Dessert First

I didn't get to finish cooking my last two meals as my child is particularly active and has more waking hours, but on Saturday I cooked another Baked French Toast , Chicken Divan, and Double Chocolate Trifle.

Thankfully I have plenty of other meals stashed so I'll have variety this week even though I only cooked 1 entree. Hey, at least I did a dessert...that was most important!

(notice the spooned part in the back)

Earth Day

So today is Earth Day, but does anyone think it's suspicious that this week's been a "Crunchy Week"? Monday was 4/20...Tuesday was Free Cone Day @ Ben & Jerry's...and Wednesday is Earth Day. Is Woodstock this weekend? Hehe...

It's Gonna Be A Great Day

...because today is FREE CONE DAY at BEN & JERRY'S!

They sure know how to brighten up someone's day... mannn, Ben and Jerry are two cool cats =)

Food In My Tummy

Publix had a sale on boneless, skinless chicken breasts ($2/lb) so Saturday I made a couple more chicken dishes:

• Easy Breakfast Casserole with hashbrowns, eggs, cheddar & maple sausage (easily 10 servings)
• Beef Chimichangas (4 servings)
• Pecan Crusted Chicken with Broccoli and Couscous as a side...the chicken dish is just so-so, see below (7 servings)
• Baked Barbeque Chicken with Potato Salad & Baked Beans as side dishes (5 servings)

I'm learning which kinds of dishes are best right out of the oven, which ones freeze well, and which ones I should only refrigerate. The below Mexican Chicken and Poppy Seed Casserole are both great for freezer meals. I'll have to see what else works after this week.

The Times They Are A Changin'

My front bedroom has undergone change many times. And one of my favorite furniture items is a salvaged mantle; this rustic piece has been repurposed many times.

See the difference from this post HERE

To the change now HERE

Yes, it's the same room...from a guest room to Mason's nursery! Check out the full nursery pics HERE.

Ho Ho Ho Green Giant

The Green Giant sells us packaged frozen vegetables, telling us this is a fresh, healthy way to fill our nutritional needs for an often unappreciated food group. General Mills even commercializes the brand in a way to caricaturize an actual vegetable, appealing to both children and mothers alike. The Giant is tall, strong, and healthy because he's eating his fill of veggies...the Green Giant brand. When in reality, it's vegetables that are processed from their original form losing nutritional value for the sake of convenience. It's not that they're entirely bad for you, but Green Giant doesn't necessarily disclose the negative aspect of joining Team Green.

Again, overall the Jolly Green Giant is for good...it's just that FRESH would be best.

I'm convinced that's what the IRS is...a Jolly Green Giant. Overall, their primary purpose is to collect tax payers dollars (our income) and infuse these monies into government spending to pay for things we all commonly use. However, they try to mask under this charade of a good, healthy form but nonetheless they're a green money-grubbing government institution that hides the fact that incomes are taxed in great disparity AND are often wasted through the inefficiencies of our bureaucratic system.

So this year, did you see any GREEN or did the Jolly Giant take you by surprise?

What's for Dinner?

Saturday I was able to prepare enough food for 23 servings...that means TWENTY-THREE MEALS which is a little more than 1 whole week's worth (eating 3 square meals a day).

Being a single mom has enough daily challenges-preparing meals has certainly been a big one. I can eat with one hand while balancing Mason with the other, but it's near impossible, and unsafe, for me to cook while holding him as well. So this past weekend I planned to put Mason down for a long nap (3 hrs) and went about like a mad woman cooking 4 different dishes, storing them, and putting some in the fridge and others in the freezer for later.

I cooked Poppyseed Chicken Casserole, Red Curry Chicken with Rice, and then two of my recipes were from this Blog...can't wait for my yummy meals!

Baked French Toast

Mexican Chicken

Psssst, I cooked 12 cups of rice in the mix for all of the dishes...that's a whole lotta rice!

Get Going

Alright...it's the countdown! Twenty more lbs to go...

I started running with the stroller last week and hope to continue this week as weather permits. I didn't expect that something on wheels and a 10-lb baby would create so much resistance when running, but I'm certainly giving my arms a workout as well.

The goal this year is to get through a 5K and a 10K with Mason in tow! Then next year, I'll tackle a half marathon...maybe a marathon sans my little Mister.

Out of the Woodwork

As of late, it seems that several guys I've dated in the past have reappeared since Mason's birth. While it's encouraging to me that being a single mom doesn't scare the guys off, I'm not quite sure why there have been so many that have emerged from hibernation in just the past 2 weeks.

• Crunchy Boy and I only "friend dated" but he's called to check up on me and Mason and asked about visiting us which is kind.

• Flyin' "F"s came in town today. No further comments.

• Jazz of All Trades was also in town from ****** and we went to lunch today with his brother and sister-in-law. We had a nice lunch and were all trying to convince him to move back.

• And then Speedy has been particularly diligent about keeping in touch...almost every day. He's visited Baby Mason and me several times; met up with my brothers & sister-in-law when they were in town a week ago; and then we went to dinner last Friday night.

But I'm not dating and I'm certainly not welcoming the "Zoo."

I'm deeply in love with another man anyhow!

Time to Get Back on Track

Wow, I didn't realize how much I've neglected this blog!

Today I had my 6-week postpartum OB appointment. Unfortunately, I still have somewhere between 20-25lbs to lose until I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I'm about 3 sizes larger too =( But I did get the "go ahead" to do everything at full force. I have no restrictions and will just go back to my OB 3 months from now.

So it's time to get back on track (literally) and start running again!

Fifty-Five

FIFTY-FIVE

...it used to be the standard highway speed limit,

...it's the Interstate that runs North-South from just outside of New Orleans to Chicago,

...and it's my total weight gained in the past 9 months (technically I got up to 56 lbs).

After the delivery, I immediately lost 13 lbs.

Two weeks and one day later, I'm down a total of 27 lbs.

But I still have 29 lbs left to get back to my pre-preggers weight.
______________________

And while I was working out up until 1 week prior to delivery (running only 1/2 mile, but doing Elliptical for 30-45 min at 3-4 times a week), I've now had 3 straight weeks of not working out and no aerobic activity.

I feel I've slowly turned into a couch-potato/feeding machine. When your sweet piggy baby demands feedings every couple of hours and each feeding lasts anywhere from 10 min to 50 min, not including the obligatory burping and diaper changing time...all this on severe sleep deprivation...it's tough to muster up the energy to pack all the baby gear together, bundle your sweet monkey up and brave the chilly outdoors.

BUT I have to say that he's definitely worth it- seriously look at this sweet guy and you'll see why I choose our snuggle time over fitting into my clothes.

Check This Gorgeous Guy Out!

HERE HE IS!

I Got My Hur Did

Alright, alright, alright.

I had my hair chopped off very early Saturday morning (7:15am)...1 foot of hair! It's very layered and actually patterned after my September '08 inspiration photo.

Here's a picture from my Baby Shower Sunday afternoon. I still curled the ends under, but I need to figure out if I'm okay with the wash n' wear look.

Getting My Ducks in a Row

It seems that Baby Mason will be making his debut soon. Although when I think about it, I really shouldn't be too surprised...I mean it has been almost 9 months! Yesterday I had conflicting emotions of elation, fear, and utter denial. I realized it's time to start "getting my ducks in a row" since whether or not I feel ready, I have to be.

So far I'm not really feeling the nesting urge, other than just the general urgency to get things checked off my list only because I'm supposed to do that. But speaking of nesting, here's a fun sewing project that I did for my Baby Showers Hostesses:

I took washcloths and appliqued duckies (from Amy Butler fabrics of course) and blue ric-rac "water", and then wrapped them up with a poof, soap, body scrub, and body wash. Then I tied them with ribbon and the card reads:

"Thank you so much for being my Hostess. Hope you enjoy your SHOWER as much as I did mine."

Cheesetastic I know, but it was a fun way of thanking the 24 hostesses for blessing me with throwing the Baby Showers (last one is this Sunday!)

Mellow Cello

So I do feel a little guilty that Baby Mason has not been exposed to music in the womb like I'd always planned. Originally when I thought he was a "she", I had decided Baby would be a little Hippie Chick with me and I'd play all types of music with a strong emphasis on the Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, and Bob Marley-all in utero.

Let's just say I must've had preggers brain because it was a goofy idea in first place. Cool idea- yes, but goofy indeed.

But to encourage my own Momma, I can at least say I've picked up my cello a couple of times just to make sure I can still play, and to mellow me out a little in anticipation of Baby Mason's arrival. And I've done my pregger mommy deed and exposed him to Classical already. So now onto the Dead, Led and Bob...