After my run I managed to rehydrate and pick up Regan all before 4:30. I think that might be a world record! Of course I’m pretty sure I smelled like all kinds of funky stuff when I picked her up, but her teachers didn’t speak of it if I did.

Once we got home Jason wasn’t too far behind us (after taking an emergency trip to the market at my request) and he surprised me with this…!!!

Yes my friends – that IS a cherry limeade from Sonic! I was a happy girl!

Happy enough to make dinner, do that dishes AND start laundry (even though it’s Jason’s day to do dishes) all that from a cherry limeade??

Dinner tonight was an experiment based off something I saw on Caitlin’s blog a week or so ago. My girls LOVE mac n cheese. They love anything that’s a pasta & cheese combo and usually will eat whatever is thrown in with it if it’s cut small enough. Regan doesn’t really care, but Linsey is the picky one. She can spot a broccoli bud (is that what they’re called) from 1000 paces. No joke!

So when I made this dish I made sure they were busy coloring in the living room and listening to music so they had zero idea of what was being concocted in the kitchen. What I was concocting was my own version of a cheeseless pasta bake. I’m determined to get my girls (again – mostly Linsey) to broaden their eating horizons even if I have to trick them in the beginning to do it.

I stuck fairly close to the original recipe, but since I was making it for four people things did go in the mix differently. Here’s what I used…

• 6 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 c liquid egg whites
• 1 (ish) c traditional hummus
• 1/2 tomato, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 bag frozen broccoli
• 1 box whole wheat rotini
• jarred marinara sauce

I cooked the pasta as the box said and at the last 3 minutes dumped in the broccoli.

In a separate bowl I mixed all the ingredients together (minus the pasta sauce) and then poured it all together in a medium sized casserole dish.

I baked it at 375 degrees for 30 minutes – per Caitlin’s directions.

Once it was done baking I portioned out 4 bowls and topped with a few spoonfuls of marinara sauce onto each one. Here’s mine…

Surprisingly enough Regan asked for “MORE PASTA!” and Linsey ate every bit of what I gave her. Believe it or not there where smiles all around!

I even got 2 thumbs up!!

Jason went back for seconds also, but was in NO mood for having his picture taken. He was a busy guy today and is currently off working. Maybe I will be married to a Matt Shadows look a like in the future after all…!

This is all I had left to wrap up of our new pasta go to dish…

I don’t know if Caitlin even reads my blog, but if you do here’s a big THANK YOU for coming up with another really healthy and super yummy pasta dish that my picky girls will eat!!

I’m signing off for the night.

I did 5 sets of the following exercises while Linsey pulled up Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas and Justin Bieber videos on youtube (does that make me a bad mother?)  for her and Regan to watch.  :eek:

Speed Weight Training x’s 5:

• 10 couch dips
• 10 squats
• 10 crunches
• 10 push ups

Nighty Night…

Sometimes I feel that life is passing me by, not slowly either, but with ropes of steam and spark-spattered wheels and a hoarse roar of power or terror.  It’s passing, yet I’m the one who’s doing all the moving.  ~ Martin Amis