What I did the past 4 days

Hey there, I'm back!  And no, I actually wasn't eating badly the whole time I was taking a blogging break this time!  I am back to 0.4 pounds above where I was when I left for San Antonio  (and THAT weight is the lightest I've been since I got pregnant with Charlotte) so I'm still feeling good :-)  New gym clothes are just around the corner.

And I will need them, because it has just gotten a lot easier for me to go to the gym!  My existing gym just bought a new location that is 3 minutes from my house and I am pretty ecstatic.  It's easy biking and jogging distance, which will be super-nice when my kids are both in school.  I have already attended several classes there, and I like it better than the location I have been going to PLUS it's a lot less crowded for now.  Who knows what it will be like when more people discover it.  I am especially psyched that it adds quite a few more Zumba and Bodypump options to my workout schedule.

On top of that, Emily's preschool is starting a "Lunch Bunch" program after spring break where the kids can stay an extra hour and eat lunch at school on Mondays and Tuesdays.  This will be great practice for Emily, who will be eating lunch at school every day starting next fall, and it's also great for me because it gives me the extra time I need to actually stay for the whole Bodypump class on Mondays.  Yay!

So lets see, what have I been up to since I last posted.

The girls and I had a picnic under the Bradford Pear trees in our neighborhood on Friday.

Emily even dragged Charlotte there for me

 I thought about going down to DC to see the cherry blossoms again this year, but they bloomed so early and it's always so crowded that I opted instead to just picnic with the girls a block from our house.  I was worried because the smell of Bradford Pears in bloom REALLY bothers me for some reason, but I guess since they had been blooming for about a week at this point the smell had faded because they really weren't too bad.

I thought I could get some cute pictures of the girls, but once Emily started making faces and I laughed it was all over.  

Then Charlotte and Emily picked up my camera and took a couple shots.

That's more like it

 When we got back from lunch I started assembling our new patio furniture, and Emily started enjoying the box it came in.

When Charlotte woke up she joined in with the fun.

Dirty little feet from running around in the back yard :-)

Then she started helping me out too.

That girl wields a mean hex-key

Saturday we went to my parents' house to celebrate my youngest sister Kathleen's birthday.

Everyone pretending they don't realize I'm taking a picture

 Kathleen requested Thai for dinner, and it was delicious!

Dad's Quorn curry, bamboo rice, my green papaya salad

dumpling soup

The birthday girl

Kathleen the flasher, illustrating the fact that my sisters wore inversely-colored outfits

I, of course, made and brought Chocolate Covered Katie's Deep Dish Cookie Pie, and we had it with my dad's  homemade yogurt-ginger "ice cream". 

Yummy and healthy

Sunday we didn't do much, poor Emily was feverish with a pouring nose, painful ears and an upset tummy.  We did manage to arrange the back porch a bit.

Back porch with texting toddler

 Will wanted to have his hammock on the back porch, but I wasn't thrilled with the idea since it took up so much space and looked ugly.  After discussing it for a bit, Will came up with an acceptable solution...replace the nasty old standard hammock with his colorful hammock from Mexico.  It takes up much less space, is super-comfy and the colors fit in with the scheme I've been planning for the back porch anyway.  Win!

Plus the girls love it

Yes, I took Emily's sick day as an excuse to wear my PJs all day too

 Monday was more of the same.  We stayed home because Emily was still under the weather.

On to today!

My breakfast

 I went to Zumba at the new gym this morning, and it was really fun!  There were only 5 people there total and I was the only one who had ever taken class with that instructor before so I remembered a lot of the routines.  It's always more fun once you know all the moves :-)

Afterward I had a Babybel Light, did a bit of food shopping, and went to get Emily.

I decided I wanted to finish up the can of sardines that was in the pantry today, so I made Living Lindsay's Heart-Stopping Tuna Salad, except subbed sardines for tuna and added some greek yogurt too for creaminess.  Once it's all mixed together I really can't tell the difference between sardines and tuna, and sardines are much better for you!

Little fishies before mixing

 I served it over greens with some sprouts, and this left me STUFFED, but of course I did eventually get hungry again.  My late afternoon snack:

Dinner, per Emily's request, was mac and cheese to which I added parsnip/chickpea/cauliflower purée, nutritional yeast, ham and peas because I can't JUST make it mac and cheese when it's such a great vehicle for hiding nutrient-dense but child-unfriendly foods.  One day Emily will probably have plain mac and cheese and get mad at me for all the healthy things I've sneaked into hers over the years. 

I had another one of these yummy guys too.

And yes, it was too cold to eat dinner on the back porch this evening, but ever since we did the first time the girls have been adamant that we keep it up.  I just hope the weather gets warm again soon.

Dessert was some cherry almond Theo dark chocolate...

...plus some banana + peanut flour Vitamix soft serve to celebrate the fact that my iherb shipment FINALLY arrived!  Huzzah!

Now I have to drive to a gas station to put air in my tires :-(  I noticed this morning once I got to preschool that my back right tire was flat-ish.  I filled it up after Zumba and saw an area that was bulging and cracking.  Definitely no good.  It's a slow leak though, and I didn't have time to deal with it today, so I am filling it up tonight and hoping I will have enough air left in there by tomorrow morning to get Emily to preschool before I go get it patched.  I sure am getting sick of having to mess with my tires...this is the second one that has just gone flat for no good reason in the past few months!