Sick of being Sick

2 sick babies = No Fun! I guess it's inevitable when you have more than one child. When one gets sick, the other one will too. I don't know what's worse....when one gets sick the day after the first one is better, or them both being sick at the same time. During the last sickness that went through our family both boys were sick at the same time. This time, however, Reid got sick the day that Landon was feeling better. Either way, it's hard seeing your babies not feel well and we pray that it leaves the McGrew house very soon. We did take Landon to the doctor and even though his throat was pretty red and she was concerned it might be strep, the test came back negative and she just diagnosed him with a nasty virus. While I'm sure Reid would have the same diagnosis, I might just break down and take him in too.

Symptoms: High fever, loss of appetite, sore throat, lack of energy

Current Weight: 26.2 lbs.

Symptoms: High fever, loss of appetite (you know this boy is sick), restless sleep (makes for long nights for mommy & daddy), sore red throat with fluid filled bumps (we went to the doc) and overall patheticism (one who is overly pathetic). I'm not sure if that's a word, but it would definitely describe our poor Reid the last few days. He just kind of whimpers all day and it's such a sad sight!

Current Weight: 24.3 lbs.

Eleven Months

11 months ago....

Today....

It's starting to hit me....in 30 days my baby will be ONE! Reid is one mobile little boy! He is officially into everything he shouldn't be. It feels so odd having to tell him "No" when he gets into things he shouldn't. He doesn't seem old enough for that yet. He is crawling, pulling up on everything and cruising right along. Reid loves to be outside (which is unfortunate for this time of year). We try to take regular family walks and even if he's fussy before we go, we usually don't hear a peep from him until we return home. He still just has 4 teeth and loves to eat! Much like his big brother though, he can be a picky little eater sometimes. I've just ordered the book Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. It has recipes and ideas for sneaking healthy foods into kid-friendly meals. I gave him his first sip of whole milk yesterday. He wasn't too crazy about it, but we'll keep trying.  I don't know if I'm quite ready to have 2 toddlers...but ready or not...here they come!

 

AND....Happy Birthday to my wonderful hubby!!!

Breakfast in Bed

Yesterday morning Aaron brought me breakfast in bed (which he is known to do on occasion). That's just the kind of husband he is! :) He brought in a tray of pancakes and bacon along with a big, tall glass of milk to wash it down! But, there were a few extra things that were reminders of our current season of life. After he came in with my tray at 7:15, he rolled in a highchair complete with an overly active and much-too-energetic-for-7am-infant who I'm pretty sure had been up since 5:45 am playing in his crib. He was apparently my breakfast buddy...

He was more than willing to help mommy with all that breakfast though...

Then another little sleepy head came strolling in....

He was also more than willing to help mommy with breakfast...

But, the biggest sign of the times for the morning was the beautiful daisy (my fav) that Aaron picked from the backyard and placed in this very appropriate vase which adorned my breakfast tray!

Later that morning while getting ready to leave, I also found a very sweet card that Aaron had left in my purse! Thank you Honey!!! I love you!!

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I had to add one last picture which is in no relation to the previous ones. During lunch baby Reid styled his very own hair using some al naturale products....banana and cheese goo! This is also my all-time favorite Reid face!!

Fone Pics Friday

We all have those random pictures that we take with our cell phone when we're out and about (or even just at home) and don't have a camera handy. So, I wanted to share these recent, real life, un-posed moments that are captured using only 1-3 megapixels! 

Landon & Katelynn

Monkey See, Monkey Do. Please ingnore the horrendously messy playroom! That's what happens when you put 2 two-year olds in there for a morning!

Landon making himself comfy on Daddy's new pillow

Diet Starts Tomorrow

I don't know how many times I've said this in my life. A LOT. It's a running joke between my mom, sister and I everytime we find ourselves eating something that's not quite so healthy. We assure ourselves that it's OK since our diet won't actually start until the next day. Ofcourse, the next day comes and we do this all over again. I've only been on one true diet (meaning it lasted more than a few days) in my life and that was a few years ago when I got caught up in the low-carb fad. It lasted a few months and I did manage to lose about 15 lbs. but it was difficult sticking to it since I don't eat much meat and that's a lot of what the diet consists of. But, seeing as I'm getting older and have bore a couple of kiddos I'm finding that I could stand to lose a little bit again. As much as I absolutely love staying at home with my boys, I've found that it's not helpful in keeping fit...at least for me! My kids are snacking all day long, so why shouldn't I? It's way too convenient when the pantry is just a few steps away. But, summer is here and Aaron and I have both decided to lose a few lb's. A few days ago I marked June 1st as our start date. Together, we would like to lose around 40 lbs. (combined) by Christmas time. That's almost 7 months. Hopefully this is an attainable goal in the time we've given ourselves. We are very excited about doing this as a couple! While I'm not really one to post about something like this, I feel that putting it out there might make us a little more accountable to sticking with it. Hopefully someone will ask us about our progress every now and then. For Mother's Day, Aaron bought me a new flat-screen TV to hang on the wall in the bedroom. This has allowed us to move our treadmill right in front of it. I wasn't too motivated to run on a treadmill for 30 minutes and stare at the wall. I've also been searching for some new, healthier recipes to add to my menu list! Many of them I've gotten from a book called Hungry Girl. There are actually several HG books with different recipe genres and ideas. You can also find many online. I feel like they are do-able meals and it's easy to subsitute things here and there if you need to. They are also mostly kid-friendly which is a plus for us! Here is our menu for this week. All the recipes are from Hungry Girl.

 Pan-Fried Chicken Parm

{Tuesday's Dinner}

2-3 Boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup Fiber One cereal
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, divided
1/2 teaspoon onion powder, divided
1/4-1/2 cup canned tomato sauce with Italian seasonings
1/4 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese
Salt, to taste

Thin chicken out by placing it in a gallon size ziplock and pounding it out to approximately 1/2 inch thick. Use a food processor to grind the Fiber One cereal to a powder like consistency. Then, mix it with the italian seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon onion powder.

In a small bowl, mix tomato sauce with remaining 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon onion powder and set aside.

Place egg substitue in a separate medium bowl. Coat raw chicken very well on both sides. Place chicken in crumb mixture and coat evenly.

Spray a large skillet with non-stick spray and bring to medium-high heat. Place chicken in the skillet and cook for 4 minutes on each side or until chicken is cooked through.

Once chicken is cooked, spread 2 tablespoons of sauce over each while chicken is still in the skillet. Evenly sprinkle cheese on top. Reduce heat to low and cover skillet. Continue to cook for 2-3 minutes or until cheese has melted.

Aaron and I both thought this was pretty good for a low-fat chicken parmesan!!