A Smile

Finally caught on camera...a smile from Mr. Matthew!!!

Something new

When I first started this blog it was to help me share pictures, videos and memories of my kidos with family and friends. None of that is changing but I am also going to start sharing something new.

Now 2 months after having Matthew I am still stuck with some extra (normal but still unwanted) baby weight. I know it will come off in time but it wasn't super easy with Macy and so far seems to be much harder with Matthew (2 years closer to 30 so I'm guessing something with my wonderful metabolism...great...). Anyway I really do enjoy eating healthy, not only because I (well, really WE...married to a strength coach really helps too) believe that it also instills healthy eating habits in our kids and helps us stay healthy and happy. I know with exercising and eating right it will come off...just not over night. Sometimes I think we all know what to eat and the things that are good for us and the things we should avoid...but I am one of those people who if I start studying nutrition and seriously thinking about what I'm fueling my body with I don't even want the unhealthy stuff.

Don't get me wrong I am not saying that I don't love my body b/c after having kids what woman can't say that their body is a miraculous thing! It is just I don't like not fitting into my clothes...and I'm too cheap to go out and buy a new wardrobe! So for now, until I can loose this extra 20lbs I'm just squeezing into whatever I can and using the wonderful Belly Band that I had with I first got pregnant with Macy! Gotta love that thing!

So in addition to updates on the kids I thought I would start sharing some yummy and healthy recipes as well as some interesting nutrition tips that I find along the way.

To start off here are two great recipes that I've found.

The first is for Mac n Cheese with yellow squash in it. I copied it off another website and that link is: http://www.oprah.com/recipe/food/recipespasta/pkgjessicaseinfeldsdeceptivelydelicious. It is WONDERFUL...and if you make it with low fat cheese and whole grain pasta it is a great meal all in one! Super easy! I have even heard of making the sauce ahead of time and freezing it so all you have to do when you want it is thaw and make the pasta. Macy really loves this too!

The second is for hummus...I know what your thinking...hummus??? YES hummus!! I copied this from another blog:

http://lichtyfamilyblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/recipe-for-cilantro-lime-hummus.html

It is great with wheat thins as an appetizer or served on whole wheat tortillas as a meal! It is low fat and packed with tons of protein and super easy to make in a hurry heading out the door! We have even taken it for lunch to the park b/c it doesn't need refrigeration and is a great alternative to PB and Jelly sandwiches. I can't wait for Matthew's belly to develop a little more b/c last time I tried this it didn't agree with him.

I think Sally Fields says it best in her Osteoporosis TV ad...she says something like "We are only given this one body and I'm going to take care of it the best I can." Great words to remember!

So there it is...hopefully the first of many postings on healthy living!

Old McPapaw had a farm...

Spaghetti with a twist

When Matthew was born we were so blessed by friends from our play group, MOPS, and from church with about 3 weeks worth of food---It was so nice to not have to worry about cooking or shopping for food (or cleaning up for that matter)!

One of our favorites was a baked spaghetti that a neighbor and friend from church made. She posted the recipe on our MOPS blog so I thought I would share it too. I made it this week for Macy and I to eat on for the next several days (it is amazing how little of food we go through when Mark isn't eating here)! You can use canned sauce but I actually found a recipe of allrecipes.com for homemade tomato sauce and since I had about 20 tomatoes from our garden I thought I would give it a try. It was so tasty and worth the 4 hours of cooking time. The smell of it even woke Macy up from her nap...she asked "Mommy, what are you cooking? It smells GOOOOD!!!" So cute!

My friend, Lori, said that you can make these up ahead of time and freeze them and they turn out great. I made extra sauce and froze it so next time all I have to do is cook the noodles and combine the stuff. Also, if you use whole wheat pasta, lean beef or turkey and low fat cottage cheese it is a pretty healthy dinner. I also make my sauce with diced up carrots and celery so it even had veggies - super easy way to sneak them into husbands and kids! ha!

ENJOY!

Spaghetti Pie

16 oz spaghetti, cooked al dente
1/4 c margarine
1 egg slightly beaten
1/2-3/4 c parmesan cheese
16 oz cottage cheese
1/2 pound ground beef, browned with 1/2 onion and drained
1 jar spaghetti sauce
Shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook spaghetti and drain, melt in the margarine, add egg and parmesan cheese and mix well. Press this mixture into a greased, 9x13 pan. Spoon cottage cheese over top evenly. Crumble ground beef over top. Season with salt and pepper. Spread sauce over evenly. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes until center is hot. Remove foil, top with mozzarella cheese and return to oven until melted.

Variations: For a vegetarian dish, omit gr beef and add a layer of spinach (be sure to squeeze out as much water as possible) thinly sliced zucchini are good and so are black olives.

If you have a small family, make two 8x8 casseroles and freeze one. Be sure to put saran wrap over the pie before the aluminum foil or the sauce will eat the foil. Allow a frozen pie to sit in the fridge overnight to thaw and it might take a few more minutes to bake.

My other baby

Not sure if Macy is having second thoughts about this big sister thing or not.

She did tell me last week that it was time for Matthew to go back in mommy's belly! I told her that he was to big to go in my belly and he has to stay out and play with us! I guess she thought that was alright b/c she hasn't said anything since then. She sure likes to love on him and play with his toys!

Matthew kicking and moving

Feeding the Ducks

Today we went to BSU's pond to have a picnic and feed the ducks.

Matthew - 6 weeks old

Family Pictures

We had our friend Jeanell take these pictures while we were at the farm. Didn't she do a great job???

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41042076@N03/sets/
Click slideshow at the top right hand corner to view in full screen