motivation

I have been wanting to lose weight for about 2 years now, and after having a baby, I need it now more than ever. I have definitely put on some weight since last summer. Every day I tell myself I need to do it, but I never seem to have the motivation to do it. so since I'm on pinterest all the time, I typed in motivation. I found a couple good ideas, my favorite one was a motivation wall. I found a lot of exercises I didn't know about, a few quotes and printed them out. I also put a countdown to my goal weight so I can cross off the pounds as I go. Today is day 2, I have been trying to eat healthier and each morning I have been doing a 20 minute workout with my 10 lb. medicine ball. I really want to focus ab workouts but have been doing a little bit of everything. I just hope I don't give up after a week like I always do.

1/27/14
okay. today was my fourth day working out, and I gotta say, I am truly excited. Last night, at 8 after my daughter went to bed I walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes. It ended up being 1.5 miles and I know it isn't much but I'm just starting out. I found a great playlist on youtube that got me all pumped up and I was even dancing and hopping and working out my arms while I was walking. I have been trying really hard to eat healthy, but I'm a really picky eater so it's very difficult at times.


1/28/14
last night my daughter didn't go to bed until 8:30 and after that I was going to walk on the treadmill but I was so tired I decided to get a good night sleep so I was more rested for tomorrows workout so I read my book for 10 minutes and went to bed. This mornings workout was the hardest so far. The medicine ball felt extra heavy and every workout wore me out. I am doing a 30 day arm challenge that I failed today so I will have to redo it tomorrow. I checked my weight last night and its a good thing I started because I gained another pound. I know it will take months before the weight comes off more easily and faster too. So I'm going to stay off the scale for a while.


3/3/14
It has been a while since I've gotten to write about my weight loss goals. The past few weeks, I've had major setbacks. First I got my period, and afterwards, I was drained. I had no energy. Then my daughter got sick. She has been such a handful. My fiance has been working a lot of overtime so I've had my hands full with her. Then my fiance was sick last week, and this week I'm sick. So, it has been like two or three weeks since I've fully worked out. I was still trying to do some elliptical workouts when I could fit them in.

Anyways, I've redid my motivation board, I'll have to post pictures and I got to cross off 10 lbs! Lets just say, after that 10 lbs, I haven't gotten to cross off anymore :( I'm still motivated though and told my fiance that as soon as we're all feeling better I'm gonna work my butt off! I have been doing decent with eating healthy and haven't had a pop in over a month.

confession time: we were all feeling poopy today and Katlyn wanted to get McDonalds for lunch, so I said OK. It was a mistake, I ate 2 mcdoubles, and a medium fry!! That was almost 1200 calories! But I was craving mcdonalds and still don't know how to say no when it comes to eating out. When it's in my house, I can control what I have in my fridge and pantry. Eating out is a whole other story. I told Katlyn he's my downfall! He's supposed to be my helper.

our day

Well we just had chili leftovers and they were way better than last night! It thickened up from sitting all night. Even my mom asked me how I got it so thick and said it was really good. (She wouldn't admit it was better than hers) haha. And now we are just sitting around watching TV all day. We are watching Grimm season 2. Thankfully me and my fiance have the same taste in TV shows, although not much else in common.  What do you do with your family all day? I've always been curious what other people do with their lives? My fiance works a block shift on Wednesday at 7am til Friday at 3 pm so he is home a lot with me and we just sit around and watch TV. And of course I play with my little munchkin all day. She has been extra wound up lately. I've been having a lot of fun with her. She's trying a lot of new things and its awesome to watch her learn. I've actually been introducing sign language to her. I only know a few basic signs but I read that it will lead to less tantrums if they have a way to communicate what she wants or needs since she doesn't know how to put it to words yet. If your interested, here's a few basic ones to try out.

2.1 Mom

Parents are the most important people in a baby’s life, so mom and dad make great starter signs.
Mom is signed by taking your open dominant hand and tapping the thumb against your chin.

Mom in Sign Language

2.2 Dad

The signs for mom and dad are similar, however, the mom sign is performed on the chin and the dad sign is performed higher up on the forehead.
Dad is signed by taking your open dominant hand and tapping it against your forehead.

Dad in Sign Language

2.3 Eat

Babies are very interested in signs related to food, making eat and milk good starter signs. The sign for eat looks like you are holding some food and bringing it to your mouth. To sign eat, hold your fingers and thumbs together, then move them toward and then away from your mouth.

Eat in Sign Language

2.4 Milk

The sign for milk looks like you are milking a cow. You start with an open hand, then you make it into a fist, then open the hand again and repeat. You can use the same sign for breast milk, formula, or cow’s milk depending on which one you are using at the time.

Milk in Sign Language

2.5 Dog

We end with a fun sign, dog. Take your dominant hand and pat it against your leg as if you are calling a dog.

Dog in Sign Language

one year old meal ideas

Since my daughter started drinking whole milk and eating real food, I realized it's not very easy to come up with ideas to give her. Especially because I'm a very picky eater and do NOT eat healthy. She rarely gets to eat what we do so I am always making something separate for her and it is very time consuming. Luckily I have found some great breakfast foods to make her that you can freeze, so that is at least one meal that comes easily. I am going to add to this list daily so hopefully you get a couple ideas if your starting to run out.

Breakfast:  the pumpkin pancakes and oatmeal are freezer friendly, quick and easy, and my daughter loves them. plus that site has a lot of good meal ideas.

• infant cereal and a pumpkin pancake
• 1 whole wheat peanut butter toast and 1/2 banana
• her favorite: 1 pumpkin pancake with a drop of maple syrup and 1/2 scrambled egg with American cheese
• 2 cubes of fruit oatmeal (I used pear, apple, and bananas)
• yogurt and kiwi/banana puree
• bowl of whole wheat cheerios (sometimes I add slices of banana)
• French toast with a drop of maple syrup
• I tried this baked fruit oatmeal, which is a great way to get in the whole grain and fruit, and the whole family can eat it, but I realized I HATE oatmeal. no matter what way I cook it, it's so gross to me. but Lamora liked it so if you like oatmeal, definitely try that one. I had a bag of frozen mixed berries that I used but I bet fresh fruit would be great.
• Breakfast burrito-whole wheat wrap with scrambled egg black beans fried up pieces of ham and Turkey deli meat and a little bit of cheese.
• i finally got a waffle maker, so whole wheat waffles are now on the list!
• peanut butter toast

I mostly just pick two from the list every day for her breakfast. she LOVES those pancakes and would have them every day if it were up to her.



Lunch: (usually consists of leftovers but for those days my fiancé eats it all..

• 1/2 grilled cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread with tomato soup
• 1/2 tuna salad sandwich on whole wheat bread
• 1/2 scrambled egg with green beans
• hamburger helper with peas and shredded carrots
• chicken, cheese, and broccoli quesadilla with a side of yogurt
• chicken, cheese, black beans, and corn quesadilla
• my version of a healthy pasta salad:  whole wheat penne pasta, diced cheese, broccoli, chicken, and diced carrots with a drop of Italian dressing
• spaghetti with vege packed meatballs and a clementine orange
• cheesy crockpot chicken with mixed veges and sweet potatoes
• whole wheat tuna wrap(tuna salad rolled up in a tortilla wrap)(you could add spinach, substitute greek yogurt for mayo, use whatever you have at the time)
• whole wheat peanut butter and jelly sandwich with blueberries.
• 1/2 grilled cheese and turkey sandwich, black beans and green beans, clementine pieces
• turkey burger pieces, broccoli and peas, and homemade applesauce
• blend( turkey burger, black beans, corn, diced tomatoes), a side of carrots and applesause
• fried turkey ham, scrambled eggs, 1 piece of toast, apple slices, and mixed veges
• tuna noodle casserole 

This was an example of her lunch the other day. hamburger with gravy, brown rice, sweet potato, and carrots.
I got the fruit out of the freezer for her snack later that day. she only likes the blueberries so I ate the peaches and strawberries.

grilled sloppy joes with spinach, diced tomatoes, diced strawberries, and sliced string cheese

It's hard to see, but she ate the string cheese first, then the sandwich. she doesn't like tomatoes but I still try giving them to her and it depends how ripe and juicy the strawberries are for her to like them. 

Snack:

• puffs
• crackers and cheese
• banana
• blueberries
• yogurt
• orange
• string cheese, plus fruit
• blueberry muffins
• carrot cake oatmeal muffins

Dinner:
if she hasn't had bread yet that day I give her a half piece with dinner

• brown rice, broccoli, chicken, and cheese
• chicken alfredo with broccoli
• pork chop, applesauce, potato spinach and feta pierogie
• Potato spinach and feta pierogie with shredded chicken and peas
• vege packed meatballs(I used zucchini instead of garlic cloves), applesauce, and carrots
• chicken and rice, brussel sprouts, and sweet potatoes
• chicken, black beans and corn with a drop of spaghetti sauce and a side of applesauce
• chicken parmesan meatloaf muffins, mashed potatoes, applesauce, and coleslaw for her to try.
• cheesy crockpot chicken over egg noodles, and vege blend(cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots) with cheesy sauce over it.
• Hungarian goulash over egg noodles and green beans  (pretty much beef tips over noodles)
• sour cream parmesan chicken, red potatoes, and green beans
• sour cream noodle bake (add tomatoes and whatever else vegetables you have), green beans, greek yogurt and blueberries
• AWESOME mac n cheese with broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, and banana slices 
• pizza quesadilla (I used turkey pepperoni), corn off the cob, and sliced grapes
• shredded pork chops mixed with cauliflower mash, sweet potatoes and apple sauce.
• barbeque chicken, sweet potato, and grapes
• shredded ham, sweet potato, and blueberries
• homemade chicken tenders with ketchup and honey mustard for dipping(daddy taught her how to dip her chicken and she had so much fun), homemade sweet potato French fries, banana slices
• Leftover chili and cheesy noodles, green beans, and applesauce
• chicken parmesan, brown rice, and California blend veges.
• turkey hamburger with ketchup for dipping, peas, and yogurt
• loaded potatoes
• brown rice baked in some chicken broth, turkey sausage, corn, diced tomatoes, with sprinkled cheese( after it was all cooked i put it in a pan in the oven to warm up the corn and melt the cheese), a mix of peas and corn, and half a piece of bread
• roast with a touch of bbq sauce, and fresh cauliflower baked in the oven 

My mom heard me bitching about how I never know what to feed Lamora since I don't like any veges, I never have healthy food made. So she went out and bought a huge bag of chicken breasts and veges. She also got small containers from the dollar store that are the perfect size for her meals.
She boiled the whole bag of chicken, made a bag of chicken rice, a bag of brussel sprouts sauteed in onions, made a squash with butter and brown sugar, a couple diced sweet potatoes, and pureed an avocado. I also had a can of black beans and corn in the fridge from the day before. after everything was cooked we cut up all the chicken. Then we started filling each bowl with a little bit of everything. Each container had something different in it. examples of the variations:
chicken, brussel sprouts, squash
chicken and rice, black beans and corn, sweet potatoes
chicken mixed with avocado, sweet potatoes, black bean and corn.
and so on, and so on.
we eventually ran out of containers and had to put the leftover chicken and black beans in.
I put all these in the freezer and now I have go to meals when I didn't have anything planned for her.
Its awesome, simple and easy.

are you awesome?

I decided to make my first batch of chili today. I am making a betty crocker recipe in the crock pot.  I'm not even a chili fan, but it seemed like a nice winter meal. I really hope it turns out well, but if not I told my fiancé we will order pizza. haha.

Anyways, listen to what my fiance asked me last night. I was hanging our menu on the fridge and he says to me, "So your awesome now?"   hahahah. The first thing I did was laugh. What and the hell is he talking about? what kind of question is that? I asked him what he meant, and he asks me again, "are you like awesome now?" I still wasn't sure what he meant. so he finally says, "because your doing all this stuff now." Me, "you mean like making a menu for this week?" "haha yeah." So I tell him I'm a super mom now. One of the things we end up doing is making fun of me. That sounds so terrible, but I start it, he just laughs at me.

I'm such a dork, I always come up with these brilliant ideas that end up being terrible ideas. And I always have some project going on. Like one week I loved cooking and I finally tried out all my pinterest recipes, so he comes home from work, and I say "I'm a chef now." haha. He just giggles at me. Then one time I was putting Lamora's new toys together and I hated the way they made it, so I was bitchin and saying what i would have done differently and I said to him, "I should be a toy maker." hahah. So far, that has been the funniest one. After I realized what I said, I laughed so hard my cheeks hurt and I couldn't stop laughing. My fiancé got a good kick out of it too.

So what makes me awesome this week? I found some really good advice on someone's blog about how she takes inventory of her pantry. She can look at what she has then and decide what to make. She also likes to use up what she has before she buys more groceries. I thought that was a really good idea because I end up buying stuff weekly and spending about a hundred bucks a week at walmart. So the other night when my fiancé was at work, I took inventory of all my cupboards and my freezer. It was a little time consuming but I drank a couple beers before I decided to do it, and it wasn't so bad.

Anyways my chili turned out really well. My fiancé added cheezits to his, I just ate mine as was and it was great. It's very filling. We will be having leftovers tomorrow. My favorite! who else loves not having to cook all day?

These two get to have all the fun while mommy cooks =)

not alone

Dannnng. Until today, I truly thought I was pretty much the only stay at home mom out there. I know that sounds crazy, but with the way the world is, women are expected to work, be a mom, and do all the housework. It's not even mostly they are expected to, but it's hard living on one income. But I've been looking mommy tips up online and I see that there are a lot of SAHM blogs.

To be honest, I'm so happy to know I'm not the only one. Sometimes I feel ashamed that I'm not bringing in income. Especially when people ask what I'm doing with my life; when I say stay at home mom, their faces almost look disgusted. But I LOVE being home with my daughter everyday. She is precious, and I don't want someone else raising my daughter. It is the most amazing thing to watch her grow and learn. I catch myself just watching her, and sometimes I get mad at my fiance when he misses something she did. not fair I KNOW. haha.

halloween part 2

Well after a month of working on all the decorations, we had a huge turnout for our Halloween party. I bought all my stuff from the dollar store, and made more than half of them with what I had laying around the house.  


Well when you walk down the stairs to the basement, this was the first thing you saw.

This was the door to the garage, where we kept all the drinks.



 

I let my one year put her handprints on this mirror and it turned out pretty good. She has a lot of fun and surprisingly she didn't get paint everywhere.