Fitness recaps

2 weeks ago:

monday-4 miles jog, 1 mile walk
tuesday-1 hour bootcamp class
wednesday-spartacus workout from women's health book
thursday-1 hour bootcamp class, 1 mile walk
friday-REST
saturday-the firm: cardio overdrive dvd, (repeat 1 extra cardio segment)
sunday-REST

last week:

monday-REST
tuesday-1 hour bootcamp class, 10 miles spin
wednesday-REST
thursday-1 hour bootcamp class, 30 min. spin
friday-denise austin core complete dvd
saturday-14 miles spin, 2 miles tempo run
sunday-REST

pounds to go until prepregnancy weight-2

i have been exercising still, i just haven't been good with blogging since we moved. its kind of the last thing i have felt like doing. but, today i felt like i should update with my fitness info.

im pretty excited im getting just a little closer to my weight goal! since we moved, we are 20 minutes away from our gym, instead of our 4 minutes we were before. so it takes a lot more planning to get us to the gym. i try to go to the gym at least twice a week to the bootcamp classes . i LOVE that class. i think im pretty good at pushing myself when i workout, but i push even harder during that class. my competitive nature comes out a wee bit, so i tend to work harder there. to me, it is more of an athletic bootcamp than a "traditional" bootcamp, and i think that is why i like it so much! so, if u have a gym membership with a bootcamp class, try it out! its a great way to make new friends and work hard!
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Mackenzie is 9 months old!

she loves to eat, sleep, crawl, and be held

she just learned how to crawl and to pull up and stand while holding onto things

she loves playing with her brothers

she loves to claw my face when she nurses

she finally takes a bottle! *hallelujah chorus*

she loves to pull at my earrings

she LOVES to take baths and play in the water

it is getting hard to change her diaper because she just wants to roll over as soon as i lay her down

she loves books

she loves eating paper products such as-paper, magazines, flaps from childrens books, paper towels, ect. so i have to keep watch to make sure she doesn't choke

she is getting better at riding in the car, but will scream as soon as shes not ok anymore

still wakes up during the night, but usually only once now

is starting to be opinionated with her hair : ). she doesnt keep bows or headbands in for very long anymore- bummer!

everyone mentions how "healthy" her thighs are. i sure love her healthy thighs!

she has the cutest growl. shes got to have something to scare her brothers away : )

she has such a fun/funny personality already! it will be fun to watch her grow!!!

we are for sure in love with this little lady!

mary poppins made a pizza

so, sometimes i feel like im still a 5 year old when people ask me what my favorite food is. i remember filling out an "about me" form at one point in elementary school, and it still has not changed. i just freakin love pizza. and im glad i passed on this love to my children. : )

we definately like our little caesar's 5 dollar hot'n'ready pizzas because its a. cheap, b. easy, and c. it fills my pizza craving when im too lazy to make it. lets face it though, sometimes i just want it EXACTLY how i want it- thick crust, lots of sauce, some veggies, and garlic a'plenty. so, i make it homemade. since we have been married, i have tried at least 7 different completely homemade pizza dough recipes, and even partially homemade (jiffy pizza mix). they have been alright, but not my ideal. either too dense, lacking flavor, takes too much effort to make, or takes too much time. the one im about to give you, i almost don't want to give you. but i will because im trying better to be nice. it is SO stinkin good and im pretty sure it will be called mary poppins pizza (mary poppins is practically perfect in every way! c'mon now!)  its half whole wheat, so i feel like im treating myself well when i have seconds, and thirds.

to sum it all up...
1. can make it as thick as you want
2. comes up so fluffy
3. easy to make-like seriously easy!
4. is the least time consuming pizza dough recipe ive ever seen
5. best tasting crust ive ever made.

ive made this pizza twice in the last 2 weeks, and im planning on making it tomorrow night after i go grocery shopping. i don't think i brag a whole lot when i succeed at cooking, but when it is actually good (which is rare), i cant help but talk about it for a few days to ryan. "remember how good that pizza was the other night??" when i made the pizza last week, i found myself hand-tossing my dough in the kitchen by myself and envisioned myself owning a successful and well-loved pizzeria. then my kids came running in screaming they were hungry and i came back to reality.

so, here it is. i got the recipe for the dough off of a bag of Hodgson Mill whole wheat flour.

Mary Poppins Pizza Crust (i named it that lol, but its just called whole wheat pizza dough on the company's recipe)
hodgsonmill.com

1 package active dry yeast (i have a big tub of yeast in the freezer, so i just took a Tablespoon out. i figured thats about right?maybe? i should google it.)
1 cup of warm water (110 degrees F)
1 -1/2 c whole wheat flour
2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon olive oil
1- 1/2 cup unbleached white flour (i just used regular all-purpose flour)

Directions-
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Allow to rest 5 minutes. Stir in whole wheat flour, sugar, salt, olive oil, and 1 cup of white flour. Knead in remaining unbleached white flour by hand (about 5-7 minutes. dough will be smooth and elastic). Spray medium size bowl with cooking spray. Place dough in bowl and turn to coat. Cover and allow to rise in warm, draft-free place for 15 minutes. Spray 14-in. pizza pan or cookie sheet. stretch dough across pan, top, and bake at 425 degrees until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.

last friday we were uber hungry, so i doubled the recipe and made 2 pizzas. i also hand-tossed the dough (lol or what i believe hand-tossing dough looks like) after it rose and before i stretched it across the pan. then after it was on the  pan, i sprayed with cooking spray (you could drizzle olive oil) and sprinkled garlic powder over top. I like to prebake the dough about 5 minutes without toppings first, so i did that next. then i took it out and topped it with what we had, then finished cooking until cheese was melted/ crust was golden brown.

we usually like pepperoni and cheese, but we didn't have pepperoni. so, cheese it was-mozzarella and cheddar. i just used store bought spaghetti sauce for the pizza sauce. that pizza was more for the kids, but it was scrumptious! then i had everything and more to make a bbq chicken pizza, so i made that too. i used precooked chicken from my fridge, mixed with bbq sauce, dried cilantro,chopped red onion, red bell pepper, and avocado. topped with mozz and chedd cheese and it was THE best. pizza. ever.

*added 9/8/12: I made the pizza last night with changing out the 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, to only using 1/2 c all purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour. So that would make 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour total. It was a lot harder to knead by hand, but I can imagine using a mixer would be easier. I also had to add little extra oil (I used canola last night) and a little extra water. I don't know how much, but enough to get it to the texture I wanted, so just add a little bit, like 1/2 tsp at a time, knead it in, then add more if you need to. If you knead to. : )

i can't wait till tomorrow night.

after we had this pizza, i told ryan i will make pizza now every friday night for dinner because its just THAT easy and THAT good. and that is why i was depressed today when i looked in the fridge and we had no cheese. i know i could make it without, but it wouldn't be the same.

The big 5!

April 27th was Tucker's birthday!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TUCK!!

Look who's 5 now!!!

 I got the crepe paper idea off of pinterest... but it didn't work out as planned. when the boys woke up, they were confused and tucker did not burst through it like i thought he would. he and cole both just carefully climbed in between the streamers to get in an out of their room. finally i told tucker he was supposed to destroy it. so he did. : )

nice crush mustache tuckie!

I can't believe my baby is 5!!! He asked for sunny side up eggs, fruit, and pancakes with sprinkles for his birthday breakfast. we had to get stuff ready for his birthday party, so we just hung out at home during the day. the boys played outside, and tucker even helped me get some things ready. he helped peel the carrots and add ingredients to the cake. he had a crazy (but fun) birthday party that night. i think next time i need to actually figure out a limit of how many kids can come. i think we had somewhere between 15 and 20 kids, ranging from the ages of 8 months to 8 years. for me, i think it was what one might define as chaos. the kids had fun though!!! and thats all that matters : ) and im bummed i didn't get a picture with him! i just totally forgot. im telling you, this party was nuts! (or maybe it was just me that was nuts? : )

before he went to bed, i did a birthday interview so for your entertainment and my records, here it is (i wrote down exactly how he answered):

Tucker's 5th Birthday Interview

How old are you? 5

Who is your best friend? Cole

What is your favorite thing to do? Play with racecars

What is your favorite color? Red and blue

What is your favorite food? Pizza

What do you like to do with your family? Go to the temple with them (we just went as a family to Kansas city for the LDS temple open house last weekend. he was so thrilled to get to go inside and see the beauty and sacredness of House of the Lord. he even told us he felt the holy ghost. such a sweetheart!)

What is your favorite toy? Racecar

What do you want to be when you grow up? Racecar driver

What makes you happy? Hugs

What makes you sad? When someone pushes me

What is your favorite show to watch? Popeye the Sailor Man

What is your favorite book? Dinosaur books

What do you love to learn about? Jesus

What was the best part of your birthday? Inviting friends over

Where do you like to go? Park

Who was your teacher? I don't know. Like your sunday school teacher? I don't know.

What is your favorite treat? Cake, Cake and Ice cream

What do you think about before you fall asleep? About Jesus (so sweet!)

If you could meet someone famous, who would it be? Shark boy (I tried so hard not to laugh. i did smile big though, and he did too : ) He answered that so fast and his eyes were kind of like "whoa that was fast" that I think he actually surprised himself with that answer! : )

What was your favorite birthday present? all of the stuff, bb gun.

What is the color of your hair? I don't know. The color of your hair.... I have no hair.

What color are your eyes? Blue

What is your favorite drink? Pop

What is your favorite fruit? Apples

The coolest person on earth is? Me

The thing you do most awesomely is? Do a flip off of your working out chair (my exercise ball)

The thing you like to do most with daddy is? Go fishing with him

The thing you like to do most with mommy is? Help you. who? You, make a cake.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? The sea

What is your favorite memory? Going on an airplane

I feel so blessed to have Tucker in my life! I am amazed every day with how funny, smart, crazy, caring, curious, and good he is! He is an amazing son, brother, and friend! He loves his siblings so much and is always helping me when I ask for help (like when mackenzie barfs all over me and i need the wipes! : ) I feel so humbled to be his mother. I love this sweet little man and can't wait (although, really, i can...) to continue to watch him grow! I love you Tuck!!! Happy Birthday!!

** sidenote- i took him to kindergarten registration/screening on thursday. i had to hold back the tears. i felt like i was dreaming!!! he did so well and impressed the principal with his intelligence and humor : )