How to Freeze Rice and Oatmeal

I don't know why it took me so long to figure this out but I have found a lifesaver in my bulk meal making. I am now pre-making all my rice and oatmeal in huge pots and then make them into single servings and FREEZE THEM! It works! Totally works and is so easy!

Totally easy to do. Just make up a batch of rice or oatmeal. Let it cool down after it is done cooking so that you can handle it. Then just use a measuring cup (I use 1 cup size) and place the portioned size of rice onto plastic wrap and wrap it up tightly. I do that until all the rice or oatmeal is gone and then put it in a a Ziplock bag and into the freezer it goes. Super easy!

To defrost, pull out as many servings as you need for the next day, the night before and stick it in the fridge to defrost overnight. Pop it in the microwave or on the stovetop to reheat and there you have it! I can then add seasoning to the rice (cumin), or use it in stir fry and the oatmeal I add my tablespoon of Flax seed and stevia and I'm DONE! Super EASY! And one less thing to do in the morning when I have 2 kids screaming for their food in the morning.

Have you ever frozen rice or oatmeal before?

January Week 4 Recap

So my thing has has me doing indoor walking videos and PiYo. Read below for why we were at the house all week. As far as with PiYo I can tell a difference in my flexibility since the last time I did PiYo. The body is amazing. I started PiYo a couple of months after I had my second son. I still had the hormone relaxin in my system. Now that he is 8 months old, relaxin is completely gone and I am NOT as flexible as I was. I am looking forward to doing Buns and Core this week though. I am really trying to increase my leg strength right now. I have been doing squats everyday. This week I will be doing 50 squats a day. (5 rounds of 10) I didn't do my run on Saturday. I went and got my new shoes and never made it out later that day due to family stuff. ARGH! That means more work this week at the gym.

Mason: Is being so polite lately. He has learned to say you're welcome and excuse me. But on the flip side he also says go away. So it is a work in progress. He sure does love playing with his brother. And Collin loves it too. Collin just giggles away not matter what Mason is doing to him. They are going to be great friends!

This past week was an indoor week for us. We are in the midst of potty training Mason and he isn't quite ready to wear underwear out of the house just yet. But we did make some great progress this week with him though. Only 9 more #2's on the potty and he will get his reward dinosaurs. Potty training is going ok. He will wear underwear now, YEA, and only has 1-2 accidents a day, most days none at all. He refuses to go #2 on the potty. He did have a massive accident yesterday at church as it was our first experience out of the house without a diaper. He wanted to play and didn't tell his teacher he needed to go.

Collin: Collin likes to get himself in trouble these days. He has learned what the word "No" means and thinks it is funny every time. Kid wants to kill himself. He always goes to the stairs and the dog water dish and we always say no. He just looks at us and thinks we are the funniest people in the world. He will crawl to us if we ask him to. And it is super sweet. He is sleeping so well at night right now, only waking up mostly at 5:30am for a feeding then goes back to sleep till 9am. He does mommy quiet time too. He will go down at 12:30, on the dot, and will sleep till 2:30-3pm. Then he is up for a little while longer and takes about a 45 min nap from 5ish-6. Then goes to bed by 8:30pm. He tells us he is ready to go to bed. After nursing he will look at his bed as a sign that he is ready to go in. He doesn't fuss or complain. He just pushes himself up to look at me as I leave then plops his head down and is out for the count! IT IS AMAZING!

Workout Recap:
Sunday: rest
Monday: Squats- 40- 1 mile indoor walk
Tuesday: Squats- 40- 2 miles indoor walk
Wednesday: rest - PiYo Lower
Thursday: Squats- 40 - 2 miles indoor walk
Friday: Squats - 40 - 1 mile indoor walk
Saturday: rest got my new running shoes!

Fitbit Totals: 
Steps- 60,736 = 26.51 miles
Total stairs- 60
(I believe that I was charging my fitbit on Wednesday and that is why it didn't register any walking so, the numbers are off!)

My New Shoes

Well I have them and have now tried them out, once! Today, at the gym. And all I did was walk for 30 min and use the elliptical for 15 min. I am trying to get my feet used to them before my lovely 7 mile run this weekend.

So what did I get?

I got Asics GT 2000's. Aren't they PRETTY!

I will say I am a little on the fence. They do feel different. My foot actually is supported now and I hadn't realized how little support there really was in my old shoes. And my feet are kind of humming in the shoes right now. (like after you get an adjustment from the chiropractor and your body is like, this is good, but WHAT THE HECK DID YOU DO TO ME kind of humming.) Also the back of the shoes come up higher on my heel than my other ones did and I had some uncomfortable rubbing today.

Also the store said didn't have half sizes in stock for my Sasquatch feet, so I am in an 11 and my other shoes were an 11.5. I brought up this point with the shoe fitter guy and he said that they fit for now and how my feet are now not for how they could be in the summer with swelling and such. But since they are almost slipping now, a bigger size might not work that well!

~Here is what tread on the bottom of a shoe should look like!~

So the verdict is yet to be delivered at this point. I am going to see how tomorrows training run goes and I think I need to have my feet adjusted again at the chiropractor to make sure my talus is in the right alignment and then I might feel better overall about my new shoes. (it has been a few weeks since my last cracking session!)

~SUPER WHITE LEGS! EEK! Who needs a reflector when you are this white!~

(oh my goodness, Mason just giggled and it sounded like a pig squealing! so cute!)

Today Is The Day

Today I am going to get my new running shoes! Super excited for a brand new pair and to start training in them. A little nervous to find out if my foot has changed, or my support needs have changed. Maybe my foot size has changed too. It feels like so many things have changed in my feet since I have had Collin.

We were at Dick's Sporting Goods the other day and I made my way to the shoe area and was looking at the different running shoes. I remember that I was fitted with the ACIS GT 2000 and they didn't feel as good as my Brooks. I have had Nike's in the past and have wanted to try the ACIS Kayano and have heard great things about Mizuno. We will find out in just a few hours what I am destined to have for the next year and round of training!

Off to the running store I go now though to BUY MY NEW SHOES!

Early To Bed

Can I just say that I am totally loving the fact that Collin is sleeping in his own room! Maybe my friend has it right that she starts the kid in their own room from the day the baby comes home from the hospital, because this sleeping through the night thing is AMAZING! (awe man, another $1 in the jar!)

I have been sleeping so well at night. Thanks to my Fitbit charge I can actually see how much sleep I am getting and right now, especially the last 4 days has been AWESOME! (avoided using the other word!)

So, now my goal is to be in bed and asleep by 10pm every night. That allows me some time to blog, and check my social media stuff and chit chat with the hubs, maybe even catch an episode of something together before having to head off to bed. I think I have done pretty well with this so far this week. And since the sun doesn't come up till a little bit later, I am even able to sleep in for a little while longer before Mason yells at me to open the door. (Mason wakes with the sun. So in the winter he sleeps in and in the summer he is up and at 'em by 5am.) This has been so nice for me since working out super early just doesn't work for me. I tried it, see my post here about how I was going to try it. I failed at it and realized that I am just not an early morning waking up kind of person to work out! And that is ok! I am getting it done in the morning and I am ok with that!

There are some good reason why to go to bed early though and get a good night sleep: It can help with losing weight, keep your appetite under control, improve your memory, make you more nice, less grumpy, clear thinking, less chronic pain and inflammation. Give it a try for a week and see what it does for you!

So far though I am doing pretty well with the sleeping. I am just hoping that I can keep it up.

What time do yo go to bed?

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