Personal Goals

I have been spending a lot of time getting the boys - JT and Thomas - into a reasonable routine.  While Thomas naps throughout the day, I can expect to get both boys down for sleeping for up to an hour and half in the afternoon everyday.  A glorious hour filled with  letting the dogs out, prepping dinner, and everything else I didn't get done before.  That being said, I am starting to get antsy that I am not in great shape anymore (and I still have preggo weight laying around my joints).

So I am committing myself to a couple of things-

Short term: 30 Day Plank Challenge
After 2 c-sections my abdominals are a mess.  My core is more aptly a bowl of jelly.  So to whip my belly into shape, I am following along

I have done day 1.  My abs could manage the 20 seconds barely.  My arm muscles on the other hand, ouchies!  I thought my mommy arms from lugging around my 12 pound and 25+ pound children would have helped me out here.  I hope completing this will help my two longer term goals.

Long term: Pilates
Pregnancy really messes with your joints.  So I have slowly starting doing my old floor routine again.  I am only doing about 5 exercises right now but every week I start to add another exercise into the rotation.  It provides a good stretch and allows me to strengthen and tone my entire body.

Long term:  Disneyland Half Marathon (August 2014)
After JT was born, I chose to work my way to completing a 10K (6.2 miles) race, which boasted free beer and pizza at the finish line for participants. It was a lot of fun and it kept me motivated to work out - even through the 6 mile workouts pushing JT in the stroller.  This time I have upped the ante.  Maybe someday I'll even try a full marathon.  Thankfully this one is about a year away.  I have a bit more time to get mileage under my belt and ensure that I don't injure myself.  Right now, I have a 1, 2, and 3 mile walking route with the boys and there are still 3 more months before I can safely run with Thomas in the double stroller.

Just keep plugging away!

Pork Loin with Italian Herbed Pepper Rub

I found another nice rub recipe for pork.  My fondness for pork is growing because of this.  I did a slight adaptation to the original recipe which comes from the Pork be inspired website.

Pork Loin with Italian Herbed Pepper Rub

adapted from the National Pork Board

Ingredients

3 pound pork loin roast, boneless
2 tablespoons black pepper, cracked
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
4 - 6 tsp Penzey's Italian Seasoning Mix
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Steps

1.  Pat pork dry with paper towel. In small bowl, combine all rub ingredients well and apply to all surfaces of the pork roast.
2.  Place roast in a shallow pan and roast in a 350 degrees F. oven for 1 hour (20 minutes per pound), until internal temperature on a thermometer reads 145 degrees F.
3.  Remove roast from oven; let rest about 10 minutes before slicing to serve. Serves 6-8, with leftovers. 

The Final Product
As a note to the reader, I had 2 loins that together weighed just over 2 pounds.  The hour in the oven was more than enough.  I used grated pecorino romano cheese instead of parmesan.  For the heck of it, I also added in a handful of Sargento's 6 cheese Italian shred.  This provided a neat crispy top to the roast.  Another yummy addition to my cookbook.

Pasta with Turkey and Broccoli

We are on our way to somewhat healthier less costly eating.  I have been trying to cut down on the red meat (I'll be honest - I still love a good steak) by incorporating leaner protein.  We tried this recipe from Real Simple in the past couple of weeks.

Pasta with Turkey and Broccoli

from Real Simple

Ingredients

3/4 pound orecchiette
2 cups broccoli florets
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground turkey
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
kosher salt
Parmesan, for serving

Steps

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions, adding the broccoli during the last minute. Drain and return the pasta and broccoli to the pot.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the turkey, garlic, fennel seed, and red pepper and cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon, until browned, 3 to 5 minutes; season with ½ teaspoon salt.
3. Toss the turkey mixture with the pasta and broccoli and the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Serve with Parmesan.

The Final Results

I was surprised at how tasty this turned out.  The turkey was flavorful and the broccoli not to soggy.  I think the fennel seed and the red pepper really made this dish.  I was tricked into thinking I was having sausage with the pasta but it was turkey.  Definitely, try this one out for a quick meal.

Big Brother moments

Since Thomas joined the crew, I have noticed a few cute little things happening:

• JT will bring a binky to Thomas if he is crying.
• If Thomas is out playing, or more aptly laying on his tummy, JT will bring over his taggies to share with Thomas.
• When we are in the car and Thomas gets a bit cranky, JT goes "shush" and puts his finger over his mouth.
• If I ask JT if he wants Thomas to come play with him, JT pulls down Thomas's play blanket and gets it set up on the floor.

I love my big boy.  Here he is getting ready to feed his prairie dog breakfast just like mommy feeds Thomas breakfast.

Duty for Dooty

I'll be totally honest. There are very few days in my home where doing "Number 2" is not subject number 1 of our conversations. With Thomas' arrival, the boys' closets look like an aisle at Target - Cruisers size 5, Overnights size 6, a half plastic sleeve of Swaddlers size 1, a box of Swaddlers size 2 (for when the 1's are done), a box of Swaddlers size 3 and Overnights size 3. (You may think I am crazy to have 3s all ready to go but when you find a sale for these big boxes -$20 is awesome!- you might as well buy them early.). It is a little depressing, not to mention the extra costs.

So, we are slowly trying to get JT ready to leave the diapers behind. We have done a couple of things to get the process started:

1. I plan on reading Potty Training for Boys. I am almost done with the second book on India that I purchased many moons ago and this book is next in the queue. I am hoping this short little read will provide some insight into getting this done quickly and with as few messes as possible (HAHA!).
2. I have been trying to get JT to be more proactive in dressing himself. It is somewhat frustrating though. What I know will take me three seconds to do has now become a ten minute charade. I hope that as he becomes more adept at getting clothes on and off it will make the "pulling down my pants to use the potty" action easier.
3. Another hurdle is getting JT to use his words. He has a growing vocabulary but is torn between using them or screaming to get what he wants. I have been trying to convince him to use the words "poop" and "pee" as preludes to changing his diaper. Then he will hopefully use them to know when he has to go to the bathroom.
4. Wet vs Dry: another battle is trying to get him to recognize the difference between wet and dry. Right now I have been using all the instances when JT is drooling, or sticking his hands in his mouth to indicate wet. I hope it will help.
5. Easy Ups: On our recent diaper buying spree, I picked up a small box of potty training pants.
6. Got a potty. We bought a simple potty at IKEA. JT seems intrigued by it and has on a couple of occasions gone to just sit on it. Trouble is we have 2 bathrooms. Doi - silly mommy moment. We need to get one more before we begin this...adventure.

I'll update if we or when we have success. It might be a while. :-/

Posted with Blogsy