Insomnia & Pilates

Not long after we moved here, I ordered Mari Winsor's Pilates set. I have always liked doing it, but I can never seem to do it consistently. It came with several discs, but I always just do the 20 minute workout (which only takes me 15 min. because I have it all memorized and don't have to wait for Mari to move on). I really like to do it at night because it is a great way to clear the mind. I mean, for 15 minutes, all you do is focus on counting, breathing and movement. But normally I wait until I am about to pass out before I turn off the computer, and by that point, I'm like Pilates schmilates. I'm going to bed.

Only for the last week or so, I have not been able to sleep once I get there, no matter how tired I am. So I have been doing PIlates before I go to bed again. Tonight will be my 6th night. :) I am feeling good about making a healthy choice, and that one little choice helps me make other good choices.

Plus, my gut is starting to shrink. Total bonus, eh?

THE BIG THREE UPDATE: PARENTING & FEEDING

I read this post yesterday about balancing housework & parenting. (yeah, I know. They are both pretty equally balanced with scrapping piled high on top of each side of the scale, but now that we have acknowledged the truth, let's move on.) So tonight, I was making corn bread muffins (from a mix; don't be too impressed) and Jack wanted to help. Truthfully, I think he saw the muffin pan and was thinking these were gonna be like BLUEBERRY muffins; he was a bit disappointed when he tried the batter, but I like to let my kids learn their own lessons. ;)

Anyway, he wanted to help, so I let him scoop the mix into the tins. Nearly killed me. There was muffin mix all over the entire pan; some tins were overflowing, some were barely covered, but you know what? They all tasted just fine. And Jack ate one and told Joel proudly, "I made these, Bapa."

So yeah, it doesn't get done well, but a much more important thing gets done...parenting. :)

PLUS, I made 7-Layer Rigatoni. It was delicious. And it looked SO pretty, too. I spent like two hours in the kitchen; I'm not very efficient, so hopefully with more practice, I can cut that down by half at least. (the two hours included cleaning & making preparations for tomorrow's breakfast, so it wasn't ALL from dinner) I used fresh basil, which I bought in the market for ten cents, though the basil taste was way too strong for us and I will definitely cut back on it next time. But I TOTALLY get points for using fresh herbs, right?

Seven Layer Rigatoni from Betty Crocker Best Loved Casseroles

3 C uncooked rigatoni pasta 1 lb bulk Italian Sausage
1 28 oz can crshed tomatoes, undrained 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 T chopped fresh or 1 T dried basil leaves 1 8 oz pckg slicked fresh mushrooms
1 7 oz jar roasted red bell peppers, drained & chopped
1 C shredded Parmesan cheese 2 1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Heat oven to 375. Spray 13x9 in baking dish with cooking spray. Cook & drain pasta as directed on package using min. cooking tie.
2. While pasta is cooking, in 10 inch skillet, cook sausage over med. heat 5-7 min., stirring occassionally, until no longer pink; drain. In small bowl, mix tomatoes, garlic & basil.
3. Layer half each of hte pasta, sausage, mushrooms, bell peppers, Parm cheese, tomato mixture & Mozz. cheese; repeat layers.
4. Bake 35-40 min. or until hot and cheese is golden brown.

ANOTHER LAYOUT

I used Zoe Pearn's newest kit, Chasing Rainbows. Holy moly, I love it. SO hard not to throw everything from the kit on there. Such a huge kit, too. Rainbows make me happy. :)

Click here for credits

The journaling talks about how much better life was at 10 months with Jack than it was in the beginning. He got off to a rough start, but gosh, look at that cute face! I also used a sketch set from Bella Gypsy; I can not resist a dollar deal, and it was fun to just throw a page together with the basic design set out for me.