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. :-/

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Early Morning Feedings

Getting up early in the morning leaves me with a good half hour or so of quiet quality time.  I have been keeping myself and Thomas in the dark during these feedings to make it easier for him to get right back to sleep once he is done.  In the dark, my mind wanders:

1.  How much stuff can you stuff in a stuffies til your stuffies stuffed enough stuff?
We have started watching PBS' Sprout network in the evenings with JT.  Inevitably this commercial comes on at least 2 times during our viewing.  It has caused much pondering.  So much so that we have even considered buying a Stuffie just to answer this question.  Thankfully on their website provides this useful diagram.

2.  Michel Mercier
Yet another commercial on Sprout that has garnered a bit of my quiet time.  This professional hair stylist has come up with a special detangling brush.  It has 428 bristles of varying sizes.  This apparently is source of great pride - 428 is the exact right number of bristles to detangle hair and not have your hair end up on the brush.  My mathy brain wants to know how this guy chose 428.  Does the efficiency of the brush decrease significantly if you add just one more bristle?  I'd love to read a study if they did this.

3.  Minivans are more "Sucky"
Totally in a good way.  Now I am the first person to say that I hate minivans.  But the Honda Odyssey comes with a built in vacuum cleaner.  Every time I see the commercial it makes me want to drool.  Why did it take the minivan people so long to come up with this awesome feature?  I want a minivan now!

4.  Volvo
I want this concept coupe!

Grilled Honey Mustard Pork Tenderloin

We are settling into a rhythm here.  But it has been a month from Thomas' arrival and I got the urge to try something new.  Now it isn't anything super crazy.  It didn't take me hours to prepare - actually, I got to bring in my heavily underutilized hubby to do the cooking.  I had a pork tenderloin set in our meal plan but I didn't want to do the old lemon herb marinade or do all the cooking in the house.  So, I did a quick search and found this intriguing recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod.

Now, I am not a huge fan of honey mustard sauce.  As an option for chicken fingers at a restaurant, I would rather eat them plain then get honey mustard sauce.  Why not try something a little different?  So we did and the verdict was very pleasing.  There was just enough sweet and peppery to make it work.  We both enjoyed it very much.

Grilled Honey Mustard Pork Tenderloin

from Two Peas and Their Pod

Ingredients

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons coarsely ground pepper
2 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin

Steps

1. In a large bowl, whisk together apple cider vinegar, olive oil, honey, mustard, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes, and pepper.
2.  Place pork tenderloin in zip top bag.  Pour mixture into the bag.  Seal the bag and make sure the pork is covered in the marinade. Chill in the refrigerator overnight, turning occasionally.
3. Remove the pork from the refrigerator and let come to room temperature before grilling. Discard marinade. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Grill tenderloin, covered with grill lid, 8 to 10 minutes on all sides or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 150° to 155°. Remove tenderloin from grill, and let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Feedings

I feel like I need to share my experiences regarding the early feeding choices I have made with Thomas and JT.

With JT, I felt like I had my hands tied.  I did not get to see him much during the first 2 weeks of his life since he was in the NICU.  This was due in part to having to drive an hour both ways to get to the NICU and my very slow recovery from the emergency c-section.  I spent almost 4 days in the hospital.  The only thing that got stuck in my head was this bit of info from the nurses and lactation consultants - breastmilk will be the best thing for JT to get him big and healthy.  So to get my baby strong as quickly as possible, I made the decision to pump.  I had no problems producing - heck the NICU ended up sending a bunch of frozen milk back home with us.  When we got home, we got the green light to try breastfeeding.

And then the trouble began.  We tried for almost 4 weeks (and yes, I continued pumping this entire time).  I had no problem with any of the holds.  It just was not working.  Our breastfeeding experience ended with an excruciatingly painful bout of mastitis.  Once I got over that, I continued pumping for another 2 months.  The milk lasted through until JT was about 6 months old - when we made the switch to formula.

While pregnant with Thomas, I told myself that I would take another stab at breastfeeding again.  New baby, whole new start.  Again, I had no issues producing.  I guess I was an oddity because all the nurses just seemed so impressed.  But during early those days at the hospital, I could tell something was not right.  I think I must have called in every lactation consultant the hospital had on hand.  My holds were perfectly fine, latches were great!  (I had had quite a bit of practice, right?)  The nurses would come in and check my pain level from the c-section - no issues there.  What was totally painful was the breastfeeding - and it took me right back to my frustrations with JT.  I knew it was all wrong.

I told the nursing staff I could not continue this route - I've already done this once.  I knew what was in store.  Can we please get Thomas on formula?  Then I got read the riot act - well, why don't you pump?  It is so much more beneficial.  Yes, I know that it is.  I did it with my first son.  So why go formula?  Because I know the commitment of pumping and I know that the breastfeeding was not going the right way, but most importantly, I need to be able to be mom to both of my boys - not neglect one for the other.  I was a hot hormonal mess and that probably didn't come out quite as artfully.  After the hubby, stepped in to say this is what I want and is best for us, we got some formula.

You may ask yourself now that we are 3 weeks out - do I regret this decision?  No.  I am in such a better place mentally and physically than I was with JT.  Okay, I will not deny that I am exhausted.  Thankfully, we didn't have to wait near 3 months before some started sleeping for longer than 2 hours at a time overnight.  I can get about 5 hours of sleep at night and it feels glorious.  Not to mention, I have time between feedings to hang with JT and not be hooked up to my pump, or be cleaning pumping pieces.

So, I won't judge anyone about their baby feeding choices - so long as their baby and mom is happy and healthy - who cares!  Just my take on the formula vs breastfeeding wars.

Family Update

Well, family life has changed. "Rampage" decided to join us earlier than his scheduled extraction date but not by much. On August 9, 2013, we welcomed Thomas Jacob into our family.

We are now trying to settle into a new routine. Thankfully, Thomas has been sleeping from about midnight to 5 - 6 am. I still feel exhausted but not nearly the extreme that we dealt with getting JT settled. Not much more to report - I will try to post a bit more but no guarantee on new recipes.

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Rosemary-Crusted Pork Tenderloin

Always on the look out for good pork tenderloin recipes, and this one fits the bill.  I did make some slight adjustments to the recipe marked in the link.

Rosemary-Crusted Pork Tenderloin

adapted slightly from Real Simple

Ingredients

1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
kosher salt and black pepper
1 1 1/4-pound pork tenderloin
1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound green beans
1/4 cup pitted black olives, halved

Steps

1.  Heat oven to 425° F.
2.  On a large plate, combine the bread crumbs, garlic, paprika, rosemary, and ½ teaspoon salt.
3.  Rub the pork with 1 teaspoon of the oil, coat with the bread crumb mixture, then place on a rimmed baking sheet (I laid a sheet of aluminum foil down on the sheet to help contain some of the mess).
4.  Roast the pork until cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes (For some reason, pork never seems to cook that quickly for me - 40 to 45 minutes seemed an accurate cook time.). Let rest 5 minutes before slicing.
5.  Steam the green beans in a steamer bag in the microwave (approximately 4 minutes).
6.  In a heated pan, add remaining tablespoon of oil.  Add to it the steamed green beans, the olives, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.  Fry for 2 - 4 minutes and serve with the pork.

The Finished Product

The tenderloin had a good crunch and a nice light flavor to it.  The green beans and olives were a great combo - I would definitely pair that again as a side to almost any other meat.  A keeper!