the first three days

A little catch-up to our first three days...

Day one:
The first day of Great Pines Railroad Homeschool is in the books! Elijah was done by 11:30 and has worked through all his math through Sept. 6, lol. Morgan finished at lunch, and Matthew did Bible and has a little left in Science, all preceded by chores and quiet Bible time. I call it good!! :)

And in the afternoon:
First soccer practice. They nicknamed him "Newbie" because he had the least experience, but he didn't play like one. :) #coachsaidso #numbahtwo

Day two:
Slightly more real homeschool. When you don't get to bed till 2am so you don't get up till 8:30 and there are still groceries all over the kitchen so no one can work and breakfast isn't eaten till 10:30 and the 3yo no longer thinks workbooks are interesting.

Day three:
LOVING THIS! Another late start, but I dropped expectations and we did a soft start to the day. Also, Girl Twelve, who had created her own schedule that started at 9, overslept till I woke her at 9:30, so we didn't have that pressure of starting on time. She had also gotten much of her work for today done yesterday, so she had little to do today. (She was blown away by the realization of the flexibility of it.) Another new thing I'm trying today is doing Boy Seven's work this afternoon, which lets me give attention to Girl Three in the morning, get a little work done, and focus solely on Boy Seven's work, with no distractions, in the afternoon while Girl Three sleeps. It's working out So. Well. I am able to really focus on Boy Seven, be present, and still have some of my smaller computer tasks on the side while he writes. And I am not feeling stressed. Victory! :)

night before the first day

Least stressful night-before-first-day-of-school ever. Have already failed at home school: the living room and kitchen were not picked up, erego the work surfaces - kitchen table living room bench - have not been cleaned up and are not ready for working, and the sink is full of dishes. Not the waking up to a fresh and ready start that I would have hoped for. :)

THM: S french toast (!!)

So it's a big joke that people post on facebook what they eat for lunch. However...someone's post this morning of french toast for breakfast made me decide that's what I wanted for lunch. So sometimes it is helpful!!

But french toast isn't that great for you.

So when I sat down to figure out what to have for lunch, attempting to be good and eat a THM lunch, I came across my THM recipe for S bread that's made in the microwave. Bazinga.

S Bread

1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup + a dribble of half & half
3T almond flour [the original recipe calls for coconut flour, but I like the taste of this better]
scant 1/4t baking soda
shake of salt

Mix, microwave for 3 minutes. [Microwave times may vary.] You can make it in a round container or square, making it thicker and cutting it in half thick-wise, or in a longer, more shallower container (like I did this time), and cutting it in half width-wise. (I've used a round, deeper container in the past, and it works just as well.)

French toast batter

1 egg
half & half -- I never measure when I make this batter. I pour in enough to cover the bottom of whatever dish I'm using by about 1/4 to 1/2" or so
dribble of vanilla
cinnamon to taste

Beat in a dish that has enough space to dip a piece of bread lying flat. I usually use a pie plate or a square plastic storage dish (like the size of a sandwich).

After the bread comes out of the microwave, I chilled it in the fridge, hoping it would hold together better in the batter. (better butter batter...hehe)

I started some coconut oil melting in the frying pan. I started loosening the bread from the plastic container and set it on my plate, and cut it in half using my pancake turner. Usually I use a fork when dipping my *regular* bread in the french toast batter, but with this being a "wetter" bread (because of the egg), I found my fingers worked better.

First half after turning it. I turned it another time or two to get it a little more brown.

Second half before turning it.

Dip it in the batter and fry it up as usual! And, because it's an S meal, butter and peanut butter on top are a GO! :) [Make sure to make any peanut butter or syrup sugar-free to make it a true S.]

#FMF : share

Five Minute Friday: share. Go.

I have to share her. This new wonderful friend of mine. I just realized I have to share. I was never really trying to keep her all to myself, of course. She isn't mine. She had other friends before me, has other friends besides me, and will meet new people again. But to suddenly think there's someone now, someone she's sharing things with the same way she shares with me... For a second it felt like cheating. But it isn't, of course. I have other friends. Have had other friends, will have other friends. Special friends, even. Why did it hit me this way this time? Maybe it felt like this time was, indeed, a special friendship. Why must I question and second guess rather than just letting it be?

Stop.

pink drinks & nail selfies

I do love my pink drink!! I find myself looking forward to it.

I was nervous at first but it was going to taste like. I had heard that it was similar to a cherry Tootsie Pop. I do not like cherry.

I find it to taste much more like a very nice strawberry-ish Crystal Light, with no fake sugar flavor.

Note 1: You do not have to drink a full one of these bottles. This is just what I'm using right now. You only need 12-15oz of water to mix with your pink drink packet; I fill this bottle about one-third full.

Note 2: Never miss an opportunity for a good Jamberry nail selfie. :)

37

Today's my birthday. I'm 37.

But I'm not old.

Sometimes I feel it, but I'm not. And I refuse to go down like that. So this is my year. Wanna join me?

I've been an independent rep for doTERRA oils and Jamberry nail wraps for a little while (and they're awesome, fyi). But I've just signed up for a third. Have you ever heard of Plexus? I hadn't either. My dear sister-friend Yvonne at Graceful Freedom introduced me. And she knew my heart for getting healthy, so she invited me to join her team.

The idea behind multi-level marketing companies is that you try the product, you like the product, you sign up, you convince others to like the product. Such was the case with me and doTERRA and Jamberry. (Except, if the products are good, as in these cases, you don't have to do much convincing. :) )

Such is NOT the case with me and Plexus. Well, sorta. Plexus is different. It's not like you buy a set of Jamberry nail wraps, or get a sample, and put it on and love it. (Although you would. :) ) Plexus results don't happen overnight.

Several weeks ago, I tried a 7-day sample of the Plexus Slim and Accelerator. By the end of the 7 days, I was able to tell a difference. I was not "cured" of anything. But it was enough...enough to make me curious for more.

Here's what I noticed at the end of 7 days:
-- I didn't feel the need to fall asleep during the day.
-- I did not think about food between breakfast and lunch, and between lunch and dinner.
-- I was not as tempted to run to the convenience store at night for ice cream.

Did you hear me?? I love to eat. Primarily chocolate or ice cream or cookie dough or things like that. When I started on the Trim Healthy Mama way of eating, they say to wait 3 hours between meals, and people would say things like "I can't believe I'm eating so much and losing weight!!" My thoughts, however, were, "how am I going to go 3 hours???" Last year was the first time that the words "overeater" and "gluttony" came to mind.

But for REAL, y'all, I didn't. even. THINK. about food during those stretches. Not just that I wasn't hungry (because I could eat even when not hungry). It didn't even cross my MIND.

That's NUTS.

So here I go. I can't tell you that Plexus will solve all your problems. Because I DON'T KNOW THAT. But I'm starting a journey today, and I'm inviting you to read along. I got my Plexus kit yesterday, and I started this morning, and you're welcome to hang out here and see what happens. I will be honest and real and it's probably gonna hurt a little. But I will tell you if Plexus works for me.

Okay. (sigh) Here are the straight facts of it. Yuck. But necessary.

Weight (late morning): 245.8lbs (I weighed myself 3 times and took the lowest of the 3. That's my highest ever. BLAH.)

Neck: 15.75" (I don't know that this will change, but if it does, I'll want to know.)
Bicep: 15.25"
Chest: app. 45"? (The tape measure didn't reach.)
Ribs: 39.5"
Waist: app. 46"? (I should get a longer tape measure...)
Bum: app. 52"? (Major guess.)
Right thigh: 30.5"

There it is.

The Plexus products I'm using right now are:
-- Plexus Slim, the "pink drink"
-- ProBio5, probiotics and intestinal balance
-- and BioCleanse, energizes and oxygenates the body

Of course I'm hoping for weight loss; I'd be lying if I said I was in this just to "be healthier." But I DO want to be healthier. You could lose weight in a myriad of ways and still not be healthy. The genius of Plexus seems to be to
     heal your body from the inside out, 

thus helping it behave properly and crave what it NEEDS, 

all of which gives you more energy to be more active. 

I have 4 kids and want to be active with them. I want really quality years with my awesome hubby. I want to train my body to eat healthier and crave the foods God created to fuel my body. I want muscle tone (which means I need energy to exercise; I plan to use a combination of an elliptical, T-Tapp, and chasing my kids for a lot of that). I want to sleep well (once my littlest decides to sleep through the night). And I have a couple internal issues that have materialized since my last pregnancy that I want to clear up (they are greatly improved by eating the Trim Healthy Mama way). And I will let you know how all of that goes.

Stick around if you like. :)

parmesan herb chicken

1 env. herb & garlic soup mix
1 16 oz container sour cream
parmesan cheese to taste
evaporated milk to creaminess (more for sauce, less to coat)

1 16oz bag egg noodles

1 12.5oz can chunk chicken

Start noodles cooking. While waiting, mix sauce ingredients. Add chicken, mix.

Mix chicken and sauce with noodles, or serve on noodles.

Time, start to finish: 20 minutes, serves 5