How are You Going to Burn Off that Thanksgiving Dinner?

Thanks to our friends at Livestrong.com, you no longer have to wonder just how many calories you are consuming and, more importantly) how to burn off your Thanksgiving dinner (without spending two hours at the gym!). Here are some fun (and funny) ways to burn off our favorite holiday foods...

Turkey – 3oz Roasted = 120 calories; 0 fat grams

You will have to Ballet Dance for 20 minutes!

Gravy – 1 cup = 188 calories; 14 fat grams

You will have to Run, 5.2 mph for 20 minutes!

Stuffing – 1/3 cup = 170 calories, 11.5 fat grams

You will have to Paint (inside the house) or Put up wallpaper for 30 minutes!

Cranberry sauce – ½ cup = 100 calories, 0 fat grams

You will have to Chop Wood for 20 minutes!

Corn - ½ cup = 80 Calories; 0 fat grams

You will have to Walk 4 mph for 12 minutes!

Classic String bean casserole - ½ cup = 120 Calories, 8 fat grams

You will have to Wash the Dog for 30 minutes!

Corn bread – 1 piece (65g) = 173 calories, 5 fat grams - cornbread, prepared from recipe, made with low fat (2%) milk

You will need to Samba dance for just under an hour.

Mashed potatoes - 1 serving = 152 Calories, 3 fat grams. Using low fat milk.

You can Wash all the Thanksgiving Day dishes for 1 hour and 10 minutes!

Sweet potatoes – 1 serving (from 8) = 305 Calories; 6 fat grams. Using butter and marshmallows

You will have to play Paddleball for 50 minutes!

Pumpkin Pie – 1/8 of a 9” pie = 320 Calories; 15 fat grams

You will need to do 30 minutes of Karate!

Apple Pie – 1/6 of 8” pie = 280 Calories; 15 fat grams

You will have to Box (on a punching bag) for 45 min!

Cheesecake – 1/6 of 17 oz cake = 260 Calories; 20 fat grams

You will have to Tread Water for 25 minutes!

Red Wine – 4oz = 85 Calories

You will have to be Juggling for 20 minutes!

White Wine – 4oz = 80 calories

You will be practicing Hatha Yoga for 30 minutes!

Apple cider – 8oz = 120 Calories

You will have to Golf (without a cart) for 30 minutes!

To find out other ways to burn calories for these Thanksgiving foods (or any of your favorite foods for that matter), visit Livestrong.com, and click on the The Daily Plate link. In the search box type in any food item to find, among other things, that food's nutritional value, comparable foods, and how to burn off the calories of that food.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Lauren's Bringing Britney Back...Yeah!

What started as a struggle today luckily turned into a funny.

My one-year old daughter, Lauren, had an accident today and we had to change her shirt. But in typical one-year old fashion, she wouldn't let me put her new onesie on. Once I got it over her head, I realized that I still had to take off her pants, snap the onesie, then put her pants back on again. With all of her wiggling and my nerves jumping out of my body I said to myself, "Oh forget about it!" And I snapped the onesie over her jeans! Here's what it looked like...

As she was walking around the house in this new fashion trend, I thought she reminded me of someone.

Then it hit me...she looked like the one-year old version of Britney Spears circa 2001 in the I'm a Slave 4 You video. (Of course she wasn't showing any cleavage, but she did have the jeans, hot pink over the jeans, and the messy hair!)

Perhaps we have stumbled upon a new baby fashion. I don't really like the way the onesie looks under jeans/pants anyway!

NKOTB on the American Music Awards

Okay, I wouldn't be me if I didn't post the New Kids on the Block performance on the American Music Awards tonight. Enjoy!

Win Tickets to See Beyonce

Did you think you finally had your own personal anthem when you first heard the song "Bootylicious?" Or was "Survivor" your theme song through a tough time in your life?

Whatever your memory might be, JamsBio.com wants to reward you for your Beyonce memories.

All you have to do is share stories, write reviews or create lists about Beyonce to win tickets to see her in concert in the city of your choice!

Click here for all the details and to enter.

Party Leftovers

For some of you, this may be a no-brainer, but I figured out a great way to use the rest of the veggie platter from my daughter's birthday party. Of course, I bought the massive veggie tray from Costco and we hardly made a dent in it since the party was so small.

So what did I make for dinner tonight? Stir-fry, anyone?!?

The vegetables in the Costco tray are perfect...broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, and snap peas make for a great stir fry. I hadn't whipped out the wok in ages. It was fun to try something different for a change. And it was super easy. The veggies were already cut and washed. I simply cut and added the chicken, and voila, yummy stir-fry.

Again, I know this might seem silly to you amazing wives and moms out there. But I was proud of myself for being resourceful with party leftovers.

Now if only I could figure out what to do with pink "1st Birthday Princess" party hats, plates and napkins!

My Birthday Cake/Cupcake Creation

As I mentioned last week, I planned on making the fun cake creation for my daughter's birthday this past weekend. Here is how it turned out...

I was happy with my creation and actually had a lot of fun designing different cupcakes and stacking the cupcakes. The key to making the cupcakes stay in place...toothpicks!

Thanks Betty Crocker!

Fun Birthday Cake Idea

Our baby girl turned 1 on Monday, so we are throwing a small family party for her this Saturday. For some reason, I am a total freak and love making cupcakes for my kids' birthday parties, and this Saturday is no exception.

As I was whipping up the cake a la Betty Crocker, I noticed the cutest idea on the box. Here it is...

I am going to be sticking to more of a pink theme, but you can really choose whatever color scheme you want. And what I love the most about this idea is that it is messy. I always try so hard to keep the cupcakes pristine, and by making this design, the stacking will lead to some mess.

For other cute cake ideas from Betty Crocker, click here.

Wanna Get Away to San Diego?

It's tough to take a vacation these days...many have opted for stay-cations at home. But my favorite place to stay in San Diego, Paradise Point Resort and Spa, is offering room rates that start at just $99 (which believe me, is unheard of for this place!)

I will admit, I am a bit biased to this resort because the hubby and I got married there 5 years ago. But we have been back several times with and without kids. The resort is quiet enough to relax and enjoy when you are without kids, but full of fun activities for the kids when you do have them with you. If you are looking for a tropical feel when visiting San Diego, I highly recommend looking into staying at Paradise Point!

Visit ParadisePoint.com now and use the promo code 24sale when looking into room rates. It is a limited-time only sale that ends 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, November 12, so reserve now!

(P.S. Photos above are from just a couple of visits we made to this fantastic resort!)

Our Little Princess' 1st Birthday

One year ago, a second miracle, our little princess, popped out at 7:02 a.m...all 8-1/2 pounds of her.

We learned very quickly that she was going to be our little drama queen when she decided to hold her breathe just after she was born and subjected herself to a 4-night stay in NICU. (I mean, don't most girls wait until at least 8 years old to play that whole "holding your breathe" routine?)

But over the past year, I have learned the joy of having a little girl...after thinking nothing could be better than having a little boy. And even more astonishingly, over the past year, I have been willing to give up my title of the princess in our house. (For those of you that have known me a while, you know that is a BIG deal!) But hey, she is worth it, and in my mind, has earned it!

She has completed so many milestones in her life already...8 teeth, rolling over, crawling, walking, even beating up her brother. Now at 22-pounds, she is a force to be reckoned with. But even when she mashes up bananas to make her hair into her own tiara, she is still our little princess!

(And yes, as you can see above, she knows how to tell everyone how old she is. I guess it is my job as her mother to explain to her that we women never reveal our true age. I'll give her a break this time, she's still pretty young!)

Paper Shouts Surprise Giveaway Winner

Thank you to everyone that entered the Paper Shouts $50 gift certificate giveaway, and thank you for all of your creative "green" ideas. And don't forget, you have until December 1 to use the promo code hcandbabies to receive a 10% discount on your Paper Shouts order.

Now on to the lucky winner. Congratulations to Jenny in Salem, OR, who said...

"I like the Spruce Christmas tree holiday card the best. As for my green tip, I just recently started bringing canvas bags to the grocery store. I feel good not having to answer the paper or plastic question. Thanks for the giveaway!"

Jenny, please contact us at info@housescouchesandbabies.com with your contact information so we can send you your Paper Shouts gift certificate.

10 Second Kiss - What a Concept

For those of you that may have caught Oprah today, you heard all about the 10 second kiss. The entire show today revolved around intimacy and romance. Oprah even elicited the help of a sex therapist for the show.

But the 10 second kiss was the #1 homework assignment given. It's simple. Kiss for 10 seconds...not just the peck you have grown so used to.

So for all you married or dating people out there, I dare you to try the 10 second kiss when you see your significant other for the first time that day. Who knows, you may get that giddy feeling you got when you first started dating. I just hope I don't get caught up in counting to ten...that's a long time!

Happy kissing!

Image courtesy of blogs.knoxnews.com

Playground Etiquette

Last week my kids and I went to the park. Of course, my son loves the playground most, and he can't get enough of the swings. The entire walk to the park, my son was talking about how high he wanted to fly when he was on the swings.

We get to the park, and both the swings are taken by a brother and sister, roughly the same age as my kids. My son was upset, but he also was patient and agreed to wait his turn. He made it very obvious that he wanted to play on the swings by asking me nicely several times, "Mommy, is it my turn to ride of the swings now?" I told him that he had to wait his turn, and he actually didn't freak out.

But here is my issue...the mother of the those two kids on the swings knew my son wanted to play on the swings. But instead of letting her kids play on the swings for another 5 or 10 minutes, we stood around waiting 20 minutes until she finally took her kids off the swings.

Maybe I am crazy, but I think that was very rude of her. My kids have been on the swings many times when other kids on the playground want to play on the swings, too, so I usually pull my kids off the swings after no more than 5 minutes. You know, to share. And I just couldn't believe how she apparently decided to ignore us and didn't show any social etiquette.

Obviously, there are much bigger issues to tackle these days. But I just was just so flabbergasted by the situation that I had to share it with you.