Project 52 - Week 30

I've been feeling a bit uninspired lately and having been picking up my camera. I attended the first day of Click Away 2016 today though and my inspiration is back! The kids were excited to see me when I came home and I asked them if I could take some photos of them. Once we were done, I was taking care of the mail when Molly appeared in the dining room with this look, I knew I had to capture it because this is Molly. 

Week In Review - 10.1.16

It was a rough week. The kids were hyped up and extra hard to deal with. I had a headache all week and was exhausted for no reason. Everything just felt harder than it needed to be. We did on a high note with a visit to TWO fun pumpkin patches which wore the kids out. 

Exercise

I was able to get in more exercise this week. I started with a FlyBarre class where I accidentally showed up 10 minutes late. Oops! The teacher was amazing and ushered me in. I was positive class was at 7:45 and yet it actually started at 7:30 a.m. FlyBarre is amazing hard and I was thrilled to only have a 35 minute class when my legs started to shake. I also did 3 bootcamp classes this week and a barre3 class with a great instructor this morning. It got sweaty in there! 

Food

I posted my favorite overnight oats recipe this week which has been keeping me fueled. Unfortunately the rest of my diet has been way too full of sugar. I start another Sync Transformation Project on October 8th and I am so ready for accountability. 

In other exciting news, it is SQUASH season. I love fall root vegetables and squash. Just love it! 

While on my sugar binge, I did discover this awesome "Spun Sugar" at Met Market out of San Francisco. It's costly but the fun flavors were a treat for Maggie and I on our Tuesday Day of Adventure. 

The Girls

Molly has been tearing up the soccer field with one practice a week and a game. Maggie likes to kick a soccer ball on the sidelines and is dying to play soccer. We've had some issues with Maggie's dance teacher. She keeps saying that she should be in a toddler class and yet the studio manager thinks she should be fine in her Pre-Ballet class. We're going to try out the studio manager's class on Monday which will mean that I'll be at the dance studio with the girls for two hours on Mondays instead of one BUT if this means success for Maggie, I'm willing to do it. 

I took the girls out for a pumpkin patch adventure on Friday. I needed to get some new photographs for a story I'm updating so we headed out to Snohomish to check out some new-to-us pumpkin patches. It was a blast and we had some apple cider donuts which are always awesome. 

We started a new preschool unit this week based on, "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?" and actually found a copy of the book in the Little Free Library outside our preschool. The girls haven't been as into this unit but are really into doing their workbooks. I'm hoping that next week's activities and the ones we've missed will get their excitement back. 

Other Goings On

My garden is still going strong which is crazy since today is OCTOBER 1st! My corn never produced much but it was fun to grow. I'll definitely try it again next year and I'm going to do more squash next year. 

On Wednesday, I did a taping with Seattle Refined for their book club. It airs on October 4th and I can't wait to see the piece. One of my good friend's Mom happened to be at the filming too. It was a banner day and we learned what the next book club selection was early. 

Stories Published

I had two stories come out this week and I love both of them! 

True Life: I went to Mountain Bike Camp and didn't die - All about my Mountain Bike experience with the Trek Dirt Series. Short story: It was awesome but my rear is so sore! 

Watch & Learn: Two Seattle Moms Launch Online Parenting Course - Two local parenting experts and Moms have teamed up to launch an online parenting course. This is something all parents need and I'm so excited about it!

Seattle's Child October Edition - I have a few stories in this one.  

There's Cash in those overstuffed drawers!
Make Your Mark
School of Toy is Open for Fun

Project 52 - Week 29

I needed to update some pumpkin patch photos for a story today so I took the girls up to Bob's Corn & Pumpkin Patch. It was exhausting but lots of fun and definitely full of memories. 

Overnight Oats

I'm always on the look out for an easy but protein packed breakfast that can keep me full for hours. A few weeks ago, a Twitter friend introduced me to her version of Overnight Oats and they are amazing! 

The best part is you can make a batch on Sunday for most of the week and feel virtuous as you eat your healthy, protein-packed breakfast! Also, you don't really have a good Lifestyle blog until you share an Overnight Oats recipe! 

OvernightOats from Rebecca Burgess on Vimeo.

I made a short video of the process of making overnight oats because I love the simplicity of it. 

I like to sub the chai seeds for the Super Seed and Ancient Grain Blend Trader Joe's and have found that while whole rolled oats are delicious, the Purely Elizabeth Ancient Grain Muesli is also delicious. 

Overnight Oats

by Rebecca Mongrain

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 1-2 minutes

6079802

Ingredients (1 jar of Oats)

• 1/4 cup oats
• 2 Tablespoons PB2 or Jif Peanut Powder
• pinch of cinnamon
• pinch of sea salt
• 2 teaspoons chia seeds
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup milk (almond, cow or rice work well)
• 1 Tablespoon jam

Instructions

Layer ingredients into a nice sized jar and stir before leaving in the fridge overnight. You can make up these up to three days before you eat them.

You can eat these cold or hot. Just pop them in the microwave for a minute or two to consume warm.

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August Book Report

I spent most of August in a panic about getting a blackout on my Seattle Public Library 2016 Summer Book Bingo. I read 8 books and three of them were re-reads which was awesome. I'm now at 47 books read for the year which is utterly amazing to me. 

My first book was The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson which was a bit disappointing. I laughed hysterically at the beginning but Bill is getting old and grumpy and it showed. I did enjoy reading about England though as I do so love that place. 

I re-read The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett and was quickly brought back to my childhood. I remember wanting my Mom to read me the book before bed and her making me read it to myself. I love this book and it will always make me happy to read. 

Another re-read was Harry Potter by JK Rowling which was amazing! I read it in one night and now I want to re-read the entire series. I have a long to be read book pile right now so it might be awhile but I'm going to read this again. 

I listened to The One in a Million Boy by Monica Wood and WOW! This book was amazing. The story was so good. I loved hearing about how a young boy and a 100 year old woman became friends. It was great. 

I read Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan for the Banned Books category and ehhh, it was ok. I just wasn't into the book. It was well written but not really for me. 

I bought The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman last Christmas and never got around to reading it. I was kicking myself for taking so long. This tale of a girl and her magical Mom and Grandma at the end of the lane was fascinating and amazing. 

For the Young Adult category, I read Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk. This book had been hyped to me all summer and it really lived up to the hype. I loved reading about this community and how it came together for the children who lived there. 

I've read The Little Prince by Antonie de Saint Exupery but needed a book that was translated from another language. This one was short and while it is a classic, I always feel like I'm missing something from the story. The girls and I watched the new Netflix movie of it which is great and I'd highly recommend it. 

Week In Review - 9.24.16

This week felt sleepy, like I was in a fog. I started back on my 14 Week Organizational plan by organizing the pantry and most of the kitchen. It's such a big job. I'm planning to finish up the kitchen this week while decluttering the laundry room. Luckily the laundry room is already pretty bare so it shouldn't be a huge project. 

Exercise

This was another week of busted working out. I worked out 3 times. I did boot camp twice and a Inspire Pilates class. I went to the doctor on Thursday who told me that I have bursitis in my hip along with some IT band issues. She prescribed me some PT and I'll get started on that the first week of October. Until then, I'm using my foam roller, icing and doing the exercises she gave me to get back on track to crushing it. I miss working out! My hips were killing me so much on Wednesday night that when my alarm went off, I went, "NOPE!" and went back to bed. 

Food

My monthly meal plan is helping me feel on track and saving us so much money. I am still struggling with getting back to prepping meals but I have time blocked out to do this on Sunday so I'm going to make it happen. I think prepping meals will elevate my breakfasts this week. 

The Girls

The girls have been LOVING our preschool learning and went crazy over Peru this week. Molly went to bed with the MAPS book (I think we're going to have to buy a copy for our house) and spent most of the evening asking me questions about Peru. We also went to the Burke Museum for Bug Fest which had a TON of Butterflies. It was perfect! 

Maggie and I went to the Seattle Center on Tuesday. Tuesday are our days together so I've been planning special activities for just the two of us. Thursday was the girl's school BBQ. Molly was at school from 8:30 a.m. until 7:20 p.m. She literally collapsed into bed. She was exhausted from playing but said she had the very best day.

Other Goings On

On Monday evening, I took myself out for a date to see Ann Patchett at Benaroyal Hall. None of my friends were interested but she is one of my favorite authors so I decided to go alone. It was awesome. I was able to completely focus on everything she talked about. She is hella funny and it was a great evening. I had a delightful time and hurried home to quickly finish Commonwealth, her latest novel. 

My week was actually pretty quiet. Scott was away on a business trip for a few nights. I finished a puzzle we had picked up from IKEA and now need a new one. I love doing puzzles even if no one else in my family enjoys them as much. It's a nice, quiet way to exercise the brain. I spent a lot of time reading Eligible for the Seattle Refined Book Club. We're filming the book club discussion on Wednesday so I'm frantically finishing the book so I sound smart when we talk about it. Wish me luck! 

Project 52 - Week 28

Maggie and I have Tuesdays together while her sister is in school. I've been trying to make them extra fun so this week we went to the Seattle Center and played at the cool playground before having a snack at the International Fountain. Maggie thought it was amazing! 

Chores, Distraction and Periodic Table Battleship are This Week's Links From Around The Web

Age Appropriate Chores I can happily say that the girls do most of these things. OK so they do them with angst and unhappiness but they still do them.

Driving ourselves to Distraction

Stop Taking Pride In Not Knowing How To Do Basic Shit This is just sad. Google things. Search YouTube. Learn how to be an adult. It's not cute.

17 Funny And Thoughtful Books For Children Under 5 My kids are vivacious readers so I love these kinds of lists.

Mom Creates Periodic Table Battleship Game To Teach Her Kids Chemistry This is so cool!

Week In Review - 9.17.16

The weather this week was glorious and perfect! It was in the low 70s all week with the sun shining. This morning, however, is a different story. The rain and wind are quite fierce and I'm half not looking forward to Molly's soccer game. I am excited to watch her play though. 

Exercise

This past weekend I attended the Trek Dirt Series in Whistler where I learned all about riding a mountain bike. I'm doing a story on it which I'll share when it publishes in Seattle Refined. As someone who hasn't biked in over 5 years, mountain bike camp was a shock to my system. There was also a slight accident where I fell off a low wooden bridge and was rammed in the rear by my bike. I only completed one day of the camp as I was way too sore and injured to do day two. I decided to be kind to my body this week and only did my 3 days of boot camp. My rear is still sore but I'm healing up and looking forward to being back at full throttle next week. 

Food

My Fall goal is to published a healthy and delicious recipe one a week. This week I shared One Sheet Chicken Roasted Vegetable Fall Dinner which is full of root vegetable goodness and crispy chicken. This Foster Farms chicken recipe is so good. Remember to check out The New Comfort Food and find some other great recipes on Foster Farm's site. Foster Farms is also offering a $1.00 off coupon to ReeBeckiSupergirl Readers! 

I'm still getting our organics box on a weekly basis and this week, we got the most delicious grapes! They suggested using them for grape jelly but honestly they won't last that long in this house. My kids are fruit bats and I've been (luckily) successful at getting them to eat fruit first. Getting kids to eat healthy food can be such a challenge! 

The Girls

The girls have been busy, busy little bees this week. On Monday, they started ballet. Day one was quite chaotic but I'm hoping it will even out. On Tuesday, Molly started swim with her preschool class. They take the bus to the local pool and have lessons there. Molly was a little nervous about the logistics but told me afterward that it was no big deal. Wednesdays are devoted to soccer practice. We walk the two blocks to the elementary school and you'd think we were walking two miles based on the whining from the girls. Ugh! Friday they have gymnastics and Maggie keeps telling me that she is perfect at it. I love her self confidence! 

I started a little homeschooling with the kids too. I found this awesome and free curriculum over at Simply Learning. We struggle in the afternoons with things to do other than watching tv. As the rainy season starts up, I wanted something to do with the girls but I didn't want to have to come up with the plans on my own. When I found Simply Learning, I knew this would be the solution to our problem. We started the Hungry Little Caterpillar Preschool Unit this week and it has been a HUGE success! We are raising caterpillars to become butterflies and the girls have been obsessed. OK, I have been obsessed too. All of the activities have been so much fun and I love that the girls are learning. I haven't had to force them to do any of these projects at all. In fact, they come home from school and ask to do caterpillar school. We have one more week and then we'll be starting the Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? Preschool Unit. I plan to write more about this later next week as I have deviated from the plan a bit and am making it work for us! 

Other Goings On

I joined the Seattle Refined Book Club because I like supporting my employer AND I love reading. I am really enjoying Eligible so far. I also got my BOTM book today so my books to be read pile is growing fast! 

I've been working hard on a Test Knit Sweater which I missed the deadline on. I decided that I wanted the body to be longer though so I spent a lot of time this week, ripping out my work. This week I plan to get the length where I want it and get those sleeves done! I highly recommend this pattern though. It is an easy and beautiful knit.  

Stories Published

Seattle Refined - 5 U-Pick orchards to visit this Apple Season - It's Apple Season! 

Seattle's Child - Short Hikes for Short Legs - Stay Active with your kids this Fall!