Thursday, January 22, 2015

Thankful Thursday: Gluten Free Brownies & Meat Patties

It's thankful Thursday time! We all have so much to be thankful for and we love to take this opportunity just to write down each and everything that comes to mind. Please take this time to share with us what you're thankful for as well. If you have a blog expressing your thankfulness, please share the link! Without further ado, here's what we're thankful for:

Mandi's List:

I’m thankful for gluten free brownies. I’ve been gluten free since the summer, and while gluten free brownies aren’t quite as good as regular brownies, they really hit the spot…pretty much all the time.

I’m thankful for sleep. Two nights ago Ronnie agreed to take all the feedings for the night, so I got some much needed sleep. The best part was I decided to get the shut eye in Mckenna’s bed (Baby N sleeps in our room, and still likes to scream after many feedings). It was really, really nice to snuggle her all night long.

I’m thankful for good fitness role models. My parents are both very active (always have been) and Ronnie’s mom has been working out a lot for the last few years. I am so thankful that Mckenna not only sees us as fitness examples, but that she sees others in her life living that way. Not to mention her uncles and aunts also lead active lifestyles! Hopefully she assumes there’s no other way to be, and by default is active herself!!

Ronnie's List:

I'm thankful sugar free flavored coffee syrups. I've been using my milk frothed daily since receiving it for Christmas, but just started adding syrups to the hot cup of joe for a more latte kind of a feel. I've never been a big coffee syrup kind of a guy before, but since I'm trying to control my sweet tooth, the carmel and vanilla flavored lattes seem to do the trick. And at 30 calories a drink, they are okay for my waist line as well :)

I'm thankful for the Mckenna's loving heart. Although I admit that sometimes her love can be a little overwhelming for Mandi, Baby N or myself, I'd much rather have it on that extreme end than the other. I love her random kisses, followed by an "I love you". Makes me feel like I'm not totally blowing it as her dad.

I'm thankful for frozen meat patties. I take full advantage of all of the frozen meat at Costco. Lately, I've been eating turkey burgers and salmon patties by the pound. Paired with a few heaping cups of vegetables and some hot sauce, it makes the perfect lunch or dinner for me!

What are you thankful for today?  

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

On the Sidelines

We had a fun-filled weekend with Ronnie's mom and brother up to visit. Since they came up from Tucson, his other brother and wife (newlyweds, woot woot) were also around much of the weekend. It was a fun way to spend the weekend, and of course Mckenna loved every second of their visit.

The real highlight for me, however, was getting to go cheer on my mom and her friend, Patty, run the Arizona Rock 'n Roll half marathon. It was on Sunday morning. Ronnie's mom was nice enough to watch Neylin so Mckenna, Ronnie and I could all race around with my dad in his car and catch them at points along the course. We got to see them at the start, missed them at mile 5 because they were blowing their goal time out of the water, caught them at mile 8, and again at the end. We drove around like maniacs tracking their progress and navigating all the road closures. I have never "watched" a race that way, and man, it's fun.

It was also another great opportunity to brainwash Mckenna in all things running. Running just to run sounds kind of boring. But knowing that people who run often get to go to a super-charged environment where men, women and children all cheer them on sounds a bit more appealing. The cute part was hearing Mckenna continue to chant some of the cheers we heard, long after the race was over. I think getting to drink a gatorade from Nana was the major highlight...gosh it's almost too easy to brainwash a 3 year old! Ha! By the end of the day she was asking about doing a race herself.

The major highlight of the morning was the fact that it was my mom's friend's first race of any kind, and they planned to run/walk it. Neither had run more than 6-9 miles before the race. Yet, they freaking rocked it! They didn't walk at all, and finished 20-minutes faster than their projected finish time.

How insanely packed is this start? Runners couldn't even all fit in the corrals!