5 On Friday

Long time no see!  We’ve had quite the eventful past couple of weeks.  First the kids were hit with ear and sinus infections and then we all got hit with Norovirus. Worst thing EVER! If you get hit with it, Bleach and Lysol are the only things that will kill it. I've done a lot of research! 

I decided to ease my way back in and I’m linking up with Darci, April, Christina and Natasha for Five on Friday!

1.)  My new IPHONE.

Somehow, Jordan lost my Galaxy s3. We tore our house apart more than once looking for it and it still hasn't turned up anywhere.  After almost a week of no phone (which made me so nervous with Olivia's severe food allergies), I got a new one.   I really liked the Galaxy and I loved my phone plan.  I've had a T-Mobile employee line for over 5 years (My husband used to own 6 stores). We haven't owned one in a couple of years, but my line was still active.  You can't beat $26 a month for unlimited everything.  We couldn't afford another $600 cell phone and I didn't want to give instagram!  It was only a matter of time before they caught up with us, so I signed up with AT&T and got an Iphone5s.  I really like it so far!  I just miss my unlimited data and my $26 phone bill.  At least my husband still has his, for now. 


2.) Shin Splints are also the worst thing EVER!

I was doing C25k until we got sick and I took a 2.5 week hiatus from the gym.  I’ve been going every day since last Saturday and started up on Week 1 again.  It’s been going really great, but as I figured I have the wrong shoes.   I have extremely high arches and I underpronate (supinate), and my shoes do not make me feel great after a run!  I have shin splints like you wouldn’t believe and after my interval workout on the treadmill last night, it is killing me to walk .  Anyone have any suggestions for shin splints?  I bought some new sneakers that were highly recommended for my type of feet/gait, so I’m hoping they help! I want to keep running.

3.) Stitch Fix

I got my 3rd Stitch Fix this month.  I think they are getting better and better as time goes on. I liked everything out of this fix, except one item.  I only kept one thing though. This awesome Elephant blouse.  I love the cut of it and how it fits.  I also think that even if I lose weight, it will still look good a little loose.  I want more of them, but from what I’ve been reading Hawthorne 41 is their brand and you can’t find it in stores.

4.) Terrible Three’s

Not to scare any mom’s that haven’t hit three yet, but three is AWFUL! I thought Jordan was bad at two, he’s even worse at three.  The tantrums, the screaming are 10 million times worse than 2 was.  Yesterday, he spent 30 minutes straight screaming because I wanted to change his poopy pull up.  He screamed in the car because we passed the airport and I said it wasn’t time to pick up Grandma yet. He has also become the destroyer of all things.  I can’t even go to the bathroom without something getting ruined.  Our house constantly looks like a tornado went through!  The other day, I took eggs out to hard boil them.  I went to go keep Olivia from climbing something and turned back around to him smashing the eggs one by one on the floor.  He smashed 10 of them. I had just mopped. Ugh, I hope for my sanity that this goes away soon.

5.) Olivia is not a baby anymore!

She is officially 100% a toddler.  She talks up a storm, her baby laugh is gone, and she doesn’t look like a baby anymore.  Girlfriend loves the Gym childwatch!  We were waiting our turn yesterday and someone opened the door to the childwatch and she ran in and the other day when I went to pick her up, she saw me through the windows and said “No No No” while shaking her head and finger at me.   I guess she didn’t want to go home.

A Photo An Hour.

 Last week, Steph from Southern Mess had a fun post called A Photo An Hour.  She decided to host a link up with Meg. O from Meg O. on the Go to have everyone else join in on the fun.

My day can be pretty hectic/boring, but I thought this sounded really fun.  Some photos were taken with my camera and some with my phone.

I woke up before the kids. It's a miracle. I spent some time drinking the green juice I made last night (Kale, Kiwi, Pineapple, Mint) and a coffee.  I sat down with my devotional and my bible study book to get some uninterrupted time in.

The kids are up, so I made them some breakfast.

I attempt to put on makeup and get dressed

I have to unlock Olivia from the bathroom because Jordan locked her in while I ran to the basement to grab some clothes. How he managed to lock her in while he was out of the bathroom, I have no idea. The skeleton key wouldn’t work so I had to take apart the door.

My makeup is finally done and I’m dressed, which means I put on a clean tee and clean leggings.

I’m going stir crazy because I haven’t been to the gym in a week because the kids have been sick so I try and get in a workout. It was a success.  I loved the Love Your Body HIIT workout workout from Tone It Up.  (My booty is still sore this morning!)

I make some lunch for everyone, homemade mini pizzas.

I attempt to put little munchkins down for a nap. I was not successful.

Jordan’s doing the usual, destroying the playroom. He’s pretending his safari truck is a lobster and yes, he is wearing his rash guard and swimsuit.  He said he wanted to wear it so we could go to Long Island on a long long drive to go see Grandpa and Grandma and go in their pool.

I attempt to clean up my office/sewing/guest room so we can put the new bed in.  (I wasn’t that successful  and I swear it really isn't "that" bad, the pictures make it look a lot worse.)

I start doing some meal prep.  I’m making spaghetti squash for dinner and I decided to try out the oven method for hardboiled eggs.  It turned out pretty good.

Jordan passed out right before 6, so Olivia and I are having fun playing in the kitchen while we wait for Tj to get home.

 Olivia gets a bath and then goes to bed. Somehow her brother is still sleeping (and slept until 8 am this morning!)

Sparkly shoes can make any bad day better.  I'm also a million times more productive when I wear these around the house. 

 I find Wickett curled up in his new favorite spot, the kitchen sink.

I decided to take an Epsom Salt bath and go to bed!

This was a really great idea.  I'll have to remember this so I can do another one!

2014 Goals

I’m a little late on the blogger bandwagon of sharing my goals for the year. Better late than never.

I try not to overload myself too much but I always like having goals to strive towards.  I try and break them down into categories.  Here are my goals and a few cute picture of my kids.

Personal:

Be present more: In this day and age with all of the technology, I want to be more present with my kids and my husband and spend less time with technology when I am around them.

Faith: I want us to be more active in our church.  My son goes to Sunday School every week, but us actually making it to church is hit or miss.  I also want to start doing some bible studies. I’m a part of one right now that starts tomorrow. I’m pretty excited for it.

Self Care:  I’ve already touched on this subject last week.  I want to take care of myself better, so that I can be better equipped to take care of those around me.  So far this goal is working out well.  I have been trying to care out time for myself here and there.  I got my hair cut (for the first time in 9 months), I have taken a few bubble baths and put on my favorite masks. I also want to improve my health.

Run a Half Marathon:  This is pretty self explanatory.  My goal is to run one half marathon this year.  I wanted to try and run the Buffalo Half Marathon at the end of May, but if that one doesn’t pan out. I plan on running in the Mighty Niagara Half that’s up by Niagara Falls.

Blogging:

• I want to increase my followers to 100.
• I want to be consistent with posts 4-5 days a week..
• Plan ahead- I don’t want to be writing posts last minute.  I’d like to write them and stock pile them up to be published so I don’t feel so rushed and flustered.
• I would love to be in a place to accept sponsorships/ad space.

Professionally:

• Open Etsy Shop- This is been a goal of mine for a while now.  This year I am going to make it happen!
• Take Photography and editing classes.
• Open a Photography business- I would love to be able to do family pictures, events, newborns and maternity shots.  Not necessarily to make a ton of money, but to be able to do something I have a passion for and to be able to support my hobby.

 So what are some of your goals?  

#GetFitAndFab

Going along with my post from last week., I’ve been trying really hard to take care of myself and my body.

So far, this week has gone really well.  I made it to the gym 3x.  I planned to go everyday, except Sunday, but my kids got sick and I didn’t want to infect the entire daycare.  When I go to the gym, I’ve been trying to get my cardio in, which includes my C25k that I’ve started to prepare for my 1/2 marathon. I’ve also been doing some of the workouts from Tone It Up.  This week, I also plan on starting up some Barre workouts online from Barre3.

I’ve been doing much better on nutrition too! We’ve been juicing and I made up some quick and easy Burrito bowl lunches for us to just grab and go.

The juice I made had apples, pears, kiwi, celery, carrots and a couple of strawberries.  It was delicious.

I also took some time to myself.  I did an at home micro dermabrasion kit and put on one of my favorite Lush face masks (Mask of Magnaminty) while I took a long bubble bath.

This coming week, I plan on taking  new yoga class, working on my cardio and getting 100+ ounces of water daily. If I complete all my goals this week, I’m going to treat myself to a new piece of workout clothes.

I’m linking up with Brittany from Happy is A Choice and Sam from Life Style Love.

Guilty.

Before kids, 9 times out of 10, your #1 focus is on yourself.  You make time to stay in shape.  You make time to get massages or facials.  You put yourself first.

Then it happens, you give birth and see your child for the first time, that you love more than anything. Something changes, instead of focusing on yourself, your entire life begins to revolve around that little human being.  You stay up late with diaper changes and feedings, you’re typically covered in spit-up, you can’t remember the last time you showered or brushed your teeth. The next thing you know, you’re looking at yourself in a mirror and you don’t recognize yourself. It wasn’t as bad after baby #1, but once Olivia came around, I was 100% guilty of this.  I still am and Olivia is 18 months old.  

I was reading reading one of my favorite blogs, The Naptime Diaries, and came across a blog post that she wrote titled 5 reasons mamas don't take care of themselves. Something clicked in me after reading that post, that in order to take care of my family, my friends and others around me, I need to take  care of myself first.  Self care is much more important that you realize.  One of my goals for this year was to start taking care of myself.  When  you take care of yourself, you are more confident and happier. I want to be happier, I want to take care of myself and to be a good role model for my daughter as she grows up. 

For the rest of January, I am going to really focus on getting in some me time.  I want to start going to bed at a reasonable time, so I can start waking up early. I want to be able to have some un-interrupted time to be able to have some time with God, to focus on my bible studies.  I want to go to the gym and eat to fuel my body. Not necessarily with the goal of losing weight (but that would be a great bonus!), but to become healthier and to help relieve some of my most recent symptoms (I’m allergic to something and have “attacks” weekly. but we can’t pinpoint what it is).   I want my children to have a role model in being healthy and in being in touch with their faith.  

This is my year.

Bye Bye Bye

Babies.  They’re all cute, tiny and snuggly. They steal your heart the first time you lay eyes on them.

What everyone doesn’t really tell you is what they do to you after they are here, especially when you have two close in age (Ours are a little less than 22 months apart).   I’m sure most mamas can relate.  The extra skin, the foggy “baby brain”, the bags under your eyes and sometimes you even come up with weird random allergies after you have them (Bye Bye Seafood) .  It’s all 100% worth it though!

After my son was born, I lost all but around 10 pounds.  I was really motivated because my (now) husband and I got married right before our son’s 1st birthday.  We got pregnant with Olivia right after our wedding.   I was on bed rest most of my pregnancy and while I didn't gain that much weight (25 pounds the day I delivered, same with my son) I’m still working to get rid of it.

Our Wedding Day

I breastfed my daughter for 6 months (She had major allergies and I couldn't survive on bland turkey and rice anymore) and the entire time I was pregnant and right after I had her, all I heard was “if you breastfed, you’ll lose that weight so fast”.   I didn't lose a single pound, not even after I stopped nursing her.   A few months ago, we joined a gym and I was working out 5 days a week and eating clean and didn't see a single change in either my measurements or on the scale.  It was extremely discouraging.  

I think (as well as my doctor, we’re just waiting for results) that it may be due to a thyroid issue.  Now 15 months into baby #2, this mama is ready to finally get rid of it.  So it’s back to the drawing board. Back to square one.  Someday I would like to have a baby # 3 someday, I know, call me crazy.  I don’t want to have to worry about packing on even more weight.

The sad thing is, I could hardly find a single photo of myself since having my daughter and barely any since having my son.  I don't want that.  I know that I'm the main photographer, but it's alarming that there are absolutely no photos, and I don't even think we've taken a family photo taken in the past 15 months.

So it’s off to the gym for us tomorrow and back to water, veggies galore and lean protein and protein shakes (If I can ever find one that's not processed anywhere near shellfish and without iodine).

Every week, I'm going to come up with a few "goals" I have in mind for myself.   I'll report back at the end of the week on what goals I accomplished.

For this week, my goals are:

1. Drink more water
2. Start Chalean Extreme 
3. Go to the Gym twice