A Mother’s Devotional

“Are you there God? It’s me, the Mother.”

Anyone else feel like this sometimes? Like, oh yeah, God — He and I were like super close once. Now I barely get time to even talk to Him. For example, this blogpost? This event I’m about to write down. It happened 5 days ago, and I’m just sitting down to write it.

Hold on. Someone pooped their pants.

So, as I was saying.

Oh…. hang on. The baby’s awake.

::Two Days Later::

As I was saying… That God guy.

These days, it’s difficult to have my quiet time. One kid gets up at 5:45 am and one goes to bed at 11 pm and in between there, I’m running a household and working part time. As a result, many times over the past three months I’ve wondered, “God, are you still there?” “Am I still beloved to you?” “Do you get me? Where I am right now? Do you know how much I’d like to hear from you?”

And so, the days go on. Elmo watching, cooking, cleaning (bottoms and counters and couches and toys and such), playing, and reading.

On this particular day, I was sitting with Teddy reading one of his favorite books, “I Love You, Through and Through.” Seriously we’ve read this book 50 times, just today.

In this book, each page has approximately 4 words:
“I love you through and through […] I love your inside and your outside […] Your happy side and your sad side.” And so on.

As I’m reading it for the 4th time, the other day, a page stuck out to me. “I love your happy side and your sad side. Your silly side and your mad side.”

“Your mad side?”

Isn’t it true though? It’s hard, don’t get me wrong; but I still LOVE my kids (yes, even my irrational toddler) when they are mad.

And right then, God said, “Yes. I even love your mad side.”

“Me? You love me when I’m mad? I don’t even get mad over justified things God. How could you love my mad side?”

“I love your mad side. I love you through and through.”

If that doesn’t hit you like a ton of bricks, then… well, I don’t know. But it spoke to me.

God loves me through and through. He meets me where I am. In my busyness. In my never-get-to-sit-still-ness. God’s there. He sees. He hears. He knows. And He loves.

I don’t know about you, but I’m called to listen and pray without ceasing. It’s not something I have to think about or plan out. God doesn’t need my 15 minutes of time with Him each day. My God isn’t limited to that. My God and I are in constant communion. He’s right there, next to me while I play with my kids. While I’m scolding my kids. While I’m doing the dishes. While I’m having a dance party. While I’m gorging on dark chocolate covered almonds with sea salt.

My God doesn’t live in a box. He lives in books, in the sky, in my heart.

So, take heart mama. God’s there. He knows. He sees. He hears. He loves you through and through.

Teddy Takes A Vacation | Part Two

EATS AND THE BEACH
We landed! My parents had already been on the island for the week so they met us at the airport and while Alex got the car, my mom and I hung out with Teddy. My parents had told us we could do any excursion we wanted to and they would pay for it, but then they surprised us by getting us a convertible for the week instead! The perfect excursion that keeps on giving. Needles to say, Alex was stoked. When we were planning our trip we had to decide if we were going to bring Teddy’s carseat or not — originally I had decided not to and we found out that Enterprise actually provides carseats as a courtesy.

While we were there, it was great, except that I had to put Teddy front facing because the back of my seat was touching his if we rear-faced him. He LOVED it. I made sure to read up on the laws in Hawaii and read the manual on the specific carseat they provided. He met all the requirements. After arriving home though, I read an insightful blogpost by Alicia regarding carseat safety and we ultimately decided to keep Teddy rear-facing until he’s reached the height and weight limitations of his current seat.

Vacationing with grandparents is AWESOME. The first two days we were there, Teddy slept in my parent’s room so Alex and I could feel free to sleep in. It was so nice to catch up on some sleep, even with the three hour time difference. My parents took Teddy for a whole day so Alex and I could kayak and hike without the little one. Another night they took him for the evening so Alex and I could have a nice dinner! What a treat.

We did our best to help Teddy transition by keeping him up in the morning until his “normal nap time” (10 am) and he adjusted fairly quickly. Teddy is such an easy baby. While we were out, if he was tired he would just fall asleep in the car. However, it only takes about an hour to drive around the entire island so his naps were pretty short. For the most part, he wanted no part of any naps because there was just too much exciting stuff to see!

We went to several beaches on our trip and we also ate at a few great places too!

BEACHES:
Kee Beach has a fresh water lagoon that goes right into the ocean. There is a rope swing and fish in the lagoon. The surf was great for body boarding, but the tide was a little rough for Teddy so we stayed mostly in the lagoon and playing in the sand.

Poipu Beach Park has lifeguards, showers, bathrooms, large shady palm trees, covered picnic areas and generally mild surf. It was perfect for Teddy. He spent the day picking up coconuts of the ground and digging in the sand. It was especially nice to be able to hose him off and change him before getting back in the car.

St. Regis Resort Beach is a private beach, but they have free valet and the dining is great. As long as you act like you own the place and are honest with the clerks they are usually pretty cool with people who aren’t staying at the hotel. You can partake of the bar, spa, and rentals if you would like. This is our favorite beach. The beach very gradually goes down into the ocean, with little to no surf, which was perfection for Teddy to feel confident in walking around. There are small patched of reef too where you can snorkel or even walk along to see TONS of fish. The beach has large shady trees and hammocks. It’s very easy to spend the majority of the day here.

EATING:
Makana Terrace is perfect for a night out. Alex and I enjoy an amazingly slow and beautiful sunset dinner here on our date. Everything is grown locally and nothing is prepared until you order so we just enjoyed the fresh bread with herbed butter while sipping our wine, watching the sunset over Hanalei Bay. The sushi was fantastic! I would have come just for that.

You can also return for brunch the next day! It’s $38 per person, but absolutely fabulous. Teddy just picked off of everyone’s plate and drinks were included. They have a fresh omelet station, fresh local veggies, eggs benedict, parfaits, waffles, pancakes, and gluten free options as well. 

Puka Dog is a MUST on the island. We went to the Hanalei location (this town is one of my favorites). I got a polish dog stuffed in a pretzel bun with garlic sauce and a fruit topping. Sounds bizzare, right? It’s NOT. It will blow your mind.

Al Pastor Tacos is so good. Especially after a long day of kayaking and hiking. We were totally craving some good Mexican food and this place did not disappoint.

Hanalei Coffee Roasters is one of our favorite breakfast spots. The coffee is great and we usually hang out on their porch to escape the occasional rain or walk around shopping.

Lappert’s is some of the best ice cream ever. There is one in walking distance from our resort and that’s usually how we justify getting it — because we walked there.

Dukes is usually our last stop before boarding the plane back to the main land. The views during dinner are unbelievable and the food is so good. They also have a really great salad bar that comes with your meal.

Let’s just be real, you go on vacation to lay on the beach and eat so this was pretty much the best vacation ever.

Teddy Takes a Vacation | Part One

THE PREPARATION:
We have been waiting for this vacation for so long. We planned for it, saved for it and longed for it. June arrived and we decided that on top of doing a vacation we would travel to San Diego to go to the Zoo, SLO to visit our dear friend who is moving to Portland, Escondido to visit friends who are moving to Seattle, down to Riverside to drop off Boone for the length of our trip and sell our house, because we’re insane.

I arrived back from our Riverside adventure with an offer on the house, dog less and dog tired. I knew I would still have Wednesday to clean the house, do laundry and pack. On Wednesday evening Alex offered to stay home so I could go out to dinner with some girlfriends, get a pedicure and see a movie — my vacation had started!

We managed to pack two carry-ons each (a backpack, and laptop bag, a duffle, and a suitcase) and pack all our other items in a large bag that we checked. I was pretty impressed with our packing skills. In the backpack I packed: wipes, diapers, baby powder, small toys, a puppet, books, snacks (no raw nuts/seeds or fruits that we couldn’t finish on the flight), an empty baby bottle, gum, our medications in ziplock bags, our boarding passes, identification, and cameras/phones. In the carry-on suitcase we packed our bathing suits and a change of clothes for each of us, just incase our large bag was lost OR we had a blowout/vomit/explosion from any of us or on any of us. We also had a small fold up stroller to push Teddy around the airport and around shopping areas on Kauai — that was a LIFE SAVER. Chasing Teddy around the airport once we let him out of the stroller was insane. This kid doesn’t “walk” anywhere… he runs.

Our dear friend picked us up at 5:45 am to drive us to the airport. We greeted her with Starbucks and breakfast (Love on those that love you friends, 5:45 am is God-awful-early). Our flight was leaving at 9:20 am and we had hoped we timed it perfectly because Teddy usually naps at 10:00 am. We figured, get through security while he’s a happy guy then let him run all his energy out until we’re on the flight. He’ll be super stoked during take off, we’ll give him a bottle at around 20,000 feet and he’ll be out like a light for at least two hours. And guess what, for the most part that was true. Now, some of you may think I’m awful and that’s fine. But, I’m just gonna be real. We gave Teddy a little Benadryl about 20 minutes before take off. He had been (and still is) teething and was quite a hot mess the night before we left, so I figured, for my own sanity and that of the other passengers, I ought to give them a somewhat scream-free flight. It worked wonderfully for us (at least for 2 hours).

Now, before I get to the flight, let me tell you where we went wrong. First, I completely left Teddy’s blankie at home. This is a cardinal sin. Having something familiar during our vacation would have made the sleeping transition and the flight so much easier. Secondly, and for whatever reason, it wasn’t notated on our boarding passes that we were traveling with an infant. We still have no idea how that happened because when we bought out tickets we notated that. So, after we checked in, checked out bags, and made the long trek through the security line we were stopped because Teddy wasn’t accounted for. Then, Alex had to go alllllllll the way back to the front desk where there was ONE attendant to get our boarding passes changed. So, note to self and others — make sure that if you are traveling with an infant (a child under two who doesn’t have their own seat) that it is notated on your boarding pass.

Onward and upward we went! The flight from LAX to Lihue Airport is 5-6 hours depending on the weather. Ours, luckily, was only 5 hours and 9 minutes. Thank you Lord. I could not have handled any more minutes. Teddy was fantastic. The flight attendants were so helpful in getting me milk when I needed it and coming by to smile at Teddy. As I mentioned, he slept for two of the five hours in my arms like an angel. I was able to enjoy a snack, the majority of the in-flight movie and even treated myself to a little in-flight soda. Then… he woke up and he was ready to play! We were able to entertain him with toys, books, pictures and videos on our phone and (GOD BLESS) the “Talking Elmo” app. We also sat next to this sweet 10 year old boy who made faces at Teddy the whole time and made him laugh. Then, when he couldn’t handle sitting anymore, I let him walk up and down the cabin so he could say, “Hi!” to every single person on the plane and touch every isle dwellers leg. And I changed his diaper twice, just so the poor kid could have a change of scenery. FINALLY, it was time to land.

Teddy loved the take off and landing, but he could only be entertained for so long by clouds, clouds and clouds during the flight. He “Ooooed” and “Awwwed” over the blue water, the planes wings, and when we came in for the landing. WE MADE IT!

Moving with a Baby

Are we insane? Yes… yes we are. Moving with a baby is HARD. Packing is a joke, cleaning is non-existent and so is rest. Any time Teddy was sleeping I was packing/organizing/cleaning. But the reality is, I have a part-time job and a full-time job being his Mom. Alex has a full-time job and a full-time school load AND he’s a Dad! So, when our lease was up we really had to consider if moving was going to be an option for us, or if we should just renew our lease.

Alex began the process of looking for a new place, just to see what was out there and what our options were. He spent neither every lunch break for a week looking at places. He narrowed it down to three places and made a spreadsheet (because that’s what we do) comparing them all. Together we decided on apartments in TO, 7 mins from Alex’s work, close to church and our doctors, and the mall. It’s a one bedroom with a den (for Teddy), central A/C and a washer/dryer AND dishwasher. It has everything I needed to feel good about making a move. So, the packing began.

My parents and Creswell came out the weekend before the move and we kicked the crap out of packing. Every single thing was packed except for essentials. It was a huge blessing and I still can’t believe we were able to get it all done in two days with a baby. Teddy was a champ but definitely was having a bit of a panic attack at us packing everything up. The poor guy didn’t understand what was happening to his house!

Then throughout the week Alex and I began packing up the essentials. The weekend rolled around and we had family come visit. We celebrated Nana and Papa’s anniversary and also attended church on Sunday. Everyone thought we were crazy. Maybe we were, but our time with our family and church family was precious. On Sunday, after church, Alex got the UHAUL and a bunch of church friends met us at our apartment (6 to be exact). It took all six of us and Teddy 6 hours to move all of our things from the old apartment to the new apartment. Did I mention that this new one is an upstairs unit? I didn’t? Oh. Did I mention that we might be crazy? I did? Oh…

4 of the guys lugged our bed, or couch, out table, our entertainment unit, Teddy’s crib and our PIANO up the stairs. I couldn’t believe it. All in 6 hours time.

This past week I’ve had so much help unpacking the place. Almost every day someone has come over to either watch Teddy so I can unpack or help me unpack while Teddy is napping. I can’t say it enough, WE ARE BLESSED.

The new place seems to be agreeing with us. I absolutely love it and Teddy is warming up to it as well. In fact, he’s finally sleeping through the bulk of the night now in his own room. For the past four nights he’s only woken up once. I’ve enjoyed the sleep and the extra energy I’ve had to be able to work and unpack. Again, we’re blessed. And also, crazy. 

Our family tradition. We always have Del Taco the first meal in a new place.

Our Babymoon in Portland

This post is long overdue, but I’ve been so preoccupied with other life things that I forgot to post this!

Alex and I decided to do a combined anniversary and babymoon over our anniversary weekend in January. We struggled with deciding where to go; I wanted New York and he wanted somewhere warmer. We ultimately decided on Portland since we know quite of few people who frequent the city and love it. Some of you have been asking about all the places we ate and visited — wanting to have a list of great stops should you ever visit. So, here ya go!

TRANSPORTATION:
We headed out on a Thursday and landed at the airport in the late morning. First, let me say it was pretty chilly but oh, so crisp. Second, public transportation in Portland was exceptional. We hopped on a shuttle that took us directly downtown to our hotel. Then, we continued to master transportation using the Google Maps app on our phones, which was extremely helpful and updated frequently. If we ever missed a bus, Google would tell us the next available route to where we wanted to go. Also, a day pass for the bus was only $5.00, much cheaper than renting a car. We were able to get to every single district downtown and even to church on Sunday using the buses and shuttles.

SIGHTS:
One thing that worked out wonderfully was that Portland doesn’t have any huge landmarks or “must see” places. I was worried that I wouldn’t be up for a ton of walking around and sight seeing, so it was wonderful that we didn’t feel as though we missed out on anything just by walking around, heading into shops, chatting with folks, and eating — lots of eating.

Portland is broken up into districts: Pearl District, Northwest District, Lloyd District, Alberta Street, Hawthorne District and Belmont District. We could get to any district using shuttles and buses, so we broke up our days by district. We choose one district a day and decided what to eat and visit before we headed out. It made the days more enjoyable since we could just walk around the districts and eat whenever we felt like it.

One place we did visit definitely had a “sight-seeing” value to it: McMenamins Kennedy School.

It is a refurbished school house turned hotel! I don’t know if I could actually stay there (the rooms gave me the creeps), but the hotel has a movie theater, three different “bars/pubs”, smoking rooms, a public hot tub (more of a huge soaking tub — think Roman bath), and lots of places to eat.

The decor keeps to the original age of the building and there are pictures of students, historical figures, and other interesting art pieces everywhere.

ACCOMMODATIONS:
When we travel for our anniversary we try to stay at a particular branch of hotels call Kimpton. We stayed at a Kimpton hotel in Seattle, WA for our first anniversary and found them not only extremely comfortable but enjoyable.

The Kimpton in Downtown Portland is called Hotel Monaco. It is located in business district of Portland, which is close to the fashion district as well. The decor is quite modern and very eclectic. While I love that decor, it took a while to get used to and it was very bright at first. The rooms are very long and well laid out. The staff was very friendly and they even provided us with complimentary champagne to celebrate our anniversary. Housekeeping came every morning, the fridge was always fully stocked and we even indulged in room service one evening.

The hotel is pet friendly, which I find enchanting — though we didn’t bring Boone with us this time. They also provided free bike rentals and two complimentary beverages: a hot chocolate bar fully stocked with toppings from 7:00 am to 10:00 am every morning and a champagne reception in the evenings complete with a piano player.

We meet some pretty amazing people in the lobby area and enjoyed the huge fireplace. I would give it 4 out of 5 stars — only as compared to the other Kimpton hotels we’ve stayed in past.

 

FOOD:
As I had mentioned, there aren’t many “sights” to see in Portland so much of what we did included food. I won’t list off every place we ate, but here are the ones that stood out to me:

Voodoo Doughnut – If you miss out on visiting this place, you will be pretty bummed about it. When we were traveling back home we saw so many passengers with pink boxes from this place just dying to take some doughnuts home! The vibe is eccentric and loud so we opted to sit outside, but the doughnuts were delicious. I was boring and opted for an old fashioned but Alex ventured out and ordered a maple bacon bar. Both were very delicious. Keep in mind, it’s cash only!

Henry’s 12th Street Tavern – We came here to take advantage of their happy hour. We were able to purchase a pizza and salad, Alex ordered a beer, I ordered a coke and we even ordered an appetizer. If I remember correctly, the bill was under $30 and all the food was extremely tasty. Oh, and another great thing about Portland… NO SALES TAX! So the price you see, is the price you pay. I even felt as though we tipped more because we weren’t worried about rounding up or percentages.

Mother’s Bistro & Bar – This place is my Mother-in-law’s favorite in Portland. The food is fantastic and the music they play was right up our alley (Jamie Cullum, Corrine Bailey Rae, and some Mayor Hawthorne). Don’t let the “somewhat” outdated decor fool you — the food is amazing. Every meal comes with a huge biscuit that weighs the size of a toddler. We ate here once for dinner and came back the next morning for breakfast. You absolutely must get the biscuits and gravy!

Tin Shed – A pet friendly gardenesque atmosphere, but very busy in the afternoon right after church. They have a strict menu schedule on Sundays and serve only breakfast until 2:00 pm, so you cannot order lunch before then. The lunch menu looked delicious, but breakfast was great too! We split an eggs benedict and the eggs were cooked to perfection. You do serve yourself water and coffee (there are stations around the restaurant) so if you’re looking for a full service place this isn’t it.

The Courtyard Restaurant at Kennedy School – As I mentioned before, this is a place you want to have ample time to explore. There is a theater, smoking room, soaking tub, gardens, and plenty of tasty places to eat. We decided on the Courtyard Restaurant after much walking around. It was busy, but they had a full service bar so we ordered our food there. The wait for a table wasn’t very long at all, but this mama was VERY HUNGRY! We ordered cajun tater tots as an appetizer and they were delicious — I’m sorry that we’re not sorry we ate the whole plate full. I then ordered a minestrone soup and Alex ordered a burger. Both were delicious. The ambiance was wonderful and the view overlooked the garden in the center of the school. We didn’t end up making any of the movies but we found out later that you could order food and drinks before in the theater bar and take them into the movies with you! It is an absolute must visit.

Screen Door – Last, but certainly NOT least, was Screen Door. Luke and Hallie (friends of ours from California who relocated to Portland) took us here for dinner before our flight home. There was a line around the building before it even opened and we soon figured out why. The food was amazing — mostly likely the best southern/creole food I’ve ever tasted! Luke ordered the shrimp and grits, I ordered the mac n’ cheese, Alex ordered pulled pork, and Hallie ordered a mixed plate of three different items. They have beers on tap to pair with the food and the service was great. If you can, and it’s not too chilly, sit outside under the tin shed and heat lamps — the ambiance makes you feel like you’re sitting in the south eating some of your mama’s good home cookin’.

OVERVIEW:
We truly enjoyed our experience and felt as thought 5 days was just enough time to really take in all that Portland had to offer. We enjoyed Sunday morning service at Mars Hill Portland and found most everyone in the city to be friendly and helpful with suggestions.

At first I was nervous about using public transportation, but we have always found that having to ask people for directions and relying on each other for help has made for a unique experience when we travel. We were able to meet some very interesting people and had to trust each other a lot — considering that neither of us knew where we were going half the time.

Every eatery we patronized was amazing. I would say it would be hard to find a place we didn’t like and I strongly recommend all of the above listed.

Our hotel was in a great location; central to all of our travels to the districts and we often had down time for a bath or nap in the middle of the day before hitting the town at night.

The weather was very cold in January (ranging from 30-45 degrees) but we enjoyed coffee and hot chocolate to keep us warm. I wore the same large jacket every day and bundled up in beanies and scarves. I really enjoy cold weather so I did not find that it inhibited our experience at all. If anything it provided beautiful scenery.

So, I would say Operation: Babymoon 2013 was a success! I hope you found this guide helpful and you enjoyed our video.

Teddy, you can go ahead and come now!

An Affair to Forget

Guys, it’s true confession time.

I LOVE spicy mexican food and coke. I didn’t always love coke, but for some reason with this little guy it is pretty much an everyday craving. It’s one that I did indulge for about three weeks on an almost daily basis. It’s so crisp and tasty and pure cane sugary.

Now spicy mexican food, or spicy food in general, and I have had a long, torrid (pun intended) love affair. Chips and salsa, jalapenos and cheese, anything spicy-cheesy-heartburny is all I want.

But, guess what guys? I’ve also been suffering from insomnia, heartburn late at night, and carpal tunnel flare-ups. I’ve tried heat, massage, icing, topical treatments, and even spoke with my doctor about taking other supplements that might help. His response, “Honestly, you can try taking these things — but they aren’t going to help you. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

Great doc, that’s exactly what I wanted to hear. NOT! Whelp, so many of you gave me great suggestions and even asked your midwives for homeopathic remedies, but one suggestion stuck out to Alex from Michael (my piano teacher) about the carpal tunnel flare ups being linked to my eating habits. So, we thought to give it a try.

It’s been three days with no spicy foods, no soda, no fried anything, and low sugar — and guess what?! It has been pretty awesome! The last three nights I’ve slept a full 6 hours (I’m still waking up at 4:00/5:00, but that’s better than 1:00/2:00 am. And wrist has only mildly hurt. I hasn’t been NEARLY as painful as it was. As it turns out, my body was telling me through my heartburn what the problem was and I wasn’t paying attention. Here’s to hoping that this trend continues!

So coke and spicy food — we must say goodbye; even if just for the next three(ish) months.

Thank you for all the prayers, suggestions, and concerns,
Leelo

Worry is for the Birds

Some of you may already know, but I got a job. I’m 1099’d so it’s flexible hours and such which has been great, but boy… getting back into the workforce after 6 months off is a trip, I tell ya.

It has been quite an adjustment, but I am really enjoying it. I have had to learn how to re-balance my life all over again, though. Who cooks? Who cleans? When will I be able to work out again? Why am I so tired?!

The answer: Stop. Take. One. Thing. At. A. Time.

This is not a new concept, for some. For me, it’s more like, “what do you mean I can’t do everything at once all the time and be perfect?” But, I truly believe that I was given these past 6 months to re-organize and prioritize my life for moments like this — when things are so turned around and I need stop, breathe, and march on.

I don’t overwhelm myself with every little thing and I allow thing to slip past that don’t really matter. It’s quite liberating actually. I’m getting back into a routine and I actually got back on the treadmill after three weeks! Life and time are not only precious but short. Why spend it worrying?!

“Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” — Matthew 6:25-27

Healthy is the New Skinny

About a month ago I started going to a personal trainer once a week. I know what you’re thinking… “Dang big money!” But, seriously it is expensive. I have approached these last four weeks as a crash course in fitness and overall health, because let’s just say this band nerd who ate/drank Dr. Pepper and hot Cheetos all through high school does not know the first thing about proper nutrition nor about lifting anything except a pair of cymbals (yes, you can laugh now).

My trainer Joe has been amazing.  Alex and I have been doing combined sessions and Joe has been teaching us about eating healthy and targeting specific muscles including our hearts, glutes, abs, legs, and arms (which is pretty much your entire body, right?).  Joe’s goal for us both has been:

Don’t weigh yourself.  This isn’t about weigh loss.  If you eat healthy, and work out a minimum of 20 mins a day, the results will come.  Slowly, but surely, they will come.  This is not a crash diet… it’s a lifestyle change.

Further, as some of you may know, but both Alex and I have lower back issues (his is sciatica and mine is scoliosis) and Joe has given us some great modifications for typical work out moves to aid in building back muscle, while taking the pressure off our lower backs during other work outs.  It has been inspiring and so extremely helpful.  I have hurt in places I didn’t even know muscles existed and it is fantastic.  Honestly, if you’ve never had any personal attention in the fitness/health area I recommend getting a trainer or taking a course at your local community college.

Finally, I told Joe that Alex and I would like to start planning for a family this year, but that I wanted to be healthy and maintain a healthy lifestyle throughout my pregnancy.  He was honest and encouraged me to lower my body fat index through a workout/food regimen and he has me keep a food journal.  He’s been extremely encouraging and told me that I’m honestly not eating that bad, but that I should eat more often (to keep my metabolism working — never get too hungry) and consume more water (to aid my body is flushing out toxins).

So, I’ve been trying to adopt a healthy lifestyle through what I believe to be a few simple steps:

1) Work out at least 20 mins a day
2) Alternate cardio and weight lifting every other day
3) Consume a minimum of 8 glasses of water daily
4) Eat more frequently (5xs a day)
5) Eat more veggies instead of more carbs
6) Eat fruit in the mornings

I’m not entirely sure how this is working for me weight loss wise, but I sure feel healthier. And if Joe is right, the weight loss will come.  But hey… it’s not about being skinny right. It’s about being healthy. Healthy is the new skinny, dontcha know?