scary halloween happenings

This morning, I fed the baby and got up really quietly to take a shower in hopes the babe would go back to sleep and I wouldn’t wake up the toddler. Husband was gone to work. I’m in the shower, when the bathroom door opens, then closes. I hope it’s my toddler! Finally after it opens and shuts a few times, here comes my NAKED two-year-old. Of course I ask him why he’s naked and he tells me he had an accident and his bed’s wet. Good Friday morning!

Then, the second “scary” thing of the morning…I totally forgot to dress up! I mean, it didn’t even cross my mind until I got to work this morning and saw other people dressed up. I knew it was Halloween and I had intended to dress up, but I just plain forgot in the rush this morning.

Today is my late grandpa Bill’s birthday. Freaky, huh?

scary sore!

We were both smiling under our masks…then we realized it didn’t matter because you can’t see our faces! Duh!

My friend and co-worker Michaela took my class this morning and we both wore masks getting started. We had to shed them in order to breathe during the workout, though. It was HARD and I’m going to be SORE tomorrow (and probably Friday, too)! If you missed it, here’s the workout from yesterday’s post. Both of us ended up taking BodyPump yesterday evening. Well, I ended up TEACHING it instead of taking it. I wasn’t planning on it, but the instructor had an emergency and I filled in. It was fun. Tomorrow will be a rest day for me, but I hope to jog and swim Friday. I did end up swimming 14 laps this morning after class – I’ve been out of the pool for two weeks, which is too long.

19 signs you’re a foodie fanatic

I got this in an email today and liked it so I thought I would share (check out the article online to see cute little animated images). If you’re not familiar with Take Part, check them out! I’ve bolded the ones that apply to me and added a few notes along the way. 🙂

The eating habits of Americans are changing. Kids no longer cry for Happy Meals, people who aren’t hippies are reaching for Kombucha instead of soft drinks, and organic grocery stores are popping up in the most unlikely places. Last month, McDonald’s saw its biggest slump in sales in 10 years. Other food industry giants, such as General Mills, are taking note.

Obesity rates are still soaring, and the government still needs to better regulate Big Ag, but there’s plenty to celebrate, thanks to a growing community of conscious food consumers. So really, there’s no shame in being particular about what you eat. Here we list 19 signs you’re a foodie fanatic.

1. You own all of Michael Pollan’s books. (I own one…)
2. You think Monsanto is pretty much the worst company in the world.
3. You have strong feelings about GMOs—and your friends (and some strangers) know it.
4. You obsessively check food labels, and you know which ones are bogus.
5. You roll your eyes at beef that’s not grass-fed.
6. You consult a phone app before eating seafood to check if it’s sustainable. (I probably would if I had a smartphone).
7. You jumped for joy when Ben & Jerry’s announced it was going GMO-free.
8. You have an excessive number of reusable bags on hand at all times.
9. You have a garden.
10. You spend a lot of time perusing restaurant menus and peppering waiters with questions.
11. Watching your friends gobble up junk food physically pains you.
12. You freak out when you oversleep and miss the farmers market.
13. You ask baristas where the coffee beans come from and whether they have hemp or quinoa milk.
14. You started drinking coconut water before everyone else did (and are now considering maple water). (I just cannot get on the coconut water bandwagon…it’s so gross to me, no matter how good it is for you).
15. You love Trader Joe’s.
16. You get irrationally angry about food mash-ups and wish you lived in simpler times.
17. You spend most of your money buying organic everything.
18. You Instagram every meal. (Again, I probably would if I had a smartphone). 
19. You’re considering naming your child Kale…or Quinoa. (I have a friend whose dog’s names are Basil and Olive!)

http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/09/12/19-signs-youre-foodie-advocate?cmpid=tpfood-eml-2014-09-13-foodie#article-comments

i’m back

Holding my sweet baby Elam

I’m back…back to work and hopefully back to blogging a bit. What have I been doing? Spending a lot of time holding a baby and chasing a 2 year old. But, I returned to work last week, so now I am back to being a lifeguard, personal trainer and hopefully group exercise instructor in October.

I’ve missed blogging and have had a million ideas of what I could blog about, but never could find the time to actually sit down and write it out. But now that I’m back to work, I can get my thoughts out during my breaks and such.

Baby is doing well and is already 7 weeks old, which is hard to believe. His brother likes him and is good to  him, so that makes my life easier. Having two small kids is chaotic and I thank God that I have a good husband to help me out.

I really enjoyed my break and bonding with my boys. I miss spending time with them already. My older son started preschool two days a week last week and that went well, thankfully. Here’s a shot my sister caught of him on Labor Day weekend playing with an old Halloween decoration we had in the yard…

Ezra and the skull

Now, it’s time to get back into shape (just did a good 20 minute workout) and get back into a groove. And, get back into meal planning/cooking. I really miss eating well, so that’s one of my biggest goals. Here goes nothing!

God still speaks

I picked up this new sign for my house a Wisteria’s Gifts in Fayetteville, WV on Friday when my husband and I spent the day ziplining for our 11th wedding anniversary (we had a really great time). When I read what it said, I just about cried it touched me so much. I just had to splurge and by the thing. It fits perfectly by the sliding glass door between the kitchen and dining room.

Recently, our preacher mentioned hearing the voice of God. I have to admit that I hear God talking to me on a regular basis. Just like with anything else, to hear something, you have to be listening for it. I’m not perfect and I don’t listen nearly well enough, but last week, I felt God leading me to go see our neighbors.

They are a  young couple that lost their 24 week old fetus about two weeks ago. The mom had to deliver this still born baby, which they then named and buried. I just had a burden on my heart to go introduce myself (I hadn’t yet met them) and take them dinner or something. Well, before I got to it, God sent them to me.

Yesterday, I was at my in-laws house when the couple showed up bearing a gift for our 3 week old son…a baby outfit. Now, isn’t that the sweetest, most heart-breaking thing you’ve heard lately? Here they are, bringing a baby gift when they just lost their baby (this was the second still born, by the way).

The young lady got to hold our new baby and she seemed so happy to do so. We talked about her two miscarriages and I was getting ready to tell her things are going to be ok when she said, “I know God has a plan for me.” Now, isn’t that something? I did invite them both to church since she said they don’t have a home church at this point.

The Sunday School lesson for this upcoming week is “Victorious Faith: God will strengthen and restore me.” It points out that “When you’re down and out, cliches are the last thing you need. (Hang in there, Roll with the punches, etc.) This lesson really made me thing of this young couple. One of the verses of scripture is “Casting all your cares upon him; for he careth for you.” 1 Peter 5:7.

I’m so thankful to be so blessed, but I have to take time to stop and consider those around me who aren’t. Then, reach out to them.

a new normal

Little Elam is 2 weeks old today and our family is settling into a new normal. Ezra is a great big brother. Yesterday, he shared his building blocks and asked “Can I touch his leg?” It was very sweet. Thankfully, my husband has had 2 weeks off work and still has one more before it’s back to the daily grind. I am off until the week of Labor Day, thankfully. Physically, I feel almost back to my old self again and my stomach is quickly disappearing. I took a 20 minute walk yesterday for the first time since Elam arrived and it felt good. I hope to keep walking a few times a week and incorporate some light strength training as well. Need to get some of this jiggly tightened up!

My garden is producing an abundance of tomatoes and those sunflowers are even more gorgeous. I’m so glad I decided to have a garden and that it’s turned out so well. I have a few zucchini still coming out and there are some butternut squash ripening nicely. I found a watermelon the vine that’s about 2 inches around, so we’ll see if it turns into anything. I found a recipe for crock pot spaghetti sauce I’m going to try with all these tomatoes so they don’t go to waste.

I’m so thankful for the blessings the good Lord has given me. It’s like the song my son has learned to sing…

This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made
I will rejoice, I will rejoice and be glad in it

Rejoice and be glad today!

One of the gorgeous sunflowers in my garden

Ezra sharing his blocks with Elam

Elam’s Sunday afternoon nap

The bumble bees love the sunflowers

sonflowers

Yes, I know that it’s spelled “sunflowers”, but I wanted to incorporate my sons into it as well. I have the most beautiful sunflowers starting to bloom in my garden. At the same time, I have the two most wonderful sons a mother could ask for. Little Elam is now 6 days old, which is hard to believe. He’s the best baby – nurses and sleeps like a charm. He’s starting to wake up a little more each day and it’s nice to see his little eyes taking in the world. Here are some recent shots of my first week off from work on maternity leave…

My favorite sunflower shot

Entertaining Ezra before we left the hospital

Our family of four

The boys fell asleep on the way home from the hospital

My big zucchini with my little boy

Our tiny little watermelon that started growing and got stepped on

Father and son taking down the fence

Bright eyed Elam

Ezra holding Elam

My vine ripe tomatoes

My little flower child…

…wears a tough truck shirt

My mom (MeMe) with Elam

nesting? perhaps.

I left work at 1:30 today to come home and take a nap, which I did…for 2 hours! My mom has my son today, so I thought I would take advantage of a little “me” time before this baby gets here. It’s decided to incubate at least till its due date (tomorrow) and I’d been wanting to bake up some zucchini bread since the garden is being generous.

First, I made a blackberry peach cobbler that I’d made last year. Then, I made a double batch of zucchini bread. Next, I cleaned up the house and lastly, finished packing my hospital bag. I’m getting ready to light into dinner for my husband and me. I hope he’s as tickled as I am when he gets home to a clean house and the smell of fresh baked goodies! I think this might be my sudden burst of energy that folks talk about before you go into labor. Who the heck knows? I thought I’d have this baby by now! 🙂

I had forgotten about something my son said this morning. He got up early (around 5:45 am) and came to get in bed with me (his daddy was already gone to work). He had been laying there a few minutes when he took out his paci (still trying to kick that habit) and said “I like you.” Now, doesn’t that mean the world to a mommy? It sure did to me.

Enjoy some photos of what I was up to this evening and a visit to a friend’s house the other day.

My son feeding a mule that was 100 times his size at a friend’s house the other day

My mom-in-law caught this very flattering shot of me getting “wallered” by my son while petting the friend’s dog.

Rain drops on the friend’s pond

My messy kitchen while baking this afternoon

Prepping the blackberry peach cobbler

Ah, fresh peaches!

Almost ready for the oven!

The black and blue berries spilled out creating a neat little scene

Freshly grated zucchini in the bread batter

I got 3 baking dishes full of zucchini bread!

My clean living room

And clean kitchen

Hospital bag is packed and I have a gift of 3 plastic dinosaurs for my son when he comes to see his new sibling in the hospital.

Our guest bathroom is clean too. Don’t you love that shower curtain?

The baby’s room is packed to the gills.

My son’s room is all straightened up too.

2014 goals – where am i?

So, it’s July 11 already. Isn’t that hard to believe?! That means we’re more than half through the year. I’d been thinking about blogging about my 2014 goals I set back in January when I ran across the print out I’d made. I’ve been cleaning my work desk all morning getting ready to be out on maternity leave. Here’s where I stand on what I had set for myself this year:

1. Spend more quiet time with God – So far, so good. I’m still not where I want to be, but I do believe I’m doing better than I ever have. I do MAKE (not FIND) time to read my Bible, but there’s always room for improvement. I need to spend more time in prayer, but I’ve definitely improved on my Bible reading.
2. Help lead at least one person to Christ – As of today, I can’t say anyone has been “saved” directly because of me, but I’m trying to be a better witness. I still have a LONG way to go with this, but I’m really trying.
3. Be more positive toward my husband – For the most part, I feel I’ve improved. I try to give out more compliments and praise. The funny thing is, he seems to be doing the same to me. Is it reciprocal or coincidence?
4. Gain no more than 30 pounds during this pregnancy – I’m less than 7 days away from my due date and I’m right at 30 pounds, so I feel like I have this one in the bag!
5. Get back to 155 pounds by the end of the year – I think I will be able to obtain this since I didn’t go overboard during this pregnancy.
6. Perform at least 1 pull up by the end of the year – I put that one on hold until I get back from maternity leave…
7. Win the weight loss competition – I did win round one earlier this year – my ladies were fantastic! We didn’t win the second round, but it was so close and my gals were really happy with their results.
8. Add 3 more regular personal training clients – I did pick up a new gal, but she’s fizzled out on me a bit. I think I can still pick up a couple when I come back from maternity leave.
9. Continue to improve my diet – I have to admit, I’m kind of stuck in a rut on that one. I’ve been eating too much sugar, but I try to eat well for the most part. Thankfully, my garden is doing well so I’ve been eating lots of fresh squash and lettuce!
10. Grow a small garden – Oh, boy! This has been the most fun for me. I’m so tickled with how it’s coming along. I have bunches of green tomatoes on which I’m waiting for. I’ve really enjoyed the garden and plan to expand it next year.
11. Potty train our son – He’s coming along (recent blog post talked about this one). I think by the end of the year, we’ll have this one in the bag.

Well, that does it for now! I’m on track, but we’ll see how the year finishes up.

squash blossoms & new recipes to try

My garden is coming along so well! I told my dad I had blooming squash or cucumbers (I didn’t label what I planted like a good gardener would), so he told me a yellow-orange blossom is probably squash. I couldn’t remember which was in that row (yellow or zucchini), but he told me to look behind the blossom and I should see the squash. Isn’t he a smart man? It’s my very first ever zucchini from my very first ever garden!!!

Right now, it’s only about 3 or 4 inches long, but I bet it will be ripe for the picking in no time. I’m kind of excited about having a bunch of zucchini because I like to eat it. Plus, I found a neat Blueberry Zucchini Bread recipe I’d like to try.

Check out the other things I have coming up in my garden…

Sunflowers, butternut squash, and yellow squash

Tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers.

Romaine lettuce

Purple potatoes (I mean, purple through and through!)

Not pictured: watermelon and cantaloupe, but they’re still pretty small.

I have been on a kick trying new recipes and thought I would share a few with you:

• Overnight Blueberry French Toast – made this for my Father’s Day breakfast in addition to the breakfast pizza I’ve made before. It was delicious! I made 1/2 the recipe and we had enough to eat again this morning.
• Lemon Lime Avocado Pie – this was the easiest, coolest recipe! You just put all the stuff in the blender and then pour in a graham cracker pie crust. I thought it was very tasty and I felt less guilty for eating it thanks to the avocado! And it’s GREEN, let me tell you. It would be perfect for St. Patty’s Day. I finished it off today and it wasn’t as bright green, but it wasn’t brown either.
• Quinoa Salad – I made this for my mom today when she came out to visit. She’s somewhat vegan and we both really liked it. This recipe isn’t the exact same as what I used, but I can’t find the one I had online. My version just has quinoa, cherry tomatoes, corn, edamame, lime juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

I had planned to make up my freezer meals today for when baby arrives, but I’m going to take a little nap first (while the toddler naps). If the feeling hits, I’ll get to it in a little bit. I bought all the stuff Saturday, so I really need to get with it, huh?

Before I go, I must share a beautiful shot of my  husband and son from Father’s Day. The both looked so handsome ready for church and I caught this picture while they were walking through the yard going to the car. My son had picked some weed and was telling his dad all about it. I love these two fellows so much!

My husband and his “mini me”. Cute plaid outfit courtesy of my sister Rachel.