If this ain't dedication....

I have eaten clean on my birthday!

No cake.

No sweets.

No party food.

No champagne.

We got take away Chinese for dinner and prawns with vegetables is as bad as it got.

No prawn crackers.

No rice.

Ahhhh... I'm proud!

Yes it was my birthday and I would have happily indulged in a treat or two but it just so happened that it fell right on the day before weigh in.... I was not willing to risk disappointment tomorrow morning when I launch onto those scales for a few moments of food bliss. I have worked to hard for that.

So, yet again, another red flag proven to be a walk in the park! Go me!

This week in review (week.six) Captured.

Just us minus the babes.

 

Ace's first vegemite toast experience.

Setting some ground rules with Boo early on.

He said that they can still play "hair".

That smile!

Roasted beetroot with garlic & thyme.

We are lucky enough to always get given fresh beetroot from Pa's veggie garden and are even more lucky now that we have our own to harvest from our own veggie garden!

After eating our beetroot like this for quite sometime, the stuff out of a can does not interest us what so ever.

Its simply delish and ridiculously easy!

Ingredients:

Fresh beetroots

Some fresh garlic cloves (I used 4 in this batch)

Fresh thyme (I used 3 sprigs)

Olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

What to do:

1. Cut off the ends off the beetroots
2. Place them on a big piece of foil
3. Smash the garlic cloves up a little bit (skins and all) and pop them on the foil as well.
4. Add your thyme on top
5. Drizzle with olive oil
6. Wrap the foil up with all the goodies into a little parcel
7. Put your little parcel on to a tray and into the oven on 180c  for an hour (approx)



8. They are done once you can get a fork through them.

Once they are cooked, let them cool down a little bit (so your don't burn your hands)

9. Time to rub / cut the skins off (I suggest wearing gloves as the colour stains your hands)

10. I throw out the thyme and garlic but you could definitely include the roasted garlic
11. Then cut them all up into small pieces and dress with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

YUMMMM!

This week in review (week.five) Captured

We are trying to get Boo to eat more. Work in progress!

 Ace is starting to find the idea of food entertaining!

Dad'n turned 31! We made his is fav. Banana choc chip muffins... but cake.

Ace has decided that standing is pretty fun.

She loves snuggles with Dolly.

Loves taking photo's like her Mumma!

Green thumb.

We love it there!

Hello rest day!

Not only did I survive kick off, I have made it to rest day!

Week one has been pretty damn goood! I could probably even stretch it to saying I really enjoyed it!

I've managed to change up my training routine through out the week, I dont want to get stuck in a rut of doing the same things day in day out.

I have done DVD's, Michelle Bridges "Crunch Time" has been really good, the fact it has three different work outs help you find what you need to do. Ace managed to stay up for one of them and was highly entertained by the sight of me jumping around the lounge room, huffing and puffing! There has been walks, gym sessions, gym classes, cant wait to add more to my routine!

Kids are loving it just as much as me I think. Having breakfast in the pram on a early morning walk was a definate highlight for Boo. They had their first visit to the gym creche on Friday. That went so well that Boo didnt want to leave!

My body, well it is feeling very sore and tired, hence bring on rest day! I really should have started preparing in pre-season a little more, but I didnt. You get that. I guess it's a good pain anyway, because I know that I worked very hard for this soreness LOL.

So now that week one is closing, it's time to get ready for week two. Apparently organisation is the key to success in the 12WBT... right up my alley! Today was spent planning every work out and every meal so now it is mapped out for me ready to go... I have no questions about what I shall be doing or eating on what day. Supermarket shopping has been done. Pantry and fridge are stocked with everything I need, so now all I have to do is "JFDI".

As for results, I had a sneak peak this morning *shush*, it's all going really well!! ;) Excited for official weigh in on Wednesday!

Kick off. I survived.

Today was 12WBT kick off. Day one. I survived!

Apparently success is all about being organised on this program so I really am telling myself I should smash it if that's the case!

Everything that needs to happen for the week, I have written down... in several places Ha Ha.  I'm one of those people that needs everything written in front of me in order for them to sink in and happen. So, I have all my meals, training and tasks written in my diary, then written on my weekly planner on the fridge, then its all online in my membership thingo, and then I have also printed it off all highlighted and looking fab. Overkill you may say? Nah, that's just me being me ;)

Today.

Training went well, I was so fixated on how hard it would be to burn 500 calories so I had built up all this anticipation! I can happily report that it wasn't that bad.  I did some power vacuuming then set myself up in front of the TV and sweated it out to Michelle Bridges - Crunch Time "Shredder" DVD... all while the babes had their afternoon sleep.

Before I knew it.... Bingo!

Eating... I followed the meal plan up to dinner. I'm trying to clean out what we already have before shopping / following the meal plan 100%. Was very satisfied up until the 3pm sugar craving hit and I was ready to devour anything in sight! All good, I got through to the other side clean...

This week is probably going to be one of my hardest, there has been quite a few "red flags"as Michelle calls them. That's okay, the more I can overcome and get through, the more empowered I shall be!

Bring on day.two!

This week in review (week.four) Captured.

Some days just scream for chocolate custard...

And today was one of them.

With 12wbt kick off in less than 48 hours I decided to get my last fix of chocolate custard in.

It's been a very long and very emotional week in The Bower Bird's Nest... This certainly comforted me tonight <3

Thankyou Thermy!



Chocolate custard with fresh strawberries straight from the farm!

60g sugar

20g cadbury cocoa powder

50g plain flour

30g cornflour

4 eggs (room temp)

500g milk

7 minutes . 90c . Speed 4

Heaven!

Thankful to have had her in my life.

This week I am dealing with losing someone that I was close to for the first time, we lost Nonnie.

I have been very blessed to have never had to go through something like this is my 28 years so it has been quite a confronting time in my life.

It wasn't a tragic loss, but it was still a loss.

When someone is 90 years old, has had a wonderful full life surrounded so closely by love and family it can blessing. Her time had come to rejoin the people that were too special for this world.

Losing a grandmother is always going to be sad but somehow I believe that losing Nonnie was sadder than most. She wasn't just a grandmother that you see on birthdays and Christmas's. She wasn't the grandmother that sent you a card with $20 in it for your birthday and your mum made you call up to thank her. She was a part of my everyday life, she was another mum.

Growing up, I just wished we were like any other family. You know, with a grandmother that lived in her own house in a different town, the one that I was just talking about up there ^^^. I didn't know at the time that I was actually one of the lucky ones.... Unfortunately, I only know that now. The funny thing is she used to tell me that too. "When I'm gone... blah blah blah". Nonnie, you were right!

Don't get me wrong, our relationship was far from rosy. We clashed like no tomorrow. The fights, the tears but that's just the way we rolled. I think that's just one of the joys of living with someone, you have to take the good with the bad. I never doubted that she loved me and I know she knew I loved her.

I am lucky now to have any one of the millions of memories that we created to chose from to remember her.

So today, I really am thankful just to have had her in my life.

RIP Nonnie xx

Linking up today for 'Thankful Thursday' with KateSaysStuff.

I love my new water babe.

Today was Ace's first swimming lesson.

Its official. I now have two water babes!

He has had a paddle in a pool before and he loved that. We  have had good times at the beach, he loved that too. So it was no surprise that at his first swimming lesson, he had an absolute ball! Splashing, squealing... He even got to go for an underwater swim!

There really is a lot to be said about 'second child syndrome'. When Ace was a few months old I thought, nahh i wont start him off early like I did with Boo in mums n' bubs class, he will be right, I don't have the time. Then I had a think about it. Boo was enrolled in her first class at 6 months on the knocker, we counted down with excitement for her first class with the camera's all charged ready to go, and I thought, why should it be any different for Ace. It should be just as exciting! So... today, we had everyone there for Ace's first swimming lesson. We were lucky enough that Dad'n had the day off work. Grandma made an appearance for the occasion and his big sister was all about watching her baby brother in the water. It was lovely.

I was so happy that I decided not to brush it off. If anything, it was just nice to have that half hour in the water that was just about Ace. Not playing with his sister... Him sharing my attention... Just Mumma and Ace time.

Monday mornings are super busy now I have TWO water babes!

This week in review (week.three) Captured.

Boo's favourite. Pa's veggie garden.

Beach fun. My favourite people.

Sausage Rolls...

Ingredients:

1 x onion (diced finely)

1 x large carrot (grated)

1/2 x red capsicum (diced finely)

4 x sheets of puff pastry

500g sausage mince

1 x slurp of olive oil

1 x tsp mixed herbs

salt & pepper to taste

How to make them:

1. Preheat oven to 180c (fan forced oved)

2. Line your oven trays with baking paper

3. In a frying pan, add your olive oil and fry your onion, capsicum & carrot off

4. Once thats cooked, get a mixing bowl & combine it with your sausage mince, mixed herbs, salt & pepper

5. Get your puff pastry ready to roll your mince into. (I cut one sheet in half)

6. Put a line of mince down the middle of your pastry and I also paint a line of milk down one side so when you roll it, it will stick

7. Roll them up and cut them to the size you want them

8. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes. Keep in mind that if you are using them the following day and are going to be putting them back in the oven to heat up... Dont let the pastry brown to much.

9. Enjoy :)

Thankful for a lovely quick break!

Today's blog post is coming to your from the passenger seat in our car. We are off for a quick get away down the coast to my parent's house.

I am thankful for all the things that contribute to today being possible, which I've decided to break down and list.

- For Dad'n's next job being pushed back so we can squeeze in a couple of family days.

- For the weather looking glorious to make the trip more enjoyable.

- For a wonderful husband that wants to spend time with his family on his time off.

- For having wonderful parent's that we want to go and visit and stay with.

- For having two babes that are flexible enough to sleep anywhere.

Nothing like a quick getaway... It's almost like hitting a reset button on your day to day life. Makes you feel good!

Linking it up with KateSaysStuff for 'Thankful Thursday'