 2) for our bodies to realize that we ate and so we get hunger sooner.

9.  Eat mostly real food.
You hear it all over- shop on the outside of the grocery store.  And it's so true- that is where the healthy food that our kids should be eating is.  By setting them up with healthy habits now, they will hopefully grow up to eat healthy foods when they are making their own food choices.

10.  Remember-eating is joyful-relax!
The French spend hours at the table...literally, HOURS.  Maybe I spend an hour at a restaurant (Ok, maybe not... have you ever eaten with a toddler).  But I can't imagine spending hours at the table.  But it really makes it a more joyful experience and builds great memories. Maybe at Thanksgiving I will encourage us to extend our meal a little bit ;)

Pumpkin Spice EVERYTHING

I have spent the past month eating pumpkin spice everything.... Now that I'm back on the health wagon, I thought I'd share my view on all the naughtiness!

You will never see me review a peep... Yuck. 

When will I learn that I do not like Chobani Flips? Not a fan even of the pumpkin one. 

Not pumpkin but released at same time as all things pumpkin. But same as flips... I need to accept I don't like Justin's butter.

Lucas helped me try out the Cranberry Apple Noosa but we both agree- pumpkin is where it's at.

I love that it comes in smaller containers this year!

I didn't know if I would like Biscotti but these were surprisingly tasty for only 80 calories. 

I enjoyed the flavor but I enjoy my cookies a little softer. 

I love breakfast biscuits and these were no exception.... These are perfect to have in your bag/car for a healthy snack! 

A snickers in Pumpkin form.... Yes please 

A friend posted a picture of homemade Stroopwaffels so when I found these at Target, I grabbed them. They did not disappoint. Now to find some homemade ones! 

I love M and Ms. These were good but not my favorite. Still looking for the Pecan Pie ones....!

Turns out I don't like pumpkin seeds... At all. I threw most of these away! 

And I gave these to my husband.... I love pumpkin a lot more than caramel apple. 

These were good but there is another brand of pumpkin cheesecake cookies that is WAY better. 

If I don't like peeps, not sure why I would like this pumpkin spice marshmallow... I didn't. 

This was amazing.... Buy two. 

I enjoyed the Candy Corn cupcakes but the Pumpkin spice ones weren't great... Who would have thought? 

I love sweet potato chips.... I devoured the whole bag on the way to ECFE one day. The whole bag. 

Lucas and I have been sharing these for breakfast for the past week... So good! 

Again, not a fan of caramel apple cookies... Although after this post, now all I want is a caramel apple... Guess I will settle for a caramel apple.