Busy October

It's been really quiet on the blog this month - just to balance out all the crazy in real life. Here's a quick overview of October at the Mearse house. This month our youngest son turned 4 years old! There was a big bowling party with friends and grandparents and of course cookie cake and presents. I can't believe he's already 4!

 Then there was the Pep Rally for Zachary Community Schools being #1 in the state for 7 years in a row. Thank heaven's we live in the best school district, what is Louisiana like 48th in the nation? Our son's school cheered the loudest of all the schools and won a free dress day.

Then there was this little  huge project that took a week to put together.  I have mostly taught myself to sew and have been more adventurous this year in the types of things I've done. I ventured into something new again when I did a nursery for our Pastor's family. They are having another girl who will be sharing a room with her big sister who has a black/white/pink polka dot bedding set. I made the crib skirt, bumper, blanket, diaper stacker, table skirt, and curtains.  All that and it only took a week! :) I used Simplicity pattern 9140 for measurements but did embellish mine a little using various fabrics and trims. Now it's ready for their beautiful daughter to arrive.

Diaper stacker made using a size 4T dress sewn together at the bottom with an H seam to make a rectangle, slit down the front and  blanket binding to cover the opening. Hang from pretty hanger. 

After that was done, our family had a night out to play putt putt golf and ride go-carts to celebrate our first grader's all A report card! Way to go!

Although I hate Halloween and all it represents, we do like to dress up and play pretend. Our oldest wanted to dress up like an Army Chaplain for school. So sweet! He looked so grown up in camo from head to toe and wearing his hair all spiked up. He even wanted to carry his New Testament Bible in his pocket and wear his cross necklace. It so suits him. The younger boy wants to be Peter Pan which also suits him perfectly, "I'll never grow up!" We plan to wear these costumes to a church Fall festival nearby.

Healthy Diet Help

 I picked up this great little resource, The Calorie King Calorie Fat & Carbohydrate Counter at the Diabetes Walk last week. Its a great little book with a wealth of information. Bob Harper has even praised this book on Ellen for people trying to lose weight. This tiny book lists almost every food you can imagine and the calories, fat & carbs per serving. It also has a handy restaurant section where you can see nutrition information for popular menu items at hundreds of restaurants. This makes life a little easier for insulin dependent diabetics who have to dose insulin based on carbs consumed.

If you have a smart phone there is a FREE App that gives you restaurant guides & locator, and you can even personalize your meal tracker and food log. Go to www.GoMeals.com do download the free app for your Ianything or Android phone.

The book also has guides for cholesterol, fiber, sodium, protein, alcohol, and caffeine in addition to a handy reference about fitness. Did you know about 2000 steps equals one mile? If you've ever tried wearing a pedometer you probably noticed its more of a measure of overall activity than actual distance. This guide suggests striving for a goal of 8,000 - 10,000 steps a day. That's a lot of steps! Better get moving!