Sweat-A-Fit

I am on the board for an event called Sweat-A-Fit. It is an awesome workout event that raises money for different local charities. My friend Megan (also known as my Maid of honor and bff) heads the whole thing and she is awesome. She is someone who is VERY committed to living a healthy/fit lifestyle and very committed to educating others in the benefits of doing that for you and your family. Money raised has gone towards things like Daniel's Den (a park for handicapped children), IU 13 (money went towards gym equipment for Lebanon/Lancaster School districts) and this year the money raised will go towards Lancaster's Boys and girls club.

A little on the girls and boys club:
"The Mission of Boys & Girls Club of Lancaster is to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to become productive, caring, responsible adults. We provide an environment where members can achieve: Positive self identity, a healthy lifestyle, a strong character, educational success and social competency".

Deets on the event:
You can register for up to 8 hours of events including: Zumba, Yoga and/or Indoor cycle. You do NOT have to register for the whole 8 hours. You can register for however long YOU want to do. You can also break up the 8 hours worth of events you want to do. For example, you could do 2 hours of zumba, 2 cycle, 2 yoga... 6 zumba, 1 yoga, 1 cycle... 2 zumba and go home. The cost for students is $15, non students $30..you can also make a team and we encourage raising more money but that is up to you. Snacks, lunch and drinks are provided. These things are donated from various restaurants, stores, etc. The first 100 registrants get a free t shirt and goody bag. We also run a raffle where you can buy tickets and try to win different prizes and we also give door prizes. The event is held at Millersville University in their huge, beautiful new gym.

I cannot stress enough how fun the whole day is. Everyone is SO energetic, enthusiastic and has the best time. We all run around like crazy singing, dancing, and trying to keep each other all pumped up for the long day. Let me know if you have ANY questions!

 REGISTRATION IS OPEN RIGHT NOW! GO SIGN UP! I PROMISE YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!

WWW.SWEAT-A-FIT.COM

The new normal

Yesterday Dan said to me "I finally feel like things are normal again".

 

He is SO right. We have moved on from feeling like we are babysitting someone else's child, feeling like we have no idea what we are doing, the feeling of not knowing how we are going to make it on 3 hours of sleep, the constant questioning of how we are doing as parents.

 

Our girl is beautiful, sweet, happy and smart.

I think we are doing alright.

 

 

Victoria Luna, our everything

 

A breakfast/dessert and dinner recipe!

Homemade Banana muffins and Vanilla Icing

 

Muffins:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour                                                                     

1 teaspoon baking powder                                                                     

1 teaspoon baking soda                                                                     

1/2 teaspoon salt     

2-3 bananas

3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup melted butter   

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep muffin pan/tins. Sift together all dry items. Mix all wet items. Combine everything together. Scoop into pans, cook for 30 minutes.

NOTE: You can add chocolate chips, walnuts etc. Also, if you would like to make the muffins healthy you can sub applesauce and sweet n low. AS IS the muffins come out to 180 calories per muffin. Not bad!

Icing:

2 cups powdered or confectioners sugar

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine ingredients and beat on medium speed until smooth and fluffy. (Yes, its really THAT easy lol) Note: obviously the icing is optional. You can skip the icing and the muffins are still really moist!

Beef and Potato Casserole
( I am making this for dinner, its in the crockpot right now)

 

Ingredients:

6-8 potatoes (peel and cut into cubes)

2 carrots (chopped into slices)

1 can of peas

1 cup of cheddar cheese

1 lb of ground beef

1 10oz can of cream of chicken soup

1 onion (diced)

 

*Brown the ground beef, in crockpot: Layer ground beef, potatoes, onions, carrots, peas and cheese. There should be enough to have at least 2-3 layers. Once everything is in crockpot, Top with cream of chicken soup. Cook high 4-6 hours or low 8-10!

7 months

My daughter is 7 months old.

I repeat.. my daughter is 7 months old.

When did this happen?

 

When did my little 6lb baby girl who was so tiny and smelled like newborn and wore teeny tiny clothes that looked like they were made for a doll turn into this wild, free spirited little 7 month old?

At 7 months old, Tori....

 

*LOVES to bounce in her jumper *screams with delight *tries to turn herself away from me when I pick her up so that she can get down *rolls all over the place *reaches and grabs things intentionally *can sit up and splash in the bathtub *eats anything mushy *loves music *acts shy and bashful around people she doesn't see often *pinches *grabs Riley *sucks her thumb *weighs a little over 18lbs *is somehow even more perfect than ever

 

 

 

 

It is crazy to me that she is officially closer to 1 year old than she is to the fresh out of the oven newborn that she was. Crazy to me that I will be planning her first birthday party in a few short months. Victoria Luna, you my baby girl, are my best friend. I love you more than anything in the whole wide world and thank my lucky stars everyday to have you in my life... yes, even when you pull mommy's hair and laugh as I scream.

 

WELCOME FALL

I am so so so so excited for Fall season to be here. There is nothing better to me than cool weather, sweaters, leggings, coffee, tea, apple cider, pumpkin beer, pumpkin food, football, Sunday funday, pumpkin patches, corn mazes, apple picking. The list goes on and on. I love being outside during the fall. The smell of fresh, chilly air.. seriously, LOVE IT.
This fall season is especially fun and exciting because we have our sweet, sweet Victoria to enjoy it with. A baby in cozy pajamas... don't get me started lol. This week we are going apple picking and in another couple of weeks we are going to go to a corn maze with friends and then we are going to a pumpkin patch. I am so happy that Tori has her cousin Isabella to do all of these fun fall things with. I also love that there are so many baby friendly things we can do. Every fall there is a Harvest breakfast event held at market in downtown Lancaster and its one of the best days of the year lol. I LOVE breakfast foods (whoa I am using caps a lot lol)and I love market.... and this event is an outdoor homemade/fresh made breakfast event downtown. HELLO.. favorite. things. ever. So as you can see, our next couple of weekends are filling up quickly.
Tori is being a pumpkin for Halloween. Ok, I know, totally predictable but hello she will be 8 months old.. she wont be 'real' trick or treating, she will just be along for the ride with cousin Izzy. Ill be more creative next year.
While on the topic of Tori: She is awesome. SO happy. The past couple of nights shes been sleeping great too, in bed at 8pm and sleeping until about 6:30am. She still has bad nights here and there but I really cant complain because she overall is doing great. She loves her jumper. She is such a wild woman, when shes in there she jumps up and down so fast and just cracks up laughing. SO CUTE. While she is in there I sing "jump, jump, jump, jump, jump" but in the rhythm of the song "Shots" by LMFAO and she goes so fast haahaha I love it. She is also still rolling around like a little wild woman. Shes our baby ninja. Hm.. she also loves food. I have been trying to give her tastes of anything she doesn't need to chew. The other morning Dan made eggs and potatoes. I smashed up the potato and was giving her a few bites, she really liked it. What else... hm... she is sitting up a little more, still not completely on her own for too long but she is definitely getting stronger. She also is SO into Riley right now. She gets so happy when she sees her and she will just stare at her and watch anything shes doing. I think they are going to become great friends.
Next week little lady will be 7 months old, officially closer to 1 than to a newborn. AH!

Black pepper beef and cabbage stir fry

At least once or twice a week I try to make it a point to make something for dinner. Dan is the cook in our house. He is 1-much better at it(I cannot just mix things together and create something yummy like he can) 2-a foodie 3-cares about it way more(If I had to eat pizza everyday I would be ok with it) 4-more creative(Ill try new things... but usually only if I am made to lol).

Dan loves chicken and I get freaked out by it...so when I do cook, I normally stick with beef, steak..red meat. Call me crazy but this is a true story: When I was in the 6th grade, everyone LOVED chicken patty lunch at school.. like legit loved it. So one day I decided I would try it, I bit into my chicken patty and THERE WAS A VEIN IN MY CHICKEN PATTY.

I have not looked at chicken the same ever since.

So anywho, back to the red meat thing.. when I cook, its basically with beef. I tried a new recipe tonight and it was really good & not heavy at all so I thought Id share!

*2-4 cloves of garlic
*1/2-1lb of ground beef
*1/2 head of cabbage
*1/2-1 whole zuchinni (sliced)
*2 tablespoons (or more, its really to taste) of soy sauce
*ground black pepper

-Heat skillet, sauté garlic, add ground beef. Brown beef, stir in cabbage, black pepper and zuchinni. Cook until vegetables are tender and beef is fully cooked. Stir in soy sauce. Serve over rice :)

Apx 300 calories per serving

Vince

This past week my family got some terrible news. My "baby" cousin (who was 20 and towered me) died in a motorcycle accident.

Sad. Scared. Anxious. Depressed. Heartbroken. Shocked.

Everyone knows death is final. My head knows that, but you don't truly understand just how final it is until you experience death and remember all of the things that will never be again. No one will get a hug from Vince, a kiss, hear his voice, laugh with/at him, see his smile, watch what his venture into adulthood would bring.
I am sure that becoming a mom has made this whole thing hit me harder. When I got the news of Vince's death I was holding my sweet girl in my arms and feeding her. She was looking up at me so confused when I started crying. I instantly was looking at her and kept thinking to myself, I could never live without her. Now that I have met her and she has so easily fit into my life and heart, I have a spot in my heart that only she fills. If anything ever happened to her, my heart would stop. I know it. I started thinking of my cousin Fran, Vince's mom. She carried this sweet boy in her belly for 9 months, took care of him for 20 years.. made him be nice to his two sisters, taught him how important treating people well is, how important doing well in school was, a first crush, getting his drivers license, graduating high school, and now, she will never get to see what the future was going to hold for that sweet boy. Life is just beginning at the age of 20. Really, you have not truly experienced a life until then. That is when the excitement is starting to begin. Deciding what you want to do for a career, getting your own place, building new adult relationships... these are all things that Fran is not going to see Vince do and I am sure these are things she has dreamed about for him. I have already dreamed of a future for Victoria. I have already dreamed of watching her grow into a sweet girl who sticks up for her friends, loves school and loves spending time with her mommy and daddy. I have dreamed of her as a confident young lady who stands up for what she believes in, has high goals for herself and surrounds herself with others who are the same. I dream of  her as a woman who is happy, who has the best memories of her childhood, cherishes her relationship with her family and is building her own.
I know everyone only says good things about people when they pass (as they should).. and Vince is true to all of the good things people have said. He was a typical boy & some of my best memories of him are him and my brother annoying the crap out of me lol. He smiled all the time, had a ton of friends, everyone loved Vince. He was one of the most easy going spirits who got along with everyone. My cousin Fran lost her brother 12 years ago in a freak drowning accident when he was 19, and now to lose her son at the age of 20...I don't know how she is going to get through this.
I am not a religious person so I don't normally ask people to pray for anyone but when it comes to Fran, I cant imagine there is anything in this world that will make her feel better or strong right now, so please keep her, Vince's father and his two sisters in your thoughts/prayers as they try to make sense of their lives right now.

Below: The 3 stooges

 

Vince with his sisters Martina and Sara (his graduation)