Italian Chicken

I found this recipe on Pinterest a while ago and have since modified it a bit.  It’s super easy to make and I’ve gotten tons of compliments on it. It’s a perfect meal to have just for the family or when you’re having company.

First, chop up 2-3 roma tomatoes.  I usually use two bigger ones when I’m cooking for just hubs and myself.  Add a teaspoon of chopped garlic to the tomatoes.  You can thinly slice a clove instead if you like, I just always use the chopped garlic because I use garlic in so many recipes.  Seriously, if you were to tell me you don’t like garlic not only can we not be friends but you also can’t be trusted.  Just saying.  Drain a small jar of marinated artichoke hearts, a tablespoon of olive oil, and a tablespoon of flour to the tomatoes and garlic.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Mix everything together and pour over chicken breasts (or tenderloins) that have been seasoned with salt and pepper.  I usually get my chicken at Costco which means they are huge, so I cut them in half.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.  When there’s about 5 minutes left, take out of the over and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella.  Bake for another 5 minutes or when the cheese is starting to brown.  Take out of the oven and add fresh basil leaves.  I forgot to buy more basil, so I used dried basil and it came out delicious.

Serve with whatever you’d like!  This time I decided to have rice.  I think last time I had it with asparagus.  Either way, it was a winner both times.

Sit back and enjoy both the meal and all of the compliments you’ll get!  Yummy!

Workout Wednesday

See, I told you I had other things to write besides my regular WOW post!  And TWO posts in one day?  Absolute craziness!  I have some other ideas, too, so stay tuned!

Summer is in full effect at our house which means we have crazy schedules.  I swear, no matter what, our summer weekends are always busy.  I was looking at the calendar a few weeks ago and realized the first free weekend we have isn’t until the end of July!  How is that possible?  Whatever.  Gotta make the most out of it!

Goal: To lose 10 lbs and tone up and enjoy having a treat once in a while, but not overindulge.

Progress:  I am down 5.4 pounds.  I only lost 0.4 pounds this week, but I’m glad it was something!

The Good:  I’ve been taking advantage of the twins being at VBS and doing some stuff outside while they’re gone.  I’ve gone biking, hiking, and climbing the incline by our house.

The Bad (and Possibly The Ugly):  My eating wasn’t that great this weekend.  McKenna’s dance recital was Saturday (I cried) and we took the kids out to Chic-Fil-A for dinner later that night and then to Smart Cow for frozen yogurt.  I definitely took advantage of the toppings.  Sooo good.  Sunday was my MOMS Summer Picnic and I definitely finished what the kids didn’t eat.

Workouts:  I’m still picking and choosing workouts from TurboFire and spending time doing things outdoors.  When we get back from our trip I’m going to start Body Beast.

Dinners this week:  I tried to come up with some new things instead of eating the same old stuff.  We don’t have new things for every meal, but it’s a start.

Monday:  Asparagus-Mushroom frittata and salad

Tuesday:  chicken piccata and crispy broccoli

Wednesday:  Seville style pork chops with baked sweet potatoes

Thursday:  Shrimp scampi with vegetti noodles instead of pasta

Friday:  out with a friend who’s in town!

Saturday:  kid’s birthday party.  Dinner TBD

Sunday: celebrating the hubs for Father’s Day!

 

And just because I can, some pictures from our weekend!

 

And because it’s a WOW post, the view from my hike yesterday…

Summer Bucket List

A couple of weeks ago, the kids teacher posted her family’s “summer bucket list” on Facebook.  It’s a list of all the fun things they wanted to do this summer and by writing it all down (and posting) they are able to keep themselves accountable and actually make sure they do those things.

I saw it and thought to myself, “what a great idea!”  I mean think about it, how many times have you said you wanted to do something and then just kind of forgotten about it?  I know for us, it happens a lot more than I’d like to admit, so I loved the idea of the Summer Bucket List!  After taking turns saying what we wanted to do and writing it down, the bucket was made!  I’m not nearly as creative or crafty and my bucket list isn’t nearly as Pinterest worthy, but it’s done and we’ve been having fun knocking some of the items off of the list!

Our bucket list!  We’ve knocked off a few items already and hope to complete it by the official end of summer.

So far we’ve had our playdate and gone to Monkey Bizness and this morning I went hiking.   We’ll also be crossing off a few more things later this week.  We’re taking the kids to the aquarium on Friday and Saturday is their birthday party at the pool (although we have a few more times we’ll be swimming this summer).  I hung it up in the kids playroom and I love looking at it and trying to decide what to do to next.  In fact, I’m loving this idea so much that I think we’ll have to make ones for fall, winter, and spring as well.

Asparagus-Mushroom Frittata

My last post was a little heavy, so I’d like to lighten things up a bit.  I found this recipe in a cooking magazine although, I can’t remember which one.  It’s been a while since I actually cut a recipe out of a magazine, but it sounded so good I wanted to try it.  I made it for dinner, but it could definitely be a breakfast or brunch dish.

Ingredients:
8 large eggs
1/2 cup ricotta cheese (I used low fat)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
8 0z fresh or frozen asparagus spears, thawed (I used fresh and it was about 20 spears)
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped red or green bell pepper
1/4 cup sliced mushrooms

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, ricotta, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.  Set aside.

In a large (and you will need a large) pan or skillet, heat the olive oil.  Add in the asparagus spears, onion, pepper, and mushrooms and cook until they are tender, about 6-8 minutes depending on the size of your asparagus spears.

Remove from heat and remove the asparagus.  Place 4 spears to the side and cut up the others into about one inch pieces.  If you have a skillet return the asparagus pieces and stir in the egg mixture.  If not, spray a pie plate with cooking spray and put asparagus and other vegetables in the pie plate and cover with egg mixture.  Take the 4 spears and arrange them on top so they resemble the spokes of a wheel.

Bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes or until eggs are set.  Let stand for 5 minutes and cut into wedges.

Yum!

The recipe says it serves 8, but in my house that really means 4.  It was really good and I’ll definitely be making it again!  Try it and let me know what you think!

 

How Do I Teach Love, Acceptance, and Compassion?

On April 20, 1999 two students opened fire at Columbine High School in Littleton, CO.  I was 18 years old and I realized for the first time school was no longer a place you could feel safe from the outside world.

Almost eight years later to the day I was working towards my MAT degree and working at the university as a graduate assistant when news broke out that a student opened fire at Virginia Tech.  I had several students who worked for me who had friends that attended VT and I spent most of my day helping them try to reach their friends or their friend’s families to see if they were ok.  Not only could you no longer feel safe in HS, you weren’t safe on your college campus either.

In 2012, when I was five months pregnant, my husband and I went to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, PA.  While looking at the bios of the passengers from that flight I was reminded that one young woman graduated from the same university as me and one of the gentlemen was from my hometown.  As I was reading, one of the twins kicked and I thought to myself, “how do I teach them compassion?”

That summer “The Dark Knight Rises” opened.  Movie goers all over the country went out to see the newest installment of the Batman series.  In Aurora, CO however, those movie goers did not get to see a movie, but instead became the targets of another gunman who came into the theater and opened fire killing a dozen people and injuring 70 more.  All these people wanted to do was enjoy a nice night out, but instead spent the night in fear for their life.

At then end of the year I was watching television when my show was cut short to bring in an announcement.  A gunman entered Sandy Hook Elementary School in CT and opened fire killing 20 children and six adults. I began crying as I held one of my five month old twins knowing that there were 20 parents out there who would never hold their babies again.  What did these kids (as well as teachers and administrators) do to deserve to die?  Oh, that’s right.  Nothing.

And now, we have the shooting in Orlando. (I know there have been other instances, but these are the ones that stick out to me the most.)  How do I know that when I send my children somewhere they will be safe?  IS there anywhere left that’s safe?  As they get older how do I teach them compassion for human life?  What do I say to them to teach them that love is more powerful than hate, even in a world where it seems the opposite is true?  How do I teach them acceptance of others?

I guess the answer is I don’t know how I’ll teach them these things, all I know is that I have to.  These senseless killings must stop.  I need my children to see that love really does conquer all and do to whatever they can help those in need.  It is the only way we will be able to make a difference.

 

 

Workout Wednesday

Well, it’s Wednesday again which means I’m here  sitting at the computer for my weekly post!  I missed last weeks WOW because it was a crazy day.  I took the kids to the Littleton Museum to see some farm animals, then we headed across the street to play at the park, and finished off with lunch at Burger King.  I was beat and I figured after being in the sun all morning the kids would be too and would fall asleep in the car ride home.  Ha!  Wishful thinking!  If you’ve never been to the Littleton Museum before, I highly recommend it!  We went straight outside to see the farm animals (including new piglets!), but there is a whole inside area, too.  Best of all, it’s free!  We will definitely be going back!

Goal: To lose 10 lbs and tone up and enjoy having a treat once in a while, but not overindulge.

Progress: I am down 5 pounds.  I lost a pound this week and lost last week, too.

The Good: It’s FINALLY summer in Colorado!  Yay!  The beautiful weather makes me want to be more active and be outside.  I took the kids to a drop off “camp” on Saturday for a few hours and walked one of the trails in the area and today I went for a bike ride after I dropped them off at VBS.

The Bad (and Possibly The Ugly): Hubs had sinus surgery last Friday.  We were definitely busy running all over the place so the snacks on the go and pizza for dinner wasn’t the healthiest options we made.  Sunday I had an event with my sorority sisters which involved margaritas and Mexican food.  No need to say more.

Workouts:  I still haven’t started a new program.  Right now, I’m just picking and choosing from programs I already have and have been doing TurboFire a lot. I love programs where I feel like I’m doing some sort of dance combination instead of a certain number of exercise moves like jumping jacks or squats.  I’ve also been walking outside and riding my bike.

Dinners this week:  I realize I need to come up with some different side dishes (and main dishes, actually).  I make the same things over and over.  Guess it’s time to check out some new cookbooks!

Monday:  Mustard balsamic pork chops with Rosemary and roasted brussels with garlic aioli

Tuesday:  Bruschetta chicken and rice

Wednesday:  Cauliflower crust pizza and salad

Thursday:  Tilapia with broccoli and baked potato

Friday:  Date night!

Saturday:  out with the family after McKenna’s first dance recital! (I will not cry. I will not cry…yes, I will.)

Sunday:  burgers on the grill with sweet potato fries

Hope everyone else is getting and enjoying the weather!  I love that I got to blog with a cup of coffee while sitting on my back deck!  Thank god for summer!

 

 

Workout Wednesday

Today is the first day of summer break and I’m already exhausted!  Is that bad?  All day everyday AND no naps?  June can’t get here fast enough!  I have the kids signed up for vacation bible school so I’ll have a few hours to myself.  They’ll actually be going to VBS at four different churches in June.  Don’t laugh!  They need things to do and I need to not spend $400+ for just one week of camp.  Anyway, I’m looking forward to dropping them off and hiking the incline or riding my bike.

Goal:  To lose 10 lbs and tone up and enjoy having a treat once in a while, but not overindulge.

Progress:  I’m up 2.8 lbs.  I was very inactive this weekend (and knew I would be), so I expected this.

The Good:  Since I’ve been back I’ve been making sure I walk more and have picked some more active workouts.

The Bad (and Possibly the Ugly):  I flew back to Baltimore this past weekend for my friend’s wedding.  It’s about a four hour flight so I spent way too much time at the airport. I had planned on walking in the mornings, but didn’t take into account all of the rain we got!  Instead, I spent Saturday hanging out in my PJs until it was time to get ready for the wedding.  Considering I’m up, showered, dressed, and ready for the day by about 7:30 everyday, this was a real treat!

Workouts:  I didn’t start a new program this week and I’m just picking and choosing workouts from other programs instead.  I have a couple of programs I haven’t done yet and I’m debating on which I want to do next week.

Dinners this week: We have some fun things planned this weekend; a birthday party for one of the kids friends, one for a friend of ours, and a Memorial Day BBQ, so meal planning was easy.

Monday: Beer can chicken and roasted brussels sprouts with garlic aioli

Tuesday: Sushi

Wednesday: mustard balsamic pork chops with asparagus

Thursday: Turkey meatloaf, green beans, and sweet potato fries

Friday:  birthday party #1

Saturday: birthday party #2

Sunday: tilapia and vegetables in foil

I’m loving that the weather is FINALLY starting to get nice!  I love being outside and am looking forward to dinners on the deck and bike rides on the trails.  I will definitely be hitting my goals, soon!

Some pics from the wedding:With the absolutely gorgeous bride!

Being silly during the cocktail hour with the emojis

It’s all about social media

 

One of the best things of all:  Got to spend the weekend with my BFF! 🙂

 

5 Things I Want to Tell My Non-Mom Friends

I know I’m stating the obvious, but being a mom is tough.  Those two tiny humans in my house exhaust me every. Single. Day.  There are days I miss my life pre-kids, usually when I’m getting woken up at 6:00am  on a Saturday or when I’m settling arguments between is it time for Team Umizoomi or Paw Patrol.  I haven’t been able to do what I want when I want in over four years, and although I miss that life, I wouldn’t change the one I have now for anything, early wakeups and all.

I won’t lie.  Before I had kids I didn’t get it.  I thought mom life was pretty simple and if you wanted time to yourself, just get a babysitter.  Now I laugh at how wrong I was!  But there are many non-moms who think the way I did.  There’s nothing wrong with it since they’re not in that situation, but there are five things I want to tell them about my life:

1.  I can’t do anything last minute.
As much as I would love to join you for happy hour or dinner, I can’t.  Unless hubs is coming home from work early or my sitter is available, I can’t just go. And even if my sitter is available, I may not want to call her.  Babysitters get expensive.  I love having some “me” time, but I also like having money in my pocket.

2.  Sometimes I can’t do anything with plenty of notice.
If you send me an invite, I will probably wait until the last minute to RSVP.  It is nothing against you, but sometimes things come up with those tiny humans that I’m not expecting.  Typically I will tell you that I’m a “maybe” or a “most likely, yes,” but I don’t want to say anything for sure in case the day arrives and someone isn’t feeling well, having a major meltdown, or is refusing to put on their left sock.

3.  Please continue to invite me to things.
I know I seem so flaky.  I’m not trying to be.  Even though I may tell you “no” to something 10 times, I’m still hoping that eleventh time will be a “yes.”  They won’t be little forever and one day I will be able to go out with you again.

4.  I don’t work outside of the house, but I still have a job.
Recently, I heard someone say on their phone to someone, “It’s not like she does anything all day long.  She’s a stay-at-home-mom!”  I’m pretty sure if you took my blood pressure right then and there, you’d be calling an ambulance to take me to the hospital.  I don’t work outside of the home, but I do have a job.  I’m the one that does all of the cooking, cleaning, shopping, and laundry.  I make the appointments,  play chauffeur to school and activities, and plan our activities.  I’m constantly on my feet moving.  If you want to know what I do all day, you can read about a typical day here and then tell me I don’t have a job.

5.  I love my kids, but sometimes I need to vent about them.
I love my children more than anything, but sometimes they drive me absolutely crazy!  Maybe they decided to spend the whole day whining or just not listening in general.  Maybe I’m thinking to myself that there is just not enough wine in the world that day.  No matter what it is, sometimes I just need to say, “my kids are driving me bat shit crazy today!”  If I do say this, please let me vent for a few minutes.  I will feel better quickly, especially if you give me a hug and hand me that glass of wine I obviously so desperately need.

To the non-mom friends out, we hope you understand why we do what we do.  To the ones out there who get our life, thank you!  You have no idea how much we appreciate it!

Workout Wednesday

First of all, I promise I do have some ideas for posts other than my weekly WOW post.  I haven’t really had the chance to get to a computer lately to write (and I find it much easier to do so here than on my phone!) and I need to remember to take some more pictures to go with my posts!

After last week when I realized how little willpower I have, I started wondering what was so different this time than when I first started my health and fitness journey.  (First let me start off by saying I hate excuses and I’m not trying to make any, I’m just wondering why I don’t seem as goal oriented this time around.)  After really thinking about things, I realized there have been a few changes.  At first I didn’t think it would impact things, but apparently it has.

I used to get up at 6:30 to workout.  When I finished I’d get ready for the day and get the kids up and going.  When they would go down for a nap, I would start on some of the things that had to be done around the house like picking up clutter or prepping dinner.  If I was doing T25 and it was double workout Friday, I’d do my second workout.  For a few months I took classes at nearby barre studios.  I’d get my cardio in in the morning and a few nights a week I’d do strength training. When I’d come home from barre hubs would put the kids to bed and I’d get our dinner in the oven.

Now, I have to get up at 5:30 if I want to workout.  The kids started school so our mornings start earlier.  Even though it’s just an hour I have been feeling it, especially lately!  I don’t feel like I jump as high, lift as much, or do any of the “extras” my programs have.  It also doesn’t help that the kids gave up their nap back in January (it was a sad, sad day at our house).  Now, all of those things I’d do during nap time I’m doing throughout the day as I run after them, take them wherever they need to go, and wish I could take a nap.  Since they’re also getting older we are eating dinner together as a family so we’re eating earlier (which is making me hungry again later) and no time for barre.  I need to figure out how to make my new schedule work for me more.

Goal: To lose 10 lbs and tone up and enjoy having a treat once in a while, but not overindulge.

Progress: I am down 1.2 pounds.  Not a bad start for starting over!

The Good:  I’ve been really good the last few days especially, making sure to eat right and say no to sweets.  Hoping to keep this up this upcoming weekend since I’m flying back to Maryland for my friend’s wedding.

The Bad (and Possibly The Ugly): We went to Santa Fe as a belated anniversary trip this weekend and I took advantage knowing it was time to get my butt back in gear this week.  Lots of wine, cookies, and second helpings galore!

Workouts:  I walked around Santa Fe if that counts and this week I finished 22 Minute Hard Corps.  Not gonna lie, I’m glad I’m done.  I loved Cardio and Resistance 1 and 2, but hated Cardio and Resistance 3.  Now I have to figure out what I’ll do next.

Dinners this week: We only menu planned through Thursday since I’m leaving at the butt crack of dawn on Friday.  I’m pretty sure hubs is just gonna wing it and throw in something that’s already prepared.

Monday: Teriyaki chicken from “Tasty”

Tuesday: baked ziti and salad

Wednesday: Roasted pork shoulder with butternut squash, kale, and tomatoes

Thursday: Baked tilapia and salmon with brussels and garlic aioli

Workout Wednesday – Starting Over

“You can have results or excuses, not both.”  Isn’t that the truth.  I’m sad to say I’m back at square one, but you know what, I deserve it.  I have completely fallen off the wagon and it’s all my fault.  Even though I’ve been working out, I have made nothing but excuses for my nutrition lately and it’s obvious.

When I first started my health and fitness journey almost two years ago I was determined. I had been saying for months that I needed to lose the rest of the baby weight (you know, the babies that were a few months shy of turning two?  Yeah, them.) and I finally decided to start doing something.  I was so set on my goals then.  I had a goal of 20 pounds (10 pounds of baby weight and 10 pounds to get healthier) and I stuck to it.  I didn’t have visitors come and say to myself, “Oh, well we’re going out more often,” or “You can’t say no when someone suggests ice cream!”  I had a goal and it was important to me to get to it.  I remember going to a sorority meeting and the girl hosting had cupcakes.  I just looked at them, thought to myself that they looked really good, and continued to drink my water.  I’m still within five pounds of that original goal still, but I’m disappointed in myself with my lack of results and I know it’s because of my excuses lately, and not just because we’ve had visitors.  I need to kick the excuses to the curb if I want the results.

Goal: To lose 10 lbs and tone up and enjoy having a treat once in a while, but not overindulge.

Progress:  None.  I’m back at square one.  I’m starting over, but I’m not quitting.

The Good:  The only good I have for this week is that I did workout and I’m acknowledging that I need to do better to reach my goals.

The Bad (and Possibly The Ugly):  I think it would actually be easier to answer what wasn’t bad this week.  Seriously, this week was filled with ice cream, surf and turf for dinner on Mother’s Day, an insanely large popcorn at the movies, Mickey Mouse waffles, and more wine than I care to admit.

Workouts:  I’m calling this week 8A for 22 Minute Hard Corps.  We are leaving for Santa Fe  tomorrow afternoon so I won’t finish out the week and will finish it next week.  I can tell that I’m stronger than I was when I first started the program, so I’m pretty happy about that.

Dinners this week:  Meal planning was very easy this week because we’re not home this weekend.  It was the quickest we’ve ever planned!  Ha!

Monday:  Stuffed peppers and salad

Tuesday:  Italian chicken and rice

Wednesday:  No Worries Wednesdays at Outback

Thursday-Sunday:  away in Santa Fe

Here are some pictures of me before, during, and now with my fitness journey.  It’s time to get back to the determination I had when I started!

I hate this picture of me, but it’s where I started: the kids one year pictures.  My face is still round, my arms are heavy, and I was still almost a year from doing anything about it!

April 2014:  One month before go time.  I’m not sure why I’m hunched over so much, but not looking much different than I did 9 months before.  Oh, and my beautiful friend on the other side of the bride?  Yeah, she had just had a baby 2 months prior.

Summer 2014:  Finally doing something to get back in shape.  We love hiking during the summer.  I hadn’t hit my goal yet, but looking MUCH better than the year before!

September 2014: Hit my weight loss goal!

October 2015: Almost 1.5 years after I started and I’ve kept the weight off.