My layer of SLOW!!! (is annoying)

So yes I do realize that weight gain is inevitable while I'm pregnant... but it doesn't mean I have to like it!!!  You see I worked my ass off losing all the previous baby weight, and I know what I'm in for to lose every extra pound I gain.  So a little dark secret of mine is that I am obsessed with online pregnancy weight trackers. 

Here are a few that I randomly use:
http://www.babycenter.com/pregnancy-weight-gain-estimator
http://www.fortunebaby.com/pregnancy-weight-gain-calculator.html

I never did this with the other 3 pregnancies, I didn't beat myself up.  But for the last two day's I have been punishing myself!!!  I can barely walk (which will pass of course).  But yesterday I did body pump then attack and tonight I did combat then body pump.  I have been eating tons of protein and trying to cut back on sugar, eating as clean as possible.  I'm pretty sure I can maintain it until the weekend of course.  But according to my data and calculations I am about 2-4 lbs overweight for week 17.  So this is what I'm talking about.. my layer of slow.  It's annoying and I want it gone, it is sucking my energy away, especially with all this heat that we are getting, and it looks icky!  Of course I realize that said layer of slow is not going anywhere, it is very possibly going to get even slower!!!  ahkkkk...  The thing is I know, what I should know, but for some reason my mind is fighting it...  With this being my 4th pregnancy I wanted to re-write the rules, I wanted to be just a belly without all the extra "slowness" or "insulation" however you look at it...  But I just don't think my body is cooperating with my idea's.  I'm struggling because being pregnant I allow myself some "extra's" but at the same time, I look at the results and I think logically, those extra's are too much so I should just go back to the "eat clean" basics.  No extra's (unless it's Saturday or Sunday)

Well if this wasn't a rant... I'm not sure what is..

Ps.. Doesn't the baby look like an alien?

Strange prego cravings...

No no.. not ice cream and pickles... ewww...  However according to Mark this is gross, I however have eaten this everyday for the past 3 days (and twice today). 

Salsa salmon salad

1 can of low sodium salmon
3/4 c frozen green peas
1/2 cup fresh salsa (mild or medium)
small handful of rice chips (I used Lundenburg - Honey mustard flavour)


Directions:

I drain the liquid from the can of salmon and then dump it into a large microwavable bowl and with a fork crush the whole thing up really good (skin and bones also),  add the peas and salsa; mix the whole thing up and microwave for 2 minutes.  Serve with a handful of rice chips!

My other prego craving is french Canadian pea soup, but I refuse to buy it pre-made in a can because of all the sodium.  So I make it myself with a bag of dehydrated yellow peas.

Grand-maman's Pea Soup Recipe 
 most of a bag of yellow split peas
2 carrots
1 large celery
1/2 onion
2 slices of ham steak (about a cm thick and 5 cm diameter)
water or no salt added vegetable soup base (campbells makes one now )

Directions:

Dice up the veggies and saute them in hot pot, then add enough liquid (your choice) to fill to about 1" bellow top of pot, add the yellow peas and diced ham and let simmer for about 3 hours on medium heat. It you find it is boiling to much (be careful the bottom might burn this way because this is an extremely thick soup) turn it down.  The peas will soften up and it starts to look like a pot of goo... very yummy goo!

  FYI: when this soup cools it will nearly solidify, that's ok, when it warms up it melts back into soup.  I'm not sure why I do this, but I also tend to remove the white foam that bubbles to the top, it's one of those things my grand-maman did and I've seen my mom doing it.  So I guess it's your choice, if you taste it it is bitter, so perhaps that's why they take it off.  

My Sad Bike Story!

I believe the universe is against my desire to ride my bike.  The first time I got the idea to ride my bike, I could hardly get it down off the garage ceiling, next the tires were empty, I got them filled and during that ride I feel off and scratched my arm up pretty badly.  Then the next time I wanted to ride it, pulling the "new" second hand trailer we bought, my back tire was flat/blown out.  So I had to get Mark to fix it up for me.  Check, tire fixed, filled and trailer attached.  It is looking good!

We are off!

So far so good...

And then.... 

Biking to Longo's I had the two older kids in the trailer, Mark had the baby seat on his bike.... as I was going over the bridge ... Changed gears... and wham the gears went off their tracks and caught in the tire... and I can no longer move my bike!!! 

Mark had to bike home, get the van and pick up my bike.  I attached the front wheel to the trailer and pushed them home!

Poor mangled gears.  

I will be taking this bike to the repair shop tomorrow... so even though the universe is clearly trying to tell me something, I am stubbornly forging ahead!

Thank you sunshine!

It was such a gloomy morning but by the afternoon the weather finally decided to cooperate.  I was able to sit out and soak up some of the sun's healing rays (with my sun shield 50 on of course) and Mark was happy to give our front yard a face lift (I put in an order for purple and white flowers) and they are so beautiful.  The kids were playing on their bikes on the sidewalk, then we had friends come over for dinner. We had a wonderful BBQ with a mango apple crumble with ice cream for dessert. My favourite part was during dessert when the kids were so busy digging into dessert that there were a few minutes of golden silence. These are the moments I live for in summer. Pure happiness...

P.S. Thank you ice cream!!!

Our very first soccer game.

As you can see the weather was terrible for our hair!  However it didn't rain so that was a God send!

Since the poor kid was strapped in the stroller for a whole hour, I felt like he deserved alot of photographic attention!

Annaliese (in the pink pants) doing a double high five with her best friend (from school).

Here Luke is asking how she is doing and asking if he can sit with her!

No objections (smart girl knows it's always good to have a cheerleader!)

Posing!  After scoring a GOAL!!! woohoo... She didn't even want to play and now she's excited for next week because she want's to score another one!

Still smiling even though it seems like it's below zero, he's been stuck in the stroller for almost an hour!  I am really super excited the game is over in 10 minutes because I have lost circulation in my left hand! When it's almost June and you are freezing, it hurts that much more :(

I can still do Crow pose!!!

Crow pose!  I can still jump into it pretty easily (for now) and hold if for about 5 breaths! (or about a minute)

Last week I wasn't able to get out to do hot yoga (Mark being away and all).  So this week I thought... "Oh man this is going to hurt".  Yoga is something you really need to stick with, it's more of a mental game actually.  If you lose your practise in your mind and you rely on your muscles to tell you what you can or can't do... you'll suck!  So today I did suck at some stuff, two weeks ago I could do wheel.. this week...not so much... bridge for me!  Two weeks ago I did head stand, this week... tripod.  BUT!!!  Two weeks ago I did crow pose... and this week I did crow pose (without the kick stand) .  Muahahahaa...  all is not lost.  If you are curious, here are some pictures I stole online and posted here.

Here is wheel! 

This is the easier version.  Bridge (which I must admit did really help with my sciatic pain)

 This is head stand.  It's fun!

This is tripod!







I actually think I'll be able to keep doing crow, the belly seems to be a counter weight :D  I wonder what other pose I can still rock with my growing belly!

This is my JOY!

Nothing I've ever gotten will ever compare to this little nugget my sweet 5 year old gave me today after school! 

I may not really understand the choice of pictures, but who cares.  The sweet little girl took the time to wrap and and make a little card!  So so cute.  We get so much stuff sent home from school but it's these little love nuggets that I will cherish because she created them all by herself without the teacher prompting.  It was what I needed today! 

Just a Happiness Ponder... are we really empathetic?

I wonder... is it wrong to feel good after helping someone?   Taking pride in the act of helping seems kind of sinful and selfish.  Funny;  thinking about it that way seems so wrong, but did you know it's actually very addictive.  I suppose the idea that you can only truly experience joy/bliss/happiness if you have the opposite experience to compare it too, seems to make sense .  Otherwise how do you quantify pleasure or joy? 

We are a very empathetic culture, are we not?  If someone needs help, we help. We are so full of "how are you's? and "can I help?"  Of course we do it so guarded, we make sure we don't actually experience their pain.  Who the hell like pain.  All day today I was feeling pain in my arm (the one that got smashed on the side walk), let me tell you... Pain sucks.  So then again I guess us Canadian's aren't as empathetic as we once thought we were.  (yes this is a conscious stream of thought) I can't seem to be able to sleep unless I've unloaded some of this crap off my chest.   We really don't like to open ourselves up to feeling other people's pain.  Sure sympathy is easy, it's also very fake.  Anyone can sympathize.  I once had a teacher who taught me the words "I can appreciate how you feel"...  for example I can appreciate that your house is on fire, I'm sorry you must be upset.  I can say these words without for one second actually meaning them or feeling any of the pain the other person is feeling. 
empathy the power of entering into another’s personality and imaginatively experiencing his feelings
empathy - understanding and entering into another's feelings

I have come to a terrible conclusion that not many of "us" are actually capable of empathy, which is very unfortunate really.  I think that is one of the many differences that separate us from lower primates.  

Imagine... the possibility that both people in a relationship were actually able to empathize with each other???  How much money would be saved on therapy.  Ha... it would actually mean to stop being so selfish for once!  I guess that's not easy either, when you are feeling hurt/threatened/under attack it's hard to put your own drama and feelings aside and try to "enter into another's personality and imaginatively experiencing his feelings".. Ha ha...

So what is the result?  You GET the other person that much better.  But the work isn't done here, now that you get them, grow and fix.  You can't change the other person in a relationship!  Stop trying... you'll die trying.  You can only change yourself! You can only change your own perception of that person's crap.  We can only experience happiness when we've learned to perceive it, meaning we can only experience pleasure/bliss and all those good things, when we realize that "IT" is better than all the other crappy stuff. 

My Surprise 30th Bithday Party!!!!

Somehow my husband managed to fool me so totally and throw me a surprise birthday party.  I thought it was next weekend!!!  I wanted to go to the gym in the morning and then go for coffee, but he had other plans.  He unplugged the battery from the car (thinking this would stop me from getting out)... Little did he know how resourceful I would be, I pulled my bike down off the celling of the garage, got a neighbour to fill the tires and off I went for a ride... It was such a beautiful day, we have had rain and cold crummy weather for almost 2 weeks ( I was due for some outdoors time).  I biked to a friends house and we both went for a lovely ride on the trails near her house.  At 11, my husband called the cell (which he later told me he planted in an obvious place so that I would grab it)... he seemed frantic and wanted me home so that we could go pick up my brother and his girl friend, the kids were in the van and they wanted to come too!  Ok ok... I rush home (nearly killing myself in the process-I'll explain later).  And off we go to pick up my brother in hamilton so that he could come over here for a BBQ with his GF. 

So my husband who played every angle of this surprise, took the scenic route back home (under the guise of too much traffic on the QEW - which was actually true) and when I mentioned to him that one of my friends could babysit the kids and I would love it if we could go for lunch at Dundurn Castle, he suddenly says "sure" and then pulls into the parking lot...  This I thought was strange, but I had mentioned to him that we didn't have anything for lunch to feed Ian (my brother) and Kaila (his GF), so I thought he was also trying to impress the two of them by taking everyone out for lunch. 

So we unpack the crew (including two sleeping boys- poor things... I did find this behaviour strange)... But still I had NO CLUE!!!  then as we are walking towards the coach house for lunch, people are screaming "Mark, Mark"... I tell Mark, "it's probably another Mark", but then he vear's towards them and I see it's Jen and Cara (my friends)... Ok so I guess I'm not the brightest so I did have to look at their cute little summer dresses and then the pavillion that had white table clothes and ballons and tons of kids running around.... AHHHH HA!!!!  It's my party, the one I had been asking for since last year when I turned 29!!!  He did it, he pulled it off :D   I was so thrilled, so speechless and thankful all wrapped into one.  I can't beleive everyone was in on it! 

So here are some of the pictures that I go from my parent's camera!

Annaliese colouring the giant Happy Birthday banner!

Eating lunch: Catered from John's BBQ (a portugese family business in Oakville)... so yummy and nearly all Gluten Free!

Bubbles - an other activity for the kids.

My dad showing Patrick how to play mini golf (another activity)

My cake!  Good thing Mark didn't light all 30 candles :D

Patrick stripped down and eating his piece of cake.

The table clothes were white, the flowers were my favorite and everything was so beautiful.

Patrick and his great grandfather play mini golf and you can see the rest of the party'ers'  enjoying the beautiful sun! 

We also got a private guided tour of Dundurn Castle... One of my favorite places ever (since I spent 2 summers doing archaeology down in front of the mansion)

1 of many secrets to increasing your metabolism...

EAT MORE!!!!  Don't eat more junk food, or processed food or God help you take out food... Just eat more real food, green leafy, colourful, lean protein (not crap labeled "diet") those are just full of chemical's your body doesn't know how to process, and whole grains. 

I bring this up because Mark got back last night and was telling me all the fast food places the kids had to eat at during the trip.  I get that when you are traveling you need convenience, but almost 2 meals a day at a fast food restaurant is my idea of a nightmare.  Why not bring the kids to a local market and let them put together a meal?  Oh right!!!, because most of these kids have been raised on food that comes from a package.  That boils my blood!!! in case you are wondering. 

On the other side of the spectrum, he was telling me that he consistently sees teacher's eating only the smallest amount of food for lunch.  One teacher will only eat an apple and when Mark mentioned that that wasn't enough food (thank God my husband actually listens to me when I preach), she just said that if she eats anything more than that "It goes to her hips"...  WHAT????   Really people... 

The reason your metabolism is that slow is because you made it that way, if you starve yourself at any point in the day or for a series of day's your body will absolutely adapt (survival instincts) Think, how does a bear hibernate? It's metabolism has slown down so much that it's almost dead.  I have wonderful news, you can do that too.  If your body thinks it's in the middle of a famine, it will shut down it's ability to utilize food, it will basically just store it.  This is not healthy to sustain (mostly because you aren't lying in a cave doing nothing) you are still living and moving. But at this point your body will use other sources of fuel to survive (because it's not getting enough food fuel), it will break down muscle, and take "good fats" from your organs/brain.  And for some reason it will leave all that belly fat alone!!!  SO DON'T STARVE YOURSELF!!!!

It's stupid and dangerous and you can get really sick.  Mineral and vitamin deficiencies can lead to major health problems.  If you aren't getting fuel (ie, carbs/protein) and you aren't eating enough food in general, the nutrient dense foods (legumes,veggies, fruit) than you are not getting the vitamins and minerals that are essential in maintaining your health.  Vitamins and minerals are like key's, they unlock and lock the processes in your body (ie, your metabolism) everything your body needs to do to function is controlled by enzymes, minerals and vitamins.  So in the event of deficiency (sure you can run on borrowed time) your body is resourceful, it can take minerals out of your bones (for one example)... but eventually that leads to health problems on it's own.  

So here is your TAKE OUT:  eat eat eat, real food that has real vitamins, minerals, proteins and complex carbs...   And eat 5-6 times a day.  Keep fueling your body, it will run more efficiently if it doesn't think it's starving. 

I can see the finish line..

Praise the lord... only one more day alone.  No more nights alone after tonight!  Keeping the kids busy is really working for sure, but it also means I am always busy and I`m exhausted now.  They say, so I hear, that going to the gym gives energy.  Well I`m sure that doesn't apply to me.  I did body pump (a weights class) and then combat (martial arts based cardio) and I can barely keep my eyes open to type this.  I will however see if it's a new Grey's Anatomy, in which case I plan on sitting here like a lump on a log, long enough to watch the show and fast forward through the commercials.  Then my head will hit the pillow and I'll probably be asleep by the time that happens.  Good night!

Today's GF Energy Bars...

Holy hanna, did I ever need energy today.  I made these bars last night, sometime around 11:30pm so that I would have a healthy snack to bring to my parents and tot's group this morning.  Little did I know that my youngest son would be up on and off till about 1:30am... so today was a really really long day.  I thought I would get a nap, but no, forces beyond my control would not allow said to happen.  I had to get a neighbour to watch the boys (while they were napping) so that I could go pick Annaliese up from school because she was feeling ill.  I got her home and tucked into bed, and about 20 minutes after she fell asleep Patrick was awake from his nap.   No rest for me today.  So anyway here are the directions for the energy bars.

You will hate me folks, but I didn't' measure sorry.  This is about 1/3 cup (I think) of brown rice syrup, two giant heaping tbsp of almond butter, a pretty big dash of pure vanilla extract, and about 1 tbsp of agave.  Heated just till it made a few bubbles.  (med heat)

From left to right on the cutting board: cranberries, dried cherries, apricots, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds.  I added hemp hearts to the rice puffs and sprinkled chia seeds on top.

Ohhhhh everyone must get a SUPER DUPER SCOOPER!!!!  they rock!  (I'm just adding all these ingredients to the pot of syrup and then adding as much rice puffs as I can mix in while still getting them coated in the sauce). 

Press firmly into a dish that has been lightly sprayed with veg oil (or whatever)- probably not olive though, it would taste silly!

Refrigerate and then cut and enjoy!

Keep Them Busy!!!

Well I think going into this week with a game plan is helping.  My motto is going to be keep them too busy to drive me nuts.  The morning is always busy, getting lunches/snacks ready, getting dressed and having breakfast all before 8:30!  We didn't do to bad!  We made it to school this morning on time and I even had time to sit down and eat my oatmeal and hard boiled eggs.

I've also set a goal for myself that I don't want to yell at them while Mark is away.  I'm their only parent this week, I can't turn into a scary 5foot 4inch crazy mad monster!!!  (ps. Not that I plan on yelling at them when Mark get's back, but I think it's really really important this week to keep myself calm. 

So back to the day, after I dropped Annaliese off at school I took the boys to play (and get tuckered out) at Lil'Monkey's.  It worked, we got home, had some lunch, read stories and everyone (moi aussi) took a nap.  I actually had to wake the boys up so that we would have time to pick up Annaliese at school.  So pile into the van again, get Annaliese and on the way home we stopped at Longo's for the sushi diner special.  At home we had diner, then packed a snack and off to Goodlife for playtime for the kids and a 2 hour workout for mommy!

Here's the key or trick to getting 3 kids to bed really really fast and efficiently.  Go through the routine with them about 20 times before we even set foot in the door.  Tonight's was: get home, put away your coat/shoes/ go upstairs, pj's on, pick out tomorrow's clothes, brush teeth, go pee, read stories and bed!!!  We practised all the way home!!! So when we walked in the door, I only had to take care of putting the baby to bed and they were ready for their stories by the time it was their turn.  I literally only had to remind them a few times of the order of events.  

Ahhh then I made myself an after workout meal, cleaned up around here and sat down to watch the Biggest Loser! 

the end....


pss. Hopefully tomorrow goes as well.  I'm not sure I will bring them back to the gym, mostly because I think I over did it when I ran a 5k, then did weights, then combat... I'll have to see how I feel.  I think I could Flow rather than stay home and that would be better than nothing. ( ahhh you see more planning!)

This week is going to be tough!

I am mentally preparing myself to be a single parent for the rest of the week.  Mark is going to be in Quebec for his grade 8 field trip and I am not really looking forward to being mom and dad to the kids this week.  We've logistically started the week off ok, I've got a plan for what we are going to eat for diner's, the house was cleaned from top to bottom on the weekend, so all I need to do is maintain it and cloth diapers are getting washed tonight, which means no diaper shortage.  But all the same I'm still really anxious.  I have absolutely no idea how single parents actually do this.  I get exhausted by friday nights (when Mark works at Longo's after working at school all day).  I will basically have 4 friday's in a row...  dear heavens...

Everyone should know that there is no way on this green earth that I would have had this many children if it wasn't for Mark.  He is such a supportive husband.  He has no problem taking the 3 kids most evenings after diner and putting them to bed while I go to the gym.  This weekend, the amazing man that he is, he let me sleep in both days (yes 8:30 and 9am) is a massive sleep in around here.  Sometimes I get jealous of other women when they say how their husbands took them out for diner, or got them some nice jewelry or flowers, but then I remember that my husband cleans the dirty diapers, helps mop for the floors (so I don't have to be on my hands and knees), lets me sleep in, plants me tons of flower bulbs and then picks me bouquets....  You get the point.  He may not be the typical romantic husband; but, I am clearly dreading being without him for the next week. 

If you see me, please give me a hug this week.  I'll need it!  My support will be in Quebec :)  And I'm going to miss him with all my heart. 

My GF version of the Buttermilk Oatmeal Pancakes

Breakfast!!

Here is the original recipe from Steven and Chris on CBC!
Oatmeal Buttermilk Pancakes (click here for link!)

Makes 15 Pancakes

Ingredients:

2-1/4 cups (550 mL) buttermilk
1-1/2 cups (375 mL) quick-cooking (not instant) rolled oats
1/2 cup (125 mL) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (125 mL) whole wheat flour
1 tbsp (15 mL) packed brown sugar
1 tsp (5 mL) baking powder
1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
2 eggs
3 tbsp (45 mL) vegetable oil

Preparation:

In bowl, pour buttermilk over oats; let stand for 5 minutes.

In separate bowl, whisk together all-purpose and whole wheat flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk eggs with 2 tbsp (25 mL) of the oil; pour over dry ingredients. Pour buttermilk mixture over top and stir just until combined.

Heat large nonstick skillet over medium heat; brush with some of the remaining oil. Pour about 1/4 cup (50 mL) batter for each pancake into skillet, brushing skillet with remaining oil as necessary; cook until underside is golden and bubbles break on top but do not fill in, 1-1/2 to 2 minutes. Turn and cook until underside is golden, 30 to 60 seconds.

Here is my GF version

GF Oatmeal Buttermilk Pancakes

3/4 cup of GF quick cooking rolled oats
1 cup and 2 tbsp of Buttermilk
1/2 cup of Roger's GF pancake mix
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 tbsp oil
1/4 cup of flax meal

Follow the pictures for the directions!

Pour the buttermilk over the oats and let sit 5 minutes.

Fluff baking powder and pancakes mix together.

Whisk egg and oil together.

Combine all 3 bowls and lightly mix till all is well blended.

Add flax!

Cook on medium heat for about 3 minutes one side and 2 minutes other side.

Garnish and enjoy!  I used a berry compote and whipped cream :D

Berry Compote: 

Microwave frozen mixed berries until they are all soft and you can see a liquid, add a couple of tsp of chia seeds and let sit for a few minutes.

A **REAL** Gluten Free Bakery!!

By chance I walked into this store today and I am so excited to tell you about it.  The store is tiny, but the staff is super friendly.  The owner Jonh even gave me a carrot muffin for the road because I was pregnant and it was lunch time.  I had bought a bag full of frozen (day old) treats.  They were 50% off this way, and I figured the best way for me to get the best bang for my buck anyway, plus this way I could try out more of their products. 

But even better, I am thrilled because they make bagels fresh (well they make everything the same day) on Tuesday`s and Thursday`s.  How perfect is that, Thursday used to be my bagel day so now I can have the occasional fresh warm bagel without getting all the gut pain that I used to. 

I believe, much to Mark`s chagrin (gas prices, ect...), that I will be visiting Oakville at least once a month (or more), to treat myself to some frozen day old baked goods and a fresh bagel! 

So today I brought home, 4 cookies (oatmeal chocolate chip), 2 cup cakes (one chocolate and one vanilla), 3 cinnamon buns (aka- sticky buns), 6 cinnamon raisin scones ... all these were all frozen, but I did buy 3 fresh herb baguettes.  The grand total was 15$ and some change.  

I tried a bite of almost everything already, and I have to say the cookies are amazing, the cinnamon buns aren`t Cinnabon, but they sure beat grocery store versions or the Ikea ones, I almost ate one whole baguette on the ride home, it wasn`t crumbly in the least and the flavour was a perfect blend of savory herbs.  I did find the scones a bit dry (but what can you expect with day old - I think I will eat them while drinking tea).  But the point of all this is that, I don`t feel so limited anymore.  My decision to be Gluten Free was not an easy one, don`t you think I would still be eating gluten and all the yummy foods that contain gluten if my gut and body allowed me to?  Of course!!!  But in the past few weeks I have been having a lot of cravings for "regular foods", my own muffins, whole wheat bread, bagels even regular cereal... did you know most burger's have gluten in them??? So now I'm looking for hamburgers that are also GF!

Anyway rant aside, I think anyone, whether they are GF or not, should check out this bakery!  It's fantastic and the staff is so amazing and sweet and will take the time to explain how they make their treats and what ingredients they use! 


ps. Yes I do make my own burger's (but every now and then I deserve a break too!)

Thursday's post: My Happy List!

1) Morning out with the kids at Little Goobers (they love it there, plus I get free wifi to catch up on emails)
2) By chance meeting up with a good gym friend (at Little Goobers), whom I don't get to see nearly often enough!!! I miss you Janet.
3) Kid took a long nap and I GOT ONE TOO!!!!  (ps. the weather was crappy so... I didn't even feel bad sleeping)
4) Had time to make my favorite humus and soup for the kids and Mark before 5pm (packed it up, picnic style for them to eat at the gym)
5) Had a great Body Pump class
6) *** A Fantastic 1 hour massage!!!***
7) Because kids were exhausted, they went to sleep really fast and easy! (8PM - all kids down!)
8) Extra time in the evening because no mess to clean up from diner, got to hang out with my hubby!  :)
9) Got to bed early because blogger was down :D 

 I had the most fabulous day!!!  I am so greatful for my life.  The relationships, the simplicity and the love... these are the things that make me happy and that matter! 

I miss Bagels!

Bukamaranga is the name of the bagel shop I go to every now and then.  I used to be every Thursday!  Things change.

Since I don't eat gluten it's been hard to go back into the shop, the smells are overwhelming.  And if you get there early enough you might end up with a bag full of warm bagels... ummmm. But for the sake of the kids who also adore the shop, I finally ended my hiatus and walked in.  

Greeted with baskets of choices.  My kids always like the same, chocolate chip bagel.  My favorite (and still is..) the cinnamon raison.  

But best of all, fair trade Vanilla flavoured coffee!  If I have to chose I will drink this coffee over the bagel... It is soooo worth it.

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