Happy Thanksgiving! November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone is having a wonderful day with their loved ones and eating “yummy food” (as Keenan likes to say!). We started our day off on a yummy note with Cafe Bon (thanks to my husband) and pumpkin bread pudding (recipe coming soon!) for breakfast. Keenan was thrilled to have his own little dish of whipped cream to eat (a VERY special treat!). Also, the day started off even better because Keenan slept in until 7:30 a.m.!! He never sleeps in at my parents, so we were all excited! My husband downloaded some “white noise” on his phone and we kept it on all night in his room, as well as talking to Keenan about only waking up when it is light outside. I’m hoping the noise did the trick and he will sleep in the rest of the weekend (keeping my fingers crossed!).

Cafe Bon! (Sorry for the poor quality picture, I only had my phone with me).

SO good, especially with my husband’s whipped cream! (Another poor picture.)

We also enjoyed some thick-cut bacon that my mom prepared (sorry, I forgot to take a picture!). It was the perfect holiday breakfast and morning!

Shortly after breakfast, my mom discovered that their toilets were backing-up, thus the septic system was clogged! Awe…nothing like country living! Luckily, my parents’ were able to get a hold of someone to come out and unclog it (which they are working on as I write this). It just makes for a poopy day (no pun intended!). Fortunately, we aren’t eating our turkey dinner until 5:00 p.m., so we have a little bit of time to de-clog everything, clean the bathrooms and take showers (since we can’t use the bathrooms until everything is fixed). Most of our meal is already prepped, so there isn’t much that we need to do, aside from my husband’s risotto and baking my mom’s famous broccoli casserole.

On the menu for our turkey dinner is: turkey (cooked in the barbecue), broccoli casserole, butternut squash risotto, homemade cranberry sauce, artichoke torta, salad and pumpkin beer bread. For dessert, my mom made an apple crisp and a pumpkin pie. I can’t wait to try everything! I’ll be sure to take pictures and post about our dinner in the next few days.

Since it is Thursday and Thanksgiving, I thought I would link-up with Jessie at Jessie Loves to Run for her Thankful Thursday link-up.

Today, I am thankful for:

1. My Parents: They do so much for all of us and are always very supportive. They are so generous and give so much to everyone. I love you, Mom and Dad!

2. My Brothers: Though, they both can’t be here with us today (my middle brother lives in Canada) and my oldest brother, Chris, is watching from above. We know you are both with us in spirit. I’m thankful for all of the great memories we have together. We miss you Chris and I can’t wait to visit my middle brother, niece and sister-in-law for Christmas!

3. My husband: I am so thankful to be able to share my life with my best friend. He is a great father, cook and “handyman.” He makes me laugh everyday, and I can’t imagine spending my life with anyone else!

4. Keenan: He brings a smile to my face and melts my heart everyday. He definitely takes on his daddy’s humor because just like my husband, he makes me laugh all the time!

Enjoying some play time this morning! (Sorry for yet another poor quality picture!).

Well, it is time to start cleaning and getting ready for our dinner! Enjoy the rest of your holiday!

Questions: What are you thankful for? What is on the menu for your turkey dinner?

Thankful Thursday November 15, 2012

It has been a couple of weeks since I linked up with Jessie at Jessie Loves to Run for her Thankful Thursday link-up, so I thought it would be good to do it today.  Every day I strive to live more in the present and cherish each and every moment, as part of my new focus. Taking some time to think about what I am thankful for is a great way to slow down and reflect on what is really important.

Before I talk about what I am thankful for, I want to tell you about last night’s dinner creation: Mediterranean Chicken in the Crock Pot. It was delicious and quite the hit with my husband and Keenan! Keenan gobbled his up in minutes and my husband requested that I make it again!

Here are a few things that I am thankful for this week:

The little moments: Yesterday morning, Keenan wanted to help my husband grind the coffee beans. Since we have a hand grinder, Keenan sat in my husband’s lap and his hand in my husband’s and they turned it together until all of the beans were ground. It was such a precious moment of the two of them working together; it melted my heart!

Being silly: Keenan loves to laugh and be tickled. This week has been filled with “Mommy The Tickle Monster” moments, lots of laughs and goofiness!

Singing: Keenan loves listening to music, singing and dancing. I usually make up all kinds of songs throughout the day, especially to help with getting him to do something or as we are doing something (when in doubt, break out in song!). This week, especially, he has been asking me to create all kinds of songs: about his books, breakfast, lunch, “Baba” and Slinky. He loves to join in and create the songs, so it has been a lot of fun!

Playing: I am so thankful for having the time to play with Keenan, whether it is play doh, legos, making food in his kitchen or doing arts and crafts. As adults, we sometimes forget to play, due to the chaos of life, but it is truly important for our mental health to let loose and “play” every now and then (with your kids, or just being a kid, yourself!).

Time with my husband: Whether it be cooking, doing dishes, working side-by-side in our office, reading in bed or cuddling on the couch watching our favorite TV show, I’m thankful for all the moments I spend with him.

Before I forget, I want to share a little Thanksgiving craft idea that Keenan and I did this morning. Since Thanksgiving is next week, I thought it would be fun to make a little turkey. When I was young, I enjoyed making a turkey using cut-outs of my hands, so we did that today. I traced Keenan’s hands and he also made a few hand prints. He colored them and we used a small plate to glue the hands for the turkey’s feathers. I made the turkey head/body while he continued to “help” glue his hand cut-outs and prints. I have to say, he didn’t do too bad with the glue, though he still managed to get it everywhere (thankfully it was washable!). Keenan was so proud of his little turkey!

After Keenan wakes up from his nap, we are heading to CrossFit, as usual, though I’m staying to do some heavy back squat work after class and help with the beginner’s class. I’m looking forward to the weekend, because my body is already tired (luckily not too sore!) from the WODs this week!

Have a great afternoon!

Questions: What are you thankful for? Are you ready for Thanksgiving? Are you hosting or being a guest? We are going to my parents’ house for Thanksgiving and my husband and I are helping my mom cook!

Thankful Thursday and Halloween Fun! November 1, 2012

I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween! We had a great time last night! Keenan really took to the whole concept of trick-or-treating and loved going door-to-door! He did a good job with saying “trick-or-treat,” though we would have to prompt him! He would always say “hi” when people answered their door and “thank you,” as he left, being very polite, which was really cute. He loved seeing all of the “big kids” trick-or-treating and wanted to run as fast as they were, in fact, as he was holding my mom’s hand, he kept saying “faster, faster!” The highlight of last night was seeing Keenan experience Halloween for the first time.  He was so excited about everything: dressing-up, going trick-or-treating (especially with Nonna!), eating candy for the first time, looking at all of the Halloween decorations on people’s houses and seeing other kids out and dressed-up. It was so much fun to see Halloween through his eyes and see him so happy! It truly melted my heart.

Here are a few pictures from our evening:

At his first house!

Getting his first handful of candy!

Going through his candy with Slinky at the end of the evening!

A quick family picture! Don’t you just love the sweats and lovely hairdo I was sporting?!

He was SO excited to enjoy his first piece of candy, a mini sucker that he unwrapped all by himself!

Today, after my mom headed home, we  met with an estate attorney. At my MOMs Club meeting last month, an estate attorney made a presentation about the importance of establishing guardianship and making plans if something unforeseen were to happen. Though, my husband and I have casually talked about a few things, we hadn’t discussed anything in depth about who would take care of Keenan if something were to happen to us. I hate talking about these things, but after hearing the presentation, it really made me think about the “what ifs” and how it is better to be prepared than have nothing in place. Fortunately, the attorney offered everyone who attended the presentation a complimentary consultation, so I immediately made an appointment.

Today’s appointment with the attorney made us think about a lot of things that we really never thought about it before (nor really want to think about, but need to). It put things into perspective and made me appreciate what we have in our lives and that we have each other. You just never know what can happen…

With that said, today I’m linking up with Jessie at Jessie Loves to Run, for her Thankful Thursday link-up. When things get busy, or I’m stressed, I sometimes forget to slow down, take a deep breath and really appreciate all that I have in my life. It is easy to take things for granted and not reflect on what we are blessed with or show appreciation or love for others. So, I thought it would be great to make a list of what I am thankful for. Thank you Jessie for coming up with such a great idea!

• My family: I’m so blessed to have such a supportive and loving family. They are my rock and everyone is always willing to help each other. Sometimes, we might not agree on things, but we still respect and love one another.
• My mom: She is my best friend, mentor and role model. I strive to be as good of a mom as she is to me. I love that I can tell her anything and she is always there to listen, offer a shoulder to cry on or a warm hug. She is also a tremendous Nonna to Keenan and my niece and I’m so thankful for everything that she does for us!
• My husband: He is my best friend and the love of my life. I am truly blessed to have met him 11 years ago! He makes me laugh everyday and is always there, supporting me along the way. He is a wonderful father and I couldn’t have asked for a better partner to share my life with.
• Keenan: I am so blessed to have him in my life. He is my sunshine, making me smile and laugh everyday. I can’t believe that already 2 years have gone by, but I have loved every minute of it! His snuggles, hugs, kisses and sweetness are priceless.
• Health and Fitness: I’m thankful for being able to workout and stay active. Even though there are days when I don’t feel like doing anything, I’m thankful for having the ability to exercise.
• Faith: I’m thankful for my faith and it helping me get through difficult times, such as when we lost my brother, or my grandparents. My faith has always been there and it has helped me get to where I am today.

This evening, I am heading to CrossFit to get my workout in and then stay to help with the beginner’s class. My lower back is still a little sore from max deadlifts on Tuesday, so we’ll see how today goes. After doing virtually two workouts yesterday (heavy skill work in the morning and a WOD in the afternoon), I’m a little tired. I’m looking forward to tomorrow evening, because my husband and I have a couples massage scheduled (thanks to groupon!) for our date night!

Anyhow, on the menu for tonight is a roasted broccoli salad with cherry tomatoes, red onion, chicken and feta cheese. I just love roasted broccoli with charred cherry tomatoes; they are just so good together!

Have a great afternoon!

Question: What are you thankful for? How was your Halloween?

*The winner of the Artisana giveaway is: Danielle at Clean Food Creative Fitness! Please email me at fitnwellmommy@yahoo.com with your address!