The Easter Weekend

Hi Guys!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Easter Sunday filled with lots of family and lots of friends - I sure did... and lots of food! Probably too much food now that I think about it, but that's what holiday weekends are for, right? Well, sort of ... but we'll get to that soon.

I spent my Easter weekend back home with my parents in Cincinnati, along with my brother and sister. Growing up it didn't seem like a crowded house, but tack on 10 years to everyone's age, plus a larger dog, and things seemed a bit more tight. Nevertheless, it was a great weekend filled with laughter and jokes, but never without the typical Gilliam kid scuffles over who was going to unload the dishwasher or who got to bring back with them the last box of Girl Scout cookies.

Lately, it's been rare to have all of us home at once, so when we all are home, it always seems like a special occasion, which is why I wasn't the least bit surprised when I woke up Saturday morning to the smell of my mom's crowd-favorite cinnamon coffee cake baking in the oven:

This coffee cake only comes out on special occasions, which is a good thing. I'm sure if my siblings and I grew up eating this everyday we'd be more concerned with looming diabetes as opposed to worrying (and complaining) about nagging allergies.

Over the course of the weekend, I was caught several different times with my camera, sneaking shots of the different food and activities we all my mom, sister and I participated in. While my mom was all worried about me smack talking all of the "holiday food" in the blog, my sister was more concerned with getting face time on the blog...so for kicks and giggles, here she is coloring eggs:

and here are my beautiful masterpieces:

Oh, and here she is with a scowl on her face after I yelled at her for throwing away the most nutritious part of the egg:
Remember what it is?

If you forgot, you can refresh your memory by reading  this post, or take a look at the picture below. My mom got her 5 seconds of fame by showing off a nice sized bite out of that most nutritious part: (hint, it's the yellow part that is hopefully always found in the center of the egg)

To finish up the holiday weekend, my mom prepared a delicious Easter linner (lunch/dinner) that included all of our holiday favorites:

Honey Baked Ham:

Edamame salad:

and of course Cheesy Potatoes and Pretzel Salad:

Definitely not the most healthiest meal, but then again it's nothing to feel guilty about when you only eat meals like this over the holidays.

And just to ease my mom's worry over me not "slamming" her food choices, there was plenty of very healthy options throughout the weekend, like this pretty bowl of fruit:

And also lots of exercise in the form of  walks and some tennis playing. 

So the moral(s) of the story?

• It is A-OK to put healthy choices temporarily aside when choosing what to eat for your holiday dinner. This doesn't mean that you should eat an entire 13X9 pan of cheesy potatoes, or eat 3 chocolate Easter bunnies in one sitting - it means to have a serving of cheesy potatoes and enjoy it. 
• Compliment your holiday meal with lots of fruit, vegetables, and physical activity. 
• Eat your yolk!
• Oh, and watch out for my sister's sudden change of mood.... eeek! (ha ha kiddingggg)

Stay Healthy,

Did any of you guys indulge over the weekend? 

What are you guys doing, if anything, this week to get back on track after the holiday weekend?