This week has been completely topsy-turvy (what a fun adjective)

Snuffy’s regular baby-sitter has been on vacae (vacay?)  and so I took the whole week off work.  This was something that Ihad to do way in advance. 

We have no family close to help out with childcare

I passionately dislike corporate daycare.

  Although, Snuffy had to go there three times this week while I took some exams…

Exams that I did not do well on because my oppurtunities to study were so few and far between

So, I have been playing Stay At Home Mom this week. 

I must say it is hard work but lots of fun too.  My job is easier than being a mom for sure

Kudos to those of you who do it 24/7/365!

I also realized how much I miss while Snuffy is at the ‘sitter’s all day

She’s been putting her own shoes on for a while now

Since it was 95 degrees out (literally!) today, I took Snuffy on her first ice cream outing!

I know it sounds sad that she has never been out for ice cream. 

But, you must remember :

We rarely eat out. As in once in the past 6 months.   I buy her organic ice cream.  Non-organic dairy makes me cringe. 

However, there is no organic Ice Creamery.  So, I took Snuffy to Graeter’s because they list their ingredients online.

They also state that their ice cream is made from cows that have not been shot up with ‘roids. 

Good enough today.

First, we needed appropriate attire

Graeter’s is an awesome confectionary and ice creamery. 

 The had donuts, cakes, fudge, brownies , rock candy, pastries, cookies….Snuffy was in awe!

If I didn’t have to watch my two-year old I would have taken some mouth-watering pics!

The staff is great too.  They didn’t have unsweet iced tea so the manager on duty brewed me a cup of hot tea and gave me a cup of ice.

She also opened the door when I walked in with a toddler on my hip.

Anyway, Snuffy got Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough with Rainbow Sprinkles

She fed herself and didn’t get any on her clothes!! Seriously, that was impressive!

Next, we went home so that Snuffy could play with her baby. 

First the baby had to have a bib on. 

She used an emptied jar of baby food and her old baby spoon to feed her baby “num nums”

Then she got hungry…

So, I made her some fluffy pancakes …

Baby Pancakes ! 

No I am not trying to tell you something.  Trust me, I couldn’t handle school, work and 2 kids. 

Moving on…

Snuffy’s pancakes looked and smelled so incredibly delectable.

but I didn’t have time to make my protein pancakes.  So, I made a protein cake

…and drizzled this

on top! It was just as yummy as I had hoped

Have a gorgeous day!

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

Sometimes I realize that I need to take a step back and think of all the things that make me happy.

Here are a few…

Watching Mallard do what he does best. 

 I have never seen anyone be a better father than he has been.

Playing outside with Snuffy on hot summer days …

My collection of hippy mama dresses…

 

Sobe Life Water in fuji apple pear…yum

UPDATE!  I just realized this has no calories or artificial sweetener.  But, it has 6 grams of carbs per serving.  That means 15 grams of carbs per bottle!!

….cross that off my favorites…I am now angry with Sobe lol

 

My handheld blender from cookware.com. 

 I love this thing almost as much as my pink KitchenAid stand mixer

Best. Gift. Ever.

 

My Dyson..best. vacuem. ever.  All the attachments are on the vacuem.  It’s so easy to use.  Trust me.  I use it at least 4 times a day.

 

T-shirts that say it so I don’t have to    So nice I bought it twice.

 

Barnes and Noble.  I love the atmosphere, the people …ahem…

the Starbucks

 

I have been there (BN) a few times recently…thanks Lindsay    …

for introducing me to my new favorite author

I finished these two books in a week!  That’s saying a lot for someone who reads hours worth of nursing literature for school

I was sad to be finished with them, so I picked up two more of Jen’s books

 

I have been using my reciepts for bookmarks…reduce, re-use, recycle and repurpose?? Anyone ??

However, I found  a bookmark with my new favorite quote.

 ”It is never too late to be what you might have been.”   -George Elliot

Naturally…

my favorite nut butter.

This is my favorite pic of Snuffy and Pedro

My favorite picture of my little sister and I.  We’re at my “Nan’s” house.  She always makes me feel good when I visit.

 

MGN Cake Batter flavored isolate…yum.  Unfortunately, I made a mistake and ordered “protein blend”  the last time. 

It’s not the same.  It does not mix well and it does not taste as good

 Another thing that makes me feel good is blogging.  I receive so much support from bloggers and readers. 

I have “met” so many incredible women.  So many of your blogs make me smile everyday. 

 So, what makes you happy?  What are a few of your favorite things?

The definition of insanity is

 ” doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

(not this type of insanity)

I have been counting calories for a very, very long time.  I have lowered my caloric intake. I have cycled calories.  I have cycled carbs.  I have not lost weight. 

The last time I was trying to lose weight was after I had my daughter.  I counted calories roughly and worked out with cardio only ( I’ve come a long way with my workouts   ) 

I lost weight until I got to my happy weight and then stopped worrying so much about it.  When I stopped worrying about it, I actually lost more weight due to stress at school

I’m not trying to go that low again.

  But, something occured to me while reading Intuitive Eating:

I tend to ignor my body’s signals and do what I think I should be doing to lose this weight.  Sometimes I eat when I’m not really hungry because I know I have “that many calories left” and I don’t want to wake up starving.  Sometimes, I don’t eat when I am hungry because I don’t want to go over my alotted calories.

I didn’t realize that putting on this weight has really messed with my head.  I really have to squash the fat talk

So, maybe, after all of this counting and calculating, cycling and refeeding…what I really need to do is listen to my body. 

It’s hard at first.  I asked myself what I wanted to eat today and I realized that I have no idea what I really want most of the time!  I am so used to eating according to health guidelines.  But I have noticed that I tend to crave healthy foods.  My body doesn’t want junk all the time but it doesn’t want to live on the same 10 foods either. 

What do you think? Are you a calorie counter?

I am challenging myself to stop counting!  It’s going to be hard since I have a pretty good idea of how many calories are in almost everything.  But, it’s driving me insane.  It has not been working for me , so why do I continue to count?!  Craziness.