Banana Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

These little bites are a tasty treat!  I had one warm out of the oven and I didn't even feel like it was diet food!  I have to give credit to Weight Watchers for the recipe, I did modify it a bit but it didn't effect it.  I used what I had on hand. I will definitely be making these again! I have a feeling they won't last long in our house.  Only 1 egg too which means Emily can have some too!

Nougat...Yum!

Like pretty much everyone else this year I jumped on the diet bandwagon on January 3rd. I joined Weight Watchers and I am making some great progress. I'm down almost 12lbs and I love it!  I'm averaging about 1.5 lbs a week and it's fine with me. After being so sick in November and December it is nice to be at the gym again and see the weight come off. This morning in fact I saw the scale hit it's lowest number in a very long time. Like a decade!  I'm not kidding.  It's a great feeling and I love that I'm healthier and I really only have less than 10 lbs to go till I'm at my goal weight.  On that note why is it that I'm craving chocolate?  Not just any chocolate either.. a very specific kind of chocolate.  See's Candies, chocolate assortment. And within that assortment there is a chocolate candy with sprinkles on it that I really want to sink my teeth into!   I haven't eaten See's candies since before I was married and Dad would bring home a box for us kids every Christmas. I have a great memory of my older brother and I sitting on the couch with the box of chocolates between us and we must have ate at least half the box. I never thought I would want nougat again after that but here I am thinking of nothing else!  I've even found myself trolling See's Website looking at the Chocolate Assortment boxes.  I think I need to go for a run tonight!

Abby's art and my flowers!

Happy Valentines Day, yes I know I'm over a week late and here are some pictures that Abby has done at school the last few months. Enjoy!

This, that and everything else!

Well a quick update on Emily. Her doctor's appointment didn't go as bad as I thought it would. The good news is she is back on the growth curve for height. Now we just have to get her weight back up.  It's a long process and I really do think that she is just going to be a petite girl. It's not like I'm the tallest person or Jason either!  Abby has been doing cheerleading for the last 2 months and she loves it.  She has become quite good at learing all the cheers and she really enjoys it.  I am amazed that she knows so many cheers and all the arm and leg movements that go with it. Abby has been doing some great art work at school too. I'm going to post a few of her pictures so you can all see what she has been up too.
 We had a bit of a disappointment last week.  Jason's career goal is to make Warrant Officer and we missed the alternate list by less than 3points!  It truly was a blow for him but he will try again next year!  I've tried to stay positive for him through this but it was really a disappointment. His scores went up almost 40 points from last year so we were shocked we didn't make it.  It doesn't help when everyone is telling him that he's a shoe in either.  You get that false sense of security.  I truly believe with all my heart that he is made to do this.  He loves his job, he has such knowledge and now all he needs is the promotion!  He amazes me with all he does and how he handles the stress of a job that doesn't always realize all he does.  I hope our prayers are answered next year and he is promoted.  We have one more year here in NJ to make it happen! Other than that things are going well.  We are all anxious for some warmer weather and what that brings but it seems Winter is not quite done with us yet!  We had snow Tuesday and it was quite frigid this morning.  I'm ready for Summer, the pool and our fire pit and s'mores!

Hungry anyone?

Just when I think we are doing so well she back slides.  I was so happy when she broke 20lbs but now we have been stuck at that weight for over 2 months.  I feel like she will never gain weight. It's so frustrating.  As a Mother I feel like a failure when she won't eat! I keep telling myself that she'll eat when she's hungry but I've been waiting for that day to come for over a year now. I look at her and the logical side of my brain knows that she is not malnourished.  She is active most of the day, minus nap time and is always up to something. It is so easy to say I'm not going to stress over her eating but it is easier said than done. Just this morning she had me reduced to tears because she didn't eat dinner last night (she did have a yogurt for an after dinner snack) and then I made her  breakfast and all she ate was one breakfast sausage.  I know she's hungry, you can't tell me she isn't! One sausage and a yogurt in 12 hours that's nothing. I guess I have to keep telling myself that she'll outgrow this and eventually she'll gain weight.  I'm hoping it  happens sooner rather than later. The one positive note is that her 12 month size pants are getting to short for her!