May Goal Check-in

Weight Lost: 2 lbs   Total: 25 lbs
Only 5 lbs to go to meet my goal!

Books Read: 
Would-be Witch by Kimberly Frost
Cresent Moon by Lori Handeland
Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris (re-read)
Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
Midnight Moon by Lori Handeland
Rising Moon by Lori Handeland
Stray by Rachel Vincent
Rogue by Rachel Vincent
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Hidden Moon by Lori Handeland

Healthy Dessert Recipe: Strawberry Yogurt Pie

Other goals:
I didn't get Jackson's scrapbook done, but I have been working on it!  We also have all plans ready for Jackson's 2nd birthday party.  He turns 2 in just 2 weeks! He is going to have a Dora/Diego themed birthday party, complete with 4 ft tall Dora cardboard cutout LOL

Goals for June: 
Get Jackson's 2nd year scrapbook done!
Have a great girls night out with my college buddies.

What are your goals for June?

Sharing Sunday -Giveaway Link UP & Winner!

The winner of the My Gym at Home DVD is:

Jenny who said... My 18 month old nephew would LOVE this. His favorite activity right now is playing ball. He likes roll and kick it and also likes when you play "catch" with him.

Congratulations! 

Everyone else come link up your giveaways or browse!

This Memorial Day Weekend

Let's try not to forget what it's really about.

How I'm losing the weight (Works for Me Wednesday)

Thank you SO much for all of the comments this week! The #1 reason that I LOVE blogging is that you guys are so encouraging and so uplifting!

I got a lot of comments this week on my recent weight loss post asking me how I've been losing weight.  The simple answer is: a LOT of hard work, both mentally AND physically.  I've read tons of books on dieting and tried plenty of different exercise DVDs over the years and I have combined several tricks and tips from each of those to make a plan that works for me. 

The first month I went on a very strict diet.  I did give myself a few cheat days, but 90% of the time I cut out: potatoes, pasta, rice, desserts, red meat, alcohol, soft drinks, sweet tea, etc. I ate tons of fruit, veggies, whole grains and lean meat.  I drank only plain water or cranberry water.  (Cranberry water helps get rid of bloating.  Just add about an ounce of unsweeted cranberry juice to each glass of water)  I also did an hour of cardio every single day. I lost 13 pounds that first month.

Of course, me being me, I knew I couldn't stick to such a strict diet and exercise routine for long.  Now I'm just trying to work on portion control and adding more fruit & veggies to my diet.  I try to work out 5 days a week.  I love to go to the gym and get on the treadmill, but since my husband is deployed that is not an option for me right now. So, I go for a 2 mile walk daily.  I also try to do a workout DVD 3 days a week. These are my favorite workout DVDs:

Here are some of my other dieting favorites:

This amazing smoothie

Chocolate Mint Ice Cream Sandwiches (Skinny Cow) 

Smart Ones Anytime Selections

Luna Cookie Dough Protein Bars

So what are your tips & tricks for losing weight and staying healthy?

Overheard: Neighbors

I share a fence with our neighbors, so it's pretty much impossible NOT to hear them talking in their backyard.  The other day the mom was outside with her kids while I was outside with Jackson and I overheard this:

Mom: "Did you POOP?"
Kid: "No."
Mom: "Yes you did, it's all over you! Where is your diaper? OMG, DONT TOUCH IT! If you touch it you will have to go to the hospital!"



Now if you need me, I'll be re-watching Season 2 of True Blood which came out on DVD today. I can't wait for the new season! I can't wait to see howJoe Manganiello does as Alcide. 

Sexy, right?

It's My SITS Day!

I am the featured blogger over at The Secret is in the Sauce today! If you haven't joined this group yet, please go check it out.  It is an awesome community of bloggers.

Welcome SITSas! I'm so glad you could visit!  I'm Cassie, a former teacher and current SAHM.  My husband is a Navy submariner and is currently deployed.  We have one son, Jackson, who is about to turn 2 years old. I can hardly believe how fast he is growing!

This blog started out as a bunch of my random thoughts, but has a little bit of order now.  I post about Tot School once a week.  I post recipes, crafts, and of course tons of cute pictures of my son and random funny conversations with my husband as well.

My New Years Resolution this year was to lose 30 pounds.  I only have 7 lbs left to go! I posted a little bit about my progress a few weeks ago: Breaking Barriers: With Progress Pics and GASP! My Real Weight.

Please check out my newest giveaway and come back on for Sharing Sundays to link up your giveaways!

You can also find me on Twitter. And let me know if you decide to become a follower so that I can follow you back!

Sharing Sundays (Link up your giveaways!)

There are tons of giveaways going on all over the blogosphere, so from now on, every Sunday I will have "Sharing Sunday" on my blog! If you have a giveaway going on, just link up your blog title, the name of the  giveaway, and the end date.  Even if you don't have a giveaway, feel free to come over and browse! You never know when you'll win something :)

My current giveaway is for a My Gym at Home DVD and ends 5/29.  

What a week

I had a whole long post written out on how depressing my life is at the moment, but it was too, well, depressing. So I deleted it. Here's the short version.

Jason is deployed and I'm at home all day with a sick baby.  We haven't been out of the house in over a week for anything other than grocery shopping and doctors appointments and I am going insane! We still have another week of not being able to go to play group just in case Jackson is contagious. 

So I'm bored and lonely.  I feel horrible that Jackson is so miserable but I'm also getting irritated.  It's day 5 of nonstop clinginess and crying.  I can't even get up to go to the bathroom without him screaming his head off. And sleep? Yeah, neither one of us is getting much of that. 

I want Jackson to get better. I want him to be the happy little kid that he usually is.  I want to have a real live conversation with another adult, not just over the phone or internet.  I want to be able to get out of this house! And I want Jason to come home already, even though he just left last week. 

I hope Jackson calms down long enough for me to watch the season finale of LOST tomorrow night! And I hope you're all having a much better weekend than I am!

WW: Nana & the Zoo

my little lion

feeding the giraffe

feeding the birds

Healthy Dessert Recipe: Strawberry Yogurt Pie

 I was looking for an easy, summery dessert that would satisfy my sweet tooth, and this pie definitely fit the bill! It's a Weight Watchers recipe worth 5 points.  Jason didn't like it because he doesn't like "real fruit messing up his dessert" but Jackson and I love it!

Strawberry Yogurt Pie

Ingredients:

8 oz light cream cheese    1 cup(s) fat-free strawberry yogurt    1 Tbsp honey    1 tsp vanilla extract    1/4 oz unsweetened gelatin    3/4 cup(s) water
1.5 cups strawberries, thinly sliced pie crust Directions: In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Stir in yogurt, honey and vanilla. In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup of water; let stand for 1 minute. Stir over low heat to dissolve gelatin. Stir gelatin mixture and remaining 1/2 cup of water into cheese mixture. Fold in 1/2 cup of sliced strawberries. Fill crust with cheese mixture. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. (Note: If you can't find fresh strawberries, substitute frozen ones — just be sure that they've been packed without added sugar.) To serve, top pie with remaining strawberries and cut into 8 slices.  Looking for more recipes? Check out: Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays ...Whats cooking Wednesday... Tuesdays at the Table....Homemaker Monday...Mouthwatering Monday, DIY Day, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday , What I Made This Week (Fri) and Tackle It Tuesday!

Sedated ABR-Jackson's day in the hospital

Thank you all for all of your encouraging comments on my post about Jackson's speech delay.  Your comments really help me to know that all children are different and ease my worries. 

Many of you suggested that Jackson get a hearing test, just in case.  At the time, Jackson had already gone in for a typical hearing test, and the results were inconclusive.  He hates doctors.  As soon as we step into the medical clinic he starts screaming and doesn't stop until we leave (unless they have Dora on the TV!) So when we went in for the hearing test, he was fine until the doctor started messing with his ears, then we just could not calm him down.  They did the test anyway.  He responded to the louder noises, but since he was crying so much, they couldn't tell if he wasn't hearing the lower noises because he was crying or because he literally could not hear them. 

So we were waiting for them to do a sedated ABR on him.  The best way that I can explain this, is that after they sedated him, they attached electrodes to his head, then played sounds and tracked his brain waves so that they could see if he was hearing them or not.  I was nervous about letting them put him to sleep, but so many doctors thought it was necessary, that I let them do it.  Luckily, my MIL came to town to help me out. 

The test was on Thursday.  We were at the hospital for almost 7 hours.  The test itself only took about 45 minutes, and I had no idea that the whole process would take that long.  As soon as we changed Jackson into his hospital gown, he got upset.

and tried to leave...

The doctor who came in to inspect Jackson before they administered the sedative announced that Jackson has "the tonsils of a 4 year old" and he told us that this would increase the chance of something going wrong during the procedure. More specifically, there was a chance that Jackson would stop breathing.  My MIL and I were understandably upset, and honestly, I just wanted to leave right then.  No matter what the doctors said, I was convinced that Jackson could hear just fine.  The doctor and nurse calmed us down and convinced us to go through the procedure, telling us all of the things they have in place to keep that from happening.  They actually came in and measured him for oral airways while we waited. 

In the end, the test went perfectly.  The audiologist told us that Jackson slept fine (apparently some children wake up during the procedure) and that he has perfect hearing! (You don't know how hard it was for me to shut my mouth and not yell TOLD YOU SO!) We were extremely happy about that, but we still had to wait around the hospital for him to wake up and make sure he could drink juice without vomiting before they would release him.  This turned out to take a long time because they had to give him an extra dose of sedation to get him to go to sleep. 

Trying to calm him down (it didn't work!)

I cannot tell you how glad I am that this whole ordeal is done! And now when Jackson does something he knows he's not supposed to do even while I'm telling him no, I yell "I KNOW you can hear me!"

Sharing Sundays (Giveaway LINK UP)

There are tons of giveaways going on all over the blogosphere, so from now on, every Sunday I will have "Sharing Sunday" on my blog! If you have a giveaway going on, just link up your blog title, the name of the  giveaway, and the end date.  Even if you don't have a giveaway, feel free to come over and browse! You never know when you'll win something :)

My current giveaway is for a My Gym at Home DVD and ends 5/29.  

My Gym at Home DVD Giveaway

May is National Fitness Month! In honor of this, I am giving away a DVD that will help your baby or toddler stay active! 

My Gym at Home is a DVD that features Monique Vranesh as she invites parents and babies everywhere to play together, have fun and discover the many advantages of a steady exercise routine!  The exercises performed on the DVD are designed to assist in the formation and development of your child’s motor skills, flexibility and social skills. The DVD features episodes of the My Gym at Home television series that airs on BabyFirstTV, the country's 24/7 commercial-free child development channel. 

This DVD is recommended for ages 6 mo. to 3 years old. 

Review: I received my DVD a few weeks ago and have used it with Jackson quite a few times since then!  Of course he spends tons of time running around in the backyard or at the park, so I'm not using it to make him exercise or anything. It is a fun way for us to work on his motor skills together.  I like that it reinforces names of body parts (which is something that he is still struggling with) and it gives us some extra activity on rainy days!  Jackson enjoys the video, and I enjoy the extra bonding time.

You can check out the first episode on the My Gym website. 

Buy It! You can buy the DVD on BabyFirstTV.com

Win it! One lucky reader will win a copy of My Gym at Home.

 TO ENTER: Leave a comment telling me your child's favorite activity.

For extra entries: (Please leave a separate comment for each!)

Follow my blog or subscribe by email. +2

Add my button to your sidebar. +2

Blog about this giveaway. +5

The fine print: US Residents only please. This giveaway will end on May 28th at midnight, and I will announce the winner on May 29th. The winner will be chosen by random.org

These books were given to me specifically for this review and giveaway. No other compensation was received.  These are my honest opinions! Your experience may be different.

Winner!

The winner of the Let's Dance Children's Book Giveaway is:

Christy Rose!

Congratulations to her and thank you to everyone who entered.  

Stay tuned for a new giveaway coming this afternoon!

5 Question Friday

Well, this week has been a crazy whirlwind. If you're wondering why I haven't been around to your blog as much as usual, it's b/c my MIL has been in town all week. We had a lot of other stuff going on, but I'll write more about it next week.  Hopefully I'll be able to catch up on more of your blogs today!

1. Take your pick...date night, girls night out, or night out alone?

Girls night out! I need one badly. I've had a couple of date nights over the last few weeks, and I don't mind going out shopping alone, but I'd rather have company!


2. Can you touch your nose with your tongue?

Nope


3. What is your favorite flower and why?

Gerber daisies! Especially pink ones. They are just so big and pretty, I've always liked them.

 One of my bridesmaids' bouquets

4. If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself?



I'd tell myself to STOP worrying about how "fat" I was! You weigh 110 pounds, just wear the damn bikini already!

5. If you won the lottery, what is the very first thing you would do?

It's kinda funny that I never buy lottery tickets but I know exactly what I would do with the money. Pay bills. College fund/trust fund for Jackson. Buy a house.  New car. Pay off any debt that my sister or aunt might have. etc.

WW: Touch a Truck

This weekend our local Moms Club held Touch a Truck, an event where kids could go climb around in and learn about different "cool" vehicles, like a firetruck, ambulance, bomb squad van w/robot, some construction vehicles, etc. Not only did everyone have a great time, but we also raised a lot of money for 4 local charities!

That morning I worked the admissions booth and the raffle table.

But that afternoon I got to take Jackson to the event. He LOVED the fire truck!

Tot School: Vehicle Theme

Don't forget to enter my children's book giveaway! 

Jackson is 22 mos old. 

This weekend our local Moms Club held Touch a Truck, an event where kids could go climb around in and learn about different "cool" vehicles, like a firetruck, ambulance, bomb squad vehicle, etc.  Since I planned to take Jackson to the event, I decided that our Tot School theme for the week should be vehicles!


Books: 
Truck by Donald Crews
Chubby Tugboat
Wheels on the Bus 
Usborne books - That's Not My Plane
Construction Trucks by Betsy Imershein
On the Bus by Nancy Parent

Play: 
Jackson played with a lot of his toy cars, but the construction vehicles are his favorite!

 He also played with his airplane, school bus, and pretty much every other kind of car and truck that they make!

and his boats of course!

(His other pool was full of rainwater and was very dirty, that's why he's in this little one!)

  Melissa & Doug Sound Puzzle 

 Going for a drive in his car!

Art: 

Jackson colored lots of pictures, made a vehicle collage out of glow in the dark stickers, and made a painting by rolling one of his trucks through the paint and then over the paper!

Field Trip:
And of course, we went to Touch a Truck and had a great time! I have tons of pics that I will share in a separate post.