Pool Time!!!

Since we got our 1-year memberships at the Holladay Lions Fitness & Rec Center, we decided to take advantage of a warm day about a week and a half ago and take Isaac to the pool for the first time. It was so much fun! I didn't plan on getting in the water since I was dressed to work out afterwards, so Manuel got in with Isaac. His first reaction was a little fear and clearly by the first picture of him and Manuel, he was reaching for me almost in tears to take him out. So I ended up rolling up my pants and getting in with him so he wouldn't be scared. I swung him back and forth and showed him how to splash in the water and eventually, he really started to enjoy it. By the end, he didn't want to leave and he was just having so much fun. It was so fun for us as parents to see him learning and trying something new. We've since taken him again and plan to hopefully take him once every week during the summer, if not more. I myself have always had a love for the water and for swimming since I was just a little girl and plan to teach our kids to swim as well. Here are some pictures from that day:

This was actually the last picture we took right before leaving, when a really nice girl offered to take this for us :)

"Mommy, save me!"

Isaac starting to have some fun

A little blurry, but I love how happy Isaac looks here :)

And last week, I was a little lazy with taking pictures of the meals we ate but here was what probably ended up being my favorite. It's another from Gina from skinnytaste.com called Asian Turkey Meatballs with Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/01/asian-turkey-meatballs-with-lime-sesame.html

I didn't have sesame oil on hand so I just used some canola oil and threw in some sesame seeds. The recipe also makes large meatballs, but I made mine smaller using a small cookie dough scoop. These meatballs have so much flavor! I didn't eat mine with noodles that night for dinner since I was trying to save on calories and carbs that day, but I made Manuel's with some udon noodles and I'm sure they'd also be delicious over some brown rice. I actually plan on making this again this week but I'm going to try adding some spinach to the meatball mix just to include some extra nutrition. You gotta give these a try, sooo good!

Until next time, love to our family and friends!

Mother's Day & Other Weekly Highlights

The last week and a half have been great. Manuel finished up with his finals on the 2nd, completing his first year of pharmacy school. I'm so proud of him for doing so well! I know it's not easy to be in such an intense program, especially when you have a small (and at times, demanding) family to take care of. Manuel has been a great support to me at home on top of his studies. He has especially helped me out by taking care of Isaac while I'm at the piano and organ throughout most of the meetings at church and more recently, taking care of him while I am putting in my time and efforts at the gym. Since Manuel finished up with his finals the beginning of last week, we've had some great quality time to spend together as a family as well as time to get some things done that had been put on the back burner for some time. It's great to accomplish these things before Manuel gets going again this coming Monday with his summer classes. Luckily they will only last 8 weeks and then we'll have the rest of the summer to spend together but hopefully Manuel will also have a job by then. Isaac has been a bundle of fun and is always surprising us with new smiles, laughs, sounds, and facial expressions. Here are some photos of Isaac from the last couple of weeks:

All messy after smearing Split Pea Soup all over his face and hair :)

"Mom, this is not amusing!"

"Okay, maybe it is..."

Pushing Daddy around on his trike

And Daddy then pushing Isaac on his trike

And Isaac helping Mommy cook dinner

Mother's Day was better than I could have imagined. First, my mom surprised me by sending me a beautiful bouquet of flowers that arrived on Friday.

Then, Saturday Manuel brought me home a gorgeous bouquet of roses and a beautiful card.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing, taking Isaac to the park, and a late-night movie at home. Sunday morning, I woke up to Isaac giving me hugs and kisses, more than usual which means I think he secretly knew it was a special day for his Mama. Manuel told me the thought crossed his mind to make me breakfast but knew that since I was on my diet, I probably wouldn't be able to eat it. I appreciated the thought but also appreciated that he wanted to support me in my goals :) We got ready and went to church and then drove down to Provo to spend the afternoon and eat dinner with Manuel's parents and grandma. It was a really great time, and although it was raining, we even took Isaac to the nearby park. Maybe that was a mistake though, we all got soaked! But the drive home in the pouring rain was relaxing enough for Isaac to fall asleep and I was glad to be in a heated car. Here's a picture Manuel took of me and Isaac at the park:

And finally, some more fun adventures in healthy cooking but just a couple of recipes to share this week:

Huevos Rancheros - http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/04/huevos-rancheros.html
(These were so easy to make, and sooo good! This was Manuel's portion by the way, I just thought it looked bigger and better for the picture)

Split Pea Soup with Ham - http://www.skinnytaste.com/2008/03/split-peas-soup-with-ham-2-points.html
(Also a super yummy dish, I served this with reduced-fat crescent rolls)

Barbacoa Beef - http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/04/barbacoa-beef.html
(I was planning on serving this over brown rice but decided to use quinoa instead which turned out pretty good. The only negative was that I went a little heavy on the chipotle peppers and it ended up a little too spicy--lesson learned!)

Hopefully with the warmer days approaching this weekend, we'll have even more fun pictures to share before Manuel is back to school. Until next time, love to all our family and friends!