Potty Training and Exercise Rant

Because, you know, using the potty is so much better in the kitchen.

Today, I've determined that working out is just out of the question.  Well, in reality, I've had quite a workout today.  My precious sweet little boy decided this past week it is time to use the potty!  Yay!  Except, by using the potty, he means it in toddler language, which roughly translates to, "No diaper!?  I'll pee on ALL THE THINGS." All. The. Things.  So, I've been following him around, and every time I see him start to pee or look like he has to go, I'll pick him up and take him to the potty, which is starting to turn into a game.  My favorite so far is definitely his bought with the building blocks.  This little genius decided he needed to pee on a tower of blocks, so he built one about six blocks high, and peed.  Then he proceeded to become furious because the blocks just did not fall over.  Followed by him being upset because they were wet.  Hopefully, he will realize that peeing on his toys is always a bad idea.  *crosses fingers*  We shall see!

In leu of that, any particular tips you have to share on potty training a boy?  He seems to be excited and greatly enjoys playing this game.  I find he goes more and uses the little potty if I allow him to play with the iPad, which works for now, but who knows how long that trick will last.


Now, back to the exercise part.  Soon, we will have a nice naptime, a much needed one at that.  And by that, I mean, the kids will sit back, relax, and hopefully sleep while I work out.  Why?  Well, pregnant or not, if I wanna fit into my clothes, some of this fat HAS TO GO.  Of course, we are on a pretty successful healthy diet, and portion control, but for some reason, food isn't the only factor in losing extra fat.  One also must exercise in some form.  I've been enjoying doing those hardcore p90x workouts.  Granted, I don't do it every day, and never have been able to, it still works out almost everything everywhere, which is nice.  But with the lack of energy from growing a baby, that workout needs replaced by something a little easier.  If I didn't have to survive the day with kids, I'd have no problem expending every little tiny bit of my energy doing that, but now, impossible.   Oh, and I don't like going outside for exercise.  Maybe its the whole feeling of being judged or, you know, the cold wet weather of Germany, but I haven't exactly managed successfully doing anything like that outside much.

On a slightly related note, I love yoga, especially when pregnant.  I did it during my last pregnancy, and I'm pretty sure it helped everything go as smoothly as it did, which is great, but I ended up getting rid of that video and can't for the life of me remember which one it was.

Now, my question to you is this:  What workouts do you do?  How about when expecting?  Any you could reccommend?  Any reccommended prenatal yoga videos?

Stir Fry!

This recipe is definitely one of the family favorites lately. Of course, I've always loved stir fry, but every time I went to make it, it never ever turned out as good as I had hoped, and no recipe I found had that perfect sour, spice, and sweet taste I came to love when growing up.  Eventually, I found one that turned out alright, but it needed a serious makeover.  Trial and error came at the expense of a mostly devastated family as I messed with the recipe again and again.  Finally, after a few weeks, I found the perfect combination of goodness.  It was as if God himself sent me the perfect combination of ingredients!  Or, you know, the perfect friends to suggest what ingredients might be good.

Awesome Stir Fry:

Ingredients:
-2-3 cloves of garlic - minced
-The equivalent amount of shredded/minced fresh ginger
-Beef for stir frying
-Olive oil*   about 2-4 tbs, divided
-Your favorite veggies
    -Carrots
    -Kohlrabi
    -Broccoli
    -Bell peppers
    -Celery
    -Green onions
    -Yellow Onions
    -Digon Radishes  (Ok, so I really have no idea how to spell the first word, but they're delicious in stir fry!)

Sauce:
-1 cup water
-1/3 cup soy sauce  (I found the la choy brand seems to be best, as I really don't like my soy sauce too salty)
-1-2 tbs brown sugar (depending on taste.  I usually use 1 unless I'm having a horrid sweets craving.)
-1 tbs cornstarch


Directions:

1.  Prep all your veggies and cut the beef up how you wish.  Then, make the sauce.  To do this, just mix all the sauce ingredients in a cup/bowl.  A whisk works great for this.

2.  Heat 1/2 of the oil in pan.  (about 2 tbs depending on the amount of meat you're frying).  Once heated, add half of the ginger, and half of the garlic into pan, along with beef.  Cook until done.  Remove from the pan and keep nearby/mostly warm.

3.  Heat the other half of the oil.  Once this decides to be hot enough, add the rest of the garlic/ginger as well as all the veggies.  Cook until your desired doneness.  I like it when the bell peppers reach the perfect crisp outside and soft inside, and the carrots are mostly soft.  Oh, and if you add kohlrabi, you'll want to make sure it is mostly soft as well. 

4.  Once the veggies are done cooking, add meat back to pan, and add sauce.  (Be sure to stir the sauce before adding.)  Bring to a boil and cook until the sauce has thickened to desired awesomeness.

5.  Serve over rice, and enjoy your foodgasm.


*I recently read this whole debacle about olive oil over at the blog of Crunchy Betty.  Something to think about.


Note to self, take better pictures.

Baby Number 3!

For starters, I guess a good way to catch back up with everyone is exciting news, right?  Well, we'll be expecting baby #3 on Halloween of all times!  Of course, things are still early in the game, and anything can happen, but lets just hope for the best and roll the ball foreward.  We told our eldest (3), and this is her response:

Dad:  "Sunshine, do you want another baby brother or sister?"

Her:  "Yes.  I want a baby brother."

Me:  "But you already have a baby brother."

Her:  "Well, that thing in your tummy has to be a boy too.  I'm the only princess in daddy's life."


Well now that we know how she feels.  I must say though, last time, before I even got a positive pregnancy test, she walked up and goes, "Mom, you're having a baby and its a boy.  I get a brother."  At the time, she was 18 months old.  I, of course, was in slight shock.  Everything turned out the way she said it would.  I think my favorite memory of her and last pregnancy was during the ultrasound in which we found out the sex.

Me:  "You're having a baby brother!"

Her:  *crosses arms* "I know.  I ALREADY TOLD YOU."


Oh, the joys of parenting!  Regardless, having a baby in Europe should be exciting.  I have a midwife who will be taking care of me the entire time, an OB just incase something big happens, and for ultrasounds, and the best part?  If all goes well, this baby will be born in my nice, comfy, safe, English speaking home.  I know I'm in Germany and all, but I can't speak much German, and I felt I'd be much more comfortable with an awesome midwife I already knew and speaks great english as opposed to in a hospital surrounded by nurses, midwives, doctors, and all the inbetweens who mostly speak German and will probably speak tons around me, which, quite frankly, just makes me feel awkward, much less when I'll be in labor.  But, if I end up there, atleast we know it will be for a good reason.

Yay for home births!  Did you have one?  How'd it go? 

I'll leave you with an appropriate rage comic I made to tell the world of facebook.

(photo credit)

Wow!  Its been almost a month since I last sat down to tell you about whatever project I've been working on.  Where did that time go?  I find lately, though, every time I go to write about a topic, everything in my brain stops working.  So, fellow writers, bloggers, and random people, how do you get past your writer's block?