A new exciting opportunity

Some exciting news that I've been holding out from you... 

As of this week I am officially an accredited la leche league leader!! I have been working on this for over a year now and I am so excited, although my town doesn't have a group so I have a very long road ahead of me in getting this started up!  

As you may remember I had an interesting start to my breastfeeding journey with Colin's tongue tie.  I almost quit about 2 weeks in. I didn't have the family support I needed because I am the first one in a few generations to breastfeed. But I had the support of my friends and leaned heavily on the other mothers I knew. It wasn't a doctor or a nurse but a fellow mother and friend (thank for everything dawn) who discovered my sons tongue tie.  We got it clipped when he was 5 weeks old and haven't looked back!   That is when I discovered the importance of mother to mother support. 

When we were moving I knew I wanted to join a breastfeeding support group in our new much bigger town. I looked up La Leche League (LLL) and was shocked that they didn't have one there.... So I looked into how to start one up. A big jump, I will admit. I ordered their book and fell in love with it and everything they stand for. It was me. It was how I parent. Everything I thought I had been doing wrong... In their eyes was, right! It was refreshing and empowering! 

I knew I wanted to help other mothers like those that have helped me and that is why I am doing this. If I can help one mother continue like other mothers helped and encouraged me then it is all worthwhile. 

 

Paleo day 10

So We've been at the paleo diet for 10 days!! 

I honestly don't feel a damn bit of difference, but Ryan swears he feels more energized. (Although my problem could be the fact that I am also getting more sleep than usual and feeling more refreshed from both) I am not really losing weight, but also haven't been working out as much as I'd like with Ryan's crazy work schedule and my psycho schedule! But that is getting better. 

Colin was the first one of us to cave... 

Yesterday after his nap he went into the pantry, took out a bag of chips and sat on the couch munching them.  He has/had a chip obsession like his dad! I bought sweet potato unsalted chips in case Ryan needed something occasionally, but had these laying around from when we had company over the other night. 

The hardest part is probably being a mom. Colin doesn't have eggs every morning (nor do I) so it is hard not to lick his spoon of yogurt or oatmeal or just have a little spoonful myself!  

And I crave sweets! Last week wasn't so hard i would just eat a grape or something sweet like fruit or nuts, but this week I want like an entire bin of ice cream! Ha ha!  

We did cheat one day... Kind of.  We had sushi. With rice, gasp! And soy sauce, gasp!  And we had company over and I made brownies.... Gluten free and made with coconut oil instead of butter... But still brownies filled with sugar. We were living on the edge that day! (They were also soo so good!)

I am not being super strict with this diet... Like minimizing my fruit and eating veggies with every meal! I love fruit way more than sugar and bread (not cheese)... So I will not deprive myself of that. And if the worst thing I do is eat too many fruits then I still feel like I am in pretty good shape! 

My favorite snack! Kale smoothie! Mmm... 

My goal was 30 days on this diet so I have 20 to go! ;) 

Paleo day 4

Well I am still alive and becoming more of a cave woman everyday... Just kidding... Kind of... 

So like I expected breakfast has really been my biggest challenge. I had eggs like 3 days in a row and then... Ugh I am just over them. Yuck! So I made some paleo breakfast cookies that are pretty spectacular, but not very filling. And today I made some really good paleo muffins. Turkey bacon is also my new best friend... So me and my buddy Turkey bacon are teaming up against morning hunger.  

My other breakfast idea is smoothies. I heart me a yummy green smoothie, but lack protein and know it won't fill me up for long. Someone told me to put a raw egg in my smoothie... And well I am just not quite sure I can handle that, I mean if raw egg in cookie dough isn't good for you then, how is this?  I also read about a Dr. Oz smoothie that had a fried egg and swears it can't be tasted... I maybe giving that a try!

Lunches is easy because I already are salads everyday just have to use vinegar and oil for dressing. NBD. 

And dinner is just lots of meat and veggies. 

I've also learned that shopping paleo is not cheap. I practically doubled my grocery budget this week! 

Veggie chicken stir fry 

Pumpkin paleo muffins 

Paleo toddler meals!! Lol

Pork chops, broccoli and sweet potato fries 

Bison burgers and hotdogs

My yummy sweet potato paleo cookies!!

Day 1 of Paleo down

Well... it is 7:20 and I am full and happy and finished with day 1 of paleo!  HA ha... I'm sure most people don't count the first day as a success... but it is for me!

I was STARVING all day!  I texted my brother in law at like 3:30 and was like, Patrick... I'm HUNGRY!  He said I need to eat!  Ha ha! Thanks!  But seriously... he said because I'm not filling up on empty carbs I need to eat more often. So I did.

I ate eggs for breakfast (I hate eggs) and some of these delicious paleo cookies I made (sweet potatoes, almond butter, eggs, almonds and pumpkin seeds).  By 11:30 I was starved. I had a nice lunch, spinach salad with leftover bison and veggies and a half a sweet potato. I was so stuffed, but then 3:30 hit and I was hungry again! So colin and I each had an apple and I had some almond butter with mine. I went for a run afterwards and then started dinner. Which since it's been super warm I grilled and made pork chops and roasted broccoli. Now I'm stuffed again and hopefully won't be eating anymore today!! Ha Ha

My brother in law.. who is my paleo expert says as long as you are eating paleo you can eat all you want... not sure how accurate that is... especially if I'm not a crazy crossfitter. But I think I did ok for day one.

T-2 days until paleo

I've been a nervous wreck over this paleo diet. I think it is mostly because I've never been on a diet before. And I would just cut back on bad things. None of this not eating any of this or that! 

When I get nervous I eat and I bake! Bad combo! Ha ha!  So it turns out I will indeed need this diet come Monday! I've also been trying to eat up all the foods we aren't allowed to eat before Monday... Which also maybe a bad idea, but I don't like throwing good food away!  

I made Ryan lasagna and used up almost all my cheeses! The boys have been eating goldfish crackers... I've been snacking on cheese. I had a secret stash of dark chocolate raspberry jelly candies in the fridge from Christmas. They were my after dinner sweet deterrent. Had to finish those today! Lol

I've been worrying so much about this Diet I've had nightmares!  Bad dreams about grocery shopping and cooking! I feel like it is a lot of pressure to make everything paleo for Ryan. 

But I am pretty much going overboard on preparation and already have my grocery list done for Monday.  And I think we will survive! I have thought of some creative ways to make some of our staple meals paleo and I am now more excited than anything else! 

Bring it on! 

Baby shower

 The baby shower I hosted this last weekend was a huge success!  It was an untraditional shower that included the guys. I had fun making the flyer... Beer, burgers and babes...er babies!  And had fun decorating for the theme... Ie, flowers in beer bottles and a diaper bike as opposed to a diaper cake!  

I wish I had brought my camera to take nice pictures but alas all I have are some cell phone pictures! 

My friend Kelly made the cupcakes and they were Delish!

Colin eating the sprinkles one at a time... Totally gets that from me! 

They had a nice jam session at the shower and my child who loves music was totally intrigued!

 And the horses... Yeah he loves horses! 

It was a blast but a bit stressful trying to get everything done with Colin around. Hubby had to work so it was just the two of us. Wish Ryan could have joined us in the celebration! 

Valentines day

Yesterday was one of the best days we've had in a long time! My hubby has been working like crazy on a big project at work. He had to take a day off and decided valentines day would be a good one! 

Now my hubby isn't the buy you flowers type of guy... At all! I've practically begged for every flower arrangement I've ever gotten from him. And because he has been working so much I told him we really just wanted to spend time with him. That was more important than anything else. 

That's exactly what we did.  We slept in and went to this place in town called big bounce that had a bunch of jumpy blow up things. Colin and I have gone a few times but daddy has always been working. It was cute to see my boys play and slide together! 

After lunch they had a nice floor wrestle and then we headed up to Colorado to go inner tubing! We had talked about going for awhile, but this was our first trip. Colin enjoyed it and even wanted to walk back up the hills all by himself. We stayed about an hour and a half and then went into Durango for dinner. 

It was perfect... Even my strawberry margarita at dinner! Best day ever! Love my boys!

Paleo

So I returned from a weekend away doing the baby shower for my good friend to my husband... Who declares he going to do a Paleo challenge with his crossfit people. At first I was like, oh that's cool... But then I realized I make all of Ryan's food... So therefore I need to cook and essentially eat Paleo as well. 

Cue freak out. I thought I'd be fine...  But then I realized I couldn't eat my homemade granola for breakfast that I really love and I wasn't quite sold! Ha ha! 

For those that don't know Paleo is going back to the hunter gather ways and eating things that can be hunted or gathered. So lots of meat, fruits, veggies and nuts. And that's about it. 

I will be blogging along the way and sharing some good recipes I stumble upon! Wish us luck! 

I figure I may not make it the full 8 weeks! But I'm aiming for 30 days and hopeful I will lose a few pounds. I've never in my life done a diet of any sort! 

Speaking of...

Colin's vocabulary is just exploding everyday is several new words I havent heard before! Overnight it seems like he had become a parrot and is trying to repeat everything you say! 

And last night he finally said his name... Although it sounded more like Tahlin, but it's a start!  

Tonight while watching the Olympics I said parachute and he copied me perfectly! I was like, Whoah!  He also said Preston today, a friends name and uncle Pete! Crazy kiddo. Speaking of crazy he loves to say, silly me! Ha ha

 It is so amazing to watch this kid's mind grow right before my eyes!

Weddings and dresses

I love weddings! Mostly because it is a great excuse to dress up, but I do love all the little details and everything involved in weddings. 

I wish I could go to weddings several times a year... But alas that is just not the case! I need more/younger friends! Lol. 

The last wedding we went to was Ryan's cousins wedding in 2011 and I was pregnant. I wish I would have planned out my dress better. I went the day before the wedding and found a dress that worked with my bump. Now I think it is ugly and don't know if i will ever wear it again. 

This year we finally have another wedding and this time Ryan is in it! It is his friend/college roommates wedding! I am getting really excited about it! It is up in Telluride, Co and I just know it will be beautiful and magical! 

So with my husband in a tux... It has me already wondering what I should wear! I mean... If he is going to be in a tux then surely that justifies me buying a new dress, right? ( not to mention Colin needs to be super cute too). I will probably wait until we know what colors their wedding will have so I can compliment my hubby but not blend in or clash before I really start shopping. 

I am really digging the lace dresses out right now and the coral colors!  Here are a few I've pinned! 

I love this dress! And want it like yesterday! But it is a tad light and may clash with the bride? 

This back! 😍 soo pretty! The front isn't as pretty though!

These are cute and ok! Lol

I like this one a lot too but worry it is too "Easter-Sunday ish" lol 

And this. Ugh just loving this lace! Want!!