By the Scoop Ice Cream Parlor

 Our new favorite place to visit is the "By the Scoop" ice cream parlor in Bowley's Quarters! This ice cream joint is what I envision an old fashioned ice cream parlor would be like (but since I was born in the 80's I can't tell you from personal experience). All of the ice cream flavors are made from scratch and we have not had a "bad" flavor yet. The flavors are always changing (which is exciting), but some of the more interesting flavors we've sampled include: Berger cookie (vanilla ice cream with big chunks of the Baltimore favorite Berger cookies), Fluffer Nutter (peanut butter with marshmallow), and peach cobbler (peach ice cream with pieces of peach and cake). They also have all the traditional flavors of ice cream you would expect and sorbet if you are trying to count calories. In addition to just ice cream they have homemade waffle bowls (dipped in chocolate or not, with sprinkles or nuts), hot waffle sundaes, and banana splits to name a few. In their refrigerator you can also buy old fashioned soda in glass bottles (for some reason soda just tastes better when it is in one of those bottles).

This ice cream parlor is extremely kid friendly, a must for us. They have little tables for the kids to sit at while traditional 50's television plays shows like "Leave it to Beaver." Caleb had never seen black and white television and it lead to a great conversation! The picture above was taken after a trip to the Maryland Zoo and boys both enjoyed birthday cake ice cream, a tasty vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles in it.

Parents can sit back, relax, and actually taste and enjoy their ice cream as their is a large wall chalkboard for kids to draw on when they finish their ice cream early (that always seems to happen!). Blake could have played for hours with this chalkboard if I would have let him! By the Scoop is located at 105 Carroll Island Road, Middle River, MD, 21220 (directly across from the Walmart in the same shopping strip as Fish and Chips/Gamestop). Their pricing is very reasonable with kids scoops only costing around $2. Visit their website www.bythescoop.com for more details. I also recommend liking their facebook page at www.facebook.com/bythescoop. They post "scoop alerts" on their facebook to let you know the new flavors that have been added. Let me know what you think if you get to go!

Choo Choo Barn

Last year a friend generously gave us "Choo Choo Barn" tickets she had won from a local radio station (thanks Lori!). Last weekend we finally stopped by and it was AMAZING!


Caleb and Blake really enjoyed it... but let's be honest, so did Mommy and Daddy! The man who creates this train garden each year is some type of magician! Before this train garden I had only been to local gardens. None of them are even close to this one! Trains stop to let others pass. A fire engine pulls up to a house, puts out the fire with real water, and then drives away. I couldn't believe it!
One of our favorite parts was this replica of Dutch Wonderland. The details from the water boat ride to the moving Skylift were amazing.

Choo Choo Barn is located just down the street from the Strasburg Railroad. Admission is $7 for adults and $4 for children. See www.choochoobarn.com for more details. We will definitely be going back as the display changes yearly!

What it was time to change...

In the last two months I have pretty much lost no weight... maybe 1-2 pounds. In the last week I lost 2.6 pounds! Want to know what my big change was? (It's really no secret!) MY ATTITUDE!

I confess that I've been very discouraged and whiny lately. Tired of logging. Tired of going to the gym late at night after a long day. Me. Me. Me. Last weekend I went to see Tobymac two times and I caught a fire! (Youtube "Catch a Fire" by Tobymac if you have a chance!) Not only by his words and praise and worship, but also through conversations with friends has my attitude dramatically changed. I'll talk more about that in a moment.

Then the picture on the right was taken with local radio personality and friend Erin Branham (shine fm, www.wrbs.com... you can stream it on the internet and stream it live). She later paired it up with an older picture and posted it on her facebook while. Many likes and kind comments later I was an emotional wreck, but in a good way.

I realize that his journey is not MY journey it is HIS journey. That was my focus for the first year and I some how lost focus. Now that I've given it back to God it is in much better hands! 85.8 pounds down and 14.2 more to go! He will get me there!

What is it in your life that you have a bad attitude about that you need to change?

The Biggest Loser Season 12: NO EXCUSES!

I usually only post recipes or ideas for activities with kids, but this time I want to post about how the new season of the NBC show "The Biggest Loser" has resonated with me. I am a newbie as far as this television show goes. I only started watching during season 11, but it has quickly become my favorite television show and I was excited when season 12 started this week.

The theme of the new season is NO EXCUSES. I love this! A little over a year ago, when I was still in denial about being overweight, I was the queen of excuses! Some of the excuses that were mentioned in the first episode this week were mine too: time, money, and physical ailments. I thought I'd share my thoughts on these three excuses, because I am pretty sure that they are the big three for everyone!

1) Time- I am a full-time teacher, a mother of two young children, a wife, and I have a house to maintain. Making time an excuse was pretty easy, because really who could argue with that? Yet even with this crazy lifestyle, I was honestly spending hours a day after the kids went to bed watching television and playing on the ultimate time waster, facebook (has any one else gotten on there to check a message and an hour later you realize that you never checked that original message?). I simply cut this time in half and magically I had an extra hour or more in my day. An hour that I wasn't losing with my children (my number one priority), but an hour after they went to bed. I now spend this hour at Planet Fitness, a Zumba class, or in my living room working it. I now think of the years I have hopefully added to my life and it seems like time well spent to me. Do you literally not have an extra 20 minutes a day you could squeeze in if you cut something else? (Even reading this blog!)

2) Money- Buying healthy food does indeed cost money. I am finding this to be the case especially during this winter season as fresh produce is hard to come by and expensive. However, I think eating in an unhealthy manner ultimately costs more! While my grocery bill is higher, my fast food bill is significantly lower. We used to grab fast food several times a week at $20 to $25 a visit for our family. Eating at home costs less! Another cost is exercise. However, Planet Fitness is literally $10 a month. Some people spend more than this on coffee in a day! It's also possible to find Zumba classes that are $5 a piece! Come on now!

3) Physical Ailments- This is the trickiest one I think. I had the beginnings of arthritis in my knees. There were some days that I would hobble around to walk and concerts that I had to sit down during because they hurt me so badly. Even with this limitation, I was still able to do it. I met with an orthopedist that suggested I use an elliptical as it does not put as much impact on my knees as walking or a treadmill would. I'm not going to lie, it was painful at the beginning of this journey and I had to take a lot of naproxen to push through it. Flash forward 81 pounds later and I am nearly pain free! It was a tough road to travel, but worth it. I think God sent me a wink last January at the gym. I wanted to give up that particular workout because my knees hurt (wah!). In comes a man in a wheel chair with no legs! He went from strength machine to strength machine working his butt off! The point is to focus on what you can do and not on what you can't do.

While I still want to make excuses (I am human), I love how this new season of "The Biggest Loser" has made me aware of this problem. I think excuses hold us back from every challenge we have in our lives (not just weight loss). Get rid of the excuses and get your life back!

Vegan Banana Bread

My cousin Diane gave me "The Happy Herbivore" cookbook by Lindsay Nixon for my birthday. Now that I am on winter break I actually have time to explore and try some of the recipes. While I am not thinking about becoming a vegan, I think it's just a healthier way of cooking and baking and I am always up for something new. Now that I have been working on losing weight for officially one year, I need to shake things up. The first thing I tried (pictured above) was banana bread. It filled my house with a sweet aroma and tasted delicious! The next recipe from this cookbook is sweet cinnamon rolls. Here is the recipe for the banana bread...

Ingredients:
1/4 cup non dairy milk (I bought light, vanilla silk soymilk)
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice (the kind in the plastic lemon bottle will do)
4 or 5 spotted or browning bananas (our bananas go bad often, now I won't have to throw them away!)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup raw sugar (I recommend adding a little extra sugar for a sweeter taste)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (go easy on this ingredient)
2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoon pure maple syrup (expensive... but I figure it will last a long time)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 8 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. Whisk the non-dairy milk and lemon juice together until bubbly and set aside.
3. Cream bananas with brown sugar and raw sugar using a spatula or food processor until smooth and creamy, set aside (I left some little chunks and thought this was a good thing).
4. In a large bowl (I got to use my new kitchen aid, yahoo), whisk spices, flour, baking soda, and baking powder together.
5. Add milk-lemon juice and banana mixture, as well as vanilla extract and maple syrup (I also added coconut extract for a little extra zing... you could add other extracts like cherry or almond to kick it up a notch).
6. Pour into loaf pan, using a spatula to evenly distribute and smooth out the top.
7. Lay a large piece of foil on top (do not wrap tightly).
8. Bake 45-60 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (it does take a long time for this to bake).

Let me know if you make this and how it goes! :) Also, what are your favorite healthy recipes? I need some new ideas!

Our Version of a Gingerbread House!

At 5 and 2 years old we are not quite ready to enter the realm of gingerbread house making, so our compromise for the last 2 years has been to make a Rice Krispie Treats "Holiday House" the last two years. It comes with everything you need except for 2 tablespoons of butter and I found it at 5 and Below (though I have seen it at other stores such as Target).


Daddy, Caleb, and Blake enjoyed decorating their houses with red/green icing, gum drops, and candy balls.


The final products were two masterpieces!


As fun as they were to make, the best part was eating the final product!

Wise Avenue Train Garden in Dundalk

Tonight we visited the Wise Avenue Train Garden in Dundalk. It's been a solid family tradition since I was an infant and I am excited to pass it on to my boys. This year was the most fun we've ever had as both boys were both into it and excited! Above is a picture of Blake with his Mom Mom Ament. She was a much appreciated pair of extra hands.


Caleb couldn't stop pointing at the different displays. His favorite of the evening (not shocking for a 5 year old boy) was the detailed model of the Dundalk Poop Plant. He couldn't control his giggling.


I know my Mom has similar pictures of me that I would love to pull out.



The display alternates between day and night and both are just as beautiful. There are so many tiny details that it would be impossible to find them all. If you haven't been you really should go! Located at 214 Wise Avenue at Dundalk the train garden will be open through January 8th. Admission is a very affordable $1 with children under 7 free. Visit their website www.wavfc.com for detailed information!