The Good Life

The good weather in Arizona has arrived and we are loving it.  Park day everyday!!

Happy New Year!!  We started our "goal" a week before...we never take New Year's seriously, but this year "why not?"  We were ready after my marathon of baking new cookie recipes to be free from sugar for a month, to be exact February 1st.  This sugar free experiment for us means no added sugar to cereals (including hot cereal such as oatmeal, steel cut oats, or cream of wheat, no syrup, etc), the obvious no desserts, no soda, and no juice.  It includes some consulting with each other, but after a week we weighed in.  I lost 4 pounds, Jimmy lost 10 pounds.  Yes, our sugar intake is out of control, it made the resisting temptations sweeter (pun, haha) when we saw the benefits.  It still needs to end with maybe a less constricting restriction.  The reward is a competition.  If Jimmy loses (meaning he gives in and eats sugar) I get $50 to spend on what I want, if I lose Jimmy gets $50.  Well, if we both last all the way through we get to go out to eat at Serrano's, a restaurant we've had on our bucket list after getting a small taste of it at the Christmas parade we recently went to.   So then the challenge became 2 fold, no going out to eat until Serrano's, it'll be one delightful day.  

To distract us...we took Dad away from work to the park for some lunch and playground time.

Everly loves green smoothies (big bonus is a sweet with no sugar, win!), she keeps stealing our cups away and slathering her face in it.  We struggle with other solid foods, but she finds this green goo irresistable, hah!

Sometimes she looks like a squirrel when she feeds herself...

He may not openly admit it, but he seems to love his Christmas present.  Found him during his quiet time/nap time like this.

She's just a ball of fun!  She was so funny last night as I was crawling into bed, I could hear her tossing and turning some and then heard her spitting and fell back asleep again without any help on my end (later in the night unfortunately was not the same story).  Once she discovered her tongue can spray spit and make a great noise it needs to be discovered over and over again apparently even half asleep.