Update April 2017

So.....A lot has happened in our lives since I have last updated Blogger ;)
1: We have added #6 to the mix, Benjamin Gilad Stefko. He is a blessing to our family and such a calm little guy.

Yangiae Citizen's Forest

2: Tony has had an itch and after a year or so praying and preparing we have made the move to South Korea. Tony is currently teaching at Kid's College teaching Kindergarten in the mornings and English in the afternoons.
   Yeah, those are probably our big ones ;) I use to use this blog to keep updates on school and I plan on hopefully doing that some, but I would really like to switch over more to showing what life is like as an expat here in Korea.
 (Expat: short for expatriate- is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country other than that of their citizenship.

In common usage, the term often refers to professionals or skilled workers sent abroad by their employers, who can be companies, governments, or non-governmental organisations.^[1] Effectively migrant workers, they usually earn more than they would at home, and more than local employees. (WIkipedia ;))

   One thing that I am excited about with school though is that we are study Western Hemisphere with Sonlight and we are living in the western hemisphere! So cool. Anyway, hopefully we will be learning a lot here. The oldest 3 will also be taking classes at Tony's school in the afternoons. Koreans are very serious when it comes to education. Children will attend school during the day but also they will attend Hagwons after school to further their education. So pretty much, they pay for more school after school ;) So for Tony, he teaches private kindergarten classes and then a Hagwon in the evening. 

   So, our oldest 3 will be homeschooled during the day and then attend, for free, a hagwon and learn more math and science. I really like this idea. One thing about the extra school is that if they are learning enough and well and get overwhelmed, I can cut back here on our homeschooling if needed. I know Koreans can be very intense and for me overdo it. DH has a student that attends class till about 10 pm and then goes home and studies till about midnight. Can you guess how old the student it...I think 1st grade or so :( That is a little much for me, but the kids wont be in school past 5 or so, just a couple hours a day and will give them some insight to life in Korea while learning at the same time. 

   So, it is late, but hopefully I can update more about all our family is doing and what life is like here. There is so much I have learned and had to  change just in our normal lives. I can't wait to share with everyone!!! This Wednesday starts a Korean holiday so Tony is actually off for the rest of the week and then the kids will be back in school Monday and then life will go on as normal. ;)

Be Blessed,

Amy

*all the pictures were from our visit to Citizen's Forest except for Nick feeding Ben and Ben's birth. Thse were just cute ;)

Week of Aug 13 & THM Update Week 10

This week has been a lot of fun :) It was a week of getting back into our normal routine of school and such. It was such a blessing just to be home and back to the normal day to day routine. I know some of my kids thrive on routine so this makes my home a little more peaceful. Here is Brie working on some of her school. Some days she has little activities so here we are playing tic-tac-toe and then also her doing a math assessment :) This year we are doing parent lead K so I don't have to report her grades, but she is still doing great;)

Here is a little snippet of our last week when we went to Atlanta, GA. We had a lot of fun with our friend Amber and got to go to Lego Land and celebrate the kid's Mimi's birthday!!! 

Now, onto my update for week 10 of THM. I haven't been doing a weekly update because truthfully we have been busy, and life was a little stressful with big Tony getting his appendix out. I truthfully didn't stay on plan very well during this time, but we were blessed with people bringing us pizza (thanks Garrett) and helping out. You will notice a little weight gain on my chart during this time ;) I also stalled a little for a couple weeks, so I wanted to not worry about weighing myself weekly and give my body a little time to catch up. That is one thing about weightloss, sometimes your body just needs a little break then will start back up again. What I love about THM is that it is not a diet, it's a way to eat for life. I know how to adjust meals to help my kids eat better. I know how to adjust my meals to maintain a healthy pregnancy... you get the idea. Anyway, so how much have I lost to day, so far 14 pounds!!! Super excited about that. My goal weight is the green line at the bottom which is about 15 more pounds, but truthfully I will be super excited for just 5 more :)

THM

     Another nonscale victory is that I am down another pant size :) I can finally fit into my size 8 pants. I love this mark. They are a little snug around the middle, where all my baby weight likes to go, but everywhere else they fit perfectly.

Cookbook

     Another exciting day has also come for all that follow THM, the new book and cookbook have been released and can be found in stores. I got the  Kindle edition & am patiently waiting for the new cookbook to come in the mail.

 I thought I would add a little snippet of my S THM dinner from tonight too. Some people think of the different specialty items many people get to add to their diet. There are many great options you can find at your local grocery store. My new foodie choice was to try replacing potatoes (which I don't eat anyway) with jicama(found it at Kroger). What is it you say, I don't know but it was good. Did they taste like fries, no not quite, but not too far from it. I dipped them in a little Ranch Dressing and they went great along with my sirloin steak and salad :) MMMMMM, enough said.

THM Week 6 & Yummy Salmon Burger

   A very happy camper :) down another 2 pounds for a total of 12 over the last 6 weeks!!!

  So another week has come and gone and my wonderful husband has bought me a new gadget. You always see the husbands on TV who bring their wife a vacumme cleaner and are mad they didn't get jewelry, well I'm not one of those ladies. Bring on the household appliances. I love gadgets that make my life easier!!! So he bought one of those things that makes noodles out of veggies :) I forget it's name but very nice to have. I've been turning zucchini into noodles all week. Fry them for a few minutes in butter or coconut oil with a little garlic salt and yumm!!! 

   For dinner one night I decided to do salmon burgers. That is one of my goals, eat salmon for dinner at least once a week. I use canned salmon for these which are super healthy because, I know this sounds gross, but the bones are still in them :)

   I hate bones, but I am venturing out and you really can't tell that much.

There are several variations of salmon burgers but for now I do

•2 cans of salmon

•2 eggs

•1/4 c oat fiber

•few handfuls of green olives cut up(you can do this for any burger and adds good flavor)

•few shakes of Old Bay seasoning

•1-2 Tbs of dieced onions

(Some parsley or fresh cilantro would be awesome but I didn't have any)

Combine all these and fry up burgers and top with some lemon juice, YUM!!!

And that makes for one happy camper!!

Staying on Track

    I love the times in life when it's nice outside and the kids go out to play.

This allows me the time to sit back and drink a cup of coffee and think for a few minutes. One of my favorite past times is to look at other large family blogs and homeschool curriculum :) I confess I have an addiction LOL.


    A recent article from Large Families on Purpose by Erika Shupe was talking about being Professional Parents. I know that sounds like working moms and dad outside of the home, but it really it was talking about the attitude of parenthood and how we take on this responsibility.
      In jobs outside of the home there is a hierarchy of positions. The managers are those that set goals for the jobs to get done and assign different tasks. As a Professional parents, my job is to be the manager of my home and not be managed by my home ;). 
     After I gave birth to my sweet little Tony Jr, #4, I realized the difference between being a manger of my home and taking on all the responsibilities of the home. Since I came from the typical 2 parent, 2 child home; my mom pretty much did everything for us. I appreciate all her hard work she did, but once I hit more than 3 kids I saw this model did not work and was overwhelming me :) Insert nervous breakdown. Well, not really :)
    Since this time I have been looking to other larger families to see how they do it and how they do it successfully. I realized that I needed to delegate responsibilities and find better ways to manage my home and time. This truthfully is not my strong suite, but I am working on it and it makes a difference. I have found that gleaning advice from other large families saves you time and energy. Not everybody does it the same and that is the beauty of life. 
    One quote from Erika Shupe that really hit me today was, "For me it was largely a matter of figuring out what I can handle and what I can't during this season of life.  Not whether or not to follow God's plans for our family, but rather how to do it well, and with a smile.  I've learned to be pro-active in all of these areas, not reactive - to do life ON PURPOSE. " ( Large Families on Purpose)

    The area that I've really been wrestling with in my life is doing what God has called me to even though the way I want to do it isn't working. Mainly, the way I want to homeschool. I LOVE BOOKS!!! I could probably spend all day reading and would be in heaven. For years I have used and drooled over many different literature based curriculum. We have used and loved Sonlight, Heart of Dakota, and My Father's World (we still are using MFW). These are great choices, but at the younger age there is a lot of time spent reading. This seems like a great problem, but my little ones need attention too and so interruptions enter in and distract from the flow of school. School was not quite working out the way I had intended it.
     Last year I really considered not homeschooling because all the kids and parent intense curriculum was stressing me out. Yes, you can teach little ones to play on their own, and mine do, but for 4 hours that is not too realistic. I really had to spend some time praying and what Erika said in her post really resonated in my heart in that God has a plan for out lives, but sometimes we have to adjust how we do it. It's not yes I will follow you, but only if I can do it my way. I have to adjust my techniques to continue to do His will and do it well. In my strength I would use these wonderful literature based programs, but in this season in my life that is not working too well for me. I have had to make adjustments. (My dilemma last year was that each kid was doing their own full program, Pre-K, 2nd, and 4th along with a wild 2 year old and newborn)
     Making adjustments in our plans is something that sometimes needs to be taken to heart by all people. Many times we want to do something our way and if we don't have it that way we are like little children and pout and decide we wont do it at all. 
     Proverbs 16:9 states that, "The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." 
Sometimes OUR plans must be adjusted in order to get into HIS steps. For me it was schooling. I've had to learn to let go some. For my K student she is thriving on Abeka streaming. She loves watching her teacher and is learning so much. I would never had thought I would use a more traditional approach to school but it is working well for her. My older 2 are using MFW for Bible, Science, and History. Clumping them together into one program has saved a lot of time so far.Ultimately, I have a goal that I feel God placed on my hear, homeschooling, and I am adjusting how we do it with what works in our family at this season. 
    The biggest thing is that I have learned that I have expectations of how things should be and want them that way, but that is not always what God wants. I need to know the bigger plan God has and follow that. There are many ways to go to the grocery from my house. If one way is closed due to road work I simply drive another route. The same way for our lives.
     What has God called you to? Has he called you to be a stay-at-home mom, a homeschooler, a student, a pastor, etc. We must not be fixated on the small things that don't work out the way we wanted them to, but be flexible in the plan of things and keep on working towards the goals God has placed in our hearts. He has a plan for each of us. I knew from a young age I wanted to be married, have a large family, and homeschool. I am investing a lot into my children and want to give them my best. Sometimes I may have to adjust my plans along the way, but the goal is still there and I will continue working on it Lord willing. Our children are worth it, and it is worth it to keep going to fullfil the plan God placed in my heart. If anything, glean from my example that whatever God puts in your heart, work towards that goal and don't be derailed from the small things.

Link to week of 8/10 school blog

Here's a link to our school week of 8/10

Week 5 on Trim Healthy Mama

   And another week down...This week has gone pretty well. Last week I did a side view, and how I can tell a difference!!! I am hoping that my weight will continue to steadily go down. I can really tell a difference in my mindset and indulging myself. Before I would try to eat something good like a nice salad but them sabotage myself with ice cream and cake later ;) Come on, who doesn't like something sweet LOL.
    I am a stress eater and most of my weight gain tends to come from that, well and being pregnant a

How could faces like these cause a Mama stress

few times ;). I mean, 5 kids, homeschool, at times I can let it get the best of me, I am only human :)  The great thing about THM plan is that you can have something sweet and not feel bad about it. One of my favorites is the chocolate pudding recipe they have. It is a FP (fuel pull) so it is really low carbs and fat and really low in calories too, which we don't pay too much attention too ;)
    So now that I have weighed myself for the week I am down another 2 pounds which makes me happy...Only 6 oz away from 10 pounds. That was my first little mini goal!!! The big thing that I have noticed also this week is that I can fit into my size 8 pants again. Ok, they are still just a little tight on the tummy which was a nice present from my last baby :), but everywhere else they fit perfectly!!! I am sure in another week or 2 I will have no problem :)
   Another little victory I had this weekend was that on a stressful Friday I decided to go to McDonalds. Usually when I would stress eat I would get a large Mocah which has 17g of fat and 72 cars, yeah think about that next time you order one, and compensate with my favorite Southwestern Chicken salad, or if I was being really bad a Big Mac meal :) Oh, I could feel my blood sugar rising.
   Anyway, this time, instead of getting my usual I was going to get a small Mocah which has only 11g of fat and 40 carbs, still a lot but I could be in a crossover meal. I was going to add a chicken bacon salad to the side and consider it happy. Unfortunately for me the Mocha machine was down so I binge ate my salad at home and I couldn't even eat their ranch dressing because it had a lot of extra sugar so I just used mine, but hay, I didn't have to fix it :) Just remember to check your nutrition before you go, here's McDonalds... McCafe nutrition.
   
 So now, that I have averted my fast food crisis, here is one easy little dish that I love and we have once a week :) Spaghetti...

   Now, Spaghetti can be loaded with carbs and fat if you make it the way I like :) Noodles are high in carbs naturally and a lot of extra sugar can be added into the sauce if you are not careful to read your labels. Then, another weakness of mine is cheese!!! I could add 1/2 a pound and I would want more. Then add some fresh French Bread loaded with yummy butter and topped with Brie, no not my beautiful daughter the cheese :) My favorite cheese Brie. You see my delimma :)
   One of the THM trips are these wonderful noodles called Shirataki noodles which my Walmart has started to carry. They are pretty good and can be used to substitute regular noodles.  So yes, they do cost more than regular noodles, but they are quite filling and I only eat about 1/2 the pack so I can have leftovers the next day :)  I either make my own Spaghetti sauce or use the Organic Marinara that Aldi's has which is pretty low in carb. I think about 1/2 cup has 4 net carbs, then of course you have to add in your meat. I love Italian sausage in my pasta sauce, but since DH doesn't agree too well with pork I am using my wonderful 1/2 of a  4H raised cow that my parents got me for my birthday, the ground beef from it that is :)
   Anyway, there's my favorite little switch up, Shiritaki noodles for spaghetti with a lower sugar sauce and lots of good meat and cheese making this a nice S dinner. (Please forgive my fine china LOL)You can also use spaghetti squash or shred some zucchini to make noodles if Shiritaki noodles don't work for you. I will just live without the bread and have a slice of brie cheese if I need it. And later, I can induldge in a sweet treat that wont break the bank :)
Blessings,
Amy

Week 4 THM

   So I was pretty busy last week and forgot to update how I have been doing on plan :) I did post a few of my favorite recipes though. One thing I have noticed the last few weeks is that the scale has not been moving much, but I can tell a difference in how my clothes are feeling and my before and after pic. Before...

So, the first 2 weeks I went down 5 pounds!!! Yay, the last 2 weeks I went down a total of 3 pounds. That's not bad truthfully. I am thankful that I am losing weight and the book actually only recommends losing 1-2 pounds a week. It is easy to think of shows like The Biggest Loser and think I should be down 8 pounds or more, I don't really expect that LOL. 

5 months pregnant

    Anyway, this last week was just a pound I dropped so I looked back to a pic I took right before I started. Please excuse that I have no makeup on and I had just finished mowing the yard, but I wanted to take a pic of my start so here ya go... The one thing that gets me about this one is that I think I was thinner when I was 5 months pregnant with Nicholas (who is my #5).   

So, since the scale only budged a bit I thought I'd take another pic to see if anything had happened. 

1 month on plan

1 month on plan

I have noticed that my pants are very lose on me and I can button my old size 8 pants (goal is a 6). Getting into those pants was definitely an accomplishement because truthfully I would rather fit into my smaller clothes than have the scale say I'm down and not fit into them ;) Anyway, here I am 1 month after being on plan for 1 month. I have only had about 2 crossovers a week and my appitite has actually decreased, but I think that is more from Nicholas being weaned :(... So, Here is a side-by-side view for full effect. 

 So, I just wanted to encourage any other mama's out there who are trying THM that even thought it's only been a month for me and the scale has only gone down 8lbs, it is working. Each time I get on the scale I think how can this be going down since I am eating so much yummy food like this... 

 But it is working and I am so thankful :) Here is the link to these yummy S waffles that I found on here They were totally yummy!!! Also, since they were an S I got to add some scrambled eggs with cheese, and top them with a dollop of Greek yogurt that I sweetened with my Stevia and vanilla flavoring and some fresh strawberries.
Hope you have a blessed week,
Amy