Just A Few Pictures...

Hello Everyone!

Hope you all had a good day visiting with family and relaxing if you happened to be off for this Memorial Day weekend. We had a wonderful time visiting with family today. I'm too exhausted from such an awesome day to do too long of a post....but.... Our family got to get wet in a pool. Sunshine Mama got to float around with 4-year-old Peach Blossom...and...
2-year-old Stavesacre who clung to me for dear life. But I secretly enjoyed all of his close little hugs and holds. Who wouldn't love to have those little arms wrapped tightly around you?

But, don't worry...he did get some cake afterward.

We celebrated a few birthdays today.

I was so caught up in the day, that this was the only food picture I got.

They served some key lime pie, which was just wonderful.

For those who would like to see more pictures of our family, I will be doing a post tomorrow on our family blog.

Too tired to post the boatload of pictures tonight.

I can't wait to visit everyone and see how your weekend went. Especially Sarah and the theme park they went to in Germany.

Until then, Have a great Tuesday!

Sincerely,

Sunshine Mama

Thankyou...And Lefse Tacos

Hello friends!

How is everyone's weekend going? Good I hope.

Just wanted to thank you for your compliments on yesterday's picture....especially Dawn's comment...comparing me to J-Lo!!

Goodness gracious, Dawn...it was so unexpected I laughed out loud. (but, hey, keep it coming)

I see people are still also salivating over that gigantic apple fritter. I liked Jenn's idea of caramelizing some apples, taking some whipped cream, getting another fritter and slapping it together for a huge apple fritter sandwich. LoL!! And, no, Lindsey that fritter was NOT low calorie.

Well, despite that huge fritter...I am not completely abandoning my healthy eating ways. Tonight I fixed tacos for the family... On these occasions what I like to do is to use my 30 calorie lefse instead of using a 50 calorie hard shell or a 130 calorie soft shell. Remember, lefse is a Norwegian treat that is made from potatoes and some flour. Very tasty stuff.

I had another taco besides the two in the picture and I figured out that with 2 tbl of taco meat, 1 tbl of mozzarella cheese, a few dabs of sour creme, olives, lettuce and tomato...each taco totaled about 123 calories for a meal that stayed under 400 calories. And I was quite fat and happy afterward.

Well, tomorrow is Memorial Day or just Monday for some. I hope you all have some enjoyable weather and eat well.

Sincerely,
Sunshine Mama

Here's A Little Picture

Happy Saturday, everyone!!

I went out last night with Daddy Rainmaker and put together this outfit. I figured this photo would work for you all since I didn't post a 17 week along picture.

Also wanted to welcome a few of you new commenters. Thanks for your input and for visiting. Today was a lazy day where we all slept in. I did get in a leg workout in the late morning and it felt great. I haven't pulled out that stair stepper that we have in the garage yet to try and get it working. Maybe tomorrow.

Hope you're all enjoying the weekend!

Sincerely,
Sunshine Mama

Fantasy Food Friday...A Giant Apple Fritter

Hello everyone! It's the day you've all been waiting for where I talk about a food that I fantasize about, but shouldn't necessarily eat.

I made you all guess what the food fantasy was last week when I posted an eeny teeny tiny piece of the picture. I was very impressed with Ruth's guesses of elephant ears, funnel cakes, and crepes. In fact, I may just make some funnel cakes a food fantasy topic in the near future. But it was Jenn who took me by surprise when she totally guessed it. And if you visit her blog, you'll see her wearing her wedding dress. She looks great!!

This is a gigantic apple fritter that's well...almost as big as two heads. It's made right here in La Crosse WI by Mr. D's doughnuts. My history with Mr. D's Doughnuts goes way back to when my dad used to deliver doughnuts for them as a side job. I can't quite remember if he ever brought any doughnuts home, but I'm sure he did.

Then, when I was in college if we got hungry in the middle of the night...we just walked over to Mr. D's. They had a window open all night and early morning after the regular restaurant closed. you could go up to the guys baking inside and pay them 50 cents for a freshly made doughnut.

Then, a few years ago, the city had to widen the streets and so Mr. D's got downsized and turned into a doughnut/coffee shop. But they still make great doughnuts.

I do think their apple fritter is the best apple fritter I've ever had. This entire doughnut costs five bucks! And since I had two very willing people to pose with the doughnut...

I got a little snap- crazy.

But you have to admit, it is quite large.

Also, there are actual apple chunks on the doughnut.

The doughnut crust itself is baked perfectly.

A certain heavy duty crispness to the edges

The right mixture of cinnamon, and moistness inside.

And the icing...well, it's like the icing on the cake....or the apple fritter.

See? Now doesn't that look like it's worth five bucks?

Well, thank you all for patiently waiting for this week's fantasy food. Now I'm off to getting some more awesome things done during this long weekend. My daughter also took a picture of me tonight that I may post tomorrow since it's a nice shot of my baby bump. We don't have any plans to leave town, but we do have a family gathering on Monday.

If you're going away or just relaxing at home this weekend, have a good one!

Sincerely,

Sunshine Mama

Happy Thursday! I'm 17 Weeks Along Today

Happy Thursday folks!!

According to last week's ultrasound, I'm 17 weeks along today!

Yeah!!

No, Dawn, I decided not to post a picture of myself. I guess I didn't feel like being photographed today. Maybe this weekend I will.

Like I mentioned yesterday, I have people that think I'm "tiny" and that I don't even look pregnant. And by the way, thank you very much for your kind comments to that very fact on yesterday's post.

Our 15-year-old daughter also said that to me today...that I didn't look very pregnant. She also said this...

"When are you going to get big?"

So, I said..."I have a LONG ways to go yet."

And she said, "But you're almost half way there!"

I just shook my head, "It takes awhile for the baby to grow and me to get big. But, believe me, when I have "only" seven or eight weeks to go, I will look very pregnant."

Before she even said what she said to me, I had been thinking to myself that..."wow, I have a long ways to go yet. All summer long and all September and October. How the heck am I going to keep myself from gaining too much weight?!? And...I may get tired of being pregnant."

I'm not sure why, everything suddenly seemed so far away. But, I do think that working out 3 to five days a week will help keep my body feeling good...which helps me to feel good.

But I'm not tired of it now. I'm feeling well. I have lots of energy as compared to the first trimester. I don't have any morning sickness. I can still crank out 200 push-ups in a sitting. Ha, had to slip that in there.

Also, I am determined to enjoy this pregnancy to the fullest. So...that means I'm going to plot and plan what to get for the baby and shop at some garage sales for good deals. Yes, Yes, Yes!!

On another note, I have an idea for how to get in more cardio on a regular basis. I've noticed that I get too tired to do cardio right after weight lifting. Also...even though I haven't ran lately...I know that I won't be able to run for at least the last few months before the baby is born.

So...I had this idea to clean up this stair stepper machine that we've had in the garage for about five years and put it downstairs for me to use whenever I want. I think I paid ten bucks for it at a going out of business sale somewhere, but I never really incorporated it.

Geeze, I hope it still works. Ha, Ha! I'll let you know how it goes. It would also be nice to use that inside where it's air conditioned so that I don't get over heated.

Well, I made it to the gym today and accomplished a 45 minute back and biceps work-out.

Tomorrow is Fantasy Food Friday where I will be posting a barrage of photos of the food fantasy that I photographed last weekend. One of you already guessed what it is...but everyone will know tomorrow.

Hope you all have a great Friday!

Sincerely,
Sunshine Mama

I Give Up

Hi everyone!

No, I'm not giving up on eating healthy. I'm just giving up tonight on trying to get to everyone's blogs. I think I managed to visit...um five? Ha...but the visits were really nice. No, just looks like I'll be spreading my love throughout the rest of this week to everyone.

But...I. Am. So. Excited!!!

Why?

Because I have re-organized the "toy situation" at our house...so that it will no longer haunt my waking hours. Of course, so much more is getting accomplished and I am just loving it.

But imagine if you will ...our four younger flowers...7, 5, 4, and 2 all getting toys for Christmas and for their birthdays over the last five years...imagine the amount of toys that amounts to...then imagine little hands quickly moving toys from one end of the house to the other end...quickly mixing in ALL of the toys that have accumulated over the last several years....Can you feel the pain...the frustration that might cause....

But no more.

I now have a "toy closet". All the toys that correspond to a certain theme are in totes...like there is the "cars totes"...the "little People tote", the "army tote", "the batman tote", the "building things tote", the "play food tote"...

No one gets any toys unless...they go through me!!

Ok...so I know this is my diet blog...but really isn't this also about living a healthy life style too? Isn't the retention of our mental faculties also an important aspect of health?

I am so. much. happier.

Now...when we have "quiet time" the kids can pick a tote to play with and then..when done...put it away. Ahh...I'd forgotten what joy can be found watching your child enjoy playing with all of the pieces of the toy you bought them.

Now... I don't have to worry about breaking my neck when I walk through the house in the dark and stumble on a toy... In fact....no stray toys are allowed to inhabit these living quarters unless given permission by....me....Sunshine Mama.

So...that's where I have been the last few days.

And, Ruth...someone actually guessed correctly what my fantasy food that was pictured in that little bitty picture a few days ago. I can't believe it. You guys are too good. I thought for sure that no one would guess it. In fact, I felt a little guilty for posting such a tiny bit of it...when in the back of my mind, I was thinking that no one could possibly guess it.

Now...do I tell you now...or wait until Friday? Oh, what the heck...I'll wait until Friday!

Other than that, I had such good intentions to blog last night...but I laid down around 8:00 ish and fell asleep. I'd done a lot yesterday. I got a leg work-out in; went to the dentist for 90 minutes of drilling with no gas to calm me, a few hours of organizing....yep I was tired.

I'm trying to decide if I should post a picture for Happy Thursday...I'm feeling a little fat. Ha, Ha! It's funny because everyone I see keeps saying I look "tiny", ...and I am compared to what I normally weighed at this time in my other pregnancies...but I still feel a little "big".

Oh...well...I'm still eating well and working out...

Hope you all have a great Thursday!!

Sincerely,
Sunshine Mama

Hello Monday and goodbye!!

I don't know about you, but I'm still re-organizing this house and then I went grocery shopping tonight and it was in the 90's today...so I don't know about you, but I'm ready for sleep.

I didn't get in my work-out like I wanted to, but I felt like I ate mostly healthy today. This was lunch today. I was loving my lefse with one whole scrambled egg and three egg whites.

I drank more than a half a gallon of water which was very easy to do considering how hot it was today. I refrigerated my water ahead of time so it was nice and cold when I drank it.

I was very impressed with Ruth's guess at what that teeny tiny piece of picture was of the food fantasy from yesterday's post. She wasn't right, but...I could totally see that guess making sense.

And you know what? I love funnel cakes and elephant ears. Every year when I go down to Riverfest, I have a funnel cake. It's been a long, long time, however, since I have had elephant ears. Maybe I should look for them this summer.

Which reminds me, when the heck is strawberry picking season around here? I know it's coming soon and I don't want to miss it. I LOVE freshly picked strawberries!! It seems like strawberry season only lasts for about seven days.

Tomorrow I need to make sure I go to the gym. Whenever I get into the "re-organizing bug", it's very easy for me to drop everything else until that thing is done. But, oh my...I am loving how much more organized things are today.

I'm not sure what's more important, organizing your house because it gives your mind mental sanity or working out because it gives you mental sanity.

Well, here's to trying to do both! ha, Ha!!

Besides not working out today, I haven't read any blogs, but I will be making up for that tomorrow folks!

I hope you're all doing well!

Sincerely,

Sunshine Mama

Can You Guess This Food Fantasy?

Good Evening folks!!

It's Sunday and the week is upon up, but I am ready for it!!

How about you?

I have completely slacked on my blog this weekend, but for good reason.

Sunshine Mama was on a mission to get the entire house re-organized. And I can't go half way on these things...so, something had to give and it was the blog this weekend.

I had this great idea for Fantasy food Friday, but didn't get my picture for it until Saturday morning. And, then, I never ended up doing a post...

However, I have a little plan. I thought I'd have some fun with you all and let you guess what the food is for fantasy food Friday this Friday.

The food is made here in La Crosse, WI. But, this food is made many places, all over the country. It tastes delicious. It's as big as two heads, which is one thing that sets it apart from the way it's made in a different facility. Ha!! Hence the picture of my two heads here. They are happy little posers for me.

Can you guess what the fantasy food is? No, big prizes here or anything. But, if you look real hard you can see just a little piece of it in this photo.

I'm in a great mood, because my house is going to be way more organized this Monday morning than it was last Monday morning...I plan on getting in my five days of working out this week.

I had to go shopping for maternity clothes. I picked up some new work-out outfits that weren't maternity. I've discovered that I can buy a size large or even medium in regular clothes and they seem to do the job in covering my belly. I did buy some actual maternity jean shorts in a size xs at Target. This is great! Because all the other times I was pregnant my maternity shorts were at least large if not more.

It was 90 degrees today here and will be so again for the next couple days.

Stay cool folks, and if you're Sarah, I hope it warms up for you in Germany!

Happy Monday!

Sincerely,

Sunshine Mama

I'm 16 Weeks Along, Again, Today!!!

Happy Thursday folks!!

Ok...normally this is the day of the week where I turn another week farther along.

Normally I would say I am 18 weeks along today...But, after my ultra sound two days ago, I'm not quite sure exactly how far along I am and when I turn another week ahead.

Hmm...I suppose I could let this throw me into a quandary because it's nice to have things packaged in nice neat little numbers...like this is what happens on this day, and then I have the baby on that day... So, I'm not sure what to say I am today.

Wait, I do know what to say. I just realized that the ultra sound did generate another due date of November 2, which is also a Thursday. So, I guess that would make me 16 weeks along today. Yeah!! I can still have a happy Thursday!

But....I have to be honest, being 16 weeks along...again... feels a little anti-climatic. Like...I've already been there, done that. But, if I'm really only 16 weeks along...then, I really haven't been there and done that.

I just didn't know the truth. You know...when I thought I was 16 weeks along... two weeks ago. Ha, Ha. This also feels a little funny to me.

I'm also not liking the thought that I have two more weeks of being pregnant than I thought I did. And if you're wondering if I will go early...don't. The most I've ever gone early is maybe by two days. But, I have gone overdue by about two weeks.

Well, I suppose that's enough pregnant talk for one post.

I did get in a work-out today for my biceps and back. I haven't worked out the last two days. So, when I worked out today...I was amazed once again with what a wonderful mood it put me in. My eating has not been the greatest today...but I think overall I am doing well. This photo is of what I had for lunch.

The lady I talked to after my ultrasound said that I should be eating between 2,200-2,500 calories a day.

And you know what? I am. LOL!! Like on the 2,500 calorie end of it.

Do you realize how awfully high that seems to me? But I can't seem to stop myself. Ha, Ha! So, working out at the gym definitely alleviates this feeling that I feel sometimes that I'm just sitting around gaining weight.

Sunshine Mama is definitely not on a diet folks!

Maybe I should change my blog name to Gain 20 Pounds in 10 Months.

Well, I had such a nice time visiting some of you last night. I hope you all have a great night and a wonderful Friday!

Sincerely,
Sunshine Mama

And...It's A....

Hello folks! How are you doing tonight?

So...do you know what today was? We brought all the kids with us to the ultrasound this afternoon to see how the baby is doing and see if we could tell if it's a boy or a girl. This is a picture of our five kids waiting in the lobby before going into to get looked at.

Everyone except Darling Rose is stepping on the ledge. At 5' 10", she would throw off this nice little curve that we have going on.

Here we are in the ultrasound room.

Here is the baby...
Oh, is it a boy or a girl?
Well, take a look!
What do you think?

This photo is compliments of Darling Rose.
She made sure to take several for your viewing pleasure.
This is a view looking inbetween the legs.
And that little bump?
Yes, it's a boy!!!

Guess who happened to be wearing the perfect shirt?
5-year-old Iris Anna.
Everything about baby is looking good, however, there was one little surprise.
The baby is measuring at 16 weeks along instead of almost 18 weeks along.
In fact, they could not get a good reading on his heart so I will be back in a few weeks to have that looked at.
However, all of his other organs, including the head and the brain look normal.
To be honest, I was concerned, but the midwife was not.
Before an ultrasound is taken, due dates are set according to the first day of you last menstrual cycle with conception estimated to occur 14 days after the first day of your last period.
However, ovulation doesn't always occur at exactly 14 days ...it could occur at 19, 21, 28 days after the first day of your last period, which happened with our now two-year-old son.
Hence, the reason that due dates can be off, which appears to be the case here.

But, I have a feeling that until that baby comes out happy and smiling, I will not be completely worry free. Though, I think worry-ing is actually very normal.
This would put my due date at November 2, instead of October 21.
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Well, here's a few pictures of what I ate today...

steel cut oats

grapefruit

some coffee

lunch was refreshing!

This was a Russell Stover peanut caramel cluster.

It was actually pretty good.

I put together some potatoes for tonight.

This is what it looked like cooked up.

I also whipped up some fruit salad.

It was wonderful!

My husband cooked up some chicken quarters too.

It was a wonderful meal that was shared with my parents who stopped over to celebrate the good news of our upcoming baby boy.
We already have a name picked out for our baby boy, but we don't have a boy blog name picked out.

Does anyone have any ideas?

All of our kid's blog names are named after flowers.

I'm not even sure I could give this child a blog flower name until I saw him...

So, until then...I'm not sure what to call him besides..."our son". Ha, ha!

I'll have to think about this.

But for now, all is good.

I didn't get in a work-out today with all the hubbub of this afternoon and this evening, but I plan to hit the gym the rest of this week.

I'm sorry I'm behind on reading up on everyone. Yes, Dawn, I miss you too.

I'm really trying to get my act together. Ha, Ha!

In the meantime, it's practically Wednesday! Everyone have a good one!

Sincerely,

Sunshine Mama

A Trip To A Chocolate Store

Hello everyone! How are you all doing? I'm well!!!

I'm recovering from a busy weekend that involved traveling to a wedding with our whole family and then stopping to smell the roses afterward.

One of those metaphorical roses being this: A Russell Stover outlet store. My sister discovered this store first on her way to the wedding. And, of course, I couldn't resist going to a chocolate outlet store. I mean... I had visions in my mind of chocolates lining the walls...In fact, I even compared it to fellow blogger, SunshineMeg's trip to the Hershey's chocolate factory.

It wasn't quite like that. But it did have plenty of chocolate.

So, here was the beacon in the sky signaling the chocolate store.Do they sell Russell Stover in Canada?

I will admit, though, that Russell Stover isn't my favorite chocolate.

But I really wanted to see what a chocolate outlet store looked like.

And...they sold ice cream and we wanted to treat the kids with some ice cream.

This is the sign that greets you as you walk in.

Nice.

Here's a portion of the store...They sold boxes of chocolate, salt water taffy, jelly beans, and even served up home made fudge in a variety of flavors as well as chocolate pieces.

You can see more of the store in the background.
I guess I wasn't as impressed as I thought I'd be.
I did get some chocolate, though, which I have a photo of coming up.

Most of the kids wanted this "superman" flavored ice cream.

This was mine.

A turtle flavor.

It was ok.

I just threw this in here since I didn't post a 17 week picture.

This is our youngest, 2-year-old Stavesacre.

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Today...after over-eating a "wee" bit this weekend, I hit the ground running this morning with my healthy breakfast.

Steel cut oats.

I loved my lunch.

4 oz of baked red potato-80, with 1/2 tsp of olive oil:13

1 whole egg plus two egg whites-102

2 slices of turkey bacon-40

spinach-5 with 1 tsp of Newman's oil and vinegar dressing-25

3/4 cup of orange juice:about 80

for a total of :340 calories

Then, I ruined it all with this.....

Can anyone guess what this is?

This is what I bought at the home-made chocolates section.

It was fresh...they had just made it on Friday,

and made to look like an ice cream bar.

So, I took a bite...

And...then, another...

It's a chocolate covered rice crispy bar.

I absolutely love rice crispy bars!!!

Oh, how many calories?

I estimated 450.

It was good, but now I'm sick of eating chocolate.

Ick!

I did try to redeem myself with tonight's meal.

1/2 cup of brown rice:100 with 1/2 tsp of olive oil:13

2 slices of turkey bacon: 40

1 whole egg-70 with 2 egg whites-32

spinach-5

1/2 tsp of oil and vinegar dressing-13

total: 273

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Oh, I also did run for at least 30 minutes outside for almost 3 miles. It was a beautiful day!!

I did my push-ups: 45, 55, 35, 30, and 55 for a total of 220.

And, I also did a 40 minute leg work-out.

I was in a great mood after all that working out!!

Also, I did buy some more chocolate that was in packages, but believe it or not, I'm actually thinking about throwing it away. I'm out of the chocolate mood. Maybe I could give it away to someone. I thought of having a give-a-way, but throwing it away seems easier.

Anybody want any chocolate?

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Well, I hope you all had a great weekend!

Thanks for all your excitement about the upcoming ultrasound tomorrow.

It's 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

Everyone here is pumped.

All the kids will be there to see.

It's the first time ever that we'll actually try to see if it's a boy or a girl.

I've planned some healthy celebration food for afterward.

Well, now I need to go visit a few blogs.

Until then, blessings to you all!

Sincerely,

Sunshine Mama

Fantasy Food Friday...Garlic Smarlic Bread

Good Evening folks!

After one week off, I'd like to welcome you all back to Fantasy Food Friday where I talk about a food I fantasize about, but shouldn't necessarily eat.

When I gave my husband the opportunity to pick a food for fantasy food Friday, he wouldn't do it. He said if there was a food he wanted, he'd simply go eat it.

I was thinking about that, and thought....he doesn't have an over-eating problem...maybe there is something I could learn here...but anyway,

For this week, I actually went out and personally photographed the fantasy food for you. This is called "Garlic Smarlic Bread". It's made at a local wine restaurant called the Wine Guyz, and it's the best garlic bread I've ever had.

As I've explained to others, this garlic bread has the perfect combination of crispy toasted bread with that wonderful crunch and butter-y melted cheese. It doesn't turn into a soggy mess like some cheese bread. How they pulled off that combination, I'm not sure,

but they have never failed to make it perfect every single time.

And, as you can see, the serving is as big as my husband's head and only costs $4.50.

A little close-up.
This was a delicious treat.
If somebody knows of garlic cheese bread that might beat this...let me know.
So, what do you think?
Do you have a favorite place where the garlic cheese bread is out of this world?

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Now, on to how you SHOULDN'T eat your steel cut oats...

I cooked them up this morning with a serving of chocolate protein powder.
Topped it with nuts and cinnamon.
Please...take it from me...don't make your steel cut oats like this.
It was gross.
But, I was being creative because I didn't have enough eggs to make six egg whites this morning, and I thought I'd get in my protein this way.

You should never leave doughnuts around...
I think I accidentally found the one remaining doughnut in the house.
It still tasted decent and made for a great shot.

This was great to eat for lunch.
With all those omelets we've been making, we ran out of eggs.
So, no omelets today.
But this was nice, only 308 calories.

Ok, so there was one egg left.
I topped it with some cheese, cooked it until the cheese melted,
and placed it on a 30 calorie lefse with some turkey bacon.

*Dawn, lefse is made from potatoes and flour.
There are a few more ingredients but that is mostly what it's made of.
The lefse I got here was made in Blair, Wisconsin, is called Countryside Lefse,
and costs a couple bucks for six pieces.
I think lefse might be a regional thing, kind of like cheese curds.
I like to use it versus your regular wrap because it tastes better and has fewer calories.
But lefse is made from different companies throughout the state and I tend to use this brand because of the taste and the calorie content.
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I made it to the gym today for about 45 minutes.

I tell you folks, my little pregnant beee-hind is sore from all this additional weightlifting at the gym this week. I mean, I woke up this morning and could just feel all my muscles go...ouch, ouch, don't move like that...walk more carefully. I think it's kind of funny actually. Here I take a little break...and my muscles go and get sore when I go back to five days a week at the gym.

But I really enjoy being in the gym. I like gabbing to people, and it puts me in a great mood.

Oh...and the exercise is good too. Ha, Ha.

Well, I won't be blogging tomorrow night because we have a fun family weekend planned, but I hope you all get out and enjoy the nice weather if you are having it.

Have a nice weekend!

Sincerely,

Sunshine Mama