Hayden's 5th Birthday

Hayden celebrated his 5th birthday last week!  It was a beautiful, sunny day here!  Here's a photo review of his day :)

Woke up at a regular time and opened his gifts from us.  (He asked for soccer stuff)

I made sticky buns for breakfast and he ate off his "Hayden is Special Today" plate.

Our neighbor, Alice, stopped by to bring Hayden a gift.

Jim & Onya (neighbors) came by too :)

Hayden spent a good amount of time riding his 4 wheeler.

We put temporary tattoos on just about everyone - including the babies - pics below!

My parents with Allie.

Kevin's parents with Krissy.

The babies swinging together.

Hayden taking Kevin for a ride.

Me & Kev with the birthday boy!

Hayden with his "Jake" cake.

Hayden requested we sing Happy Birthday, but like pirates.  We added some "Arrrrrs" and "Yo ho hos" in there.

We had strawberry & white cake.  Hayden wanted a piece with Jake's face.

He got lots of fun gifts.  Soccer clothes, balancing birds, bug vaccuum, puzzles, books, and a telescope, just to name a few. 

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

I recently purchased an app for my iPhone.  It's called "Dotti's Food Score".  It is a great tool for people that are doing weight watchers and eat out.  It has tons and tons of chain restaurants' menu and the points value for each item.  I love how handy it has been!  But I did have one issue with it.  I was looking up the points to some of my favorite dishes at my favorite places... and I found that my 8 boneless wings from Buffalo Wild Wings = 40 points!  I only get 26 points a day!  I was so bummed.  I have been wanting them ever since I realized I really couldn't eat them.  It led me on a search to find a tasty equivalent, and boy did I ever hit the jackpot on this one!
  
I adapted this recipe from my favorite trusty WW recipe site, EmilyBites.com
Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Ingredients:
1/3 cup (heaping) unseasoned bread crumbs
2 egg whites
2 T flour
¼ t black pepper
32 oz raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thawed (I used 2 large breasts - I split mine width wide then cut in half, to get a total of 8 pieces)
1/3 cup Buffalo wing sauce (I used Buffalo Wild Wings Mild Sauce - $4.79 per bottle)
8 low carb, high fiber tortillas (I used La Tortilla Factory’s Smart & Delicious Low Carb, High Fiber)

Optional: additional wing sauce for drizzling, chopped lettuce, Mexican cheese, ranch or blue cheese dressing for dipping.

Directions:
1.    Preheat the oven to 375*. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2.    Spread the bread crumbs across the bottom of a large dry skillet and bring over medium heat. Cook for a few minutes, stirring every minute or so to rotate which crumbs are on the bottom until the crumbs are lightly browned.
3.    In a shallow bowl, lightly beat the 2 egg whites. Place the bread crumbs on a separate shallow bowl. Pour the wing sauce in a third shallow dish. Set aside.
4.    Combine the flour, black pepper and chicken breasts in a large Ziploc bag and seal shut. Shake until the breasts are fully coated with the flour.
5.    Dip one floured chicken breast in the egg whites, coating all sides, and then press it into the bread crumbs. Flip the breast to coat with crumbs and then dip it in the wing sauce on both sides to coat. Place the coated breast on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining breasts.
6.    Bake about 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from the oven and cut into bites (or strips if you prefer).
7.    Warm the tortillas slightly in the microwave to make them more pliable.  Divide the chicken evenly amongst the 8 tortillas and top with a drizzle of additional wing sauce if desired. Top the chicken with cheese and lettuce and then fold the ends in and the sides over. 

The points work out like this: 
torilla+buffalo chicken+lettuce = 7P+
An additional 1Tbsp of wing sauce = 1 P+ 
Dressing and cheese vary on what kind you use, and how much, but anywhere from 1-4P+

This was a serving....1/4th of a large chicken breast.

I LOVED mine with just the tortilla, chicken, and lettuce.  It had so much flavor it didn't need the ranch.  I also didn't miss the cheese.  

Kevin's comment on this meal was "I wish we would have started eating healthy like this a long time ago!  These are killer!"

If you love hot wings, this is a MUST MAKE! 

CrunchWrap Copycat

My husband loves some Taco Bell.  I have many memories of eating tacos early in our marriage because we had a Taco Bell down the street from our first house.  When they introduced the "crunchwrap" I knew they made that taco for me!  I always had a hard time deciding if I wanted a hard shell or soft shell, and it's a gooey, messy, delicious combination of both! 

I met a friend for lunch yesterday.  I watched her enjoy the Taco Bell crunchwrap she had brought to eat.  (My turkey sandwhich just didn't hit the spot!)  Last night I was browsing Pinterest and saw a recipe on EmilyBites for "Taco Wrap Delux" - a knock off of the crunchwrap but only half the points!  (The real crunchwrap is 14.5 points, and this homemade version is only 7 points+!)

I knew there was no way this recipe could fail.  Sometimes Taco Bell skimps us on cheese, or they forget I said no tomatoes and sour cream, so it was nice to make my own just the way I wanted! 

Here's my adapted version:
1 lb 96/4 lean ground beef 
1 packet reduced sodium taco seasoning
8 tortillas (I used La Tortilla Factory Low Carb, High Fiber Whole Wheat Tortillas - kinda pricey @ $4.50 - and located at the very bottom of the tortilla section in Walmart)
1 C Tostitos Con Queso Medium (located with the chips)
24 tortilla chips (I used Tostitos)
1 can fat free refried beans
lettuce
taco sauce
*You may also like (2Tbsp) fat free sour cream, tomatoes, taco sauce - all are 0 points!*

1. Brown the beef.  I didn't have any extra fat in my skillet, but if you do, drain it off, then add the seasoning and water.  Heat until the water is gone.
2. While the beef cooks, heat your refried beans and add a little water to get them a smoother consistency.
3. Pre-heat a skillet to brown your crunchwrap.
4. Place a tortilla on a plate and add 2 TBSP con queso sauce.  Microwave for about 20 seconds to heat cheese and tortilla (it makes it easier to fold).  Next add 1/4 C (or less) refried beans, 1/4 C of ground beef, 6 tortilla chips (I crunched mine up).  Fold it up and place it in a skillet to brown.  After a minute or two, flip over and brown the other side.  I don't like my lettuce warm, so I put my lettuce on the side.  Kevin loves sour cream and added that to the inside of his wrap. 
5. When my wrap was done, I opened it up and added a little taco sauce.  It's zero points as long as you don't go way overboard!

All four of us cleaned our plates.  The kids were so excited when I told them we were going to eat them again for dinner :)  I like the homemade version equally as much as Taco Bells!  
If you stick to the ingredients I listed, and the amounts, one homemade crunchwrap = 7p+.  If you don't use the refried beans, it's only 6p+

Hot & Cheesy Bean Dip

I'm trying several new Weight Watchers recipes this week!  Kevin has been wanting Hacienda cheese dip, so I talked him into saving money and eating this for lunch today!  I didn't really have to talk him into eating it once he started though.  Both boys gave it a thumbs up and said they would want to eat it again - it's a keeper!

I make a taco dip that I love, so I had a hard time not comparing the two.  My older recipe calls for beef and lots of cheese, so it's a heavier dip.  This one is very light and creamy, but equally as tasty!  It's a great/cheap/meatless meal!

Source: Emily Bites
Ingredients:
8 oz of 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
½ cup fat free sour cream
16 oz can of fat free refried beans
1 tablespoon green chilies (I chopped mine up extra - you know I don't like chuncks!)
½ teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup salsa (I had leftover that I pureed a couple days ago)
4 oz of reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:
1.    Preheat the oven to 350.
2.    In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese and sour cream and mix until combined. Spread the mixture across the bottom of a 9” glass pie plate.
3.    In another bowl, combine the beans, chilies, cumin, chili powder and salt and stir until well combined. Spread the bean mixture over top of the cream cheese layer in the pie plate. Spread the salsa over top of the bean layer and then sprinkle the cheese across the top.
4.    Bake for 30 minutes and serve immediately.

 Allie helped me make the dip - it's so easy to put together!

We served our dip with tostitos.  24 round chips (4p+) was plenty for a half cup of dip.  1/2 C  = 4p+, 1/3C = 3p+, 1/4C = 2p+.  You could also serve the dip in miniature corn tortillas.  They smelled kind of off to me, so I opted for the chips :)

Hope you all are enjoying these healthier recipes!  I'm trying several more this week and I'll post the keepers!

Sesame Chicken

I'm on a roll with these Weight Watcher recipes!  Kevin says he would never know that this sesame chicken would qualify as a WW recipe because it was SO good.  I completely agree! And so did my kids.  They both gobbled up this chicken!

I adapted the recipe from Slender Kitchen.  If you don't have an electric skillet, you may want to follow the original recipe, which calls for the chicken to be baked. 

This is the picture from Slender Kitchen.  Her recipe calls for black sesame seeds, which I couldn't find at Walmart, so I left them out of my version.  We were so ready to eat when the chicken was done, I forgot to take a picture!

Ingredients:

• 3lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thawed and cut into pieces
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 Tbsp whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced (or 1 tsp of the already minced store bought kind)
• 2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar (not packed)
• 1 Tbsp sesame seeds

1. In a bowl, toss the chicken pieces, salt, pepper, and flour.  Grease an electric skillet and add chicken to skillet.  Leave the lid off so you can watch to make sure it's not cooking too fast.  
2. Once the chicken is cooking, mix together the sesame oil, olive oil, garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, and sesame seeds.  Immediately pour over the chicken.
3. Stir the chicken to make sure it's evenly coated with the sauce.  Cover and cook for 5 mins.  Stir, then cover and cook another 5-7 mins, or until chicken is no longer pink.
4. Serve immediately and enjoy!

I based the recipe on 8 servings, which equals 6 P+.  The chicken was very filling and would be great with steamed veggies and rice!  

Cheesy Taco Pasta

I don't know about you, but we love Mexican food at our house!  Last week I joined Weight Watchers and I've been on the hunt for some new recipes.  Ahhh how I love Pinterest!  My first go at a Pinterest "WW Friendly" recipe was a home run!  The kids loved it, the husband declared "it's in the top three recipes I make", and you, my friends, will not be thinking "diet food" at all!

I slightly adapted the recipe from Emily Bites.
Ingredients:
12oz Heartland Hidden Vegetable Small Penne pasta (found at East-side Walmart)
1 lb  lean ground beef (I used 96/4 from Walmart)
1 packet Ortega low sodium taco seasoning
1 ½ c mild salsa (I put mine though the food processor because I don't like chunks!)
½ c water
¼ c Kraft Simply fat free sour cream
¾ c shredded  Kraft 2 % reduced fat cheddar cheese
¾ c shredded Great Value sharp cheddar cheese
Salt & pepper (I don't think it needs it, but maybe you will)

Directions:
1.    Cook pasta according to package instructions.
2.    While pasta is cooking, place ground beef in a large sauté pan and cook over medium-high heat, breaking up the beef as it cooks. When the beef is cooked, drain any grease from pan. Add the taco seasoning, salsa and water and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes or until pasta is done cooking.
3.    Once pasta is done, drain pasta and add it to the beef mixture. Add the sour cream, cheese, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Cheese will melt when thoroughly mixed. Remove from heat and serve immediately. 

I didn't count the servings exactly (because Kevin was shoveling a 2nd helping into his bowl) but I figured it to be 8 or 9 1Cup servings.  If you are doing WW, 8 servings = 9p+, and 9 servings = 8p+ (assuming you use all the ingredients I listed).  Next time I make it, which will be soon, I'll let you know how many servings I get.  If you aren't being conscience of what you eat, feel free to use which ever seasonings, sour creams, and cheeses you'd like :)  But do yourself, and your family or friends a favor, and MAKE THIS!  We all know I'm the pickiest of picky eaters and I LOVED IT!!!

April's Mid Month Update

Outside my window . . . It's 70s and sunny!  I love spring!!!

I am thinking . . . it's too pretty outside to be sitting inside!

I am thankful for . . . Pinterest - I love getting new project ideas (some are so practical {like how to get rid of ants}).

In the kitchen . . . I've got sourdough starter rising for homemade cinnamon rolls tomorrow :)

I am wearing . . . pjs :-X I haven't done much today other than laundry and cook!

I am creating . . .booties for Allie's shoes.  She only has the one pair of corrective shoes and it makes me uncomfortable knowing the shoes she walks around in all day end up in bed with her.  The booties will slip over her shoes at night.  It will make me feel better.

I am going . . . to write a letter to someone who wronged me.  It's a great way to get stress off your shoulders, and you don't ever have to send the letter - but it feels good to get the emotions on paper.

I am wondering . . . what do people use their cannisters for?  I use mine for flour and sugar and I'm thinking of putting those ingredients in something else.  It always makes such a mess on my counter. 

I am reading . . . Made to Crave by Lysa Terkerst.  It's helping me get motivated to finish losing weight!

I am hoping . . . to join Weight Watchers soon. I love the accountability of having to weigh in once a week.

I am looking forward to . . . getting our yard looking better!  We haven't had the funds to do what we wanted to do in our yard, but this year we are getting the ball rolling!  We started by laying new stone and it's almost time to start planting!  I can't wait to blog about the before and after!

I am hearing . . . the tv.  Hayden loves watching PBS and it gives me a little break while the girls are napping. 

Around the house . . . we are trying to use the space we have the most effictively.  Kevin's been such a great help with carrying out all my ideas!

One of my favorite things . . .is drinking good lemonade out of a fun glass.

A few plans for the rest of the week . . .meeting a friend for breakfast, trying a new recipe, picking out plants for our landscape, and spending some time out-fishing the boys!

Butterfinger Cookies

I love butterfinger cookies!  My mom use to make them for us when we were growing up.  They have a fantastic chewy consistency, and I think they are even better the next day!  I was eying these "butterfinger bites" at Walmart, and decided to make 3/4th of the bag into cookies so I didn't eat all the butterfinger bites in one sitting!  I have made them twice this month because Kevin loves them as much as I do.  The batch makes about 24 cookies.  Maybe you should make these this weekend?!

Butterfinger Cookies
source: my momma

3/4 C sugar
1/2 C butter at room temp
1 egg
1 3/4 C all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
8 oz butterfinger - chopped

1. Preheat oven to 375*
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar and butter until creamy.
3. Beat in egg until fluffy.
4. Blend in flour, soda, and salt.
5. Stir in chopped butterfinger.
6. Drop dough by rounded tablespoon onto parchement lined cookie sheet.
7. Bake 11-13 mins until lightly browned.  Let stand on the cookie sheet 3-5 mins.

The dough is very stiff!

Let cool and enjoy!  We fight over the cookies with the big hunks of butterfinger :)

Metatarsus Adductus

Allie was born with metatarsus adductus.  It basically means the top bones in her feet turn in.  When she was 8 months old, we went through a series of casts, then used corrective shoes for a period of time after that.  When she was about a year and a half old, the orthopedic surgeon released her and said come back if I thought things weren't looking right. 

I took this picture a few weeks ago.

Several months ago I realized that her feet were turning back in.  I gave it some time, and Kevin and I decided we needed to at least have her feet rechecked.  In the meantime, I started doing some research on reoccurring metatarsus adductus.  I wasn't thrilled to learn everything I did, but it helped me mentally prepare for today's doctor visit.  (As opposed to her very first ortho visit where I kept telling myself it wasn't that bad and we left in casts and I was in tears!)

Our doctor is wonderful.  He quickly looked at Allie's feet and said he agreed the metatarsus adductus was still present and needed to see if it was a muscle or bone issue.  He ordered x-rays and Allie was such a champ for them.  The doctor explained where he saw the problem and told me it was up to me if I wanted her casted today or if we wanted to try some corrective shoes for a couple months.  The casting doesn't seem like it's a huge deal, but it is much more traumatizing than it sounds.  He has to stretch the feet to their correct position which is very uncomfortable/painful for Allie.  I could definitely do without holding her down and while she screams and cries, BUT I knew I had to put my mommy emotions aside and do what was best for Allie.

I snuck this picture off the computer before the doctor came in.  Underneath those long crooked bones at the top of her feet, there's a bigger grey area.  It's showing the little bones in her feet are very underdeveloped, which results in her feet turning in. 

I asked the doc what he recommended and he said he thought it would be best to try the corrective shoes and see how she does in those for two months (only because her foot was still really flexible - her feet were considered stiff when we had our first visit at 8 months) We will go back in June and see how she has progressed.  He may choose to do a series of casts then (they change the casts every two weeks and do this 2-3 times, so a total of 4-6 weeks) or he may have us use a bar (while she sleeps) that will hold her feet and ankles in an over corrected position.

Her little corrective shoes are actually kind of cute.  She has such skinny little legs and they just look like little regular leather boots (unless you look really close).  It's a cute look with a dress.  Right now she will wear the shoes 24/7, day and night, and can only take them off during bath time.  She has done fantastic with them today.  She asked to take them off a couple times but I told her she has to wear them, and she didn't complain.

We have been trying to stay really upbeat about it.  We went sock shopping for some bright new styles and we keep talking about her "cool new shoes."  I don't want her feeling self conscience about her feet ever.   

Cute new socks

I guess the other news today was that if the corrective shoes don't completely correct the issue, we will have to talk about surgery.  The surgery wouldn't take place for over two years, so we have some time.  Surgery is used as a last resort, but it's completely necessary if the bones in her feet don't grow properly.  Only time will tell!

In the meantime, if you see Allie, feel free to compliment her cool new shoes :)  We feel blessed knowing things could be so much worse than having to wear a pair of shoes (or casts or whatever happens)!

Tissue Paper Pom Poms

I've had lots of questions about these tissue paper pom poms that I made for Whitney's baby shower.  They are super easy to make, and are a fantastic shower/party decoration!  I made these about a week before the shower, and stored them in a large trash bag.  There's so much hustle and bustle days before a shower/party that it's nice to be able to do something ahead of time!

Here are some instructions on how to make these :) (Harry was extra needy so excuse him in the background!)

Supplies: Tissue paper, heavy duty scissors, hole punch, floral wire (not pictured: clear string {I used fishing line} to hang them).

I bought my tissue paper from Hobby Lobby.  They had all the color options I needed and I think it was $1 for the pack of 10 sheets.  One pack (10 sheets) will make 4 pom poms.  Open your 10 sheets of tissue paper.  Fold the paper stack in half and cut along the fold.

Next you will fold this large rectangle in half to make squares.  Cut along the fold again.

You should end up with 40 squares.

Stack 10 sheets of tissue paper.  You can make this next step as complicated as you want, or as simple as you want.  Fold up about 1 inch from the bottom.  I don't measure this, I just eyeball it.  We are going to "fan fold" this square. 

Flip the square over and fold up another inch.

Can you see the "fan"?  Keep folding until you get to the top.

It should look like this when you are done.

Cut a small piece of wire - 6 inches would be plenty long.

Wrap the wire around the center of your tissue paper

I like to fold the excess over.

It's important that your sides are even.  To check, fold in half at the wire.  If one side is a little longer (like mine is in the picture), then just scoot the wire down.

Even sides

I like the look of a rounded edge, but you can also do a pointy edge.  Use your heavy duty scissors and trim the edges on one side.

Trim the other side.

Next, open one side of the fan fold.

{Gently} Pull the first piece of tissue paper up.  If you don't do this step carefully, you can end up tearing the paper.

Pull up the first 5 sheets.

Turn it over and pull up the last 5 sheets. 

It will look similar to this once you've finished the first half.  Go ahead and unfold the other half.

Mine wasn't looking very circular once it was all unfolded and that's ok.  Just play around with it until you get it looking circular.

Looks pretty good to me!

You can see the inside here.

To hang, put together two sheets and punch a hole through them.  Like I said above, I used some fishing line to hang the balls with. 

Here's what it looks like all done! 

If you want one that's bigger, you will need more sheets of tissue paper.  These pom poms are very forgiving, so don't nit pick over every little detail.  When you have a whole cluster of them you can't see any imperfections!  Happy pom pom making!!!