Jinx

Yep.  I did jinx us by mentioning Charlotte's sleep habits.  There were lots of wet sheets and crying episodes last night, followed by a refusal to stay in bed for naptime.  I had read awhile ago that one way to keep your kid in their toddler bed was to put a crib in their room too and tell them that if they didn't stay in their big-girl bed they would have to sleep in the crib again like a baby.  Well, as is usually the case with Charlotte when faced with an ultimatum, she happily accepted my "threat" as an "offer" and spent the second half of her (sleepless) naptime in the Pack 'n' Play.  Tonight she chose it over her toddler bed so she's snoozing in there, wearing a diaper again.  Two steps forward, two steps back it seems. 

It was cute when she wandered bleary-eyed and bed-headed into our room for a snuggle when she woke up for good at the reasonable hour of 7:30 though (instead of shrieking "MAMA!  MAMA!  MA!  MA!  MAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!").  We'll get there again soon, I hope.

I tend to be late getting downstairs for breakfast, but it's because my girls are such snugglers in the morning and I hate to waste those moments.  Before long they will be teenagers who hate me so I take advantage when I can.  The fact that taking time to snuggle also provides a couple additional minutes of laying down in my bed doesn't hurt either.

But I always eventually make it downstairs for breakfast.

Egg with salsa, 2 biscuits Barbara's Bakery Shredded Wheat with blueberries, 3 pecans, skim milk and a sprinkle of erythritol plus KONA COFFEE!

 Emily asked me why I was putting nuts on my cereal, and I told her because I liked the added protein.  Will was quick to correct me and point out that pecans are pretty low in protein so I was mostly just adding fat to my breakfast.  Thanks honey :-P  I WOULD put nuts that are better for you in my cereal but I am trying to work my way through the massive amount of nuts we have in our cabinet before I buy any more, starting with the most annoying (i.e. the unshelled pecans).

Of course he's absolutely right.  I hate it when that happens :-)  The only nuts lower in protein and higher in fat are macadamias, which we also have because my in-laws brought those back for us from Hawaii too.  I am mostly giving those to the girls because macadamia nuts bought around here taste like hard wax but macadamias straight from Hawaii are buttery-soft and AMAZING but so naughty.

I did not fizzle out halfway through spin class though, so I think the (nutritionally sub-optimal) nuts DID help a little.  I really didn't want to go to spin this morning.  Like REALLY didn't want to go.  But I forced myself up onto that bike and as usual I was glad I did.  I say it every week but I also forget it every week...nothing makes me sweat like spin!  And everyone should get super-sweaty once in awhile.  I will at least twice this week because I plan to take Lauren's spin class on Sunday :-)

After spin I headed downtown while snacking on a Babybel Light to get a cup of free coffee!  The FNP is doing Coffee Madness, and I am taking it very seriously.  I may not make the drive all the way out to Emmitsburg or Mt. Airy, but I think it's a really cool idea that will give me a reason to check out some places I've never even heard of before and of course I love free coffee.  I tried out Common Grounds today...tasty, but they're not quite as good as Baltimore Tea and Coffee, who they're going up against.  I don't know how any other place could be as good as a shop that roasts its own beans, but I was surprised to find that Common Grounds brews their coffee fresh, cup by cup using a glass drip coffee maker so they get points for that in my book.  My free coffee ended up costing me 25¢ though because I had to feed a meter to park nearby and I accidentally gave Charlotte a quarter instead of a nickel to pop into the slot.  Oops.

Lunch was rushed, as it always is on Tuesdays, but I managed to make AND eat my whole salad at home today.  That might be a record!

Greens, cucumbers, orange bell pepper, 1 oz smoked blue cheese, balsamic vinegar, a blob of hummus, about 1/3 cup leftover quinoa salad

We spent our early afternoon at the dance studio, but Emily's class ended early so that all the girls could try on their costumes to make sure they fit.  I CAN'T WAIT to see Emily dancing up on the same stage that I danced on when I was her age.  I know Will would rather gouge his own eyes out than be forced to watch another dance recital (he was unfortunate enough to start dating me back when I was still performing in them and he feels like he has already suffered enough!) but I expect many of the theater's seats will be filled with Emily's family members, including her Daddy.

My tiny dancer

 I remembered to make my smoothie before Charlotte's nap today, but I did indeed drink it right after making it, sharing some with both girls.  And I did not overfill it on purpose to be artsy...I just wasn't paying attention but MY isn't that a lovely spill?

1 orange, 1 banana, skim milk, 1 cup nonfat plain greek yogurt, 12 almonds, vanilla extract, ice, nutmeg

 Emily was excited to tell me about the volcano they made today in preschool and asked if we could make one at home too.  We've played with baking soda and vinegar before and she was less than impressed, but I guess doing this at preschool "validated" it and made her more interested.  I couldn't turn down a request to perform some "Science!", so we made ourselves a volcano.

No volcano is complete without some food coloring

Adding dilute acetic acid, I mean white vinegar

Woo!

Poke

Interesting

Getting a bit more hands-on

Getting a lot more hands-on

 Emily enjoyed this quite a bit, so I plan to do some more experiments with her soon.  I know this post makes it seem like I am trying to make Emily into a little me...maybe I am.  Perhaps I need to focus more on exposing her to other interests so she can make a more informed choice when she is old enough to have her own preferences.

As the afternoon wore on, I had a snack.  We are lousy with Hawaiian foods around here these days.

Pineapple

 I remembered however that pineapple is very high on the glycemic index and thought I should balance it with some protein and a bit of fiber.  As if I need an excuse to have peanut butter.

Peanut butter, made with peanuts and hazelnut skins

 Dinner was another salad!  We had lots of mexican-y ingredients laying around so I made fajita salads.  This thing was FILLING!  Emily ate all of hers too, which surprised and pleased me.

Greens, black + pinto beans, 4 oz chicken breast, corn kernels, salsa, 1 oz Cabot 50% light cheddar, nonfat plain greek yogurt, sautéed red and orange bell peppers and onions

 All it needed was avocados, which we unfortunately didn't have :-(

We don't have any peanuts, and my typical dessert was not as good with pistachios last night so I decided to simplify while reducing calories tonight and just had some dark chocolate.

Theos mint dark chocolate

I kind of hate packing lunches for the following day (I know, cry me a river), but I'm going to have to get used to it when Emily starts going to all-day Kindergarten next fall.  I would probably like it better if my kids actually ate much of what I ever pack...I guess that will come in time as they get a bit older and less distracted when they eat lunch out of the house.  I am going to practice tonight since we'll be headed out on an adventure tomorrow and while I don't like packing the lunches I love having the food with me and ready to pull out at the first sign of low blood sugar when I'm trucking around with the kids in tow.  I put some baby corn in there which always brings down the house, so hopefully these lunches won't go to waste!