Happy Birthday A!

Today we celebrate because A is turning 3!!!

Happy Birthday A!!! We love you!

traingles and the color brown...that's what we're talking about!

Books, triangles, painting, and more... we have had a busy morning!
After circle time, we sat down to look at books. We looked at pages and found items that were brown and/or shaped like a triangle.

Looking for all those objects made us hungry. So, we made a triangle snack. It didn't take long for the group to realize that our snack was made into a familiar shape we had been discussing.

We did a little art today... we finger painted not with paint but with pudding! It was the perfect color and yummy too!

Little artist at work...

Some of us wanted to eat our art which made clean up a little easier...

Lots of licks this morning...

One friend even ended up in a bath after turning a purple shirt brown... but she still had fun!

We also tried water-coloring today...

we painted... triangles... you guessed it!

I was super impressed, 6 kids painted all under the age of 4...

and not one bowel of water spilled...

starting week 2

Thank you for keeping up on my journey to lose weight. If you really don't care- don't read this post! That's okay, not everyone is interested! So, last week was good. I had a weight loss. I like reflecting to see what worked for me and what did not. Here are a few... (maybe you can add to some new ideas to try as well)

Trying 7lb weights at Jazz class did not work. (Next week I am using them again)
Counting out only 1 serving of M&M's (for 5pts) did not work. I wanted more.
Eating and snacking all day vs having bigger meals did not work for me. I never felt really full- I do snacks/lighter meals for am and lunch then a bigger dinner-so far, it works better for me!

Working out 6x a week worked for me.
Writing down what I ate and how many WW points worked for me.
Skinny Cow icecream bars worked for me.
Complaining (just a little) worked for me.
Sharing to people personal goals to help me stay on track worked for me- not to brag but to help stay accountable!
Taking this picture and seeing my dimples and face shape worked for me.

Stopped drinking pop worked for me.

My 2 new things to try this week: Smoothies (I saw packaged ones on the Biggest Looser last week). Chicken Pot Pie recipe from weightwatchers.com

Total loss to date: 11lbs.

beef stroganoff

Yesterday I tried a recipe from allrecipes.com. It pretty much rocked! First of all, I have never made my own beef stroganoff. Second of all, I have never seen it done in a slow cooker (my hero).

Here is what we need ...

1-1 1/2 pounds of cubed beef stew meat
2 cans of healthy request cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup of onion (I did not use this)
1-2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup of water
package of noodles
6oz of Weight Watchers cream cheese

Combine it all in your slow cooker -do not add cream cheese-

Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 5 hours. Stir in cream cheese just before serving.

Our finished product!

This is a keeper! Everyone in our family enjoyed the dish and it made 6-8 servings. It was very filling when served with a veggie. So simple and tasty! Maybe this is an old recipe and everyone has made it but it is super new to us and I thought I would share a new favorite!

random thoughts...

I love the fall season but hate that it gets dark so early. I wake up- it's dark, I eat dinner- it's dark! I thrive on light and sunshine! I like my light and longer days for sure, I feel more productive I guess!

In the past 2 weeks, I have worked out everyday by going to Jazzercise class, a DVD, or riding my bike. I love working out- it really is a fun time for me. I see friends at classes, I have instructors that are motivating, and I feel so good after working out.

I have been spending a lot of time on the Weight Watchers website. My goal is to try 2 new recipes a week. It takes a little more time, but I think it really worth it. We are all board for healthier meal choices so it has been fun "researching" some new dinner and crock pot ideas. -And let me just say, I love Ronzoni's brand of noodles(switched over a year ago to this)- I feel I can eat pasta and not feel uber guilty! And, they are not that much more in cost to get the extra fiber!

Daycare is going well- it is busy, loud, never sitting down, talking all the time, writing grants, attending meetings, arranging furniture, adding more projects to my plate, ratings, observations, multitasking, supply orders... never a dull moment in my daycare world!

I have already started my Christmas shopping. I am normally a lot further along then I am but at least it is started, I have my list made out and ideas written down! We have some down time coming up since soccer is almost done so I can hit this project harder when 3 days are freed up!

The girls' Halloween customs came in yesterday. One day later then we needed them- we had pictures Sunday! I actually am pleased with the pictures w/o the dressing up! The girls did great and I only had to threaten Gaby once! Success! Now, I just have to go through and pick out the faves and order!

I used my b-day money and purchased the 1st season of Glee. I had not watched it and finally saw one show and I was certainly hooked for sure! I spent pretty much Saturday and Sunday with the show on while I cleaned, did laundry, and worked on daycare stuff. Fun times!

Even with 2 kids in school, things have not slowed down any on the home front! Mia certainly stepped up to the big sister role after KK and Gaby started school this year! She is just 2 and boy she sure shows it! Today I caught her standing on Kendal's high chair pointing to all of our circle time concepts. When I asked her what she was doing she answered, "you can't get me?". Really, did she just say that? Come on, one good child, that is all I ask for, one good child!

Dustin gets the hubby of the year award... last night he took the younger 2 kids to his dads and took the older 2 to the SHES skate night. They had a blast, I was bummed I couldn't make it but glad that Dustin still took the girls. G and K had such a fun time!

I think that about catches everything up- 4 posts in one day, geez... too much! Thanks for checking in! Hope your Tuesday is going well!

Day 2

of talking about "Things that Go".

Today we colored and decorated some fun looking race cars...

We put a final touch by adding our picture... these turned out so cute! The kids loved seeing their picture in their car!

Then we took a trip...we drove our paint covered cars all over a map.

Then we finished off our morning by making a tasty treat... we made celery boats! So Yummy!

transportation week....

has started... here is our first look at our week (pictures from yesterday).

Our book for the week is, "Go Dog Go". Such a cute little story that covers cars, trucks, scooters, and many more ways to get around!

One of our centers this week is our car mat and cars. Thanks to a donation, my kids will have many more cars to add to our center!

Another car themed toy we brought out was the race track. The kids had a blast seeing which cars would fit, roll the fastest, and of course, win the race!

We read another book that discussed different types of cars, trucks, vans, and modes of transportation. We made a chart of what our mom's (and some dads) drove daily.

Check back often... we are on the go this week!