Father's Day 2015

I grew up basically without a father. A motorcycle accident claimed his life when I was just 9. Sometimes I find myself thinking about all the things I missed out on- dude things, ya know, but mostly I think about how blessed my son is to have a father who is active and present in his life. And that makes me so thankful.

I get so much joy from watching Matt and Henry play guitar, or playing cars on the floor, or when Matt gives Henry a bath, or reads the bedtime story. I've recently even heard Matt humming and singing Henry a lullaby. It's the sweetest. As a mother, there's nothing like knowing your son is being cared for. And heaven forbid anything should ever happen to me, I know Henry will be in good hands. 

I know it's Matt's role to do fatherly things with Henry, but it goes way beyond that with Matt's willingness to be involved. Whether it's knowing the words to "Frozen" (which we've heard a million times on the iPad in the car) or being able to tell when Henry needs a diaper change; Matt is always eager to lend a helping hand. He works so hard to provide for our little family, making is possible for me to stay home with our sweet boy. That's the mark of a true father, a loving father. 

And even though Henry may still be too young to understand the significance of today, you can see it everyday-in his smile, his laugh, his excited exclamations of "DADA!!", and his "uhyou" (I love you) in his little high pitched voice. Everyday is Father's Day is his little eyes. I've heard that you are good company when people are happy to see you come and sad to see you leave. I can say that Matt meets both of those qualities to his son.

Happy Father's Day, Matt. You are so loved. 

This is the first moment they met, when Matt was officially made a father.

My all-time favorite photo of the 2 of them. Matt was 12 hours a father.

This used to be a lunchtime ritual for the two of them. 

Henry loving on dada this morning.

There's no doubt in my mind this little dude loves you…a LOT!

A special Happy Father's Day to my Mom, who did the very best she could to try to teach us that bugs aren't yucky (uh-didn't work), how to change a tire (and we did this successfully), how to check the oil in a car, and to be independent. 

Heisel Rules!

PS thinking about you today, Andy, and reminded of all the love you passed down to your son. We miss you everyday.

Leather Anniversary

I don't usually follow traditional anniversary giftgiving that coordinates with the year, but out of curiosity I looked up this year, our 3rd Anniversary, and found that this is the year of leather. Coincidentally I had bought Matt a new leather wallet on my last trip to Nashville just a few weeks back. But, this prompted me to think about the similarities between leather and a marriage...

Leather, noun- a natural material designed to be preserved against decay.

Leather is tough, but must be cared for properly.
Leather must be cared for continually.
Leather can withstand weather.
Leather is strong, but not unbreakable.
Leather gets even more beautiful with age- wrinkles, scratches, and stray marks telling its story.

In each of those, you can replace 'leather' with 'marriage', and they all still apply. With proper treatment and care, whether it's a piece of leather or a the strongest of marriages, it'll stand the test of time. But it's imperative to take care of each. We call this- 'making deposits in the love bank'. I once read that true love is putting your partner's feelings before yours, and if you're both doing this, love should be given back equally. I love that. I want us to not forget to take care of the other.

Matt,
It's been three years already; can you believe it? We've had so many life events already that have made us stronger and some have tested our strength and have brought us even closer- our son is my favorite! I love your role as a father, and seeing you interact with our son brings so much joy to my heart.

I wish for us that our marriage continues to be "as strong as leather", and to do so we need to be sure to "preserve it" with care and love, remembering to continue to make deposits into each other's love bank. And I certainly hope for us that one day our wrinkles tell of our love story, and that when we count them-we see challenges that made us stronger, but mostly we see the love that keeps us together…through the good times and bad, for better or worse.

And just like leather, I hope our marriage keeps getting more beautiful with age.

Happy Anniversary, Babe! I love you.

Heisel Rules!

Mother's Day 2015

Today I'm thinking about all the mothers in my life, and the 19 months that I've been a mom. I look back on my own "coming of motherhood" and the 45 hours I gave bringing my son into this world. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. It's not an easy job, and definitely not for the faint of heart, but GOSH how wonderfully rewarding it is! What did I ever do before Henry came along?

moments after I was given the title of mom :)

our moms adoring Henry right after he was born. :)

I was blessed with a young, loving mother who had ample time in my early years to spend nurturing us.  I was taught love with hugs and kisses. Later she'd have to go back to a 9-5 and work her butt off to provide for us as a single parent, which left little time otherwise. However, she managed to drive us to soccer or basketball every weekend.

And even though she didn't have all the time in the world, she taught us some really important things- be kind to others, have manners (I can recall her repeating- "If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all"), and most important of all- take care of each other. She still says that all we have in this world is each other. And even though her love language is giving gifts, each of these life's lessons was shown to us by example…proving that the truest, most precious gifts aren't the ones given, but the ones shown and felt. I think of this when I'm teaching my son manners, respect, and being a loving, kind child.

I didn't "get it" until I had my own son, that deep desire to hold onto every last moment that so swiftly passes. It hurts a bit to see your baby grow. And where I've only had 19 months so far, under my belt (holding up my mom jeans-ha!), I can so relate. It stings. It burns even. The real meaning of heartburn, I'm certain. And I'm sure it'll only hurt worse with time, but it also gets better. Your baby will grow into more of a friend as your relationship continues to evolve. We won't constantly have to correct certain behaviors, or deal with tantrums daily. I look forward to this one day with Henry.

Becoming a mother is a beautiful, wonderful thing that should be celebrated everyday, but wherever you are in your journey through motherhood, find something wonderful about it to celebrate today. And be sure to tell your mom you love her and thank her for giving you life. She needs to hear that.

Happy Mother's Day to all you awesome mommas! And thanks to my baby boy Henry for giving me the best job ever! I love you, son! 

……………………..

 PS here's a little mini session I shot really quickly today. Please excuse the quality- it was dark and stormy out, there was little light in the room at that moment, and I was using a self timer. :)

Heisel Rules!

WW 2.0- Week 3 and a Dessert Recipe

Week 3 DOWN! And down 2 pounds! Whoo! Despite the fact that I've only lost 7 pounds, my clothes are fitting much better! It's hard for me to notice a physical difference, otherwise, because I see myself everyday, but the neighbor mentioned it so I guess it's working! ;)

Last week I forgot to post, but I didn't have any weight loss. I started to feel down about it, but Matt reminded me that there's other measures than just a scale…like better fitting clothes! AND I started being more deliberate about exercising last week so I think I threw my body off for a week. The first time I did WW, I didn't workout, just the occasional yard maintenance, but I didn't have weight loss for about month either. This time is just different. I do realize that there will be weeks where I will lose, and some weeks where I won't, but sticking with it is the only thing that will ensure results!

Just to keep it real- this past week I worked my points so I could eat a piece of cheesecake, drink a light Starbucks drink, and eat my favorite breakfast cereal-Lucky Charms…all without touching my cheat points! It's all about portion control and planning ahead!

To keep it even more real- since I've had Henry, I've developed an affinity for sweets. That's a challenge on WW. Soo…in honor of week 3, I'm sharing a low point recipe for a dessert!

My family used to make a delicious version of this, but the sugar and fat content was a lot more. This version tastes just as good, and practically guilt free! Plus, I like that I can make a smaller batch of these, and they're so easy to whip up!

No Bake Oatmeal Bites

1/4 cup brown sugar (or you can use granulated, but I like the flavor of brown) *You could even use less, as these are plenty sweet.
2 tsp cocoa powder
2 Tbsp almond milk
2 Tbsp Crunchy Peanut Butter (I did 1Tbsp Crunchy and 1Tbsp Creamy since Henry will be eating)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 Cup Quick Oats (I had to add a little extra to thicken it up a bit)
dash salt

Dir.
Microwave sugar, cocoa powder, and almond milk for 1 minute. Add peanut butter, vanilla, and salt, and stir. Add oats and stir til it's all combined. Using a small scoop, scoop out 12 balls, and place on wax paper. Refrigerate for about 10 minutes, until they're firm. Try not to eat them up before they're firm…they're actually really good warm too!

1 P+ each.

Enjoy…practically guilt free!!

Heisel Rules! {the Kitchen}

WW Friendly Peanut Butter Fluff

When it comes to eating, I like variety. Like, a lot. I get bored when I eat the same thing over and over again. Dinners around here are rarely the same; the menu changes week to week. If I get bored, then I'll just slide back to grabbing fistfuls of Lays Potato chips, and anything else easily accessible…which sounds.so.tempting. So…to keep that from happening, I've come up with another super yummy snack that gives you some healthy fats…AND delivers the yummy! And it's so easy to make-Bonus!

I usually like to keep snacks to 1-2 points, but this was an exception in the name of variety. :)

Peanut Butter Fluff
1 Tbsp peanut butter- you can use less if you're not a PB lover (I use Skippy Natural with Honey)
2 Tbsp Fat Free Whip Topping

WW 2.5 P+

Dir.
Simply stir together. Don't over mix as the whip topping will get flat and watery-like. I like to give it just a quick mix to keep thick streaks of peanut butter throughout.

You can dip apples in it…

Or spread it on a lightly salted Rice Cake with bananas on top…(add 1 P+ for the rice cake..so 3.5 P+)

Or just eat it from the bowl- no judgement here! It's really that good! ;)

Another tip- if you want to turn this into dessert, drizzle with a little bit of chocolate syrup. (of course, add another point for that, but it's so worth it!)

Enjoy!

Heisel Rules!

WW Friendly- Fruit Salsa

I love fruit. Fruit is what makes WW easier for me, I believe. I like that I can depend on it for the versatility of a dessert or snack, and this one really delivers in the yummo department-and no stretch pants needed!

I found a fruit salsa recipe on Pinterest, but it had a lot of sugar added so I decided to adjust my recipe to make it WW friendly. Just a note- my recipe involves adding a handful of different fruit, there's no real, hard-fast measurements needed. Add what you like, or in my case, what you have on hand. I love flexible recipes. :)

Fruit Salsa with baked cinnamon tortilla chips

Salsa
1 Fuji apple
1/2 pack strawberries
handful of blueberries
handful grapes
juice of half an orange
pinch of cinnamon
1 tsp brown sugar (or any sugar-I chose brown because I like the flavor)

Dir.
Finely chop each fruit. Halve an orange and squeeze the juice of 1 half over top. No orange? It's ok, squeeze on some lemon juice. Sprinkle with sugar. Toss to coat, and refrigerate.

Yields about 2 cups
WWP+ 0

Cinnamon Tortilla Chips
1 medium tortilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp brown sugar

WWP+ 5 points for 6 wedges (these are point heavy, but I'm sure you can find tortillas that have less points)

Dir.
Cut a tortilla in half, turn and cut in half again, and one more time- til you have 6 wedges. Spray a lined baking sheet with non stick spray. Lay tortillas down in a single layer. Spray the top of tortillas with non stick spray and quickly (before they dry) sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. The non stick spray helps the cinnamon and sugar to stick. Bake under low broiler for about 5 minutes (until they start to look golden and sorta lift up in the centers), then flip to the other side and bake another 3-4 minutes. Be sure to watch them; I accidentally left a batch in there and they got really done, really quickly! Learn from my mistake! ;)

You can serve these warm or cool. You can even top the fruit with some zero point, guilt free non fat whip cream.

……….

If you'd like a lower point way to indulge, try adding the fruit salsa to a whipped cream topped rice cake.

Enjoy!

Heisel Rules! {the Kitchen}

WW 2.0 - 1 week down!

Well, I survived my first official week on WW 2.0!  Surprisingly, it went much easier than the first time. I felt like I was able to find fulfilling recipes that curbed my cravings and kept me full…and for very little points. I stayed within my point limit, and some nights I even had points left over at the end of the night. Although, Weight Watchers recommends that you use all of your points each day to keep on track and so that you're not depriving yourself.

Sooo… drum roll please…. I lost 5 pounds my first week!! Made it to my first goal! Mind you, I started eating better the week before, but not tracking points til this past week. Plus, I didn't use any cheat points this week. This was somewhat intentional as I wanted to get a jump start. I don't feel like I missed out, though.

Flashback to the first time I did this, I GAINED 5 pounds. I almost quit, but so glad I didn't. If you're in that same boat- it's ok. You're not going to lose every week. But if you just keep with it and stay consistent, it'll work out. :)

Here's a sample of what I eat in a day-

Breakfast- 3/4 cup Lucky Charms (I LOVE cereal) with 1/4 cup almond milk (almond milk is less points than cow's milk, and it actually tastes good. We switched over while I was pregnant and never looked back.)

Coffee with 1 Tbsp creamer (you can go fat free if you'd like, but at the cost of taste, I'd assume just use 1 point for the regular. If I start tapering off with the weight loss, I might try to switch to fat free.)

Snack- Lightly Salted Rice Cake topped with fat free whip cream and fruit (Seriously good-see post here)

Snack- banana

Lunch- BIG salad and 1Tbsp light or fat free dressing. I prefer green leaf lettuce, green peppers, onions, sweet relish cubes, carrots, and a protein (deli turkey or tuna). TIP- if you buy deli meat like me, ask them to shave it (where it's falling apart). It'll appear that you're eating more.

This is a full size dinner plate. BIG! HUGE! MANportion!

Snack- fruit medley (apple, orange, banana, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries)

Dinner - BLT with 3 fried egg whites and extra bacon on the side

Dessert- (YES, I get dessert) Oreo whip. I'll post a recipe and photo later.

Snack- apple

Somedays I'll have a Diet Dr. Pepper (0 P+)

See? I eat quite a bit throughout the day! And did you see how big my salad is?! I haven't repeated dinners yet so I'm not getting burned out on typical diet foods like chicken or fish. AND this is what I make for my family for dinner anyways so it's easy on me. That's a win win!

I'm not expecting another 5 lb loss next week, but I'm definitely getting back into the groove and it feels good to have week one under my belt. Are you joining along? Let me know so we can encourage one another! :)

Heisel Rules!