Life Lately

Sunday, November 24, 2013

I have been taking pictures of all my whole30 meals and posting them on Instagram... Now the girls want me to take pictures of their plates too! 


We have been watching Marilyn's 50 States song over and over again to learn the 50 states. We picked up some maps at the school supply store and the girls try to point to the states as we sing the song! It is now stuck in Brian and I's heads all the time... On the plus side, I know the states pretty well now! 


I'm working on a Christmas present for our girls and for the Carruthers kids! It is turning out so cute! 


Kenley requested to paint on canvas the other day. She painted a portrait of her baby in that baby bed. So cute! I love it when she does self guided projects and crafts! 

Friday night I went to see Catching Fire with my friends! Love them! 


Amanda braided my hair in the bathroom so that we could all have Katniss hair! Yay for bathroom selfies! 



Last night we went to see Disney on Ice Rockin Ever After. It was so fun! I totally teared up in the first few moments as I was watching the wonderment on the girls faces! It was priceless! 



Claire's face most of the show... taking it all in... 

Claire's face when she recognized a character that she loves.... jaw dropped! So adorable! 

My little Cinderella


Amanda and I accidentally dressed matching on Friday night so it was only fitting that we dressed our children matching on Sunday morning! Happy Birthday Amanda! I am so thankful for our growing friendship! 


Meal Plan Monday... on Tuesday :)

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Planning this weeks meals has been quite a bit harder than planning last weeks meals. I am starting to get a little tired of eggs and meat is also just not that appealing to me. 

Also... I hate lunch.... It has always been my trickiest meal hence why I used to just snack my way through that part of the day. It's time to just keep trucking though so that I can form new healthy habits! On the plus side I really haven't been snacking at all, I think the balance of proteins and fats at each meal is totally satiating! 

I am already on Day 9 of the Whole30 and thus far it has gone by super quickly! 


Here is my meal plan for this week! 
(Whole30 week 2) 

Monday- 
Breakfast- Hard boiled Eggs
Lunch- Egg Salad with Sweet Potato Fries and Avocado Ranch (We didn't like the ranch)
Dinner- BBQ Pulled Pork w/ sweet potato rounds and avocado (This pork is our favorite!)

Tuesday- 
Breakfast- Blueberry Breakfast Clafouti (It was super yummy!) w/ more Blueberries and Tomatoes
Lunch- Leftover pulled pork or leftover chili

Wednesday-
Breakfast- Poached Eggs over Sweet Potato Hash 
Lunch- Spicy Tuna Cakes (from the NomNomPaleo iPad app) w/ Kale Chips and Honeydew Melon
Dinner- Grilled Chicken and Veggie Kabobs

Thursday- 
Breakfast- Over Easy Eggs w/ Avocado and Tomatoes
Lunch- Leftover Chicken and Veggie Kabobs
Dinner- Super Fine Salmon w/ Roasted Asparagus

Friday-
Breakfast- Pizza Quiche
Lunch- Tuna Salad

Saturday- 
Breakfast- Leftover Pizza Quiche if it's yummy :)
Lunch- Leftovers or Chicken Salad
Dinner- Salsa Chicken Lettuce Wrap Tacos w/ Avocado and Salsa

Sunday-
Breakfast- Hard boiled Eggs
Lunch- Leftover Salsa Chicken
Dinner- Meatloaf with Mashed Cauliflower and Roasted Green beans

*As with last week, if the meals that I linked to aren't completely Whole30 compliant, I will tweak them so that they are. i.e. swapping out the butter for ghee, leaving out vanilla extract, making sure my meats don't contain sugar, that kind of thing! 

Whole30 Week 1!

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Whole30 week 1 has flown by! I actually haven't gotten any sugar withdrawal headaches or anything like that yet! So far eating like this has been super easy, I just need to make sure that I plan ahead and either have food prepared or know where to buy compliant foods! 

I also haven't been snacking which is super weird for me! I've been totally satisfied between meals though which is great! 


Day 1-  
Breakfast- 1 un-pictured hard boiled egg, 2 over easy eggs, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and raw macadamia nuts
Lunch- Salad with diced chicken , diced apple, chopped walnuts, lettuce, s&p, dressed with balsamic and olive oil
Dinner- Roast chicken w/ carrots, parsnips, and green beans. The green beans were home grown but I think I picked them too late because they were super bean-y so I didn't eat them. 
Snack- After dinner I baked up some of the chicken skin because I had seen it on Food Renegade! I ate some raspberries too! 


Day 2-
Breakfast- 1 hard boiled egg, tomatoes, yellow peppers, and half an avocado
Lunch- Egg salad made with mustard and chopped sun dried tomatoes, half an avocado, red peppers, apple w/ sunflower seed butter, and a cup of homemade chicken broth
Dinner- 5 minute chicken (made with ghee) w/ 2 servings of steamed broccoli, red peppers, and some raw macadamia nuts 

We made homemade mayonnaise! It took a little bit of time but it was so easy! I'm never going back to buying mayonnaise! 

I had a dream that night that I cheated on Whole30! I felt so guilty when I woke up! 


Day 3-
Breakfast- 3 eggs w/ half an avocado and a kiwi
Lunch @ Preschool- Chicken salad on spinach w/ guacamole and grapes 
Dinner- 5 Salsa Chicken lettuce wrap tacos w/ avocado and salsa

I made ghee! It was so easy! Another thing I won't ever buy again! 


Day 4-
Breakfast- 2 deviled eggs w/ a bit of leftover chicken salad and raspberries
Lunch- We went to Whole Foods to buy meat so for lunch I had salad bar. Mixed greens topped with tuna, shredded beets, shredded carrots, a bit of the mushroom marinade w/ cucumbers and tomatoes
My salad just wasn't that great so I only ate half of it and then went and bought a Larabar.
Dinner- Paleo Chili (I mixed a few recipes together to make my own, once I try it again and perfect it I will post the recipe) and roasted sweet potatoes with cinnamon ghee. 

The sweet potatoes with the cinnamon ghee were AMAZING! 


Day 5-
Breakfast- I was late for an appointment so I had to eat in the car. 3 scrambled eggs w/ onions and salsa
Lunch- Chicken salad on spinach w/ grapes
Dinner- Date night in! Steak (That I overcooked.. oops!), Butternut Squash with Kale (topped with pecans), and tomatoes

I made homemade coconut butter but is super solid :( I'll probably try to scoop it out of the jar and blend it all up again


Day 6-
Breakfast- 2 deviled eggs w/ leftover squash
Lunch- It was a date day for Brian and I to the teacher supply store so we stopped at Chipotle on the way home and ate salads with carnitas, salsa, and guacamole
Dinner- Today was a sleepy day so we all overslept at nap time and I didn't get to make my planned dinner. Last minute dinner eggs to the rescue! with tomatoes, 1/2 an avocado, pomegranates, and some black grapes. 

Also, you should run to Trader Joe's and buy this tea before it is gone for the season! Brian and I can't get enough! 

Dark Chocolate Mint Crunch Bars

Tuesday, November 12, 2013


My latest recipe is up at For Chic Sake! Go check it out! 
*I made these pre-Whole30 :) 

Meal Plan Monday + Whole30 Day 1

Monday, November 11, 2013


A little while ago I heard about a program called Whole30. Every blog I have ever read about it has totally sung its praises! I wanted to know more so I bought It Starts with Food on my iPad. When I first started reading the book I thought I would start a Whole30 in January, by the end of the book I wanted to start immediately! 

I haven't mentioned it very much but I have been dealing with a lot of hormone related issues that started back in December following my abdominal surgery that confirmed my infertility. Pre-surgery my doctor placed me on birth control so that I could have the surgery and post-surgery he wanted me to remain on birth control for the rest of my life.... seriously.... 

Long story short... the birth control made me CRAZY. I stopped taking it after 3 months but am still dealing with the hormonal repercussions of all that hormonal junk that I put in my body. 

All that said, my number 1 goal with doing the Whole30 is to regulate my hormones!

Here is a list of all I hope to accomplish with Whole30
1. Regulate Hormones! 
2. Get clear skin! (I struggle with food related eczema and hormonal acne)
3. Break free from my sugar dependence
4. Form a better sleep cycle

And...

I would be lying if I said that I didn't want my jeans to fit a little better too! :) 
I plan to do weekly recaps with all of my meals for that week since I have loved being able to read other blogs daily recaps! Here was my day 1:
































One of the key's to a successful Whole30 is planning so I have meticulously planned out our meals for this week! 

Monday- 
Breakfast- Eggs with Tomatoes, Cucumbers, and Macadamia Nuts
Lunch- Salad with Chicken, Apples, Walnuts, dressed with Olive Oil, Balsamic, and S&P
Dinner- Roast Chicken (made with ghee) with Carrots, Parsnips, Green Beans and Raspberries

Tuesday-
Breakfast- Eggs with Tomatoes
Lunch- Tuna Salad, Try out this Avocado Ranch Recipe, Carrots, and Cucumbers, and Strawberries
Dinner- 5 minute Chicken (made with ghee) with Broccoli

Wednesday- 
Breakfast- Hard Boiled Eggs with Avocado and Tomatoes
Lunch- Chicken Salad with Grapes and Pecans 
Dinner- Salsa Chicken Lettuce Wrap Tacos with Guacamole, Salsa, and Sauteed Veggies

Thursday- 
Breakfast- Try a frittata? 
Lunch- Leftover Salsa Chicken
Dinner- Paleo Chili with Baked Sweet Potatoes

Friday- 
Breakfast- Eggs with Leftover Sweet Potatoes
Lunch- Leftover Chili with a Salad
Dinner- Steak with Butternut Squash and Kale Bake

Saturday- 
Lunch- Egg Salad with Veggies
Dinner- Mustard Lime Chicken with Broccoli 

Sunday- 
Breakfast- Hard boiled Eggs with Fruit
Lunch- Chicken and Veggie Kabobs
Dinner- Leftovers from the week

*Some of these links aren't totally Whole30 approved so I will be making substitutions so that they are! 

Marine Corps Ball 2013

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Last Friday was our last Marine Corps Ball in Washington and also our last Marine Corps ball with Brian as a Staff Sergeant. I thought it would be the last time to see him in his dress blues but they ended up wearing dress whites so instead of it being the last time in dress blues, it was the first and only time I will see him in dress whites! 


The school mascot was there too! 

Pesto Chicken Pinwheels

Friday, November 8, 2013

I didn't even think that I liked pesto until about a month ago when I went to Amanda's house and she made pesto chicken paninis! The paninis were delicious and I have made them a few times since having them at her house! Those paninis inspired me to make these Pesto Chicken Pinwheels for a pinochle party the other night! Everyone at the party really liked these so they have been deemed "blog worthy"! 


Pesto Chicken Pinwheels
Ingredients: 
1 pkg refrigerated crescent roll dough (Trader Joe's brand doesn't contain trans fats!)
3 Tbsp prepared pesto
1/2 cooked, diced chicken
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Unroll crescent dough and pinch seams together so that you are left with a rectangular piece of dough. 
2. Spread pesto over dough, top with chicken, then cover with cheese. 
3. Roll dough up just like you would when making cinnamon rolls. 
4. Slice into 1 inch sections and place on a baking stone or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 -18 minutes or until golden brown

Enjoy! 




Halloween 2013

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Happy Halloween!

Wednesday night our church had a little party...
I planned and set up 2 crafts for the kids to do.

 Silly Pumpkin Faces and Rainbow Contact Paper Pumpkin Silhouettes. 


Amanda and I dressed Liam and Claire as a Batman and Catwoman... 

I couldn't get a clear picture of them to save my life! 

So much terror and so much joy..... She LOVES him.... 


Thursday night we went to the Siedenburg's but we made a pit stop at Grandma and Grandpa's! 


Trick-or-Treating...

Then back to the house for pumpkin carving and the men blowing up pumpkins with dry ice... Hahaha

(The girls costumes are from Marshall's and their rain boots are from KMart! I added the black dots to Kenley's with Silhouette vinyl!) 

D Day and E Day!

Monday, November 4, 2013

D Day

Miss LaurieAnne was the teacher for D Day which meant that I was the craft mom. 







Usually I have tons of ideas for kid crafts but D just wasn't sparking my creative side! I printed out Confessions of a Homeschooler's do-a-dot pages and the kids used bingo markers to dot in the circles and then dot stickers to cover the bingo dots. Not the most creative craft but the kids enjoyed it! 


D! 


E Day

I was the teacher and it was also the day before Halloween so the kiddos came in costume! I had tons of activities related to eggs for the kiddos to do, but on the way I realized that I forgot the eggs so I stopped at Haggen to buy eggs..... In the Haggen parking lot I realized that I also forgot my purse! Ugh! So we drove to Amy's and I picked up some dollars and coins and ran to Tom Thumb for a dozen eggs and ended up totally changing my lesson plan! Sorry kiddos! Maybe we can stand on eggs, have an egg and spoon race, a density experiment, and crack open eggs another time! :) 



The BumbleBee and LadyBug...

The Princesses... 

Minnie and Mickey...

IronMan and SpiderMan...

E!




 
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