Name Debate Surges On

Despite all the input and discussion surrounding Baby No-Name Lopez, we are still stuck. BUT, here are the results from the poll. Thanks for all of you who are trying to help us out!

I'm not quite sure why naming babies seems to be such a complex issue for us. It could, perhaps, be due partly to the fact that Ryan and I are so different. There has been lots playful bantering going on between us, and it seems we are making progress. For example, we have both agreed to exclude such name suggestions as Xavier and Viper. In all seriousness, we have narrowed it down to Jacob, Quinn, and Hayden (but are not opposed to adding others to this list!).

Input is still welcome, for the next week and a half at least. We are not leaving the hospital without naming our little man, and I suppose we are both hoping that once we see him, his name will immediately become apparent. Wishful thinking never hurt anyone!

Taking Two For the Team?

Anthony is our stud baseball player. We spend the spring season just like he spent his years ago...at the ball fields cheering on our team. In his junior year, and in his second season with the Varsity squad, he has gravitated into quite the utility player, making himself useful at first base, third base, pitcher, and catcher. Baseball is his thing. He plays the other stuff for fun, or to keep in shape, but ever since he was little, all he has wanted is to play baseball. Year round. During this year's football season, all we hoped for was an injury-free few months, so he would be healthy and fit for the spring season. We all got our wish, but Game 3 into the preseason for Madera High baseball changed things a bit.

I was sharing my mental disconnect with the whole "Take one for the team" command a few weeks ago at Anthony's game. In baseball (or softball), this is often taken in the literal sense, and your HBP (hit by a pitch) just might be the RBI that is needed to win the game. That was just one of my shortfalls in becoming a super athlete. And here's my justification, 10 years later:

Fracture of the ulna. Cause: Hit by a Pitch, on two different At-Bats, in the same spot.

Anthony had surgery the next day. He has a plate, a few screws, and a macho-looking scar. Mom cuts his food now, and out of sympathy I helped him put away clothes. He seems to be healing well, but the doc said he should expect to be out at least 8-10 weeks. Yikes. That's the approximate length of a standard baseball season.

We have no doubt he'll recover, get stronger, and step into another pitch, taking one for the team.

Mama Mia!

We made pizzas at home last week, and Emily loved it!

Emily and I brushed our pizzas with sauce, then loaded on some cheese, pepperoni, and olives.

She was kind enough to stop and take a picture with Mommy.

Then, she helped Daddy make his pizza. She made sure not to short Daddy on any cheese!
By then, she figured out that all ingredients were edible. Yummmm!

"A" Team

I pity the fool.

Before You Drink...

Read this info I came across...

I am a staunch believer that if I am going to indulge in a high-calorie treat, I would rather it be some food, not drink. Well...after looking over this list, I will have to continue be diligent in checking into seemingly harmless drinks!



The 20 Unhealthiest Drinks in America

• Worst Light Beer: Samuel Adams Light (12 oz bottle) - 124 calories, 10 g carbs
  Replace with Beck’s 64-calorie Premier Light


• Worst "Healthy" Drink: Glaceau VitaminWater (20 oz bottle) - 130 calories, 33 g sugar
  A bottle of this stuff carries nearly as much sugar and calories as a can of Coke.


• Worst Soda: Sunkist (12 oz can) - 190 calories, 52 g sugar
  To lose 10 pounds fast, there is no simpler way to do it than by canning the soda.


• Worst Beer: Sierra Nevada Stout (12 oz bottle) - 210 calories, 20 g carbs
  Try a lighter beer (switching out a sixer a week would save you 9 pounds this year)


• Worst Lemonade: Minute Maid Lemonade (20 oz bottle) - 250 calories, 68 g sugar
  Try Santa Cruz brand (dump into a pitcher and add 4 oz. of water for every 8 oz. of lemonade).


• Worst Tea-Like Substance: SoBe Zen Tea (20 oz bottle) - 275 calories, 70 g sugar
  High-fructose corn syrup outranks tea on the ingredients list


• Worst Energy Drink: Rockstar Original (16 oz can) - 280 calories, 62 g sugar
  Brew black tea at home for an energy boost. It’s nearly zero calories and contains antioxidants.


• Worst Iced Tea: Lipton Iced Brisk Lemon Iced Tea (20 oz bottle) - 325 calories, 81 g sugar
  This tea contains more than 20 teaspoons of sugar


• Worst Juice Impostor: Arizona Kiwi Strawberry (23.5 oz can) - 360 calories, 84 g sugar
  Contains 5 percent juice, 95 percent sugar water


• Worst Chocolate Milk: Nesquik (16 oz bottle) - 400 calories, 10 g fat (6 g saturated), 60 g sugar - Make a healthier version home: 2% milk and a scoop of real powdered cocoa


• Worst Chai Tea Drink: Caribou Coffee Large Chai Tea Latte - 420 calories, 47 g sugar
  Replace with skinny lattes or unsweetened chai.


• Worst Kid's Hot Beverage: Cosi Kid's Hot Chocolate (12 oz) - 436 calories, 60 g sugar
  There are more calories in this small drink than in Cosi's Gooey Grilled Cheese sandwich


• Worst Summer Cocktail: Pina Colada - 625 calories, 75 g sugars
  Instead, enjoy a lime daiquiri or a mojito and save up to 400 calories.


• Worst Coffee Alternative: Starbucks Venti White Hot Chocolate - 640 calories, 23 g fat (15 g saturated), 76 g sugar - Go with the Steamed Apple Juice instead.


• Worst Hot Coffee: Starbucks Venti 2% Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha - 660 calories, 22 g fat (14 g saturated), 95 g sugar - Avoid holiday-themed items from coffee shops at all costs. Make your own drinks instead, using skim milk, sugar-free syrups, and, skipping the whip.


• Worst Blended Fruit Drink: Baskin-Robbins Pomegranate Banana Fruit Blast Smoothie (32 oz) - 1,020 calories, 232 g sugar - If you must sip on something at Baskin-Robbins, make it a small low-fat Cappuccino Blast, which has 220 calories and 1/5 of the sugar of this Fruit Blast.


• Worst Frozen Coffee Drink: Cosi Gigante Double OH! Arctic (24 oz) - 1,033 calories, 35 g fat, 177 g carbohydrates - Want a cold caffeine kick? Try iced coffee.


• Worst Smoothie: Jamba Juice Peanut Butter Moo'd Power Smoothie (30 oz) - 1,170 calories, 169 g sugar - This ‘smoothie’ has more sugar than an entire bag of chocolate chips.


• Worst Milkshake: Baskin-Robbins York Peppermint Pattie Shake (32 oz) - 2,210 calories, 103 g fat (57 g saturated), 281 g sugar - You'd have to down 15 Twinkies to match the sugar content in this Baskin-Robbins blunder.


• The Worst Drink in America: Baskin-Robbins Large Heath Bar Shake - 2,310 calories, 108 g fat (64 g saturated), 266 g sugar

73: The number of ingredients that go into this milkshake.
66: The number of teaspoons of sugar this drink contains.
11: The number of Heath Bars you
would have to eat to equal the number of calories as this tasty terror.
12: The average number of minutes it takes to consume this drink.
240: The number of minutes you'd need to spend on a treadmill, running at a moderate pace, to burn it off.

Source: David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding for Men's Health, from their book Eat This, Not That