Back on track

Did something today that I've been meaning to do for a long time now- bought a gym membership.  I usually avoid gyms in the summer because I like to be outside.  Turns out this summer I was inside most of the time anyways, so should have done this earlier.  I have a lifting program that I'll be starting soon, so stay tuned.  Today was just a run on the treadmill and some ab work.

This morning breakfast was just a whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter and raspberry jam.  Most of the morning was spent taking care of Tyler.  He is much better today, still a runny nose but no fever.  He was generally really happy, but the second you put him down, he started crying.  I think between him being sick and us taking care of him, and the weekend at home with Grandma and Grandpa, he is used to being held.  Which isn't a bad thing of course.  He just prefers to cuddle now.  =)

He's a quick little dude, and we've discovered he needs constant supervision when laying on the couch now.  He was hanging out with hubby on the couch, and in the time it took for hubby to simply stand up, Tyler did a quick roll and rolled right off the couch.  Thank goodness there was a big blanket right under him, so it was a cushioned landing.  He was a little scared, but no bumps or bruises.  Let the fun begin.

Oh and here's a good shot of the little guy and his two teeth.  We did a little 6 month photo shoot today since we were gone on the actually day.

Ignore the crazy snowflake blanket background

Lunch was all my hubby's idea.  I didn't protest much though.  He thought it would be a good idea to support a local business, Main Street Market.  On Thursdays they have gigantic pork tenderloins.  Two times the size of the bun.  It came with some veggies and banana cake.  There were also some potato wedges underneath the sandwich, but I didn't eat them.

Check out the sweet rainbow I caught this afternoon.

After working out and hitting the grocery store, we got started with supper.

Look at this grocery bag... Chobani is back in stock at Fareway!!  And broccoli.  And I don't know if you can see them, but aren't my toenails cute?  I love the polish I used for Vegas, lots of purple and blue sparkles.

Anyways, I bought two New York strips to cook up, cast-iron skillet style.  We rub some olive oil on each side and sprinkle each side generously with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.  Put them in a super hot cast iron skillet and press down.  You want to get a good seal so you can form a good crust.  After a couple minutes, flip them and press down again.  We usually throw them in the oven for a minute or two after getting a crust on each side, then let them sit for awhile.  

I only had 1/3 of the smaller steak.  Accompanying the steak was an old favorite, a baked sweet potato.  Hubby had a regular baked potato. The potatoes were rubbed with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt (and poked with a fork couple times over), and put in a 375 degree oven for 1 hour.  I cut mine open, put a little yogurt spread on top and sprinkled with cinnamon.

I threw this picture in so you could see portion size.  Steak was about same size as fist, potato bigger. 

We also had the leftover green beans as another side.

So excited.... season premier of Parks and Recreation tonight!!  Definitely my favorite show.

Tomorrow is (surprise surprise) going to be a crazy day in the office, so look for a post late tomorrow or Saturday morning!

The Help

I didn't really have too much to say last night, meals were nothing special-leftovers, forgot to take pictures of most of them anyways, and I was exhausted from being up the night before and working all day.

On a happy note, Tyler is doing much better.  No fever at all yesterday, but still not acting like his usual happy self.  We kept him with us at work in the morning then took him to daycare in the afternoon.  His first report card that said "sad".  We didn't think any kids ever got that remark!!  No "happy", "playful", or "busy".  Just "sad".  They said he was fine as long as someone was always holding him.  Let's hope he's not sad today.

Since I don't have any good food pictures to talk about, I figured I'd do a quick pitch for the book I read over our Vegas Vacation.  I started and finished The Help, by Kathryn Stockett.  In case you live in a hole in the ground, it is a New York Times bestseller, along with a hugely successful movie.  I haven't seen the movie yet, but I can tell you the book is for sure worth reading.

It follows three women in Jackson, Mississippi during the civil rights era- the 1960's.  They give you two sides to the story- one is a white socialite while the other two are African American maids.  They set out to write a book about the maids and their experiences working with white families.  It's such a moving story and kind of disturbing actually, to see the way some of the maids were treated.  I know it's all fiction, but it wouldn't surprise me if these things actually happened back then(or similar instances at least).  It's a very heartwarming and thought-provoking novel, so read it!

I usually don't like the movie versions of books that I like, so it'll be interesting when I see this movie, since everyone I've talked to absolutely loved it.  Stay tuned for the movie review.

That's all for now, I'll get some food pics going later today!

Return of TV!

So excited... tonight is the premier of The Biggest Loser AND Glee!  Get those DVR's ready!

On a not so happy note, little Tyler is still not feeling great.  His fever goes up and down, spiked to more than 104 today for a little bit, but at least he's eating more today and sleeping a little bit.  He just kept crying unless you held him.  A tiny little part of me likes it because he usually doesn't like to just sit still and cuddle.  It's awful to see him so uncomfortable though.

Not sure what we'll do tomorrow, looking like he'll be coming with us to work.

This morning when I had a chance, I had a bowl of old fashioned oats with a scoop of almond butter and a dollop of homemade raspberry jam.  PB & J oats!  Made the oats with almond milk.

Lunch was a piece of Ezekial bread toasted, with a wedge of garlic and herb laughing cow cheese and a couple slices of cracked pepper turkey.  I added a side of Doritos.  That was our stress relief today- emotional eating.  Of Doritos.  Sorry no pic.

Made up for it tonight with a healthier supper.  We're playing a little game of "clean out the freezer before we go get groceries".  So I defrosted a bag of tilapia and baked it.  First I dredged them in eggs and then coated them with some dry batter that my parents use every year for their fish fry.  Bake them at 400 degrees until they flake.  For a side I used a bag of frozen green beans, steamed them, added some slivered almonds and then drizzled with roasted garlic grapeseed oil.

We make our own tartar sauce, no specific recipe.  Just dump some Light Miracle Whip, dill relish, dill weed and a splash of lemon juice together and stir it up.

Dinner is done, charts are finished, baby is in bed (for now) and Glee is calling!

Sleep? What's that?

Our first day back did not go well.  We should have known something was up with Tyler because he hardly slept all night.  Very fussy and uncomfortable.  Took his temperature around 5 am or so, and it was only 99/100.  Not too bad, so we packed him up and took him to daycare.

Less than 45 minutes later, we get a call asking us to come pick him up because his fever is almost 104!

He was just not himself, very unhappy and not playing.  He was starting to get a rash all over his face, which was probably from the fever.  I tried looking in his ears but he wouldn't let me look enough to see if they were red.  I gave him an adjustment (which normally he doesn't mind but he did not like this one) and then took him in to the doctor.

By the time we got there, his fever was down to 101.  They asked me how much Tylenol or ibuprofen I gave him, and I said none!  (I didn't go into a long speech about the power of chiropractic, saved that one for another day)

The doctor had to clean out his ears to see in them, and said they weren't red or anything.  Did a strep test and that was negative.  Everything checked out ok, so he just said call if it gets worse.

Luckily our schedule at the office wasn't as crazy as we thought it'd be, so I stayed home with him in the morning and hubby stayed with him in the afternoon.  Poor little guy, I hate it when he's sick.  The only good thing is that he lets you cuddle with him more.

So needless to say, we had a pretty sleepless night last night.  I stayed out on the couch with him, probably got about 3-4 hours of sleep combined.  He seems like he's doing better today, but still not eating too much.  Praying I can get a nap in before the afternoon.

Meals were pretty random yesterday since we still haven't gone to the store.

Breakfast was a piece of cinnamon raisin Ezekial bread.

Lunch was a piece of regular Ezekial bread with cracked pepper turkey and a piece of provolone cheese.  I accompanied that with some super healthy baked Cheetos.  Dessert was a chocolate chip brownie Larabar.  Guess I forgot to take that picture.

Supper was going to be spaghetti, but we had a couple whole wheat buns that we needed to use up.  Earlier in the day I was wanting Subway, so I decided to make my own meatball sub- on a whole wheat bun instead.

I defrosted some extra lean ground beef and got to work.

Italian meatballs (courtesy of my Cooking Light cookbook)

1 lb ground beef
1/2 c Italian bread crumbs
1/3 c skim milk
1 egg white
1/4 c parsley (called for fresh but I only had dried)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp minced garlic

Combine ingredients well and form approximately 24 one inch meatballs.  Place them on a broiler pan and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

After they were done I tossed them in some heart healthy spaghetti sauce and heated them on the stovetop for a couple minutes.  Toasted the whole wheat buns, put a couple meatballs and sauce on top, then sprinkled with crushed red pepper, Italian seasoning and some chopped up banana peppers.  Hubby added some provolone cheese to his.

Need to go get some sleep, so that's all for now, try to get another post up tonight.

Las Vegas

I'm pretty beat, so here's my pathetic blog attempt to cover our trip.  It was tons of fun, lots of indulgence.  Unfortunately we didn't hit it big, but on the other hand we didn't lose a ton of money either.  I sometimes forgot to take pictures.  Here are some food and drink highlights:


Pizza from the secret pizza place at the Cosmopolitan

Blueberry pecan pancake from Hash House A Go Go (Hubby's brown sugar banana was better)

I ate about 3/4 of it... even though it was way bigger than my head

Yummy bloody mary on Fremont Street!

Chocolate ice cream with almonds and coconut from Icepan

My favorite: braised shortrib with truffle teriyaki and celery root puree from Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar and Grille

My least favorite: orange chicken and spicy shrimp from Panda Express (a poor decision after too many cocktails)

Harrah's buffet... look, something green!

So yes, lots of indulgence.  I don't want to know how many calories I took in.  At least in Vegas we walked everywhere so I figure we burned off about 1/10 of the calories.

I had so much fun, but always on the back of my mind was our little guy.  I know he was in good hands, but it was hard not to worry about him.  Even in the couple days we were gone he changed.  He had another tooth come in and I swear he's about 5 pounds heavier... just like his mama!

That's all for tonight, sorry about the lack of posts and the shortness of this one, but I am beat and tomorrow is going to be crazy.

Good to be home!

Hey baby let's go to Vegas

Couple hours 'til Vegas!  Yesterday was a crazy day in the clinic, as to be expected.  I know it's important to take some time off now and then, but I still can't help feeling a little guilty taking a Friday off.  I always think of those people that are hurting and need to get in.

Yesterday was not a good day for picture taking.  Or eating for that matter.

Breakfast was a quick Larabar- carrot cake flavor.  After we dropped Tyler off at daycare I did manage to get a piece of whole wheat toast in with some peanut butter.  I hate not starting my day off without any protein.  No pics since I was super rushed.

Our lunch was whatever we could find in the kitchen.  I didn't have enough spinach for a salad, so I improvised and made a little chicken taco.  It started out as a chicken tostada, as hubby made sure to inform me, since I did not fold it.  Not an ordinary taco, took an Artisan tortilla and spread some roasted red pepper hummus on it.  Sprinkled some spinach leaves on the hummus and topped it with a little leftover grilled chicken.  It was too hard to eat as a "tostada", so I folded it up.

Since I didn't put any cheese on it, I validated the pile of baked Cheetos I added to my plate.  =)

Hubby and Tyler- he's wiped after a busy day at daycare

After work we got on the road and set off to meet my parents to drop off Tyler.  We had to eat quick, so we just stopped at a gas station and got Godfather's mini pizzas.  I had the humble pie, which was sausage, onions, and green peppers.  I only had 3 pieces, gave 1 to hubby.  I almost forgot to take a picture, but managed to remember with one piece left.

We met my parents in Webster City and made the exchange.  Thank goodness he slept through the whole thing or I probably would have been bawling.

I really miss the little guy, it's weird waking up without him.  I know he's in pretty good hands though.  If my parents could handle four kids for how many years, I'm pretty sure one little baby will be no problem.  I'm sure he's getting plenty of hugs and kisses.

So... have a couple hours to get some stuff packed up and ready to go to Vegas.  I've heard it's hot during the day and pretty chilly at night, so that means I have to have a variety of stuff.  Have to rethink my clothing selections or see if I can cram any more clothing items in.

Not sure if I'll get any blogging done, because it'll have to be on my phone.  We'll see, not promising anything.

Hope lady luck is on our side!

Roller packer or stacker packer?

Lots of mommy and daddy time for Tyler today.  Tomorrow he goes to daycare then off to Grandma and Grandpa's for the weekend.  

Breakfast today was a "fried" egg (just in a skillet sprayed with PAM) with a toasted whole wheat English muffin.  

This morning while Tyler took a nap, I started packing my Vegas bag.  We're not checking any luggage, so I have to fit most of my stuff in a little carry-on bag.  So the question is, what's the best way to cram as much stuff as possible in a little bag?  Is it better to roll everything up or just stack it?  I decided I could get more in with rolling it, but we'll see how wrinkly my clothes are.  

For lunch we went downtown and ate at F & M's customer appreciation lunch.  Didn't grab a picture, but it was a sausage patty, potato salad, fruit and Blue Bunny ice cream!!  We took Tyler and he had a pretty good time looking at people.

Here's an updated picture of my Snooki tan, probably looks worse to our pale little son.

Supper was pretty late today because I played with Tyler after work.  Trying to get as much time in as possible with him!

Supper was steamed broccoli and some grape tomatoes with a couple chunks of smoked turkey.  Best part was dessert: fresh peaches and raspberries!

One more post before Vegas!