the Health Conscious Mother

I felt guilty about eating Kraft macaroni and cheese. So being the health focused (or lazy, you choose) mother that I am, I added chopped raw spinach. Get out your recipe cards!

Recently

Obviously, these pictures were not taken today, today was too cold, windy and wet, but about two to three weeks ago. Since then Charlotte has started walking. I purposefully took these of her outside because a) for once she didn't have food in her hair b) I have only half the pictures of her that I have of Joe, and she is growing soooo fast. She is sweet, loving, affectionate, assertive, sassy, innocently ornery and loves her mom, dad and big brother.

70% of the time it is entertaining to watch them play together. Really, Joseph plays in an organized manner and Charlotte mimics and plays around Joseph. Surprisingly, the majority of the time Joseph takes the initiative and includes her in his play and/or narrates for her, explaining what he is doing. Oh yeah, the other 30% of playtime, he is taking away whatever toy she is playing with, and she starts squawking and raising a raucous.

Pumpkin Eater

In the midst of my pumpkin cooking frenzy this morning, Joseph calls me outside to look at the leaf he found in the yard. I just thought this picture was funny.
The real reason I am posting is because I want to share my new favorite cooking or baking blog. Has anyone visited Joy the Baker?

I have always thought Kettle Korn was a big mystery and could only be eaten at carnivals, ball games and the City Market. Well, not any more my friends. Joy has shown me the way to homemade Kettle Korn and it is tried and true.

These here heavenly pumpkin spice pancakes are to die for. I finally made them this morning, and I was not disappointed. I even made two batches, which I usually do not do.

I don't know if she goes into homemade whip cream. Probably somewhere on her site, but I haven't found it. But just a quick tutorial for those of you who have never made it and want to give it a go.

Homemade whipping cream

1cup of heavy whipping cream

1-3tablespoons of white sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)

Beat on a high speed with a whisking attachment for about 5 minutes, until stiff peaks start to form. Now, you can spice up your cream, add some vanilla extract, or I have used cinnamon, and I have used pupmkin pie spice. David really liked the pumpkin spice cream, but lately I have just opted for 1 tablespoon of sugar - just enough to lightly sweeten.

So check out Joy's blog. I think she'll have lots of holiday inspiration.

No Half Assin'

My goal over the last 3 1/2 months has come and gone. It was so much better than I prepared myself for. When I say better, I mean I ran better than I thought I could, the pain wasn't quite as bad as I thought, and it was just plain fun. I smiled miles 0-12, but after mile 12 there was no smiling. How can you slow down in the last mile? My official time was 2:19:34, but I promise you, that I waited in the mile 4 port-a-potty line for at least 7 minutes. Anyway, in my previous post I stated that this would be my last half marathon - scratch that. I love hearing the national anthem. I want to thank my Mom for letting me borrow her running pants, and Josie for letting me borrow her pink dry fit shirt and ear warmer. The pink and black made me feel sassy.

Fussing with my ipod. I attach it to my sports bra and tuck the wires so that they don't pull.

I was running.

David said the sweetest thing, after I saw my average mile time, I was briefly disappointed, he told me, "well, I thought you looked fast" in a very convincing manner.

Skip to after the finish. At this point, I remembering thinking, I can't believe I just ran 13.1 miles.

My Mom and sisters met me at several different points along the course to cheer me on, and my Mom ran with me several times. It was such a motivator. My sisters can be so loud.

David was awesome, he met me at several different spots too. It was kind of weird, because I would just be running along, and every time I saw him, he was just right there. He always seemed to put himself in a good place.

My medal. I wore it most of the day. It felt so good to set a goal and finish. You know, other than human reproduction!


Next up PsychoWyco!

Squeaky Knees and Squeaky Shoes

Still no pictures. David is holding the camera hostage. So, just ramblings. In two days, a little over 48 hours I will be in the midsts of running my first and last half-marathon. I am not sure my knees will be up for any more 13 mile challenges after this one. In fact, I conferenced with my knees tonight in a hot bath, and while they are not sore at this very moment, they are petrified of feeling petrified in the middle of the race. All joking and knee jerking aside, while I am nervous about knee pain during the race (it's more like a run for me, rather than a race), it feels so good to have set a goal over 3 months ago, busted my butt running and exercising, and to be on the verge of completion. Other than reproducing and carrying babies, it has been a long time since I have followed through with anything. And well, the babies, I really couldn't just quit in the middle.

Speaking of babies, my little Charlotte is walking. And, walking a lot. She loves it. She especially loves to wear her squeaky shoes. Josie, she fussed and cried at me tonight when I took them off. Hee-larious!

So, I am excited, just a wee bit scared. But hopefully my Friday night dinner/carb load at Garozzo's along with a glass or two or three of red wine will numb my wits and relax me. Here's to hoping.

Blah, Blah, Blah

I am sure I have used this title before - for a post where I make tons of excuses for not posting. I am holding up my left hand in the shape of an L right now. Between working extra, I worked a sixty hour week two weeks ago, training for my half-marathon (which has slackened), making time for family, trying to clean (sort-of), and trying to go to bed earlier no matter what the house looks like, preschool activities, and carting the kids around town so that I can work more, blogging has fallen by the wayside. But yesterday I baked something and took pictures, so that I could share it with fellow pumpkin eaters. And today I took some pics of the kids playing outside, because they were just too cute playing side by side. So please bare with my unorganized soul and do not abandon the Dotte, for I will post something decent soon.