I said "I do", now mommy of two…

Ah-MAZING pumpkin pie!

Published on November 1, 2011 in Uncategorized. View Comments

Ah-MAZING pumpkin pie! And it’s easy, too!

Last Friday during naptime I was flipping through a new magazine I had picked up at the grocery store and I came across a short and sweet recipe for pumpkin pie. I’ve never really been a fan of this type of pie, but my husband loves it and I love him so I thought it would be a nice “happy weekend” surprise for him. I went through the pantry really quickly before waking the kids up and found that I was only missing two ingredients (ground ginger and crunchy granola bars, if you care for the specifics). After a diaper change for the littles and a quick snack we ran back to the store for my missing pieces and came home to pumpkin pie central. Here is the recipe I used (thanks, Rachel Ray!!!). After I made my husband tell me if it was dee-licious I tried it, too, and most definitely agreed with him! Double score! We deemed it worthy of our Thanksgiving Day feast, so I’m totally pumped to share it with you and let you see for yourself.

Granola-Crusted Pumpkin Pie

Serves 10 Prep 35 minutes Bake 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 box (8.9 ounces) crunchy granola bars, broken into chunks

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3 eggs, lightly beaten, plus 1 egg white

1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan. Using a food processor, grind the granola bars with 2 teaspoons brown sugar. Add the butter and egg white and pulse until the crumbs are moistened. Pat the mixture evenly onto the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan. Bake until the edge is crisp and lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.

*side note: I do not have a food processor, so I used our blender to grind the crumbs and make the pie crust. It worked just fine!*

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar, the pumpkin puree, eggs, cream, maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Pour into piecrust. Bake until the pie center is almost set, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Yum yum, y’all! Enjoy!

Our pie station

the crust after baking

and VOILA!

Breastfeeding! The saga of the tatas: Part II

Published on October 25, 2011 in Uncategorized. View Comments

Well, folks, it’s official. We are weaning my littlest little man. By we, I mean me, but my husband has been so supportive and encouraging in this particular decision I feel like he deserves a ton of credit for being so awesome and letting me “handle” the primary source of nutrition for both our kids for so long….sitting out on most of their feedings when they were little because neither one wanted a bottle, missing out on the bedtime rocking because he wasn’t the one with the boobs…He has been awesome about it, and I feel like we were true partners on this one.

It has been a natural progression for Zeb and I, nothing rushed or abrupt. After I got home from my Bahamas trip, I asked my husband to keep putting him to bed at night since he’d been going to sleep without nursing for several evenings. And after two mornings of nursing, I kinda just wanted to see if we could go without…and so we did. The “ladies” definitely got a little full, but not overly engorged. And it’s been a week and a half and all is going great! I’m a little sad because this may or may not be our last kiddo, but I’m thrilled that we could provide this for our boys and over the moon that we could do it for so long! It’s a sweet and gentle end to a tender bond. I’m one happy mama. Bonus – I get to go bra shopping in a few months for bras that don’t pop open in the front! Whooo!

Bahama Mama

Published on October 17, 2011 in Uncategorized. View Comments

Bahama Mama!

I spent a lovely long weekend in Nassau celebrating a childhood friend’s tropical wedding. Her groom is from Nassau so different events were hosted at various family member’s homes and the ceremony and reception were at a swanky/hostorical country club (can I use both those words together??) My hotel was beautiful, I met lots of the happy couple’s friends and had some buddies to hang out with all weekend, which was great – I probably would not have gone exploring on my own). I tried conch fritters, hiked all over the island, read an ENTIRE book in one sitting (poolside under an umbrella, of course!) and danced Bahamian-style with Bahamian natives! Here is a sampling of my “holiday” ~

view from my balcony (niiiiice, huh?)

orchid growing out of a tree

rehearsal dinner

canon in old fort bay club

wedding cake

the bride’s shoes & bouquet

the bride & moi!

cool mural

I love the colors there!

The Queen’s Staircase

the cloister

at the cloister (photo by phong lang)

cabbage beach near sunset

paradise beach

my mosaic matching tushie (photo by phong lang)

Pumpkin time!!!

Published on October 4, 2011 in Uncategorized. View Comments

Pumpkin Time!

This past weekend marked the beginning of my FAVORITE MONTH EV-ARRRRR! Yes, I love October. I love it so much, I’d be a polygamist for it and marry it, too. I adore fall and all it brings with it ~ the cooler temperatures, the stunning tree colors, the crispness in the air, the Dixie classic Fair, the pumpkin everything (coffee, cake, bread, patches), Halloween (I still dress up, thankyouverymuch). I just adore it. It is the transition period … the nice wind down after a hoppin’ (blistering HOT) summer just before all of the late fall and early winter activities and holidays pick up. Perfection in my book! The past few days here have been in the 60’s with lows in the 40’s at night. I repeat – I. Am. In. Love!

We went to our favorite pumpkin patch tonight with the little ones to pick out the seasonal outdoor home decorations and take the precious and treasured pumpkin pictures. This is the same church pumpkin patch that I went to as a child, so it has really personal meaning for me, and I am tickled that I take my kids there now, too. Here are a few of my favorites from earlier tonight.

Happy Happy Fall, y’all!

Fluffy to Fabulous! A work in progress.

Published on September 27, 2011 in Beauty and Events. View Comments

Fluffy to Fabulous! A work in progress.

Well, I have debated for months about doing this post. Partly because it’s a bit personal, partly because I didn’t want to publish what I am doing, and partly because it’s just embarrassing (how did I let myself do this to…myself?).

“Um, hello, Jenny Craig? My name is Dot…(slight pause)…and I’m fat.”

Yep, I’m pretty sure that’s how that phone call began the last week of May, 2011. Several things have led me to the point of calling Jenny, and I’ll give you the brief rundown. I’ve always been the “bigger” girl, not necessarily fat, but curvy for real with soft hips, thighs and killer ta-tas. I stabilized at a near perfect size 14 at the end of high school, and relished the attention from men in college. I enjoyed my body the way it was and did little to no dieting and/or exercise. I know, bad BAD Dot. My first real attempt at losing some serious weight was right after college graduation. I signed up for a year with LA Weight Loss. It may be great for some, but after a few months it was just not the program for me. Having to go to the center three times a week for weigh-ins and discussions about your salad lettuce varieties and bowel movements…no thanks. Trying to get over there three times a week was inconvenient enough! I had two gigs with Weight Watchers, one before I got married and one right after. I did like the program and I lost about 20 pounds each time. It was easy to count the points and track my food and stuff, but the other women who attended the meeting time I chose to go to were super irritating. I was the youngest by far, and these old and older ladies just sat there and yapped on and on and on…it’s a 30 minute meeting ladies! Just spit it out and move on! I’m all for encouragement and inspiration, but I do not care to hear your life story in EVERY meeting. So…I stopped going. Twice.

Now fast forward almost 7 years and two kids later. I have not only accumulated “happy marriage weight”, but I also have leftover baby weight (and I wasn’t exactly tiny before I got preggers) and some emotional-eating related weight due to my dad’s unexpected illness and ultimate passing when my first son was 8 months old ~ he was 56. And this past May when my second son was 8 months old, my mother-in-law suddenly passed away due to diabetic complications ~ she was only 51. This is some heartbreaking and scary stuff! I had that “A-ha” moment that Oprah talks about so frequently, and knew that if I could avoid all the potential health hazards that come from just being overweight, that I had to jump on that pronto. No time to waste. I want to be around for all three of my men, and I want to see my grandchildren grow up. I have to make some changes. NOW.

Having tried the diets that ask you to check in at meetings and allow you to feed yourself has not worked for me, so I seriously researched Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem. I needed something that provided the prepared food for me while I learned portion control. Jenny won overall because I liked the client reviews more and the food options were more up my alley. I called Jenny the last few days of May, set up an account and had my first food delivery on June first. No meetings or centers to go to, I weight in once a week at home, and I have one consultant who calls me once a week during nap time. I sifted through the entire menu the first month or so, and now only get the things I really really like, while still feeling like I have enough variety.

Now, here comes the part where I hold my breath, cringe a little and tell you my stats. I’m making significant progress and am seriously committed to this change in my life, so here we go:

June 1st, starting weight ~ 246.8 (OMG – I know)

Today, September 27th ~ 201.0

Current total: 45.8 pounds GONE. Y’all – that is more than my almost-three year old!

I feel better, I sleep better, I am learning the right things to eat and how much of them. The feelings of deprivation have changed dramatically…it’s easier (note: easier not easy) to turn down treats and temptations (sweet tea especially, large amounts of pasta and bread and ice cream). I still get Starbucks once in a while, but my grande Cinnamon Dolce frapp. has turned into a tall Cinnamon Dolce frapp. with skim milk and no whipped cream (hey – it still tastes good!!)

And another awesome thing entirely unto itself – my clothes don’t fit! I bought two pairs of cheapy jeans at Target for transitional purposes (my pants were bagging off my ass and I could pull them up and down without unzipping them), and smart girl here INSTEAD of buying a boatload of fall and winter clothes and upsetting my hubby with the Visa bill, I bought two wide belts – one woven brown leather and one black stretch with silver accents – to belt all my too-large shirts and sweaters and get through the winter.

My goal is to be the foxiest version of myself, and to have all my weight lost by next summer. I’ve lost 45 pounds, and have about 50 pounds to go (seems extreme, but think here ~ I’m only 5′5″ – 150 pounds is right for that height). I want to be healthy and active for my little boys and a goddess for my husband (he’s always made me feel like I am, but I want to feel it, too). Is it weird to want my sons’ friends to think their mom is a fox??? I mean, later on in high school and college…not in kindergarten. And NOT that I intend to do anything like Stiffler’s Mom! Just saying.

Here are some of the “before” pictures I am sending to my JC consultant. I need to get on a fitted shirt and my transition jeans and get Matt to take a picture for me. You can make your dreams happen. You can reach your goals. But you gotta get off your tush and DO something about it. It won’t happen all by itself, and as many times as I wished for a bag of Tinkerbell’s pixie dust, to the best of my knowledge, it doesn’t exist.

Be prepared – I don’t want your retinas to burn!

For comparison, that’s my sister on the left. She’s a smidge taller and has always been very svelte.

Watch out – rear view! This is just a week after I started JC.

With my son, in September 2010 (about 6 weeks after son #2 was born)

Current pictures will be added soon, I promise! Just wanted to share the news and major transition I am making. Hell, hopefully you guys will be like my fabulous Jenny consultant and keep me accountable! (Now tell me to start doing cardio ASAP).

OK – it’s not perfect – I’ll get a good one up soon, but this was a few weeks ago on a Sunday outing with my boys.

November 1, 2011 UPDATE:

53 pounds total! Whooo!

Here is a recent one (November 2011)

58.6 pounds lost (December 2, 2011)

Breastfeeding! The saga of the tatas.

Published on September 19, 2011 in Uncategorized. View Comments

Breastfeeding! The saga of the tatas.

*Note: this post talks about breastfeeding, pumps and other assorted boob-related things. If you’re sensitive to that stuff – don’t read anymore!*

The summer has wonderful and full for our family. Birthdays, travel adventures, pool time and watching my two little boys learn together and grow some more. I am still rather astounded on a regular basis how quickly my little ones have gone from squishy, portable blobs of cuddly, drooly goodness into mobile, vocal, opinionated, funny little people!

I am looking forward to a cherished friend’s wedding in a few weeks, and am starting to make preparations for the trip as it involves plane travel out of the country (not too far out of the country, it’s in the Bahamas, but still). If you remember my posts from May about our European extravaganza, it was at that time the the hubbs used all of his vacation days for this year. I was given the “A-Ok” to attend this fall event without him, but with our youngest son. I am proud to say we are still nursing and I figured all along that I’d be taking little man with me so I wouldn’t have to speed up the weaning process and rush the rest of our breastfeeding experience. However, the closer the trip gets the more nervous I have become about traveling on my own with a small toddler. I know he’s a good traveler, and I know we’d be fine once we got there and just do what we need to do to accommodate his needs as well as mine. I was also prepared for the “mood” of the weekend for me if I had a baby with me. I’d have afternoon naptimes, bedtimes, and other baby-related restrictions for the duration and would be at Zeb’s mercy in certain ways. Not being able to cut out the nursing cold turkey (and not wanting to for that matter), my mom and husband have gradually talked me into leaving my munchkin at home and taking along my trusty breast pump! It had completely slipped my mind because this particular kiddo has never wanted a bottle. Like, never ever. So what milk I did pump in the first few months of his life sat in the freezer unused until I deemed it time to toss after the 6 month mark of being in the freezer. Liquid gold! Down the drain! ~sigh~

So, I dug out my Medela pump last night and sterilized the parts again so I can start pumping now to build up a little reserve for him while I am gone. It might be in a sippy cup, but it’ll be mommy’s milk and I doubt he’ll forget how to nurse in 4 days time. I can pump while I’m away to keep the milk production active and see how it goes when I get home. I feel like we’re about ready to wean soon anyway, we’re down to just three feedings a day, and Zeb is 13 months old. We wrapped it up at 15 months with Evan, so I was aiming for this general time frame. My bosoms have been either giant, squishy preggo boobies or giant, portable, milk-makers (or for a span of about 3 months they were BOTH at the same time!) for 4 years now. Mama needs her boobs back to herself for a while! Let’s see how deflated they get and see what my new bra size is.

My bosoms have been a steady DD since high school. Pregnancy #1 upped them to a DDD. Nursing baby #1 I was buying G-cups (Good Golly!!!), then back to DDD for pregnancy #2 and now back to G for nursing. The ladies are gonna be a DD-extra long, I’m afraid. I’m gonna have to roll them up and tuck them in my pockets. But the money I saved on not using formula for two kids, I can spend on pretty push-up bras! HA!

ANYWAY, so I now feel better about leaving him at home while I’m away knowing he will have some of his mommy juice available and that I won’t run dry. And is it bad that I’m just a smidge excited that I’m going by myself? I have a Thursday-Monday mini-vacation in the Bahamas all to myself! It’s weird! It’s crazy! I’ll be part of all the wedding festivities and events, I can stay out later in the evenings, catch up on a book (or two?!) and just….relax! I feel selfish being giddy about it, but I think any mother would, especially when the kids are this little.

My mom is amazing and wonderful for taking over kiddo care while hubbs is at work, and I hope a few days of boy bonding will be a pleasant and uneventful experience for all three of my men.

So…cheers to a mama vacation and some mental rejuvenation! I’ll post again about the wedding – on the beach right before sunset??? Yes, please!

This will be me in a few weeks =)

Zebedee’s First Birthday!

Published on August 13, 2011 in Uncategorized. View Comments

Zebedee’s First Birthday!

Last summer, after being almost a week late, Zeb chose August 13th as his day and made a rather expeditious entrance into the world. No time for mama to get the good drugs, he just burst forth to an audience of one doctor, one nurse and his stunned parents. Poor kiddo’s incubator hadn’t even been turned on yet! By the time we got to the hospital, we were there less than 45 minutes before his birth and no one was prepared! Whew boy!

We are celebrating with a Pirate pool party this evening (crossing my fingers that the storms continue to avoid us). Happy Birthday to my Littlest Love!

New Kids & Backstreet Boys Concert!

Published on July 26, 2011 in Uncategorized. View Comments

New Kids & Backstreet Boys Concert!

Yes, folks. Being born in 1980 puts me at the prime age to have been a New Kids on the Block fan. In both 4th and 5th grade, thankyouverymuch. My parents got me concert tickets for my 10th birthday present, and my dad braved the crowd with both me and my brother and my friend, Amelia ~ it was August of 1990, and oh what a night!

I got to re-live my childhood boy band crushes this past Saturday night with three of my girlfriends as we attended the “NKOTBSB” concert. My hubbs let me splurge and buy floor seats for the four of us and it was like a group 30th birthday present (shhhhh!!!! I stopped aging at 26, so keep this info hush hush!) We bravely faced the ungodly amounts of estrogen, stood at the t-shirt table for almost half an hour (3 peeps working the booth and a mass of people with no sort of line formation made it take FOREVER). And we unintentionally missed most of the opener for the opener (17 year old boys running around in tight pants with faux-hawks…no thanks…I’ll take a New Kid in a tank with big muscles, though!) And once the show started we were on our feet for the whole three hours and it was amazing! And fun. I have been to concerts of all types, and I don’t remember ever leaving one and describing it as just plain fun! The guys performing were all in top shape, they still had the moves, the old-school songs were cool to hear again live and funny to me because the lyrics contain some major cheese (eg: “Please don’t go girrrrrrlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll, it would ruin my whoooooolllle worlllllllllllllllld…..”) And of course we were treated to the faves, Hangin Tough and Right Stuff. Yeah, baby, it was awesome. I screamed, hooted and hollered with my girlies. We were crimped, crinkled, bedecked with bright shadow and glittered out the wazoo and it was just FUN. We swayed during the slow ballads, large drool puddles accumulated on the floor below us and we had to mill around the tour t-shirt kiosk to get our shirts and slap bracelets (you heard me… CLICK CLICK …SLAP!!)

Here are a few pictures of our amazing evening for your enjoyment.

Munchkin Update =)

Published on July 13, 2011 in Uncategorized. View Comments

Munchkin Update

Evan is two and a half, and Zeb – the “baby” – is 11 months old today! I am delighted to be planning Zeb’s first birthday party and the special occasion of his baptism for the same weekend next month. And Evan’s third birthday is zooming towards us quick, too. I am stunned by him at least once a day…his language and conversational skills, the way he interacts with and talks to his brother (soothing him, bringing him a toy, explaining something that is happening), his height, his humor. He loves Toy Story (all three) and Cars, and is an awesome little helper around the house when it comes to putting things in the trash can or recycling bin, or changing laundry over. He’s a really cool kid to get to hang out with.

Evan and his twin cousins also began their first of three weeks of preschool summer camp, Camp Funshine this past Monday. We’ll call Evan a “seasoned pro” regarding preschool. We enrolled him when he was 15 months old – just two days a week to provide him a social outlet with peers (and give mama some free time) and the boy loved it! His development from January through June 2010 was noticeable and remarkable. He just completed another full school year and was old enough to partake in the summer activities so I talked my sweet sis-in-law into signing her little men up, too. They’ll be in the same class at this preschool with Evan in the fall anyway, and we thought this would be a great introduction for them to the school, the teachers and the children as this is their first regular activity without their mama, daddy or Mimi. It’s been a great week so far. Three days in and all systems are GO! Evan comes home in his change of clothes because his first set is soaking wet from all the water table fun, he’s in need of a bath to clean off the sweat and sunscreen, and he’s been ready for a nap early (this never ever happens). He talks about the animals they learned about, the boats, the toys in the classroom.

I think the kiddo is having a great time. And…is it wrong of me to say…so am I! I hired my precious sister to watch Zeb for me during the summer camp hours so I can have some time. I spent one morning cutting up and running around with my sis-in-law, yesterday I started three paintings (haven’t had a date with my paintbrush in ages) and puttered in the basement, today I had my hair did and painted…I’ve planned out my mornings to best utilize my sister’s time with the little one and my time ALONE, and it has been a really wonderful break. My sister swears that her mornings with Zeb have been more than pleasant, too. Playing in the shower, laughing, reading, napping (hm…doesn’t sound too bad, does it??)

Zeb is developing on a different timeline than Evan did, but nothing is too off. He’s working so so so so hard to crawl and he suddenly mastered the roll over/sit up maneuver so I can’t leave him on the bed for 30 seconds while I go pee anymore. It won’t be too much longer before we’re lowering his crib mattress! And I can’t wait to turn him around in the car seat in a few weeks. He is saying uh-oh, mama, dada, bye-bye. He waves and can make kissing/lip smacking noises. He scrunches his nose when he laughs hard (like I do), and he has four little chompers now. Numbers three and four took forever to come in!

I’ll try to start doing these Munchkin Updates with a bit more frequency. Shoot…I hope to try and start blogging with a bit more frequency, but the littles come first and my “free time” on the computer is limited right now.

Happy July folks! Make someone smile today, it doesn’t cost anything!

European Adventure: Part III – London

Published on July 8, 2011 in Uncategorized. View Comments

European Adventure: Part III

London

The last part of our voyage took us on another train ride under the English Channel to London. We were surely glad to hear proper English, and the accents were a delight! Our hotel this time was directly across from Kensington Park, home of Kensington Palace, a gorgeous recreational area and Princess Diana’s Memorial Playground. Our rooms again were lovely, and Evan was lucky enough to be roommates with “Ting” in her soft grey suede digs. Mom, the baby & I made a rushed trip to Harrod’s our first afternoon there while the hubby and big boy napped. Running though at nearly top speed, we only managed to drool in two very small sections of two floors (there are 6 floors I believe and the store spans an entire city block….ohhhhh emmmmm geeeeee!!!!) Our purchases were modest, a mere dozen of the loveliest cupcakes EVER and we were out the door again to reunite with the sleepyheads.

President Obama’s arrival happened to fall on the day after ours. His presence in the city, which was very close to our location and most of our scheduled itenerary, had us making last minute changes but ended up allowing us to see a few things not on the initial list for this trip that we may not have ever seen. We visited gorgeous Hampton Court, the summer home of King Henry VIII (and all of his wives). It was fascinating because he built a Tudor style palace and someone after him (I cannot remember who at the moment) added on, building an entirely separate Baroque style palace and joining them in one corner. The courtyard between was pretty, but the seemingly endless acres of sculpted English gardens all around were astounding! We got a reader’s digest version of a history lesson while strolling through the open portions of the palaces and lands, and Evan led us through a hedge maze with only one dead end (our guide told us there were 7 dead ends total, so we were impressed with our kiddos natural instincts!)

We eagerly partook in the fish & chips tradition, we saw the priceless crown jewels at the Tower, went on the London Eye (much cooler than we thought it was going to be), witnessed a flash mob of dancing roller-bladers near Piccadilly Square, wandered through Westminster Abbey – I loved seeing all of the tombs there…Charles Darwin & Geoffrey Chaucer & Isaac Newton got me in a tizzy. Really, that doesn’t even begin to cover the monumental amount of history there ~ kings going back hundreds and hundreds of years…we just don’t have that kind of lineage here, it is truly engaging.

All in all it was a dream trip. Our little boys were better travelers than I ever could have hoped for, I loved experiencing Europe with my mom and my husband, and I’m so excited that the doors of the world have been opened for my children! This will not be our last adventure abroad – just the last one for a little while Maybe we’ll tackle Disney World next. Who knows?

We’re at Hampton Court ~ Where’s Evan?