Kayla's Chronicles: My journey as a young mom

The UNHappy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-16T12:55:00.000-08:00

Did everyone have a good Valentine's Day?

Ours was a huge, fat FAIL.

OMG - Let me tell you.

First of all, let me paint a picture that will lay the foundation for my VDAY story. Okay so the night before, I got NO sleep. I kinda have a cold/sore throat and so does Benjamin, and he slept with us and kicked us, and rolled around, and was coughing, sneezing, snoring all night long. I probably got 2 hours of sleep. And if you happen to know me, you KNOW that when I don't get sleep, I get CRANKY.

Reallllyyyy cranky.

Anywhoodles. Evan had reservations to a really nice restaraunt for Valentine's Day, however, he failed to find a babysitter until last minute. Whatev. So, we decided to just order in and watch a movie. Sounds cool, right? It would've been cool, but around 5:00, he calls and says he found a babysitter. And for whatever reason, 'The CRANK' reared it's ugly head and I got ticked off. I didn't feel good, so was kinda looking forward to staying home instead of getting ready, dolled up (baby bump and all) and going and spending $100+ on a meal. So I kinda sorta flipped out. And by flipped out I mean started crying and yelled "WHY DID YOU CHANGE THE PLANS?! I WANTED TO STAY HOME?!?!" And I think there may have been some tears and door-slamming involved. I dunno.{ahem, can someone say 'hormones'?"}

Anywhoodles, this kinda irritated him, so he called and cancelled the babysitter (like I wanted) and tried to make new "stay at home plans, but I stayed in bed and cryed like a 2 year old who was tired and cranky. Well ,I ended up falling asleep about 7 'oclock and Evan, bless his heart, obviously didn't want to disrupt the angry bear, so when I woke up he was sleeping on the couch. :/ eeeek. Can someone say VALENTINES DAY FAIL? Yes. That was our Valentine's Day.

Hahaha, I'm laughing about it as I recount the details, and I can promise you we really hardly ever fight, this is a rare occasion that we don't confront the issues or go to bed upset. And for those who think we 'fought' on VDAY, it wasn't really a "fight". It was more of me freaking out and being crazy/hormonal and acting like a ravenous dragon spewing emotional vomit over everyone in my path, and Evan remained silent, irritated, confused and just decided to stay out of my way. Smart dude. And I take full responsiblity for the ridiculousness that occured Feb. 14, 2012.

Welcome to marriage. Or welcome to pregnancy. Or both.

So we are going to re-celebrate this Saturday! Dinner and a movie. Ev suggested "The Vow"... I dunno, I suggested we watch the new action movie with Denzel, Safe House, but he said he'd really prefer to celebrate our love by seeing a romantic comedy with Channing Tatum.

{If you actually believe that's how the movie-deciding went down, you CLEARLY don't know Evan (or men for that matter). He haaates RoCo's, but I think he's agreed to do so hoping and praying "The Crank" doesn't rear it's ugly head again... And if you know us, we will probably end up watching BOTH movies the SAME night... that's how we roll. What? No one else does that? (and yes, we do pay for both)}

Also, I will be skipping the 27 week update and instead to a 28 week one next week! We've finally gotten started on the nursery and I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT IT. I will share in an upcoming post what we've decided to go with.

A Day In the Life

2012-02-13T14:19:00.000-08:00

I've decided to do "a day in the life" post, that pretty much highlights my ~~boring~~ day. I get alot of messages on my forum & facebook that ask what I've been eating and what products I take during this pregnancy.

6:30-7:00 - rise & shine. GET SPARKED!
Take prenatal vitamins, catalyst, probiotic ultra & baby asprin then get in the shower.

7:30 - Ben is usually up so we eat breakfast together. For me it is either a Meal Replacement Shake & fruit

OR whole grain toast with egg whites, side of fruit and/or greek yogurt.

9:30 - Head out to drop Ben off at pre-school & go to work (3 days a week I leave an hour early because M-W-F I have to work at 9:00am)

10:00 - eat a mid-morning snack. Usually a handful of almonds or a granola bar. (I keep a bag of raw almonds at work - very helpful! especially on the days there is donuts :)

12:00 - Lunch. Something that involves this deliciousness:

Whole wheat rotini w/ broccoli, cherry tomatoes, capers, chicken & pesto.

Or a hot turkey sandwich stacked with vegetables &a side of fruit, yogurt & possibly carrots & hummus or celery & peanut butter. Tuna or Egg Salad sandwich, or a rosemary chicken/orange pepper wrap. (lunch is always my biggest meal)
2:30 afternoon snack. Something like cottage cheese, raw nuts, dried fruit, edamame, or chips & salsa. Afternoon snacks are always kind of random for me and I eat a good portion because I'm usually really hungry by then and want to avoid eating a huge dinner.

3:00 - head home from work

3:30 - Ideally I will take catalyst and then do a workout, but some afternoons involve a nap or a book or housework. I shoot to work out at least 4 times a week. After the workout, I eat a protein snack, like a serving of nuts, soybeans {edamame}, cottage cheese or greek yogurt. On days I'm super hungry or days I don't have a meal replacement shake for breakfast, I will drink one of those after my workout and eat a very light dinner.

5:00 - pick up Ben from pre-school

6:30 - Eat din din. Usually a lean protein & vegetable.. something light. I'm usually exhausted & if I eat a lot I get terrible heartburn. I will do salmon/mahi mahi/tilapia & a small salad OR chicken & brown rice w/ asparagus. Or here is this healthy deliciousness- Healthy Chicken Parmesan over Whole Grain Penne:

Evening- Alot of the times I don't have an evening snack due to ferocious heartburn and fatigue in general. I do like to drink Pellegrino sparkling water with squeezed lime. When I am in a snacking mood it is usually for ice cream or something cold. I have found these 100 Calorie Root Beer Float bars that are HEAVENLY. (lucerne makes them) I will also have the Dreyer's all natural fruit bars that I've blogged about before.

26 WEEKS! update

2012-02-09T13:19:00.000-08:00

Baby Boy is about the size of a head of lettuce. Right now he weighs about 2 lbs & is about 14 inches long!

I can definitely tell, too. My whole abdominal area feels cramped. Instead of kicks and flutters, I feel full-on jabs & punches and my whole stomach moves when he rotates. I'm really getting super excited to meet him! Only about 12 more weeks more or less, which is totally crazy! We've hardly started on the nursery :/

DR's update: I went to get an ultrasound last week to do some measurements. It has been confirmed that he is TOTALLY healthy and he's growing right on track. Doc thought he might be measuring ahead, but looks like he's due to arrive in May, still!

How far along? 26 weeks 3 days.

Total weight gain/loss: 10-11lbs, I go to the doc at the end of the month, so I'll know for sure then. 2 weeks ago, I was at 9lbs.

Maternity clothes? . Shirts. I have a feeling I will be in maternity jeans soon. I wear a lot of leggings & button my jeans.

Stretch marks? Nope!

Sleep: EH. Could be better. I wake up at least once or twice a night, but I still get about 8-9 hrs of sleep so I'm always refreshed the next day. I guess I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

Best moment this week: Eating Lindor Truffles.

Movement: All the time! He's a trapese artist, I swear! I don't think he moves as much as Ben did.. I find myself having to count movements/kicks more often because he'll go a while without moving. But when he does, it's crazy!

Food cravings: Still craving shrimp. Actually seafood. I can't get enough seafood for some reason. And carbs! Dinner rolls with butter sound amazing all the time!

Food Aversions: Tomato saucy things. Pizza-yuck! spaghetti-yuck!

Labor Signs: None

Belly button in or out? FLAT AS A PANCAKE.

What I miss: Breathing.. I get so out of breath so easily. My whole chestal cavity is cramped.

What I am looking forward to: Meeting my little baby boy! Also being in the 3rd Trimester. And doing the nursery. We are SOOO behind on it.

What I am NOT looking forward to: Pushing a baby out my va-jayjay. Don't get me wrong, i love that whole birth experience thing, but I just remember the pains following.

Milestones: NOT the nursery, that's for sure! Maybe its normal, but I know that with Ben we had a ton of stuff done by this point. We have so much to do, its getting to the point where I'm *almost* starting to stress about it.

And here's the belly:

24 Weeks Update

2012-01-26T09:53:00.000-08:00

YAY! 24 Weeks, that means in 1 month I will be in my 3rd trimester. I'm so super excited about that.

Soooo, I went to the doctor yesterday, and have some updates!

First of all, my doctor is keenly aware that I've been making changes this pregnancy to stay healthy, fit, and not gain the weight I did with Benjamin. With Ben, at this point, I had gained 23lbs. And as of TODAY, at my Dr's appointment I've gained 9! I was so happy. My "goal" was to be around a 12lbs weight gain, so I celebrated my 1lb weight gain this past month by getting a footlong BLT at Subway for lunch, WITH chips AND cookies. (yes, I meant to make "cookies" plural) I was starrrving and ate all of it.

ON the food note, here are somethings I've been REALLY craving lately. And by REALLY craving, I mean my husband has made a midnight trip to the grocery store to get some of them:

Random, I know. Strawberry, all natural, Dreyer's fruit bars! I had the flu last week, and these are all I ate for like 2 days. Watermelon Jolly Ranchers, need I say more? Cinnamon toast crunch has been like 2 of my dinners this week & scallops, which I get at a local "fancy" restaraunt are DELICIOUS. They are a more expensive craving then the rest, so I don't get them as often.

Also, he said I'm really low risk for gestational diabetes, so he said he doesn't beleive the glucose test is necessary this pregnancy. Score! Being healthy is really paying off, and as I've said before, it's not about the numbers on the scale, it's really about how much healthier I am this time around and how great I feel. I need to do a pregnancy comparison, and will probably do that during my 3rd trimester or even after I have this baby, but... the differences are huge! I have more energy, less heartburn, less backaches, leg cramps, less headaches, more stamina, better energy, less junk food cravings, better sleep, no constipation, etcccc... this pregnacy than I did last one.
At 24 weeks last pregnancy I went into preterm labor with Ben. It was so scary, and I was in the hospital for almost 3 weeks on Mag sulfate, which is AWFUL. At one point, I kept contracting and my cervix began to thin and I came extremely close to being transferred to a hospital that could handle a micro-preemie. At 24 weeks, Ben was borderline viability and it would've been a nightmare to have him that early. He was so tiny, I begged God to let him bake a little longer, and praise God that we were able to stop labor and I was able to go home on bedrest and made it to 35 weeks. Reflecting on this makes me extremely thankful to have a healthy child. Pregnancy was a bad experience. Don't get me wrong, I loved it at the same time. Carrying a life inside you is a remarkable experience and I wouldn't of traded it for anything, but most my pregnancy I was fearful, scared, and worried the WHOLE TIME about losing the baby.

This time, I'm so much more at peace. I understand the importance of taking care of myself as well as my baby and have researched the benefits of exercise, eating healthy, taking the right supplements, etc. I'm thankful for Advocare and their stance on health and nutrition. The knowledge and empowerment the company gives is life-changing & invaluable. I'm not scared to be active like I was before, and I'm not using pregnancy as a free ticket to indulge in high calorie cravings EVERYDAY(like I, also, did before)... but still enjoy my cheesecake or fried cheese sticks every so often. ;) My relationship with myself, with food, and my determination and self-control are so much different this time, and every week I see it paying off. It also helps to be accountable, which is one of my main reasons for blogging.
Lastly, on my updates.. I did have some spotting on Saturday. I told my doctor about it, and although I haven't had any since and haven't had any major contractions besides my normal Braxton Hicks, we are going to do an ultrasound to measure my cervix. Also, my uterus is measuring a whopping 3 weeks ahead. It was measuring ahead last month, too, so we are going to see how big this baby is, and may possibly move my due date up a week or so. SCARY! Time is already going by so quickly, I can't imagine being 2 or 3 weeks further along than I had previously thought. We will see!

Here is my belly pic: Did on Instagram for Iphone b/c I had to blur out the toilet in the background. Gotta keep it classy, ya'll.

Benjamin: 30 Months

2012-01-24T14:52:00.000-08:00

I haven't done an update on Ben in so long! My pregnancy kinda took over the blog, but I decided to do a LONG needed update on my sweet, sweet baby boy. He's not really a baby.. he's a BIG BOY (as he likes to call it)

Let me tell you, if I were to sum up my awesome bundle of a 2 year old it would be: personality. This kid has THE most awesome personality ever. EVER. Maybe its because I'm remarkably childish for an adult or just because my kid is that stinkin awesome, but we are more like best buds rather than mother/son. We have so much fun together, and whoever coined the term "Terrible Twos" clearly hasn't met Benjamin. Its more like "Freaking awesome Twos".

Don't believe me? Here is some photographic proof!

This was Christmas. He said, "Wook mommy, I a wobot" The cutest robot EVER!

Christmas morning. He was totally jamming out on his guitar, and continued to do so for like 3 hours straight.

This is the time when he decided to crawl in the toilet. Thank GOD it was clean or I would've probably barfed instead of laughed.

Okay, this is around Thanksgiving. He was saying, "BYE BYE, AIRPLANE!!!" (Really loud so the airplane could hear of course.)

And this was one of our many breakfast wars. After a long time trying to convince him waffles, or pancakes or eggs or
yogurt would be a suitable breakfast, Ceasar Salad won. And he enjoyed it.

Those are just some memories that I never, ever want to forget. It would take me more time than eternity to explain how much I love him, and how much he enriches our lives. Not everyday is rainbows and dandilions, there are some days that are really challenging, and I have to beg God to give me the patience to just make it through the day. But, by God's grace, I try to not make the "hard times" my focus. I know this toddlerhood is only a season, so I try to do my very best to capture memories of the fun and goofy times. Not the times where I want to pull my hair out because he colored our bedspread with permanent marker, or when he like always throws the Q-tips all over bathroom (refer to the first pic I posted for Exhibit A), and sometimes he's just in an irreversible cranky mood. There are times like that, where I get deeply frustrated to the point of "wishing he was out of this stage", but then I think of that one day not too far away, that I will be sitting proudly at his graduation, or at his wedding, meeting my first grandchild, etc --- and am frightenly reminded that I need to enjoy every "now" moment, for they pass way too quickly. And I am, I am taking in every single second, which is a precious gift, that I have with my son!

STATS!

Since being in pre-school, you have grown exponentially! You can say 3-4 word sentences, have most your colors & numbers mastered and love identifying letters of the alphabet. Your favorites to point out are "letter L, Letter C & Letter S". Sometimes you get letter S & number 5 confused, but I don't blame you, they look so close!
You are not quite potty-trained. Holding strong in a 5 diaper, but we are working on it, and hopefully you will be potty trained by May, when your little brother arrives.
You are in a size 3T clothing. Some 2T fits, but you are so darn tall and have longs arms that we are mostly in 3T. You also weigh about 30lbs.
You are quite the hygenist. You love to brush your teeth, wash your own hair and body in the shower, and put on lotion. You also love chapstick and cleaning your ears. Mommy isn't complaining.
You love TV shows, but we try to limit those to 1/2 hr a day or less. Your favorite TV shows are Team Umizoomi, Mickey Mouse Club, Bubbleguppies, Veggie Tales, & Little Einsteins. Your favorite characters that you love are Elmo, Mater (from Cars), and Buzz (Toy Story).
You love trains. You got a train track for Christmas and have been enjoying it ever since. You love to carry your trains with you in your backpack. You also love pushing around big trucks. Typical boy you are!
You still adore "puppy" and it would be an absolute CRISIS if we ever lost him.
You graduated to a twin bed around your 2nd birthday, and are a pretty good sleeper. In the mornings around 6:30, you like to come to our bed and snuggle for about an hour with your milk sippy.
You love the outdoors. We took you fishing and you loved it, you also love pushing your wagon in the backyard, going to the park with Charlie, and sledding. This year we are going to get you some ski lessons!!

Here are some fun Benjamin quotes that I never want to forget:

Woke up early this morning, had a splitting headache and was in a terrible mood (got no sleep last night). Ben was running around, playing with his toys, but making this loud, high-pitched, awful, obnoxious shrieking sound... I'm like "BEN! Pleasssse stop screaming now." He stops, dead in his tracks, looks at me and with all sorts of attitude says, "Mommy - Just have FUNNNNN!!", then runs off and continues playing. I was kinda stunned, silent, but decided to take his advice and take on the day with a whole new (and improved) attitude.. I swear, my little bundle of a 2 year old teaches me more than I could ever teach him. What a blessing he is. ♥

In the car, Ben was trying to get my attention while I was on the phone..MOMMY!! MOMMY!! MOMMYYYYYYYYYYY!!! Finally I'm like "What Ben? What's going on?"... Ben smiles sweetly and says "I wuv mommy and I wuv peanut butter" ♥

I'm sure I can keep going, but this is long enough, lol! To prevent these overloaded posts in the future, I'll do better at making more frequent posts/updates on Ben! I'm so excited for him to be a big brother!!

Stay tuned for my 24 Week post w/ belly pic this week :) Here, have another picture.

THE PLAN: How to get my body back.

2012-01-23T10:28:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I know I'm supposed to do a 23 week post, and I may get to it before I'm 24 weeks, but I doubt it! To be honest there is not a whole lot to report this week in the pregnancy department. I go to the doctor Wednesday, so I'll do an update then.
Until then, I'm starting to come up with "my plan". As most of you know I have a "fat to fit" story. And its not about being skinny, it's about being healthy. After I have this baby, I want to be in the BEST shape of my life. I'm young, in my early twenties, and absolutely believe (and am totally determined!) to get into shape. It's not quite as easy as it used to be when I was in high school because I could've ate whatever I wanted, but it's well worth the work to me.

Number wise, I hope to get to see the 120s again. Before I got married, I was in the best shape of my life. I weighed 128lbs and had a visible 6 pack, ya'll. (!!) After marriage I gained, got pregnant and gained, stopped working out and ended up at 160, then got on Advocare and lost about 20lbs. Since then I've been in the high 130s, and would LOVE to see the 120s again, even if I step on the scale and it says 129.9, I would totally do a victory dance! And I'm giving myself 1 year to get there, but I want to be where I was (about 135-140) by 6 months post partum.

Okie Dokes, here's the plan ya'll.

4-6 Weeks Post Partum - Start walking. Yep, that's it. My goal, when I get the okay from the doc, is to just walk for 20-30 mins a day. I've been doing weight training throughout my pregnancy too, so depending on how I feel, I may continue with weights.

2 Months Post Partum - HIIT & walk/jog. HIIT is High Intensity Interval Training. Intervals are a HUGE fat burner. They burn fat even after the workout. You can do intervals for like 10 or 15 mins and they work. I've done them before and love them, then I will continue my walks/jogs & weights of course :)

3 Months Post Partum - Couch to 5K. You can google it and read all about it. It's a 9 week program and my goal is in the fall of 2012, this year, is to actually run a 5K. Very brave of me, haha! I've heard so many success stories and I've looked it up and seems very easy to follow. It's just commitment. 3 months post partum seems very soon, and depending on how I feel, I may start at 4 or 5 months, but I'm shooting for about 12 weeks after I have this bubs!

& OF COURSE an Advocare 24 Day Challenge.

I've done the plan before, and have been using Advocare products this pregnancy and feel AMAZING. I've been coaching quite a few people over the past few months on the Challenge and ALL have gotten amazing results and feel better than they have ever felt. I'm definitely excited to start mine!

And after that I am going to get a gym membership. Living in the icy cool climate of Montana makes it very hard to workout outside, so with a gym membership, I think I'll be able to *hopefully* have by body back by 6 months post partum.

Some other things I have and am considering doing:

I have Lindsay Brin's postnatal Bootcamp DVD. It came with my prenatal ones, so I will be doing that. I'm also considering Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. Have heard good things about it, and it would be an "add-on" that I'd throw in somewhere and do it for a month, but I'm not sure yet.

So, that's the "PLAN". Its 50% diet & 50% exercise. My diet is still up in the air. Normally I would adhere to a strict 1200 calorie a day, but I'm planning on breastfeeding as long as I can (hopefully up to a year), and so I will have to adjust accordingly. Baby comes first, and so I will have to balance whatever necessary to maintain my milk supply, which may require me to adjust my exercise and/or diet.

PRAY FOR ME!!

Long time no update! 22 Weeks!

2012-01-10T09:43:00.000-08:00

Holy cow! Sorry I've been completely MIA. I'm full of excuses but I'll spare them ;)

Time is flyyyying by this pregnancy. I'm serious, I cannot believe I'm 22 weeks pregnant and in about 4 months or less we'll have a little baby in our arms. I should start of by catching you up from the past 4 weeks. About a month ago, we were pretty bent on NOT finding out the gender, but because I'm high risk due to previous pregnancies I will be having quite a few ultrasounds this pregnancy. And there is no way I have the self control to refuse to find out the gender every time. I'm too curious and tempted and impatient, ya know? So we found out that.....

We are SO excited to be having another baby boy! I can't wait to see Benjamin as a big brother and hopefully and prayerfully they will be the best of friends!

How far along? 22 weeks 1 day

Total weight gain/loss: Gain of 7-8lbs.. fluctuates.

Maternity clothes? . I am still in regular jeans, some still button up, some I rubber band. I do have some awesome maternity tops I wear, but still wear some regular ones too. Lately, I've just been really only wanting to wear comfy clothes sweatshirts and yoga pants or leggings.

Stretch marks? Nope! Hooray!

Sleep: Horrible! I have been having nightmares, and waking up sweating, even though its usually freezing in our house because thats how hubs and I like to sleep. I also have been getting restless, so for now I'm taking Benadryl to help with sleep and that seems to work good.

Best moment this week: Well knowing we are having a baby BOY! And I already ordered some nursery stuff, so I'm really excited to get started on the nursery!

Movement: All the time! We can even see and feel the little kicks on the outside, and last week he got the hiccups! Love movement :)

Food cravings: Shrimp! Which is so odd, because I normally hate shrimp. Avocadoes (guacamole), ceasar salad wraps (which I eat every day, lol), olives, anything lime flavored or limes themselves, and unfortunately carbs.. dinner rolls, pasta, bread and butter..

Food Aversions: Red meat. I have a hard time digesting it, and so I'm completely staying away from it. I normally love a good burger or steak, but it just sounds gross to me right now.

Labor Signs: Nope, but I get quite a few Braxton Hicks.

Belly button in or out? in.

What I miss: Getting in a really good workout. I am doing some low impact stuff right now and even though it gets my heart rate up, I just don't feel like its working. I know it is, but I'm craving to get in a really good workout that makes me want to die and pass out when I'm done to the point where I'm sore and unable to move for a few days. lol.

What I am looking forward to: Meeting my little baby boy! Also? Getting to 26 weeks - aka VIABILITY. For a mama whos gone into preterm labor, had some losses, and had a premature baby, viability is a huge deal.

What I am NOT looking forward to: Getting huge. I already have a protruding stomach and am obviously showing, but at the end I'm huge, feel like a whale, can't see my toes or tie my shoes. Not looking forward to that..

Milestones: Reaching the halfway point - seeing & feeling kicks from the outside.

And I sort of look awful in this pic as my hair is in such disarray and I barely have any makeup on, but here's me @ 22 weeks!!

18 Weeks... blah.

2011-12-14T10:42:00.000-08:00

So I'm not going to do a quiz this week. This is just going to be an unedited stream of words flowing unfiltered through my brain to my fingertips. Could be dangerous so consider yourself warned.

Oh and I don't have a belly pic this week, so if that's what you're here for, I'm just going to spare you a text-heavy post and tell ya up front!

The reason why I don't have a belly pic is because I look like crap! I ate horrible this week, I worked out once, and I've been so stressed and tired and cranky. I know its the holidays, and I don't have any feelings of guilt for what I ate, but I'm just like whatever. So what. Who cares. I ate fudge, and chocolate covered pretzels and pumpkin roll with cream cheese, and cheetos (barf) and macaroni and cheese for like 3 meals. Whatev. Its life. I don't think its showed that much on the scale, I haven't actually weighed myself, but its showed in the way I felt. I've been tired, lazy, I don't want to cook healthy or even cook for that matter...henceeee the mac n cheese. Work has been crazy, home has been crazy. I guess I'm just debriefing, because in the BIG picture, I'm blessed. I don't have anything to complain or be whiny about. My family is healthy, we can afford to heat our house in this sub zero, antarctic weather, and we DO have food on the table and presents under the tree. We have family and friends and an amazing church, so I knowwwww, I don't have any need to be negative. But to be real, that was my week.

Today is a new week, thank Jesus. This morning I had a good breakfast, I'm going to the gym tonight, I have my work out DVDs, and have some awesome healthy meals planned out this week. I'm not trying to lose the weight I gained, but I am trying to curb my crazy, out-of-control eating from here on out, and hopefully in 2 weeks, when I step on the doctors scale, I will be right on track. If not, oh well.

On another note, I have been feeling the baby daily now. The kicks are getting SO strong. I love it, its absolutely amazing and probably my favorite part of pregnancy. It's a reminder that the little person growing inside me is not just a fetus or embryo, but it is a real person that has an identity, a name (that only God knows right now), a purpose, future, and destiny. A person who is being formed and fashioned by the very hand of God right now. I feel so much more patient this pregnancy than I did the last. With Ben, I didn't take in and enjoy every moment, I was just so hasty and anxious to give birth that I missed out on the precious moments like feeling the baby kick. Its only for a few months I get to experience life growing IN me, and this time I am absolutely absorbing every moment with pure joy. Every time this baby kicks or does a somorsault, I'm uplifted and encouraged that this precious child is growing, developing, and will one day be in our arms. Its truely amazing. Each day I get more and more excited about meeting this precious bundle! In due time.

17 Weeks Update

2011-12-07T12:23:00.000-08:00

17 Weeks

How far along? 17 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Gain of 3-4 lbs

Maternity clothes? . I bought some wintery maternity tops but they are too big and make my stomach look funny. Still in regular clothes but I'm banding all my jeans

Stretch marks? None so far.. hopefully I won't get any this time around. Last time I used cocoa butter and got a bunch on my hips AFTER I gave birth. This time I'm using Bio Oil &

Sleep: Horrible! For the past week, I have been SO congested at night and in the morning. My mouth has been dry and I can't breath great. I have moved a humidifier into my room, hopefully that will help.

Best moment this week: MOVEMENT!!! I felt the baby a few nights ago, FINALLY! It was amazing, and I've felt him/her move a couple times since.

Movement: See above

Food cravings: Spinach & Artichoke dip..hellooooooo. I made SOO much on Sunday and have been eating it ever since.. lol. Oh and I've been DYING to have an Ice Cream Snickers, but haven't.. yet.

Food Aversions: Food in itself.. for some reason I haven't been hungry lately. I eat, but its really hard to find something that sounds good every meal, unless I'm totally craving it.

Labor Signs: No, but I've still been experiencing some light contractions, which is normal.

Belly button in or out? in.

What I miss: Sleeping on my belly. And its getting harder to bend over and pick something up.. lol. I'm a little off-balanced. I've been noticing I can't be as 'swift' as I once was. I can't just jump up out of the chair and run and grab something or else my uterus will scream at me with pulls and cramps. I've had to take things easier.

What I am looking forward to: The many Christmas parties coming up and my ultrasound on December 26th!

What I am NOT looking forward to: Puffy hands and feet. My feet swole (got swollen?) the other day, and I'm like, Lord no, not this time! We'll see.

Weekly Wisdom: Blah. No wisdom this week. Enjoy life.

Milestones: Feeling movement!! *does a happy dance*

On another note, we have been having the MOST IMPOSSIBLE time with names. Its so annoying, my husband and I can't agree on anything. And then we agreed on a girls name, and it had a TERRIBLE MEANING ("dark one") and then after hours and hours we decided on a boys name and it, too, had a horrid meaning ("conflicted") Names are a big deal for us.. So. back to square one. We've been through probably hundreds of names and are no where near a name for this child. Gahhhhh!!! Jesus, please just give us both the name you want to name this child in a dream... or write it on our walls. Please.

16 Week Update

2011-12-01T12:28:00.000-08:00

Holy wowza!

I seriously can't believe how fast time is going by. I was 8 weeks and blinked, and now I'm 16 weeks.. next time I blink I'll probably be in the delivery room. I did a quick Thanksgiving update from my phone. We spent 10 days in Mississippi/Tennesse with my husbands family. We had a GREAT time, but its nice to be home. I didn't bring my camera, so we got NO pictures (except a couple from my Iphone).. womp womp. I haven't taken any pics of Ben in like 6 months.. huge mom fail.

Okay, this may be TMI, so you can feel free to skip this part.. haha, but I can't NOT mention this because its sort of awful & funny at the same time. I was SOOO constipated on vacation. Seriously I had the biggest poop belly. I tried everything. I drank prune juice, I ate fiber, I took stool softeners, and I even took *cringe* a suppository. NOTHING. None of that God-awfulness worked, and I only had 1 bowel movement on vacation. I was seriously miserable because I was just morbidly bloated and backed up. I was begging God for relief.. ha!! I thought it was pregnancy related, but it turns out my body just doesn't like to travel, because the minute I got home my body suddenly "relaxed"..if ya know what I mean. ;)

Moving on.. A couple things to note:

My MIL works at a health clinic, so when we were in Mississippi, we went to her work and got to hear the baby's heartbeat on the Doppler. It was right at 140!
I was proud of myself for not overeating on Thanksgiving and was able to work out just about every other day. And not to give myself too much credit, it was more due to heartburn than self control :) I did a 4 mile walk/jog and then about 2-3 miles the rest of the days, as well as leg workouts.
We have officially decided to NOT find out the gender until delivery!! I have a cute neutral nursury idea planned that I will share later.
My first appointment with my NEW doctor is tomorrow. I'm excited because I haven't been to the doc in about 7-8 weeks!
I have been meaning to do this, but will be doing a post on Benjamin soon. I haven't done an update on him in way too long and he's growing SOOO fast.

How far along? 16 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: I weighed myself after Thanksgiving and I was up 3 LBS!

Maternity clothes? . No I've been fortunate that my regular clothes still fit, some of my jeans I have to rubber band tho :)

Stretch marks? Not any new ones from this pregnancy.. ha!

Sleep: Its been okay. I get really congested at night, so its hard to breath, and I've had some sciatic pain, plus I'm starting to wake up to pee.

Best moment this week: It was nice to be home from vacation and settling back into the routine of things. Best moments will probably be Drs appointment tomorrow & getting our Christmas tree this weekend!

Movement: Sadly, no :( I'm soooooo anxious to feel something. Sometimes I just lay down and concentrate to see if I can feel any butterflies, but nope! I have a feeling it may be closer to 18 weeks before I feel something.

Food cravings: Hmm.. been craving milk lately. I drink a lot of milk. And sourkraut *spelling?* but anything with it sounds amazing.. particularly reuben sandwiches. mmmmm.

Food Aversions: pasta.. yuck!

Labor Signs: Nope, but I have been feeling quite a few braxton hicks. I'm praying this doesn't mean preterm labor this time around.

Belly button in or out? in.

What I miss: Sleeping on my belly, good skin and hair.. this skin I have now is broke out, and my hair is dry & I have dandruff.. ew.

What I am looking forward to: Feeling movements... and Christmas!

What I am NOT looking forward to: heartburn.. I had it terrible last pregnancy, and I'm already getting bouts this time around.

Weekly Wisdom: Listen to your body. Rest when you need to rest, eat when you need to eat..

Milestones: None yet.. I seem to be at sort of a boring part of pregnancy.

Here are some belly pics... sorry about the dirty mirror :/

Quick Update

2011-11-22T08:36:00.000-08:00

Okay so this is my first update from my IPhone, so bear with me.. I'm not sure how it will look.

We are in Mississippi enjoying Thanksgiving vacation with my husbands family. It's beautiful here and we are having a great time! I will continue with my pregnancy and fitness updates when I get back, so in the mean time I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

I want to mention, sensitively without using names, that my husbands best friend passed away this morning. He was in an ATV accident 4 months ago that caused severe head injuries. He left behind a beautiful wife and 5 year old son. He was only 24 so please keep them in your prayers.

Something like this makes you realize how short life is and that the most important thing on this earth is family. There are so many things we put our time and effort into that ultimately don't matter in the light of eternity. Jobs, possessions, school, hobbies, materialistic dreams.. Those things have their place, but will one day fade away when we are called home to be with our Lord Jesus.

I am thankful for my dear friends and family who mean the world to me. And I am most thankful for Jesus Christ who made a way for us to be reunited with our loved ones who accepted Christ, that we may see them again one day.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
A

14 Weeks Update

2011-11-16T13:15:00.000-08:00

If you can't read that super small picture it says SECOND TRIMESTER!! Yeaaa, baby!! This is a huge deal [for any pregnant mama] but especially those who have had a miscarriage (or more). Not that I wasn't before, but this pregnancy is becoming SO REAL to me. I had a lightbulb moment the other day and told my hubby, "Dude! Did you know in like 6 months we are going to have a REAL person added to our family?" He's all duhhh, but it hit me. Another person is going to be joining our family, and I'm soooo thrilled, and so in love with this little person already.

How far along? 13 weeks 6 days (i cheated, I will be 14 wks tomorrow, oopsie).

Total weight gain/loss: 0 lbs. I lost one, I gained 2, then lost 1.. so I'm at 0.

Maternity clothes? . I've ordered some new clothes, they aren't labeled maternity, but they are cardigans and such that should be good for layering this chilly winter.
Stretch marks? NO!!

Sleep: I have been sleeping amazing!! I wake up around 4 or 5 to pee. But I get such deep sleep and wake up refreshed. I'm enjoying it while it lasts.. ha!

Best moment this week: So its probably the fact that in 3 days we will be headed to Memphis & Mississippi for VACAY!! Yea!

Movement: No flutters yet.. but I can't wait!!

Food cravings: Omg, I've had the weirdest cravings. The other day I craved cold green beans from the can! And for 4 days I craved a French Vanilla Moo-Latte from DQ, and hubs finally got sick of my complaining about it, so he went and got me one last night. I've been craving tacos, milk, salty items, and orange juice. And it seems I can't get enough apples. I have been eating them like crazy.

Labor Signs: hopefully none for a LONG, LONG time.

Belly button in or out? in.

What I miss: Nothing really right now, everything seems to be going great!

What I am looking forward to: Feeling movements!

What I am NOT looking forward to: hmm.. Not sure, hemorrhoids? lol.

Weekly Wisdom: Work out, even when you don't feel like it!

Milestones: Reaching the 2nd Trimester!

Okay, now for some bad news. My nurse called me the other day, and I have to switch care providers. I was so upset. I really liked my doctor, but I guess that she has to take medical leave because she has rheumatoid. So now I will be seeing a male dr. from the same practice. I don't know him, but hear he is good. And I have no problem with a male doctor. My OB w/ Ben was male, and I loved him as a doctor. I'm just bummed, because I have an extensive medical history, and I feel like she knew me pretty well and vice versa. It takes me a while to trust a doctor and now almost 14 weeks into my pregnancy I have to start over. Gah.

Also, to make this post even longer, I think we have decided to NOT find out the gender this time around. I've heard how fun and exciting it is to wait until D-Day to find out what you are having, and have always wanted to do it. I'm still torn and will probably blog about it later. Any suggestions???

And finally.. Belly pics!

Not the greatest of me!

Weird arm placement, I know.. :/

Fit Pregnancy: What I'm doing

2011-11-14T14:51:00.000-08:00

Sorry I've been MIA! I've been super busy and have had a very sick 2 year old. He had a respiratory infection & strep throat so I've been home with him for about a week.

Lets talk about Diet & Exercise!

As I posted earlier, I'm really determined this pregnancy to have a healthy pregnancy. I'm not so worried about the numbers on the scale as I am about balancing a healthy diet with prenatal exercise.

Okay EXERCISE:

My #1 way of exercise during these freezing cold months:

I love Zumba. It's really fun & really gets your heartbeat up. Its great for cardio & strength training. I started free classes at the college at 10 weeks pregnant & after the first one I was SO SORE! There are some high impact moves like major jumping & push up stuff.. but I improvise so its more low-impact.. and the first couple classes I had to sit out on sessions because I was pretty out of breath & wanted to watch my heart rate.

I do Zumba 2-3 times a week, and on the "off" days, I do a prenatal Pilates or Yoga video at home and do some weights & leg exercises (like lunges, hip flexors, wall squats, etc..) I used to walk/jog 2 miles 2x a week, but the weather has gotten freezing, so I'm sticking to indoors!

A big area I want to target is my arms, hips, and thighs because those are the places that seem to expand most when neglected.. :) I'm doing a pretty good job I think.. My jeans still button! Ha! We'll see how long that lasts....hmm..

Here's a pic of me in workout gear.. ha!

PRODUCTS

The Advocare products I am taking:

Spark - A MUST HAVE for this (and every) pregnant lady. Its the perfect pick-me-up for my tired afternoons and curbs my "sweet-tooth" cravings!
Catalyst - Also a must have if you are working out during pregnancy. I take 3 before my workouts and I know it helps. My thighs and arms are especially more tone. I am not taking it twice a day like I WAS before pregnancy, because my metabolism is super fast and I'm at a point now where I have to gain some weight instead of lose!
Probiotics- I could write a thorough review how much this has helped me, but let me sum it up in two words: NO CONSTIPATION!
Digestease- I had horrid heartburn last pregnancy and am, in general, sensitive to red meat. I take this before my meals and have had no heartburn OR bloating this time around!
Meal Replacement Shakes - I have recently added these to my breakfast. Love love love Berry & Chocolate (not together)

FOOD!

The fun stuff, right? Food! I have to kinda sorta give myself some brownie points (no pun intended ;) because I've been eating pretty well this pregnancy. Here is what a typical day of eating looks like:

Breakfast:

spinach, mushroom & swiss omelette topped with fresh salsa & green onions. Sounds DISGUSTING, but to my pregnancy taste buds is quite delicious. I love the fact that I get vegetables in the morning, because at dinner I tend to eat really light and crave carbs.
glass of orange juice
avocado smothered in lemon juice & salt

oatmeal
"juicer" juice - carrots, cucumber, strawberries, blueberries, apple, kiwi, or other fruits.. very filling!

Mid-Morning Snack:

Yogurt (greek Chobani w/ Pineapple is my absolute FAV!!), Banana, or Almonds

Lunch:

Stacked *heated* turkey sandwich w/ lettuce, tomato, onion, mozzarella cheese & spicy mustard.
side of grapes
carrots & peanut butter
side of cottage cheese

*I'm usually starving at lunch, so this is my biggest meal. I also say **heated turkey sandwich because pregnant ladies are supposed to avoid deli meat/hotdogs unless heated*

Mid-Afternoon Snack:

Usually plain salted popcorn OR soybeans. I've also been known to snack on wheat thins & laughing cow cheese! ;) Sometimes I crave an apple and will add that in the mix.

Dinner:

I'm usually sick and tired by dinner, so keep it simple by having either:
Plainly seasoned chicken breast or salmon
brown rice or wheat pasta
green beans, asparagus or zucchini

chicken & black bean burritos w/ all the fixins!
tacos (I've been craving mexican food!)

**I have been craving tomato-y foods, so we've had a lot of spaghetti, chicken parmasean, goulash, etc...**

Like I said, this is typical. Every so often, I crave a cheeseburger and fries or some pizza & wings. I do have a few "cheat days", but overall I try to stick to these guidelines.

I love this book: It has a ton of great recipes!

I know this is a really long post, but I'd like to be able to look back and see what I ate and did throughout this pregnancy. Pregnancy brain has settled in, so I suppose I'll forget ;)

12 Weeks Update

2011-11-03T10:13:00.000-07:00

Last week of the 1st trimester! Whooooppieee!

How far along? 12 weeks 3 days

Total weight gain/loss: 0 lbs. I was at -1 last week, but I gained that pound back thanks to my dramatic increase in appetite!

Maternity clothes? . No

Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Its okay.. some nights I sleep fantastic, others I am awake all night.. like last night :(
Best moment this week: Zumba last night. Was my first night in a new class & it was 60 intense minutes of butt-whoopin! Oh, and I don't have to take my thyroid meds anymore.
Movement: No
Food cravings: Lemons & salt! Omigosh, I cannot get enough lemons... I ate like 2 lemons (with tonnnnsss of salt) last night. And cold food.. anything warm sounds gross. We had lasagne the other night.. BARF.. I had oatmeal this morning.. BARF! I want really cold stuff. Like lemons.
Labor Signs: Nada.

Belly button in or out? In
What I miss: Energy. I hate being absolutely exhausted at night, I can't wait for my energy back so I can keep up with my rambunctious toddler.
What I am looking forward to: Feeling kicks (movement), getting energy back
What I am NOT looking forward to: back pain, heartburn & peeing ALL THE TIME.
Weekly Wisdom: Enjoy every moment, for it will pass quickly.
Milestones: Well according to my book, the baby's organs are all completely formed, so from now on the baby just grows & develops.

Fit Pregnancy : WHY I'm choosing to be healthy & fit this pregnancy.

2011-11-01T14:33:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to do this post for a while now, but I've been bombarded with work and sickness. I was so excited because I thought my sickness was starting to dissipate, but lo and behold, it has reared its ugly head again, and I've been so. stinkin. sick. for the past few days.

Anywhoos! I'm going to share with you WHY I'm going to have a healthy & fit pregnancy. Next post, I'll share HOW and talk about my diet (food) and workout routine. As I've blogged about in the past, I gained 50lbs + when I was pregnant with my son (I probably would've gained more since I had him 5 weeks early). My lifestyle during that pregnancy was actually very unhealthy. I had a miscarriage prior to getting pregnant with Ben, so when I did get pregnant, I didn't want to do ANYTHING that might cause me to miscarry. I didn't want to exercise, or lift anything. I "rested" all the time, and ate a lot, because "the baby needed nourishing". I gave into cravings ALL THE TIME, because it was just "one of the joys of pregnancy".. my free license to eat whatever I want, whenever I want. I would literally eat ice cream every day, some nights at like 11 or 12pm I would send my husband to a fast food restaraunt for a bacon cheeseburger. I didn't watch calories, or choose nutritious foods. I rarely ate vegetables. It was so uncharacteristic of me, because prior to becoming pregnant, I was SO active and SO healthy. At my lowest I weighed 127 lbs & weighed 133 when becoming pregnant (I gained a few lbs from miscarriage depression). I absolutely knew how to be healthy, and how to stay fit, but I threw all that out the window the moment those two lines showed up on my pregnancy test.

I decided to milk my pregnancy for all it was worth and "enjoy" it by taking a break from life. Little did I know, it would be a very difficult and emotionally gruelling road to lose weight and reclaim my healthy lifestyle after I had the baby.

All the late night burgers, fried food, ice cream, and pizza doesn't magically disappear from your hips and thighs when you give birth. You're probably like "DUH!", but I didn't know this, and I lived according to my ignorance. Ha! And I was surprised when the scale passed 185 at my last prenatal appointment?! (at 35 weeks)

Move on to 1 year post partum.. I was still about 15-20lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight. It made me extremely sad and depressed because I thought I'd 'bounce back' naturally, without any work. I'd do little diets here and there, be healthy for a week, and slip up the next, and ended up yo-yoing, but never saw any permanent results. However, I just sort of gave up on my body. I ended up gaining an extra 10lbs during the holidays in 2010 because of this.

Finally in February (2011) I had enough. We wanted to start trying for another baby, however I was about 25lbs over my normal weight and my clothes weren't fitting. My jeans were too tight, my shirts looked horrible with my "spare tire". I hid behind sweats and baggy t-shirts most the time. I decided to do Advocare's Herbal Cleanse to kick off my new healthy lifestyle. Starting off, I weighed around 155, I lost 10lbs on the cleanse so I kept going with Advocare and ended up losing an additional 15lbs in 3 months. In June I weighed 130lbs and enjoyed wearing shorts & tank tops this summer! Thanks to Advocare's products and my personal determination to not give up, I felt AMAZING.

I got pregnant in August, and have decided I will NEVER do that again. And that is WHY I'm determined to be healthy & fit this pregnancy. I'm not going down that road again. I'm not gaining 50lbs this pregnancy because I was lazy and ate like a pig. My baby deserves better, and I deserve better. I truely believe there is no reason or excuse why you can't be thin and fit after a pregnancy.

I'm about 12 weeks pregnant and haven't gained any weight as of yet. At 12 weeks with Ben, I'd gained about 10lbs. My next healthy and fit pregnancy post, I'll go into more about what my goals are. I'm going to share what Advocare products I'm using, what my daily meal plan typically looks like, and what my exercise routine is.

11 Weeks Update

2011-10-25T10:02:00.000-07:00

This right here is my little bean at about 9 weeks pregnant. I was hoping to get another ultrasound pic yesterday, but no such luck.. womp womp. Anyways, my appointment went great yesterday. I'm about 11 weeks pregnant due MAY 17, 2011! I was diagnosed at my 6 week appointment with hypothyroidism, so now I take a daily pill.. make that ANOTHER daily pill, along with my prenatal, omegaplex, baby asprin (to prevent pre-ecampsia & clotting), catalyst, digestive enzymes and probiotics. Holy Cow, I am a pill popping machine.

Anyways, on to the fun (or boring?) stuff, whatever. I regret not doing this with Ben, but I'm going to do weekly belly pics & questionaire. I gained 50+ lbs with Ben and am more than determined to gain about half that this time around. I'm much healthier, eating better, using Advocare, and like I said, more determined to be healthy. My pregnancy with Ben, in a nutshell, was me sitting on my butt all day long eating crappy food and napping all the time.

So far this time, I've been working out (alternating between 30-45 min walks/jogs, Yoga, & Zumba) and have been eating GREAT. I haven't had 1 candy bar, any pop/soda, or any frozen processed food. (My last pregnancy I munched on Hot Pockets & Bagel Bites.... yuck!) Later this week I'm going to go into detail about my plan to stay healthy & fit.

So here's what's been going on:

How far along? 11 weeks 1 day.

Total weight gain/loss: -1 lb. as of yesterday. (I gained 7-8 lbs in the first tri with Ben, so this makes me smile) I wasn't trying to lose weight, but I have been throwing up and haven't had an appetite.

Maternity clothes? . Nope, still in regular clothes.
Stretch marks? No, hoping to avoid those this time around.

Sleep: I get pretty good sleep. I'm EXHAUSTED by bedtime and will usually wake up 1-3 times a night to pee.

Best moment this week: Seeing my baby on the ultrasound yesterday! Little bean was so cute, moving and squirming around. He/She had a healthy heartbeat at 154 BPM. I can't believe how much s/he has grown since 6 weeks. Being just a Blob with a flicker at 6 weeks, now a mere 4 or 5 weeks later, this "blob" has arms, legs, hands, feet, working elbows & knees. Its amazing.

Movement: Nope, but I did have a contraction last night.

Food cravings: Spicy thai food. Pickles (cliche much?), tortilla soup, apples,

Labor Signs: hopefully none for a LONG, LONG time.

Belly button in or out? in.

What I miss: Sushi! & Spark.. no caffeine for me until 2nd trimester.

What I am looking forward to: Reaching the 2nd Trimester, getting my energy back & finding out the gender.

What I am NOT looking forward to: sleepless nights with a newborn, ha!

Weekly Wisdom: Realize I'm not "eating for 2", because #2 is the size of an olive, I haven't changed my calorie intake, just am making healthy choices with what I put in my body.

Milestones: Making it this far! Hearing the heartbeat on the doppler. Not gaining weight yet.

...and my 11 week belly pic:

They say you show sooner with your second pregnancy, but holy cow, I didn't expect to have a "bump" this early. Its easily hideable... for now. :)

Stay tuned for my "Fit Pregnancy" post!

LONG NEEDED UPDATE!

2011-10-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

Holy schnikes!
I haven't blogged in almost 5 months!! Where has the time gone? And what have I been up to?

Okay so first off, let me start off with where I took off...

June. I stopped blogging in June. It is now October. I started a full time job in June. Ben is going to daycare (which he LOVES) and my time has been busy, which contributes to why I haven't blogged. At the end of July we started looking for a house, and we bought a house in August.. YAY! Part of the reason I haven't blogged is because we don't have internet at our house. BOOOO. We moved to the outskirts of our secluded wilderness Montana town so NO internet providers provide service out there. BOOOO.

Okay, now onto some more fun and exciting news... After 8 LONG, emotional, and tiring months, we found out on September 7th, 2011 that we are PREGNANT!

In my next post I will explain what I've been feeling for the past 10 weeks, and show some ultrasound and belly pics!

My May Favorites

2011-06-08T08:32:00.000-07:00

I'm going to take a break from my emotionally heavy posts and do something fun! I'm linking up with Katie and am doing one of my 'few and far between' Favorites post! Wa-hoo!

#1) NYC Mosaic Face Powder (in pink cheek glow)

If any of you know me, you KNOW I NEVER buy drugstore makup. I discovered Sephora & the Mac counter at age 16 and never looked back. However, I do buy mascara & eyeliner at the drugstore (because who the bleep needs to spend $32 dollars on eyeliner?! seriously...) Anywhoos, I found this heavenly item on CLEARANCE ($2) and I am in LOVE. This stuff is excellent. It is buildable, has a subtle shimmer, and is versatile. I've used it mainly as a blush, but also as a all over face powder, and used the individual light champagne colored square as an eyeshadow. Two thumbs way way up from Kayla!

#2 Fruit

Ya I know there's some veggies in there. But I'm lovin me some fruit lately! This "review" is kinda lame, but since the Farmer's Market is in town, I've been eating tons of fruits. I usually drink a fresh fruit juice (shout out to my Jack Lalanne juicer..holla!) for breakfast and incorporate it in every meal.

#3 Pilates

I know I've blogged about Pilates before, but this month I've been doing it so much, I have to put it in again. I went out and bought a Yoga mat and some lil 3lb weights to add to my Pilates regimine. Right now I'm doing a 50 min video from Netflix (instant streaming, heck ya!) and trying to do it 4-5 times a week. Its AWESOME. Not only do I feel and look more toned and "in shape", but all the exercise (and I literally am sweating and panting by the end) has made me feel better. More positive, less headaches, less stressed.

I heart Pilates.

#4 Magic Color Pen

(I don't have but I want)

Need I say more?????? (I found on Pinterest)

I am a healthy disaster

2011-06-06T08:37:00.000-07:00

I am frustrated. So frustrated. Truly frustrated.

This week was AWFUL (as far as health goes). I don't remember if I blogged about it or not, but last August I went to see a doctor about a pain in my side that never ever went away. She found nothing <------------frustrating, but glad it's not serious. And so the next step was to do a colonoscopy. And you KNOW I blogged about that. So anyways, after I cancelled my colonoscopy, I've felt good for like 2 or 3 months. Anywhoodles about 4 days ago, this pain came back...WITH A VENGEANCE! I am known to exaggerate, but I promise you, in all honesty, this next statement has not an ounce of exaggeration.
The pain was so horrendous I thought I might die.

I was on my knees warring against this thing, rebuking Satan and begging God for healing.I don't recommend this, but I was so desperate I was taking every pill in my cupboard. Ibuprofin, antibiotics, tums, pepto bismol, tylenol... praying as I was taking everyone that it would do the trick. I knew it would be pointless to go to the E.R. I've already had a battery of tests done...blood, xrays, ultrasounds, urine, etc. No answers...except gluten intolerance, but I haven't been eating gluten. Docs won't know anything until I get that darned colonoscopy.. so I called to reschedule.

That's what gets me, and this is why I'm so exasperated is because I have been eating good. I'm healthy. I exercise, I only drink water, I don't eat junk food AT ALL. I don't want to feel like this and have this nagging pain all day long and hinders me from enjoying my day. It really is horrible. I can't eat because I'm never hungry and it usually makes it worse, I burp up acid alot, and the pain just brings me to tears when its at its worse.

I am literally just seeking God and praying for healing. He knows the cause, the reason, the hows and the whys. He is the Mighty Physician and doesn't need medicine to heal me. If He speaks it, if He wills it, I am healed. Right now all my faith is put in Him. I really am relying on Him to be my only strength and relief. Nothing else is working, but I believe that God will come through. I AM HEALED!

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-02T21:22:00.000-07:00

Hello, blogger world.

I've been out for a minute. After my last post, I pretty much disappeared into a hole (I slept/stayed in bed ALL DAY Sunday, and didn't get out of bed...not even to eat) Only for a day, tho and then we ended up having a pretty fun weekend.

First, after the disappointment of failed conception last cycle, this month I'm trying a natural form of Clomid called soy isoflavones. There isn't a whole lot of research on it whether it works or not, but I'm like whatev. I'm trying it out anyways. So I'm taking 100mg on cycle days 3-7, just like I would Clomid. We will see how this month goes.

Anywhoodles, onto our weekend!
I was totally bummed because it was so.stinkin.cold this weekend. So we decided to go to the Museum of the Rockies, where there is a ton of dinosaur bones, a frog exhibit, and a cool toddler play area.

I forgot my camera so excuse my Blackberry pics, which are HORRID quality due to no flash.

ben coloring his face with crayon during lunch

triceratops skull t rex skull

ben wandering around

God is my portion & my Strength

2011-05-27T09:27:00.000-07:00

Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart fail,
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

If I had to pick one scripture for my life, that would be it. Many things in life have failed me. Life hasn't dealt me a very pretty hand of cards. I'm no stranger to grief or pain, before Christ or after.

I'm not complaining, and I've definitely not living in pity, nor wanting it, but at my young age (22) I've felt like I've experienced some things no person should experience. I've gone through things many people never experience. I've walked a path few follow, its brought much joy and sorrows.

I lost my dad at age 12, sexually abused age 13, alcohol & drug abuse age 14, body mutilation age 15, attempted suicide age 16.

Gave my life to Christ ~ age 17.

I moved away from home at age 17 and lived thousands of miles from my only friends and family. It was the best thing that was forced upon me, but it was lonely. Sorting through my emotional issues, even psychosis, made it very hard for me to have any intimate friendships. That was frustrating and painful. I had severed all intimacy with previous friends and peers, missed out what was happening in my family, and started completely new as a born again Christian. New location, new friends, new life. But it was lonely. Death tried to find me multiple times, I was attacked by an unknown assailant during a jog, I was in a car wreck that broke my neck and left me in ICU, I was called by a prior contact of mine who threatened to kill me. I was accused, persecuted, and hated. It was lonely.

But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

In all of this, I have stood in the midst of trials, pain, persecution, turmoil, tribulation, grief, sorrow and struggles before my Lord and am able to say with joy in my heart that I am blessed.

I have a family. A husband and child more remarkable than words are able to describe. I have few friends. The ones I do have, I am bonded to for life. But even those I am in close intimate relationship with don't quite understand my road. I'm sure everyone's walk is like that. No one will ever truely understand the shoes you walk in, whether your shoes are losing a child, struggling with a disease, infertility, bankrupcy, unemployment, paralysis, abuse or anything. No one can truely understand what another is going through except our Lord and Saviour. He is the only One who has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. That makes life here lonely.

A.W. Tozer said it best in The Saint Must Walk Alone:

"The loneliness of the Christian results from his walk with God in an ungodly world, a walk that must often take him away from the fellowship of good Christians as well as from that of the unregenerate world. His Godgiven instincts cry out for companionship with others of his kind, others who can understand his longings, his aspirations, his absorption in the love of Christ; and because within his circle of friends there are so few who share his inner experiences he is forced to walk alone. The unsatisfied longings of the prophets for human understanding caused them to cry out in their complaint, and even our Lord Himself suffered in the same way."

I think of the song "Homesick" by Mercy Me and these appropriate lyrics:

'I close my eyes and I see Your face,

if home's where my heart is, then I'm out of place

Lord won't you give me strength to make it through somehow

I've never been more homesick than now'

I am so glad that this earth isn't my permanent home. I'm so joyful that I'm merely passing through, but my residency is in heaven. Although I have found joy in Christ and have been blessed on this earth, life has failed me in so many ways. Life on earth is lonely, but oneday I will be in eternal fellowship with my Jesus. One day my pains, my sorrows will pass away and I will enter into the joy of the Lord. My flesh, my heart have failed me miserably, but GOD is my strength and my portion forever.

Last night was the first time I cried myself to sleep in a long time. I was sorely devastated that this is another month we failed to get pregnant. The enemy reminded me of the doctors words in the ER after I had my first miscarriage. (Your uterus is so misshapen, you may never be able to bear a pregnancy) But God came through and I had Ben. The devil reminded me of my diagnosis in August. (you have PCOS, and you do know that's the #1 cause of infertility right?) The devil whispered doubts into my mind and put envy in my heart, attacking my hopes of growing a family and parading images in my mind of the 20 bazillion women and teens around me that are pregnant.

And while I was sobbing, pain penetrating the deepest parts of my soul, Satan was screaming "FAILURE FAILURE FAILURE!

into my thoughts. And that's all I could dwell on, was the fact that I had failed at getting pregnant. That was God's first command (be fruitful and multiply), that God has called me to be a mother, put desires in my heart for a big family, and I failed. Failed God, failed my family, failed myself.

But through the enemies screams, I heard that precious still small voice whisper in my ear:

Though your heart and flesh may fail

I am the strength of your heart and your portion forever.

And suddenly nothing else seemed to matter. I woke up with joy this morning. Though the sorrow may last for the night, joy comes in the morning. And today, this moment, God is my strength. Today my tears are tears of gladness, not tears of sorrow. He is my joy. He is my delight. He is my portion. Forever.

All I can do is trust in HIM and surrender to His will. In His plan, in His time I believe we will have another child!

ER Visit

2011-05-24T15:54:00.000-07:00

This is where we spent our early morning...

Is it not horrible/funny that when trying to name this picture the only thing I could come up with was "hobblybenjamin"?

This early am, I was abruptly awoken to a blood curdling shriek from Ben's bedroom. I rush in to find him sprawled out in the middle. I thought it was going to be like always, where he usually rolls out of his toddler bed and sleep-cries until u put him back in bed and tuck him in. This was different. This was a "mama i'm in pain and I don't know what to do" cry. So I pick him up and hold him trying to figure out what was wrong and I put him down and he FALLS OVER. (!!!) I'm all, oooooh nooooo, you broke your leg, Ben. And so I experimentally twist his legs/feet/knee and the pain is definitely coming from his foot.

So at the hospital they do X-Rays and thank God that there are no broken bones. And this lovely brilliant doctor comes in with the diagnosis:

Well, nothin's broken, so it could be a couple of things. Its either your basic ankle sprain or an and I quote, "inflamation of his joints that is a side effect of this one type of respiratory infection.. I can't think of the name of it though.."

ME: (raises eyebrows).....okayyyyyyyy.

Gee thanks, DOC! Since you aren't sure and can't think of the name I'm sure hoping you didn't get your medical license out of a Cracker Jacks box...

Anyways, my little Benjamin and myself spent the day watching movies, reading books, and taking a hot bubble bath. He took a long, medicine induced nap, and when he woke up, he attempted to walk.

And oh.my.gosh. It was the funniest thing EVER. I really regret not getting video footage. He had the most hilarious limp. I don't know why, but something about watching a 2 foot tall toddler limp around like this sent me to the floor howling. It was FUNNY.

And I promise I'm not the worst mom in the world for laughing at his limp, I really didn't let him do it long and he was laughing too. So there. I wasn't laughing AT him, I was laughing WITH him.

Healthy Livin!

2011-05-23T07:25:00.000-07:00

So last week, I decided to have a pity party. I guess if you look at it, it was just real, raw emotion and the mental battle I deal with on a daily basis. So this week wasn't the most perfect ideal week either, but I'm okay with that. I worked out, I ate good, and I lost some inches in my thighs. I had like 2 birthdays I had to deal with, so I ate cake, fried food, and huge portions. But its a brand new week!

I had an absolute "hallelujah moment" last Tuesday when I discovered my instant Netflix had Pilates videos. *does a happy dance & cries happy tears* I adoreeeeeeeeee pilates, but our small po-dunk town doesn't have any classes. So I did them last week and they kicked my butt! SERIOUSLY the next two days I was SO SORE, more sore than I've been in years. It was so awesome. I am going to try to do them 4x a week. I'm still doing interval training, but I think my body is adapting too much, so I'll give them a break to do pilates.

Also? I've settled in to a GREAT menu that I'll share.

Morning: Advocare's Breakfast Bar (200 cal)

Morning Snack: Yogurt or Hard boiled eggs (80 cal)

Lunch: Salmon with Brown rice & steamed broccoli OR Loaded turkey sandwich (turkey, NO CHEESE, Tomato, Lettuce, Pickle, salt n pepper on whole grain toast) with fruit n carrotts (about 350 cal)

Afternoon snack: almonds or trail mix or apple n peanut butter (100 cal)

Dinner: Grilled chicken or steak with asparagus or zucchini w/ sweet potato. (400 cal)

TOTAL CALORIE: rounding UP - 1300 calories.
Right where I want to be. & sometimes I will have some natural popcorn at night with lime & salt and its about 100 cal.

Here are some recent pictures of me. They are horrid quality, and aren't that great, but oh well!

I look bad here, but you get an idea. :)

FOR FUN:

21 Months & Reflection

2011-05-18T08:21:00.000-07:00

::WARNING::

I am an emotional rollercoaster these days.

Well, just this week. If you couldn't tell from my Monday's post, I was all down and out depressed about my body. Today, its the fact that my "baby" is growing up. I cringe saying that, because as a kid, I would roll my eyes and say the "whatevers" when my family members would say, "You're growing up so fast... I can't believe where the time has gone.. it was just yesterday you were in diapers, etccc..." and I was all, *barf*, get over yourself, its a part of life.

But here I sit and type, with tears streaming down my face, because my kiddo is about to be 2 years old. And it really did seem like just yesterday I was staring in awe at those two lines on the pregnancy test. The stages go by SO.FAST people. I regret taking some of those precious baby moments for granted.

If I only knew how fast those stages would've passed I would've enjoyed getting up every 2 hours at night because I got to hold you in my arms and rock you back and forth, instead of complaining over lost sleep.

I would've laughed when you spit carrots in my face when you were learning how to eat instead of getting irritated about the stain on my shirt.

I would've not been so worrysome about whether you were going to ever crawl, walk or say your first word, and would've taken in every single moment with you at the stage you were at. And I wouldn't have kept comparing you to the other kids who seemed like they were milestones ahead of you.

I wouldn't have googled "signs of autism" so much and worried about those few times you refused to make eye contact, because ya know what? Even if you did have autism, I wouldn't love you any less.

Nowadays, Ben, I'm not taking anything for granted.

Onto this months "stats".

We've accomplished a lot this month.

First, Ben is now in a toddler bed! The transition went beautifully and he still naps and sleeps well through the night, even with the added freedom.

Second, we've begun potty training. WOW, its hard. I'm focusing on being patient and encouraging and letting him go at his own pace. I'm trying to effectively teach him and so far I'd say its going good considering we just started yesterday.

Ben loves to read, has a huge vocabulary and is starting to say sentences.

He is learning his numbers, colors, and animals at lightning fast pace.

His favorite pasttime is playing, especially since its warm out, he loves to play in the water and his new sandbox with lots of trucks, shovels and toys. We spend most of our days outside when its nice.

He's become not a great eater, and its a struggle for him to sit down and eat meals, hopefully this will pass.

He's mastered temper tantrums.

His favorite movie is toy story and he is hopelessly attached to his puppy.

:) That's all for now! Enjoy some eye candy.

He totally tripped and ate sidewalk, hence the scraped nose.

The Skin I'm In.

2011-05-16T09:25:00.000-07:00

This week, I managed. I didn't lose, and I didn't really gain. Actually, I gained a little, which was extremely discouraging because I only had one "bad" day.

I have this war going on in my mind and in my heart. I try so hard to be happy with where I am.. but instead I beat myself up because I'm not where I want to be.

I can give myself credit in saying that the lack of results hasn't discouraged me from staying on track, but mentally I can honestly say I hate the skin I'm in. I have this pity party in my brain. Why did I get stuck with crappy metabolism? Why can't I just eat good, work out and automatically look fabulous in a bikini? Why is is it that I gain weight so easily, and it is such a challenge to shred those lbs? UGH!

I have been stepping it up, like my plan was. I have been working out, doing intervals, and eating GREAT, however it seems like I have small moments of weakness and cave into pizza or order that delicious burger instead of a salad, then BAM! the next day my jeans won't button? {true story, this happened on Saturday, and Sunday I felt like a freakin fatty and wore a skirt because my stomach was SO HUGE} But isn't that life? Are you telling me I will never ever be able to have that darn piece of pizza if it means I'll always gain weight? Not happening.

Anyways, it makes me cry. I am going to stay on track. I will continue to keep pushing forward, working out, eating good, drinking water, making sacrifices, cutting calories, and in the meantime try not to be obsessive and enjoy the skin I'm in.. I am a fighter, I will push on. Mentally, emotionally, physically. It may be painful, but I will get dressed, look myself in the mirror and tell myself I am beautiful, thunder thighs and all.

But it makes me wonder, am I going to have this struggle, this war, for the rest of my life....? God, I hope not.

DIY Chair Reupholstering! (Under $20)

2011-05-13T13:58:00.000-07:00

'Member when I showed you this fab fabric that I was going to order to reupholster my kitchen chairs?

WELL I FINALLY DID IT! I actually got them done about a month ago, and the fabric was on clearance (!!) so I was able to reupholster all four chairs for under $20. How stinkin cool is that?

What I used:

2 yards 'o this fabric ($14.00 after coupon & markdown)
Staple gun (borrowed gun, paid $4.00 for staples)
Screwdriver (already had)

The instrucions of what I did were pretty simple. We just removed the seat pads from the chair (via screwdriver) and wrapped the pads in the fabric like you would wrap a Christmas present. The tricky part was the corners, and we had to redo our first one because the corners were lumpy & frumpy, but we figured it out.

BEFORE:

Notice icky stains?

Hubs did an UH-MAZING job helpin out. Safe to say he pretty much did all the labor of it, whilst I was the coach. ;P

AFTER:

So there they are. I'm so happy with the way they turned out. I had some left over fabric, and a friend is making a curtain for my kitchen to match!

So exciting.

Anywhoodles, this weekend we have A LOT going on, plus the weather is gorgeous, so we've been outside a lot. Little guy has been sick, like SUPER sick, which has been a bummer. :( I'll prolly do a weekend recap on Sunday or Monday. And do my Health & Wellness post, so check back for those. ;)

Nom Nom Nom

2011-05-09T17:24:00.000-07:00

Story time.
First, I have to share the backstory.
::backstory:: I have always wanted to like tomatoes. It may sound weird, but for my whole entire life, I have hated tomatoes, but have always wanted to like them. And for like 5 years I prayed that I would aquire a taste for tomatoes, and when I got pregnant with Ben, the Lord heard my cry and answered. (not exactly one of those testimonies you share behind a pulpit, but hey, God is good. I have a plethera of those types of testimonies. One time God healed my pink eye with hotel shampoo, but I won't go off on that tangent this post) Anywhoodles, I devoured tomatoes during my pregnancy.

::end of backstory::

So~ The other day, I left a fresh tomato on the counter, and after a while of doing stuff around the house, and being the wonderful mom I am, I left Benjamin unattended for a while.

And this is what I found:

A whole tomato. Devoured.

What was left of tomato

I'm still not quite sure how he managed to climb on the kitchen counter, although I have a hunch that he reached it via the dishwasher. What can I say? The kid loves tomatoes.

Workout Routine

2011-05-06T07:35:00.000-07:00

Sorry its been a while. My computer cord is broken, so I've been without computer for almost 2 weeks! I'm writing this from a borrowed computer, and my new Ebay cord should be here Monday. I'll do all my fun, picture heavy posts then!

Can I just say I love ebay?
HP Computer cord from HP= $98.00 + s&h
the SAME HP computer cord from Ebay distributor= $10.92 (free shipping!)

I like to be loyal to companies, and usually I'll bite the bullet and pay a little extra, just so I can be loyal to the original company, but in this case, a $98 computer cord just wasn't in our budget. :( Sorry HP! I still love you.

Okay, back to my post. . .

I feel AMAZING! I've been on Advocare products now for [almost] 3 months. I don't own a scale, so I can't tell you how much weight I've lost, but I can tell you that I fit into my size 3 jeans yesterday (starting I had some very tight fitting size 7s, muffin top and all)!! I recently wrote a post about "stepping it up" and have added a few new products to my life, but I've also added a detailed workout routine I want to share with you.

My target area right now is my stomach and love handles. And the truth is that you can do all the sit-ups and crunches in the world, but it won't make your stomach flatter. The only thing you can do to get rid of fat in that area is to burn fat, not build muscle (although building those muscles are important while burning fat, because it will give you a more toned look as you shed that fat).

Anyways this is what my workout routine looks like:

3-5 days a week I go on a 1-2 mile jog or brisk walk with da toddler.
3x a week I do interval training. Interval training is AMAZING because you don't have to do it for very long, but its an instant fat burner and you continue to burn fat after you're done with them. Because I'm on 30 second intervals. Hopefully next week I'll either move to one minute or 40 seconds on, 20 seconds off. I only do intervals for about 20 mins right now, because they are intense. My goal is to get to 2 minute intervals (30 seconds rest).
I try to do weights 5x a week, alternating arms, core, legs.

Products I'm using:

MNS Max 3
Spark
Catalyst
Thermoplus
OmegaPlex

(Advocare recently had a special for the Slim drinks, and so I ordered some and will be adding those to my routine. I'm also getting the Meal Replacement bars, as well!)

I can tell you that I am so excited about this workout routine. Its not overwhelming, yet its intense enough to burn fat and get toned. Its also something I can continue if I happen to fall pregnant this month.

Easter Rundown

2011-04-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

Easter Rundown.

ok, first, can I just say every time I hear the word "easter", my mind immediately goes to the Nacho Libre quote:
"Didju know that I've had diarrhea since easters?" It gets me. So, on Sunday I wished everyone a "happy easters"

This Easter season was a rollercoaster ride! Who says that? Well that's how it was. Lots of emotions. Lots of fun. Lots of drama.

Okay, we'll start with Friday. Friday was amazing. We went to a worship service with Rita Springer. Can I just say that I love Easter or preferably noted, Passover season? Its like New Years for me, a new beginning. I'm reminded of the beautiful yet horrific sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on the Cross. I'm reminded how this life really isn't about me, but about others, and how truely insignificant I am compared to the glory of God. Yet in my insignificance, Christ found me worthy to die a horrible death, so I don't have to?? Mind blowing. I was reminded of my transformation, and how its a testimony of grace that I am a new creation with eternity embedded in my heart. How the sacrifices of my youth, the painful persecutions, the day to day struggle with faith and sin, and the path I have taken hasn't been an easy one, yet every ouce of pain and self denial has been worth it because Jesus is more than worth it. Friday, I was renewed in such a way that it transcends words or emotions. I can't explain it, but I feel head over heels in love with my Lord once again.

Saturday. We really didn't have an eventful Saturday.

Sunday. Resurrection Day. This was the day filled with fun and drama. First, it was my day to take a pregnancy test. Negative. I have to say I was super bummed, but those disappointments were trumped by distractions of a busy day. We went to church, had an amazing time with the children, who where beyond adorable dressed in their Sunday best. Came home and we had an Easter egg hunt with my sisters and a couple friends. The drama of the day was the fact that my parents decided to fly solo and not participate in our family easter dinner. As their daughter, I was a little hurt by it, but I had a wonderful time with my family and my grandparents.

A little more drama continues when that night, I end up with some weird stomach sickness that quite possibly could've been food poisoning? I dunno, but I was a wreck. I will spare you the gory details, but I will share that not even my husband wanted to come near me in all my icky sickness... and I don't blame him. I didn't want to be near me.

Less drama and more excitement comes when I find out that my Nook has been upgrade to run off apps, and I now have Angry Birds. I'm obsessed.

And more drama unfolds when Monday morning comes and the reality of me not being pregnant this month brings me back to my miscarriage days when I feared that I would never be able to bear children. I was sad, emotional, disappointed, not wanting to go down that road of infertility (I do have PCOS, and mild endometriosis, which messes with ovulation, but I am surprisingly somewhat regular, plus my body is so awesome that I can feel when I ovulate). But I ~~quickly~~ eventually got over it when I see my awesome toddler dancing to the tune of his of his own singing, and realize if we never ever have another child, Ben will totally be enough to make me a happy mommy. And we would adopt, which has been a lifelong dream of mine.

And either way, God is in control, and every child is a blessing that come from him. Maybe he thinks I'm not quite ready? Maybe he's testing me to be patient and trust in Him...in the good and the bad? Maybe its not spiritual at all and we just missed the egg! (note Easter pun)

So that's our Easter rundown!

{I reupholstered my chairs, and I will share in an upcoming post, pics and all! They look AMAZING. I heart the fabric}

The Big 20.

2011-04-19T16:38:00.000-07:00

Benjamin, aka Mr. Independent is 20 months. If you caught in one of my last posts, I said I was going to do his 19 month stats, nope, that wasn't a typo, I really thought he was only 19 months.

Benjamin is officially no longer an infant. He truely and deeply fits the mold of a toddler. His vocabulary is exploding, he jumps off of couches and tables, he intentionally dumps out his juicebox all over my bed, he craps his pants and brings me his treasures, he is cunning and crafty as all get out and is earning the delicate art of manipulation, and he is now in 2T clothing.

My *Favorites* about Ben at this age:

The word "tackie". Translation = "cracker" (anything that in the English language ends in -er, Ben translates: -ey/ie
His love for the outdoors. Ben wants to spend 90% of his day going "bye-bye" and LOVES outside more than a fat kid loves cake.
The fact that we have JUST started potty-training.
How he thinks everything I do is me trying to play a game with him. EXAMPLES: me- open cabinet. ben- runs and slams cabinet shut. me- "Ben, put that down! Its a no-no" ben- throws said "no-no" at me as he runs away squealing. me- on the phone with someone. ben- grabs a random object, puts it to his ear, and babbles as loud as he can. me- opens fridge. ben- runs to fridge and starts pulling out food items he wants to eat. (ie cheese, yogurt, blueberries, apples)....get the picture?
How the MINUTE Ben's dad gets home, the first thing he does is say "bath" and grabs Evan and leads him to the shower. (its their daily ritual)
How everytime a car drives by our house, Ben screams "DADA!!" and runs to the front door. When I break the news that it's not dada, he instead says, "side..bye-bye"
How Ben's favorite thing in the entire universe (besides be outside and take baths) is to dance. He loves music, uses anything as a microphone, and sings and dances all the time. It brings my heart great joy to see Ben have such a heart for worship and dance.

Favorite Activites:

You love T-Ball. (when its nice out)
You love puzzles, especially the ones with animals, and you know what each animal says.
You love to color and draw.
Playing outside aka THE PARK (I think I explained that one ;)
Dancing & singing
You love to help me clean and will wash windows and mirrors with me, help me wipe down counters, fake vaccuum with me, etc.
You love your new flashcards, and are learning your numbers and colors. You know blue, green, red, and can count to 5!
Anything boyish... wrestling, jumping off stuff, yelling really loud, taking punches to the gut, some good ole ruffhousing with daddy that I shouldn't allow but do. ;)

Picture Overload:

Weight Loss Lifestyle: Week 1

2011-04-18T07:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I did good this week....until yesterday.
I really am kicking myself in the head right now because I literally did SO GOOD, but yesterday I went all fat kid on myself and devoured food all.day.long. Not like healthy food, either. Like carbohydrate, cheesy, creamy goodness type of food. Oh and like 5 Lindor Truffles

The exciting part is, I weighed myself and I'm still down 11lbs (1lb up from my lowest)...but the unexciting part is that this morning my stomach was bloated, and I just felt "fat". Grudgy, bloated, constipated, like I gained weight, etc... I felt awful. I've learned my lesson. I'm glad that my body is reacting to the unhealthy junk I've fed it, and I'm even more glad that I'm to the point now where my metabolism won't suffer to bad from it.

Oh well, thats life, right? I now just have get back on my bandwagon and continue to eat healthy and stick to the plan of 6 small meals a day. Lots of fruits n veggies, lean proteins, whole grains.

Another thing:
I added Thermoplus to my regimine. I wanted to kick my fat loss and metabolism into high gear, and ya know what? I LOVE IT. I wasn't sure if I'd notice a difference a lot because I'm consistently taking my Vitamins & Catalyst, but I seriously noticed a difference with it. And I noticed this week my stomach has been flatter than it has been since I had Benjamin. (which by the way he is 19 months today, so I'll do that post later this week)

I'm excited and started doing crunches 2 days ago, and I'm going to start going to work out this week. I'm so excited!!! I lost almost 15lbs & 15 inches on the 24 Day Challenge, and since I'm continuing the eating habits I learned, I can't wait to see how my body will react to some exercise! Haha... should've done it a long time ago, but I just ~~haven't found the time~~ made excuses.

So I'll let you know how week #2 goes!

Because nothing is more fun than an orange towel..... except maybe a stuffed dog.

2011-04-15T15:14:00.000-07:00

Rainy Day

2011-04-14T12:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, sorry about my explosion of posts yesterday, and this one will be way more light-hearted than the last few.

So, yesterday, my precious toddler child woke up from his nap in a horrid mood. HORRID. He was completely dilusional and screaming at the top of his lungs "SIDE, SIDE, SIDE", while hanging from the doorknob to our backyard. I didn't know how to explain it to him in toddler language, but I tried my best to tell him that it was pouring down rain and really cold out. Whatever. He didn't understand or care or both.

So, begrudingly, we put on our shoes and coats, and went outside in the rain.
And we were out there for 40 long, cold minutes. But it was so worth it to see this look on his face:

Soaking Wet

He wanted to know where the rain was coming from

Baseball!!!!!

Some ATV riding

Oh, and then? When we went inside, he threw another massive temper tantrum because he couldn't bring 'Puppy' (the stuffed animal) into the bath with him.

Deep Breath.

2011-04-13T16:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know this is my third post today, but I just had to let you know, that I not-so-calmly called my doctors office and let them know that I've been at home biting my nails and growing grey hairs over the fact that I forgot to mention that my husband and I were trying to conceive.
{did i mention I happened to google 'colonoscopy and pregnant' and the medicines that came up also appeared by words such as "birth defects" "miscarriage" "cleft palatte"??? ..yea...}

Following conversation:

Me: (rapid breathing) Hello?Hithisiskaylapeacockandiwascallingtoletyouknowthat-----

Receptionist: ---slow down, slow down, what's going on??

Me: (continue rapid breathing) Sorry, but I was in earlier and my colonoscopy is Monday and I forgot to mention I may be pregnant.

silence.

Receptionist: May???

Me: Ya, I mean hopefully, we are trying to have a baby.

Receptionist: HOLD ON.

Nurse: (in cheery voice) Hello, I hear you have some news!

Me: (nervously) Well I'm not pregnant yet, but maybe, hopefully, I dunno, I've just been ~~going crazy freaking out~~ wondering if it was safe if I was pregnant?

Nurse: Well congratulations darlin' (huh?) and actually since this is a benign procedure and the medicines that we give you are benzodiazepines and some may even be teratogenic and don't quote me on this, but quite possibly carcinogenic, then it would probably not be worth to endanger your fetus.

Me: blank stare... huh?

Nurse: Well lets just cancel the procedure for now and if your situation doesn't work out, call us and we'll reschedule.

Me:
*Does a happy dance*

No colonoscopy for me!!!!!!!!!!!! Hello Advocare, Hello (possible) safely protected fetus!!!!

::sidenote:: for all you controversial folks, regarding the usage of the word fetus: I am not implying that it is not a baby, or not a person or doesn't have life or a soul. I think a baby is a baby from the moment of conception.

Brainpower Overload, Colonoscopy, Spilling the Beans

2011-04-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, you know in those past posts where I've totally just let my thoughts stream through my fingers and onto virtual paper, and after you get done reading, you're like: blink.blink.. holy cow, Kayla, I didn't need to know that.

Yea... this is one of those posts.

#1) I have to have a colonoscopy on Monday. I DO NOT WANT A COLONOSCOPY. But since like 4 grandparents have had colon cancer, 1 of them is without a colon currently and and a couple other random family members have colitis--well, it was a no-brainer for my Doc. Better get checked. Plus I've had this horrendous pain in my side since August.

What that leads me to is that I have to stop taking my ADVOCARE VITAMINS! This irrrrks me, because just the other day I was going to "step it up" And I bought tons of healthy food, and blah blah blah. Well I can't have any vitamins, fish oil, or blah blah blah until after Monday. I'm NOT happy with this AT ALL. I got my order in the mail yesterday, am was totally stoked about starting this, then BAM, I now have a colonoscopy.

Which leads me to spilling the beanssssssssssssss.....................

Some people know, some people dont but:

We are trying to have a baby.

Yep, we are currently trying to conceive baybeh #2. Call us crazy, call us mad, but whatever. I want a baby. Hubs wants a baby. I could list a million pros and cons and my whole thought process on why we decided but that is not for this post.

What is for this post, however is the fact that I am having a colonoscopy on monday and I could potentially be pregnant on that day. It would be WAY to early to tell, but I'm kind of freaking out because I will be put on some heavy medications and if I am pregnant, I don't want my baby to be harmed by them. And, I don't know why, it wasn't intentional, but I forgot to bring this up to my doctor.

I think I am going to call them.

AHH. I should've done this dumb colonoscopy last month instead of putting it off.

/end of rant

Okay. Now I at least feel a little better about getting that off my chest. I'm done complaining, really. I'm just going to eat healthy (even though I'm not on vitamins), call my dr and let him know my situation, and hopefully they won't use any harmful medication. ?

On a lighter note, I get to take a pregnancy test on Easter!!! Can't wait. :)

My Birthday :)

2011-04-13T08:28:00.000-07:00

Well last week was my 23rd Birthday! I was absolutely the most blessed person in the universe that day. I really have the best family and friends. This ~~may~~ does sound totally lame, but I got about 150 Facebook "happy birthdays!", even from some people I don't know, but it made me feel really good! Haha, anyways.... I really didn't have any plans on my actual birthday, because hubs was taking me and my family bowling on Saturday, but *on* my actual birthday, Evan brought me lunch from my favorite little cafe, along with a boquet of flowers (awww) and then my parents wanted to take us to dinner, so we went to an awesome Mexican restaraunt, where we had cake, and I got many gifts, including a size 4 pair of jeans that fit wonderfully :)

Thennnn... on Saturday, Evan, my parents, sisters, and grandparents all went bowling and ate pizza afterwards!

Needless to say I was blessed beyond measure! Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday.

From FAT to FIT

2011-04-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

I've finally made a 'temporary' Before & After pic!! I say temporary because I still have some weight/inches yet to lose, but this is how far I've come so far!

If you're ready to begin you're journey, I'm ready to help you. The 24 Day Challenge is a GREAT place to start!

The most important thing to remember, is this is *not* a diet, and most importantly it is SAFE! It is a health program to get you healthy and fit!! I'm so thankful because I feel AMAZING! I have more energy as a mom of a toddler than I did as a teenager!

Stepping it UP.

2011-04-05T10:09:00.000-07:00

Okay, guys. I'm getting serious! About my weight loss goals that is. My "goal" is to completely get rid of my love handles and stomach tire, and thin out in my thighs. I did the 24 Day Challenge with Advocare, and I'm still on their products because I feel AMAZING on them (and I lost 11lbs!!), however, I'm taking my diet and exercise to a whole.new.level. I've kind of been on and off the bandwagon with my diet. I've not been eating the greatest, although I've done really well. Advocare's vitamins have totally helped me with my portions and cravings, but I still kinda eat bad things in moderation (cheese, breads, dessert, ice cream, etc..)

So~ For 30 days, I'm going to be completely strict with my diet and exercise. I'm going to be an A+ student at eating right, and following the diet I followed on the 24 day challenge.

For the next 30 days (at least) I am going to be:
-eating 6 small meals a day
-no dairy, fatty meats, or white breads/starches
-Drink LOTS of water
-eat a ton of fruits and veggies
-eat enough protein (gotta feed that lean muscle tissue)
-commit to working out 5 days a week (even if its just 30 mins)

Its pretty much a "24 day challenge" again, but I refuse to call it that because I'm not trying to "challenge myself" for a specific amount of time. I'm trying to retrain my thoughts about food, my eating habits, and my body/metabolism so I can continue to make healthy choices and follow good habits and a healthy lifestyle for the rest of my life. I'm being more strict now only because I want to acheive a specific weight loss goal, but once I hit that, I want to continue to be healthy.

SO. I'm putting in my Advocare order today.
2 Boxes MNS3 Vitamins
1 Canister Spark
1 Bottle LeptiLean
2 Bottles Catalyst
1 Box Meal Replacement Bars (can't do the shakes)

And I will be blogging weekly (instead of daily) about how my week went, how I feel, etc... I love feeling amazing, now it's time to look amazing :)

March Favorites

2011-04-04T07:53:00.000-07:00

I'm going to do a monthly "favorites" from now on, thanks to a favorite blogger, Katie @ Cleared for Takeoff. I absolutely love doing reviews, so this is right up my ally.

K. Here are my favorite things for this month:

#1. Daffodils

Hubs brought me some fresh ones this month, and I loved how they brightened our kitchen!

#2 Catalyst

This stuff is amazing. I totally see why it's dubbed "liposuction in a bottle"

#3 This Fabric

I'm reupholstering my kitchen chairs (myself!!) this month, and this is the fabulous fabric I have picked out. Stay tuned for a post about it. This is my first upholstering job ever.

#4 OPI in Festive Fushia

I absolutely adore fushia (hence my font color for this blog). And THIS is the perfect fushia color. I looooove it.

#5 Eat Right 100 Calorie Apricot Bars with Yogurt Coating.

These are uh-ma-zinggggggggggg. Perfect for a morning or afternoon snack. Delish & low cal? Perfection.

#6. Lysol to Go

I love this stuff. It's perfect for public places (like icky public bathrooms), schools, grocery store, etc. Right now there is pneumonia, RSV and the flu going around, and I don't want to get it!

That's all for this month!
Stay tuned for some other fun posts coming up.... I think somebodys 23rd birthday is thursday... hmm...

Fabulous Family Fun

2011-04-03T14:50:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I had the privilege of celebrating my grandmas 70th birthday.

My auntie came into town from California and I got to spend some time with her. Okay, can I just say that Montana weather is BIPOLAR?I am so frustrated with Mother Nature right now. The other day, Ben & I spent 5 hours outside. It was beautiful. Sun was out, 60 degrees, I was sitting in my lawn chair reading a book while the sun hit my face and Ben ran around without a coat and played with his outside toys.

And today?

Snowy Yard. BLAH!

THIS is what I want:

Montana is frustrating. Especially this time of year. One day its beauuuuuuuutiful, the next it's a snowy yuckiness. But if you're Ben, anyday outside is a great day. He wakes up at 6 am saying "side, side, side, side" (Think "mine, mine, mine" from Finding Nemo) and sits by the front door. That boy would live outside if I let him.

My grandparents have temporarily adopted my cat, and everytime I go out I need to spend some quality time with her. Well, my cat HATES people. If there are a lot of people, she constantly grows and hisses and bites. She even is mean to me when a lot of people are around, despite the fact that when its just me and her she adores me and follows me everywhere. So anyways we were getting some Kayla/Jasmine time in and Ben hops in the chair with us.

She was NOT happy. She didn't growl or bite, but she was very unhappy.

We didn't get the best pic, but here's an idea:

I'm going to be doing some fun posts in the future, so stay tuned! I have some DIY projects I'm working on, and other "stuff" going on as well :) I may just have to share!

Me From A-Z

2011-03-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have a favorite blog I read, and she's given me permission to steal her post!

Me A-Z

A. Age: 22, soon to be 23. My birthday is in 1 week from today, wooo hooo! However, having birthdays isn't nearly as much fun as it used to be, because I'm getting older.

B. Bed size: Queen. However, I really really ~~need~~ want a California king. I would love to have the option of either cuddling up to my hubby or having an arms-length distance away from him. Because about once a week I get elbowed in the face.

C. Chore you dislike: Laundry. Didn't have to think twice about answering that one. I would scrub a million toilets if it meant I got out of doing 1 load of laundry.

D. Dogs: We would get a dog today if our landlord let us. *we've called multiple times and literally begged her to let us have animals* I heart English Bulldogs

E. Essential start to your day: Prayer, and SPARK!

F. Favorite color: I love colors, and my "favorite" changes through seasons. Right now my favorite is Navy Blue (I used to hate navy blue), but other common favorites are Orange, pink, green, teal, and royal purple.

G. Gold or silver: Equally both.

H. Height: 5' 7''

I. Instruments you play(ed): For a hot second in my youth, I played the piano, and I forever regret giving it up. I can still read sheet music, but wish I was good at some sort of musical instrument. Guitar, Piano, Harmonica..something!

J. Job title: Family Manager/Advocare Advisor/Accountant/Graphic Design Hobbiest/

K. Kids: Benjamin David, 19 months

L. Live for ______: God, Husband, Benjamin, in that order

M. Most embarrassing moment: Where to start!! Peeing in the doctors office while pregnant with Ben, multiple slips and falls in front of large crowds, and this one time during like 7th grade or something, I was giving a "presentation" and I sneezed and huge green snot bubble came out of my nose and I literally ran out of the room.

N. Nicknames: None. Everyone calls me Kayla.

O. Overnight hospital stays: Ha! This one needs a post of its own. Okay, here goes: 7 years old: Pneumonia. 13 years old: appendix removed. 13 Years old: snowboarding accident- ruptured spleen, broke collar bone, broken ribs, punctured lung. 19 years old: Car accident- broken neck (C1&C3 vert), temp paralysis
21 years old: went into premature labor with ben @ 25 weeks. 21 years old: Gave birth to Ben.

P. Pet peeves: When I miss a spot shaving, people who slurp or smack when eating, bad drivers, spilling stuff on myself.

Q. Quote from a movie: "Do move at a glacial pace, you know how it pleases me"- Devil Wears Prada

S. Siblings: Toby, Nicole, Roxy. 19, 9, 5, respectively :)

T. Time you wake up: Contingent upon the child. Usually around 7 or 7:30.

U. University attended: Argosy University for a BA in Psychology.

V. Vegetables: YUM. I love all vegetables. Except radishes.

W. What makes you run late: Usually the fact that it takes us so stinking long to get out the door. With Benjamin, there is so much stuff, and usually by the time I have myself put together and all his stuff together, he has either ripped his clothes off or gotten dirty.

X. X-rays you’ve had: TOO MANY. I hate being exposed to radiation.

Y. Yummy food you make: I make good salmon, guacamole, homemade salsa and yummy cucumber sandwiches. I also have this cheesecake desert bar that's dreamy... mmmmm.

Z. Zoo animal favorites: I love the zoo. I love the big cats (tigers, lions, etc), and I absolutely ADORE pandas and gorillas. The Gorilla was probably my favorite. I also enjoy watching monkeys and elephants.

Worry Wart

2011-03-29T12:38:00.000-07:00

Today I spent my morning on the phone with poison control. Not a way any mother wants to start her day. We have a whole household that is sick. Ben has a cold, Evan has a sore throat, and I have a cold. So needless to say, we've been taking cold medicine. Well Evan took Nyquil last night, and left the capsules on the counter, and while I was meandering around the house, Ben got into them. I pulled one out of his mouth and another one was missing. ??? I have no clue where the missing nyquil capsule is, and I hope its not in his stomach. I immediately wanted to gag Ben until he puked up the contents in his stomach, but I spared him that misery lest it be unnecessary and called poison control instead. They said at his weight, he should (I hate the word "should") be fine, but when he falls asleep for his nap, monitor him every 15 minutes by tickling his feet to see if he responds. Well, right now he is down for his nap and I am Freakinggggggg outtttttt.

My mind immediately jumped back to when he was a newborn after I brought him home. He was in the NICU for 2 weeks because of underdevelped lungs and when he came home I was a paranoid wreck. I couldn't sleep when he was up and I couldn't sleep when he would sleep because I was just so worried that he'd stop breathing or would turn purple. NICU was traumatizing for me because he'd do great breathing one day, and then have super low O2 stats the next day. It was a roller coaster ride. So now, I'm going back that....and can't stop checking on him and staring at him while he sleeps.

I NEED TO STOP WORRYING.

My job as a mother won't be over until I take my last breath. Because through every phase of life, there is something to worry about. I just want to know my child is safe. I won't be able to protect Ben from everything his whole life, and even if I could I wouldn't want to. I don't want to be one of those paranoid overprotective mothers that try to raise their kid in a bubble. I need to find a balance!!! I just love him so dang much I don't ever want anything to happen to him. I don't know if every mother goes through this, or if it is just me because I've experienced the loss of a loved one at such a young age, but I seriously fear losing Ben daily. I know how precious life is, and that one day the person closest to you can be gone in the blink of an eye, but if I live my life driven by the fear of losing him, then I'm going to miss out. I'm robbing myself and him of the joys that life has to offer. Deeeeeeeeeeeep Breath.

I need to let go... It's a daily battle to surrender him to the hands of our Lord. Its a daily battle to remind myself that Christ's perfect love casts out ALL fear. It's a battle to know that even if Ben dies tomorrow, that God is still in control. It's a battle to live "out of control" and let God be the author and finisher of my faith.

Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

It is my prayer that I can let the peace of God reign in my life and guard my heart and mind and soul from worry, doubt and fear.

From Fat to Fit with Advocare!

2011-03-27T18:16:00.000-07:00

Yay for McFatty Mondays!
I wanted to share with you one of my best friends videos. She is an amazing woman who has helped me get healthy & lose my weight (total weight loss: 13lbs, 14 inches) I went from a size 8 to a size 4. She is an amazing coach and has changed the lives of so many.

Isn't she beautiful?

24 Day Challenge:
Average weight loss is 20-30 lbs. I have had a couple friends do it and so far they are getting amazing results. Friend #1 lost a pant size in the first 6 days, friend #2 went from a size 12 to a size 8, and my aunt has lost 6lbs so far, but has no cravings and tons more energy.

And as you know, I journalled through the first 10 days, the Cleanse, and you read through Februarys posts or see my weight/inch loss here.

So.... Who's up for the CHALLENGE?

ORDER HERE

Ben ~ 19 Months

2011-03-22T11:44:00.000-07:00

I cannot BELIEVE that my ~~little bitty~~ big boy rugrat is 19 months old. He is learning and growing and developing more and more every day. This month I'm not going to bore you with the "statistics" that probably only I enjoy reading, but instead I'm just going to give you what a "Day in the Life of Kayla & Ben" looks like.

7:30 am ~ Wake up time! I'm not complaining. Some peoples kids wake up at 5:00 am. I call that hell. I wouldn't ever survive.
Daddy is usually up, while I am sometimes up, but mostly just laying in bed still, so Ev will be a jewel change the 20lb overnight diaper and feed Ben breakfast.

9:00 am- Most days we decide to do an activity or play with a toy or do a puzzle, but some days I work so Ben watches a movie. Veggie Tales or Diego, mostly.

11:30- Lunch time.

1:00- Ben *usually* takes a 1 or 2 hour nap. This is my time to ~~get stuff done~~ I mean, shower.

Sometime in the afternoon- If its nice, we go outside and play or go on a walk. If we are indoors, we color or do another fun activity, and have a snack.

Dinnertime is my favorite! We all get to eat as a family. About 2 months ago, we retired the high chair to the garage, and Ben sits at the grown up table with Evan and I and he has his little fork and plate and cup and eats like a real human. I must admit, I don't at all miss the whole eating out of a jar or having to spoon feed Ben, or Ben learning how to finger feed himself and there being an absolutely disgusting giant mess under, in, on and around the high chair. So now I am absolutely loving the fact that the 3 of us get to sit down as a family and eat!

Then after dinner, its usually family hangout time (if we don't have something going on or somewhere we have to be) and we read a book or just goof off and play around, then bathtime and bed at 8:00!

Sometimes my life feels out of balance and extremely chaotic. I sometimes feel guilty for not spending enough time with Ben or feeding him crackers too much or letting him watch a little too much tv. Or I will feel like an awful wife because we order pizza for dinner, the laundry is piled high and our bed is never made. Or take last week for example, I felt awful because I was so sick that I didn't even want to get out of bed, and one day I actually did stay in bed most of the day. I had no motivation to cook, clean, or even go to church. (Metformin made me feel AWFUL!)

But right now I am content. I feel life is balanced, I feel that after a year and a half I have comfortably settled into the routine of motherhood, and I feel out of control. What?! Yes, I feel completely surrendered and joyful that God is the one in control of my life. Because usually what happens is when I try to be in control, my life ends up a mess and I get totally out of balance. My every day to-do list is a constant reminder that I am actually NOT in control, nor should I be. Each day is a gift, and if I forget that, then I seem to get caught up in the chaos of my day to day life, and forget what is really important. I sometimes lose focus on the fact that I am so incredibly blessed to have a wonderful family, I have a roof over my head and a place to sleep at night. I am surrounded by friends and family that love me. Its so freeing and FUN to be "out of control". I'm forced to trust in the Lord, and Who a better person to trust in than the one who can supply all my needs? His ways are better than mine anyways.

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

OH AND??? Who wouldn't wake up smiling everyday if this is what they got to wake up to?

Stream of Consciousness.....

2011-03-14T13:08:00.000-07:00

{Warning: TMI.. this post may contain some graphic information regarding bodily functions, do not proceed if you are a male, or if you can't handle graphic stuff}

Okay, this is just a stream of consciousness post, and the words I am about to write are literally just thoughts that are going directly from my brain into my fingertips. There is no filter, so I don't really know what is going to come out, the content of this blog has no purpose, may not make sense, and you may finish thinking "wow, what a waste of 5 minutes, I didn't care to hear about that, Kayla..." So.. Don't say you weren't warned.

::READ AT YOUR OWN RISK::

I started a new medication this weekend. It is called Metformin (Glucophage). It is a drug for those, like me, who are insulin resistant. I am diabetically fine. I don't struggle with any blood sugar issues, however I majorly struggle with female reproductive issues, and I have losing weight issues and being insulin-resistent causes your body to hold on to fat. I have PCOS and rarely get my period. When I do, it is the most dibilitating, stay-in-bed and moan type of painful thing ever. Its the type of thing where I have to call and cancel engagements/appointments because I am "sick" AKA in a horrible state of misery because my uterus is FINALLY shedding its lining after 2 or 3 months. So, where do being insulin resistent and having polycystic ovaries connect? Well most women with PCOS have insulin resistance, soooo a common treatment for PCOS is to just treat the insulin resistance, and that is exactly what my doctor is doing for me. By helping me produce normal amounts of insulin (or allowing my body to react correctly to insulin) it will cause my endocrine system to produce the CORRECT amount of hormones that cause my menstral cycle to work correctly (aka ovulate). Bodies are so weirrdddddd!!! Whodathunk those two would ever be related?

When I tell people I am on Metformin their first response is: "OMIGOSH Are you trying to have a BABY!?!?!?" No, I am not, not yet anyways. And they ask this because PCOS can cause infertility and a TON of women with PCOS have a hard time conceiving, and so dr's put them on Metformin so they can ovulate and increase their chances of getting pregnant. However, there may be a time in the future when we do want to have another baby and I don't want to try and try and try and try for months and months and months. I want to have that problem fixed NOW. That is why I'm on Metformin... that and I don't want my body to hold onto FAT and I don't want to disappear into a cave with Midol everytime Aunt Flo comes to visit. I want my body and my health to be normal.

Okay, so back to "I started Metformin this weekend"... Well, the only downside to 'starting' Metformin is that there are absolutely.horrible.side.effects. #1 You are nauseous all the stinkin time. I spent the whole weekend sick to my stomach. #2, which is probably the worse one is that you are constipated. Well, my tummy was so bloated and I was so constipated this weekend that I had my husband go get me a laxative. I told him to get me Miralax, because I've used it before and I like how gentle it is... well my one-of-a-kind husband goes and brings back Correctol, some cheap stimulant laxative. I misread the directions and accidentally took 3 times the amount I was supposed to take (!!!!!) and I didn't realize that until this morning when I woke up with THE MOST FREAKING PAINFUL STOMACH CRAMPS EVERRRR. I felt like I was in labor, like stage 4, screaming, panting, sweating labor. I was crying out to Jesus to take away my pain, seriously. Starting from about 5am and ending about 10am, I was a bawling mess. I was puking and had the cold sweats I was in so much pain. Evan's like "do you want to go to the hospital???" I'm like NO WAY, JOSE.. they're going to ask me what is wrong and I will have to suffer the humiliation of telling them that I'm TERRIBLY constipated and overdosed on laxitives?? NO THANKS! Plus, they'd probably give me an enema! Do you even know what an enema is? First, they are the poop equivalent of a catheter and no one wants to roll over and have some nurse shove a tube up your butt. They are the only thing worse than a pap smear. Second, that lovely 12 foot tube empties your whole digestive waste into a *clear* container right next to you. yuck.yuck.yuck. {side story: I was scarred by the enema experience when I was 13 years old. I went to the ER for "side pain" and doc thought I was constipated and so I was on an enema for 2 freakin days, turns out I had appendicitis, so that whole enema thing was pointless. ug.} NO THANK YOUUUUU.

The good news? I am better now, and in case you might want to know, I spent almost 2 hours on the porcelain and am no longer constipated/bloated. I'm glad I'm not constipated anymore but the pain wasn't worth it and I will never ever in my life take Correctol again.

/end of stream of consciousness

PS. If you made it through this blog post, I hope you aren't emotionally scarred/grossed out/disgusted. Don't say I didn't warn you :)

My Body is Changing

2011-03-03T12:38:00.000-08:00

Yes, my body is changing, you guys! I'm just writing to give a little follow-up after my Cleanse. I'm doing a 24 Day Challenge. And I love.it.so.much. I'm not really sure quite why I didn't blog all through the 24 days. I think it was because I never planned on doing it when I ordered my Cleanse, and then I realized I had all the products to actually do it, so I went ahead and did it without making a decision about it. Bottom line it was a neurological mixup in my head that caused me to be confused leading to my subconscious decision to blog for 10 days instead of 24.

But okay, now that's out of the way, let me tell you how I feel.
I feel like 2 million dollars. I probably only look like 1/2 a million bucks, because I still have goals I want to acheive, BUT I feel amazing, and those closest to me are noticing.
First let me start of with physical changes:

I've lost a total of 11lbs and over 13 inches. My arms, hips, waist and thighs are noticably smaller. My "small" jeans (size 4) fit GREAT (still a little tight around my hips (a mini muffin top), my size 6 jeans are loose and require a belt, but are comfortable, and my one and only pair of size 8 jeans I DROWN in. This, my friends, is a good feeling. Annnddd I sold my size 2 jeans on Ebay because I never ever thought I'd fit them again, but its my goal so we will see.
My metabolism is FAST. How do I know this? I get hungry and eat about every 2-3 hours. I stick to the eating plan that I did on the Cleanse, because as I mentioned this is a lifestyle change, and I'm loving how I feel and my results.
Less pain. I have Celiac and IBS, not a fun combo! I never had severe diarrhea like a lot get, but I did get horrendous abdominal & upper gastric pain. I would also have acid reflux, heartburn and indigestion. And because of the 24 day challenge/cleanse, all that has been reduced by at least 80%. I rarely get acid reflux and very rarely get heartburn and pain. SCORE!
Energy~ this is probably top of the list of changes I enjoy. I physically have more energy. I get more done, I accomplish more, and I don't feel exhausted by the day's end. My days have become more productive and fruitful.
Cravings~ I don't crave awful food. I don't want a pizza or a cheeseburger or ice cream, french fries, or whatever. I feel totally happy and content with eating some chicken and veggies. This is HUGE for me, because I was The Craving Queen of every food that had at least 200 grams of fat.
Skin Changes. My skin is clearer, softer and less oily. I used to get frequent breakouts, but now I don't.

Mental/Emotional Changes:

I am a more enjoyable person to be around. I have noticed that my moods are better, which leads me to believe that the 24 day challenge has helped with my hormones. I have PCOS and with that comes a huge hormonal imbalance. And I've noticed a difference in my mood.
I am more patient, tolerant and joyful. In an earlier post, I mentioned how I got mental clarity and I think it has made a significant contribution to the fact that I am a more patient person. I don't lose my cool at the drop of a hat, which in turn has made me JOYFUL and less irritable.
I have a good attitude most of the time, and I think its a direct connection with being happy with my body. I'm not this girl who is uncomfortable in her skin and I'm not so self conscious of the way I look, so in return I feel a freedom to be happy with where I'm at. My self esteem is higher and I now feel free from self doubt and insecurity.

I can feel my body changing and myself changing, and I'm so happy I made this step! Bikini by summer?....eh, maybe.
I'm so thrilled, and am willing and wanting to help anyone who is wanting to make a change in their life. It is so worth it!!

Healthy Substitutes

2011-02-26T16:24:00.000-08:00

I am feeling fantastic! I can physically, mentally and energetically feel a difference in my body and it is great! Seeing and feeling results motivates me even more to stay on the right track. Instead of viewing this as a diet, I prefer to see it as a healthy alternative lifestyle, and in order to stay on this track I'm on, I'm having to make some serious changes in my eating.
I've found some great healthy substitutes/alternatives to foods that I LOVE, but are waaaayyy to high in calories or fat, sooo I thought I'd share. :)

1. Coconut Milk. I shared this in an earlier post. I love milk, but I'm cutting back on dairy for multiple reasons mentioned in that earlier post. Coconut milk is delicious, and only 80 calories per serving.

2. Quinoa. Kee-what-the-hecka?! That's my typical response when I mention quinoa. Because I have to eat gluten-free, I can't have rice in any shape or form. Quinoa is a grain and is very rich in protein and very easily digestable (unlike white rice). It has antioxidants and is rich in B vitamins, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, and fiber. It's never "enriched" and is a great alternative to either white or brown rice. Tasty healthy salad recipe: Spinach with sliced strawberries, slivered almonds, and quinoa with a fat free poppyseed or raspberry viniagrette.

3. Greek Yogurt. For all you sour cream lovers out there, this one's for you! I've started using plain greek yogurt on my food and haven't noticed the difference in taste. Greek yogurt is high in protein and has a fraction of the calories of sour cream. Its my new love! (besides my juicer if you read my previous post)

4. Dark Chocolate. I love chocolate. Love.Love.Love. But Chocolate has a ton of calories, saturated fat and sugar. Dark chocolate in pure, organic form is low in fat, and is super duper rich in antioxidants. You do have to aquire a taste for it though. It is a lot less sweet and sugary than milk chocolate (but that's the point). I've found some organic dark chocolate covered pomegranites at Costco and they are a dreaaamm! So delish.

5. Apple Sauce. I have been using this trick for years. I bake banana bread often, and in any baking recipe (cake, brownies, banana/zucchini/pumpkin bread) that calls for oil you can substitute unsweetened applesauce. No taste difference, HUGE calorie difference.

6. Sweet Potatoes. If you are me, or if you are like me, you LOVE french fries. It must be that deep American heritage in me, but I love.love.love french fries. However french fries=clogged arteries (maybe a slight exaggeration, but only slight). Healthy alternitive to potatoes or french fries are sweet potatoes. Slice sweet potatoes, lightly rub with olive oil and sea salt and roast = great healthy and yummy alt. for french fries. Sweet potatoes are rich in so many different vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

7. Rice Cakes. If you are a snacker like me, rice cakes are your buddy. I was never a potato chip person, but if you love chips, cheetos, or crackers (me), rice cakes are a great alternative. My new deal is putting natural peanut butter on a plain brown rice cake and slicing a banana on top. It is a fraction of the calories of a serving of chips or other junk food, and its filling, which junk food is not. I know I mentioned I can't have rice because I'm gluten free, but the brown rice cakes I buy say "gluten free" on them...*confused, but don't care*

That's all for now! I may do a "part 2" as I research and discover new ones, but so far I'm pleased with those.

My new love!

2011-02-24T06:52:00.000-08:00

Thank you all for the kind comments about my weight/inch loss. I'm still working on losing a few more inches in my midsection, arms and thighs, so I may post another picture down the road.

I have a new love, ya'll! It is my new-to-me Jack Lalanne Power Juicer!

I recently stayed with a friend in Phoenix, and she had a juicer and I drank the juice and I fell in luurrveee. I thought 'I have to get me one of these'...and so when I got home I called my grandma, who was near a Costco (4 hours away) and said 'HEY! Buy me a juicer and I'll pay you when you get back.'
And thaaat is when I was blessed :) She just happened to have a juicer in her storage closet, she bought a juicer 5 years ago, and failed to get it out of the box.

The first blessing was a free brand new, never-been-used juicer, the second blessing was the fact that it was a JACK LALANNE power juicer. Scoorrrre!

Here are some benefits from juicing:

Your body can quickly absorb larger amounts of nutrients more easily.
Juicing detoxes the liver
Easy way to get beneficial enzymes (enzymes play an important role in converting food into energy and body tissue) They are also involved in metabolism...
Can increase metabolism!
Ensures body gets lots of phytochemicals which fight disease
Boosts immunity because of the concentration of antioxidants which also slow down aging!
and of coursee....weight loss!

I'm sure there is more, but those are good enough for me! I find it beneficial because I get a ton of fruits and vegetables that I probably wouldn't be able to just eat in a day. I have a ton of juicing recipes, but usually I'm just experimental.

Check it out:

BEFORE

apple, strawberry, pineapple, strawberry, blueberry, orange, celery, cucumber, spinach, carrot

AFTER

It was delicious

::sidenote:: DO NOT PUT BANANA IN JUICER. I REPEAT, DO NOT PUT BANANA IN JUICER.

The Results Are In!

2011-02-20T17:56:00.000-08:00

So, today I did my weigh in and my measurements, and I'm so so happy with my results!

Yep! An 8 lbs loss and 13.5 inches smaller. Not to mention I feel amazing! My cravings have changed, my skin is clearer, I'm more 'regular', its so much easier for me to make healthier choices with my food, and I just feel different. A good different, a better different. This is just what I needed. Oh, and I took a picture....

Herbal Cleanse: Days 9 & 10

2011-02-20T09:46:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't blogged in a couple days! I missed day 9, and yesterday was day 10. My.last.day... OooOo. I'm not going to post my food journal. Just know that on day 9, I didn't cheat and followed the guidelines and yesterday I did an all liquid fast. These past two days I've taken the probiotics first thing in the morning and the fiber drink 30 minutes later.

On those last two days, It was really tempting to want to just say, I've made it this far, so I could just quit early and still be justified that I did most of it.
Or, a piece of bread won't hurt, I could just eat one truffle.. a glass of milk won't make a difference, blah blah blah. But isn't that just what the enemy does in our spiritual walk? He makes you think that based on your good works, you can earn yourself a free pass to fufill whatever temptation you are tempted by. It doesn't have to be big, it can be something small, like tolerating a dirty song, or watching a movie that isn't positive. And that's how compromise sneaks in, leaving a door open for sin, which in turn puts a hedge or barrier between you and God. Not only temptation, but he feeds you lies that you are tempted to believe because they are justifiable. Ugh! Makes me so mad. That's exactly what he did with Adam and Eve... "Surely you won't realllly die if you eat the fruit" and I'm sure Adam & Eve justified it by saying, Yea! I won't die. God is love, He created me. He loves me, its just a small piece of fruit (take notice how it was food that Satan used to tempt them....hmmmm..). Anyways, Eve justified the enemy's lie and took a bite.

Just know that what I've been going through physically on this Cleanse, I've also been going through spiritually. I've been cleansing & detoxing my life. I feel stripped, bare, naked before God, and its scary and humbling, but at the same time I feel such clarity. I feel like there is no junk or toxins that are getting in my way of me and my Lord and Saviour. I've felt a trembling fear for God that I've never felt before, and so itty bitty before such a great God.

I've felt God's glory. His glory fills the earth as the water fills the sea. His creation shows how magnificent God really is, and I am incapable of understanding the span of his greatness. God says his greatness & glory is unsearchable, yet He asks us to search it. The universe spans the palm of His hand. Galaxies which are billions of light years away, are in the span of God's hand. We still haven't found the ends of the universe, yet they span God's hand. (Isaiah 40:12) Astronomers believe there to be 300 SEXTILLION stars in the universe, about 10 billion per galaxy. Do you know how many stars that is? Multiply 3 trillion by 100 billion and you'll get the answer. Yet in Psalms 147:4 it says God numbers the stars and calls them by name. And He holds them all in the palm of His hand. This is just a glimpse of the greatness of God. I've only had a glimpse of Him, a small taste, and yet he blows my mind and amazes me beyond measure. I fear meeting God face to face, because I feel so small, so tiny, so insignificant and unworthy before such a great and majestic God. God's greatness and majesty and creation spans further than my mind can grasp, yet The Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth, can look down and take an interest in me, Kayla Christine Peacock? It blows.my.mind.

I now know what the psalmist said when he said, "Who am I that you are mindful of me?" (psalms 8:4)
Who am I? Who am I that you DIED for me? Who am I that you should call me daughter? Who am I that you should call me friend? Who am I that you should call me worthy and righteous?

WHO AM I?

{I know I got off track from the Cleanse, but I was led to share what God has shown me. Spiritual clarity is just as important as phyical and mental clarity and I find deep significance in the coorelation between a physical cleanse and a spiritual one. And I've just been through both. I'm toxin free. I'm free. I'm free. And there is nothing quite like freedom}

~18 Months~

2011-02-18T10:45:00.000-08:00

Ben~
Here are your stats for 18 months:

You have moved to a size 5 diaper and are also a size 5 shoe
You are around 25-26lbs
You are in a size 18-24 month clothing. 18 month is almost too small and some of your clothes are 2T.
You can say about 35-40 words and are learning new ones every day. You can say 2 syllable words, and we are working on putting 2 words together (nite nite mama, bite please, thank you dada, etc)
You are learning animals and their sounds, and we are working on colors.
You can point to and say most of your body parts (nose, ear, hair, feet, toes, belly, teeth, etc)
You are starting to become very good at using a fork
Your favorite foods are: blueberries (blue), chicken, tomatoes, bananas, bell peppers, salmon, grilled cheese, apples, cucumber. You absolutely adore fruits and veggies, which I adore that you adore them. You don't eat a lot of breads or pastas except for sandwiches and the occasional mac n cheese.
You finally have a full head of hair.
Your favorite thing in the world is your "puppy" and your favorite toys are your play keyboard and your tball set, and any type of ball.
You absolutely LOVE dancing. At any given moment you will dance on command, and dance to any type of music. Bouncing up and down, spinning around, stomping your feet, swaying your hips back and forth, flailing your arms, its the cutest, and funniest thing. You love to entertain and enjoy being the center of attention!
Dada is your favorite person in the universe and everytime you hear a car go by you yell, "dada dada dada dada, and run to the door anticipating his arrival"
You are the master climber, and will climb onto or into anything. The tops of couches, the kitchen counter, the bathroom sink, window sills, beds, chairs, trees.. anything. You climb like a little monkey.

I think we are going to start potty training you, mr. benjamin in about a month or two. You tell me when you poop and bring me a diaper when you do. Its a start, I suppose!

Mommy loves you Ben!

Herbal Cleanse: Day 8

2011-02-17T20:44:00.000-08:00

Great day! I had a doctors appointment today, so all day I was looking forward too/nervous about seeing my weight on the scale. Well, that time comes, and it happens to be one of those horrid old-fashioned scales that have the 2 bars and you have to move them back and forth until they level out..
Well she starts off at 140. and moves it forward....and forward and forward...and forward. My face is getting redder and redder with anger as she passes the 145 mark..146..147...148..149...150...the weight kinda sorta weighs out, but it is still on the low side, so she goes, "How bout 151? Sound right?!" I'm like heck no, it doesn't sound right, put me down for 130. Actually, I ashamedly nodded my head and said, "I guess that works." And I think I might've mumbled a 'whatever'.. teenage style. In my head I reasoned that I must've put on 5lbs of pure muscle.
So, we talk about my PCOS, and my doc asks me a question about my weight and if I struggle to lose weight and its easy to put on weight, because I'm insulin resistant, I guess that's easy to do. I said, OH YEA, you have no idea.. I just gained 5lbs from going on a very strict diet. Well the good news is she's put me on Metaformin, which should stop my body from absorbing every type of fat there is and help with weight loss.

Well here comes the good part. My mom watched Ben today, and I go to her house to pick him up, and I decide to use her scale. She has a state-of-the-art weight watchers digital scale that measures to the 1/10th of a lb... HER scale must be accurate because that's what I used to "weigh in" at 146. Well I step on her scale and I'll be darned, I see the absolutely beautiful, magnificent, jaw-dropping, brilliant number....139.7! I've lost almost 7lbs in 8 days.
Dumb doctor's scale.... ya know, that's probably why obesity in this country is 40%... because of doctors scales. Nah, it's McD's, but it was a good thought I guess.

I know, I know. I broke my promise of not weighing in until after the 10 day mark. I'm still going to do that, but after seeing that doctors scale, I probably would've gone home and ate a pint of ice cream out of depression. And its really not the number that counts, I'm more excited to do my measurements and see how many inches I've shedded!

Okay, now for the food journal:

7:00 am- Probiotics, Spark, Catalyst

7:30 am - Fiber drink, banana

10:30 am - Raw Almonds & Blueberries

1:30 pm - Chicken with side salad

3:30 pm - Orange

4:00 pm - Spark

6:00 - Top round steak with grilled yellow, orange, & red peppers w/ fresh garlic over a very small amount of brown rice. YUMMMMMM.

10:00- Nite nite!!

~Day 9 Tomorrow~

Herbal Cleanse: Day 7

2011-02-17T07:55:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I've made it 7 days without dairy, chocolate, pizza, hot wings, pasta, any type of sugary item (which now sounds very gross to me), a cheeseburger, chips n salsa, or cheese. Its not like I eat those unhealthy things all the time, but when you know you can't have them, you crave them extra, know what I mean?

My cravings have changed, you guys!! Which I was literally praying would happen, because I am notorious for craving the most random, unhealthy things at the most random, unhealthy times. (cheeseburgers at midnight?!....taco salad at 6am?! WHO DOES THAT?...me) I don't crave the "norm" anymore. I don't really have cravings, just temptations :) I'm so glad, because it helps me with my self control to choose healthy foods, and aids in weight loss. So happy!

I've been contemplating a lot about diary lately. Dairy is a controversial issue in the health world. People suggest its good for you (Got milk, commercials). Others say its poison. I am a reasearch-aholic and a review-aholic. I research and read reviews before buying ANYTHING (electronics, furniature, toys, etc... I researched for 5 months people before choosing a carseat for Ben when I was pregnant with him. It arrived a week before he was born. I grew some gray hairs over it.) Anyways, I'm undecided on dairy. I was born and raised to drink 3 glasses of milk a day and always taught that dairy (specially cows milk) was vital to growing. If you don't drink it, you won't grow. So I love me some milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, anything dairy. Get my picture? So I know I'm not going to be able to cut it out completely. But I'm going to cut down on it. Research says that over 75% of people are lactose intolerant, just on different levels. Some say 100% of people are lactose intolerant, because after the age of 2, your small intestine stops making lactase, which is required to properly digest anything with lactose.
Unless you can afford to buy Organic, most milk contains rBGH, a nasty bioengineered hormone that promotes milk production. Problem: gives cows mastitis, which unless treated with antibiotics put unhealthy bacteria into milk, and if they are given antibiotics, then there are antibiotics in milk, which kill the bad AND good bacteria in our system. I believe probiotics are most important for healthy digestion and nutrient absorbtion.
Also?
The rBGH stimulates another natural-occuring growth hormone IGF-1, and is biologically present in cows and HUMANS. It is present in breastmilk and is responsible for the growth of infants. However, IGF-1 in cows milk doesn't get killed during pasteurization, and when consumed by humans acts as a cell divider. However, our body tells cells when to stop dividing, and die; but this hormone is telling our body the opposite and causes an out-of-control growth of cells, which is known as cancer. Definition of cancer is uncontrolled cell division.

Anyways sorry for the rant on science and biology (I love this stuff, I was persuing a degree in biochemistry). I'm not living in fear. I believe that Jesus has the power to immune me from these things. (See Mark 16:17-18 ~ deadly poison will not kill those who believe!) I also believe we are responsible for information we are given, and must act on it. My information could be false, I'm not there at the dairy plant to see what happens, but lots of research is saying this stuff.

I have decided that I'm probably never going to be able to cut out dairy completely, but I can make some healthy substitutions. I found a fantastic one:

So Delicious Coconut Milk.

Low in fat, calories and I am going to use it now on to drink plain and put in my oatmeal & cereal. Its the same price as Organic milk (which we buy anyways) so its not a budget-breaker for my milk loving self.

Anyways, here is my food journal:

8:00 am - Spark, Probiotics, Catalyst

8:30 am- Banana

10:30 am - Raw Almonds

12:30 pm - Cold chicken on top of salad greens

2:30 pm - Brown rice cake with almond butter & blueberries

5:30 pm - Salmon with cucumbers & hummus, raw carrots

8:00 pm - couple almonds and an orange

9:00 pm - Herbal Cleanse tabs (THE LAST OF THEM!) and bedtime

Herbal Cleanse: Day 6

2011-02-16T07:05:00.000-08:00

I was so tired yesterday, that I didn't have any motivation to post. I'm still feeling really good. I was kinda queasy/nauseous yesterday, so I ate very small portions all day long. Basically snack-sized portions, but 2-3 hours apart. I'm not sure why I was so tired, but despite Spark in the afternoon for a pick-me-up, at about 8:30 pm I was ready to crash.

I get a women's health magazine and of course they have some tips for weight loss, and some were complete bogus, but one I found to be spot on:
Eat every 2-3 hours a day, prevents you from splurging and boosts metabolism.
That's definitely in line with what I'm doing.

Also a little helpful tip they gave:
~Eat breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Queen, and Dinner like a prince.~

How many of us get that opposite? I know I did. I used to eat a tiny breakfast or just skip it altogether, but dinner would be a FEAST. I'm excited to be switching that around, because this isn't just a 10 day change, this is a LIFESTYLE change. And I'm making a list of healthy options for unhealthy foods I love. I will probably make a complete post out of it, but here's an example:

Switch sour cream for greek yogurt. I've actually been doing this for a while, because I love sour cream sooooooooooooooooooooooo much, but its heavy, and fatty, and greek yogurt tastes similar, but is way lower in calories and lighter on the tummy. I can't have either on the cleanse, but I'm thinking about ways I can start living differently once I get off.

FOOD JOURNAL

7:00 am - Spark/Probiotics/H20

7:30 am - Apple

10:30 am - Snap peas & broccoli

1:30 - 3 Hard boiled eggs (salt n pep) w/ spinach & strawberries

3:00 - Spark

4:30 - Raw Almonds

6:30 - 6oz chicken with lime/cajun seasoning & topped with fresh salsa & side of plain steamed asparagus. Also had a glass of fresh juiced watermelon w/ 1 packet Splenda

8:30 - Herbal tabs & bedtime

I don't think I met my water quota! I was busy working all day, and an hour or so would go by with my glass empty.

Toodles :)

Herbal Cleanse: Day 5

2011-02-14T20:47:00.000-08:00

Hallelujah! So the past days of pain and misery are behind me. I am actually starting to see and feel results. I am starting to look and feel better.

Here's a short list of changes I have noticed:

Arms are definitely slimmer
Thighs are definitely slimmer
My stomach is getting flatter
My skin is GLOWING. It is smooth, even-toned, my pores look smaller (I struggle with large pores, and mix that with oily skin and you get a facial forest of blackheads....gross), my skin doesn't seem as oily, and the dark circles I usually always have are diminishing. Also, I usually get a lot of redness around my nose and I've seen an improvement in that area too. And overall my skin feels softer.
Less plaque. Yes, my mouth and teeth feel "cleaner". I have less plaque build-up at morning and at the days end. I think that could be from a mixture of things: the gallon of water I drink a day, my elimination of sugar and dairy, and the probiotics and the Cleanse altogether.
My overall attitude and mood. I think the Cleanse is helping with my hormones. I am technically "PMSing".....but I'm not. Which is a God-sent miracle straight from heaven, because when I get PMS, I get it BAD. Ask Evan, or Ben, or my mom, or my friends or anybody who comes into contact with me. I'm not pleasant during 'that' time. I've not been snappy or needy or irritable or just plain rude. I've been more than tolerable, which makes my investment in the Cleanse more than worth it.

So onto my day...
I had an unconventional day for my usual schedule. I worked this morning but this afternoon I had 6 kids. Let me rephrase that, I babysat 6 kids, not had 6 kids. I had my rambunctious toddler, my sisters, and my pastors kids. Their ages being: 1,3,5,6,9. It was carazay, but fun. But on that note, I didn't follow my "meal plan" religiously. I didn't break any food rules, but just kinda snacked every 2 hours all day instead of having the day to plan out my meals and make sure I get my proteins/carbs/veggies right... Again, I didn't cheat, but I just had to make adjustments.

FOOD JOURNAL:

7:30 am - probiotics/spark/H2O

8:30 am - lots 'o grapes

10:30 am - brown rice patty topped with almond butter and sliced bananas (it was super yummy)

1:00 pm - leftover chicken breast from day before with raw carrots

3:00 pm - Spark

3:30 pm - snacked on raw carrots and oranges

6:00 pm - Delicious dinner= chicken tacos... Shredded chicken breast with an itsy bitsy amount of taco seasoning put in a ground oat tortilla (yea, I didn't know those existed either), fresh salsa (tomato, onion, cilantro, lemon, jalapeno), and shredded lettuce topped with SOUR CREAM (kidding! but I really really wanted some)...topped with green chile sauce. It was lip-smacking delicious!

7:00- While my husband and sisters ate pizza, I had to leave, so I went and did about 30 minutes of Pilates. I lurrrve pilates!

8:30 - Herbal Cleanse Tabs

And that's my day, folks. I really want to weigh myself, but I'm waiting until the 10 day mark.

Herbal Cleanse: Day 4

2011-02-13T20:14:00.000-08:00

Whoopdidy Whoop! I feel so much better today, you guys! I'm not quite "there" yet, but I am getting there, which I was never sure if that was going to happen. I am still slightly bloated, I think.. It might just be my plush stomach and I enjoy blaming it on toxins. ;) No headaches, and I'm completely recovered from my cold, and I made it to the gym for a kick-butt workout. OH, AND?!?!!? Someone at church asked me if I lost weight! They said I look "petite", which was a first for me ever.

Here's my food journal, yo!

8:00 am - Water, catalyst, probiotics, spark

8:30 am - Apple, bite of banana

11:30 am - Raw almonds

2:00 pm - small chicken breast (no seasonings), cucumber salad (with lemon & lime juice, pepper) & raw carrots w/ garlic roasted hummus

3:45 pm - Spark

4:00 pm - Gym for 1 hr [30 mins high intensity cardio, 15 mins weights, 15 mins stretching]

5:00 - Strawberries

6:30 - Salmon with lime & chili powder, lightly steamed fresh green beans covered with finely chopped fresh garlic, red pepper & onion

8:30 - Mango

10:30 pm - Herbal Cleanse tabs

Thats all for today. Hopefully I will start feeling better and better as each day goes on...

And since I can't NOT post a story about I was mischeviously tempted with amazing food: My grandma, the sweetheart she is, brought me a Valentine's Day gift, and it just happened to be....White Chocolate Lindor Truffles. Have I mentioned those are my favorite? Oh well, something I have to look forward too in 1 week! I also happened to strongly crave pizza and boneless buffalo wings, and just typing that my mouth started watering. But its so not worth the way I feel right now! I feel healthy and fresh and light, which is so much better than feeling grudgy, oily, and heavy after you eat pizza.

~See ya tomorrow~

Herbal Cleanse: Day 3

2011-02-12T18:21:00.000-08:00

Hard day.
It was quite a struggle. The eating part wasn't too bad, but I'm really starting to feel the effects of 'cleansing' or detoxing. I was at a marriage seminar all day, and they had the.most.amazing food there. A guy who can cook at top chef status prepared a delish-looking pork loin stuffed with wild rice & capers, and amazing looking asparagus dish with a cream sauce & garlic, and there was homemade cheescake, however it really didn't bother me too bad. What really bugged me was that I had a massive headache, trouble focusing, I was extremely irritable, had stomach cramps, bloating, heartburn, and extreme pregnancy status fatigue. Actually the whole thing felt like a first trimester pregnancy, but magnified by 28.3 million. I came home from the seminar, ate some raw almonds and crashed. By the time I woke, it was too late for Spark, but I was still feeling very "grudgy". (whatever that word means?)
I'm also pretty sure I've gained weight. I was wanting to go to the gym today, but I had no energy.... I do feel some slight discouragement because I'm impatient to see/feel results, but I know they'll come. No pain, no gain!

Food Journal:

8:00 am- Spark & Catalyst w/ lots of water

8:30 am - Fiber drink & cantaloupe

10:15 am - Apple & Orange slices

12:30 pm - Rosemary Chicken w/ salad (leftover from D1), & steamed asparagus

3:00 pm - Raw almonds

6:00 pm - Salmon w/ garlic & paprika, lightly grilled (with olive oil & sea salt) zucchini, yellow peppers, & brussels.

8:00 - snacked on strawberries & blueberries

10:00 - Herbal Cleanse

Goodnight!

Herbal Cleanse: Day 2

2011-02-11T21:17:00.000-08:00

If I could describe this day in one word it would be:

BLOATED

This is what I look/feel like:

Oh my goodness, am I ever bloated (see above). Today was much better than yesterday, the food part wasn't a struggle and for the most part I had a decent level of energy. My abdomen on the other hand probably has a different story for you. I seriously look like I am 6 months pregnant. I couldn't button my jeans and rocked a major muffin top. But in a weird sort of way I am happy because it means that my body is responding to the Cleanse, and my toxins are NOT happy. Oh and in case you were wondering, which I'm sure you were, I AM still pissing like a racehorse, but I've adapted. With day #2 coming to a close, here is my food journal.....

What I did/ate:

7:00 am - Spark, lots of water & catalyst

8:00 am - Fiber drink with cantaloupe

11:00 am - (i actually made it 3 hrs instead of 2) 3 hard boiled eggs [i actually had to 'devil' them with mustard, salt, pepper & paprika because I cannot STAND hard egg yolk, its too dry and bland and powderyish] and a handful of grapes

2:30ish - I was not hungry at all (thanks bloatedness) and forced down some leftover salmon with onion and tomato and ate some cucumber with garlic roasted hummus

{No afternoon snack, too bloated}

5:30 - very small portion of rosemary chicken with raw carrotts

8:00 - snacked on some celery, carrots and had 3 orange slices

::sidenote:: I was at a seminar where they had a WHOLE TABLE full of delicious-looking dessert such as chocolate chip cookies, 4 layer delight (!!), our table was covered in Hershey's kisses & Dove chocolates, sugar cookies with lemon frosting (my fav), and chips and salsa. Omgosh any of you who knows me knows that chocolate is my vice, but I did awesome and nibbled on my celery while my lovely husband (who so kindly brought me a cookie and placed it in front of me [out of ignorance, not evilness]) and everyone else chowed down!::

Feeling good, and thinkin I'm going to hit the gym tomorrow, now that my sore throat and cold are pretty much history.

~Be back tomorrow!~

Herbal Cleanse: DAY 1

2011-02-10T20:28:00.000-08:00

I have to admit today was a struggle. Big struggle. I didn't like today at all, and am very glad it is almost over.
Before I post my "food journal" I need to rant for a minute.
RANT:
So the last time I did this Cleanse, I did it when I lived in a house where 2 other women were doing the cleanse. Talk about accountability! We prepared meals together and it was almost competitive, but in an encouraging type of way. That is SO not my situation this time around. I have a husband with hypermetabolism who comes home for lunch, eats 3 pieces of pizza, a bucket of Ben & Jerrys chocolate chip COOKIE DOUGH ice cream, and a bowl of peanut butter Captain Crunch. And here I am eating spinach & cucumbers. Don't get me wrong, my lunch was delish, but I was SO.FREAKING.STARVING that I wanted to chow down some pizza.
What else? I didn't quite realize just how much water 1 gallon is.... its A LOT of water that I must drink. I spent at least 30% of my day peeing. I probably went pee 86,357 times. And I must be super toxic because I have had THE.WORST.HEADACHE all afternoon. I know it's sugar withdrawls...stink. Oh, and by about 2:00 p.m. I wanted to fall into a coma and not wake up for a month. I was so tired. SO, so so tired. No carbs all day = super tired Kayla. But because I have a hyperactive toddler, I cannot just sleep all day, so what did I do?? I took a shower. Because I have a cold, I made it extra hot to relieve my congestion, and I sat down and cried because flashing images of brownies, steak, and pizza were going through my head. I only cried for about 2 seconds until I told myself to quit being a baby. It's just food, Kayla, get some self control. So, I got out and drank some Spark, then scrubbed my couches and blinds, because that's what Spark makes you do.
/end of rant

Ok, So here is what I ate/did today:
8:30 - I woke up (later than normal because I had a very eventful night that consisted of a bloody nose & a screaming baby) & I drank Spark and a glass of water & 3 Catalyst

9:00- Fiber drink & an apple

11:00- Brown rice cake with 1 tsp of almond butter & 1/2 cup strawberries/blueberries

1:30 - Salad (spinach, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, carrots, asparagus, red pepper, w/ fresh lemon juice & pepper), 1/2 chicken breast, & 1/2 c. brown rice

4:00 - Spark with small packet of Almonds

6:30 - Wild salmon (small fillet size of a deck of cards) baked with lemon juice, tomatoes & onions, with raw broccoli. 6 Omega-Plex vitamins.

8:00 - must note that I turned down rice krispy treats smothered in chocolate and peanut butter @ home group ::pats self on back::

9:30 - Herbal Cleanse Tablets, lots of water & bedtime.

HOW AM I FEELING?
I know my rant consisted of a lot of complaining, so here I am going to focus on the positive. I am feeling very accomplished and proud of myself for getting through day 1. I am NOT going to weigh myself at all until the end of the 10 day cleanse. Right now I am feeling very bloated, and don't have a lot of energy. I have some withdrawl headaches. I know its probably in my head, but my arms feel and look smaller, already. They do, just sayin... I can tell my body is ridding itself of toxins because my mind seems more sharp. Because of all my small frequent meals, I literally feel my metabolism speeding up. I always have a small feeling of hunger, which is good, because most days I can eat and then not be hungry for 5 hours. That's about it!
More tomorrow~

P.S. I peed 3 times while writing this blog post.

SO.MUCH.FOOD

2011-02-09T18:08:00.000-08:00

I am prepared. Very, very prepared. My cleanse starts tomorrow, and as I looked at my kitchen, I think I probably have enough food to do this cleanse for a whole stinking month. My kitchen is overwhelmed with fruits & veggies.

Here is the proof:

Inches & Grocery List

2011-02-08T16:32:00.000-08:00

Hello Internet World full of millions and millions of people,
I am about to expose myself and reveal some pretty sensitive information. I measured/weighed myself, and I was morbidly embarrased. Yea, so I'm officially doing this because I need to lose some weight. Forget the 'trying to be healthy' crap I fed you in my last post (although its an added bonus), I need to drop me some pounds!
Okay, so here are my measurements:

Right Arm: 11.5
Shoulders: 17
Chest: 38.5 (omg)
Waist: can I lie????? plleaaseee? okay, fine. 30
Hips: 35
Right Thigh: 23 (at fattest part)
Right calf: 13
Jean size: 5/6 or 28/29 (my "comfy" ones are 30)

WEIGHT: 146 <--------------OhhhhMaaaGahhhhhsh. My weigh in at my first OB appointment with Ben was 137, and I had gained about 5 lbs, so my GOAL weight is officially 132, which means I have to lose approximately 10% of my body weight. FUN!...not.

Okay, so now that we're past that painful part of the post, lets go on to something more fun...FOOD!
I went grocery shopping and here is what I got:

Apples
Oranges
Strawberries
Blueberries
Raspberries
Bananas
A fresh Pineapple
Tomatoes
Avocado
Carrots
Spinach
Celery
Green Chiles
Butternut Squash
LOADS of Asparagus (b/c its my fav!)
Zucchini
Red, orange, green & yellow pepper (like pepper, much? yes, yes I do)
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Almond Milk
Almond Butter (au natural)
Almond Flour
Whole wheat tortillas
Brown rice
Head of Romaine lettuce
Cantaloupe
Watermelon
Cucumber
Organic Chicken Breast
Wild Salmon
Wild Tuna
Eggs

I am pretty darn excited to start, I must say. I will most likely be blogging every day, keeping my food journal, and probably do a lot of complaining about how hard it is to not eat cheese. Wish me luck! Oh, and any recipes? Feel free to pass them along, actually feel obligated to pass them along. Much appreciated :)

Time to Shed ~ 10 Day Cleanse

2011-02-07T09:08:00.000-08:00

Okay, Guys! I need to get back on track with my health. Pre-Benjamin I used to be very healthy. I worked out at least 5 times a week, I didn't eat junk food AT ALL, and was very health conscious about the foods I put in my body. I would try to eat all organic (based on my budget) and watch the chemicals put in my body. Thennnnnnnn..... I got pregnant, and it was goodbye vegetables and hello cheesy fries! After Ben was born, it was just too exhausting to go to the gym or cook healthy meals. I settled for convenience. :/ A year and a half after having Ben, I step on the scale and am about 10 lbs more than I weighed before I had Ben. I am on a mission to #1) BE HEALTHY and #2) Shed some weight and inches!

I am starting off with a 10 Day Herbal Cleanse from Advocare and will be documenting my journey, because its not going to be easy, you guys. No sugar, flour, dairy, and only lean protein. I will probably use this blog as a food journal for now.

Here it is:

Oh and this little piece of heaven is called Spark. Its not technically an energy drink, but it gives me an extra "umph" to my day. I feel like being productive, and it gives me mental focus. Oh, and it tastes delish! I can use it with my cleanse, and will definitely be doing so!

My next post will probably be my "weigh in". I'm really nervous, because I've never really shared my weight publicly, but what the heck? Nothing wrong with transparency. :) I'll also be doing some measurements and put them up as well. I am officially starting the Cleanse FEBRUARY 10TH!!

17 Months

2011-01-14T10:31:00.001-08:00

Okay, so the little guy is 17 months! I can hardly believe it's practically been a year and a half since he was BORN. Wow, that's so crazy.
I thought I'd take an inventory of what he's doing or saying, because as hard as it may be to believe, I probably will forget.

Ben says about 15-20 words regularly: nite-nite, mama, dada, ball, mama, daddy, no (my fav..NOT), uh-oh, baby, apple, shoe, thank you, stinky, bottle, kitty, puppy, grampa

Can point to: his nose, teeth, belly, hair, feet, and ear

He points to all animals and calls them "kitty" (unless its a dog, he calls them "puppy")

He loooovess babies. Like LOVES. He says "baby" everytime he sees one, and everytime he sees a picture of himself in the house. You can say, "Ben, where's the baby?" and he'll take you througout our house showing you the pictures of himself. Funny stuff.

He drinks well from a cup and is starting to use a fork and spoon correctly.

He can throw a ball well, my little baseball player.

When he poops, he says stinky and will sometimes bring you a diaper (what a gentleman ;)

He SPRINTS to the door when you say "daddy's home!!", and daddy has learned to always open the door slowly after a couple times of whacking Ben in the head with the doorknob.

I love being a mommy and love watching my little boy grow up! Life is bliss :)

Thanksgiving....Christmas...New year...

2011-01-14T10:14:00.001-08:00

I ashamedly say, that it's been 2 months since I've blogged. UGH! I'm going to bust out with like 20 posts in the next few days to get caught up on what's been going on.

I totally missed Thanksgiving.

I totally missed Christmas.

I totally missed the week after Christmas when my inlaws came up and we had a fun time...

So I guess I'll just kinda make a big fat blog that summarizes ALL of that. And I'm going to be boring and not post pictures. Most of them are on my Facebook anyways, but whatev.

K... to start of with Thanksgiving!

We went to California. :) It was so much fun. We went down there to see my aunt Sheila and her family. We had a BLAST. It was absolutely gorgeous down there. Considering our drive---ahem--which was only supposed to take 15 hours, ended up taking like 18...or 19. The roads were H.O.R.R.I.B.L.E. Not even 5 miles into our trip it starts blizzarding and we didn't have nice roads until all the way to Las Vegas...which is like a bazillion miles of bad roads. But it was worth it because we got to see my aunt, we got to eat some fabulous food, and take Ben to the beach. Little Ben didn't really care for the beach. I think all the sand and water and wind and openness was a little overwhelming, but we got some great pics of Ben's first time to the beach and that's all that counts, right? ;)

So we did some other fun things. Thanksgiving was awesome, food was fantastic, and Evan and I got away on a mini date to go watch Megamind in 3D..I think that was probably seriously the highlight of my trip because Evan and I rarely go on alone dates anymore, and we were like the only ones in the theatre and the movie was hilarious and awesome in 3D. So to wrap up thanksgiving, we went to L.A. to the 2011 car show, we did the whole early morning Black Friday thing which was a nightmare, and we had loads and loads of fun........and then we came home to like 3 feet of snow.. ~joy~

Christmas was pretty low key. We did a brunch at my house and that was about it, we opened gifts. Everyone got some pretty fabulous items. I got a Canon camera which I lurrrrve, we got a Bluray, and some other nice stuff. But the fun part was after Christmas. The inlaws came from Sippi (and one from Zona) and we did all sorts of wintery Montana stuff. Ice skating, sledding, skiing, snowmobiling, snowboarding, playing in the snow...etc. I think they had a ton of fun until the last day when the temperature dropped -20 below zero. BURRRR. I had a great time, and I think/hope they did too :) We're already planning our trip down there next year.

Lastly... New Years. I went to bed at 11:00 new years eve and that's about it! lol, it was pretty boring, but I needed the rest because I ended up getting the flu. And no, I didn't make any New Year's Resolutions, I will if I ever know I can keep them. But I hope to grow (not physically), but as a mother, as a Christian, as a wife, as a daughter and as a friend. I thank God for his grace and mercy and continually being faithful for his protection and provision, and as a thank you, I offer myself to Him as a living sacrifice so he can use me as a vessel in whatever way He may please.

And that's my whirlwind of the last few months. Maybe oneday I'll post pictures of it all, maybe not :)

Daily 10

2010-11-05T15:01:00.000-07:00

I'm sick and tired....

Literally.

I've had a cold for 6 days now, and today my nose is an endless faucet of snot = sick.

The last 4 days, I've worked 30 hours = tired.

So there. I'm literally sick and tired. =)

But, I'm also sick and tired of trying to keep up with my house. It seems that I somehow always get behind in some area. When the kitchen is clean, the laundry is heaping. When my bedroom is tidy, the shower needs scrubbin. You get the picture. Although I do work parttime, I get the privilege of pretty much naming my own hours (benefits of a family biz), but I am required to get certain tasks done by certain deadlines. So being a part-time worker/part time stay-at-home-mommy/part, I mean full-time wife, my job is to keep my house tidy. Hubs does a great job helping, but I still am primarily responsible to make the home a sanctuary for my family.

This includes staying on top of it! All of it!

A friend of mine is absolutely fantastic of 'staying on top if it'. Actually she has a whole website dedicated to helping sahm's (stay-at-home-moms) keeping their house clean and tidy, and one of the things she came up with was

"The Daily 10".

It is the 10 things you do to 'maintain' your house daily. They may seem overwhelming, but are surpisingly easy to do, and don't take that long.

DAILY 10
1. Make your bed
2. Empty the sink (dishes should either be in the dishwasher or cupboards)
3. Clear accumulated daily clutter (put away blankets, toys, books, paperwork)
4. Sweep the kitchen floor
5. Sort the mail
6. Use a daily spray on your shower
7. Write it down- give yourself goals for the next day (like bigger tasks such as deep clean bathroom, do 2 loads of laundry, vaccuum, etc.. if you do 1 MAJOR household task a day, your house should remain tidy)
8. Put away your outerwear- coats, shoes, purse, etc.
9. Clean the counters- kitchen and bathroom
10. Enjoy the clean house!

Here is my personal list for tomorrow:

Sort & start laundry
Dust every room
Vaccuum all carpets & rugs
Clean fridge
Clean kitchen appliances
Finish laundry
Deep clean bathroom, including shower, eck.

If I was brave enough, I'd post before/after pics, but I don't think I'm thaaaat brave.

14.5 ~ Happy Harvest!

2010-10-31T16:33:00.000-07:00

14.5 Months that is!

Benjamin, you are 14 1/2 months, which is very hard for me to believe. You are so big and changing every single day. I didn't have any cool harvest-y or Halloween post, so I decided to do a post of what Ben is doing... ya know, where he is at with his milestones, some cutesy things he says or does. So proud of my little guy!

Here are your stats for this month:

still wears size 4 diapers
about 22 lbs (you've stopped gaining weight for a month because of your walking)
You are in size 18 month clothing
You love to dance. Anytime any sort of music comes on you get this smirk on your face and bounce up and down - in rhythm!
You are talking more and more each day. You say: mama, dada, blankie (kee), puppy (pupupup), when you want to be held you reach out your arms and go "doobieoobieooobieoobie"... not quite sure where ya got that one!
You know lots of sign language
Your favorite thing to do is open the dishwasher
You still drink from a bottle, but we are working on switching to a sippy cup.
You are kinda going through a picky eating stage. There is not much you will eat anymore, most goes on the floor, to the point where I had to buy a mat to go under your highchair. I'm hoping it's just a phase :)
You are walking up a storm, almost running.
You let me know when you pee, by taking off your diaper and bringing it to me. I'm a thinking we need to buy a potty.
You do not like snuggling, you never did, so this isn't a "new"milestone, but I still want you to be a snuggler and when I attempt to lay some snuggle on you, you get really mad.

I love you so much, and am looking forward to another year of growth!

Kayla's Chronicles: My journey as a young mom

The UNHappy Valentine's Day!

A Day In the Life

26 WEEKS! *update*

24 Weeks Update

Benjamin: 30 Months

THE PLAN: How to get my body back.

Long time no update! 22 Weeks!

18 Weeks... blah.

17 Weeks Update

16 Week Update

Quick Update

14 Weeks Update

Fit Pregnancy: What I'm doing

12 Weeks Update

Fit Pregnancy : WHY I'm choosing to be healthy & fit this pregnancy.

11 Weeks Update

LONG NEEDED UPDATE!

My May Favorites

I am a healthy disaster

Memorial Day Weekend

God is my portion & my Strength

ER Visit

Healthy Livin!

21 Months & Reflection

The Skin I'm In.

DIY Chair Reupholstering! (Under $20)

Nom Nom Nom

Workout Routine

Easter Rundown

The Big 20.

Weight Loss Lifestyle: Week 1

Because nothing is more fun than an orange towel..... except maybe a stuffed dog.

Rainy Day

Deep Breath.

Brainpower Overload, Colonoscopy, Spilling the Beans

My Birthday :)

From FAT to FIT

Stepping it UP.

March Favorites

Fabulous Family Fun

Me From A-Z

Worry Wart

From Fat to Fit with Advocare!

Ben ~ 19 Months

Stream of Consciousness.....

My Body is Changing

Healthy Substitutes

My new love!

The Results Are In!

Herbal Cleanse: Days 9 & 10

~18 Months~

Herbal Cleanse: Day 8

Herbal Cleanse: Day 7

Herbal Cleanse: Day 6

Herbal Cleanse: Day 5

Herbal Cleanse: Day 4

Herbal Cleanse: Day 3

Herbal Cleanse: Day 2

Herbal Cleanse: DAY 1

SO.MUCH.FOOD

Inches & Grocery List

Time to Shed ~ 10 Day Cleanse

17 Months

Thanksgiving....Christmas...New year...

Daily 10

14.5 ~ Happy Harvest!

26 WEEKS! update