Protein Bars

I love sweets..and Mike doesn't. He is a lot more disciplined and eats healthier. Boring! :)
The other day my mom found a protein bar recipe in the Seasons Magazine from Hyvee. Do you receive this? I love it. There are good recipes so often.

Here is the link where you can request a copy: http://www.hy-vee.com/seasons/default.aspx
There are recipes for bars they suggest and it has the nutritional information as well.

The protein bars are sweet enough to satisfy my need for a sweet and you can make them different each time so you don't get tired of the same 'ol protein bar.

You choose one ingredient from each category:
                                                                                                                    
1. Grain:                                               
 (2 cups)                                                                                                                                 
-old-fashioned
-quick oats                         
-crisp brown cereal
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       2. Sweetener:
  (3/4 cup)   
 -honey                   
-agave nectar
-brown rice syrup
-pure maple syrup

 3. Nut Butter:
 (1 cup)
-natural peanut butter
-almond butter
-cashew butter
-sunflower nut butter

4. Seeds or Wheat Product:
 (1 cup of any except 1/4 cup of chia seeds)
-whole sesame seeds
-unprocessed wheat bran
-wheat germ
-pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
-chia seeds

5. Powdered Protein:                         
    (1 cup)                                            
   -vanilla whey protein powder                        
   -nonfat dry milk powder                                          
                                                    
6. Nuts or chips: 
     (1 cup)                                                      
  -chopped walnuts                                                      
  -almonds
  -cashews                                                                                                   
  -sunflower nuts                                                                                                      
 -dark chocolate chips
  -carob chips

7. Dried Fruit:
   (1 cup)
  -raisins
  -dried cherries
  -dried cranberries
  -dried goji berries
 -chopped dried apricots
 -chopped dates
 -chopped prunes
 -chopped figs

-Choose ingredient options. Mix all ingredients together (the recipe says using an electric mixer or food processor..but it depends on the ingredients you use because I just used a spoon and it worked fine) Press evenly into an 8 or 9 inch pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Refrigerate for an hour to firm bars.

 I just made them from what I had in my pantry..

-Old fashioned oats
-pure maple syrup (I only used 1/2 cup cuz Mike wanted them less sweet..and it made them a little crumbly)
-natural peanut butter
-chocolate whey protein powder
-ground flaxseed
-(I usually have walnuts..but was out!)
-raisins

Enjoy!

Words of a Mom

Dear mother of only one child, don’t blame yourself for thinking that your life is hard.  You’re suffering now because you’re turning into a new woman, a woman who is never allowed to be alone.  For what?  Only so that you can become strong enough to be a woman who will be left.


Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/to-the-mother-with-only-one-child#ixzz1k3cPSnpS

 

 

I thought this was written so well. I had to share it. It just hit me because its so true. It's tiring being the one he always comes too..but it's also so precious becuase it won't happen for long :)

15 months

So I am about a week late..but it's better than never :) I seem to be able to get one post out each week. Things are going well in the Scheffert household. James is learning something new everyday and Eli is getting bigger and more active! I went to the doctor on Tuesday and heard his heartbeat. It was in the 150s so that was great. Not so good news though..I failed my glucose test! I couldn't believe it. I scored 166 and your blood sugar has to be below 140. oops. big fail. So now I have to go tomorrow and take a 3 hour test. I have had to eat a candy bar a day for 3 days at the same time and then fast from midnight tonight thru the completion of the test. They prick me 4 times and I have to pass 2 of them. I am praying it was a fluke that I failed because I swear I don't think I could eat much healthier and I already workout 4 times a week. I mean, of course I indulge in a sweet treat close to once a day..but it's not like I'm eating junk the rest of the day. So we'll see. Praying for a good outcome.

I have been feeling great though and I have worked out more consistently this time around than I did with James. I worked out when I was pregnant with him, but once the summer came I know I took all of June off and then throughout the summer went pretty irregularly. With Eli I have been in the gym 3-4 days a week though. I asked my dr if I have gained less this time around because I had looked back at pictures and I look smaller. She said at 26.5 weeks I weighed 169lbs and when I went in the other day at 28 weeks I weighed 160lbs. So that's pretty good. I started 10 lbs lighter this time, but I'm 2 weeks farther into my pregnancy too. So yeah!

James is 15 months already and so much fun. He has learned a couple more words, animal sounds and signs. He loves to dance to music and has picked up when we think something is funny he will laugh too. It's so cute. Here's what he's up to:

-Animals/sounds he does: horse, monkey, elephant, lion, giraffe, sheep, alligator, fish, cow, mouse, cat, dog, snake, car, firetruck

-Words he says: Mommy, daddy, no, ball, banana, deer

-Signs: eat, help, all done, more, drink, water, cracker, peanut butter, (shakes his head yes/no), ouch, bell, raisin, hot

-Still 2 naps a day for about an hour each. Sometimes only 40 mins each..those days are long :)

-Eating great! He loves to try new things. He likes mushrooms, green pepper, olives, baby tomatoes...not normal, right? :) But he eats everything we eat. I buy him some gerber chicken sticks and pastas for lunch when we don't have leftovers or when it's too spicy for him. He isn't a fan of spicy yet. The other night I gave him a bite of our enchilada casserole thinking "oh this will be great for him. It's rice, beans and shredded chicken." He took a bite and said it was hot and started crying. I felt so bad!

His new thing is to come tell me "help please" and then reach for my finger to drag me where he wants to go. It's nonstop :) He has also gotten a little used to mommy being around because it seems he prefers to grab my finger rather than daddy's. I think he might have a little wake up call when Eli gets here!

He loves to read though. He will go through his book basket and bring you one by one to read. He loves grandpa tim to read him books especially because he is so good at the animal sounds. He will sit on your lap and listen to some books 5 times in a row. He keeps us busy :)

UPDATE: Well it's not really cuz I didn't find anything out yet. I had my blood drawn today and sat in the lab for 3 hours today to find out of I have gestational diabetes, but they don't tell me the results. I have to wait for Dr. Cada to call me on Monday to tell me. Dang..more waiting. :)

Eli Timothy

By now I'm sure you've seen the pictures on facebook that announced we are having another boy! We were seriously so shocked. I thought that through my first trimester I was going to be having a girl! I was a lot more nauseous and my face broke out horribly. I was cold all the time, which happened to my sister also when she was pregnant with her little girl. So when we opened the box of balloons..and blue ones popped out we couldn't believe our eyes!

I was hoping for a boy. We kinda wanted to have boy, boy, girl, girl...if we got to choose. Obviously we would have been excited either way, but it's going to be a lot easier this way. The boys will be able to share a room, we have a lot of clothes and toys for a boy already, and James will grow up with a brother close in age.

I pray they will become best friends and not fall into the trap of competition and jealousy.  I pray they grow to love Jesus and don't fall into the world's value system. I pray they become God honoring husbands and fathers.

So many goals, wishes, and dreams for them already. I can only pray for Gods will to be done.

2012

A new year. Hard to believe. I remember last year thinking, "we just have to make it through 2011". We knew it would be a hard year financially because I wouldn't be working and Mike wouldn't be contracting (paid differently and a raise) until 2012. I also was babysitting full-time and that had it's own difficulties.
Once again I can attest though..God is good! He took care of us and provided each month. Even when we weren't sure how it was going to happen. Thank the Lord. He provided so sufficiently I was able to go down to part-time babysitting in August, which turned into babysitting only a couple days a month. There were so many things that happened in 2011 that we are thankful for...and we look forward to 2012 and the blessings it will bring.

For the past couple years I have tried to have a "word of the year" instead of setting a new year's resolution. Last year my word was "knowledge". I wanted to dig into the scripture and learn more about God and his character. I was dwelling on the fact that I wasted 7 years of my life (college and couple afterwards) not deepening my relationship with Jesus..so instead of continually regretting those decisions I decided to do something about it. I committed 2011 to reading christian books, reading the Bible, getting in a bible study, memorizing verses and listening to christian radio. I learned a lot, and have a much more passionate and deeper relationship with Jesus. I still have a long ways to go and want to continue on my journey, but I feel like I have a good start.

My word for 2012 is "gentleness". I just finished the book "the excellent wife." There were several verses that stuck out to me while reading it that made me what to strive to be the "suitable helper" God desires for me to be as a wife.

Proverbs 31:10: An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels." 

Proverbs 21:9 It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife. 

Proverbs 21:19 It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman. 

Proverbs 12:4
“A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.” 

Proverbs 15:1
"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but harsh words stir up anger"

These verses are so strong and I certainly don't want to be like decay in Mike's bones!  So many marriages are destroyed by hurtful words. Mike and I have a wonderful marriage. I love him more than I did the day we got married. We enjoy spending time together and  we have had very few fights during our 3 years of marriage. But I think it's important to continually evaluate where your marriage is before it's going downhill.

We watched a movie last week called "crazy stupid love" and one of the story lines was about a couple who "fell out of love". So that movie spurred this conversation about how easy it is to get caught up in your kids and not take time for ourselves. All of a sudden 20 years has gone by and we don't have anything in common anymore and don't know each other. So then the divorce word comes up. Obviously that's not an option for Mike and I. But I don't want to settle for a boring relationship either. I want him to be excited to come home from work. I want us to share new experiences together and with our growing family. I think it's the little things that happen everyday that hurt the relationship you long to have with each other.

A subject that Mike and I have talked about in the past is my tone of voice. When we disagree I can be kind of stubborn and have a tendency to want to be right. I tend to get defensive and sarcastic pretty quick. I also, like many women, use a tone of voice when I am irritated that isn't very gentle.  It's something I am aware of and something I pray about each day. So this year my goal is to be gentle in my words and actions. I want to be a blessing to those I am around...and especially to Mike.

It's funny how when you are praying about a sin in your life and are trying to recognize when you do it..it seems like it happens all the time! I am continually catching myself be sarcastic. I don't want to necessarily take out all my sarcasm because that's how my family and Mike joke, but I also want to be more careful in how I use it. So that's my 2012 word and thoughts that lead up to choosing that word. What are your resolutions/goals for the year?

Christmas 2011

We made it through our week an half of celebrations! We still have a couple more days with my aunt and uncle in town from CO so we will be at my grandma's house a lot to spend time with them, but last night was our last actual Christmas celebration. We had such a good time this year.
We started off on Sunday, the 18th, in Pawnee City for Mike's mom's family christmas. We eat and do a white elephant gift exchange. Except that I hate getting junk..so we bring gifts that we want and then hope that no one steals them from us! It worked this year..we were able to go home with the french press and coffee carafe that we brought. We were pumped :)

Here is a picture of James playing a duet with his cousin Carly

Jenna, Mike's sister, also flew in that Sunday so that began our week long extravaganza of eating and playing nertz non-stop at his parents house! It's so fun when she's in town. Jenna and Mike went back and forth being the nertz winner while their mom and I took turns being the loser. We did force Mike and Jenna to add a couple cards to their piles to make it a little more fair for us slow pokes. Such a fun game.

We did Mike's family Christmas on Wednesday 21st and had some amazing prime rib, cheesy potatoes and asperagus. yum. We were spoiled with presents this year again..we are so thankful for their generosity. I got my Kindle Fire that I can't stay off of. I got the perfume I wanted, Philosophy eternal grace, a scentsy, and some other neat odds and ends. We also went to our annual Christmas movie. This year we choose "the girl with the dragon tatoo". Not quite the "feel good" christmas movie, but still a good movie.

Jenna got James his own bball and bag because Daddy and Grandpa Russ have bball bags and he loves to get the ball out of their bags. He loved having his own.

This is how he finished each evening..clothes off.

Saturday morning we our family christmas. Mike and I got each other a couple gifts. We went easy with James this year since we knew he'd be getting so much from everyone else and he doesn't quite understand yet. It was fun to watch him open gifts though. It's funny how a couple months changed his interest in the gifts though. At his first birthday he couldn't care less about the presents..I ended up opening them all. At every christmas though he was there with me pulling off the paper and saying, "OOHHH. OHHH" It was so cute. Saturday evening we went to Christmas eve service with Linda and Jenna at Berean. It was amazing. The singing was beautiful. Brian Olsen from the band, VOTA, sang his version of Noel and it was awesome.

Sunday, Christmas day, was a busy one. We had my family Christmas at my parents house and then my dad's family Christmas that night. We of course were blessed with tons of presents again. And had a wonderful time hanging out with everyone. Too much food of course. Baby enjoyed the overeating :)

                                                      Family picture at my parents house

All the kids

The Whole Family

                                                  Opening presents at my parents house

Wednesday, the 28th, we had my mom's parents christmas. We share a random act of kindness we did this year and then do a gift card exchange. I got my annual Target gift card..love it. Then we have a pitch tournament and have prizes at the end. So we had a great time of course again.

Today my aunt and uncle from CO left so the official 12 days of christmas is now over. Tomorrow is the NE football game though so it's not quite back to normal yet.  And then Tuesday we have our ultrasound to check on baby and find out if we will be having a girl or boy. I'm so excited. We are waiting til Tuesday to actually find out though. Ali will be coming down that day and we'll have family over that night and open up a present that will be filled with pink or blue helium balloons. I can't wait to see if Eli or Violet will be joining us in April.

                                Here are a couple random pictures that took place during the 12 days!

James loves to "play pool" at great grandma's house. He will say "ball" to every person in the room 20 times until someone gives in and takes him to roll the balls.

Eating an apple at Panera. Usually I cut it into slices, but grandma wanted him to try it this way. He wasn't too sure at first. He gave grandma a "what?!" face when she said take a bite.

Frosting cookies at Ali's sister in laws house. James was willing to frost it if he also got a bite :)

He loves his sweets!



Last night was probably one of the first times we just stayed in on New Years Eve. We were at my parents house with my aunt and uncle. We watched the Dick Clark show and the x-sports jumps. Pretty chill, but we had a good time. We had such a great 2011 and were so blessed. We are looking forward to 2012 to see what God has planned for our family!