A healthy journey

I want to take this post to introduce myself and talk a little bit about my own journey to become a healthier, more active person. 

Growing up I never had to worry about my weight or what I ate.  I played community sports and maybe was just lucky enough to have a fast metabolism. Throughout college and after my weight has fluctuated but with an overall gradual increase. While my husband and I were engaged I started running between 8 and 10 miles a week and really controlled what I ate (probably not in the most healthy way- I ate a lot of canned soups).  I lost almost 40lbs before my wedding and I really loved how I looked and more importantly how I felt.  

My motivator!

I told myself- there is no way I'm going to let myself gain all this weight back- I'm finally managing my weight and feeling great.  But almost four years and two kids later- I'm back where I started, just hoping one day I can get back to wedding day weight, and more importantly just the way I felt about myself. 

For about two or three months I have been really trying to focus on preparing healthier meals at home and trying to fit in a few workouts a week. I would kick my old self in the butt for thinking it was challenge to fit in workouts pre-kids.  (Oh the times I should have spent in the gym instead of sitting on the couch.) 

I'm hoping, and trying my best to stay at it this time... to really turn a corner where I can create a lifestyle change which allows me to be healthy and active in a way I can manage along with being mom. 

I feel like this time I have all the tools for success.  I am motivated this time- for myself, I have learned more about eating properly and cooking and preparing meals.  I know what types of exercise I like and don't like.  I also know that to make a lifestyle change I cannot beat myself up when I have a bad day- I just need to move forward and keep going. 

I would love get back into my wedding dress one day- but more importantly I want to raise children who are active and healthy. I also want to be healthy for them- they are my motivation.

I'm just at the beginning of this journey.... but I am looking forward to conquering it. 

Momma's Cooking!

It's been almost two years since I have posted in here.  I have decided to revamp and refocus this blog. Let me reintroduce myself-  my name is Jackie; I am a busy full-time working mom with two children, a two-year-old and a 3-month old. 

I have recently discovered a joy for cooking.  I love creating quick and simple new meals that are flavorful and toddler approved.  I do however, have some rules when it comes to what I will make:

•  I need the meals to be quick
•  I need to be able to be multi-task while making them  (has there ever been a mom not doing 1,000 things as once)
• And finally and maybe most importantly the meals need to require minimal dishes (because cleaning the dishes is still part of dinner and time is everything to a busy momma)

DISCLAIMER:
I am by no means a chef- and I know I do not have proper knife skills or technique.  But what I am is a mom who is trying to get a dinner on the table, in bellies and cleaned up while there is still some time to play before the bed time routine begins!

I do not think I am alone in this daily struggle... that is the life of every mom ever!  I hope this new blog can be a place where you can find a helpful recipe or silly story that will make you smile (I'm sure some kids stories will sneak in there).

Every mom knows there is nothing better than a crockpot dinner, or leftovers!  Well these recipes combine both!  

I made a 5lb roast in the crockpot about a month ago- needless to say we had a ton of leftovers.  A month later... when I am starting to need my dishes back- I decide I have to come up with something for all the leftover meat and veggies.  I was able to create three more dinners out of this one crockpot meal! (MOM WIN!)

 Here's the original roast recipe 

 Crock Pot Roast:

• Pot Roast- seasoned with black pepper, salt and garlic
• Beef Broth- 14 oz
• Can of Beer
• Vegetables- I used Broccoli, carrots, and Cauliflower but you can substitute any that you want to throw in there. In the future I would throw the broccoli in for the last hour or so- it cooks much faster and my broccoli was way over cooked. 

Combine everything in the crockpot and cook for 8 hours on low.  

My favorite leftover roast recipe were these barbecue quesadillas! My son loves tortillas- we usually don't even buy sandwich bread because he won't eat a sandwich but if you stick turkey and cheese in a tortilla- he is all over it! Needless to say tacos and quesadillas are a staple at our house! 

Leftover Recipe: 

Barbecue Quesadillas: 

• Thaw and Microwave the leftover roast meat until warm. 
• Mix in your favorite barbecue sauce with roast
• Cut up bell peppers and sauté in a skillet with a little bit of olive oil
• Combine meat and bell peppers on a tortilla top with more barbecue sauce and cheese
• Place another tortilla on top and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes or until the tortilla becomes crunchy

And that's it! Enjoy! 

I have loved experimenting in the kitchen and creating dinners that my family is enjoying, and I am proud to have made. I will not lie I do a lot of Pinteresting to find some of these recipes, but more and more I'm actually kind of making some of these up as I go along. 

Thanks guys and welcome to my crazy kitchen! 

Bon Appetite! 

Jackie

Picture Perfect Mess

Can I just be real for a minute.... (hopefully without offending anyone... too much).

I recently started following some other mommy bloggers on instagram in an effort to see what others were doing and how I could promote my blog.  I now have this constant stream of perfect mommy pictures featuring flawless make-up,  perfectly tousled hair in super adorable outfit out on some adventure to a farm, zoo, beach, etc.  Now I don't know these people- maybe this is their everyday life and I guess wow- that's amazing- you sound like you are leading a life close to the Rich Kids of Beverly Hills.  (Thanks E!  for that gem of a show) That's a great life, if they are happy- then I'm happy for them. Unfortunately, that's not my life, nor do I want it to be.  I have to believe that I'm not the only one who leads a life that's filled with just a bit more chaos and mess.

This is my life...  My dog should not be trusted when left alone! 

This is how I look 90% of my life.

When my son was first born I was gross, like all the time! I'd have maybe five minutes a day without spit-up, snot, drool or some other bodily fluid on me.  I was on maternity leave- yoga pants and a t-shirt were my uniform. I didn't have time or energy to pose for a picture edit and share it with a world. Even now my son is almost one  I'm still pretty much a mess most of the time- I go work and then come home and if I'm not in comfy clothes in like five minutes- it's kind of a bad day (haha).

My husband and I both work full-time jobs with varying schedules we see each other sometimes for five minutes a day and usually I'm half a sleep when it happens.  When we do have a day off together half the time it involves household chores. I spend at least one or two nights a week at home alone with my son, trying to fit in walking the dog, making dinner and cleaning up dinner, doing a load of laundry, showering while entertaining my son and keeping the dog from eating the bathroom rugs, giving my son a bath and getting him in his jammies all before the MELTDOWN hits!

I'm not complaining.  I'm pretty sure this is just the life of a mom.  I know I'm not alone. Maybe I'm just following the wrong moms but I don't care about your cute new tunic sweater, I don't care about this great new mascara- if you have time to spend writing a product review on mascara- you are not my crowd. Guess how I buy my mascara- I go to the store look at all the brands and say well these are all too expensive- I guess I'll buy the cheapest one. I'm certainly not researching them on blogs before I go pick one out.

None of that is helpful to my everyday life.  Tell me where I can save money on a family activity, a easy quick recipe, tell me a story when everything just fell apart and all you could do was laugh at the insanity.  That's whats helpful to me, make me laugh, tell me I'm not the only one who's husband just can't manage to get the dishes all the way to the dishwasher.

This is my life. I coupon, groupon, and sign-up for anything that will send me a birthday or anniversary deal! I live on crockpots and casseroles. I multi-task with laundry, dinner and cleaning the house in the hour my son takes a nap.

If your life is a little closer to mine, I hope you will subscribe and follow my blog.  I promise I won't only share the perfect times in my life.  I'll hopefully be helpful with recipes, deals, and kid crafts and honest when it comes to the messes and struggles of a working mom's life.

J.S.

See you later...

My family and I just experienced the closest thing to a real life "Notebook" story.  My last post I told you about losing my Grandma, well exactly a month to the day later we lost my Grandpa.  I told you-they just couldn't be apart for too long.  In the history of couples that belong together- there is Mickey and Minnie, Romeo and Juliet, and not far behind- Ed and June.

I know we are relieved that they can be together again, free from pain- reliving the glory days of drinking beer, playing cards and dancing.  But I think this loss has hit a bit harder.  Maybe because somehow it's more definite. Not that before Grandma was coming back, but with Grandpa here- part of their family was still here, there was still Grandma and Grandpa's house to visit.  The lost of Grandma was still so fresh and now there is Grandpa too.  I think its just hitting everyone a little harder.

Together Grandma and Grandpa lit up a room- their smiles, and laughter just filled a room with joy and love. But in my last post I shared with you a little bit about my Grandma, so it's only fair that this one I tell you about my Grandpa.  He was the kindest man, a true gentleman. He always put everyone before himself. He loved his family and his wife more than anything. I believe his greatest joys were when all of his children, grandchildren and eventually great grandchildren were together.

I can't really sum up my Grandpa's whole 91 years of life in just a few sentences but I can say he was warm, loving, sweet, jovial, funny and just always seemed to enjoy life.  My amazing aunt put together a video tribute that really sums his spirit and life up better than I ever could. http://vimeo.com/106232790.

I will share a few of my favorite Grandpa memories though.
When I was little and we would go out to eat with my grandparents and I'd get a dessert, Grandpa always take a bite first and say, "I better test that out for you- make sure it's OK." He was funny, clever, quick-witted and a little corny, but in a way that can only be Grandpa.  Along with playing card games- which Grandma and Grandpa taught us all at an early age- we also played dominos.  I remember my Grandpa getting so frustrated with the game- he always ended up with the worst tiles- nothing to play and a million points to add up at the end. Without fail every game at some point (usually still in the first round or two) included Grandpa saying with great frustration "I hate this game!"  I have to say this phrase comes up in every game we play as a family- at some point, by someone- but we always play again.

We have already begun cleaning out Grandma and Grandpa's house- and each child and grandchild has taken a little something to have in our own homes- a way to remind us of them, keep them close to us. It's been hard- filled with tears, stress and heartache- but also some laughter and even a few happy tears- laughter is healing- and if there is something we can always make each other do it's- laugh.

I believe is ghosts, angels, spirits- whatever you want to call them.  I believe even after someone leaves this world physically they are still here with us. They are still a part of our lives. I've felt it.

I lost my best friend over two years ago and on multiple occasions since I've felt her with me.  Things have happened that maybe could be explained in some other way- but I don't care to explain them in any other way.  I know they were Lauren saying hi, or just being with me. I know the night my son was born- I called on Lauren- I was scared and anxious and had no idea what to expect- I just said Lauren help me through this, be with me. And I know she was.  Another time right after I visited Lauren's gravestone-the first time I had taken Elijah with me-I was pulling out of the cemetery and my inside car lights turned on, and started beeping like my trunk was open.  But it was not it hadn't opened in several days.  Now you have to know that Lauren had this obsession with checking her car to make sure her trunk was closed - she would always double, triple check it every time we left my house. I know that when I left the cemetery that was just Lauren saying hello.

I also believe this has already happened with my Grandma.  The Thursday after my Grandma's funeral I was driving to work and lightning struck right in front of my car- maybe five-ten feet away. It was SCARY!  But I was ok- I know that was my Grandma just saying hi.  I know this sounds strange too- but my Grandma was electric! Every house she had ever lived in-since she was 5 years old had been struck by lightning- and she moved a lot!

Sure these situations could be coincidences and maybe they can all logically be explained but I'd rather believe that the people I love who have passed on are with me, watching over me, helping me. I believe after someone passes on- that we can carry them with us our whole lives and a part of them lives on with us. I also believe these same loved ones carry us through some of the darkest, hardest times of our lives. Times when we feel like giving up, when we are so overwhelmed they push us to continue through to the lighter times.

So as sad as we all are now-dealing with the fresh losses of Grandma and Grandpa  (and I'll tell you heaven got some good ones this past month)  I know I have just gained two more people who will be watching over me, and I'll be looking for a hello from them every once in a while!  So I will not say goodbye Grandpa- I'll just say See you later!

Love you Grandpa!

JS

Saying Goodbye

Two weeks ago today we lost my Grandma. It's not that this was a total shock- she had been sick, I guess it just came a little faster than anyone thought.  My family and I are all relieved she did not have to suffer too long.  But her not being with us in this world has left us with sorrow, grief and longing.

Grandma and Grandpa at my wedding in 2012

My Grandma was just what you picture when you think of "Grandma"- she always had a candy jar- maybe two out in her house (one with Skittles, one with chocolate) and no matter how quiet you tried to be sneaking candy before dinner you'd hear from the other room, "I heard that."  I remember her and my Grandpa taking care of me one summer and spending almost the entire summer teaching me to shuffle cards- we play a lot of card games in my family- so you gotta learn young!  I remember taking a train ride with my cousins and grandparents and Grandma pulling lemon drops out of her purse for us to snack on during the train ride- even though I'm pretty sure the train was taking us to lunch!  She was loving, joyful, clever and funny- she was Grandma.

When I think of the "leader" in our family- I think of her.  She organized get-togethers, hosted parties, planned trips. I hope she knows she left a family who will continue on the parties,  get-togethers and traditions she started.  We will even continue the traditions we each complain and grumble through- Christmas cookie decorating, every year we make too many- but every year we make the same.  It's what we do, and we will continue to do. Because who doesn't love Christmas cookies until Valentine's Day!  :)

The hardest part of this loss is seeing my Grandpa without her.

My entire life I never saw my Grandma and Grandpa apart (I mean maybe by a room- Grandma in the kitchen, Grandpa watching the game in the family room).  They truly lived their lives together- is there anything more amazing then to honestly be able to say you shared your whole life with someone- from 16 years old on?   It's just amazing and so lovely!  She passed away peacefully, holding my Grandpa's hand- I can't think of a more peaceful way for her to pass on.

I absolutely love this picture from my Grandparents wedding. 

My Grandpa is being strong, he is heartbroken but he is still getting up, smiling, laughing and yelling at the Reds, or Bengals.  (There isn't always a lot to cheer about with Cincinnati sports)

Grandma help create a family filled with support, laughter and love for each other.  At her memorial there was a sadness of saying goodbye but a lightness as well. We were all together and I think that makes us realize how strong we are as a family.  I see a part of her in all of us and that will help carry on her memory and legacy. 

After we cried for our loss, we laughed remembering good times, and planning for future memories.  I do not think there is anything more healing then laughter.  I'm proud to be a part of a family that never ceases to smile, laugh and love. 

Love you Grandma! 

JS

Thriving in Chaos....

I'm not sure how everyone else feels...maybe it's something all moms' feel- or maybe I'm just weird- but I feel like I am so much more productive, happy and satisfied when I have just about too much on my plate!

I really started to notice it when I was in college- my last semester of college- I was taking a full class load- had three part-time jobs and an internship- I was BUSY- but I loved it- I knew what I had to do each day and I went to bed feeling accomplished each night!  That semester was the only semester my entire college (and possibly high school) career I got a 4.0 GPA!

After graduation my first "Big Girl Job" was as an administrative assistant- I was BORED out of my mind- and as a result of not being challenged at work I got a little complacent and lazy in my personal life too- I was itching for more projects, more responsibility, more challenges.  My second job outside of college was at a waterpark in marketing, and planning events- I loved it!  I got to be creative, organized, have fun and working with the public there was just a bit of craziness!


In the past few years I've had a couple of career changes, planned a wedding, bought a house and oh yeah had a baby- so it's kept me pretty busy! Just when things are starting to calm down- and I feel like I'm kind of getting the hang of things professionally and personally- I'm itching for more! I need a creative release, a project, a trip, an adventure!

I'm so happy right now in my life- I love seeing my son grow and change everyday- he's getting to such a playful age, and our puppy provides just another dash of unbridled energy. I'm happy but I'm also itching for something more-professionally and creatively. (Without taking too much time away from my little man- because he comes before everything else in my life.)

Something I know I am missing- is something we did in my time in marketing at the waterpark.  We put together little videos showing guests and events at the park. I have always loved movies and it was so fun to quickly make these promo videos highlighting the park.  It was probably my favorite thing to do at the park.  I miss it- I wish there was some aspect of my career now that gave me a reason to make something similar- but real estate doesn't exactly provide the same chaos and fun as a waterpark.

While planning my wedding I did put together a fairly long slideshow presentation of my husband and I growing up and had it transition through several different songs. I may be a little biased but I thought it was pretty good!  I also designed and printed my own wedding invitations, save the date cards, programs, cards for the guest gift and thank you cards.  Everything went together, and fit into the look of my wedding. Again- I may be biased but I was very proud of my wedding and the look I created was exactly what I wanted.

My point to all of this is- I'm itching to get some more creativity into my life.   Designing- invites, cards, whatever- I can probably do it.  Or I can put together photos, or video clips into a movie.  Just let me know what you need or what you are looking for and I'd be happy to try and help!

I loved planning my wedding day, and creating all the special little parts of it that make it unique and personal.  I love meeting new people, talking wedding and family and I'd love to help someone else plan their big day.  I've planned a number of different events in my personal and professional life- so I am very familiar with the process.

If there is something you would like my help with- designing, planning or editing- send me a message, leave me a comment, or connect with me on- twitter, instagram or pinterest.  I'd love to help- and apparently I'm lacking a little organized chaos in my life right now- haha!

Some of us just live for the mayhem- and I'm one of them- if it doesn't come my way I go looking for it!  :)

Summertime Adventures

I know it has been a while! I apologize I have been wanting to update- but I can't quite get my thoughts all in order- so while I work through this writers block- here's a photo update of some of our recent adventures!

Summer has finally arrived in Ohio and we have been having so much fun!

It's not quite the same fun that summer used to bring with weekend trips, vacations, and theme parks and all day adventures but we are definitely still having fun!  Trips and outings just take a bit more planning.

We are trying to get back out there!  Over the winter I feel like I really did hibernate- too cold and snowy to want to go anywhere especially with a newborn- but  I'm trying to figure it all out now and find out some good places we can go and fun things we can do! If you have any ideas/suggestions send them my way!

So far we have:

Springtime Family Photos! 

Gone to the park to walk and take new family photos- this was actually more spring time but that's ok!

Trip to the Zoo! 

We went to the zoo on a especially cold late spring/early summer day- it was obviously so much fun it worn the little guy out!  And it was so cold we were only there about two hours but the first couple animals he did really enjoy seeing!

Four Generations! 

We celebrated Tony's birthday with a cookout! Which also included a visit from his Grandparents from Florida and Aunt and her family.  It was so great because we had four generations all together for a family shot!

Father's Day! 

Tony had his first Fathers Day!  Which was such a busy and special day!  It started out with coffee and his favorite donuts, and ended up with a first time swimming for little man and a new addition to the family- a puppy named Cody!  

Where did I pee??? You'll never guess! 

Cody has been a great addition.  I know some people have said we are crazy- but you know I just don't like boredom so why not take on a puppy and a baby! haha.  Little man loves the pup though so all the crazy is worth it!

First time hitting the pool! 

It doesn't look like I am having too much fun...
But I promise I love it! 

Best Buds! 

Nap Time is better when we snuggle!

I'd say we are having a pretty good summer so far!  I'll keep working through this writers block and hopefully have something more informative next time! :)