Karate time.....

D has been taking karate for about 18 months now and moved up several belts. So we decided it was time to display his hard work. We are very proud of all his hard work.

Slow Cooker Pork Chops-WW Friendly

I found a similar recipe on pinterest and decided to try it. It was delicious and the kids even loved it.
Also, it was very easy. I served it with brown rice and broccoli. Yum!

Here is what you need:
1 can Cream of Onion soup
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 can of water*
1 packet Ranch dip mix
Pork Loin Chops, boneless and trimmed (I used two packs that equaled 3 pounds)

1. First, empty the two cans of soup and ranch dip mix into the slow cooker and mix well.
2. Next, add the pork chops and cover with the above mixture.
3. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours or high for about 4 hours.
*I added a can of water because I thought it might not be enough liquid. When the pork chops were done and removed, the juice was really soupy so I added some flour to thicken. This made ALOT of gravy. So I just put it into a separate container and now I can freeze it and use it whenever I need it.

WW friends....the point value on this depends on the size of pork chops used. Mine were about 5oz each so they were 7PP each including the gravy. I added Birdseye Steamfresh Brown Rice (1/2 serving) for an additional 2PP. Total point value for meal= 9PP
Also, it made a total of 8 chops.

Enjoy!

Rainbow Cupcakes...Valentine's Day Parties

Valentine's Day just happens to be my triplets' birthday and a BIG deal in our house.
This year they asked me to make cupcakes for each of their classes at preschool.
This is what we created.

This is what we used to make them.

-2 boxes white cake mix

-4 eggs

-2 cups greek yogurt

-1 cup skim milk

-2/3 cup vegetable oil

Combine it all in a big bowl and beat on med-high for 2 minutes, until well blended.

Then, we split the batter equally into bowls and used food coloring to make each 'rainbow' color.

Next, I scooped a spoonful of each color into the paper cups. Thankfully, being neat is not a requirement to make these.

After they baked and cooled, we placed them our awesome Snapware cupcake carrier.

YUM!!!!

I know you want one.

(It was incredibly good and worth every WW point.)

**This recipe says it makes 4 dozen cupcakes, but I filled the cups a little extra full and got 3 dozen instead.

Merry Christmas......

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!!

Charities for the Holidays

This year we are really making an effort to teach the kids about families that are less fortunate or somehow in need.

I regularly follow the blog Cake Wrecks. It is the most hilarious site dedicated to cakes that have somehow gone horribly wrong. Today is the first day of their 'Christmas Charity Countdown'.
Every day for 12 days Jen will post the link to a different charity and they ask for only a $1 donation. Jen and her hubby started this last year instead of buying each other gifts.

Today's charity is Give Kids the World. This is an awesome organization in Florida that provides no-cost vacations to children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.

So, if you are looking for a way to make a difference, this is a great way to give back and make a huge difference by only spending $12.
We will be donating $5 each day.
And, I challenge you to not miss a day.

~Julie

punkin' seeds....yummy.....

I decided to make use of the gazillions of pumpkin seeds (AKA guts) from our now happy jack o'lanterns.
I found this recipe and it is yummy.

Candied Pumpkin Seeds
Ingredients:

1 cup fresh pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt










Directions:
*In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Spread into a greased baking pan.

*Bake, uncovered, at 250° for 45-50 minutes or until seeds are well-glazed, stirring occasionally. (I had to cook mine longer. Try one and see if it is crunchy enough for your taste.)

*Cool completely; break into pieces. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 1 cup.

(I made several batches to use all of our seeds.)

Yummy!!!!

Joel Burns.....one courageous man

As many of you know, there have been several teen suicides lately attributed to bullying. Forth Worth, Texas City Councilman Joel Burns shared his story recently.
Please watch this and pass this on to anyone that might benefit from it.

Grover

The kids love to take Grover with us for rides and when we head to the bus stop. Of course, he thinks the front seat is reserved for him.

girls best friend

S and the pup fell asleep together on the couch today.....so cute!

grease lightnin'

There is a really cool theater just up the street from our store. They show all kinds of indie films and some mainstream ones as well.
Last Saturday night they had Grease Sing Along. That's right! The original 1978 Grease, only better. I had a blast. It didn't matter how well or not you could sing, everyone belted out their favorite songs.
Here is the website: Grease
Check it out if it comes to your town.

sunflowers!!!!

We went to Gorman Heritage Farm on Sunday with D and his Cub Scout den. The sunflowers were beautiful!
(I'm not sure why the picture came out this way but it looks pretty cool.)

squid dogs....

So I made these a while back and the kids loved them. I found a similar idea in some magazine but don't remember which one.
Here goes.....super easy and the kids liked helping make them.

Start with spaghetti and hot dogs. You need 4 strands per half dog, so 8 strands per dog.

Trim the round ends off the hot dogs and then cut remaining dog in half. Poke 4 strands of spaghetti through each half dog until an even amount is sticking out each end. Then just boil until spaghetti is done.

Voila! Squid dogs for the kids to enjoy.

My kids ask for these a lot. Have fun!

drawings on concrete.....

We took the kiddos to a local festival this weekend. It is called 'Streetscapes' and artists donate their time to recreate famous paintings on the street with chalk. It is really quite amazing how much detail they are able to capture on such a rough surface.

This picture was huge. It is as wide as the street. Really impressive up close but hard to get a good photo.

I'm not sure why, but I really liked this one. The detail was amazing.

walking for a good cause.....

So today I promise not to be so serious. I walked with a group of amazing ladies for the 5k with on Saturday. Money raised goes to research for ovarian cancer. The weather was great.....except for a some rain during mile 2.
In this pic, there are:

4 triplet moms

2 quad moms

1 quad grandmother

my revelation.....

Here I sit at 5am, unable to sleep, just hours before walking my second 5k, having been up most of the night with a sick little one. You know how these things work....your mind wanders, into strange little crevices you don't dare enter for fear of having to actually deal with your stupid hang-ups. Well folks....that is me for the last few hours, and no matter how I try to ignore it, my brain keeps saying, "deal with it dumbass".
So, here goes....
First, let me say that I have never been skinny, by that I mean I have always been a size 12+, my family says pretty much since puberty. I was still active, loved riding bikes and such, but no exercise fanatic by any means. I've always prided myself on finding the closest parking spots....hehehe uugghhhh.
Let me add  that I was blessed with my mother's height, 5'2". Acutally, I am taller than she was. So being a size 12+ and short to boot changes my whole image....just a teensy bit. But I digress.

When I met my hubby I was around 230. He loves me, always has, loves my body, thinks I'm perfect, wouldn't ask me to change myself for anything in the world. So that should make me happy with myself. Problem solved. Move on to solving world peace or some other such nonsense, Right?
Hell NO!!! I am a woman after all....the most screwed up creature on the planet when it comes to self image. So I look at myself critically day-in and day-out wondering what the quickest/easiest thing to change is for the most dramatic and noticeable results.

After having my first son, I was still at the same weight as before. I had been horribly sick the entire pregnancy and actually lost weight throughout. So while I wasn't happy with my weight, at least I hadn't gained. So I could live with that. Sortof.
During the triplet pregnancy, it was pretty much the same. Actually maintaining the pregnancy was quite difficult because for the first 4 months or so I could barely keep enough food down to even be considered a healthy pregnancy....but I did the best I could...even though at every appointment I would have lost 3 or 4 more pounds. So that by the time I delivered and had my 6 week post checkup I was down around 195. Down 35 pounds !!!  (Not a recommend weight loss tool, in case you were wondering.)
Let's just say that I took that weight loss for granted AKA got caught up in just trying to keep up with 4 kiddos under the age of 3. In other words, those pounds I had lost.....found their nasty little way back to me....mostly on my ass.

So, here is where I am was totally out of my rational thinking. When I in my early 20's I had this strange ideal for myself. I too could be a size 5 just like all those other skinny bitches lovely ladies I saw wearing cute hip clothes. No more shopping in the plus department, where at 20ish I had very few choices unless I loved floral prints the size of my head. But no matter how I starved myself it just didn't work...what was I doing wrong? It works in the movies, and for the models....yada yada yada
So, needless to say, it took me many, many, many years to realize and accept the fact that I just wasn't meant to be a size 5. How could all of those 'ideal body weight' charts have been so wrong. Oh...I know. A man invented them...explains it all. I mean seriously, how can every 5'2" woman in the world weigh 'at max' 145. How the hell is that 'realistic'.?

So, fast forward to...let's say....the last 10 months or so. I am a member of a trip/quad mom support group. An awesome group of ladies that actually 'get it' when it comes to dealing with raising so many kids. So, we decided to start a Biggest Loser group. Which brings me partially to my ranting this fine, early, crack of dawn September morning.....another BL mom posted that since December she has lost 30 pounds. That is awesome and I am so happy for her. I know she has worked hard for that.
Because the revelation here is that it took me 37 years to let my body get to the point of being 245 pounds. The heaviest I have ever been. I can't believe I am even typing this for any stranger that finds my page to read. I am literally in tears as I type and my hands are shaking and I'm feeling all sweaty nervous that people might know what I really weigh.
What a fucked up society that can make a grown woman with a loving husband and 4 wonderful children feel like a complete failure for not having it all together, or at least their idea of 'together'.

And, I guess it will take longer than 10 months to get to a healthier point. I mean 37 years compared to 10 months. No question which side has been winning.....up to this point. But no more, I am done. From now on, I am going to do my best every day to become just a little bit healthier. And, I know it won't happen overnight or even in a month or six months. It will be for the rest of my life that I have to make these changes. What do I want to weigh? I don't care, I don't know and I may never know. What I do know is that I owe it to myself and my family to be healthier....hell, as healthy as I can be. So that I can be a better happier person for myself and them.
And maybe, just maybe, show my children that it's okay to not be 'perfect'.
And it would be really nice to leave that damn 'plus size' department and never need to enter it again.
And, just to be fair, I am actually at 230 now. Yes, folks, I have lost 15 in the last 8 or so weeks. We are on our second round of BL.

So, if you see me and I am being a littly bitchy, self deprecating, not accepting compliments etc.....bear with me. It has taken my entire life to get to this point and it will take a little while longer to change my thinking habits as well as my thoughts on myself.