Mel's Box of Chocolates

Tales from the Scales is having a low fat recipe swap this week and I just have to share one of my favorites. I am a huge Rachel Ray fan and have many of her cookbooks and while some recipes are NOT WW friendly a few are. This is one of my fave... Dan's Favorite Shrimp and Scallop Creole 1 tsp chili powder 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp hot pepper sauce black pepper, to taste 1 bay leaf 2 tsp dried thyme 2 stalks of celery, diced 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 med onion, chopped 4 scallion, thinly sliced 1 green pepper, diced 12 lg shrimp, cooked 12-16 lg sea scallops 15 oz canned crushed tomatoes 28 oz canned diced tomatoes 14 oz fat free chicken broth 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 1/2 link of smoked andouille pork sausage, diced 2 c water 1 c brown rice Boil water, then add rice. Reduce heat to simmer and cook, covered, for 15-20 minutes. While rice is cooking, heat deep pot over med-high heat. Add sausage and brown for 3-5 minutes. Add celery, onion, and bell pepper. Cook vegetables down ...

Over at Crazy Hip Blog Mama's they are giving away tarts...no not the kind you eat, but the kind you smell. You know, the tarts that are round and flat and you put them on top of little tea light burners...ah I see the light bulb coming on now! Well they are having a giveaway of a tart burner, tarts in the scent of your choice, and some tea lights all from Missy's Tempting Tarts . All you have to do to win is share a post of your favorite scent soooooo .... I love the smell of sunscreen on my kids! After a day at the beach we usually come home and jump in the pool to remove the sand and "take our bath." When they are finished they still have the faint scent of sunscreen and I love to cuddle with them, sniffing often. There is just something about the scent that screams SUMMER and BEACH! My other favorite would have to be the smell of a campfire. As a child, my family went camping often and I have many fond memories of sitting around a fire cooking breakfast or dinn...

I know, I know it is supposed to be TGIF, but today was our last day of the school week since we have a four day Labor Day weekend...so for this week it is truly TGIT ! I am thoroughly exhausted and ready for a break. Crazy, I know, since I have only been back to work for less than two weeks, but once you hear about this week maybe you can start playing that "world's smallest violin" for me or offering "some cheese to go with my whine". To begin with, we have been having nothing but trouble with Dylan's bussing this year and I swear I have talked to the school every single day trying to get things straight. Finally after many discussions it came down to me having to leave my house by 6 am to get him to daycare in time for the bus to pick him up or he wouldn't have a ride. If by chance we actually do make the bus, Dylan must then sit on the bus for an hour and 15 minutes before getting to school. Uh, I don't think so! Yesterday I finally solved the p...

Sniffle, sniffle, sneeze, sneeze, cough, cough... yep it's good to be back!

Finally my scale is doing this! Not that I blame my scale for not going down before...I know full well that it was all my fault. Just like I know it is totally me that has gotten these results this week. I went back to counting all my points and tracking them online and saw a pound and a half loss. It felt great this past week packing my lunch and keeping track of what I was eating. Almost every day I stayed within my points, which means I used every one, but I didn't go over so that was good. The treadmill is no longer our closet either as I hung the clothes that were over the railing and used it instead to walk three times this week earning a few activities points as well. Since I knew I had used at least some weekly allowance points last Saturday at my brother's wedding I was careful not to use any of them throughout the week so I wouldn't be over. With that being said there are some areas that I must work on this week. I only met my 5 vegetable/fruits one day and the re...

My mother-in-law, Sally's, birthday was this past Saturday and we had quite a celebration. She, my father-in-law, his sister, Dave, the kids, and I all went out for a crab feast at Hooper's in Ocean City . Hooper's is known for their crab feast that includes all you can eat crabs, steamed clams, steamed shrimp, bbq ribs, chicken, corn, and my personal favorite...sweet hush puppies! Here's a pix of gramma with Dyl and Zoe being greeted by the pirate at the front door. And another of gramma and Zoe in her most favorite spot! After dinner we headed back to our house for the cake because no birthday is complete without one, even if you are stuffed with crabs! Sally had requested a chocolate, chocolate cake and of course I just had to oblige, me being the nice daughter-in-law that I am (the fact that you even find the word chocolate in my blog title had nothing to do with it!). Zoe and Dyl helped make a devil's food chocolate cake that we iced with a chocolate ch...

Sometimes I cannot believe that I am old enough to have a son in 1st grade, but lo and behold that is where he went on Wednesday. Our district goes back pretty early and yesterday was the kids first day in school. Dylan was so very excited to be in 1st grade this year and couldn't wait to get started. He actually thought Tuesday was his first day and jumped in our bed at 5:30 a.m. saying we had to get up to go to school...oh to have his enthusiasm! So the past two days have been crazy as we have jumped back into the routine. Dylan gets on the bus at his daycare and then his afternoon bus drops him off at my school so we can spend some time together before picking up lil ' sis. I love being able to get him off the bus! Last year we had some major bus issues to the point that Dylan did not even want to go to school...this from the boy who raved about his teacher and how much he enjoyed Kindergarten made you realize that it was BAD. Thankfully though God has answered our prayers a...

Friday I went back to work for the first day. I actually got a lot accomplished thanks to the help of my student teacher, but didn't feel that I was really back since I scooted out early to head over to Baltimore for my brother's wedding. (The wedding was beautiful and pictures will be coming soon). Today, however, I was back to school for real and boy did it feel like it. The day began with out district breakfast, then work in the room, then a reading inservice, and more work in the room. I feel pretty good starting this year and things are coming together nicely. Of course I do still need to actually PLAN...like what the kids are going to learn, but my room is looking great. Setting up my room is one of my favorite things to do because I get to organize and decorate. Honestly, in how many professions do you get to feel that you are starting everything fresh?! I get to do it every 10 months! Not only was it nice to start getting things ready for the new school year, it was nic...

By golly, I think she's got it! Since I made you endure our potty adventures here and here , I thought it may be nice to share some success with you too. Zoe has been doing a fantastic job with her potty training...FINALLY!! She hasn't had any wet accidents in a few days (we won't discuss the dirty panties - see below) and even stayed dry during the 2 1/2 hour drive to my parents yesterday. Daddy drove her and he said she told him she had to go potty and held it until he could find an exit! She is doing a great job telling people when she has to go or running in to go by herself. Now while she has been great at the peeing, the other has not been as great. I have thrown out many panties from the last few days because I refuse to wash them out. However, tonight was the first night that she finally pooed in the potty and boy was she proud of herself. Of course I also screamed, danced, clapped, and added like a freak! Tomorrow we will be buying one heck of a toy I tell you cau...

Psheww ...it is the end of the day. So much has been happening this week... Monday, the kids and I spent the entire day at the beach since I thought it would be the last time we would make it on our summer vacation. We went straight from the beach to swimming lessons and came home exhausted. I had only enough energy to make and eat dinner before we all crashed in bed. Yesterday, the day began with a PTO meeting at 8:30 am, then went straight into another meeting where I met my student teacher, and then I drove two hours to my parents house. We have been trying to sell our car and since my brother totaled theirs they thought maybe they would just buy our car. So we drove over to drop off the car to let them try it out for a few days and also to pick up Dave's tuxedo and make sure it fit. I am glad that we went because the sleeves on the tux were way to long, so now there is enough time to get them fixed before the wedding on Saturday. We had a great day hanging out at my par...

Seafood is a favorite of my family! So when Dylan said he wanted to go clamming on Daddy's day off we all jumped on board...the boat that is...and headed out to dig up some clams. We anchored the boat in the shallow part of the bay and hopped out to start digging. Of course Zoe, Mako (the dog), and I just came for the picnic on the boat... After digging and eating it was time for some relaxation so Dylan and Zoe floated the afternoon away... We collected a few dozen clams throughout the day and of course the tough part was opening them when we got home...although I can't say I know this for certain considering I let the boys do all the shucking. Zoe and I just sat and watched and took pictures of course! (yes, Zoe is helping shuck clams in her new ballet outfit...don't ask!) Then came the best part...the clam feast! We had homemade clam chowder, steamed clams in white wine sauce, and fried clams. Could life be any yummier??!! *The shrimp was Dave's dinner...

So I guess I have to report on this week's weigh in. Saturday is usually when I weigh in because that is the day I chose when I began Weight Watchers and according to the scales then I lost 1lb. Now before you get happy for me, remember that I was not feeling well on Friday and spent most of the day in my bathroom so I have to confess that is probably why I had the loss. Now another confession is that I do weigh myself daily and according to the scale today I have gained back that pound plus another one. I'm okay with this though because this is my last week of summer vacation and I deserve the gain considering I had chocolate chip cookies for breakfast two days, beach fries one day, a McDonald's happy meal one day, and a couple ice cream cones...do I need to mention what time of the month it is?? So needless to say I am not at all surprised with my scale, but am confident that I will like the results much more next Saturday after a week of packed lunches and snacks.

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As if going to 1st grade was not enough of a reminder that my little boy is growing up, he came flying down the stairs this morning to tell me that his tooth is officially loose!! I don't know if he is more excited about being toothless like his friends or about the tooth fairy visiting. He has already reminded me many times today that the tooth fairy pays lots of money for teeth and he can't wait to see how much money he will get!

Please keep my family in your prayers as we have a lot happening right now. 1) My Father-in-law is in the hospital today having a surgery for prostate cancer. I am not sure of all the nitty , gritty details, but know that the surgery and recovery are not fun at all and that he would benefit from as many prayers as he can get. He found out in the beginning of spring that he may have an early stage of prostrate cancer and was given a couple options. One option was this surgery and after many wars with insurance companies was finally approved to get it done. So today is the day! I spoke to my MIL a little bit ago and it looks like he is out of surgery, but she has not been able to see him as yet. Please pray that the anesthesia would wear off quickly and for his comfort during this long recovery process. 2) My mom called this morning and my little brother Andrew was in a bad car accident last night. He is okay with minor cuts on his face due to the airbag and of course soreness , but i...

Crazy Hip Blog Mama's is looking for blue today so I thought it was the perfect time to share these... Zoe and I will be wearing these dresses in my brother's wedding next weekend. My mother-in-law made Zoe's dress and altered mine so we tried them on the other night and had a little fashion show for our boys. Zoe added the final touch of our tiara's. We had a blast dancing the night away in our princess dresses.

I know I am not the only one who is going through this heat wave and to all of those who must work out there...my cool thoughts are with you because I absolutely could not do it. We have been holed up in our house for the past three days because the moment we go outside clothes stick, sweat runs, and we are gasping for breath. You would think since we live 5 minutes from the beach that it would be at least a little bit cooler, but nope. We went out for dinner the other night and decided to walk on the boardwalk, since there is always a breeze on it, but even on it there was nothing except heat, heat, and more heat complete with lots of sweating! Yuck! So now I am off to join our dog, Mako ... who has not left this comfy spot on top of the air conditioner vent the last few days!!

Zoe has been crawling into our bed during the middle of night lately and last night was no different, except for the outbursts of "NO!", "STOP", "NO"! around 5 AM ! I thought she was having dreams, so I just rolled over and put a pillow over my head, but hubby being the considerate person he is decided to see what was wrong. He discovered Zoe yelling because her body was trying to rid itself of waste (that is as PC as I can get) and she evidently was not going to have it. As you all know we have been in the midst of the potty war, so hubby, being the dedicated person that he is, got out of bed and took her to the potty. Of course she did not want to have any part of this either and I was thoroughly awakened to screaming of "I DON'T WANT TO," "I CAN'T", and her favorite " NOOOOOOOOOOO !!!" (trust me my version of her "No" is much shorter and even in caps much quieter!!) So hubby sat, sat, and sat some more ...

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...especially where my scale is concerned. Although I'll take nothing happening because it means that nothing is going up either! It is week 13 of the May Day Challenge and I am still at the same weight that I was two weeks ago at my last report . I am still pretty darn proud of myself though for being able to maintain my weight, considering I honestly have not logged on to track my points in at least a month. Of course, I am always adding up points in the back of my mind throughout the days which I guess is showing that I have really changed my lifestyle and not just "dieted". Next Friday is goodbye summer vacation and hello to a new school year and while I loathe the summer ending, I have to say that I am really looking forward to getting back to a routine. I always have the same breakfast in the car on the way to school and since I pack my lunch I feel it is easier to stay on top of my points. So one more week of hopefully seeing nothing and then watch out cause...

Since my summer vacation is coming to a close we decided to sneak away to Pennsylvania for a mini family vacation. My in-laws were awesome and let us borrow their brand new RV so we could go camping. I know, I know, not the most primitive way of camping, but for my kids, who don't really experience much of the great outdoors, besides the beach, it was perfect. The RV was a huge hit... We spent one day in Hershey Park , chocolate capital of the US. Dylan got on his first big roller coaster and Zoe got on her first one too . By the end of the day though everybody was ready to head back to the campground, loaded with their goodies of course. That evening we lit a fire, made smores , and told scary stories...could life get any better? The campground where we stayed had a creek and we were lucky enough to get a site right on it. So the next morning Dave and the kiddos put on their Crocs and went crayfish hunting... One of my favorite things...

Hubby and I celebrated our 8 th wedding anniversary on Tuesday, July 31 and this was what I got him... The first night was hysterical as I truly thought Dave was going to have a heart attack while testing all of the sport games that came with the system. I don't think I have laughed that hard in awhile! The sport pack includes bowling, boxing, tennis, baseball, and golf. You can also complete challenges in each sport to discover your " Wii Fitness Age." Hubby decided that he was up for the challenge and when all was said and done had a Wii Fitness Age of 39, which is his real age...pretty cool, huh? So I decided to give it try...57!! I have a Wii Fitness Age of 57!!! What's up with that??

My little brother is getting married in a couple of weeks to one heck of a woman...I mean she is marrying my brother after all and right there shows how incredible she is...willing to spend the rest of her life with him. Dan and Lizann have been through a lot together including my brother's three deployments to Iraq, Marine life, parents, and crazy ex girlfriend's just to name a few! They actually met around 6 years ago, I think, and I met her the first time at my baby shower when I was pregnant with Dylan so she is the only "aunt" my kids have known. Right from the start Lizann seemed to fit into our family and I love having her around. For one period of time they were not together and just "friends" and I remember thinking that maybe we could disown my brother and keep her instead ;-). Growing up I never wanted a sister and was quite content with my brothers, but I am so happy to be blessed with a sister now and one that I really like too!! Lizann asked...

That is all I have left of my summer vacation *sniff*sniff*! Teachers go back to work on Friday, August 17 and then the kids join us the 22. WOW...I can't believe how fast this summer went. It seems like I was just counting down the days UNTIL summer vacation and now I already have to start counting back the days until school. The latter is most definitely not as fun!! I haven't been in my classroom at all and am contemplating dragging my feet in one day next week, preferably on a nice rainy day so I don't feel like I am wasting a beach day. Usually I start getting pretty down as the summer comes to a close and I think about leaving kiddos while I go back to work. I haven't gotten quite there yet, although I am sure that may have something to do with the potty training adventures occurring at home...a break may be nice. At the same time though I get excited to see what kids will be in my class, decorating my room, and getting back into a routine. The great ...