Exercise, Baking and Eating

Hello! Long time no speak! I've only posted once (for WIAW) since this time last week, whoops. I've been a bit busier than usual plus feeling really tired in the evenings so I haven't been on my laptop much. I've just uploaded the camera for the first time since Monday, so this might be a bit of a random post!

Exercise: I went swimming this morning! :-) First time in ages. I don't know why I don't go more often as I really enjoy it. My Mum usually does a long run on Sundays but because the weather was so awful she opted for swimming instead and gave me a lift. I did 40 lengths in about 35 minutes, which is about the standard I was up to when I last swam so not bad.

I've got a gym/swim trip booked for Tuesday morning too. My sister and I are going to drive over to the gym about half an hour away, as it has a creche. So Toby is booked in for a 2 hour session at the creche and we are going to go to the gym and swimming. I'm a bit nervous as it will be the first time Toby has ever been to formal childcare (and really, except when we went on honeymoon, he is with me pretty much 24/7) but I can always pick him up early if he doesn't like it. I think/hope it will be a good experience for both of us, and if he likes it then it will be great as it'll be a good reason to both keep practising my driving, and exercise during the daytime when I'm less tired. Win win, and hopefully good for him to have some social time away from me as well!

Baking: I've baked 4 cakes this week, none of which were for us, sad times! I made Chocolate Frosted Traybake for my Grandma on Tuesday, then another Chocolate Frosted Traybake plus a Lemon Drizzle Cake (2 layer with buttercream in the style of Toby's birthday cake) for my sister to take in for her last day at work on Friday, and finally a Mississippi Mud Pie for my Mum to serve at her dinner party last night. Phew! They were all well-received, and I enjoyed scraping the pans/bowls of icing! ;-)

Traybake for my Grandma

Leftover piece that Liam and I shared :)

Lemon Drizzle Cakes

Finished Lemon Drizzle Cake

Big chunk of leftover Mud Pie that Mum gave back to us this morning...looking forward to having some of this later!! :)

Eating: Lots of eating has been happening around here, as always, but I actually managed to lose 1.5lbs this week which is nice - I'd been eating way too much again and had got up to my highest non-pregnant/immediately post-birth weight so it is time to bring it back down! I've still been enjoying some treats, but trying to balance them out with more fruit and veg and proper meals. I've also developed a love of tea over my previously beloved coffee! I've been starting each morning with a mug of hot water with lemon (leftover from my baking!) and then a couple of mugs of tea with breakfast. It lasts longer than drinking one mug of coffee, and seems more of an occasion for some reason! Here are some random photos of some of my eats from the last few days...

Strawberries with peanut flour sauce - love this!

Nice treat on Thursday morning - I'd made a pot of coffee to have with my Grandma on Wednesday, and had forgotten I'd put the leftovers in the fridge, mmm!

Lunch on Thursday - random, but just what I fancied. Egg-fried quinoa with avocado and agave nectar.

Most of my breakfasts this week have been some kind of fruit + granola + yoghurt combo

Hot water + lemon to start the day. I've also been having this with honey in the evenings as I've had a sore throat.

Big plate of veg moment - roasted courgettes with hard boiled eggs and sweetcorn + Philadelphia (we were all out of mayo, boo)

Friday night pizza - looks a bit sad but was really tasty!

Rhubarb and strawberry crumble, made by my Mum's friend. Tasted a lot nicer than it looks here!

Poached eggs with quinoa and spinach.

Oooey gooey baked Camembert for dinner last night :)

Phew, that was a lot of food! I'll leave what I've eaten today for another time! There have, of course, been other eating moments than the ones above - little handfuls of dried fruit, chocolate etc that I didn't bother to photograph, but I am trying to keep track of what I'm eating as much as possible. I do find that if I can stop the mindless eating, my weight is a bit easier to control. The meals themselves are (usually!) ok, it's the constant snacking in between that causes my weight issues.

One non-food photo for this post - this was Izzy on Thursday for World Book Day:

The children were asked to dress up as a character from one of their favourite books, and every single girl in Izzy's class went as a Disney Princess of some kind! Izzy immediately said she wanted to go as Sleeping Beauty. She also has a Snow White costume (or indeed I could have tried to make her something) but the pink in this dress made her decision I think! It seems this is one occasion where the parents of girls have it a lot easier! There were lots of pirates amongst the boys, plus some with designs on their t-shirts instead of full outfits.

So, what have I missed? What have you been up to this week? I've still been reading blogs on my phone, but I tend not to comment much when I'm not on my laptop. The children are currently having naps so I'm planning to spend a little time catching up with my Google Reader...here's hoping they don't wake up too soon!! ;-)