Dinner, Tara Feis, & Our Life {and a recipe!}

This was a fun weekend for us - well at least I had fun! It started with dinner on Friday night with two of my close friends Cindy and Melissa. {I also had lunch with 3 other fabulous ladies on Wednesday - one day I will get a picture of us at lunch!} I have loved reconnecting with all of these ladies that I have been friends with for decades. It really makes my heart so happy. This weekend was St. Patrick's Day weekend so we steered clear of the downtown restaurants. There always seems to be so much to chat about. The conversations have definitely changed over the years!

Saturday the kids and I headed downtown to Tara Feis. Heidi and Harrison both had such a wonderful time! There were so many fun things to do - bands, dancers, bounce house stuff, so much! While I out ran into several friends and their families - including Melissa who told me about it :)

Watching the puppet show

Irish dancers

Harrison really wants that pretzel, but Heidi is not budging.

Don't worry, he got some :)

Watching the dancers

Doing her own dance

Snow cone

Getting a butterfly painted on her face

I have been doing such a great job on the non-sugar way of life. There might have been a little slip-up when I had to either slurp down some of a grape snow cone or wear the purple mess. John was a little, ahem, inconsiderate the other day. My mom made one of my favorite desserts. Now that I think about it, that was a little rude too. Anyway, the dessert was for my parents' small group. Afterwards the leftovers were brought home. Someone decided to eat some of the cake. In front of me. He would not let me get a picture of how much he got, I chased him around with the camera.

I do want to share the recipe with you all though! It is a Lemon-Lime Refrigerator Sheet Cake. DELICIOUS! You must keep it in the fridge and you must eat it COLD.

CAKE
1 package lime jello {4 serving size}
1 package lemon supreme cake mix

TOPPING
1 envelope whipped topping mix {2 & 1/2 cups}
1 package lemon instant pudding mix {4 serving size}
1 & 1/2 cup cold milk

Dissolve jello in 3/4 cup boiling water, add 1/2 cup cold water; set aside at room temperature. Mix and bake cake in 13x9x2 pan. Cool 20-25 minutes. Poke deep holes through top of warm cake {still in pan} with toothpick; space holes about 1 inch apart. Slowly pour jello into holes. Refrigerate cake while preparing topping.
In chilled deep bowl blend and whip topping mix, instant pudding and cold milk until stiff {3-8 minutes}. Immediately frost cake. Cake must be stored in refrigerator and served chilled. Cake may be frozen.

New Recipe!

Another day and another notch on the sugar free train. For those that have gone out to eat with me {or eaten with me in general} know that I am a super finicky eater. Plain Jane is how I can describe my eating style. If I order something it is normally some sort chicken, cheese, and bread. Dessert is always included and vegetables are a foreign concept. Fruit is sometimes on the meal plan, but only apples, bananas, or grapes.

John has the opposite palate in eating. He will eat just about everything. Luckily Heidi will eat anything too so it is not hard to get her to eat healthy foods.

Lately I have totally been expanding in the world of vegetables and fruits. In Asheville during our girls weekend I ate broccoli and roasted brussel sprouts and they were delicious. I have added both of those to our menu and hopefully they will become a staple. Potatoes are a food I could live without - unless it is a chip or fry. Well, I started slow by with eating them when fixed with a roast. I will eat a potato if it does not taste like a potato. Strange? Yes, I know. I did find a great recipe tonight that involves a potato that was delicious!

Loaded chicken and baked potato - recipe here

Today was a breakthrough in the fruits. After the tennis match today I had strawberries and kiwi - yep! Add those to my list of fruits that I will now eat. I am so excited to be adding these healthy items to my list of foods I will eat. There are times when I feel my foods are so limited and that is the reason I go towards the sweets and junk. It is safer for my palate to eat sweets because tasting something that is horrible is one of the worst things ever.

And now a few pictures :)

This is how I do most of my cooking - by recipes on Pinterest and using my iPad. I do love using my recipe books and old family recipes though, especially during the holidays. Lately we have had a ton of new meals though thanks to Pinterest! Follow me here!

This is how Harrison stays occupied while I cook - sometimes!

Apparently this little guy is not allowed to be in the "jungle" as Heidi explained to me, so she had to take it away from Harrison.

Next it was time for Harrison and Heidi to chase each other with a balloon. Randomly this is a balloon we have had since Valentine's Day.

Harrison loves taking selfies. Me, not so much, but Harrison looks so cute I had to post!

Day 3

On the menu for the church dinner dessert tonight?

Peach Cobbler!!

Yay - I don't like peach cobbler so there would not be any temptation to want a dessert.

Once I claimed my dinner and walked by the dessert table a little old lady says, "oh hey, here is some last minute banana pudding - take it while it lasts!".

UGH!

This kind of stuff keeps happening over and over.

I did not eat the banana pudding, in case you are wondering.

After dinner I walked to church and grabbed my peppermint to freshen my "just ate dinner" breath. Unwrapped it, popped it in my...oh wait a minute, for the love, a peppermint is sugar...spit it right out. That was a close one luckily I made it through and now day three is under my belt.

In the early afternoon I took the kids to the library. Heidi just loves going and picking out her own books. Other than that not much else to report. Pretty boring and sugar less day. Don't worry, I will have more things to write about other than kicking my habit. Tomorrow is tennis - woohoo! Maybe I will get an action shot or two ;)

Day 2

I won't hold you in suspense in this post.

Made it to my second sugar free day.

Yep, I did it - patting myself on the back right now.

Do you remember the ADIDAS brand? I think it stood for "all day I dream about soccer", well mine is "all day I dream about sugar". It is bad. I am, as my sister {who is also giving up sugar} would say, "walking around like an addict looking for their next fix". If I'm not eating something sweet I'm mentally going through the pantry thinking about what I have that I can eat with some sort of sweetness.

Debbie and I have had a major affair over the years, but it is ending now.

Goodbye nutty bars. Goodbye Easter cakes.

Easter - robins eggs, reeses eggs....

I sit nursing Harrison at night and I think about what I am going to eat after he goes to sleep.

This is why I still look pregnant and why people would be saying this about me {scroll to 53 seconds} if I were to dance at a wedding.

I feel like I had so much more to say, but between a baby waking up and parents needing help downloading Bible apps on their iPads I have completely forgotten my train of thought.

On a non sugar note, I took Heidi to Jump'n Jacks this afternoon. We met up with my sister and two of Heidi's cousins to jump some energy out. Not sure how it worked, but Harrison had a great time crawling all around and made a new friend. Heidi had fun running around with her cousins.

Daily Check-in

Thought I would give you my daily check-in on how I am failing miserably at giving up sweets. Before I let you know the latest I would like to "thank" my cousin Beth for suggesting that I {as well as the other cousins} read a book. It is called Grain Brain and basically after I read it I will be living on water. No, not really, but this is not just about me giving up sweets. This is going to be my own food revolution. First it is sweets and I have a feeling next it will be bread. Two of my biggest weaknesses and foes in my horrible eating habits.

My mom, Heidi, and I went to have mani/pedis and I have black toenails. Not like from a fungus, but I thought I was choosing a deep purple - nope, black. Oh well. Heidi chose a purple with glitter, but she "is the type who loves glitter" according to Miss Priss herself. Heidi is ultra girly - love it!

Today I had a tennis match. It was a make-up match from all of the rain last week. My sister and I are doubles partners in a local league - we won our matches this time! This is my first season and she played last season so we are pretty much still beginners. So excited for our first win of the season! I need to get a couple of shots of us, but too totally embarrassed to ask for a picture. For now a small selfie. I never take selfies and I feel really silly now for posting one.

As far as the sugar - none today! Woohoo! I might have had the shakes for a bit, but made it through the day. It is still a little touch and go right now because I am still awake, but I have a feeling this is going to successfully be day number one.

Sunday Funday

Normal everyday things going on here! We woke up a little later than normal which was nice considering I barely slept last night. It was a bad night for me to try to sleep. Both kiddos were having rough nights so I was back and forth. I might have uttered something really mean under my breath, but only a sleeping John caught wind of it. So that is not hard evidence. Plus you cannot hold me accountable for anything said when I average five hours of sleep {not continuous} each night.

We all met up with John's sister Rebecca this afternoon for lunch downtown. Heidi was super excited to see her Aunt Bec. It was a short meeting and when we left Heidi said, "I miss Aunt Bec". Then a pouty face followed. John and I promised a trip to see her and Uncle David very soon.

Harrison fell asleep on the way home and John put him straight into his crib for his nap. Heidi wanted to play soccer outside and it was such a beautiful day that Heidi spent a lot of time playing outside. John also had fun swinging a golf club with Heidi. She loved it :)

Later Heidi spent some time doing one of her favorite things - playing dress up!

Harrison literally posed and waited for his picture to be taken here.

This is the "mom, stop taking pictures, please" face. Please take note of all the stamps on her arm.

Harrison got on in the fun! Super baby!

Friday & Saturday

I'm not sure where to start. Do I go ahead and confess once again about my failed attempt at giving up sugar? Dare I call this post "Lent Confessions"?

No - I won't.

I might not even tell you about the trail mix I ate today, so nonchalantly, not even realizing until two hours later that I consumed M&M's while eating the trail mix.

Ugh. Addiction is hard to break. Sugar or a spare tire around my waist??

Friday started with an end to Dr. Seuss week at school. Our last day was hat day so Heidi decided to wear her sunhat. She loves that little hat and it looks so adorable on her.

Friday night I tried a new recipe. It is my new thing - trying different recipes. This one seemed to go over well with everyone, much unlike my roasted brussel sprouts a week ago. I am constantly pinning new recipes on Pinterest and this one was a success! Here is the link - One Pot Meal. And yes, I am back to eating meat. Solely because I could not find enough to eat, unless I only ate bread and sweets....

image credit - here

Heidi loves helping me with dinner or anything for that matter. I let her do most everything, but I am always so nervous letting her help with the stuff around the hot stove. She always does such a great job though! The other morning I was sleeping in {yes, I have an amazing husband that lets me sleep in on Sundays - we go to church on a different day of the week} and Heidi was helping John make pancakes. John did not know she could crack the eggs and was so impressed! Tonight Heidi poured and measured everything and also used the cheese grinder for our cheese!

Saturday morning I was up bright and early to go to a women's conference and listen to Jen Hatmaker. It was such an incredible time and I am blessed to have been able to hear her speak. I am also blessed to have amazing friends that I can share in these types of events. There is so much to learn even as a person who has been a Christian their entire life. Today Jen {I can call her that because we are now friends} spoke about how we are to be following Jesus so closely that we should be covered in the dust from His footsteps. We are to each "play our note", to do our one small act that might not change the whole world, but with each small act that we all do together it will change our ways. There was more stuff, but I hope to blog that in action :)

Somehow I had the time wrong for the conference ending and it was going to be overlapping with a birthday party Heidi had been invited to. Luckily my dad was {who was watching the kids} was able to step in and take Heidi to the party so she would not miss it. My mom and I met them there. This was another party for a friend in her class and Heidi had such a great time! I will have to say my initial thoughts were as follows: "what will the kids be wearing?" "will Heidi have brushed hair?" "a bow?" Heidi picked out her own outfit and looked cute :)

Dinner today was a local seafood restaurants. I ordered something that was not what I was expecting and ended up being given a free dessert. I could not say no to free red velvet cake. Y'all the devil is clearly against me doing anything that is for the good of my mind, body, and soul. I have two huge examples. The first is the sugar issue. This has been a battle forever. The reason the devil is against it? Today I ordered a water for lunch {after deliberation} and the waiter brought me both a water and a coke. Really? Talk about temptation being thrown in my face. The other example is that I began taking steps to be on Facebook less by setting a specific amount of time during the waking hours to log in. Well, that very same day I started posting to Twitter and Instagram. Sites I have had forever but that I literally never post on. The Coke instance is where I really saw how much the devil wants me to fail, but what the devil does not know is that when someone thinks I will fail at something it pushes me even harder to succeed.

Good luck with that Mr. Satan!!!

For now I will be throwing out all junk food - so look for me later dumpster diving.

And because I want you to have that image out of your head - a cute little video of Mr. Harrison.