Been feeling blah

It's been awhile since my last post. I've been one big pitty party. Life is hectic and busy. Kids are awesome but the fighting has my anxiety level at an all time high. Work sucks. I want to poke my eyes out with a sharp stick every time the evil woman that sits two feet away even comes near me. I mean, really, you know i'm busy, I support 3 departments and can't get to your stuff until around 2 pm but you wait anyways for me to scan two papers! How many times did you walk past the copy machine? Raul says to just do the work and not worry. At least I have a job and i'm getting paid. Which is true, I am grateful I have a job. But, when do you draw the line to save your sanity?

I've been desperately trying to find a new job. This darn job market stinks.  Something will happen.

My little men have been awesome. We celebrated Andrew's 5th birthday on Saturday with cupcakes, cakeballs, cake & ice cream and a bouncy house. He had a great time and was so happy to have his little friends from school join the festivities. I can't get past the fact that Andrew will be in Kindergarten this fall. He graduates from pre-school in June. He's very excited about going to a big boy school.

I think my little Adam is going to be a singer or an actor. That kid loves to sing all the songs he learns at school and he knows every word. I love it. He's also very dramatic and can cry at the drop of a hat. He loves wearing only his superhero t-shirts and shorts; and the sleeves on the shirt have to be rolled up and no jacket mommy. Love his personality shining through.

That's the update from here.

Happy Wednesday

Home-made Vanilla Ice Blended

If you know me, you know I LOVE my vanilla ice blendeds from the coffee bean and tea leaf. I've been trying to cut back on those darn things, but it's hard, but I have to do it. Not only have they increased in price, but the point value for weight watchers is not good. A regular size is 7 points and small is 5 points.

I found an awesome recipe for a coffee blended drink in the book Hungry Girl by Lisa Lillian. If you haven't heard of her or the books you definitely need to do some research. She is so awesome at swapping out your favorite meals, drinks, and snacks with healthy, good alternatives. She even has a half hour TV show on the cooking channel.

Here is the recipe:

1/2 cup of brewed coffee or you can use 1 packet of instant coffee
1/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk
2 splendas
4 teaspoons of powdered sugar free french vanilla creamer
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup of crushed ice

1. In a tall glass add the brewed coffee. (if you're using instant coffee you'll need to add 1/4 of hot water to dissolve  it.) Add the spenda and creamer and stir.

2. Add the cold water and stir

3. Pour into blender. Then add the almond milk, ice and blend!

Pour into glass and enjoy. You can also add fat-free whip cream on top.

Points value: 3 !!

Cake!

My obsession has grown. I have gone from cake balls, to cake pops, and now to cupcake bites.

I love these little morsels of heaven. They are super easy to make, and taste so good. I can't believe how cute they are. 

 

If you have a party coming up, let me know!! I can whip up some cupcake bites.

Friday Fave

Todays Friday Favorite:

I give to you - the Time-Out Pad!



I found this on Amazon.com as I needed something else for time-outs. The boys thought it was all fun and games until they realized that they had to sit on it for time-outs and then the novelity wore off.  I now have time-outs by the washer and dryer; a lot less appealing to them.  I like this because you can adjust the time according to the age of the child, and if the child get's up before the time is over, then an alarm will sound.  This bad boy is small enough to fit in my bag. Don't think I won't pull it out in the produce section for a time-out. 

Happy Friday!

Reward Chart

Last week I mentioned I started a reward chart with Andrew. I bought it through scholastic book club, but I think any reward chart would do.

Here's how it works:

Pick a behavior that you want to improve. For us it was Andrew staying in his bed at night. We put him to bed and he would get up about 10 times before falling asleep, so this really was an issue for us.

Next, pick a reinforcer. This is basically a reward for the child when they do what is asked. We chose a thomas the train set.  Now, this is critical. You must explain to the child that you are starting a reward system and this toy is to only be played with when the task is completed. So for Andrew if he stayed in his bed all night, he got to play with Thomas in the morning.

They are not to play with this toy at any other times because then the reinforcer will not be affective.  Give a time limit on how long they get to play with the toy too. Andrew gets 10 minutes and that's it.

When Andrew wakes up in the morning, he puts a sticker on the chart and gets to play with his toy.

When you introduce the reward chart and the reinforcer there's going to be a tantrum because they want to play with the toy then. Stick to your guns. The tantrum will only last about 20 minutes.  After a couple of nights Andrew understood the rules and the system. Kids are very manipulative. Andrew asked several times if he could play with the toy, or put it somewhere else other than where I had it stored: no and no. He would say very cute "I have an idea, I can play with it at night" no. Last, the child gets 1 warning. So for example, I told Andrew he has to stay in his bed all night. If he get's out of bed he get's 1 warning that if he get's up again he will not get his toy in the morning. He never got out of his bed and he even asks me if he can get up to use the bathroom.  If the child doesn't listen after 1 warning then no toy and you will try again tomorrow.

We're on week 3 and he has not gotten out of his bed. This is good way to also build self esteem. The child will see they are doing something good.

Finally, be consistent! It's a lot of work, but it pays off. If you're not consistent everyday the reward chart will not work.

Here is what are chart looks like:

Friday Favorites

My first new fav is a simple new meal I threw together. I've been on weight watchers for almost a month now. I'm down 5 lbs and can fit into some pants that haven't seen the light of day in awhile. I hit a plateau with my weight loss last week and thought I needed to change up my eating choices.

So this week's fav is a baked potato, with 1 low-fat laughing cow cheese, and steamed broccoli. I can't believe how good it is! The laughing cow is like a substitute for sour cream as it just melts into the potato. The broccoli is a power food that keeps you full.

Baked potato - 5 points
* I usually eat half which is 2 points
Laughing cow cheese - 1 point
1/4 fat free cheddar cheese to sprinkle on top - 1 point

My other fav thing this week is the Wiltons chocolate melting pot:

Loves it! This little dream melts chocolate in minutes and it comes out so creamy and perfect. It was worth every penny. I've just about mastered my dipping of the cake balls and cake pops and hope to get a little more advanced with some cute decorating.

Alone again ...

Raul left on Tuesday, again. This time to Phoenix for Nascar *sigh* -- I shouldn't complain though it's extra money in the bank.  The kids have been behaving pretty well lately and I don't seem so overwhelmed at home by myself.  I've implemented some new strategies with Andrew that have helped a lot. We started a reward chart with him, and I have started using reinforcers on behaviors that I want to improve.

I don't know if it's Andrew getting older or it's because my new strategies are working, but I am now able to take him to the store without any huge tantrums. I have been that mom before with the screaming kid at the store. 

The other thing i've notice is the homework being sent home lately. Andrew is only in pre-school and on Tuesday night was math homework (9+5, 9+7, etc) It seemed like a lot of work for my little guy, but I guess it's good in the long run. 

I'm doing good. My job is actually ok right now. I'm thinking of going back to school to get my BA and i'm finally loosing that baby weight.

I have a new hobby in the works that i'm obsessed with ... cake pops, cake bites, and cake balls. I'm sure some of you have heard of Bakerella. I just bought her book:

I made my very first batch of cake balls on Saturday and they came out fab! I do need to perfect the candy coating dipping, but you really can't mess up the taste of these delicious treats.  I will post pics later after I have gotten a little better at dipping :)