Muffins

Here's a recipe that I tried for the first time this week, and LOVED! These muffins are very easy, moist, and freezable. Hope you enjoy them as much as we do. (Sorry there is no picture. By the time I thought of it, they were frozen and they just don't look as pretty that way. If you want to see one, you'll have to make them, or come to my house and have one!)

Apple Date muffins

(If you don’t have dates, raisins can work well too)

Ingredients:

2 cups flour (half whole wheat)

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt
1Tbsp. cinnamon

2 egg yokes, beaten

1 cup vanilla yogurt or fat free sour cream

1/3 cup applesauce1 Tbsp. oil
2 cups finely chopped apples

1 ½ cups dried dates, chopped

Topping:1 Tbsp butter, melted

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup oats

½ tsp cinnamon

Mix dry ingredients in large bowl.

Combine egg, yogurt and applesauce, and oil in separate bowl. Add to flour mixture, stirring until just moistened.

Stir in apples and dates.

Grease muffin tins, and fill.

Combine topping ingredients and spoon onto each muffin.

Makes 12 large muffins or 48 mini muffins. Bake at 375 (large) or 350 (mini) for about 25 minutes (or 12-15 for mini).

Bumbo Fun

A couple of weeks ago, I realized that Josiah was probably almost ready to start using his Bumbo chair, so we pulled it out and gave it a try!

After we managed to get him in it (I don't think they are made for kids as wide as him!), it seemed to go pretty well. He actually looked kind of proud of himself, and since he has always loved his own space, I think he rather enjoys having a new place to sit! I have to admit that I laughed a lot, cause he just looked funny to me for some reason! Maybe you agree...

Oh, and this was before his big hair cut, so you can see the long wisps! I am glad we cut it now!

Progress Report

A couple of weeks ago, I had posted that Chris and I were both starting a new plan to lose weight, and that we would let you know every two weeks how we were doing.

Well, I am pleased to say that Chris has lost 10 pounds since starting, and I have lost 12 pounds.

I can't believe that two weeks has passed already! We are both happy with our success so far, and very pleased with the program we are using (http://www.calorieking.com/). It is not a diet at all, just software that helps us to keep track of our intake and our exercise- not rocket science, just a bit of physics.

We'll let you know again in another two weeks how much more we have lost!

In Our Own Back Yard!

We love where we are living right now. It is such a beautiful spot. In the summer, we get to enjoy a duck pond right at the back of our yard, and, we discovered, that in the winter, we get to skate on it! Chris was busy over the holidays clearing a section for us to use.

We decided to take Josiah down to the rink in his umbrella stroller, just because it is easier to get over the slope going down than his bigger one. He was not impressed with the pond, the skating, the cold, or with us!

He actually was upset for most of the outing, so Chris took him inside fairly soon after he got out. On the way up the hill, I heard Chris telling Josiah, "We're an outdoor family Josiah, so you're going to have to get used to things like this." I guess it'll take a little more coaxing to convince Josiah that this is supposed to be fun!

Snip, Snip, Snip

So, we finally decided to cut Josiah's hair. As you can see from past pictures, it has been getting pretty long, and seems to grow just like his dad's- straight up in the air! (It was just hard for me to get to this place for some reason. Maybe as a mom I feel he was born so perfect, I didn't want to mess with anything. Besides, I thought the 'scraggles' were a bit charming too!). But, it was time (I am not a fan of crazy mohawks!). So, I pinned a cape on him, and sat him in his Bumbo chair, and started snipping.

Here's before:

I did not take it well, but Josiah did great! He kept peering around trying to see what I was doing to him, but I thought he held up quite well. (Oh, and a minor confession- he was watching football too! Sometimes you just have to do what you need to in order to get the job done!)

So here are the results- still pretty cute I think! He looks more like a little boy now.

New Year's Goals

Happy New Year Everybody!

I have never been into making New Year's resolutions, but in this new year, we are making some changes that we'd like to share with you. After having a baby, and feeling like I have mostly recovered, I am ready to get rid of the weight, and Chris is totally on board too. I guess for never planning resolutions, it is not a very original one, as almost 40% of people vow to lose weight or change their eating habits in some way in this season!

We have joined an online program at http://www.calorieking.com/, and we thought for accountability, we'd blog our success. So, every two weeks, we will weigh in, and let you know how much we have lost so far.

We would appreciate your prayers and support as we pursue this challenge!

Favorite Things...

Josiah had this football onesie when he was just a newborn (pic above is when he was only 1 week old), and it fit him perfectly. It was one that his Aunt Andrea and Uncle Dan picked up for him before he was even born. We loved it, especially Chris. Every time it was clean, it was on him. We were very sad when he outgrew it. But a couple of weeks before Christmas, I was at Frenchy's , and guess what I found? The exact same onesie, only in a bigger size! We are so happy to have it back again! As you can see, he has done a great job of filling out the little chair he is sitting in too- I can't believe how much our little guy has grown (a whole head taller!) and changed in just a few short weeks!