Today has been a day of chillin and relaxing AKA chill-axing!

After Regan went down for her nap Linsey and I broke open one of my favorite movies. Jason bought me the gift set for Christmas a few years ago, but oddly enough I’ve never watched it with Linsey. We fixed that this afternoon.

If you’ve never seen it ( ) it’s all about…

With my favorite quote of ALL time…

Every time Christian (Ewan McGregor) says that I secretly wish I was Satine (Nicole Kidman) but shhhhhhhhh – don’t tell Jason!

Lunch was more of the same from last night so there isn’t a picture . I just had another dish of vegetable fried rice and tofu triangles. I drowned it in soy sauce and spicy mustard - MY FAV!!

Then I took the girls on a long walk and we passed a giant piece of “urban art” outside of a church. It was pretty cool so we crossed the street to get a closer look.

The signs say “Lend a ladder, build a community. transcend2010.org”

After checking out the website I realized that today is build day #1 so it will get bigger and better over the next few days. We’ll have to walk by again to check it out!

We stopped at the park and played for about an hour or so and then Regan started fighting with a little boy. She’s pretty tough and I feared for the boys life so we left.

Jason’s still at the old house finishing up the painting and has left me in charge of dinner. I’m still thinking and haven’t come up with anything. Maybe we’ll dine on peanut butter and jelly!

By the Ewan – they’re blue…

No - it’s NOT McDonald’s!

I’m loving the fact that it’s Saturday.

I’m loving the fact that the weather is beautiful outside.

I’m loving that we have absolutely no where to be today.

I’m loving that we have no where to be ALL weekend!

But most of all I’m loving that Jason brought THIS home for breakfast…

a cranberry bagel with honey walnut cream cheese and…

a large hazelnut coffee from Bread Co. My morning is a 10 already!!!

Jason will be spending the majority of the day at the old house finishing the cleaning and repainting the girls rooms back to the original color. The girls and I will be here doing laundry, dishes (we still don’t have a dishwasher ) and then going for a very long and much needed walk around the city.

Right now I’m looking at this…

which I’ve changed to this…

(it’s the Chicago River dyed green for St Patrick’s Day) because I needed something new to look at while doing this…

The house is almost done, but there is still last minute things left like hanging pictures, moving Christmas decorations and such down to the basement and then we should be finished…FINALLY! But here’s a sneak peek just for you…

Gotta go make great use of this day!!

I have to tell you just how ecstatic I am! Not because I’m rich (cause I’m not). Not because I’m perfect (cause I’m SO not). Not because my life is exactly what/where I thought it would be (cause it’s not). Not cause I’m off work until Tuesday (cause…) YES I AM!!

Hey people – it’s totally about the little things these days!

I woke up this morning so ready for my breakfast because I barely ate any dinner last night. We had Linsey’s meet the teacher night and didn’t get home until after 8:00.

This bowl of overnight oats was “gone in 60 seconds”…ok not really, but I ate it really fast. I can’t express just how deeply I love bananas and chocolate peanut butter. It’s true love I tell you!!

Regan didn’t have school today so once we got Linsey off for the day we met my mom so she and Regan could have a day of Grandmother/Granddaughter bonding. I’m 100% positive that Regan wore her out.

They came back to the deli for lunch (meaning Regan had NO nap today) and we were able to all sit together and chat a bit over a meal. I had a HUGE garden salad with honey mustard dressing and a piece of toasted pumpernickel rye with melted pepper jack cheese.

Then my mom took Regan to the park so I could finish up what I had left for the day…count down the drawer, drop off pies at the BMW motorcycle shop and then go to the bank.

We spent the majority of the evening putting our kitchen together. Jason bought me a new shelf to make up for the lost pantry space and I was able to get almost everything put away. The dishwasher should be fixed tomorrow…ummm – YAY!! I am so stoked to have a dishwasher again. It has been far too long.

When the girls started telling us how hungry they were we realized it was almost 7:00 and still hadn’t had dinner. Chinese delivery to the rescue…

Vegetable fried rice with tofu triangles was my choice. The girls went with vegetable lo mein and Jason had general tso’s chicken.

But apparently this one just couldn’t hold out for dessert…

Luckily – there wasn’t one!!

Now that Linsey’s gone to bed I may not be far behind. I’m just overjoyed with the fact that I don’t have to be anywhere or do anything (other than finishing the last bits of unpacking) until Tuesday.

Now – it’s time for a “Mommy brag session”…

Linsey has been taking dance classes since she was about 3 years old. Now that she’s 9 she was ready to try out for her dance school’s yearly production of The Nutcracker. Saturday was the big day (we were moving so I couldn’t take her – my mom did) and yesterday we got the results. Linsey was cast in THREE different parts for this years production!! I’m so proud of her and I think that she, for the first time since being in dance, is really proud of herself. She is a beautiful dancer and really loves it which makes it even better. I cannot wait to see this years production. I think she’s going to have quite the crowd of fans in the audience!!

I’m off to enjoy a few quiet moments before crashing for the night. I promise to have new house pics up soon. We still have a little rearranging to do and all of our pictures have to be hung. I’m hoping all of that is done by Monday.

Nighty night…

Today is one of those days. You know the kind; when it’s dark and gloomy when your alarm clock goes off. You can hear the rain pelting the window in rhythmic sound making opening your eyes that much harder.

Today is one of those days. You know the kind where you don’t really want anything for breakfast, but know you have to eat something so you just mix your favorite three or four cereals into a bowl and call it a meal.

Today is one of those days. The kind where seeing these smiling faces makes everything else seem so trivial and insignificant. The kind where you feel better deep down inside because these smiles are all for you.

Today is one of those days. The kind where you are so busy that you feel like you can’t catch your breath. The kind where you are sweaty and it’s not even hot outside. The kind where you feel like there is no end insight even though you know it will come in a matter of hours. Today is one of those days that eating your lunch 30 minutes later than actually making it doesn’t bother you a bit because you’re just happy to be sitting down.

Today is one of those days. The kind where you’ll be spending the evening doing load after load of laundry and watching movies with wild girls until they pass out from pure exhaustion.

Today is one of those days. The kind where you really want to eat just this for dinner…

But to be a good influence on said wild girls you decide to have this for dinner BEFORE eating the other.

Today is one of those days. You know the kind…you want to curl up in bed, watch movies and fall asleep all snuggly and warm with your girls on both sides of you, but since today IS one of those days you know you have to get the other stuff done and pray that Friday will be the other one of those days – the kind where the snuggling in bed takes place.

The bed is a bundle of paradoxes:  we go to it with reluctance, yet we quit it with regret; we make up our minds every night to leave it early, but we make up our bodies every morning to keep it late.  ~Charles Caleb Colton

Ever feel “green with envy”…

Or like you’re fighting an uphill battle?

Well that’s how I have been feeling lately.

I’ve been feeling resentful of those who have the freedom to work out when they what, how they want, whenever they want. I’m determined to do this marathon in October, but have not been able to train properly due to my unbelievably crazy schedule.

Now that we’ve been moving I’ve had even less time to do anything. Jason’s back in school which means even less time to get things done. I’m very stressed and have been in a foul mood for a few days. Hopefully I can snap out of it once our house is back in order.

Hopefully…

I started out the morning with a bowl of cereal mix.

It was yummy and filling and easy – which is key right now. My kitchen is still in shambles and easy is what I need.

Linsey has been walking to school with friends since the move which gives me a few extra minutes in the morning. This particular morning those extra minutes were spent getting stuff for the deli at the store. I had to laugh when I passed this in the soup aisle…

Why would you need a vegetable soup made with beef stock AND a vegetarian vegetable soup?? Shouldn’t vegetable soup BE vegetarian??

Things were slow at the deli, but we made the most of any down time by cracking jokes, cleaning and generally being silly. Love that!!

Lunch was a little of everything thrown between two slices of bread.

With a small cup of potato soup along side. Then I indulged my sweet tooth!

I could only finish about half of this chocolate on chocolate cupcake, but the half I did eat was SUPER good!!

Gotta pick up the monkey girl from school now…I’ve been taking advantage of Linsey being at dance to get this done. Not sure if I can get another post in this evening, but will try with all my might!!

There is more to life than increasing its speed.  ~ Mohandas K. Gandhi

Hey guys! I’ve been working my you know what off since Friday and there is still more to do. I had to take a break for a few minutes to get some bills done and figured I could stay at the computer a little longer.

This is what my old house looked like yesterday morning…

All that stuff was moved over to the hew house yesterday by 4:30. The guys made record time and barely stopped to eat lunch (pizza that I had delivered) and never complained once.

I had some serious sore muscles this morning when I woke up, but that couldn’t stop me. I have an entire house to unpack and organize by this weekend. Well – that’s my own personal goal. I HATE having my house be all messed up and unorganized. It’s my flaw…

Back to it!

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. ~ Walt Disney

Hey Guys! I kind of feel like today was the day that wouldn’t end. Ever have one of those days?? It’s 8:00 and there is still stuff I need to get done before going to bed, but I just don’t have the motivation at the moment.

So blogging comes first.

Another day – another bowl of over night oats. It is the breakfast of champions…I believe!

This one just had half of a banana and a scoop of chocolate peanut butter, but it was damn tasty!

As the girls and I were getting in the car to leave for the morning I hear from the backseat, “Mama! My Lunch!” Apparently getting from the house to the car requires at least one trip back into the house before we can officially say we’re ready.

We were rocking at Maria’s Deli and my dad was a huge help. I think we may have to put him on the payroll!! Don’t I look cute when I’m at work??

( photo source )

My lunch looked good too!

I’m all about getting in as many veggies at lunch as possible. A giant garden salad does the trick quite nicely. Served with a piece of toasted pumpernickel rye with melted pepper jack cheese makes it just that much better.

After work I needed to pound some pavement. A run was just what I needed.

before run…

I look all chipper and smiley.

after run…

I was hot, sweaty and out of breath! But it was well worth it. Despite my lead filled legs I managed to finish 3 miles in 32 minutes…WOOT!!

If my run wasn’t work out enough – I decided that going to Target BEFORE dinner with BOTH girls was a good idea. This is a “no one gets out alive” kind of situation. It called for the proper nutrition…

Let me tell you – with out this little baby ( a grande skinny hazelnut latte) one of those girls would have been left behind – ON PURPOSE!! Lucky for them I thought ahead.

I managed to get dinner cooked, on the table and in our tummies before 7:30. Some days that is a miracle in itself…like today. A meal of whole wheat linguine, roasted garlic parmesan sauce, broccoli and veg buffalo wings (regular nuggets for the girls) hit the spot.

Finished off by a small piece of homemade (not by me) carrot cake made everyone that much happier.

So there you have it…a day in the life of RealFitMama. Not too exciting, but trust me when I say – it takes a lot of work to do what I do and not be certifiably insane.

Any mother could perform the jobs of several air traffic controllers with ease. ~ Lisa Alther

HEEEEEYYYYY!!! My MiFi card is fixed and I’m blogging from my couch. LOVE IT!

This morning I woke up and Linsey was already awake. It was 6:30! She just HAD to talk to Jason about what her science fair project should be since EVERY 4th grader has to do one. 6:30 in the morning people! This girl is a little OCD…

After a shower and quick walk for the dogs we gathered around the table for breakfast. Mine was a rerun from yesterday, but it was just as good and that’s all that matters.

Overnight oats with frozen dark cherries and chocolate peanut butter – cause THAT’S how I roll!

The girls enjoyed their breakfast too…amidst all the boxes.

Our house is in shambles and those girls (my girls!) are still all smiles. That’s what I love most about being their mother.

Got to work and had a busy day of chatting withcustomers, making salads, cleaning up messes and laughing with the hubs. All was good even if business was slower than we wanted. I sat down for a small yet tasty lunch (cup of potato soup & small caeser salad) about 1:30.

After work I went for a 4.5 mile power walk. My legs were super sore from yesterday’s motorcycle ride. I guess being terrified out of my mind and clenching with every ounce of my body to stay on that bike did a little number on me. The walk felt great though and since I had no music (my iPod died) I used that hour to think and talk to myself. It ended up being the perfect mishap!

Then I picked Regan up from school and we ran errands. We hit the bank to make a deposit, Target to pick up her prescription & vanilla almond milk, then came the Verizon Wireless store. The place was packed and our wait was long.

Regan was awful at first. She screamed and ran around and then my hero arrived…a Verizon employee showed her the cell phones. It was love at first sight…

Can you see the intensity in that kids eyes?? She told me she was “tesing Nana”…I believe that to mean “texting her Grandmother?”

Dinner was short and sweet. Bagel Breakfast sandwiches…

This was a multi grain bagel (from Bread Co) topped with 2 eggs (from a local, organic farmer that we know well) with muenster cheese, fresh spinach and sundried tomato cream cheese.

Jason and the girls are at their Tuesday night meeting and I’m finishing the laundry. I know. I know…too much excitement!

Happiness is not an ideal of reason, but of imagination.  ~ Immanuel Kant

I broke down…

Our MiFi card still isn’t working.

I can’t take it in until tomorrow.

So I bribed the girls with overpriced peanut butter & jelly at Bread Co so I could get some work done. Just call me mother of the year!

I woke up this morning with one thing on my mind…BREAKFAST!

YEP! That would be my favorite version of overnight oats – with frozen dark cherries and chocolate peanut butter. HEAVENLY!!! On twitter I said it was a “breakfast orgasm”…

The deli was hoppin and poppin today. We broke $400 and that is great for a Monday. We were so busy that I worked straight thru lunch and my only sustenance was half of a chocolate chip cookie. Not very RealFitMama I know, but hey – a girls gotta do… To celebrate (not really cause this was already planned) a friend took me on a motorcycle ride.

It was a BMW 1300…in case you were wondering.

Ryan helped me get all my riding gear on properly.

Apparently there still are moments in an adults life when they need help getting dressed…this was one of those moments.

ALL DRESSED!!!!

THE bike.

ASS SHOT!!!!

Ready? Set?

GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And we drove rode off into the sunset…or rush hour traffic anyway. Not gonna lie – I was scared shitless. I held on to Ryan for dear life and may have even pushed my knees through his hips once or twice, but in the end (when the shaking subsiding) it was pretty awesome.

I think I need another ride…or twelve to feel more comfortable.

Now I’m safe and sound back on the ground and finishing up my dinner…

The Mediterranean Veggie. YUM!!!

See you tomorrow…hopefully. *****fingers crossed*****

Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death.  ~ Hunter Thompson

Last night Jason’s aunt Marilyn (who was in town from Atlanta on business) took the whole family out to dinner. Jason’s sister and father drove up from Springfield, MO to visit with us for the day.

After an afternoon of shopping till we dropped (Marilyn wanted to buy some jeans for the girls and we obliged her HEY – times are tough and kids clothes are expensive. If a nice family member wants to help us out a little I’m eternally grateful) dinner was sounding better and better.

So we hopped in two cars and headed to The Hill (a portion of St Louis that is mostly populated with Italian families, Italian restaurants, Italian shops etc) where we had 6:15 dinner reservations.

After a multitude of detours, turn arounds and getting stuck behind a train we made it – 15 minutes late.

The Hill is a charming little area of St Louis and we actually looked at living there when we first moved back to St Louis. It’s very cute, quaint and reminds me a lot of what I picture New Jersey to be like. You can walk everywhere and there are tons of restaurants, markets and people. 

The restaurant, Lorenzo’s, was located on the corner of Edwards and Dagget.

Once inside we met the rest of the family who had been there on time. OOPS! The restaurant had the typical low lighting that makes picture taking next to impossible, but I managed to get a few shots of the menu…

 my meal (hand made spinach gnocchi with pine nuts, truffle oil marinated tomatoes and mozzarella cheese)…

with a side dish of polenta (I was dying to have some).

and not much else. We were located at a long rectangular table so taking pictures of our group always meant that part of the family was in the “black spot” and couldn’t bee seen.

Our end of the table did share an order of canoli’s…and they were YUMMM!

Not gonna lie – the food was really amazing, but I felt so sick when I got home. Eating out has become less and less fun for me because I always feel so sick afterward. The foods too rich, the portions are too big and my stomach just can’t take it.

I would definitely go back to Lorenzo’s for a special occasion or something. It was kind of pricey for me, but I really loved that polenta though…

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I had intended on getting up at 7:00 and going for a 4 mile run, but in my food enduced coma I forgot to set my alarm and ended up sleeping until 8:00. Linsey and Regan were already up and hungry so I made pancakes instead. We  just finished breakfast. I made Bob’s pancakes and topped them with honey greek yogurt and homemade blueberry compote.

I also had one veggie maple sausage patty.

Plus a large hazelnut coffee from Bread Co.

We will be spending the rest of today cleaning, doing dishes and packing. Moving day is T – 3 days!!!

Maybe I can get my run in during Regan’s nap time…