Daily Deals and WFH Pages No Longer Available

You may have noticed I have removed a few pages from the blog site.  This is so I can devote more of my time to blogging about things that may interest you as well as finding neat contests to add to our win page.  The work from home and daily deals pages were not generating a lot of buzz so I've decided to forgo them.  Please understand that I work full time on top of writing/maintaining this blog and I want to ensure that my followers are receiving good content in a timely fashion.  If you have any questions or want to know what sites I was using to populate those pages, please comment below and I will respond.  Thanks for understanding!

Timeout - yay or nay?!

Recently I read the following articles regarding time-out:

• Probing Question: Is time-out a good form of discipline for children? by Angela Spivey
• 10 Time-out Techniques by Dr. Sears
• Why Time-Out Is Out by Becky Batcha

My son is 22 months (almost 23 months!) and so far I haven't implemented any kind of formal discipline policy with him.  I am very on top of positive reinforcement in terms of "good job buddy", hugs, head pats, smiles & eye contact when he does something that pleases me or follows direction.  As much as I hate to admit it, sometimes in the heat of the moment I do spank him (never very hard - he mostly just looks at me like "what was that for?") - usually this occurs when he does something he's been told "no" on several times before, he's endangering his physical safety (i.e. running into the street) or he's made a huge mess (spilled shampoo all over the floor).  Usually afterwards, I immediately feel guilty, hug him and explain "no hunny, shampoo stays in the bottle, it doesn't go on the floor" or something like that.

After reading these articles, I think I'm going to give time-out a try.  If you have any suggestions about how to introduce time-out, please let me know.  Obviously since he's only almost 2, it will be a very short timeout, but I'm hoping that over time these time outs will reinforce positive behavior.  I'll keep you updated on how it's going and I hope these resources help you as well.  Do you have any tips on how to reinforce positive behavior and discourage negative behavior?

Don't wash your chicken!

So I recently came across this article by Newsworks: Drexel food safety experts on a mission to stop cooks from washing chicken.

Let me just start by saying: EWWWW!!!  For your added entertainment, I'm also linking this awesome graphic they have: Germ Vision.

I can honestly say this valuable cooking lesson has NEVER been communicated to me EVER.  I have always rinsed my chicken off after removing from the package to de-gunk it before cooking.

After reading this article (and especially viewing the graphic), I will forevermore be a person who does NOT rinse their chicken prior to cooking.  Straight in the pan with you pollo!!

Did this gross anyone else out?!

PS - As a side note, I basically wiped by entire sink and counter region (plus cabinets and floor) with high grade cleaner.  Chicken and it's associated nastiness freaks me out, lol.

Being all things all the time

Recently I read this great post by fellow blogger Emily Bennington on her blog Daily Worth: Having it all doesn't mean doing it all and, as a working mother, I felt better after reading it.

For some reason, when I became a mother (or better yet when I was mostly just pregnant) - I thought I could really "have it all".  I thought I could just return to my career and continue to excel and move up the chain all the while having my new son at home where I could enjoy him every moment I wasn't at work.

Well my son came and he and I had 12 wonderful weeks to bond, then it was back to work - as a professional accountant working in a top 4 public firm, that meant a lot of OT.  Returning to work in mid-Jan was also poor timing as this is when accounting firms are often the busiest.  Needless to say, the first few weeks at work were horrible for me. 

I was lucky in the sense that my mother-in-law (MIL) was watching my son instead of me enrolling him in traditional daycare - she would show up at my house shortly before it was time for me to go to work and hangout for a bit before loading up my son and going to her place (about 40 min away).  However, working 8:30 am - 8:30 pm can quickly drain a person - let alone the mother of a newborn.  My work had lactation rooms so about 3-4 times a day, I would take a 20 minute pumping break, but even this didn't allow me to keep up with my son's demand.  He was exclusively breastfed (EBF) for 4 months and then we had to start supplementing with formula.  By 7 months, I just wasn't keeping up with him and we decided to wean.

Getting off at 8:30 pm and not getting home until 9-9:15 pm meant zero face time with my son aside from middle of the night and early morning feedings.  I was a mess - some nights I would drive home just crying because I had realized - I really couldn't have it all (granted, fading pregnancy hormones also probably played a role in this).  I couldn't' be this perfect employee and a perfect mother, I just couldn't.

Now my son is 22 months old.  I have a different job in the private sector - still demanding, still with peak times where occasional overtime is required, but nothing like where I was before.  My son attends traditional daycare with loads of other kids.  My life is -slowly- reaching a balance.  I can't spend every moment with my son, but I can make the most of the moments we have.  For the most part, I am his from the time we get home until the time he goes to sleep - granted, there are days when I give him a snack, curl up on the couch in front of the TV and let him run around with his toys, but for the most part - I'm engaged with him in the evenings, that's our time together.

Now I just need to try to find a balance to include: (1) time for me; (2) time for my husband & I as a couple and (3) time for my friends ...

I'm slowly working on (1) & (2) - hubs & I spend at least 30 minutes hanging out and talking - catching up on the nights he's not working and I'm getting back into my hobbies - blogging, reading, cooking new things.  Hubs & I have also committed to one child-free vacation a year.  Number (3) is going to take some time I think, but that's because so many of my friends just aren't at the "kid" stage yet.  I need to realize it's ok to occasionally hire a babysitter and go for a girl's night out - and I'm working on that.  I guess at the end of the day, my son has become one of my best friends - and I'm ok with that too.

How do you "handle it all"?

Have you discovered KiwiCrate yet?

By now I'm sure you've heard of the crate or box monthly phenomenon that is sweeping the internet.  Basically you sign up (for a monthly fee) and every month a box full of goodies arrives at your door for your enjoyment.  Well, Kiwi Crate is that - for kids!  Every month you get a new box with a project for your youngster.  Let me start off by saying, I am not a member of Kiwi Crate - my son is only 2; however I can see this being something I may sign up for in the future when he's a bit older and we're able to sit down and do the monthly projects together.

That being said, Kiwi Crate has great things on their site to help parents and things that are just fun!

For example:

• Get these super cute Back to School Lunch Notes that you can print and include in your child's lunch.
• Is your child tired of the same ole same ole when it comes to their lunch?  Give the Kiwi Crate Week Long Lunch Menu a try.  Includes recipes and even a shopping list to make it easy on the parents.

If you sign up for their email list, you'll be included in the emails that send out these neat items that Kiwi Crate is offering - and yes, they're free!

More Car Seat Tips

Car seat safety cannot be over-done or over-stressed.  If you're a parent who is interested in the welfare of their child - then this is important to you.  Car seat safety is of the utmost importance to me - primarily because I'm a type-A control freak and this is one area where I ultimately have no control.  I am a safe driver, however I don't know anything about the hundreds of cars around me on a daily basis - it only takes one person, doing something dumb to change my (and possibly my son's life) forever.  Therefore, I arm myself with knowledge and a quality car seat, installed properly with him seated in it correctly (and never in a winter coat).

Recently there was this good article summarizing 9 basic car seat rules: 9 Life Saving Car Seat Rules You're Probably Ignoring.  Christie Haskell does a good job pointing out a lot of "duh" things that perhaps parents are just unaware of (i.e. chest clip placement, reading your car seats manual, etc).

CarSeat.org (great reference site with forum!) has also released this super easy (and quick) document called Quick Check List for Safety Seat Misuse.

I highly recommend all parents occasionally check the tightness of LATCH straps or seatbelts and ensure child is as snug as possible in seat every time you put your child in - these small steps could save your child's life.  Obviously my #1 tip is to thoroughly read your manual and get any questions you have answered to ensure that your seat is installed correctly - doesn't matter what brand of seat you have or how much you spent on it, if your car seat is installed correctly, it will perform correctly in the event of a crash.

For more on car seats see our previous post: Car Seat Safety

High protein, low-carb diet plan

A few weeks back my co-worker mentioned he was going to start a high protein, low-carb diet.  I said "what the heck, I'll do it with you!" because I know it's easier when you have support and someone doing the same thing you're trying to do.

First off, a bit about my dieting background.  Basically, I'm a horrible dieter.  In the past, I've tried South Beach and Jenny Craig 2-3 different times.  I had like zero success on South Beach - with Jenny I had success, but the program (and food) are super expensive.

Now, I'm not ridiculously overweight - according to the BMI chart for my height (5'5") I should weigh somewhere between 115-145 to be in the normal zone.  Before starting this diet I weighed 150 lbs - the main reason I was at that weight was due to having my son and never being able to figure out how to balance eating right & working out since he came along.  When I got pregnant I weighed about 135 lbs - so compared to some mamas only holding onto 15 lbs wasn't so bad, but I knew I would feel better and enjoy life more if it was gone.  My original goal when I started this diet was to get back to 135, but since it's been going so well, my new goal is 130 - smack in the middle of my healthy BMI zone.  If it goes REALLY well, then I may try to knock another 5 lbs off after that as room to "float" between weights.

Some background on my eating history - I'm generally an everything in moderation kind of girl, though I will admit my Italian genes get the best of me sometimes because I LOVE pasta (and basically any dessert ever invented).  I also had a really bad soda habit (like REALLY bad) as I was drinking 3-4 Mountain Dews a day when I started.  Honestly my bad soda habit was another reason I was motivated to try this diet - I "knew" I was basically putting poison in my body every time I drank one, but I just couldn't seem to help it.  I thought I needed the caffeine to get through the day - turns out, I was wrong.

And FINALLY - my results thus far: it's been 3 weeks since I started this diet and I've lost 8 lbs, my goal is 10 lbs in a month, which will be the best dieting results I've ever seen on any diet.  I will keep you apprised as I continue on my dieting journey and when I (hopefully) reach my goal.

My reasoning as to why this diet works - with a lot of diets you can have things "in moderation" - that often leads to trouble because you're simply not satisfied.  With this diet, there is none of that - there is only "don't eat/drink that" and then "now eat as much of this stuff as you want".  Now this may sound even more difficult to accomplish, but surprisingly it wasn't (for me anyways) - it was easier to give something up completely then to be "allowed" to have a smidge of the amount I would normally eat.  This has also allowed my body to detox and honestly now when I have a small bite of something I shouldn't, I really don't want any more (usually because it's something processed).  I will admit - you do need to have decent willpower over yourself and what you put in your body.  If you don't, you will not be successful.  I still have to buy snacks, bread, chips, rice & pasta in my house because I'm feeding others - BUT I don't eat any of it (not yet anyways... you'll see, once you reach your goal, you can start reintroducing items).

Ok so the diet itself - my co-worker and I are using the following book: Neris and India's Idiot-Proof Diet: A Weight Loss Plan for Real Women

The basic premise is high protein, low/no carb, no sugar, no caffeine ... and yes, no alcohol (but only for the first 2 weeks).  Don't be discouraged about the no sugar thing - see my post (COMING SOON!) on these yummy no carb/low sugar desserts I've made (and eaten!) while on this diet.

The diet starts out by recommending a lot of supplements mainly because during the first two weeks your body will be detoxing - I'm not going to lie, yes - you will feel it.  Your energy levels will wan a bit and, if you're like me, you may get horrible headaches for 3-4 days.  This is your body purging all that sugar/caffeine you've been constantly putting it for however many years.  The only supplements I'm taking are: a good multivitamin or prenatal, fiber pills and whey protein powder (start with 2 lbs to find a flavor you like, I also add 3-4 ice cubes to mine to froth it up a bit - more milkshake like).  I have a new love of protein shakes, they're yummy and very filling - they're great for me too because I generally just don't like having a glass of milk (I'm using a chocolate flavor and my shakes taste like malt shakes, so yummy!).

The hardest part of the diet for me thus far has been the 3-4 days of horrible headaches I had while my body was detoxing.  I powered through it and honestly, that has been some of the biggest motivation for me not to cheat on the diet - I know one soda or one cupcake and I may have to go through a few days of that again when I get back on track - yea ... no thanks.  Since I started this diet 3 weeks ago I have only had water (flavored with Crystal Light) or milk (with my protein shakes) to drink.  That's it.  At work we have free soda for employees, but it hasn't been that hard for me to avoid it - I keep a two quart jug in the non-soda fridge and keep it full of Crystal Light.  After I lose a few more pounds, I'm going to start trying water infusions of natural fruits to wean myself off the Crystal Light (which is also all fake), but I just don't like plain water much.

Ok - so now you're like "c'mon get to the good part!" - well here is "the plan" more or less for the first two weeks.  If I see comments below that it's working for people, I'll add a post on what to do after the first two weeks.  For the most part, I'm sticking to the original two week plan until I more or less hit goal.  After two weeks you're supposed to start re-introducing items into your diet again now that you've detoxed your body - but I'd prefer not to hit a plateau until I'm closer to goal.

So here's what NOT to have in your home (if you can help it - however DO NOT eat any of these items):

• Cookies and chocolate bars
• Any cold drink that isn't water
• Any hot drink that isn't decaf tea or coffee - or herbal tea
• Anything containing sugar (check the label - weird things contain sugar like mayo and balsamic vinegar)
• All pasta
• All potatoes and potato-based products including those containing potato flour (which is found in frozen meals)
• Anything containing wheat (i.e. flour) whether it's sweet or savory
• Any oil that isn't olive or peanut
• Any fruit (just for the first two weeks - to eliminate sugar from your body)
• Any legumes (lentils, chickpeas and the like)

OK - here you go, this is what you CAN eat (and eat as much as you want!):

• Meat - any kind including roasts, ham, bacon, pastrami, salami, steak, chicken, sausages (quality only, cheap ones all full of bready fillers).  Check that bacon isn't cured with sugar.
• Eggs - the book says organic free range eggs only, but I've been eating regular eggs
• Fish - any kind you like, in whatever format (this includes canned tuna)
• Mayo (just make sure it's not loaded with sugar)
• Olive oil & peanut oil - hazelnut oil too!
• Whatever vinegar you like aside from balsamic
• Peanut butter with no added sugar - again book stresses organic, but I use JIF
• Heavy cream (yes, for real!)
• Butter (again, yes for real!)
• Herbs and spices
• Sea salt & black pepper
• Nuts - any kind provided they're natural with no added sugar; however if you have a habit of putting an entire jar of nuts away in one sitting - skip the nuts
• Any vegetables you like - excluding potatoes, carrots, corn and peas (too carby at this stage).  The best vegetables for the diet (and in general) are green, leafy ones.  Also, eat onions in moderation.
• Avocados
• Lemons & limes
• All sorts of cheese
• Mineral water - or any kind of water

LASTLY - do not buy low-carb products, no bars, no shakes - nothing.

Diet day 1:

• Weigh yourself first thing in the morning after you've pooed (if you need to)
• Take measurements (I skipped this step)
• Now go!

Golden rules:

• Drink at least 8 large glasses of water a day.
• You must have breakfast, lunch & dinner.
• Eat a combination of good fats & protein at every meal.
• Don't make the mistake of thinking that "dieting" means "low-fat".
• Have a couple of handfuls of salad leaves or other leafy green veg every day.
• Get off your backside at least once a day (more below).
• Take your supplements (I'm kind of meh on this point).
• Only weigh yourself once a week (if I'm honest, I do it daily, but only count Sunday's weigh in as weight lost - I don't care about fluctuations in ounces).
• Use a tape measure as well as the scale

It's that easy - you're not restricted on the amount of food you intake as long as it's from the above list of approved items.  Honestly, I'm pretty sure my stomach has shrunk because I don't eat nearly as much as I used to and protein seems to keep me fuller, longer.  

Last note: exercise is necessary.  I'm not talking 2 hours at the gym everyday, but 30 minutes of speed walking around your neighborhood at least 5x a week isn't completely un-doable (especially if you have kids or a dog).  The protein in your body will help you loose weight even more quickly if you can get your heart rate going.  I've been either going for a light (less than 1 mile) jog around my neighborhood or throwing my 27 lb son in his Ergo baby carrier and power walking the same distance.  In 2 days with following the diet and taking a walk with my son, I lost 1.5 lbs.  Yes, I am in love with this diet.

Since the list may make it seem kind of hard to figure out what to eat, I am including a sample "week" below of what I've been eating, I like to mix it up.

Sorry for the longest post in the history of blogging, but I've had people asking me how I'm doing it - well this is how.  If you give it a try - please let me know how it goes for you!!  Feel free to share this post with your friends.

MONDAY:

• Breakfast: protein shake
• Lunch: sandwich meat & cheese - I roll them so they look kind of like cheese sticks.  I use a variety: turkey, ham, salami and I love muenster cheese.
• Snack: handful of almonds
• Dinner: taco salad (beef, seasoning, lettuce, tomato, cheese)
• Water intake: 8-12 glasses everyday (water will help keep you full!)

TUESDAY:

• Breakfast: two scrambled eggs with cheese & 2 sausage links
• Lunch: cheeseburger (no bun) and side salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, cheese)
• Dinner: artichoke chicken (baked chicken with rosemary seasoning topped with artichokes & Parmesan cheese) and green bean casserole
• Dessert: protein shake (hey - they taste like malt shakes, why not?)

WEDNESDAY

• Breakfast: protein shake
• Lunch: leftovers from dinner from either Mon/Tues
• Snack: handful of almonds
• Dinner: beef casserole (no noddles for me) - beef stew chunks, mushrooms, onion soup, can of cream of mushroom soup in crockpot for 7-8 hours - I cook egg noodles for my boys, but I just eat the beef stew straight.
• Dessert: slice of carb free pumpkin/praline pie

THURSDAY:

• Breakfast: two scrambled eggs with cheese & 2 slices bacon
• Lunch: sandwich meat & cheese
• Snack: handful of almonds
• Dinner: beef kabobs - sirloin beef, onion, green pepper, cherry tomatoes - I made a side of rice for my boys and I just ate a kabob

FRIDAY:

• Breakfast: protein shake
• Lunch: I splurged and went to TGI Fridays - ordered a cheeseburger (no bun) and a side of broccoli, yummy!
• Dinner: Baked chicken breast with seasoning and green bean casserole (I made a big batch on Sunday to use as a side whenever I needed one)
• Dessert: Low-carb cheesecake

I would recommend not introducing these fun, low-carb desserts until after the two week detox window.  It's really not as hard as it sounds.  When I'm in a pinch and craving something sweet at home, I honestly usually have a chocolate protein shake and that takes care of it (I wasn't kidding when I said they were yummy) - I get my chocolate fix.  If I'm hungry and my eyes are grazing to what's "easy" because I don't feel like cooking something, I'll usually have a cheesestick or a hotdog with ketchup (make sure low sugar) - I buy the higher end angus beef hotdogs, not the ones full of filler.  You can do this.  Have the supplies in your fridge and pre-cook or pre-prepare - it really helps you stay on track.  On Sunday, I made a batch of green bean casserole to last me through the week and sometimes I just heated up a bowl of that as a snack because it was quick.  It helps to have stuff readily available when you just want a small snack (because that's when you can get into trouble).

Wishing you all the best of luck!!!  Let me know how it goes!