Random picture day

Yesterday while I was shopping for more summer clothes for the boys (Alex is growing like a weed!) I found two cute USA soccer jerseys. Back during the world cup the USA ones were sold out so I got them different teams because I knew they'd like them anyway. Don't you know that new clothes have to be worn at the first possible chance? Here they are modeling them this morning before school.
Please ignore the stickers on the shirt above the logo that I forgot to take off until they were getting out of the car at school. Whoops!

Earlier this month the Pre-K classes had a field trip to the local children's museum and then the park for lunch. I went as a helper and although I didn't take my real camera I did catch these two cute pictures on my phone. Zachary found a bat costume by a cave and Alex was a doctor in a hospital.

I'm hoping to go to a farm this weekend to pick some strawberries so expect some cute pictures next week. When I told the boys about it Zachary asked very excitedly "Will the farmer be there?". When I told him probably he asked "Can I shake his hand?". What a funny guy!

Easter 2011

The boys were out of school on Friday so we packed up and headed to my parents for the long Easter weekend. When we got there we found that Daddy had sent Easter presents for us.
Saturday night I planned to go to an outdoor concert with one of my sisters and her friend. Just a few short hours before I was supposed to go I saw what I thought was alot of dried blood in Zachary's ear. (He was complaining that his ear hurt.) Luckily I found an urgent care place that was open late. It turned out that what I thought was blood was actually wax and a lot of it. The doctor had to scape out a ton. That's what made his ear hurt. Oddly enough, he had an ear infection in the other ear that didn't hurt. We just squeaked in to the pharmacy down the road before it closed for the night to get his antibiotic. I made it to the concert late but still had a great time.

Easter morning! The boys were so ready for this. Everyday they kept asking if it was Easter yet. Now it was! There wasn't much candy in their baskets but they had plenty of other cool things.



I'm sure glad that the bunny didn't bring much candy because they got plenty at the egg hunt after church!





We had a fun weekend of playing and hanging out with the family. And of course, eating!



Happy Easter!

Meal Plan Monday

I ate way too much yesterday. Planning a few lower calorie desserts helped but when you have multiple servings.......Lets just say that I'm back on track this week. I'm hoping to have some good leftovers to help us through the weekend but have one thing planned. You just never know how a new recipe is going to turn out. Speaking of new recipes I did add an extra meal into last week even though I planned a leftover day. I forgot that I had a head a cauliflower purchased just for this Baked Potato Soup and didn't want it to go bad on me. Can I just say yum! Here's what we're having this week - lots of new things again.

Monday - Lighter Eggplant Parmesan (265 calories)

Tuesday - Leftover ham from Easter and Easy Zucchini Parmesan (52 calories)

Wednesday - Mexican Beef & Pasta (305 calories)

Thursday - Asian Turkey Meatballs (229 calories) and Fried Rice (around 200 calories )

Friday - Crunchy Chicken Fingers (179 calories) and Carrot Souffle (209 calories)

Weekend - Penne With Turkey Sausage & Peppers (231 calories)

Fun day with my guys

Yesterday was another karate day. Zachary did very well sitting with me and Alex did very well listening in class. They are getting ready for a tournament in May, which I don't plan to participate in. I think Alex is still too new. I would have liked to go and watch it with the boys but it falls on Mother's Day weekend and we plan to be out of town.

My meal plan for the week ended up getting switched around so dinner was in the crock pot and almost ready when we got home. Yea! Too bad the new recipe wasn't as yummy as I hoped. Since dinner was a little bit early Zachary really wanted to go out and ride his bike afterwards. We hadn't ridden since Spring Break when Daddy was home (bad Mama!) but they still did alright. Alex is getting pretty good but Zachary has trouble turning. Unfortunately since our driveway has a slope they have to do lots of turning so they're not having to pedal up the hard slope. (Plus I don't want them zooming back down it quite yet!)
**Imagine a cute video of the boys riding their bikes here. I had two but neither would load.**

Thank goodness Zachary had pads on. He fell down several times, usually while trying to turn. Once he even fell off the edge of the drive after bumping the side of his bike into the curb. It was about a two foot fall from the curb to the ground. It was a little scary to see him go over the edge but I promise he wasn't hurt from any of his falls.

Next, we cooled down with some ice cream bars out by the pool. We knew better than to try to get in the water this time but we hung out in the backyard. Zachary mowed some grass for me and then we played a little baseball. Alex was a little upset when I said it was time to go in to shower and get ready for bed. He didn't get his usual t.v. time. Ha, ha!

First swim of the year

Saturday the boys decided it was time for a swim. The pool was nice and clean and functioning. The sun was shining and had been for days. I agreed and so we quickly put on our swim suits, grabbed towels and sunscreen, and headed to the backyard. The boys couldn't wait to jump in! Zachary chose to jump right in the middle of the pool and.......floundered and panicked! I had to coach him to the edge - kick your feet, now move your arms.....and finally grab his arm and pull him to the edge. He was so sad that he "didn't know how to swim anymore". I told him that maybe he should practice over on the shallow side like Alex. It didn't take him long to remember.

It didn't take long before Zachary started shivering. Zero percent body fat will do that to ya. So he got out and snuggled up with a towel in a chair while Alex kept swimming. Finally I decided to get in too. I had the boys count down for me to jump in. I chickened out the first go round but jumped in the second time and boy, was it cold! I swam to the edge, got out, and decided I was done for the day. Alex didn't last much longer than that before he got cold too. I guess we need a few more sunny days to warm up the water!

Menu Plan Monday

I've been trying to eat a little better lately so that means I've got to have a plan. It's hard to whip up something healthy out of my kitchen just any 'ol day. I did actually have a meal plan last week but just forgot about sharing it until mid-week. Sorry about that. We're heading out of town on Friday for Easter so Thursday will be refrigerator clean out and of course, nothing planned for Friday. Here's what we're having this week.

Sunday - Chicken Rollatini with Prosciutto and Cheese (168.6 calories) and Broccolini and Balsamic Vinaigrette

Monday - Shake & Bake Pork (170ish cal) and Zucchini Casserole (110.2 cal)

Tuesday - Simple Paella (269 cal) - this is a slow cooker meal - I may sub the tilapia for chicken in this. Not sure yet.

Wednesday - Pasta, Greens, & Beans (379 cal) - from April Parents magazine - sorry no link yet!

Thursday - Leftovers

The good/bad thing about cooking meal, especially while hubby is gone, is that the fridge is always full of leftovers! Have a good Easter Week!

Our karate kid

Sometime over Spring Break Chris started talking to Alex about karate. I'm not sure how it came up but the two of them decided that Alex needed to take karate classes. After lots of asking I finally found a place for us to try. We started last week and they gave us three trail classes before we committed. The classes are M-W-F and they want you to go to at least two a week (it's the same cost if you go all three though). So we went all three last week. When I say "we" I mean Alex and Zachary. Do you think one would let the other do something without them? Not on your life! Last Friday they did a competition where they wore padded helmets and tried to score points by hitting each other on certain parts of the body with a padded "bat". It was a hoot to watch 4 & 5 year olds trying to hit each other. They mostly just hit each other's bats but every once in awhile someone would get a point. (Alex & Zachary are the ones not in uniform.)


After what was supposed to be our first "real" day today the instructor and I talked without the boys around. We both decided that Zachary just wasn't ready. Although he said he had fun he just could not pay attention and follow instruction. He wiggled, fell down, looked all around the room, always used the wrong arm or leg.....just couldn't get it. We called Alex into the office to pick a uniform. Then we all went back out to break the news to Zachary. Needless to say he didn't take it very well. We told him why and that he could sit with me and watch the class and he could try again later once he was able to listen and follow instruction better. He cried. When we got in the car he asked if he could still have a uniform and I told him no. (I think this was the thing he wanted most because he LOVES to dress up.) I told him maybe we could look into something else for him to do. (I've always thought he'd be great at gymnastics.) It would have to be something a little less disciplined than karate though. We'll see how this week goes with him sitting and watching. Thankfully the class is only 30 minutes long so if Zachary is a bad watcher I can always walk outside with him and it won't take too long.

Alex in his uniform. He won't normally wear a shirt underneath but this was just to try it on. I sure hope I can remember the proper way to tie that belt!