Terrible 2's...continued!

My son turned 2 on January 28, 2013 and everyone who asks me how old he is always has this response after I tell them, "Ohh, terrible 2's!" Henley had a head start on his terrible 2's when he turned 1! Parents, do you look at your child when they are throwing themselves down on the floor for no reason, or screaming to the very top of their lungs in anguish as if their life is so hard, and wonder, "Where's the sweet smelling, sweet face, quiet angel I gave birth to?"

I consider myself a patient person when it comes to children and the elderly; I have little patience for anyone in between. With my son, I felt like I should have been knighted for my patience with him. But the day my daughter was born, it's like patience packed its' bags and said deuces. If I forget to pray for my patience, I'm doomed. But I am thankful that Henley is a loving big brother. Even when he's having a bad moment, all I have to do is hold his sister up to his face and his mood lightens. This makes it a little easier to remember to be pray for patience. I'm gonna keep praying and working on it because the last thing I want to do is lose my cool with my first born baby. Here are some pictures from his Yo Gabba Gabba themed 2nd birthday party at his daycare:

My big guy posing for the camera whole the kids eat their snacks

I made this boombox because I couldn't get the one from walmart.com due to lack of online availability. So, I just taped the printed paper onto a Kellogg's Cereal box and used construction paper for the color (color printer wasn't working at the moment, so I did like Tim Gunn says and I made it work.

 Guess what I did with these...?

The favor bags. Yes, you see tape. Admittedly, I was ill-prepared so again, I had to make it work

These are my pride and joy! Too bad I couldn't find yellow hats. Of course, I had a solution, but I was crunched for time and decided to make these characters do

These are the cereal boxes from above. I put these in the favor bags as a treat. I don't believe in filling up favor bags with too much candy. Aside from this, there were 3 different musical instruments(because music is AWESOME!!), a Reese's peanut butter cup, and a small bottle of bubbles.

The kids enjoying themselves and so was Henley....briefly. This is about when he started to sporadically act out. BTW, thats my princess in the corner with her daddy on his iPhone

I'm putting the boombox in front of the radio so they would think the sounds was from the boombox. My bro made a cool nickjr party mix for the kids. The cupcakes were for them to take home, but at the party they had strawberries, cantaloupe, and kiwi fruit salad, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and honey ginger Cinnamon carrots. But the true hit of the party was my good old fashioned nana pudding. I enjoyed making everything and cant wait to do it again for Heavon's (that's my daughter) 1st and Henley's 3rd birthdays!

The favor bags.

Transformation plan for 2013...

So, if you know me, you know that I'm in the category affectionately known as "Big Girl". Since my last post, I've given birth a second time to my littlest angel, Heavon. She was born November 19, 2012 and I couldn't be happier. So now I have DEUX children that I have to keep up with, and being a big girl is no longer the category I want to be in. Don't get me wrong, I've always had high self esteem and I never allowed my weight to hold me back, BUT running after a toddler who just entered his terrible 2's PETRIFIES ME! Henley has just turned 2 on  January 28, but I feel like he's been in his terrible 2's since he turned 1! Thankfully, I'm not totally out of shape where I can't catch his little behind, but if I stay on this path, there will be a time where I won't be able to catch him before he runs into the open road, or God forbid, he runs away and a stranger snatches him before I get to him. So, I'm making a change February 2, 2013 marked my transformation start date and I gotta tell ya, it's not as hard as I thought it would be. Of course, it's still early and the urge to tackle my boyfriend for a drumstick hasn't hit me as yet, but I'm hoping it doesn't. The fact is, I'm 30 years old with 2 kids and I would hate for my health to be the reason why my children have to bury me, especially before my time. I want to live long enough to see my grandchildren born at least and the direction I'm heading, not sure it'll happen.

I set a goal to lose 100lbs by September, and with prayer and commitment (and exercise), I will do it darn it! Here's my plan and you're welcome to give it a try: Exercise, eat less, eat right, and drink kale smoothies. That's it! I researched foods that were acceptable to eat that I liked so this process wouldn't be too hard and the urge to cheat would be minimal. On my list are things like: ground turkey and lean ground beef with kidney beans burgers in a pita pocket with oven baked homemade fries; grilled salmon with no oil stir fried veggies over brown rice; turkey wrap with homemade kale chips; whole wheat french toast with bananas and lean sausage; black bean chili with lean ground meat; oatmeal pancakes, banana nut oatmeal; boneless skinless ginger chicken breast with garlic butter baked potato.... is your mouth watering yet?

Trust me, once you can control your portion, it'll be a breeze. OK, I AM only human as well and I have had thoughts of going to KFC drive-thru for those ever so tasty hot wings, but I'm surprisingly stronger than I thought. I'm gonna go ahead and change the subject now so I can hurry and get that flavor out my mind because as strong as I am, it's still early in the process. Here are some of the meals that I've prepared since I started. Each one was delicious and left me satisfied until it was time for my next meal. I didn't even need to snack in between meals, but I did so I could get my 5 meals in. I snacked on fruits, nuts, yogurt or just had a small glass of kale smoothie.

 

 

In addition to eating better and less, I've began walking for 45 minutes a day. In 5 days, I've lost about 6lbs! Wish me luck, and I will keep you posted.

 



I'm sooooo ready for a change

So, I know I just started blogging and haven't really been keeping up with it, but a LOT has gone on that I'll recap later. For now, let me just let yall know thaaaat, I'm expecting a new baby in November, my toddler is supposedly about to start daycare(if I can get over my separation anxiety), and I am ready to move awaaaaay! I need to get off this island! As much as I love home, I need a change. My first choice is to move back to Charlotte, NC where I went to college; the second choice would be Baton Rouge, LA since that's where Jason is from and all his family including his kids are there. It would be nice to have my kids grow up around their siblings, plus when I visited them, I fell in love with the city. My last choice is Atlanta, GA. It's really Jason's choice since he used to live there, but I'm not opposed. But to be honest, I would much rather move back to Charlotte. The QC has my heart and all my college friends are there, plus, the houses that I looked at are more affordable. PLUS, it would be much easier to transfer my business there.... yea, I started another business. It's a lunch delivery service. Business is a little slow, but I have ideas for improvements that would make a killing in the states as opposed to down here. More on that later. And also, I'm finally going back to school, but this time, I'm going for Culinary. Which I wish I had realized earlier that I was interested in. With all that said, if anyone is reading this and thinking about moving to or already living in the VI, I am selling my 2011 Jeep Liberty. It's Red, still under warranty, and in excellent condition except for minor damage on the rear driver side around the tail light. I'm asking $20,000, but no reasonable offer will be refused. It's available immediately. You can comment or email me at luhenley@gmail.com or contact me at 340-513-1975. Will update with pictures.

All is not fair in love and death...

In 2011, my little brother died on 1/6... 3 days before his 2nd birthday, 16 days before our dads bday on the 22nd, and 22 days before the birth of my son, his nephew. In 2012, my little cousin died on 1/22... 6 days after her 18th birthday which was the day of her sons first birthday as well as my dads birthday, her uncle. I don't know why these things happen, but they do. I pray for my family and yours, and I pray to keep my faith and hope that there is meaning and a plan to all this heartache. Cherish each other now so that you can mourn or rest in peace when the time comes.

Loss of a child

I know people say that you're supposed to live your life and enjoy people and time while you have them, but how is it possible when people are droppin like flies? Moreso, children are passing on every day and I cant help but worry and live in fear. The people that are strongest to me are the parents who have lost their children, especially as babies. I pray that I never experience this, but I always wonder how do they go on? I totally understand why it's important to have more children because not only are ou gving your child a companion, but if you have more kids, your heart will still beat. You still have a reason to live. I pray and I pray that I will never lose my son. I must die before him because when his heart stops, so will mine...

I know everyone beliefs that their son is the sweetest thing in the world and that theyre a genius, etc.... And I believe you guys, but trust me when i say that MY son is the best person in the world! He's a better person than me for sure! And he's so loving! He's now giving kisses (open mouthed), and when I tell him to give me a kiss, he grabs my face and just opens his mouth over my lips! And he hugs my face! It's the absolute best feeling in the world!!!!

Just an update...

So I reviewed the Department of Labor's website and found out that there IS unemployment benefits available for individuals seeking self-employment but it's optional. Meaning each state doesn't have to offer that program. And of course this damn place I call home doesn't offer. I've been looking for a number to call so I can get some info on exactly why my government, that I pay taxes at, refused to opt for funds that would benefit our island. It's already bad enough that the cost of living is ridiculously high, but there is nobody lobbying to appropriate the funds that can help boost employment rates! I loooove my island, I'm a proud Virgin Islander, and an even protrude St. Thomian, but moving back to the states is sounding pretty damn good right now....

Recipe: Sticky BBQ Chicken wings

Today my mouth was sauced up for two things: potatoes and creamed spinach. I initially wanted roasted, garlic potatoes, but there weren't enough potatoes. Before I could come up with an alternative, my eyes scanned my cabinet and found two boxes of Betty Crocker Au gratin potatoes.   Before I post the recipe, please note that I rarely do any measuring so I can't give exact measurements for everything. Here's what you'll need for the meal:

 

• Chicken wings - clean them and season to your liking but do not season heavily. You can cut the tips if you want but I like to keep mine on
•  
• Betty Crocker Au gratin. As many as you need. I made two boxes for two people but I expect it to last at least until Wednesday.
•  
• Two boxes of frozen chopped spinach, defrosted. You can use one but you'll wish you made more
•  
• 1 package of grated Parmesan
•  
• Butter
•  
• Onion
•  
• Clove of Garlic
•  
• Red pepper flakes
• Sour cream
•  
• Evaporated milk. Can also use heavy cream but I didn't have any today
•  
• Nutmeg
•  
• French's fried onions
•  
• Salt and Pepper to taste

 

 

Preheat oven to 400•F. Follow the instructions on the Au gratin box(remember to duplicate ingredient amounts if using more than one box). Put Au gratin in oven.
Arrange seasoned chicken wings in aluminum pan and cover with foil. Place in oven.
Melt butter in saucepan. Add onions, red pepper flakes, and garlic and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add milk or heavy cream, nutmeg and Parmesan cheese. Stir often until cheese whims to melt. When sauce turns creamy and starts to bubble, add spinach and sour cream. Turn off heat. Mix everything together then pour spinach into a buttered baking dish.

 I learned this trick from Sunny Anderson on The Food Network's Cooking For Real: top spinach with French's fried onions.

Place in oven. I swear, you're gonna wanna eat the whole thing!

Remove Au Gratin after 25 minutes, spinach after about 10(don't let onions burn), and remove cover from wings after about 25 minutes. Continue baking until a caramel color appears after about 15 minutes. Turn wings over and let other side brown for another 10 minutes. I drizzled a little semi-homeade BBQ sauce I whipped together on the stove. Just mix some existing BBQ sauce, tomato sauce, parsley, salt and black pepper, a little water and some browning in the saucepan with the cream sauce for a few minutes. Hope you try this recipe and enjoy it like we did!