Meet Our Fur Babies

I have loved animals all of my life. So it's no wonder that we ended up with so many pets.

Peanut--Siamese mix

We found Peanut at our local animal shelter when he was barely six weeks old. His mother had been hit by a car and someone had dropped off the kittens. He has turned out to be quite a handful! He can destroy anything in the blink of an eye...curtains, blinds, couches, whatever gets in his way.

Butter- Domestic Short Hair

We found Butter at the animal shelter also. He is the opposite of Peanut...quiet and shy. He loves to snuggle or just relax looking out the window.

Oreo--Border Collie Mix

Once we were able to move into our own house, we wanted a dog. We found Oreo on Craigslist. She was about 10 weeks old. She has grown so much since we brought her home!!

Laughing Cow Alfredo sauce

Since starting Weight Watchers, I am always looking for healthy meals that my whole family will eat. Everyone here LOVES Alfredo sauce. So when I saw this on their website, I had to try it.

The original recipe called for the light Swiss cheese wedges. Our grocery store didn't have it so I substituted the Light Garlic & Herb flavor. I also added some chicken. It turned out even better than what we normally make and it was so easy! This will definitely be our go to recipe from now on. With the added chicken, it is only 5 points+.

Laughing Cow Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:

6 wedges Light Garlic & Herb wedges
1 cup fat-free milk
1 tbsp reduced fat butter
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
1/2 pound cooked chicken breast (cubed)

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a skillet and cook over medium heat until cheese is melted and sauce is thickened. This took around 20 minutes for me. Serve over noodles of your choice.

Fun During Homeschool

Yesterday, we didn't get to do any schoolwork. We had just started my daughter's math, when the electric company shows up at the door. They were doing routine maintenance and our power would be off for a few hours. Since we use the computer a lot in our schooling, that pretty much ended the day for us.

We have been studying birds for the last two weeks so I decided to order owl pellets for them to dissect. I love Home Science Tools for ordering anything for science. Here are the kits that we received.

I put the pellets on a plate and gave the kids their tweezers and pick.

 They got to work. It was slow going because there were so many small bones. The one pellet had four skulls. Michael figured out that they belonged to a mouse or small rodent because of the teeth. He had fun trying to match up the rest of the bones and put the skeleton back together.

The other pellet had five skulls in it. They were from a small rodent also. It did not have as many other bones. Caitlyn spent quite a bit of time working on matching up the bones also.

The result: happy children who were glad to do something besides book work and a happy mom that loves to see her kids excited about learning!

Beginning my weight loss journey...Biggest Loser Pancake recipe

     It has been a while since I have been able to post anything. I went to the doctor for my annual physical to keep our health insurance. I was shocked at how much weight I had gained since being busy with the house. I knew we had been eating out a lot and eating lots of junk but I had no clue that it was that bad. I am ashamed to say that my weight had gone up to 312 pounds. I knew that I had to do something. My knees were hurting and I couldn't do things with my kids.

     I was online and saw that Weight Watchers was having a special deal so I joined online. So far, so good. I started May 16, 2014 and I have lost 21 pounds so far. I have searched the internet to find recipes that taste good and are healthy for me and my family.

     Tonight's dinner was from the Biggest Loser...their pancakes. I could not believe from the ingredients that they would be good. My whole family loved them!! Instead of using sugar free syrup, I topped them with fresh strawberries and fat free cool whip.

Biggest Loser Pancakes--5 points+ per serving

Ingredients:

3/4 c. egg substitute
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup cottage cheese
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a blender and pulse until smooth. Use 1/4 c. of batter per pancake.Cook until bubbles start to form and then flip. Cook until light brown. I made 9 pancakes with this recipe. Each serving is 3 pancakes. Top as you wish. Sugar free syrup adds 1 point+ to your total.