Scooter wounds

Preston got a "Big Boy" scooter from his Amma for Christmas... The Razor!! Yesterday he took it out for a spin for the second time. This scooter is MUCH faster than his old Play School Spider Man one and he hasn't quite got the hang of the brakes yet. Thankfully he had his helmet on because once we got to the park he decided to race another boy down the big hill. As I'm sure you've gathered, it didn't end so well. Preston cried all the way home rockin' some pretty serious road rash! But he was tough! He let us bandage him up and said he wanted to ride again tomorrow. Hopefully this time he'll use the brakes!

Lots of Love and Bunches of Hugs!
XOXO Brogan Lee

Fresno with Papa Barrett

"How much longer to Uncle Martin's and Papa's?" and "Are we there yet?" is all we heard for the almost 6 hour drive to Fresno this week. Once we finally arrived, not only were the boys ecstatic, but they turned Into crazy, endless balls of destructive energy. Preston harassed my brother to play video games with him and wrestle, Ethan searched through every closet and cupboard and whined for Mickey Mouse, and Maverick cooed away with my Dad ( this was the 1st time my dad has met Maverick ). Price and I ate about 3 pounds of See's candy each and totally strayed away from our diets that we swore we would stick to while on vacation. At least Price got up and went to the gym every day, I... Not so much :( I'm pretty horrified to step on the scale when we get home. Oh, and Preston got a chance to play with his cousins for a while (although all he could focus on was their Nintendo DS). It was great to get to see the two of them, but it's kind of hard knowing we're not going to get to spend Christmas together this year. My sisters are spending the holiday with their in laws and the boys and I are headed to San Luis Obispo to see Prices other sisters and their family's. Christmas 2012 will be a Barrett family reunion!!

One day until Christmas and Preston is very concerned about whether he is on the "naughty list" or not...can u tell he's been threatened with a present-less holiday once or twice? ;)

Lots of Love and Bunches of Hugs,
XOXO Brogan Lee

North Fork with the Wallings

With the exception of my dad and brother, the majority of my family has moved out of the Fresno/Oakhurst area, but Prices family is still in North Fork. On the drive to North Fork Walling's house, I kept thinking how much I miss this area. The openness, views, crisp/cool air, wild life, lack of traffic and peace and quiet. Not to mention the feeling of "coming home" and familiar faces. It has been a long time since we've been to visit Prices family, and it was great to catch up and for everyone to meet our newest addition. The boys loved running around the property, seeing their Uncle Moody's horse, playing in the dirt, watching their daddy climb trees, and playing frisbee with Nanna and Aunt Jesse. I was so impressed with how well behaved they were and loved that they stayed busy all day and never seemed to mind the lack of TV. I loved growing up in the mountains and loved watching them enjoy it as much as I remember enjoying it. Hopefully some day we'll head out of the hustle and bustle of the city and back to the calmness of the mountains... Until then, We'll just need to make it a point to visit his family more often and soak up the atmosphere!

Only a few more days until Christmas!

Lots of love and bunches of hugs!
XOXO Brogan Lee

Christmas travels

This morning all 5 of the Walling's loaded into the car and headed from San Diego to Fresno on the 1st leg of our holiday travels. The drive went much smoother than I anticipated and we made it to my dads house safe and sound. Traffic was minimal, we made it before the rain, after the fog and the boys slept the majority of the way. It couldn't have gone much better!

Tomorrow we're headed to North Fork to introduce Maverick to Prices family. Price hasn't seen his family since before he left for training almost a year and a half ago so it should be pretty exciting.

Happy Monday!

Lots of love and bunches of hugs,
XOXO Brogan Lee

Chicken dinner

Tomorrow the family and I are headed up to the Fresno area for the Christmas week and I needed to A) have a good meal that didn't consist of 18 chips ahoy cookies, and B) needed to use up some things in the fridge. So, thank you very much google.com for this wonderful, quick and ray meal. Tonight we ate chicken breast with steamed asparagus and onions over rice with a garlic cream sauce.
As always, I changed the recipe and did things my way. So here you have it...
1) put chicken breast in a large ziplock bag and pound with a meat pounder until thin
2) place chicken breast in a glass dish, cover with foil and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.
3) trim ends off a whole bushel of asparagus and slice 1/2 white onion and place in a large bowl with water and microwave for 5 minutes. While chicken is baking cook 1 cup of white rice.
4) when chicken is done baking, heat a large skillet and melt approx 1/4 cup butter inside. Place chicken in skillet and brown on both sides.
5) while chicken is browning, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 2 quart saucepan. Mince 2 cloves of garlic and add to the butter and cook about 1 minute or until it starts to brown.
6) whisk in 3 tablespoons of flour until smooth and bubbly.
7) stir in 1 can chicken broth, 3 ounces cream cheese, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Continue to stir until heated through out and until sauce reaches desired thickness.

Pile a bed of rice on a plate, layer with asparagus and onion, place a chicken breast on top of veggies and pour sauce on top. Serve and ENJOY!!

Happy eating!!

Lots of love and bunches of hugs,
XOXO Brogan Lee

Like a princess

As if having Price back home after such a long time wasnt enough of a gift, my amazing husband has SPOILED me this week. I know bragging is immature and that it's not courteous, but after the week I've had, I feel a little bragging is called for. First, I came home from the gym the other night to a beautiful watch and 2 boxes of chocolate on our bed.

And then today he told me to be ready to leave the house by 10 am but didn't give any further details as to what our day looked like. He drove me to a part of town I had never been to before, pulled up to a day spa, and said "have a great day of relaxation!" I couldn't believe it! I just spent the last 6 hours (kid-less) getting a massage, facial, mani, pedi, make up and my hair done... Plus I enjoyed a delicious meal in the middle of it all! It was amazing and exactly what he had planned it to be - RELAXING! I had to have 2 cups of coffee afterward to wake up because i was drifting off just sitting around. It's amazing how doing nothing can be so tiring! I feel so lucky to have married such a great man!

Happy Holidays!

Lots of Love and Bunches of Hugs,
XOXO Brogan Lee

Preparing for Christmas

Price made it home on Sunday safe and sound!! He and his buddy drove almost all the way through from Mississippi and were wiped! The kids and I wanted to welcome them with a little something home made. So we made sugar cookies because who doesn't love sugar cookies during the holiday times?!? It was fun but messy but all worth it because it was obvious how much they liked the cookies... They lasted all of about 1 1/2 days!

It's been great to have my husband back and for the boys to have their dad back again. It doesn't quite feel real or permanent yet though. Im used to just getting a weekend with him every 6-8 weeks or so and it's hard to believe he's not hitting the road again any time soon. I think once we get back into a routine I'll finally feel like its for real. I'm soooo happy though!

We waited for Price to get back before we did any decorating, and now that he's here, we put up the tree, the stockings, outside lights, lit the holiday scented candles and completed all the shopping!! it's beginning to look, smell, and feel a lot like christmas in the Walling household!

We only get to enjoy it for a few more days because we're headed up north for the Christmas week Monday. But I'm sure the decreased temperature, potential snow fall and large pine trees will keep the holiday spirit alive for us all! Wish us luck on our 6+ hour drive with all three boys! I'm sure we'll need it! ;)

Merry Christmas everyone!

Lots of love and bunches of hugs!!
XOXO Brogan Lee

Getting back to it

First off, I apologize for the photos. I don't know what is going on with my computer but it is not saving any of the edits i make.
Anyway, getting back to it...Shape,that is. When I got pregnant with Maverick I was in the best shape I had been in since before I had Preston. I was down to 135 and exercising daily and eating really well. Now, 51 extra pounds and 3 kids later, I'm not going to mess around with getting back into that shape. It took me 8 months to feel great about the way I looked after Ethan was born, and I won't let this time take that long. I gave myself one week after birth to eat whatever I wanted and not do any physical activity. Thank goodness Thanksgiving fell in that week! Week one came and went and today I started a no processed sugar and no carb diet. I also started lightly working out again. At delivery I weighed 186 and after 1 week I was only down to 174.

So here is the diet:

BREAKFAST: 2 egg whites, 1 yolk, 1/4 avocado, coffee with a splash of heavy cream

MORNING SNACK: 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1/2 pear (or 5 strawberries), a handful or raw almonds

LUNCH: a sirloin patty (made with asparagus,onion,garlic and 1 egg white, and a side of steamed broccoli and cauliflower

AFTERNOON SNACK: 1/3 cucumber, 1 tomato, 2 slices of fresh mozzarella with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar

DINNER: a bowl of chicken soup (chicken breast, 1/2 chicken broth 1/2 water, onion, spinach, celery, and garlic)

DESSERT: 1 cubed apple with cinnamon (i like to microwave it for 2 minutes so it tastes like apple pie filling)

This weeks exercises is as follows:
Monday thru Saturday: walk to recreation center 4 blocks away, and do 4 laps around park. (Three laps is 1.3 miles)
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: dumbbell arm lifts and calf raises

I really hope that this diet/exercise plan gets me back into shape fast and still allows my milk supply to stay up since I plan to breastfeed for as long as possible. I'll keep updating my progress but if anyone sees me in a moment of weakness, feel free to rip any junk food from my hands or drag me out of bed to make sure I get my daily work out in!! :)

Lots of Love and Bunches of Hugs,
Brogan Lee

Thanksgiving Week

Thanksgiving week was also the 1st week of Mavericks life, so here are some updates from "The Feast" and the adventures of the last seven days!

Anyone who knows us, knows that both the Walling family and the Barret family have a thing for cake. When Ethan was born, we told Preston he could have something special because he was going to be a big brother. Preston chose to have cake! It was so cute and kinda of a funny story amongst the family, that we decided to do it again this time for both boys. Preston got his "Big Brother 1" cake...

And Ethan got his "Big Brother 2" cake...

On the 23rd Mav and I headed back to the hospital for a routine check up to make sure he was nursing OK and he wasn't jaundice and hadn't lost too much weight. All his stats were perfect and he is a GREAT eater! (Surprise, surprise)

Here is is at 3 days old...I've been told that he looks like his Daddy in this pic.

Also on the 23rd, my little brother Martin came down for a visit. It was the 1st time i had all three boys in the car together and they did GREAT! I was very proud and impressed with them!

Uncle Marty was basically Santa Claus this weekend and continuously showered the boys with gifts...1st up: Aviators!

The it was the 24Th, Thanksgiving!! After having Maverick, the pressure was off my stomach and I could enjoy endless amounts of food without the annoying heartburn or full feeling after only a few bites. I took FULL advantage of the fact that this holiday fell in the one week span i gave myself to eat whatever i wanted!

Preston and Ethan are pretty picky eaters. My Grandma Donna made an AMAZING meal and all they wanted was turkey lunch meat, a dill pickle and apple sauce. I don't know why they are so picky. Price and I both will eat almost anything. Oh well, more food for me!

My mom found this HUGE bottle of wine almost a year ago and had been waiting for a special time to open it.

The 1st of many plates for me!

Our good friends Anna, Dustin and their daughter Ava Jay joined us for dinner. They are from Arkansas and don't have any family in California. It was great to spend the holiday with them! Between Martin and Dustin, Preston was in heaven to have men in the house again to rough house with.
Martin and my Grandma Donna (the wonderful chef) enjoying their meals.

Our family (minus my hubby and grandpa)...I look sooo tired and blah!

Uncle Marty and his boys! It only took about 12 attempts to get one decent picture with both Preston and Ethan looking in the general direction of the camera! :)

Preston is back to loving to hold Maverick. I guess he doesnt think he smells so bad anymore.

Amongst all the toys Martin brought was a toy plane. We went to the park and he tried to teach the boys how to fly it. It was pretty cute.
Other than the car picture, this is the 1st TRUE picture i was able to get of all my boys. Preston age 4, Ethan age 2 and Maverick 5 days old!
Maverick Charles Walling 5 days old!
He is officaly 1 week old! He is a wonderful baby! Seriously, he never cries (unless i'm changing his diaper in the cold), i have to wake him up to eat, he is perfect in the car and in the stroller and will sit in the bouncer and let me run around the house like a crazy person doing chores without so much as a squeal. Im truly a lucky mom!
Maverick's first week came and went so fast! It's sad :( He has already changed so much, I cant even imagine what the next few days/weeks/months have in store for us. Only 2 more weeks until his Daddy will be home and gets to meet him!

Lots of Love and Bunches of Hugs,

XOXO Brogan Lee