Water fun...

As mentioned we had cancelled all our weekend plans and made up our plans as we felt like it, this is how life should be! So when Saturday afternoon came Mike suggested us going to visit peoples park and I am so glad he did - it was wonderful. They had the fountains on and the kids loved running through them and playing in the water....

Sunshine, fresh air and no where else to be is the perfect weekend afternoon combination.

Weekend find...

On the weekend, seeing as Charley was sick during the week, we cancelled all our plans and decided to have a weekend just us 4 which was lovely. We could wake up and decide what we wanted to do and on Saturday we decided to pop to the shops to browse which we haven't done in a while.

Mike and Ollie went to play some games while Charley and I browsed some clothing shops and on our way out I asked if we could pop into the Le Creuset shop (my happy place) just to browse because I have a few things on my wish list... one being a medium size casserole dish. I have a beautiful big one which is perfect for a BIG meal however I wanted one to use for just Mike and I... and to my delight there was one for half price (which is a HUGE discount) AND I had enough ebucks to get it without is costing us anything. They also threw in a mini pie dish - I have the full size one exactly the same so I was very happy.

I am a HUGE fan of Le Creuset, their quality is FANTASTIC... one day I will have a kitchen full. One day.

Maintenance...

So... losing weight might have felt like the hard part BUT I think moving forward the maintenance phase is even harder.  Its finding the balance between enjoying life and eating well - I don't want to live in a world where I cannot have something super delicious from time to time BUT I also want to fuel my body with good food that will sustain my weight loss but that is also tasty.

After losing a total of 30kgs the fear of putting on that weight again is a huge reality for me and I don't want to go back to that again...

Here are a few changes I have made -

1) I tend to lean towards intermittent fasting most of the time - I had to change my whole mindset as I have been told  that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I have always struggled with breakfast. So after doing much research I am ok with not eating breakfast and so far it hasn't been a problem. Having said that I am also being careful to listen to my body and if I wake up hungry (which is very rare) then I will happily eat something.

2) I love to snack, its my downfall. So I have been researching some healthy snacks one being roasting my own nuts. These are cashews roasted with ginger, garlic, chill powder and nutritional yeast.  I have also roasted cauliflower and Brussel sprouts which are very yum! Plain yogurt as pudding also works really well.

3) I am a huge fan of wraps, they are safely my favorite food however I am trying to stay low carb most of the time and a lettuce wrap is a very satisfying alternative to a wheat wrap. I made this for my lunch on Sunday and LOVED it, I was still full at dinner time it was so good! I wrap all my chicken, salad, veg goodness in lettuce, wrap it up and it really is delicious.
I also use yoghurt as an alternative to mayo adding in some mustard and garlic to flavor it.

4) I have been making my own chicken stock to add to my curries and stews. We have at least 1 chicken a week so I keep the bones and make my own stock out of them - I know exactly what has been added to it so I know its 100% safe to eat and so tasty. I have been using my slow cooker a lot lately and really enjoying the ease of it.
I made myself some chicken soup last night and by this morning it was all cooked and smelling delicious - this will be used as my meals or a snack for the next week - I will freeze it in ziplocks and grab one when needed.

I have really  been enjoying finding what works for my body and what doesn't - there is the obvious foods such as wheat and carbs that make me feel bloated BUT there have also been a few surprises that are good to note that my body just does not do well with - this way I know to steer clear of these foods and make a different choice.
I am in this for the long haul and don't want to go back to an unhealthy weight, I love the freedom and confidence of being a healthy weight and a weight that is right for ME (everyone is different).

Sickness

Last week was our week of sickness... but to be honest the kids have been sick on and off for the whole year. This bout of sickness was the measles and our youngest was infected.
Having said that I got to stay home with my munchkin one of the days and it was really lovely spending some alone time with my girl. Mike and I have been trying to make time to spend alone time with each child at different times and when we do its so wonderful!

Our sick day was saved by some Barney / Pepa pig and many snacks.

This child is getting cuter and cuter with every passing second... my joy!

Church playroom

This is how we do church with my little one...

She does stay quiet so I am able to listen to the service which is a lovely change!

Ollie's valentines...

Ollies school do the cutest little valentine dance for the kiddes in the hall. They sing and dance and have so much fun. He really LOVES orange group this year and is thriving.

 We also bought the sweetest little valentine day badges from school and I wore mine to work.

My heart loves baking...

My heart loves baking.. and my boy loves baking so Ollie and I often bake together. He is really good and measuring out cups of flour and he LOVES to turn the mixer on and off so hes the best helper. We love baking anything and everything but lately our favorite thing to bake is cookies - partly because they are easy and delicious and partly because cookie batter is my favorite thing in the world.
Even with being on a very healthy eating plan I love baking as for me baking is more fun than eating the baked goods... don't get me wrong fresh cookies are heavenly BUT I am happy skip the cookie for a salad but enjoy the time baking.
Our last batch of cookies was a 3x choc chip cookie - milk choc, dark choc and white choc.

 My mom got me 2x cookie sheets for my birthday and they are AMAZING!! A definite game changer for cooking baking...

I want to be that mom that bakes delicious goodies for parties and sleepovers - practice makes perfect so cheers to more baking!