Trudie Davies Designs: April 2011 Giveaway

I have a little weakness for handmade jewelry. Trudie Davies Designs has some really beautiful pieces. And since this month is her birthday, she's giving away a gorgeous stacking ring set! Go and enter it now!

Trudie Davies Designs: April 2011 Giveaway: "Well It is my birthday this month and I have not done a giveaway on my blog for a while - so here it is April 2011's giveaway: I reckon it..."

Good Reads: GMOs, Medela and Bravado

Why You Need to Take the GMO Threat Personally- Not Academically
Eco-Farming Crops Yield More than GMOs...
I pretty much eat, sleep and breathe GMO information.

Medela Pumps Light Breasts on Fire, FDA is Mad
My opinion of the FDA and it's effectiveness aside, the more I learn about Medela the more frustrated I become. This was the first thing I read about the pumps loosing their suction- which is exactly what happened to mine. I thought it was something I did wrong. Next time we're in the market for a pump definitely going Ameda!

Bravado Sells Out for the Big Bucks
Sigh.

Wordless Wednesday- Sleeping Puppets

Modest, Sleeping Puppets

This is how my almost 4 yr old put her Prince and Princess puppets to sleep the other day. Can't remember if I'd posted on our first boyfriend experience. But that's where this came from! Her little crush spent the day with us a couple of Fridays ago and they were in heaven playing The Prince Rescues the Princess! Cape, dress and all. It was hilarious. She even asked me if they could kiss. Which I was definitely not ready for(at least she asked??). Mom's quick thinking said hugging is better. *wink* Ah, young love!

So much for Wordless Wednesday... haha.

Baked Falafel recipe

My friend Heather told me about her Baked Falafel recipe post when I was looking for a new version to try. So we put it to the test a couple of weeks ago. It was really delicious and so easy! Stuff a couple in a pita pocket with whatever extras you enjoy and you've got a healthy meal. My kids all did great with them, too.

Check out her post: Baked Falafel for the recipe.

And I used this Cucumber-Yogurt Dressing recipe to go with. Yum!

Of course now I'm having a bad case of Mommy Brain, but I really don't think I strayed too far from the original recipes. Might have added a lightly beaten egg white or two to help it all stick together! Man, now I'm hungry after looking at these pictures. Yum yum!

Diaper, Diaper, Who's Got the Diaper?

Did you ever play that game as a kid? Button, button, who's got the button? That was one of my favorites! Of course now I look back and think, really, not exactly an exciting game to play with just two or three people. But still! Loved it. Along with Skinamarinky Dinky Dink and Heads Down, Thumbs Up!

This evening, however, I pay homage to another love- my cloth diapers. Three in particular. 

Green Acre Designs pocket. Bought used for 6.50. In rotation for 1 year.

Green Acre Designs pocket #2. Bought used for 6.50. In rotation for 1 year.

Patchwork Pixie fitted. Bought used for 10.00. In rotation for my daughter and son!

While I'm not sure an approximate number of use for the Patchwork Pixie fitted, I can estimate the GAD pockets to have been somewhere around 200 times each. They weren't pretty when I got them! But they sure paid for themselves and then some(5 times over, to be exact). With a simple prefold insert, these puppies were an awesome workhorse diaper. It was painful but I finally sent the GADs on to the Great Cloth Diaper Heaven in the sky. The PWP I can't let go of, yet- rather silly but sentimental in that it was used on both of my babies.

Just had to share! We usually only see pictures of super cute, super new diapers. This is what those diapers look like when they've been loved, loved and loved some more. There's no shame in holey dipes! Only love, respect and gratitude. Wear 'em out, mamas!

Menu... Almost Monday!

Well, technically it's publishing on Monday but I know most of ya'll won't see it until Tuesday! Generally I get it put together on Sunday evening, however with a trip to my grandpa's far this weekend that didn't happen. Pulled today off by the skin of my teeth and have some good things in store for the rest of the week.

Monday
Breakfast: Oatmeal, raisins and banana
Lunch: Hamburgers with veggies in them, whole wheat rolls, carrots and apples
Dinner: Leftover. Thank goodness for leftovers!

Tuesday
Breakfast: Eggs, toast, banana, cheese
Lunch: Shrimp and Asparagus pasta, applesauce
Dinner: Kale and sausage soup, rolls, apples or grapes

Wednesday
Breakfast: Pancakes, berries
Lunch: Brazilian bean soup, oranges, rolls
Dinner: My Dad's/Papa's!

Thursday
Breakfast: Eggs, toast, banana, cheese
Lunch: PBJ, crudites, apples or grapes
Dinner: Cheater's skillet meal. Oh yes. I'm totally cheating with a frozen entree.

Friday
Breakfast: Pancakes, berries
Lunch: Squash soup, bacon, rolls, apples or grapes
Dinner: Grill night! Steaks, fries and whatever fruit is left

Truly this week should be a fairly cheap one, which is great. And I've given up on the whole Wednesday shopping switch for a while. It'd probably be easier if I made the week's menu on say, Tuesday, then shopped on Wednesday. But my brain isn't capable of that switch at the moment! Something feels so unorganized about it, and Stacy needs to grasp whatever straws of organization she can manage!

Happy eating!

Hey there, Hot Stuff!

I have to share a little personal celebration- although this is a bit of a lame post as it lacks pictures. But no matter! I'm doing a little happy dance because...

... I'm seeing a number on the scale I haven't seen in 10 years. Ok, 11+ years! I'm in a size that I've never worn!(Though this may be in part because I swear they have sized up everything. Still going to celebrate!)

And I'm not even sure how it happened. Yeah, I know way back New Years-ish I posted this schmancy 8 week Transition Diet from Beachbody we were going to work on. Totally honest with you- pretty much never got past the first couple weeks. (And never got back to working out like I wanted, either.) Yet, the pounds kept coming off!

So what is my secret? Was it some magic pill, potion or cleanse? Well again, I'm not entirely sure but I can tell you the couple changes I made and adhered to the past few months:

1. No soda. None.
2. Lots of water.
3. Reduced milk/dairy intake.

That's it. I'm now 10lbs under what I was when I got pregnant with my 4 year old. And I was in pretty good shape even then!

This is not to say that I don't believe in regular exercise- that's very important and we're working on incorporating that more into our daily life. But I do hope this might be motivational to someone out there not sure where to start. We didn't even drink that much soda to begin with, so if you're a big soda drinker you may see better results than I have!

So there you go! My newly discovered weight-loss secrets! Grab that reusable water bottle and fill 'er up with filtered tap water. Really technical, eh? Happy drinking!