I’m not sure I can credit it to any one thing… except being motivated.  I kept on top of my water and fruits and veggies.  I did add a few smoothies (although I’ll admit that I haven’t had the desire to make smoothies… so I’ve bought some pre-made drinks). I also made it onto my treadmill for a few short walks (10 minutes is better than 0).

#good

I was also in NYC on Friday, and I walked my booty off with my friend Courtney (Treadmill Runway).  (Side note… you should check out her #FitBlogNYC recap video!)  You want to get in a great walk workout?  Walk around NYC with a fitness blogger!

I also came home from NY with a new pair of sneakers.  I now feel like I’m walking on sunshine.  No excuses…. gotta get these feet moving!

I’m going to attempt to make this week a repeat of last week.  Keep my motivation up.  There are only 2 1/2 weeks until my trip to the shore for the #JerseyLove retreat.  Can’t wait to meet up with my #40DaysToFitRHM group!!!

The post Weight for me Monday – slowly but surely appeared first on A Madison Mom.

The Big Bad Wolf Goes on Vacation was written by Delphine Perret.  It is her 2nd book featuring Bernard, the wolf.

Overview from Barnes & Noble:

The BIG BAD WOLF is back—and funnier (but not scarier) than ever!

Doesn’t a wolf deserve a vacation, too? Bernard, the clever, cookie-munching hero of Delphine Perret’s award-winning book, certainly thinks so. So when he learns that his pal Louis is vacationing by the sea with his grandpa, Bernard wants to go too. Soon they’re off on a wacky road trip that ends with the perfect day on the beach. This much-anticipated sequel to the award-winning The Big Bad Wolf and Me is every bit as delightful as the first…and well worth the wait.

I sat down and read this book as soon as it arrived in the mail.  I really love the simple little drawings and the comic book type style.  (It was all very reminiscent of a certain little comic strip boy and his tiger.) The dialog between Bernard (the wolf) and Louis (the little boy) is really funny… but I have to say I laughed out loud a couple of times later in the book when Louis’ Grandpa is driving them to the beach.  It really was clever.

2 page spread

I’m happily going to order the Perret’s first Big Bad Wolf book… and I’m hoping she has more stories available soon!

The post The Big Bad Wolf Goes on Vacation appeared first on A Madison Mom.

Today was no different… but later in the morning this was the conversation…

“Mommy, I think there might be something stuck in my hair.”

“I think it’s a slinky.”

“Could you just cut that part out?”

The kid has had a slinky stuck in her hair… and gum stuck all over the front of her shirt today.  I don’t feel guilty at all telling you that this girl is a disaster.  I love her to pieces… but if you want something messed up, destroyed, spilled, stuck in her hair, etc… Ana is your girl.

The kid cracks me up.

The post The Chirpy Birds that regularly nest in Ana’s hair have been busy. appeared first on A Madison Mom.

#a_trinket

Monday 5/13 (I walk, but only my mind wanders.)

#wander

Tuesday 5/14 (Hydrangeas are my favorite.)

#favorite

Wednesday 5/15 (This strawberry smoothie thingy is pretty good.)

#good

Thursday 5/16 (My allergies seemed to be getting better this week.)

#better

Friday 5/17 (You come across the best things while wandering aimlessly in NYC.)

#best

Saturday 5/18 (Little siblings at softball.)

#makes_my_heart_sing

Visit Project Life 365.

The post Projects Life 365 (day 132-138) appeared first on A Madison Mom.

I did really well with getting in my water.

I did really badly with trying out any of the menu suggestions from the #40DaysToFit menu (sorry Christie… I told you I’m a horrible menu follower).

I did really well with sticking with healthy snacks.

I did REALLY well with filling my belly on Mother’s Day (thanks to my sister-in-law’s mom… the food was De-li-cious!  So, um… how bad for your diet is eggplant parmigiano? Because, oh. my. goodness. it was yummy.)

On the bright side… this morning the scale read 183.5 lbs.  So, I’m down 1 pound from last week.  Not too bad on the weight front.

Happy Mother’s Day to me!

And… just because…

The only mess that makes me happy.

The post Weight for Me Monday – Really appeared first on A Madison Mom.

#sign_of_the_times

Monday 5/6 (Can you own too many children’s books?)

#excess

Tuesday 5/7 (What’s inside?)

#mysterious

Wednesday 5/8 (Right at home in a magical world.)

#fiction

Thursday 5/9 (What is it about dress up clothes?)

#what_is_it

Friday 5/10 (Petals tracking my steps.)

#where_I_stood

Saturday 5/11 (just a moment in the day)

#9_to_5

The post Project Life 365 (day 125-131) appeared first on A Madison Mom.

I received an e-mail from Sincerely Nuts asking if I would like to try a package of their pistachios.  While I’m not a huge fan of pistachios… Nick loves them.  Honestly, though, it didn’t matter what they wanted to send me.  The fact that someone was brilliant enough to call this company “Sincerely Nuts” is enough to make me a fan for life.

With warm weather approaching, kick the chips to the curb and indulge in a healthy alternative like nutrient packed pistachios! At Sincerely Nuts we have a wide variety of flavors to satisfy any of your cravings including roasted, salted, jalapeno, garlic, chili lemon, hickory, salt & pepper. Check them out here: Pistachios.  Each delicious flavor comes in a variety of sizes ranging from 1LB bag to 25LB case.

Some great attributes of pistachios include:
·         Spice up dull recipes in need of a flavorful boost!
·         Help keep you full longer with 6gm of protein per serving
·         Provides 3 grams of dietary fiber, or about 12% of the daily value per serving.
·         100mg of omega-3s per oz which helps reduce bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol
·         Rich source of vitamin B6 which is essential to make the protein in your red blood cells

The package of pistachios arrived really quickly.  I loved that the packaging is a simple resealable baggy.  I tried a couple of the nuts… and they were pretty tasty (for being a nut I don’t love).  I handed the bag over to Nick he was happy to do the taste testing.  I think Nick’s words were “these things are dangerous”.  I’m going to take that to mean they were so good that once you eat one nut… you want to eat the whole bag.  He did also mention that some of the nuts randomly had quite a spicy kick (they were salt & pepper flavor).  He didn’t love that… but if you like a peppery kick you’d love these.

I had planned to take a photo of the pistachios in their cute packaging… but by the time I got around to doing that… this is what the nuts looked like.

So, you’ll just have to imagine these nuts in that bag. 

If you’re not into pistachios, Sincerely Nuts has a HUGE range of snacks to choose from.  Their categories are: Nuts, Seeds, Dried Fruit, Snacks, Chocolate, Candy, and Gifts.  The variety of products is pretty extensive.  They also have the site set up with categories like gluten-free, salt-free, sugar-free, and kosher.  They make it so simple to find what you’re looking for.

The post Sincerely Nuts appeared first on A Madison Mom.

5 little things that make me happy

1.  Sugar snap peas

2.  The 1 week each year when our flowering cherry tree is in full pink bloom.

3.  That Spring day when you’re walking barefoot around the house and realize your toes aren’t the least bit chilly.

4.  The moments when random, forgotten, memories suddenly pop into your head.

5.  This video…

The post Grace in Small Things – 169 appeared first on A Madison Mom.

I also made a point of adding fruits to my breakfast.  I always add berries, or apple slices, or something to Zoe & Ana’s breakfast plates.  I never include myself.  With very little effort I made my normal bagel and coffee breakfast into a 1/2 bagel and bowl of fruit combo… or yogurt with berries thrown in.

The biggest thing for me has been the support given by the other participants in the #40DaysToFit group.  It’s like having my own personal cheerleading squad.  I love the Facebook notifications that randomly show up in my e-mail.  When someone else shares their snack choice or planned meal it serves as a great reminder of what I’m trying to do.  And Christie is the best cheerleader of them all… always quick with an “excellent!” or a great quick suggestion on how to make what I’m doing even better.

As for my “bump in the road”…  my husband’s family is Russian Orthodox, and Sunday was Easter (The Orthodox church follows the “old calendar”. Don’t ask me to explain).  Great Lent involves a 40 day fast… no meat, no dairy, no eggs.  My mother-in-law is an amazing cook… and she makes this meal on Easter that words like delicious, savory, buttery, and filling don’t even begin to describe.  So, Easter lunch/dinner pretty much negated all the good I did the rest of the week.  (It was totally worth every single calorie.)  I don’t even want to talk about Easter candy.

I can tell you that on Saturday morning I was down to 182 lbs (a 3 pound loss).  That first week shock to your body when you suddenly change your food and water intake is really amazing.  No additional physical effort.  Just healthy foods and water.  Unfortunately, this morning when I hopped on the scale it flashed 184.5 lbs at me.  Sigh.  The Easter Bunny is certainly no friend to the scale.

So  184.5 lbs.  A 0.5 lb loss.  (At least it was still an overall loss.)

Now… the holiday is over.  I’m jumping back on the #40DaysToFit wagon.  Bring on the green smoothies (maybe?) and stock back up on snap peas!

Are you making an effort with weight loss and diet changes?  What suggestions do you have?

The post Weight for Me Monday – A bump in the road appeared first on A Madison Mom.

#looking_out

Monday 4/29 (I probably touch this more than any thing else in our house.)

#type

Tuesday 4/30 (Looks like sunshine.)

#yellow

Wednesday 5/1 (One word for me today? Forgetful.)

#you_today

Thursday 5/2 (When it blooms, it amazes me.)

#nature

Friday 5/3 (This kid.  I just don’t know what to make out of her sometimes.)

#quirky

Saturday 5/4 (Getting the baseball field cleaned up.)

#sport

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