Cherish Your Cherubs - Praise

I'm joining in this week with Naomi @ Seven Cherubs.

Praise is something we have been practising more and more lately as the little man is understanding and seems to be listening to wht B and I tell him. It amazes me at times - the things he understands.

Yesterday we were watching the football and at half time I started cleaning up all the mess the little man had been making, packing his toys back into their baskets etc. As I was doing it I verbalised 'Time to pack up' 'Put your toys away' and similar things ;) and he suprised me by grabbing toys and putting them into the baskets! It was so cute actually and he was so proud of himself. I couldn't help but shower him with praise. He had the biggest smile on his face.

I'm really trying to keep things positive in our house, I try to only say 'No' when he is doing something that could be dangerous for him.

I also try and explain why I want him to do or not do different things, even though I don't know how much he understands. Like the other day when he was pulling all the MCN's (Modern Cloth Nappies) out of the basket. Even though it was frustrating to watch as they take aggggggggggggggggggges to put together, I tried to remain calm and asked him to stop and then explained why. B and I are really trying to let him explore and allow him to be naturally curious. Whenever he does something really well we give him the necessary praise and I think that this has helped especially recently with his eating and touching of finger foods.

No matter what though - This parenting thing is always a challenge no matter how cute your kid is
xx

Ouch!

I went for a run today. Yep me. I know - I shocked myself too!

As part of my 12WBT journey I have to do pre tests to gauge my level of fitness and part of that was a 1km timetrial. It's been a while since I ran anywhere to be honest. I have bad knees and use that as an excuse too! This morning I asked B to come down to the oval with me and time how long it took me to run a kilometer. I set myself a goal of being able to do it within 8 minutes and managed to do it with a time of 6m37s.

It wasn't pretty, I had to stop and walk for a bit - but nethertheless I acheived my goal and completed the fitness test! Onwards and upwards. B, Little man and I then went and did the grocery shopping using the meal plans set. I am looking forward to eating some nice and healthy meals. Looking at the menu and the amounts of meat allocated it has already made me realise that I overeat! But I guess that is the whole point! I then spent my afternoon cooking up a storm in the kitchen. Some of those meals are going to be delish :) I'm trying to pre cook as much as I can. That way I'm organised and less tempted to grab take-away.

As I'm a glutton for punishment at the moment I also went to the gym and did a 500cal workout while the little man had his afternoon nap. I am not too sure how I am going to get myself off the couch tonight though! My body is exhausted. As soon as I sat down I felt my muscles relax and now they are stiffening. I'm thinking an early night and lots of sleep will help :) Luckily for me Sundays are a rest day!

Hope your weekend is looking good!
xx

The simple things

Today Little man and I had a few things planned. We went into the city and had lunch with Cooper's Grandad for Fathers Day (My Dad). Little man showed off to Grandads office (although just quietly Grandad was looking quite chuffed).

Afterwards we shopped for a new hat! Little man has grown a bit since summer - definitely needed a new one :) we also printed out some new photos.

Then we came home and did something unplanned. We played outside with the cats and explored the backyard. Here are a few pics from our afternoon.

Modelling my new hat

hmmm that didn't last long

Look Daddy missed some when he mowed!

intrigued by a feather :)

Malibu and Little Man

Balancing!

A fun afternoon exploring for us. What did you get upto today?
xx

12 WBT - Here we go!

I was flicking around on the internet the other night and came across some 12WBT stuff. I looked into signing up last round, but honestly thought it would be a waste of money and that I could do it myself...... Well that totally has not happened and I find myself feeling like I have lost confidence. Quite simply it comes down to the fact that I am not happy with the way I look :(

So here we go! I signed up before I could change my mind and now a few other people I know have also joined. I am determined to make a real go of this and make lots of changes. I'm going to post some of my goals and stuff on here to make it real. I'm telling you guys so that I can't back out! I no longer want to blame pregnancy. I need to visit the gym more often and make better food selections!

I'm ready to change and looking forward to the next 12 weeks :) and beyond!! Summer!!!

Anyone else joining the 12WBT journey? Or anyone who has completed round one or two? I'd love to hear about what you thought of the program and any tips/pointers for me

xx

Night in the kitchen

Have you ever had those moments where you feel inspired to grab a recipe book and make something a little more interesting then the same old chicken and salad dinners? Yes? Well that was me tonight.

I must admit I do enjoy cooking. Particularly if it turns out deliciously tasty...... and I think I find it relaxing in an odd kind of way!

I had some apples that I wanted to turn into a dessert for the little man - and B and I had forgotten to take out any meat for dinner. So I grabbed a few cook books and after about 5 minutes of flicking through, decided upon a Beef Vindaloo from the CSIRO cookbook. I have made it before (burnt the bottom though) and decided it might be a better idea to stay close by this time :)

Concurrently I decided to whip up an apple and oatmeal dessert using a recipe I found on the wholesome baby food website. There is some really good stuff on there so if you are into making the food for your bub I recommend hitting it up!
So I sent B to the supermarket with the little man in tow and while they were gone I started on the apple dish.

 

Apple pieces and oats cooking slowly

With cinnamon added

Served up ready to go!

Then when B returned from the shops I started the 80 minute cooking process of the beef vindaloo. I took my laptop into the kitchen and cooked/facebooked/blogged all at once to pass the time. A tiny bit of 'me time'. Here are the results

simmering away

almost cooked and ready to serve

The finished product



B and I sat down to eat and he was suitably impressed. The taste was sort of sweetish with an added spiciness (if that is even a word).The two empty bowls proved the meal was a success. Cooking a meal from scratch did however make me realise that I'd like to try and do that more often, less processed and less preservatives - but also good for the soul...

Anyone else been on an adventure in the kitchen lately?

xx

Kudos to Cudo

I've admitted on here before that I am addicted to online shopping. Shoes, clothes, baby stuff! When the deals come straight to your inbox how can you not click BUY? They sound so great!

So I have a few daily emails with super dooper deals sent to me and I casually flick through and delete all the laser treatments and teeth whitening ones (which seem to be there almost daily) and ponder the food deals. I love food and B loves not spending money. ever. bargains. So way back in March I bought a deal for a restaurant in St Kilda. Now I may or may not have already let one of these deals expire so I decided I would not let that happen again and have called a few times to try and get a booking - but nights free of the little man are rare (which is how I like it) and they have been booked out when I have called.

The last time I called, the friendly waiter dude told me to try mid week as you didn't need to book so far in advance. Nice tip :) So yesterday my childcare plans for tomorrow fell through and I had to make other arrangements which needed to include the little man sleeping at his grandparents place which is over an hour away as there is no chance of dropping him off before work. So suddenly B and I had this 'free week night' that the waited dude had spoken of. So I booked and off we went.

I tried to take a photo of the Melbourne skyline on the drive in but iphone and dirty car windows made it almost impossible. B attempted to warn me annoyed me by telling me it wouldn't work so I am posting this photo in spite of him and to maybe try and prove a point even though I know it looks terrible.

The voucher was $39 - but I had a ten dollars off coupon so paid only $29. This entitled us to a antipasto tasting plate, two mains, two desserts and a bottle of wine. I thought it sounded pretty good!

B and I have never been huge on the eating out - I think it was because we lived together early on so we never had much to discuss at dinner, so we'd eat and leave quickly. Since having the little man in our lives we probably value that time more though and it was lovely to just sit for a couple of hours and chat uninterrupted.

The food was delicious! I had a steak with some yummy potatoes and B went for a beef stroganoff. Usually he chooses whatever meal he thinks will be the biggest - he's a tight ass value for money kind of guy :)

I really enjoyed relaxing with B and was very impressed with the quality and quantity of the meal. The suckered me in with a chocolate mousse at the end too. Ahhh well gym tomorrow.........

I'm off to find my next online deal!
xx

Meet Me Monday

Here we are again - weekend done and dusted and the working week begins.
So I'm livening up my Monday by once again linking up with Java @ Never Growing Old for 'Meet Me Mondays' :)
So if you'd like to join in  - answer the five questions below and then link up your post to Java's.
Simple right?

Here we go!

This week's questions are;
1.  What feature of the opposite sex do you notice first?
2.  Do you talk to yourself?
3.  What is your current relationship status?
4.  Do you have a garden?
5.  What is your favorite licorice flavor?

My Answers
1.  What feature of the opposite sex do you notice first?
I guess normally I notice eyes/facial attributes. I love eyes. I think that you can tell a lot about someone from their eyes. B has strange colour changing eyes. Random fact there!

2.  Do you talk to yourself?
I do talk to myself at times - mostly it is when I am working and making mental lists etc. I like to talk it out first so I know what I need to do. They say you only have to worry about talking to yourself when you start to answer!

3.  What is your current relationship status?
I'm happily married to B :) We have been together for nine years this year!

4.  Do you have a garden?
Yes. But I cannot take a whole lot of credit for that. It was already landscaped when we moved/bought this place. I always have great intentions about having a vegie garden (I did successfully grow some tomatoes this summer) and love the idea of being self sustaining in that area but I am totally shit at gardening - excuse my language. Once I got B to buy me fencing and everything I needed for a vegie patch. He then dutifully built it all for me one weekend - then I put fertiliser too close to the seeds and nothing grew. FAIL. I do love the idea of using my own fresh ingredients from the garden for cooking so maybe I need to get busy and take a class or read up on the net!

5.  What is your favorite licorice flavor?
I absolutely hate black licorice, aniseed, those black jelly beans and licorice bullets or allsorts. Yeah pretty much any black licorice. I do however like raspberry/strawberry flavoured licorice twists, the ones you get from Darrell Lea. But licorice is definitely not my first choice for a lolly!

xx

Gym revival #6834

Okay so a new week is beginning and I am attempting to going to start utilising my gym membership. Yep I've been paying a ridiculous amount per week since I tried to motivate myself a while back.

I got B to get me a wii fit for Christmas.... hmmmm not so much use out of that. I just find it hard to juggle work/little man/running a household. I know I'm not the only one but arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I just want to get healthy etc.

No more bad food. Exercise EVERY day.

I start tomorrow.

So this is a very short post. Mostly it's about me being accountable. I am accountable to you! Tomorrow I'm going to weigh myself and do some measurements etc. Changes will be a happening ;)

Hope you all had a lovely weekend

xx

Meet Me Monday :)

Happy Monday Guys!
For those of you who like me are enjoying the Queens Birthday long weekend, I hope you haveing a great one.
I'm linking up with Java over at never growing old and joining in with the Meet Me Monday game. So if you'd like to play along answer the following questions and then link it back here :) Then have a peek at some new blogs!

Questions:
1.  What is your favorite yogurt flavor?
2.  Ankle or knee socks? and on the same theme, white socks or coloured??
3.  How is the weather right now?
4.  Are you a fast typer?
5.  Red or White Wine?

My Answers 
1.  What is your favorite yogurt flavor?
My favourite yoghurt flavour is any kind of berry flavored. Especially strawberry but not with too many chunks in it. My one time absolute favourite is the gippsland dairy twist. God they are delicious. If you haven't tried it I suggest you do! Yuuuuum..... Makes me want one now actually!

2.  Ankle or knee socks? and on the same theme, white socks or coloured??
I'm all about the ankle socks, unless I'll wearing business pants for work - then I try to find a pair of black mid length ones.  As for the coloured/white part I think mine are mostly white, but have coloured logos and designs on them. Most of my socks are sporty ankle ones that I got when I worked at Rebel Sport - Thank you staff discount!!


3.  How is the weather right now?
Today in Melbourne it actually looks really nice  the sun is streaming through my glass doors and warming me as I sit here blogging - however I'm sure if I opened the door and stepped outside it would be chilly! I'm pretty sure the forecast said a top of about 13 degrees Celsius :)


4.  Are you a fast typer?
I'm not professional fast or anything but I do type at a reasonable pace. I don't really touch type though I mostly have my eyes on the keyboard (and then go back and fix all my spelling errors afterwards).


5.  Red or White Wine?
White Wine. I'm actually fairly tame when it comes to wine. I like Moscato - particularly Brown Brothers :) Pretty much if it tastes sweet and there isn't a whole lot of an aftertaste then I like it.... Yep I'm a wuss.  Red wine doesn't really do it for me although I will admit I haven't tried many at all!


Join in!
xx

My Mum and a few other things.....

This week I'm grateful for a few things.

1. Chicken Parmas
Weird I know but I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to eating a chicken parma for dinner tonight. The familiarity and the comfort of it.... Yum

2. Music
I put on Channel V this morning and had a great time listening to some tunes. Yep I sang and may have even danced a little too. Music takes me to so many different places and triggers so many memories. It's nice.

3. Long weekends
I love that I still have 2 more days to spend with my little family.

The fourth, final but also the most important one is my Mumma.
My Mum had a heart attack last week which really shocked us all. She has had a few health problems over the last 4 years, but this was really serious. I am grateful that she is still here with us, that she can still see the little man growing, laughing and learning every day. That she is still here to support me and to just be my Mum :)

Join in with Maxabella here

Have an awesome weekend xx

xx

Meet me Monday

So I thought that this week I'd take part in Meet me Monday. If you'd like to do the same then click here.

Basically you answer 5 questions about yourself then add the link so that others can learn about you :)

This weeks questions are

1.  Do you have a fireplace in your home?
2.  Can you drive a stick shift?
3.  How many computers are in your home?
4.  Are your taxes done yet?  Do you do them yourself?
5.  What is your favorite meal of the day?

My answers.....
1.  Do you have a fireplace in your home?
No I don't - although I did growing up and it was one of my favourite things to come and stand in front of the fire to warm up.  I still enjoy it when my parents have the open fire roaring but I don't think I could be bothered chopping all the wood to have one myself!

2.  Can you drive a stick shift?
A Manual - Yes I can. I made sure I did my driving lessons in a manual car - my first two cars were both manual, but after sitting in traffic on a daily basis and not moving from 2nd gear for almost an hour each way, I decided that when I bought my new car it would be an automatic (which I love) but funnily enough now that I have an automatic car I rarely sit in traffic :)

3.  How many computers are in your home?
I have 3 computers at home, our desktop - which isn't actually assembled anymore as it was too slow and old, so it sits in the garage in a box. Then B and I both have laptops which we use for work. Basically I have now hooked both of those up to our Internet and that way we can both be on the computer at the same time if need be.

4.  Are your taxes done yet?  Do you do them yourself?
Yes my taxes are done. I like to get my money back ASAP. But no I don't do them myself. I pay someone else to do it - I probably should try to do it myself but I never have.

5.  What is your favorite meal of the day?
My favourite meal of the day is Dinner. I think this is because it is generally when the little man has gone to bed for the night and B and I can actually sit down and relax together. And also because it is almost the only meal of the day that is actually prepared and eaten in full and uninterrupted!!!

xx

What makes me happy this week

Happy Moments

1. The long weekend - so many plans!
2. Kneeboarding with friends - I haven't been since before I was pregnant with the little man
3. Ebaying all my extra items around the house - decluttering at it's best.
4. Making baby food - for some reason I am finding this very gratifying
5. Seeing my little man lighting up lives of the people around him.
6. Photos! Photos! Photos! - going through the last month or so of pics - ready to print off @ Harvey Norman 9c :)
7. Sunshine! - it's about time we got some

What makes you happy?
xx

Gym Motivation

I have never been a regular gym go-er. I get inspired. I join. I go for about 3 weeks then spend the next 11 months of the contract sporadically attending just so as I don't feel like I'm throwing money down the drain.

Last January I had some of this motivation - I got my sister-in-law to join my gym, and I was attending daily, mainly because I was on my 6 week holidays from work and it was easier to find the time.

Then came February - back to work. I was adamant that I would still go after work each day. Week One I took my gym bag to work every day and managed to attend once. FAIL.

I was feeling soooooooooooooooo tired after work. I had a little boy with Aspergers Syndrome in my class and he was lashing out physically, so I felt as though I was using every bit of my energy on this child. I would literally come home from work so exhausted that I was asleep by 7pm.

Enter Pregnancy :) Yes we were actively trying to get pregnant but I honestly didn't think it would happen so fast, and genuinely didn't think this was the reason for my extreme exhaustion! I did a home test on the 11th Feb - and it was positive. I then has nausea on and off for the next few weeks, and my motivation for the gym pretty much disappeared.

I think that I had a pretty easy pregnancy really, particularly when I read or speak to others about their experiences. So what I'm saying is there was really no physical reason for me to not attend the gym. I simply chose not to....

So here we are almost 12 months later and I'm trying to find that spark to get back to being motivated. I have been going to the gym for the past 3 weeks. I generally go every day after I put bubs to bed of a night - Just doing an hour of cardio to get some sort of fitness level back. I also got my husband to buy me a Wii for Christmas so I can use Wii Fit (I can count on one hand how many times this has happened).
As for results - Well I don't really expect to see many seen as I am eating like a pig :) I love food! but at least I have more energy!

So my questions to you are - How do you maintain motivation? do you have some yummy recipes that won't pack on the kilos? Do you have an eating plan that works for you?

xx