My baby is one!

This post has taken me over a week to write and I do feel guilty about that. I'm just. . . still in denial.
How can it be that an entire year has gone by so quickly?!
My sweet, chunky, baby boy is a toddler now and I can't remember how or when that even happened! He has brought so much more love and joy into my life and I don't think that i'm ready for him to keep growing. My little girl turned 3 in June and with her full on talking, writing, imaginary friends, and even a little boyfriend, I just want to keep my baby a baby forever. Don't get me wrong, I love how grown up my Katie girl is. In fact, my absolute favorite part of motherhood is watching my children learn new things. That first step, a new word, writing their own name, clapping their hands. . . it's all so amazing to me and one of the reasons that I so love being a stay-at-home mom. I wouldn't miss these small moments of learning for the world. Everyone asks me when I will put Katie in preschool and my response it that we do home preschool. Some think i'm a little crazy, and while schedules and routines have always been difficult for me, I just couldn't stand to not be there to witness my little one learning. I just love it. On that same note, watching Nolan learn as been incredible. They are so different, Katie and Nolan, and it was so fascinating to note all the differences. Slower in some areas, quicker in others. They are such unique and different little people, it's exciting to me.
Nolan has just started walking around and he gets so incredibly proud of himself when he does it.
He's been saying "mama" for quite a few months now, as well as the occasional "da," but he's been branching out lately with sounds like "broooom brrrrooom" when he's playing with his cars and trucks. Such a little boy he is!
He is still my little velcro baby, quite attached to me day and night. There's just nothing like the comfort and security of his momma. It can be tiresome sometimes, when I'm trying to make dinner or shower or run errands or breathe- but I love it even more. There's something so special about being someone else's most important thing in the world.
His smile and laugh are so wonderful, it just makes me want to cry! I've always been an emotional person, but motherhood has really amplified it to an extreme amount. The smallest thing will put me in tears now, most often happy tears.
Nolan is a happy, healthy boy who loves his family, loves to play with his sister, and loves to be outside. He enjoys eating new foods, trying to be more grown up than he is, climbing on things, figuring out new ways to be as loud as possible (banging toys together), and laughing while pulling out chunks of mommy's hair. He'll eat just about anything he finds on the floor, which often results in bits of crayon or beads being found in his diaper. Oh, the perils of having a very artsy craftsy big sister. Speaking of, I would say his two favorite "foods" are crayons and chalk, and I can't seem to keep them away from him. When he's got a sister who draws and colors almost 24 hours a day, I can't seem to keep up with the tiny crayon hidden in the rug or the piece of chalk in the grass. Nolan is very good at finding these things for me and tasting them too.
He keeps me on my toes and keeps my arm muscles strong from carrying such a hefty little guy around.
I simply love my Nolan James. My family just means everything to me and he makes it hat much more complete. While I'd still like 3 or 4 more (I want a big family!) I'll settle with my two for right now.
As long as Nolan stays little, that is. ;)

I stuck all the pictures at the bottom of the post because I was too lazy to incorporate them into what I already wrote. 

This is kind of an oldie, but I think it's hilarious!

Little man LOVES to be outside and play in the mud.

He wasn't a huge fan of this big owl.

This happens at least weekly. Just so adorable. My handsome boys!

Nolan loves to sit in just about anything that he can. There's a popular cat meme with pictures of cats sitting in random things with the words "if it fits, I sits." I think that can also apply to this little boy. Boxes, crockpots, upside down chairs, tupperware, stock pots, trash cans. . .

Just having fun at the park!

He loves to play and splash in water.

Mother's Day.

The morning of his birthday. He was certainly spoiled. Way too many gifts and I held him almost the entire day. Being held by mommy is his favorite thing after all.

A little weight-loss update

It's sad to admit this, but I haven't seen a number below 150 since Middle School. Well, until today that is! Hello 149.2!
I'm sure some of it might have to do with the fact that me (and my whole family) have been very sick for the past few days, which means I wasn't eating much, but still. . . It's awesome!

I also ran out my my Zrii Achieve shakes a coupe of weeks ago and it's been hard to stay on track since then. They made such an easy and filling meal for breakfast every day! Our budget has been a little tight, so I just couldn't afford the $90 each month. $90 really isn't that much (That's about $3 a serving, about the same cost as a drink from your local coffee shop, but SO much healthier), so hopefully i'll be able to buy them again soon. They really were such a great start to my day! I've been trying to be good and have a green smoothie every morning ,though I do skip some days. Sometimes a piece of toast or spoonful of Trader Joe's cookie butter is just so much easier!

Eating well in general has been especially difficult since we had a kitchen fire two weeks ago. As of now, everything has been cleaned up, thankfully, but we are still missing our oven and stove. We also don't have our microwave, though a friend lent us her extra one in the meantime. I never realized just how much and how often I used my stovetop and oven until I didn't have them! I literally used them every single day! I've been trying to plan more meals using our george foreman grill, waffle maker, Vitamix and crockpot for warm meal substitutes. I guess it's time more of my small appliances get some use.

Brad has been out of town since Monday, which has been AWFUL. I'm glad he was able to have some fun and go to a conference for work and everything, but wow, the timing couldn't have been worse. The sickness in our house has just been awful, and taking care of two sick kids, while being sick myself, is so incredibly taxing. I feel like a walking zombie. Can't wait until my hubby is home.

Resolution Update: March

This last month was terrible. Not just for my resolutions, but for pretty much everything in general. My cousin Lara lost her oldest daughter and we were able to attend the funeral a little over a week ago. We had a kitchen fire a few days ago and lost our oven, microwave, and a few pots in the process. Our house is a complete mess with soot covering everything, and everything reeking of smoke. Both of our car registrations came up in March. Both Brad and I had to see the dentist in March, as well as today, April 1st.
It just hasn't been fun. Now, on to the resolutions:

• Lose 10 lbs by March 1st
• This one was completed!
• Limit Fast Food intake to once a month
• Complete fail. I was doing good, until the kitchen fire. Then, without a microwave, stove, or oven, I turned to fast food. Oh well. Things come up, you know?
• Attend the temple with Brad at least once a month
• Also a fail for the month. I am so sad about this one. We kept procrastinating because there were so many other things going on in the month, and we originally thought it would be no big deal to go in the last two weeks of the month. Then funerals and fires kind of prevented it. My sister and ehr husband were in town, and I thought it would be a great chance for Brad and I to go, until I realized I had given all of Brad's church clothes to the restoration company to have dry-cleaned, so Brad wouldn't have anything to wear. We are going to try and make it there two times in April to make up for it.
• Take ONE 3-credit college course through BYU Independant Study and receive an A
• This one is coming along. I started cleaning houses a couple nights and week so it's been easier to save up money. It's also been easier to spend it, sadly. Paying for dinners on Brad's birthday, and delivery pizza when i'm too tired to cook, unexpected trips to Ikea, and buying a sink/vanity for the basement bathroom. Before I spent so much of my hard-earned cash, I had saved up over $250 from various things. Right now, I'm only at About $190. I need to be better about getting the cash in my hands and stashing it away where I can't get at it easily. I still have until the fall to really stat on this resolution though, so I think i'm ok. 
• Post on my cooking blag at least once a week
• The biggest fail of all. I didn't post even once in the month of March! Ridiculous, I know. I was just in such a cooking funk, and now half my kitchen is missing for who-knows-how-long. 

Can we just forget March ever happened? With warmer weather on the horizon, I predict that April is going to be much better. I can just feel my motivation getting ready to spring into action.

A little update on yesterday's post. . .

Just wanted to document this. I posted yesterday that I had somewhat failed at my resolution to lose 10 lbs by March 1st.

While it's now March 2nd, I just wanted to report that my weigh-in this morning flashed the number 154.6 in my face. That's more than 10 lbs!

I count that as a success.
:)

I also went jean shopping this morning because pretty much all of of my pants are falling off of me. Found one pair at Ross that was only $15, almost too short for me, but I haven't seen a size 10 in jeans on my body since, quite literally, middle school. Take that! 6 years and 2 babies later, i'm smaller than I was in High School. Yeeeeeeaaaaah!

I do want to eventually lose another 20 lbs by the conclusion of the year, and 10 of those pounds by my birthday in September, but right now I've decided to start focusing on tone. I may be be smaller than I have been in years, but i'm much more jiggly. Thank you pregnancy.

Anyone have any advice on getting more toned? More muscle definition? I've been losing weight mostly just through diet change, but now I want my skin to to tighten up and lose some flab. Any help is appreciated.

Resolution Update: February

Time for my monthly goal update! On January 1st, I set 5 New Years Resolutions for myself. At the end of the second month, let's see how i'm doing!

• Lose 10 lbs by March 1st
• I failed this one. After some serious slip-ups in February, and then working really hard to re-lose the few pounds I had gained back, I ended the month at 156.4. I started at 165/164, so an 8-9 pound loss is still really great! People have noticed, and that's always a plus. Now that this first resolution is over, I can focus on my new resolution- Losing another 10 lbs by my birthday. My birthday isn't until September and I know that gives me 6 months to lose just a measly 10 lbs, but even when I was at my fittest in High School, 155 was always my plateau. It was SO difficult to get any lower than that and I know it's going to be very difficult to get rid of the next 10 lbs, even given 6 whole months. Hopefully with the warmer weather coming and summertime, it will aid in my progress. Gardening for hours out in the sun, long walks around the neighborhood, swimming in the pool I WILL be buying this summer. . .
• Limit fast food intake to once a month
• This was sort of fail for this month. I was doing awesome for the most part. Brad and I had Del Taco a couple of weeks ago and that was all. We did have delivery pizza twice (free codes from Papa Johns), but I decided to not let those count against my fast food limit. However, yesterday, the very last day of the month, my family was coming down to visit and my mom called and asked if I wanted anything from In-N-Out .Without even thinking about it, I said yes and ate the burger they brought to my house for me.  It wasn't until late last night that I realized I had eaten fast food! Argh! Brad was half-joking that I shouldn't be allowed to eat fast food for the month of March, and I think I agree with him. We'll hopefully be going out to eat for Brad's birthday in 2 1/2 weeks anyway, so I think I can make it without Panda Express like I had been planning. Oh well.
• Attend the temple with Brad at least once a month
• Success! Because my parents and sister and brother-in-law were down, Brad and I finally made it to the temple on the last day of the month! It was the last session of the day, and it was in Spanish so we had to hear the English through headphones, but we made it and that is what matters. I truly believe that our marriage is strengthened through temple attendance.
• Take ONE 3-credit college course through BYU Independant Study and receive an A
• I feel great about this one, because I've earned about $150 so far to put towards taking a class! I have about $55 from Survey sites that I can cash out, $20 in my Paypal from my online mom community and another survey site, $20 from a Valentines gift, $25 from doing some cleaning at my sister-in-law's house earlier this week, and $30 from selling a microwave we've had for about 4 years that we've never opened.  I'm going to keep going strong with my surveys, hopefully sell a few more things, and do some more house cleaning each week. About half of the house cleaning money will be going towards an above-ground pool for our backyard, though.
• Post on my cooking blog at least once a week
• FAIL! I only posted once in February. Oops! Things just got a little busy and dinner kept falling back on easy things from our food stock, like hamburger/tuna helper, and basic pasta. I kept thinking that there were things I could post about, things I actually made, but my camera battery was dead for a while and I kept forgetting to plug it in. Excuses, excuses. . . I know. My ambitious plan for March though is to finish my freezer series, post about my newly discovered bread recipe, post about my new go-to rolls recipe, the pasta sauce i've been making at least once a week, and maybe a post on homemade granola. We'll just have to wait and see what actually happens though. :)

Good luck to me! March has 3 more days then February does, so it should be easier, right?

2-27-13 Update

We're in the home stretch for my weight loss goal! Only 2 days left! How did this happen?!
I was doing so well for a while, and then the week of Valentine's Day came up. From sugar-loaded brownies at a Pampered Chef party, to EMORMOUS sugar cookies at a Young Women's activity (I am a Mia Maid Adviser), to ice cream sandwiches made with homemade chocolate chip cookies for Valentine's Day, to eating the rest of the cookie dough from the fridge for the next 3 days. . . I seriously fell off of my healthy-eating cliff. It was awful. I went from making it all the way down to 156.6 back up to 159. I struggled for the following week to get back on track and then it really hit me yesterday that the end of the month is SO close. So. . . I am on a mostly liquid diet until Friday. Yesterday I had 3 fruit/veggie smoothies, a Zrii Achieve meal replacement shake, and lots and lots of water. I did eat dinner with my little family though. Pizza quesadillas with homemade pizza sauce and homemade tortillas. I also made an apple crisp, mostly as a treat for Brad, but I did indulge in some of it with a little vanilla ice cream. Today i've had my Zrii Achieve, one fruit smoothie, and some fresh pressed orange juice from a ton of oranges I picked up at Smith's a few days ago. I also ate 2 slices of bread because Katie wanted some and it smelled so yummy. Haha! I'm out of veggies to add to my smoothies, so I'll be heading to Smith's after I get home from Young Women's tonight. I'll have to have another protein shake and a lot more water. Not sure what's up for dinner tonight. I had originally planned on Potato Mountain (I plan meals 2 weeks in advance), but that's not something I should be eating right now. :) Perhaps I'll just make some homemade hamburgers for Brad and Katie and roast up some veggies for myself. Good luck to me!

Oh, and irony kicked in when this morning my scale decided that it finally needed a new battery. After 3 years, the battery had to die today. Figures. It's a 9-volt, so i'll have to get one of those at the store as well.

2-8-13 Update

These little updates are so lame, but I couldn't help posting this one. I woke up this morning and weighed myself (I always weigh myself in the mornings. It's more accurate to do it at the same time of day each time) and I almost couldn't believe what I saw. 157.4 lbs!!! That's 8 lbs less than when I started at the beginning of the year! I know it doesn't seem like a lot, and 154 is still heavy (24 lbs heavier than what I "should" be), but I haven't seen that number in years. Not even just pre-baby, but pre-wedding and pre-college! I think the most exciting part is just that my stomach is getting flatter. I've got two babies worth of flab and watching it disappear has been so great! Even I can't believe I only had a baby 5 months ago! I wish I would have taken before pictures. I guess I can probably find some somewhere that were snapped without my permission. Haha!

It's a little accomplishment, but I'm proud of myself. I've been eating healthier, staying more active, and feeling great! (Apart from a lingering cough i've had for the last two weeks).

I can't wait until it warms up and I can start going on walks again with my little ones. Brad and I might be getting a couple of bikes so a bike trailer for the kiddos might be in order. Not sure about that though. I never was very fond of bike-riding. I wonder if I would look super lame, as a momma-of-two 20-something, rolling around on roller blades? I do miss roller blading!

As summer comes I'll also be spending tons of time in my yard pulling weeds, planting seeds, and tending to my future chickens (not too mention lounging in the above ground pool. I have this theory that the more time I spend outside, the more weight I will lose. And maybe get my tan back. And my natural highlights. We'll see.

Resolution Update: January

Time for my monthly goal update! On January 1st, I set 5 New Years Resolutions for myself. At the end of the first month, let's see how i'm doing!

• Lose 10 lbs by March 1st.
• I am down approximately 5 lbs! I have 4 weeks to go until my March 1st deadline and if I up my exercise a little bit more each week, I should definitely be able to accomplish this. I have had some brief relapses the last couple of days because i've been sick (apple crisp and bowls of ice cream), but  I'm getting right back on track tomorrow. I'm still sick today. :p

• Limit fast food intake to once a month
• On track! I chose Carls Jr. as my fast food of choice for the month of January, and I most thoroughly enjoyed my charbroiled chicken club. I didn't get waffle fries or a chocolate shake, my two other favorite things, but I had to show a little restraint for my weight loss goal. I am kind of regretting it though.  
• Attend the temple with Brad at least once a month  
• Success! My mom was in town for a couple of days so not only did Brad and I get to go on our monthly date (I pre-planned monthly dates as part of Brad's anniversary gift), but we were able to attend the temple the next night as well.  Funny story though, our temple bags have been in the trunk of our car for a while, and our gas can has spilled quite a few times back there. It wasn't until we were changing into our white clothes in the temple dressing rooms that we realized our clothing COMPLETELY REEKED of gasoline. So gross. Oh well! They are washed and good to go now.
• Take ONE 3-credit college course through BYU Independant Study and receive an A
• This one is nowhere near completion.  The cost of courses actually went up without me realizing it when I posted this resolution, so I need to somehow earn/find over $400 for a 3 credit course. Ouch! I've been taking surveys diligently though and have made about $20 this past month with them. I also earned about $20 in my PayPal through various things, but have already spent it on different things for the household. Our budget is SUPER tight, but I am still determined to make this goal happen!
• Post on my cooking blog at least once a week
• Success! Mostly. I did post 4 times in January, so that's about once a week, but sometimes it was more like, 9 or 10 days rather than every 7. Not that that's a big deal or anything. It has been nice blogging again, though. And it's definitely easier to find things to blog about when we can no longer afford to go out to eat or pay for convenience foods. I even made 2 loaves of bread to use for sandwiches, garlic bread and toast since we ran out of frozen loaves in the freezer.

Can't wait to see how things go in February!
I've only been exercising about twice a week, but i'm going to up that to 4 times a week this month. 
I still haven't decided what fast food I want for February. I'm thinking Del Taco. It's cheap and always delicious!
I'm not sure if my parents will be coming my way at all this month, so i'll have to find a babysitter so we can go to the temple. Hopefully I can find someone to do it for free!
I've also rustled up a few things I think I can sell, so I plan on saving that money specifically for my college goal. I'm thinking I can bring in about $30-$40 on selling things. I have another $15 coming to my PayPal this month, and hopefully I can get at least $10 from my surveys. Sadly, most sites only offer rewards and not cash payout, but I'll make it work.
For my cooking blog, I plan on continuing my "A Peek Inside My Freezer" mini-series, as well as sharing one of new favorite bread recipes and hopefully posting about my parent's famous enchiladas. There's a cookie recipe i've been wanting to try as well, so if that turns out yummy, i'll post about it too.

1-29-13 Update

Weight: 160.2. I'm getting there! One month and 5 lbs down, one month and 5 more lbs to go. Woo!

Food: I might have lost some more weight in the last couple of weeks, but I was out of town for a few days and definitely pigged out while I was there. Oops! I'm home now, so things should be getting back on track. Back to my Zrii in the mornings and fruit and veggies to snack on! I also stopped drinking very much water for a week or two, so i'm getting back to that as well.

Exercise: With being out of town, I got off track with my work-outs also, so I'm starting it up again now. Did Yoga Meltdown last night and boy were my legs shaking. I've got a lot of house cleaning to do today, so i'll work-out again tomorrow, hopefully in the morning. Katie loves to do Yoga with me and it's so hilarious! Until she says I look like a tunnel or a slide and proceeds to climb all over me.

1-12-13 Update

Weight- 161.3 lbs. This is the lightest I have been in. . . 4 years? Since I got married? Crazy. It's only 4 lbs less than where I was at the start of the new year, but hey! That was only 2 weeks ago and i'm down 4 lbs. Can't complain!

It's probably boring to read about what I eat for each meal, so i'll just say what i've kind of been doing. I drink my Zrii Achieve protein shakes in the mornings, sometimes accompanied by scrambled eggs or toast and fruit. I've been drinking a LOT of water, sometimes mixed with Zrii Accell. I've started mixing in some D'oterra essential oils into my water as well. Lunches are just dinner leftovers. Snacks consist of carrot sticks or celery with peanut butter. I've been cooking dinner from scratch just about every night with cut-up fruit or roasted veggies on the side. Splurging still happens, of course, because if I don't, I CRAVE fast food and things. A chocolate kiss here and there, or homemade brownies or something. Although, I used coconut oil in my brownies, so that makes them healthy, right? :)

Exercise: I just started on a new video today, Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown. My legs were definitely shaking after it was over!

6 lbs to go to meet my resolution, and i've still got 6 weeks left! This is SO doable! Of course, the next 20 lbs by the end of year will be a little more difficult to achieve, but I am just not going to think about that right now. :)

1-2-13 Update

Starting Weight: 165 lbs. More than yesterday. Figures. I fluctuate a lot though, so I'm thinking I'll just do weekly weigh-ins. It'll probably be much more accurate.






Breakfast: Toasted honey wheat bagel with cream cheese, some fresh pineapple and a glass of milk

Lunch: Black bean, corn, cheese, and rice quesadilla on a homemade tortilla with sour cream. Glass of milk.

Snack: 4-cheese lean pocket. (Awful, I know, but I am SO hungry today! Nolan must be going through a growth spurt.) 1 Hershey's Kiss.

Dinner: Spaghetti with parmesan garlic bread and corn. I also had some egg nog with dinner. Hello calories!


Exercise: 15 minutes of aerobics this morning. Not very much, but I've got to start small when it's been months since i've exercised (I had a baby 4 months ago and all).

1-1-13 update

Morning weight: 164.6 lbs

• This is less than my pre-pregnancy weight, which is AWESOME. However, jiggly baby fat remains around the middle region, which is what I want to get rid of the most!

Breakfast: None. We didn't get out of bed until after 10 today. Haha!

Lunch: Whole Wheat Bagel with one egg, a slice of sharp cheddar cheese, one slice of bacon and 2 slices of avocado. One Zrii Achieve Protein Shake.

Snack: Zrii Amalaki, Zrii Accell mixed with 16 oz water, glass of grape juice.

Dinner: Black bean, corn, and cheese quesadilla on homemade tortillas with mexican rice and pineapple with a cup of milk.

Exercise:

• Nothing really today. I spent about 45 minutes cleaning, including 10 minutes of vacuuming and about 10 minutes of dancing. Haha!

2013

New Years Day.
A day full of overly ambitious resolutions and "fresh starts" which last about a week.
I'll admit, i've been there many times before. Setting huge goals  with high hopes and then they are dead and gone within the month.
Not this year.
I am SO determined to not let that happen this year.
So without further ado, here are my New Year's Resolutions:

• Lose 10 lbs by March 1st.
• This goal is part of a higher one to lose 35 lbs by the end of the year, but starting with just 10 is much more reasonable and attainable.
• I will post DAILY updates on my blog here about my progress including my starting weight in the morning, what I ate during the day, and what type of exercise I was able to do. The daily updates are NOT a resolution, so if they don't always happen, I won't feel guilty. It will just be a tool in helping aid my weight loss.

• Limit fast food intake to once a month
• As much as I would love to eliminate fast food altogether, it is just not a reality right now. I have got to start small if I want to accomplish bigger things.
• I describe fast food as establishments with a drive-thru. Sit-down restaurants are still permitted, but since we can't afford sit-down restaurants very often, this doesn't really worry me. 
• I haven't decided yet whether I want to count delivery pizza as fast food. ;)

• Attend the temple with Brad at least once a month
• This goal might not seem that difficult, but with two little kids and no money to pay for babysitters, it IS difficult. I will do my best to utilize the times when my parents are in town and to make friends with people in the neighborhood who will be willing to watch my children for free. 

• Take ONE 3-credit college course through BYU Independant Study and receive an A
• One college course probably seems like a tiny goal to many of you, but not when you are poor. With our new home/mortgage, finally having to pay for our own cell phones, higher utility bills, car payment, etc. . . there is no way we could afford for me to go back to school on Brad's income alone. A 3 credit course through BYU Independant Study costs $360 and that is just not doable for us at the moment. Because my education isn't really a priority at the moment, I will need to accomplish this on my own. I will need to find ways to earn and save my own money. I will be much more diligent at my survey sites and online communities. I will sell personal items online and possibly have another yard sale this summer. I will look for babysitting jobs in the area. I will find a way to make this happen!
• I also MUST get an A in the class. I always had great grades in high school, and then terrible grades in college. I need to fix that. 

• Post on my cooking blog at least once a week
• I have a new kitchen that is large and beautiful, I will be cooking at home MUCH more with my limit on fast food- I have NO excuse why I can't post at least one recipe or cooking tip/tutorial on my blog at least once a week. I really enjoy posting on there, but my motivation has been lacking. First up this week, Easy Mexican Rice. 

Good luck to me! Once a month I will try to remember and post an update on my goals and my progress for each of them.  I wish everyone else the best of luck in accomplishing their own resolutions this year! Happy 2013!