ONE!

Brianna turned one last Sunday! We had a party for her at my good friend Serena's house. It was fun. I can't believe she is already 1!!!! It is crazy! On Monday she had her one year check-up. She is 31 inches and 21 lbs. 6 oz. Our pediatrician was a little concerned that her weight dropped off, but I think alot of that is just from her getting so much more active. I doubt that will change between 12 and 15 mos. since she will likely start walking, but hopefully she will have gained enough weight to make her Dr. happy. I am going crazy trying to figure out how to get her to gain weight. She is a good eater, but she LOVES her fruits and veggies. She will eat those first if given a meat, rice, and veggie. It is crazy. Good, but crazy. I am giving her cheese and I started giving her mini bagels with whipped cream cheese. I think I am going to switch yogurts to a yogurt that comes in a bigger size since she will eat yogurt like its going out of style. Yobaby has a 3 in 1 yogurt that has yogurt, fruit puree and vegetable puree all in one container and it comes in a 6oz. size instead of 4 oz like the other yobaby yogurt we normally get. All in all though, we are doing well. Brianna sleeps like a champ 12-14 hours a night, she is starting to get better about napping, she is happy, and brings joy to our lives daily! We are working on trying to wean her. She is down to 2-3 nursings per day, but is hanging on for dear life to those. We decided we will work on it some over Christmas since Mike will be around much more while we are on vacation. We are not going to really push it though until January when we get back. I will leave you with some AMAZING pictures taken by my dear friend Serena Garciadiaz. She is an AHHHH-mazing photographer and loves our family almost as much as we love her. She always finds a way to capture us in a way that really shows our personalities and love for one another. If you need pictures done, I HIGHLY recommend her!

Bad Brakes

It seems like as soon as things are going smoothly for us...SOMETHING happens. This month its the brakes on Mike's car. Last night he was driving into work and suddenly without notice, he heard metal grinding on metal as he tried to stop. Luckily he was able to stop without issue and got to work and home safely. I decided that instead of freaking out about not having the money to get the brakes fixed, I would think outside of the box. Last night I ordered a set of brakes for the front axle and as soon as they get in, we are going to explore the world of fixing our own car. It should be interesting. We have several offers of people to help who have worked on cars before, as well as many phone connections who can offer expertise. I have been searching online for diy tutorials and found several unofficial "Idiots-guide-to-replacing-brake-pads" sites. I am pretty confidant that we can do this. Also, I was doing a friend's hair yesterday and she offered to sell me her elliptical machine! That is the highlight of my week! I am working hard to change my eating habits and feel like I am in a really good place as far as resisting unhealthy foods and planning out my calories so that I stay within my daily range. The one piece that is missing that I would like to add is exercise. Right now it is very hard for me to find the time to exercise. Between my jobs, Mike's job, Mike's classes, the kids and trying to keep up with the house, I literally can't figure out a good time to go. We have a membership to the Recreation Aerobics Center on campus included in tuition, however there is no childcare. We can't afford a gym membership with a child drop. And the few hours a week when Mike is home and I could go to the gym, I feel guilty sacrificing the family time since that is also very limited. So the thought of owning an elliptical machine is almost too good to be true. To be able to workout in the evenings after the kids are in bed and while Mike is at work, or in the morning, or at naptime, or pretty much anytime. I am very excited. I hope it will work out. On another note, it has been cold lately and I have been enjoying having a nice cup of coffee in the evenings once we are in for the night. However, the coffee has been keeping me up at night. My predicament: everything I can think of that doesn't have caffeine in it is much higher in calories than I am willing to ingest in a drink. Does anyone know of a low calorie (less than 50) warm drink that I can enjoy in the evenings during the winter that has no caffeine, and no artificial sweeteners (I have no tolerance for them and get migraines)??? I am not sure it exists, but I would appreciate the suggestions.

14 days and counting!

So, we made it through Thanksgiving! It was a lot of fun, but a lot of stress...my house still isn't completely recovered from it. The food was amazing, and I managed to continue making healthy food choices. All of the recipes were really good and if you want specific reviews or suggestions based on my experience with any of them in particular, just let me know and I will give you my two sense. I am really proud of myself. As of the Thursday before Thanksgiving I had lost 10 pounds. My goal for Thanksgiving was to not gain anything. Somehow even with A LOT of eating out and Thanksgiving dinner and everything, I managed to not gain weight. Not only that, but as of today, I am down another 4 1/2 pounds! My total weight loss to date is 14.5 pounds...over Thanksgiving (actually 3 different Thanksgiving dinners over the course of the month). That is 15.9% of the total amount of weight I want to lose to get down to my goal weight! It gives me hope that when we go home at Christmas it won't be detrimental. I hope. I think I picked the worst time of the year to change my eating habits and lose weight. However, I am hopeful that after the first of the year I should be able to lose a bit easier because there will be less "eating" holidays. I don't know. I am just going to keep going and doing what I am doing. This is about a lifestyle change for me. Things are always going to come up in life that I am going to have to work around. So, I am very excited because two weeks from today we will be on a plane heading for Massachusetts. I am getting more and more homesick by the day! We haven't been back in 2 years. I miss it so much. Today's snowfall only proved to make me MORE homesick...too much like home...luckily it didn't hang around long enough to send me spiraling into a homesick depression. :( This weekend we are getting ready for Bria's first birthday! I can't believe she is almost 1! I will write more about that later, but I am very excited about it! I will leave you with a picture of MK, Bria, and my niece and nephew: Haylie and Jeremiah. They are all in matching pjs and are so cute! It was fun to see everyone and get the babies together!

Yummy!

Tomorrow we have our Thanksgiving Feast at Travis Ave Christian Early Learning Center. My two year olds are dressing up as Indians and the 3 and 4 year olds are dressing up as pilgrims. Mary Kate is so excited! I am too. All of the parents are coming and then everyone is bringing food. So, tonight I finished up some crafts that my classroom made that I needed to assemble. Then, I made my dish for the Feast. I decided to take advantage of this opportunity to do a practice run of one of the new Thanksgiving dishes. So, I made the Cauliflower Puree. It smelled sooooo good. I can't wait. The recipe I have is for just one serving, so I had to multiply it alot and as a result there was a little too much liquid, but it is not so much that it ruins it. I tried a bite and It was so yummy. If you look at the recipe I made some changes that I am happy with...First, I used roasted garlic instead of raw garlic; Second, I used vegetable broth instead of Chicken broth (I think the veggie broth has A LOT more flavor!); and third, I left out the cream in order to make it healthier. All in all, I think it is great and I am excited to make it for my family! On another note, I am doing great with eating healthier. I have lost 10 pounds now. 10 Lbs!!! In a week and a half! I am really excited. Not just about the weight loss, but also because I really am developing a completely new outlook on food and eating. I find myself mindlessly gravitating to healthy foods, being not only satisfied, but full on only a little over half the calories I once ate in a day, and overall uninterested in greasy foods, fast foods, and generally unhealthy foods. I don't miss them. At all! I appreciate all the prayers and support! Keep it up, I know it is helping.

Thanksgiving Dinner

We are very excited for Thanksgiving this year because unlike last year, I am not 39 weeks pregnant, and unlike the year before, we will not be all alone. My parents are coming down for the week of Thanksgiving and my sisters will be here as well. It will be nice to all be together. Since Mike and I are working hard at eating right, I decided to to a Non-Traditional Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner. I am going to make Traditional Thanksgiving flavors in Non-Traditional (and Healthier) ways. So, I thought I would share my menu with you:

Herb Rubbed Turkey with Roasted Garlic Gravy
Acorn Squash with Wild Mushroom and Cranberry Stuffing
Roasted Green and White Asparagus
Cauliflower Puree
Mixed Greens Salad with Pecans and Craisins
Sweet Potato Rolls

I linked them all so you could check them out yourself. They sound DELICIOUS!!! We aren't making as many dishes, but they will be good...and who really needs 4 variations off potatoes anyways. Happy planning on all of your Thanksgiving dishes and love to hear your ideas as well!

Finallly Focused

I have always struggled with my weight. My mom struggled with hers and pretty much every woman on both sides of my family have struggled as well. I say this not as an excuse, but as a little background information. I have known that I needed to lose weight for a while now and have tried in the past to no avail. Not because I couldn't, but because I was never actually focused on it. I knew what I needed to do, but never had the willpower to do it. I would always fail and give in at some point. It was never a lifestyle change, It was never an act of Faith...It was always very prideful and self-confident, although for the life of me, I don't know why since I never succeeded. After I had Bria I lost 30 lbs. It was easy. It just melted away after she was born. It was great, and I was confident. And where I haven't gained any of it back, I haven't lost anymore either. I keep saying, "I need to get more focused on my diet" or "I need to watch what I eat" or other things, but I never actually committed to do anything. To be honest, I really had NO idea what the nutritional value of most of the foods I ate were. Last Saturday It hit me and I knew I had to change. In our cell groups at church we are doing a study on "Life's Healing Choices: Freedom from your hurts, habits, and hangups" and last week (or was it two weeks ago) in the study the Rick Warren made a statement that willpower should be called won'tpower...cheesy I know, but his point was that we CANNOT change our own lives. We need to relinquish control of our lives and count on God for strength to get over what we are struggling with. Wow, I tell Mary Kate all the time that she is a "can-do kid," that she CAN DO all things through Christ who gives her strength and if she is struggling with something, she should ask him for help and trust that he will help her. I obviously will help her too, but I want her to receive her confidence from Him! So why don't I listen to my own advice. I need to trust him to give me the strength to change my lifestyle and set a positive example for my children. So, I signed up for Sparkpeople, It is a website that helps you reach your weightloss goals by encouraging healthy living and helping you track your food consumption and activities. I started this on Sunday and I have been overwhelmed by the change that has occurred in my mind already. It is like all of a sudden I don't even want to eat the things I used to eat or drink. I have been eating a 1200-1500 calorie diet balanced 30-30-40 for carbs-fat-protein since Sunday morning. I have lost 4 pounds. I am hesitant to get excited about this, but I am excited. I have never been focused like this before. I know it is because I am depending on Christ to change not only my physical appearance, but my heart and mind towards food. I am trusting him to help me change my lifestyle and make me and my family more healthy. Pray for me to stay focused and trust God during this time as I seek freedom from this habit/hangup/unhealthy lifestyle. I will try to keep posting about my progress!

My baby is growing up!

I feel old. Mary Kate learned how to tie a shoe this week. Here's a video of it.