This Spring Break we took some time to go to Bandera to visit my in-laws and then take a couple of days to spend just the four of us in San Marcos. We had a really great time!
Bandera is the self proclaimed cowboy capital of the world, which is not for me because I am a true city girl. I cannot stand cowboy/country anything. But it is good for the kids to visit their grandparents and get out in nature.
They had a blast with their cousin! They dug for fossils, they ran through the woods, they climbed hills, you name it and they did it.
We visited an apple orchard...
We visited an old Native American settlement, Camp Verde...
We visited the Medina River...
We hung out at the B&B that my husband and I stayed at because the boys were spending the night with the grandparents...
We had a good time.
Then the four of us headed an hour back towards home to the New Braunfels/San Marcos area.
I felt at home! It was amazing to still have some of the beautiful Hill Country, but still be in civilization!
We went to Wonder World and did the cave tour, the train ride through their wildlife zoo, and did the anti-gravity house.
We went to the Snake Farm Zoo.
We went back to Gruene to eat at the Gristmill and enjoy the town.
We shopped and played and wore the kids out! It was a great trip.
For those of you who know Jansen, you know that he is a hilarious, sweet, loving, helpful, kind-hearted, child. He is also a bit lazy and is the most stubborn child in the world.
When he was three, we put him in soccer, and he literally stood like a statue on the field. The coach got onto the field and physically lifted him and moved him around the field. I was so embarrassed. But he was not into it.
I am the type of parent that wants to expose my children to a wide variety of activities in hopes that they will find their passion, or at least an enjoyment of something extracurricular. The only thing Jansen has been interested in is food and eating. Nothing excites him more that food. He turns into this giggly, super happy kid. I am ok with that, and will nurture that aspect. We put him in a summer cooking class, he cooks with me in the kitchen, and we are planning to take a tour of the Culinary Institute of America. But all the eating combined with being a naturally lazy child is not healthy.
We offered soccer, football, basketball, baseball....no to all. I am certainly not going to force him to do anything because I don't want to fight that battle. But he chose tennis, was excited about it, and so we found a coach and got started.
He loves it! He is so motivated and proud of himself. He is out there running, moving, and having a great time. His coach told me this weekend that he has some natural talent and that he is about three lessons ahead of where she normally begins teaching. So encouraging! We talked with him about how he can continue to play through intermediate and high school and maybe through college if he wants. But our house rule is once you commit to an activity, you must continue for a year minimum. So far so good. He is having a blast!!!
Ugh. I am getting tired of cooking. I can't believe that we all have to eat THREE times a day! It's crazy!!!
Anyway, today I tried a new low carb recipe. I made bacon wrapped chicken tenders, stuffed with mushrooms and monterrey jack cheese, set on top of cauliflower "rice".
The rice had a texture more like cole slaw, which is great because I love cole slaw. The chicken was good. I could have just eaten a bowl of the rice, honestly. But my husband said, "Hey, babe! This is awesome!"
It will definitely be added to the low carb rotation...the list is growing!
In an effort to lose the 10 pounds I have gained since November, I am returning to the Atkins diet with my husband. I must cook meals...even though I hate it.
Last week, I shared several recipes I tried that were pretty tasty and today I will share another one. Today was the first time in my life that I have ever eaten spaghetti squash, and I must say, it was pretty good.
Here's how I made it:
Poke a few holes in a nice spaghetti squash and microwave it for about 3 minutes on each side. This will make it easier to slice in half.
Slice it in half, lengthwise, spoon out the seeds, and coat the remainder with a nice layer of olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake for about an hour at 400 degrees.
When cool, rake the insides with a fork to create "noodles".
Add 4 or 5 meatballs to the inside and top with spaghetti sauce, and mozzarella cheese. I used an Atkins recipe to make the meatballs ahead of time. Broil on high for about 5 minutes and voila!
It was pretty good. Next time I would add more sauce...a lower carb sauce and I would maybe add some different seasonings to the meatballs. All in all, not a bad alternative to traditional spaghetti and meatballs.
Following yet another doctor appointment in Houston, we have finally scheduled my surgery. After two and a half years of trying different medications and procedures, the end is near. I am having a hysterectomy on March 25th.
So for now, I am busy with appointments and getting things planned way in advance, cleaning and organizing the house, and getting everything I will need at the store. I will be staying in the hospital overnight just to make sure everything is ok.
Boy, I am looking forward to getting this over with!
Because we are not sure what the next few months to 2 years holds for me as I wait for acceptance into nursing school, the hubs and I wanted to get away for a little adult time. My parents graciously kept our children this weekend so Josh and I could head to San Antonio.
San Antonio is only about a 3 and a half hour drive from our town and really has a lot to offer. We took the back roads so that we could just randomly stop at scenic places along the way. I love that about Josh. If I wanted to stop somewhere, he was all for it. It wasn't about a time schedule, it was about spending time with each other and sharing experiences.
He wanted to stop in Shiner to see the brewery where they brew Shiner beer. They have a free tour...and thank goodness it was free. It wouldn't have been worth it if we had paid for it.
The area was beautiful and the tour lasted all of 5 minutes.
They showed us the large copper vats where the beer is stored...
and showed us the lab where they randomly test each batch...
and that was it. Here are our faces after the tour...
Josh wasn't all that impressed, but I was glad to just say we saw something new.
Then we headed for San Antonio. We checked into our hotel, which was the Holiday Inn Riverwalk...right on the Riverwalk. The scenery was beautiful.
We dropped off our luggage in the room and started walking the riverwalk. We went to the River Center Mall at the end of the river and sat outside at Tony Roma's to eat dinner and enjoy the live music. Then we just walked around the mall, shopping for ourselves and the kids, and then went to see a comedy show. Um, yeah....it was really sad. There were very few people there, which is embarrassing for the the performers, and in general, they were just not funny. We tried to laugh...but it was really rough.
After coming back to the hotel, we slept until 8am the next morning and headed down for our free buffet breakfast. It was awesome to sit by the river in peace and quiet just enjoying coffee and breakfast, planning the day.
We decided to walk to the Alamo again, because really, it never gets old.
Then we went across the street to experience the wax museum. I loved it!
It included a 4D movie experience, which was pretty cool, and also included admission to Ripley's Believe It Or Not. That was CRAZY!!!
Then we headed back to the Riverwalk to eat lunch at Casa Rio. After lunch, we hopped in a cab to head over to the old Pearl Brewery, which they are renovating into the coolest living and shopping area. It also includes the Culinary Institute of America on site, which Jansen really wanted to go into. Too bad he wasn't with us, and that the CIA was closed on weekends.
There was a farmer's market going on so we did a bit of shopping there.
After that, we came back to the hotel to take a nap and get ready for our fancy dinner at The Palm.
We got dressed up, and walked over to The Palm, which was maybe two blocks from our hotel. The Palm is known for having 3, 4, 5, and 6 pound lobsters!! WHAT?!
So Josh ordered a 4 pound lobster and a 14 ounce filet....
Unbelievable!!!
I got veal parmesan and it was delicious, but way too big!
After spending way too much money there, we left to go to Howl at the Moon. Once we got there, it was standing room only and we are not 22 anymore. We were looking for a jazz club to sit, and have drinks, and just relax. Not happening that night. We walked around looking and looking and couldn't find anything, so we went back to our hotel bar. I stayed for a while, and then left Josh there to go back to the room. There was a big fight on TV that night and he stayed to bet on it with a guy he met in the lobby.
We were excited to get home the next day. If we hadn't stayed on the river, we could have gotten into the car and headed to a million other places in San Antonio. The reason we didn't is because our hotel charged $28 each time to park. RIDICULOUS! So we left the car in the garage and stayed within walking distance.
We were very glad to get away and happy to get back home. Now we wait for a little family trip next week to Bandera to go visit my in-laws and stay a day in San Marcus to visit Wonder World.
Jansen has started tennis lessons.
This is the only sport he has even been remotely excited about. About a week ago, I found an instructor that a friend of mine uses and she had very few spots left. Thank goodness she had one lesson spot on Saturdays in the early afternoon because that is just perfect for us.
Even though my husband and I were off this weekend on an adults only getaway, Jansen had his first lesson. Thank goodness my mom was able to take him and by the time we got home, he was showing us everything he learned.
He can't wait to go back. Oh thank goodness we found something that he is enjoying!!! How cute :)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.PNG)