Balsamic Honey Barbecue Wings Reasons why summer is so great

As I am now in week 3 of official summer break, I find myself enjoying things I never thought I would have said a few years back.  Im compiling them in a short list for my own personal amusement.

Top 10 Reasons Why Summer Break Is Great

10.  No more dropping kids off at three different times to different locations.

9.  No packing of lunches.

8.  Later wake-ups (for both Children and ME)

7.  Fewer layers to wear, to organize and to take off

6.  Fewer work hours

5.  Better lighting for better pictures for food blog

4.  Fewer activities for Children

3.  More hours to get Children involved in the maintenance of the house and to get them to throw away their own junk

2. More leisurely bathroom time, since Im not rushing somewhere else

1.  No more homework for me to stress over, get over, make sure its over each week.

You got that right.  Its the lack of homework from school that just gets me excited.  Children can do their activity, sit down and do their extra math sheets with me, and play and we dont stress about homework. I dont check their homework, confirm their homework and sign off on their homework.  Its the most liberating feeling ever.

The other thing that makes me happy is food that Children gobble down.  Meals are more leisurely as were not in a rush to go to the next activity, and instead we have more time to lick our fingers and enjoy our food.  This chicken dish made the kids happy as they love anything with a sauce and the chicken was a little bit crispy and wonderful.

Balsamic Honey Barbecue Sauce Wings
Serves 4

Ingredients
2 lbs Chicken wings, separated into wings and drummettes, tips discarded

Barbecue sauce
½ cup balsamic vinegar
½ cup tomato ketchup
¼ cup honey
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Method
In a saucepan, mix together balsamic vinegar, tomato ketchup, honey, Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard. Stir until mixture is incorporated and smooth. Simmer over medium heat until reduced by a ? about 15 minutes. Once mixture has reduced, set aside.

Preheat oven to 400. Line roasting pan with foil and if you have it available, use a roasting rack on the inside of the pan. This allows more fat to render off of the wing and a crispier exterior. Lay wings neatly on rack and drizzle olive oil over the wing, and season with salt and pepper.

Bake for 20 minutes, and then turn wings over and cook for an additional 20 minutes. Once wings have cooked, then brush barbecue sauce all over one side of wing. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, turn over, brush more barbecue sauce and cook for another 5 minutes.

Serve warm.

Printable recipe

To the great days of summer

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An Update And Ive Lost Four Pounds So Far

Hi Yall!

I feel like I should post a picture of the baby or something. ha! I think Ill do that tomorrow. Hell be two weeks old.

I figured I should make a post now...while Im still wide awake because I cant guarantee how Ill be feeling tonight. Last night, I laid down at eight at night and didnt awake until sometime after midnight.

This child of ours is exhausting me. He is constantly eating, which is great! But...Im beginning to feel like...slightly suffocated. But sleep helps. Actually, from my experience, the first year with a newborn is usually the most challenging because they are so dependent on you. And, its also a time when you are adjusting to caring for another person while trying to balance that care with your other responsibilities.

I think, all things considered, its going well. Im back to homeschooling, getting that done and developing more ideas to make things go even smoother.

Also, newborns present a special challenge for moms who want to work out at the gym...like me.

Yes, you all knew I would be wanting to hit the gym ASAP. But, it can be challenging, because I first have to pump breast milk before I go, and then hope that he doesnt cry too bad while Im gone. Because often babies dont like breast milk in a bottle. Usually by the time I get to the gym, Im feeling a little out of breath from all the histrionics I go through just to get there. But, whats amazing about being gone from baby, even for just an hour, is that Im in a great mood when I come back and I feel even more love for him than before I left.

So, I may try to work out tonight, or tomorrow night. I want to fit in at least two arm work-outs this week. The leg work-out may have to wait until next week.

As for my diet...remember I said Id start on Monday?

Ive already lost four pounds. But, usually I will lose about five pounds in the first week and then I will lose nothing for about ten days. But by the end of ten weeks, the average will be about two pounds a week. Also, I may still be losing water weight from just having a baby. And, I am breastfeeding, which they say burns between 200 to 500 calories a day. It depend on how much breast milk the baby drinks. They say you burn about 20 calories per ounce that the baby eats.

Either way, losing that first five pounds is an encouragement to me to keep eating healthy.

I really appreciate you all visiting me and checking on me despite me not being able to check up on you. I hope to remedy that soon.

So, lets see...where does ten weeks take me...Monday, January 17...which is two days before my husbands birthday...and three days before my dads birthday.

Can I do it again?

Can I lose twenty pounds in ten weeks again?

When I did it before, I was able to run from the beginning, but I cant run right now because my body isnt completely healed.

But Im going to do my best!

Hope you all have a great day!

Sincerely,
Sunshine Mama

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