2.28.2014

Wishing hoping thinking {7qt}

This is my 7 quick takes (x2!) And since I have writer’s block, no originality for posts and I look up to both Erika and Grace, I copied their prompts to help me today…


1. Cooking : my slow cooker Chicken and Dumplings rendition. It will be ready for Friday dinner. Yumm.


Marveling: at my new office. I wasted NO TIME placing pictures everywhere.
And yes, I need to print new pictures of Sebastian. The third baby syndrome… But he won’t feel left out, just check my IG feed.











2. Playing: Pandora is streaming. I have to stay awake.


Wishing: it’s spring break. Because I will see this beautiful girl!

3. Enjoying: my dependable water and grapes for my morning snack. My salad in a jar is waiting for me. Is it NOON yet?


Liking: these five faves I posted this week.

4. Wondering: how my little D is doing. He has a field trip to the Center for performing arts today. He told me yesterday during school pickup: “Mummy, I have to wear nice clothes tomorrow. You think, I can wear my black shoes.” I answered, “yes. How about longsleeved buttoned-down shirt, khakis and your nice shoes?”
And…. I did not take a picture of him this morning.

Loving: my sweet husband. Cheesy but true.

5. Hoping: that my grandma will be safe in the OR for her knee replacement surgery. It is scheduled on 3/7. Prayers appreciated please.

Reading : neurology examination and board review, Continuum, Merritt’s Neurology.





6. Needing: to be consistent with potty training Isabel. The little trick: “Ballerinas do not poopy on their diapers” worked this morning! After doing #2 succesfully on the potty, she did her arabesque. Now where did she copy that from?


Wearing: my new lipstick shade. Oh how I missed wearing bright lipstick. It just makes me happy! the little things, the little things that keep us going.



^^haven't been wearing lipstick when I am with Bastian. He likes to smack my face and smear my lipstick. Silly baby. ^^

7. Thinking: about Hawaii, Paris, London. All the places Derrick and I visited, before babies.

Feeling: sore. Yep.

Happy Friday, friends! Join Jen for more 7QT!



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2.26.2014

From eating to working out to cleaning up {five faves}

1. Spicy shrimp stir fry
Jenna Beaugh does not disappoint. She is one of my favorite food bloggers. This recipe of spicy shrimp is amazing. Two thumbs up from hubby.








Just look at the colors of this stir-fry. The greens, red bell peppers and the shrimp..... hmmmmm... It tastes as good as it looks! I like the spicy kick from the marinade. And it's a mild kick, ok.. So don't be afraid to try it out. If you want it less spicy, then use less marinade... or like me: I added >1 broccoli head, 1.5 red bell peppers just because there was half left over from my salad this week and a big bokchoy instead of a baby bokchoy. If I put something more, might as well be the veggies, eh?

2. Sweet smelling vanilla
I had a coupon for 20% off online order and free shipping at BBW. I love vanilla. I love macarons and I love pink. This foaming handwash has it all.






3. 3 stage seat
This one is a lifesaver. Thanks to my mom for getting it for Sebastian's Christmas present. I place him here for 20-30 minutes or so and I pop a video and workout.

You've seen Bastian here...






And here.






And also here.





4. Fitness Blender
Y'all, I just cannot work out with Jillian. I just can't. I do not like being yelled at. I use her vids every now and then. But for these past couple of weeks, I have found these free full length workout videos on YouTube. I like it that they do the workouts themselves and not just telling us what to do. They huff and puff during the workout. I also use my own music blasting from the iphone. Then workout video on my ipad. Voila!



and I love hearing: workout complete.

5. Facial scrub
After raising my heart rate for 30-45 minutes, the next best thing after cool down and stretch is a nice, warm shower. I use this facial scrub 3-4x a week. It's pretty inexpensive. It does not dry out my face.






How about you? Any spicy recipes you like? Any facial cleansers or scrubs you use? How about your go-to cardio or strength training workout videos? Do you have any recommendations? How do you keep the baby occupied while you workout for 30 minutes or so? Do you do it during naps?

Linking up with Hallie and friends!




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2.23.2014

Polka dots + leopard {wiws}

As I was putting on this outfit, I thought: I better not regret wearing these polka dot tights.





Outfit details, just in case I inspire you to be bright and bold.
Cardi ~ kohls
Cowl neck top (barely seen) ~ banana republic, old
Tights ~ forever xxi
Boots ~ Mia
Purse ~ Burberry





Close up of the tights and boots. I agree with style bloggers out there, leopard/animal print is a neutral. So I paired it with my bright polka dot tights. Did it work??? I'm afraid to ask. But I just did.





And a close-up of my creepy looking ear lobe. I can't be an earring model.
Thanks Mamey for the earrings. I know where you got them. Walmart, eBay, or somewhere online. {wink}

And from the archives ~ here's what the crew wore a year ago. That Sunday a year ago, we showed Derrick's family the ultrasound of baby D3. 365 days later, we have this cute boy!






Sharing our priest's homily this Sunday, a must-read. Happy Sunday!

Linking up with finelinenandpurple. Of course!



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2.22.2014

Life lately {7qt}


1. Leader in me
If there is something worth being late for: it's seeing my firstborn receive a leadership certificate! granted, we were already late for the morning bell. The assistant teacher approached me: "Daniel is our leader of the week. If you want to stay for it. He does not know about it."

Wow.....
I thought he would be embarrassed and have a hard time going to the front of the assembly. He surprised me! He heard his name and gave me a quick 1-2 second look of disbelief. Then he turned around and went to the front!



{My son's school utilizes the Leader in Me process}

2. Cuddle time
My middle child (oh I hate that term) loves her cuddle time. She gets at least a cuddle time in the couch with me ~ without the baby. She also gets a "pick-me-up" and carry me time at least once a day. And it can be while I am cooking or cleaning or working out, literally ANYTIME.

Any of you moms/parents, having the same experience with their baby girl once they become an older sister?







Isn't she adorable?
Her mama thinks so!

ootd: Hello Kitty raincoat and rainboots ~ from Auntie Feli {thanks a bunch!}

3. Potty training
It is a battle. Definitely not one of my fave things of parenting. I saw this post by Stephanie and utilized quite a few tips. We used a timer. I ask her to go to the potty when I go (Sorry TMI). She goes to the potty right after waking up, getting up from a nap after breakfast and lunch. But I still seem to miss her potty time! What?!?!?! and of course, there's the "I don't want to, mummy."

I take the blame! Because when my husband is around, he is more proactive. When I am alone at home, I have the baby to feed/change and then food to prep, laundry to do etc etc distracting me. So I take all the blame that Isabel is still not 100% potty trained.




4. Temperamental boobas
Skip this take if bodily fluids and breasts make you feel uncomfortable.
I have had issues with plugged ducts with Isabel. This third time around is not any different. I had mastitis this past Christmas break. And since I have been part-time for 3 weeks, I have had plugged ducts from either breast at least 3-4 times!

Sebastian eats just an hour late from his usual feeding or skips one breast before I go to work and voila, expect a plugged duct!
oh what to do?
I used to think that oversupply is great! It takes off the pressure of meeting Sebastian's goals for pumped milk when I am at work. But when we are together, I make more than he can eat and this happens.

Two days after unplugging the plugged duct, the pain still persisted. next day, I have a fever without any other symptoms. No cough, cold, diarrhea, vomiting to blame. That's when I knew my fever and chills could only be because of the painful breast. OUCH.


I warned ya.

5. Spring is here!!!
Temps in the 50s-60s Mon-Fri. wow. I never thought this week will come.

But wait! Snow moving in tonight! Ugh.

6. Roof dam
High temps means melting ice and snow. We had a roof dam above our bay window and had a leak. Our pillows got wet. About two feet of the carpet in the family room was wet. The children's toys were also wet. I am worried about the ceiling of the bay window. Hubs said it won't happen again unless there's another roof dam.... I am not sure. I have to do more research.




Anybody with experience with such things? I am worried about mold.

7. Picture I am sharing
This week marks my first official week of clinical work.
Here's my little guy reading his first EEG. He did a great job!



Joining Jen @conversiondiary for my weekly 7 quick takes. head over to her site to view more quick takes. Happy weekend!



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2.20.2014

Salad in a jar prep

Eating healthy is hard work - prepping, chopping and assembling salads. But just like exercise, once you've done it (or eaten it!), you feel great afterwards!



^***

My salad in a jar made a comeback this week. Here's how I prepped my salad: (followed this and this)

Sunday ~ since I'm already cooking dinner, I also placed ~1 lb of chicken breast on the grill pan and cooked my protein.

Monday ~
Chop the romaine hearts I got from Costco. There's a bag of 6 hearts. I'm experimenting right now. The prechopped ones in the bag get old easily once opened. I've read somewhere that if I use the hearts and chop them myself then they last longer (?) ~ I used 3. But 2 would have been enough.

Cook my quinoa per package directions. I prepared 1 cup uncooked. Next time I'll only make 1/2-3/4 cup.

(If I didn't prep the chicken the night before, I can grill them on the grill pan at the same time as my Monday prep)

Chop red bell peppers (since I had some, also from Costco)

This is how I layered my salad in a jar:

1. Dressing ~ my own: 4-5 tbsp of balsamic vinegar and 1-2 tbsp evoo. Few cranks {2-3} of fresh ground black pepper.

2. Hard veges ~ shredded carrots and my chopped red bell peppers

3. Cheese and protein ~ I made two jars with these already added since my husband and I will eat them for lunch the next day. I added my chicken breast and ~2tbsp of Gorgonzola (Italian blue cheese). I also like alternating with parmesan or feta cheese. Yummm.

4. Nuts ~ I love sunflower seeds!

5. Greens ~ here goes my romaine lettuce. I packed and packed a lot in the jar. I also added half a paper towel sheet on top (maybe it will help soak the moisture from the romaine lettuce that I just washed?) ~ I don't have a salad spinner.

Now where's the quinoa? I packed it separately. It was still warm and I was impatient. Plus if I added the quinoa before the lettuce, I won't have any more space for my greens.

One other mason jar (or more) for the rest of the week:
I added my dressing, red bell peppers and shredded carrots. Then skipped the cheese and chicken. I added sunflower seeds then lettuce. This jar had more greens than the first two.

Then on a separate container: I placed my quinoa, chicken and cheese.

So yes that third container defeated the purpose of carrying one jar to work. It's a work in progress. This set-up might change.

I also made a salad for my lunch on Monday. I already spent time prepping, might as well have some for lunch the same day!



I still had tons more greens left over for dinner! We had a big side salad with our soup Monday night. So you see, 2 romaine hearts would have been enough.

I like it that my husband is ok bringing a mason jar for his lunch. I'm just looking for ways to make my prep time worth it.

We will see if it's worth prepping another salad in a jar for my Friday lunches. We also have leftovers from dinner throughout the week and I could just take those.

How about you? How do you prep your lunch or salads for the week?

***salads in a jar photo when I made them before. Sorry, no updated one as I ate them all before this post! They're that good!


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  • 2.19.2014

    Food + lipstick + Calcium {five faves}

    Linking up with Fountains of home for my five faves this week. We miss you Hallie! Get better, Lord kiddos.


    1. Herb roasted pork loin
    I'm always looking for recipes that are easy and yummy in our tummy. This one hit the spot. The kids didn't like *seeing the herbs. So I pretty much just served them the middle of the roast (without the edges). The roast stayed moist.




    We like ours a little more well done. I cooked the roast with internal temp of 160-165F.

    2. Chicken lime soup
    Another recipe from budget bytes that's easy, yummy and healthy! I added quinoa to make it a one-bowl meal. My hubs and children added cooked white rice.





    3. Revlon Cherries in the snow #440
    This is my new lip shade! Bright and peppy!






    4. Kirkland pistachios + mint choco chip ice cream
    My carb addiction meets my nut addiction. I love Edy's chocolate chip ice cream. One weeknight: I had this bright idea to add pistachios! I love pistachio ice cream so why not???






    5. Vita fusion calcium supplements from Costco
    These babies are on-sale at Costco this week. I am always low on my Calcium intake. I don't like tums or calcium carbonate! It tastes like chalk! So why not these gummies, huh?




    That's all folks!
    Give them all a try!



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    2.17.2014

    Swing dress + faux fur {date night}

    Mr. D and I don't go out on Valentines day itself.... We figured it's very busy those nights. Reservations mandatory. Flowers and chocolates mandatory. We decided that we can just have our date night the day before or day after. I think hubs like the pressure off of him... Not having to find a nice restaurant and fight the couples for a table.

    Except when there was a huge snowstorm back in 2008. We ventured out... We had dinner on Valentines day! Our street was not plowed. There was ~8 inches of snow. How we managed to drive 4.5 miles, I don't know.

    Our date night was this Saturday. Thanks to my mom who babysat the three Ds while my husband and I went to get moulettes and frites. He had a blonde beer and I had my Riesling. It was a romantic night. We already exchanged presents the day before (well, his present arrived... Mine still in transit ~~ oops)

    We made it to 45 minutes before talking about our kids. It's our rule not to talk about our kids at least the first half hour of the date. It's hard but it makes us mindful that we do have other things to talk about besides our children.

    I love those type of dinners with my husband.




    Outfit of the night:
    Swing dress ~ hautelook || faux fur vest ~ also from hautelook || tights ~ A&F || boots ~ Etienne Aigner || Burberry purse || pearls from a boutique in French Lick







    ^Predate night cuddles with my baby boy^




    ^Snowstorm picture with my other baby boy {after his class valentines day party}^


    Linking up with plane pretty.




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  • 2.16.2014

    Moto jacket + leopard pants {wiws}

    Whenever I say, today I won't wear my hunter's, I end up doing the opposite. We had another snowfall on valentines day and last night. We finally hit the high record for the most snowfall: 51.5 inches of snow this winter!







    Details:
    Moto jacket ~ F21
    Sweater ~ banana republic, old Leopard jeans ~ hautelook
    Hunters

    Hubs said: is that your biker jacket? I was thinking it's black. Not cream.

    Let's take a close peek of these jeans:



    Happy Sunday, dear friends!



    Linking up with fine linen and purple.
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    2.14.2014

    My Valentine’s and healthy living {7qt}

    .1. It’s the feast of St. Valentine, priest and martyr. How are you celebrating your day? I have 4 Valentines now! Lucky me!

    For my first Valentine: remember what I posted this week??? Funny, hubs, funny….





    2.      How about my little guy? I am thrilled that I can celebrate a V-day party with him and his class later today.

    Here’s what I have waiting for him. He will be a little disappointed . He is expecting power rangers. But I could not  stay away from these cookies! I had them growing up.




    3.      And my little princess?  Her favorite  phrases right now are:


    Im a pincess (no r) followed by.....ballerina… (with a twirl)

    I don’t wanna, mummy. I don’t wanna.

    Tootie (cookie)

    Chotlate and roll, chotlate and roll (Nutella and Hawaiian roll)

    I felled. (I fell)

    Milth, milth (milk of course!)

    And this is what’s waiting for her.





    ^Sorry for blurry face. The hearts dress got all the camera focus, huh?^



    4.      My last Valentine, Mr. Sebastian is 5 months old already.  Wow… he is sitting unsupported
    for  3-10 seconds at a time. He is reaching for his toys more consistently. He watches me with intent. I am grateful he lets me cook dinner or work out. He is content just watching me as long as he is fed. But why, oh why, is he waking up at 4am to feed and play??? I don’t mind the feeding session but I wish he will go back to sleep instead of kicking and cooing and giggling.




    5.       Healthy living

    I am ready to post my commitment here. I have quite a few lbs to loose postpartum. My confession includes my love for carbs and sweets. Bad, bad, bad. It’s time to be serious about working out and
    eating conscientiously which I have put on hold. First, because I just ate Christmas sweets and desserts, second, because of my last busy inpatient month as a resident doctor, then these past two weeks: I have been watching primetime Olympic coverage. I know… not enough reason to not take care of myself. It’s not just about the pre-pregnancy clothes (which I miss, don’t get me wrong) but
    also because of my family history and genes and just taking care of one’s self period.

    So, here’s to committing to working out!


    Plan of attack:
    Barre3 online videos  ~ my go-to workouts are Interval strength (40 minutes)  and Standing Energy Blast (30 minutes)
    Cardio ~ Am I ready for insanity? It’s now or never!

    Meals:
    Besides being more mindful of my sugary
    intakes: Girl scout tooties (!) and ice cream, my salad in a jar will have a
    comeback for lunch! Everybody needs more Veggie intake and I am one of them.
    Quinoa is also in my grocery list.

    I will use my Chia seeds which I bought months ago. Oops.
    I also found this yummy yogurt parfait recipe that I can have for breakfast on the barre3 website.  


    6.       Prayer request
    My Grandma is scheduling a knee replacement surgery. Please pray for her. She is almost 80 years old. I worry about the surgery and rehab afterwards. My sister made a comment that shifted my focus: no one should live in pain. I was focused on the complications that I did not want her to undergo surgery. I pushed for the conservative treatment which she already failed (steroid injections to the knee, NSAIDs). I asked for synvisc and per her orthopedic surgeon, it won't work anymore as her knee is pretty much bone to bone (without cartilage) seen on her x-ray. 

    My Mama is in pain. She is very active and still takes daily walks. I want to her to continue doing that for many more years. So yes, she needs the surgery. She has a strong will and a faithful heart. Please pray for her (and for me to stop worrying about complications!)


    7.       Picture I am sharing
    (on a very superficial ending) my outfit of the day. I super love this thrifted  JCrew corduroy jacket. I am wearing it again for today’s TK party.




    Rest: Turtleneck sweater ~ Express //
    Corduroy colored jeans ~ old navy // Boots ~ zulily (thanks Auntie Feli) //
    Purse ~ Burberry


    Happy Feast of St. Valentine’s!

    Join Jen for more quick takes! and congrats ~ the Edel gathering is SOLD OUT!Truly impressive. 



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