Dear... Baby,

It's Monday. Most people hate Mondays, but I don't mind today.

 It's was a beautiful sunny, 73 degree, breezy day today. Brandon and I had a great time outside drinking our smoothie and going down the "shhlii," (slide). 

We played trains, cars, chased the dogs, threw balls at the cat, played on the swings, ate sliced apples, and read a few books too!

He loves his "big brother" books.

 I always ask him what story he wants me to read and he says, "Baby?!" 

I feel like all I'm doing in just waiting and waiting and waiting... for you to make your arrival. 

And I am SO uncomfortable! 

You're just squirming around in there constantly, acting like you are really sick and tired of being cramped up in my belly. 

No rest for the weary. 

Brandon's social worker came today for her monthly visit, so I spent all morning cleaning, doing laundry, cooking muffins and keeping your crazy toddler brother busy. 

I. am. pooped! 

And you're just rolling around in there, not giving me ANY breaks. 

But that's ok, because I'm hoping that means you'll be coming out soon! 

You're "due date" is in 5 days. 

I'm still expecting you to be early though. Mainly because I think you have my personality... and we just don't have time for that!  :)

Your big brother Brandon went shopping with me and Daddy yesterday to pick you out a car seat. We spent hours in the store and even had to drive to another one to get the seat with the correct color. I picked the green one.

 I told your Daddy it will match your eyes.

 

Now we have a bet going about what your eye color will be. 

We just can't wait to see you!!

Your brother is even picking up on the excitement. I was looking at some yellow colored outfits at Babies R Us, when he exclaims, "mom! Mooom!....cuuuute!!"

So I looked over, and he's holding on to the the skirt of a very sparkly, fluffy, bright pink tu-tu.

Between him and Daddy, you will be one spoiled little princess! 

So, anytime girl... Anytime!

Oh Boy, oh boy!

Ok, Who told my kid he's a 2 year old now?!

He's crazy! He looks like a little man, and he's growing up way too fast!
 

He repeats everything I say and do now.
(including checking his stomach and butt in the mirror after getting dressed. a sure sign I'm popping out of all my clothes? hmm yeah.)

He's running around and jumping off the furniture.

He's signing songs about everything. "heyyy, daddy, daddy, poopoooo....byebye, LMNOPeeee, heyy, hohoooo..."

                                    hi.la.ri.ous.

He pretends he's reading books.

He wants hugs all the time.

He runs in circles around our living room yelling, "run run run run run!" but it sounds more like "unnununununnn!"

He tells on the dogs when they're doing something they shouldn't be doing. 

 

He wants me and Matt to watch everything he does, and if we don't, he'll continue the oh-so-annoying,"Moom!... mom... mom...mooom! Daddy.. Daddy! Mom! Dadddyy...daddyy..." Until we finally look.
 

Oh it's fun! 

He finally fits in 18 moth old clothing! Yay our little shrimpy boy is growing.

We put all his 12 month old clothing away.
It made me so maternal. I feel like he's 2, going on 15. 

Sometimes I'm so selfishly sad, I've only had him in my life for 6 months and he's already 2 years old.
 

Stop growing up so fast baby! :(

Yeah, yeah, go ahead, insert:   #pregnancyhormones #yikes


 

We had a small birthday party for him at our favorite park down the street.

The theme was,

            "Jake and the Neverland Pirates!"
 

 It's pretty much his favorite show ever.

 I let him watch it in the mornings while he eats breakfast. So I can ya know, get dressed, put on my make up and look half way decent for the day. 

 

He loves all the music and singing in the show!
And now he likes to yell, "no, Hook!" When ever Hook shows up on the screen.

In fact, ALL shows are now called "Ho-Hooo!"

Thanks Netflix.

 ...Anyway, the birthday party went great!!
 Brandon had a super fun time trying to hit (and kick) the piñata.
 

Since the kiddo has issues when he eats sugar, and I'm trying not to eat it either...

I attempted to make him a healthy Paleo fresh banana cake, with a fresh strawberry/pineapple filling and coconut cream icing.
 

It tasted great!!
 It looked like... Well I won't be showing you the final photo. 

Maybe I'll do a practice cake before his next b-day.
The icing was a mess.
 And it was almost 80 degrees at the park.. so you can imagine the melted disaster.

I wish I could show you all his other photos. This boy is sooo much fun. He has such a good, kind heart and is always ready for the camara with a smile to share!

He's seriously the cutest little boy in the world. 

Oh! 

On that note, Brandon's adoptions worker called the other day and we are signing our Adoption papers the beginning of Feb! (depending on when baby-girl makes her arrival). 

Then we'll just need to wait for a Court date and finally be finalized! 

                                  Yessss!
All of this could still take a few more months, but there is a light at the end of this adoption tunnel! 

 

In the meantime, we've set up the room, half little boy, half baby girl. 

She's due in a week and a half and I'm finally ready! 

(38 1/2 weeks today!)

 

So many teenie-tiny outfits! 

 

 

 

 

(Brandon's big boy bed. complete with pillows since he occasionally falls out).

            (Find the napper!)

 

(girl corner. I tried to stay away from too much pink. didn't really happen. oooh well!)

 

 

This tiny little house is about to get craaazaaay! 

And we're (not very patiently) waaaating!!!
 

It's Prep Time!

Oh boy.

 I love Pinterest. Like, really, really love the ability to put all these cool ideas in organized boxes and be able to look them up on my phone at a moment's notice.
 

Like, Grocery shopping: what was in that one recipe that I don't have at home?
Ah, ginger!

Or, House cleaning: How can I use vinegar to clean my home?
Ah, floors!

Or, 3am Self helps: What helps calm down heart burn naturally for pregnant moms?
Ah, that's right! Apple Cider Vinigar. 

 

Now, I've never had a newborn baby before, but I'm far from clueless, I know what's coming. 

 I figure these next 2-ish weeks will give me time to prep some yummy homemade meals that we can enjoy during the baby's first few weeks at home.

 I'm determined not to rely on fast food. That's the last thing my body will need at during those long sleepless nights.

So, I sat down, got on Pinterest and typed this in the search box:

 "easy freezer meals for new moms."

Wooah! What?! 

-Cheesy potato casserole. 

-Chicken broccoli casserole covered in cheese and white sauce.

-Breaded chicken breasts made with Buisquick, cheese and frozen green beans.

-"Healthy" cauliflower casserole covered in Alfredo sauce. 

-peperoni, cheesy, Pizza flavored white pasta casserole. 

Yikes! How can anyone expect new moms to survive on this junk?

 Tons of empty carbs that will do nothing but make you feel tired and depressed and then hungry sooner than they should... Plus add who-knows how many fat pounds to the already undesirable weight gain that happened in the last 9 months. 

So I tried again and typed in: "Healthy meals for new moms." 

Stuff came up like, "use Light ranch" on this dish, and use "gluten free flour" with this cheesy, chicken Alfredo dish. Oh, and "buy lots of Lean Pockets."
Seriously?!?

Not cool man. Not the ideas I was excitedly expecting. Now I'm pretty annoyed. 

So, I've decided to stick to the basics of the Paleo diet and the Clean eating that I  TRY to follow, and come up with my own "healthy dish" ideas for new moms. 

I'll let ya know how it goes once the baby arrives!

So far, I've collected some great (already thought of) ideas HERE, and HERE, and yes, I actually MAKE 90% of the recipes I pin. (I'm not one of those people that just pin stuff to pin stuff).

Some of my favorites have been recipes like, the stuffed Avocado. Filled with quinoa, black beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, cilantro and lime juice. (skip the sour cream, just add more lime juice and pepper.)
...and the Turkey Tacos made from organic ground turkey, onions, herbs, tomatoes, avocado, etc, wrapped in Lettuce instead of flour tortillas. 

...and the shredded zucchini raw food slaw. yumm.
...oh and the raw lemon and coconut dessert balls. Ask Matt. They were insanely yummy!

 

Once you have the basic healthy ingredients down, it's pretty easy to make meals up as you go. Most of the time I just look at what I have available in my fridge and the dish just kinda makes itself. 

No, I am no chef, but Matt claims the food tastes good and, well, no one has died from eating it yet. I mean, if I can get my 2 year old to eat these super healthy meals without covering them in butter and salt, so can you!

Last night for example, while figuring out what to make, I noticed my fridge is pretty empty. But somehow I was still able to make a yummy whole wheat noodle, ground turkey and broccoli Lasanga with organic tomato chunks as the sauce, seasoned only with healthy herbs and grilled onions. 

Brandon downed his bowl and asked for more.

And, we have left overs to freeze! 

See? Who needs Alfredo sauce?! Who needs cheese?!

Usually, green or yellow squash is my go-to filler for casserole dishes, but we're out right now. Broccoli works. Cauliflower and most types of beans or lintels are great fillers too.
 If you want meat, great! Just know what you're buying. Get informed about where your meat is coming from and what it is ACTUALLY made out of. Especially if you're breast feeding or giving it to your kids. 

Tonight's dinner? Scrambled organic eggs with baby spinach leaves and chicken sausages. Because that's what's in the fridge... it's healthy, filling, super quick and easy to throw together. 

Well now, all this lunch and dinner food stuff sounds great. 

But what breakfast?
What about snacks?

Paleo Pancakes are my fav. for breakfast. So easy to make, so yummy, so guilt free. Also, you can make 3 times the batter and fridge or freeze it until ya need it! No sugar, no butter, no flour, no milk. These are amazing, and taste great with nothing but a little apple sauce or fresh fruit on top! (Brandon and I also love these pancakes as easy snacks on the go).

As far as snacks go, I'm not sure how much time I'll have cut up my daily snack fruit bowls with a toddler and an infant sucking up all my time... but I have a very able husband, and he's used a knife before.
He can also spread non-salted peanut butter on rice cakes for me if I need him to.

I'm sure I'm getting some rolled eyes at this point.

 But seriously, if I can work an 8 to 10 hour day, then come home and make a healthy dinner each night, AND do an hour work-out from my P90X or Insanity videos for 3 months straight, I'm pretty sure I can continue a good life style being a stay at home mom with 2 kids. I mean, right? 

In fact, I got myself a little something I like to call "inspiration" at the store the other day. A new work out outfit. Yay!

Mainly, I see all of this as a really good challenge. And I love challenges. Consistency is key, and I'm not ready to give up yet.

While getting our home physically prepared, I've been doing a little of my own Mental Prep as well.

Women like Maria Kang make me want to just continue to "be all I can be". 

I love looking back and thinking, yes, that was hard...but we did it! and no one died.
 
I can't wait to start this new crazy adventure! I want to have lots of energy and lots of fun with my new growing family and this is the best way to make it happen.

       So, c'mon little girl, we're waiting!


 

Presents and Parsley.

Christmas has finally come...

And Finally GONE! 

Wow, busy month! 

I must say, things are 100% more exciting when you have a toddler shout "woooow!" every single morning when you turn on the Christmas tree lights during breakfast.

So much fun. 

So much busy. 

So done!

 

 

Brandon of course got waaay too many toys. Mommy and Daddy are drowning in cars, tools and noisy musical things.
 (no, WE did not buy him any toys, we're too smart for that!)

 But he sure had a fun time opening gifts on Christmas morning!

Now we get to organize all the toys AND all the baby girl's infant stuff. Next week will be my last week at work, and things will slow down a little bit... I think. So I'm hoping she doesn't come before I have some time to really get the bedroom stuff prepared. 

But now, the real update:
 

Matt got me my much desired Juicer for Christmas!!!

I'm completely loving my yummy veggie juice! 

So many fresh, natural vitamins to add to my daily routine. 

There's nothing like being able to feel the power of some major vegetables and fruits in your system. 

(In this juice: Parsley, Carrots, Apples, Lemon, Cucumber, Celery, Kale, Cilantro).

 

...Especially after I got food poisoning from a "healthy choice" Turkey Burger, when we went out to eat after running errands the other day. 

Gross. Sooo gross. Sooo not fun. 

(I truly felt like this is what I had eaten!)

In fact, I'm seriously considering never "eating out" again, unless I know exactly WHERE the restaurant's meat comes from and HOW those animals are raised and WHAT is in the meat.

Want some info that will change your life and probably save your life? 

Matt and I haven't had a chance to watch an actual movie in months... But I love to put on documentaries while I do housework during Brandon's naps. 

I might as well use my time to Get Educated! 

Now...

Turn off those pointless tv shows, get on Netflix or YouTube and go watch "Food Inc." 

America's fast-food chains are literally feeding us Cancer and people are SO unaware!
We don't eat real food anymore and its disgusting. 

You can buy 7 days worth of $1 cheese burgers (made out of stuff you REALLY don't want to know about, and no, it's not just meat), OR you can buy $7 dollars worth of Organic fruit or vegetables or grass fed beef, and live a longer, happier and MUCH healthier life!

Americans are seriously addicted to the MSG and other disgusting GMO chemicals that are put into the majority of our food. 

These addictions are just as bad as smoking! In fact, they're probably worse!

Think about the ACTUAL cause behind everyone's Cancer, High Blood Pressure, Diabetes, etc...

Our health and especially our children's health has to become a higher priority than convenience and temporary taste.  

Feeling the healing power of the veggie detox juice this week is helping me not freak out too much about any side effects of the bad food I ate as far as my baby-girl goes.

I love drinking my veggie juice as an in-between-meals type of power snack.
 

 Not to mention the added energy to my busy days of chasing Brandon around, cleaning, cooking, working, and running errands. 

(in this drink: Celery, Parsley, Cilantro, Spinach, Kale, Collard Greens, Lemon, Pear, and cucumber).
 

I've officially slacked off on all my work-outs and walking for the last 3 weeks.

 I'm so disappointed in myself, but we've been super busy with family stuff and sick toddler stuff...and I never get to sit down to relax anyway, so it's not like I've become a sloth or anything. 

I just reeeeally want to do my P90X videos again! I reeeeally want to feel those muscles burn the next day! 

I would have never thought I'd say this, but:

I can't wait to get active and sweaty again!

 

Summer is coming, and no little baby is going to stop me from getting into my old jean shorts.  :) 

At least we've been able to maintain a semi-healthy diet this last month. No I don't mean "diet" as in we've been starving ourselves... I mean our way of eating.
Diets don't work, I'm not sure why people still start them every Jan. 1st.

 

Just because Christmas was here, doesn't give us an excuse to go all crazy on sugar. And the one day I did, I sure payed for it! 

I got a really annoying cold thanks to my sugary food binge.
 So, then I got mad, (at myself, mostly, for being weak and giving into one yummy second of flavor), and I threw away all the cookies we had left in the house. (now Matt's mad).

Why would I throw away all the cookies? Well, do you wanna change or not? 

Just do it.

After my little temper tantrum in the kitchen, I made some Paleo approved pumpkin cookies that I could really dig into if I needed something to munch on. 

No sugar, no dairy, no processed white flour. Delicious, but without the negative side effects on my body and my baby.


So anyway, Mom and I made a delicious Plant-based meal for our family Christmas, from a new app I bought called "The Whole Pantry App". 

This app was created by a girl who is literally fighting off her Brain Tumor by strictly eating healthy, organic, plant based foods. She inspires me and I love buying anything like this from people who are working hard to change the world for the better.

Yes, I threw in some herb-chicken sausages to give the meal a little filler. 

We figured the men in the house wouldn't appreciate a strictly vegetarian Christmas meal. 

Turns out, these dishes were VERY yummy! And they didn't leave us feeling yucky and lazy afterwards, which is just annoying after the usual heavy Christmas starch-filled meal.

The Garlic mashed-cauliflower was delicious! (Thanks MOM!)

This was the main dish, (the one I added the meat to), made out of tomatoes and basil, with a crust made from crushed hazelnut powder and coconut oil.

We also had an Organic mixed Greens and cranberry salad with lots of Avocado and a cranberry vinaigrette dressing.

For dessert, I made the super-food, antioxidant, Cacao powder "peanut butter cups". Yumm! 

(No sugar needed! Just coconut oil and raw, unsalted peanut butter).

Healthy CAN be done. It takes more time, more effort and a LOT more determination... but is your life worth it? Is your future worth it? Are your children worth it?

                  Well, that's up to you! 

Woke up this morning craving some strawberry/watermelon lemonade.

 I'm out of strawberries but I had a cucumber and a lemon and some watermelon! 

Nothing beats "fresh and homemade!"

     Try it :)


Click here for a GREAT search web site to help you find Local, organic foods, farmers markets, certain foods, healthy places to eat, etc!!
http://www.eatwellguide.org/i.php?pd=Home

*Also, I have a lot of extra links thrown into this blog, take some time and check them out if you can!