7 Quick Takes Friday

1) Last Friday night we went to a Mass Citizens for Life dinner.  There were sooooo many people there.  I always love seeing people who are pro-life and hearing all these wonderful pro-life speakers, but then I get frustrated that it's preaching to the choir and it's the rest of the population that I wish could hear this stuff.

 Maggie's father and Godfather:

 The keynote speaker, Mary Ann Glendon was awesome!

In case you can't see her very well, here's her bio picture:

This seminarian sat at our table, and he was so handsome and nice.  It gives me hope for the future of priesthood!!

This guy rocked his 7th baby to sleep in his arms in a room full of loud people.  That's called experience, yo.

2) Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel finally made it official!

I think the pink dress is pretty, but I don't know how I feel about it for a wedding dress.  I just hope she doesn't regret it later.

3) Soccer season isn't even over yet, but John-Paul's basketball season has begun!  He's playing CYO basketball for our parish and he has practice twice a week for an hour and a half each night.  He's one of the youngest (4th grade) on the team and definitely the shortest.  Some of the 6th graders are taller than me!

That's his back in the grey shirt and yellow shorts

Lately, whenever John-Paul introduces himself, he says his name is JP.

So all of his coaches call him JP this year.  I think it's cute that he wants to be called JP and we're trying to change our ways and get with his program.  He still talks too much in school but asked the teacher to move his seat away from his friends so he has a chance to be quiet.

4) Xander is 16 months old today!

 He is still drinking from a bottle before nap and bed (bad Mom) and loves to put on anything that will make his siblings laugh (hence the Harry Potter Mickey Mouse sunglasses).  He is a great hugger and an inappropriate kisser and loves loves loves music.  His favorite song is "Wheels on the Bus" and he sings "Town" at the end of each verse in pretty good pitch!

Words to date:

Mama = Mom

Dada = Dad

Bubba = Bottle

Ba = Isabel (his nanny), Ball, what a sheep says, balloon, bath

Nuhnuh = Hungry

NO! = No

Uh (gutteral)= Give me some

Mmmmm = Give me some more

5) Andrew's last soccer game was "Crazy Hair Day" which we always forget about, but his coach sprayed his hair red.  Red hair runs in my extended family and I always thought I would get a red head, but nope, just fake reds!  He is doing great at school but says his favorite subject is gym!

 6) Maggie is still an amazing soccer player, hates braids, loves dresses and tights, and refuses most dinners unless it's chicken, plain noodles, or tacos and wants a baby sister or "girl pet" so bad.  She's a high maintenance cutie patootie, who loves pleasing us and getting praised for it.

7) Eamon just had his 6 year old physical and he's 50% for height, 30% for weight just proving our theory that he's the family runt.  He is fast and aggressive at soccer and can't wait to start basketball for the first time this year.  He's in an excelled reading group at school and makes us laugh everyday.  He's such a joy-filled little guy!

How to Lose Weight

Even though I detest dieting, I do love reading about new diet plans and exercise routines that promise amazing results.  And I've finally seen the light.  

They all say the same thing.

There's the Volumetrics Diet that says you need to eat foods with more "volume" but less calories per bite, so that you can eat more food but still lose weight.  For example, choosing popcorn over chips would allow you to consume a lot more food for less calories.  Whole foods like fruits, veggies, lean proteins that are unprocessed all naturally contain more volume and less calories than their processed counterparts.

The Paleo Diet says you should eat like the cavemen ate.  This means we should be eating whole foods that are not processed and lots of veggies, lean proteins, and fruit.

The Atkins Diet, South Beach Diet, Gluten Free eating, or any other low-carb diet states that we should be eating less (or no) carbohydrates because carbs turn into sugar which raises our insulin levels which makes our bodies store calories as fat.  So these diets recommend eating non-processed foods like lean proteins, veggies and some fruits.

Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig and other similar programs promise weight loss through counting points or calories.  Because of the reduction in calories, people on these plans tend to fuel up on lower calorie options like lean proteins, fruits and veggies, because wasting calories or points on processed sugary foods would leave you hungry for the rest of the day.

Vegetarian or vegan or macrobiotic diets say that eating more fruits and veggies and little to no processed foods will aid in weight loss.  

Do you see the pattern here?

I should write a diet book called "Just Eat Vegetables, Fruits and Lean Proteins, Move Your Body Everyday, Stop Eating When You're Full and You Will Lose Weight".  Although the title is long, it would be a really short book, but maybe I could fill it with pictures of cute babies eating healthy foods like this:

Whattya think, do I have the next bestseller??

Keeping the Doctor Away

Now that it's cold season and Phil and I work in a high school and four of our kids are in elementary school, we are all exposed to tons of germs everyday.  I just discovered this product and jumped on the bandwagon, late as usual.

Emergen-C is what I drink every day now.  In cold water it tastes like flat soda, but in hot water it's delicious. Whenever I had an upset stomach as a kid, my mom would make Jello and let me drink it while it was still in that warm liquid stage.  That's what this tastes like when you make it hot. And here's the goodness you'll be putting into your body:

Emergen-C has a wide variety of drink products, including some for kids,recovery, immunity, heart health, joint health, and low calorie versions:

I don't get anything for promoting this product, but I love it so much that I can't keep quiet about it.  And if anyone wants to compensate me, I would happily accept :)

You can get a free sample here!!

Advice Needed: All Saints Day

All Saints Day 2010
St. Michael, Blessed John Paul II, Mary, St. Francis

Can you please, pretty please help me think of ideas that my kids can be for All Saints Day?  

Just keep in mind that I can NOT sew/knit/craft so anything remotely artistic or creative is OUT.

We *might* have access to my son's altar boy garb:

I appreciate any EASY ideas you can give (have I overemphasized my craft-lessness enough?) and thank you!

All Atwitter for Apple Fritters

Y'all know how much I love America's Test Kitchen recipes, right?  They really are the best even though they sometimes take a little more work.  And they just came out with a new cookbook that has EVERY SINGLE recipe from their show since 2001!!!  This would be a goldmine of tastiness!! 

Anyway, I've been dying to make these Apple Fritters since we went apple picking, and this Saturday was finally the time to cook them up. 

Look at what we created...

a little bit closer....

... and BOOM, you've been hit with melt-in-your-mouth-zero-calorie apple fritters (okay, maybe they have a few calories):

Now, go make your own and send me one, deal?  Thank you!

~

Ingredients

FRITTERS

• 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup apple cider
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3 cups peanut or vegetable oil

GLAZE

• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup apple cider

Instructions

1. Spread prepared apples in single layer on paper towel–lined baking sheet and pat thoroughly dry with paper towels.
2. Combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in large bowl.
3. Whisk cider, eggs, and melted butter in medium bowl until combined.
4. Stir apples into flour mixture. Stir in cider mixture until incorporated.
5. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat to 350°. Use 1/3-cup measure to transfer 5 heaping portions of batter to oil. Press batter lightly with back of spoon to flatten. Fry, adjusting burner as necessary to maintain oil temperature between 325 and 350 degrees, until deep golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
6. Transfer fritters to wire rack set inside rimmed baking sheet. Bring oil back to 350 degrees and repeat with remaining batter. Let fritters cool 5 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, whisk confectioners’ sugar and cider, in medium bowl until smooth. Top each fritter with 1 heaping tablespoon glaze. Let glaze set 10 minutes.
8. Eat and die of deliciousness.

A House Divided