When It Rains, It Pours

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Yesterday was one crazy day.

The morning started off with Elianna waking up around 6 am complaining of a stomach ache. She went back to bed only to wake up throwing up around 7:30. She spent the morning throwing up about every hour or so, but by the afternoon she seemed to be on the mend.

Then just before supper, the kids were playing when I suddenly heard a horrible scream. I ran and saw Nathanael's finger pinched in the door. It looked TERRIBLE. I was seriously freaking out inside and quickly called my husband at work and asked him to come home so I could figure out whether a trip to the walk-in or hospital was in order. At this point, I thought it was possibly broken because of how awful it looked.

I really didn't want to have to bring Elianna with me to the doctor since she had just been throwing up all morning. After about half an hour, his finger looked quite a bit better and I was feeling fairly confident it wasn't broken, but I figured it should probably get checked out anyway since it was pinched pretty badly. I hauled Nathanael to the walk-in clinic for a 2 hour wait to see the doctor. The doctor thought it needed to be x-rayed, so we were told to have that done this morning and go back to the doctor again the next day.

Thankfully Elianna was 100% better this morning, so we got Nathanael's x-ray done and then managed to get in with his family doctor for the follow-up so that we didn't have to go back to the walk-in (thankfully!). No broken bones - praise the Lord - just a pretty nasty bruise.

In other news...

My birthday is coming up soon, and I'm planning on making a new dessert. It will consist of rolos, brownies, cheesecake, caramel sauce, and whipped cream layered in mason jars. This is what I've dreamed up, anyway!

I'm currently on Week 6 of the Couch to 5K program and I have not lost ANY of the 15 pounds I had hoped to lose since starting. Pretty sure this is because all I can think of when I'm running is DESSERT! Yeah...that is not helping. Anyway, I'm thinking about giving the 5K a go tomorrow (even though it's only Week 6 of the 9 Week program) just cause I want to try it. I'm supposed to run 22 minutes straight tomorrow and would have to do 30 minutes straight in order to get to 5K. I am reasonably confident that I can do the whole 5K if I really push myself. We shall see how I feel about it tomorrow....

Happy my kiddos are doing better today,

Menu Plan Monday

Sunday: Chili Potluck at church

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: Sausage, Perogies, & Peas/Carrots

Wednesday: Zuppa Toscana Soup (NEW) & Foccacia Bread

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Pizza & Caesar Salad

Saturday: Chicken with Mushroom Cream Sauce (NEW) over pasta & Steamed Broccoli

Menu Plan Monday

Here's the plan for this week:

Sunday: Chinese Take-Out for Great Grandma's 80th Birthday

Monday:  BBQ Meatballs (from freezer), Rice, & Mixed Veggies

Tuesday: Vegetable Beef Soup & Biscuits

Wednesday: Shipwreck Casserole & Tossed Salad

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Homemade Pizza

Saturday: Leftovers or Sausage & Perogies

The Most Important "TO DO"

I am a To Do list kind of girl. Confession - I have even written down a task after completing it, just to feel the satisfaction of crossing it off my list. 

Lately, though, the Lord has been teaching me that it is very possible to accomplish everything on my to do list and yet miss the mark. Completely. 

Friends, we are not called to complete our to-do lists.

We are not called to accomplish our own goals.

We are called to ABIDE in the love of JESUS.

As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. ¹⁰ If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. ¹² This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15:9-11

How do we abide in the love of Jesus? Look at the passage again. If we keep His commandments. 

What is His commandment? That we love one another as Jesus has loved us.

Though my to do's and goals may be noble, I can complete all my own goals and cross every item off my to-do list and still have been disobedient if I have not loved others as Jesus has loved me.

My to-do list can be a mile long, but this is the "to-do" that I need to focus my heart on day in and day out for all long as I'm given breath.

 And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38“This is the great and foremost commandment. 39“The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40

We are called...no, we are commanded....to love the LORD with everything we are. 

We are commanded to love our neighbour as ourself. 

We are commanded to love one another as Jesus has loved us.

Friends, a command is not optional. If we love God, we will obey Him.

 In all that we do throughout our busy days...the grocery shopping, the diaper changing, the house keeping, the meal making, the child training..... let us not miss our most important "To Do".

Love in Jesus,


This post may be linked up to any of the following:

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Menu Plan Monday

Unfortunately, we have 2 sick kiddos again this week :-(. Nathanael's cough has really worsened, so I ended up taking him to the doctor and he's on antibiotics again. Elianna's looks to be only viral so far, thankfully. I'm planning a simple menu this week.

Here's what we will be having:

Sunday: Leftover Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes, and Veggies
           
Monday: Bean & Cheese Burritos, Veggies & Dip

Tuesday: Beefy Bacon Pasta(NEW), Salad

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Potato Soup & Biscuits

Friday: BBQ Meatballs (from freezer), Rice, Veggies

Saturday: Homemade Pizza, Salad

*Linking up to Menu Plan Monday*

Menu Plan Monday

You probably noticed that I finally designed a new header for my blog. It was definitely time. :-)

As for my goals for last week, I didn't do so well. That would be an understatement. Thankfully, this is a new week. I'm thinking 10 goals might be overly ambitious for me. Perhaps I will try 3 and work my way up? :-) Here they are....

1) Read 20 pages from book
2) Sit still/blanket training 4x with kiddos
3) No eating after 9 pm

 On the plus side, I am actually enjoying exercising again. I always put it off and dread getting on it, but once I start, it really energizes me. I just need to keep.it.going. My favourite thing is using my couch to 5K app on my iphone that tells me when to walk & run and then play jango radio through my headphones (from Christian artists). I hope to make myself a running playlist soon with some of my favourite upbeat worship songs.

Here's what we plan on eating this week. We will be eating a lot of leftovers this week!

Sunday: Drive-through for lunch
             Brought Crockpot Pomegranate Beef out to Mom & Dad's for supper

Monday: Leftover Stuffed Peppers (from Saturday)

Tuesday: Leftover Pomegranate Beef (yep...we have lots of leftovers from this weekend! :-)

Wednesday: Firecracker Salmon, Stir Fry Veggies, Rice

Thursday: Skillet Light Lasagna & Salad

Friday: BBQ Meatballs, Rice, Veggies

Saturday: Pizza, Veggies & Dip

Do you menu plan?  I'd love to hear what you're making this week :-)




*Linking up to Menu Plan Monday hosted by orgjunkie.com*

Crockpot Chicken Tikka Masala

This is my hubby's all time favourite dish. The flavour combination is fantastic. Don't be scared off by the long ingredient list. If you like Indian cuisine, you really should try this amazingly easy dish. It takes only a few minutes of prep time.

Crockpot Chicken Tikka Masala - serves 4-6

3 large chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced

1 1/2 cups canned crushed tomatoes

1 cup plain yogurt (I use 2% )

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp garam masala (this is an Indian dry spice blend. I use McCormick brand)

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (add more if you like it really hot. This is the perfect amount for us, though!)

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup cream (full fat whipping cream)

1 Tbsp cornstarch

Directions: In a large crockpot, combine all the ingredients except the bay leaf, cream, and cornstarch. Place bay leaf on top of mixture. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until chicken is cooked and tender. In a small bowl, whisk cornstarch and cream together. Blend this into the crockpot mixture and cook for an additional 20 minutes to thicken. Serve over basmatic rice. The leftovers are fantastic as the flavour seems even better the next day. 

9 Week Boot Camp - Week 2

I mentioned last week in my weekly goals that I have challenged myself to a 9 week boot camp. Honestly, I just needed to give myself something to motivate me to get moving again. It has been far too long since I have exercised on a regular basis. The last time I was in decent shape, feeling great, and exercising regularly was before I got pregnant with Nathanael about 2 years ago. 2 YEARS ago! How can that be!? :-).  I tried to get back on the exercise wagon after Nathanael was born, but even though he is 1 year old already, I still don't feel like I have settled into a regular routine of any sort. Housekeeping. Organizing. Exercise. Umm.....yeah. I guess having 2 kids kind of threw me for a major loop - it's okay, though. It's a good loop, I promise :-).

I have been sick a lot this winter and generally feeling unwell for the past few months. Often I have no energy and just feel very blah. I recall that I felt fantastic when exercising wayyyy back when Elianna was just a baby. I had tons of energy even though she (and I!) never slept. If I can just get back on track with the exercise, I know there is a good chance (make that a pretty much guaranteed chance) my health and energy level would improve. Well I'm on week 2, and I can tell you that I'm already feeling a difference. Hooray!

Some of you might want to know what I'm doing. Here is the plan:

Eat better. Move more. 

Seriously, that's pretty much all I'm aiming for, though I have a few more details to help me see results. I like to see that I'm improving and that my efforts are paying off, so I need to have a bit more of a plan.

Exercise: I'm aiming for at least 30 minutes of intense exercise, 5 times per week

* I'm following the Couch to 5K program. It's 9 weeks of workouts to get me to running 5 kilometres. I am doing this 3 times a week and using my app on my iphone to track my progress. I love this program because I can see significant improvement in my endurance each week. That motivates me.
*I'm doing the 30 Day Shred dvd at least 2 times a week (on the days that I'm not running).
* I also do short bursts of activity or exercise videos when the mood strikes me. Last week working out was a HUGE challenge...a major chore. This week I'm actually enjoying it?? Thus, the short bursts when the mood strikes. Okay, maybe enjoying is a bit of a stretch. But I'm definitely not hating it as much as last week.

Food: I am keeping a food & exercise journal (in the past this has been extremely effective in helping me curb eating out of boredom). The food journal helps me to look back and see where I can improve such as eating too many sweets or empty carbs, not enough fruits & veggies, etc. There are no off-limit foods for me. I will still drink pop, eat cookies, cake, ice cream, and chips. Everything in moderation. Thus, I am cutting back quite a bit on these things; they are full of empty calories and things that do our bodies no good. A treat once in awhile is still okay. I am also trying to be intentional about eating more of the veggies in a meal and less of the main meaty/carb dish. I try not to overeat during the day, and I try to choose a healthier snack (think...an apple or some cottage cheese for the afternoon snack instead of crackers and cheese or chips & salsa). I might have crackers and cheese on occasion but just less of them and less often. Late night snacking is a big problem for me, so this week I have decided to stop eating after 9 pm on weekdays.

Am I trying to lose weight? Well yes and no. Truthfully, my main motivation is to have more energy and feeling better. I really want to feel healthy again. I want more energy. Truthfully, though, I would also really like to lose 15 pounds to get me to my pre-pregnancy weight. Last week I was down  0.6 lbs, which was a bit of a disappointment. Oh well...I'll keep you posted. :-)