Mommy Wars

Can we talk about mommy wars? I hate them. Maybe because I don't follow mainstream parenting and people are always acting all judgy on me, but I hate them. A lot. 

I'm sure people think that because I'm all pro breastfeeding that means I'm anti bottle feeding. That is not the case. My job is to help people breastfeed as long as THEY want to, not tell people when they should stop or why they should start. That is a very personal choice. One of my really good friends here bottle feeds. Do I care, heck no! I won't judge her if she doesn't judge me for nursing an almost 3 year old! Ha!  

Anyway. Why do mothers feel the need to start wars? I just don't get it. Parenthood is hard. Soo hard. Moms struggle. It isn't easy. Some days it takes everything you can to make it to bedtime.  We are critical of ourselves we worry constantly if we are screwing up our children... Do we need other mothers butting their noses in to tell you that you are indeed screwing up? NO! Heck No!! We need to lift eachother up. Support eachother, no matter if you agree with what the mom is doing or not. It is not your monkey or your circus... BUT another mom who probably needs a pat on the back (or a drink) instead of kick in the teeth or a punch in the throat.  Don't tell her she is wrong, don't tell her she is doing things badly or not how you do them. Tell her she doing great. She is doing wonderful and to keep up the great work.  Some days just keeping the kids uninjured and fed is a huge victory and we need to remember that.

Yes we are still breastfeeding. Yes we are still waking up at night. Yes we choose cuddles over sleep training. Yes we have a flexible bed time. Yes we practice gentle parenting and lots of love. Am I a bad mom. Nope. Do I need work? Don't we all? I'm doing my best and I know you are too. Please don't tell me I'm doing it all wrong and instead tell someone they are doing it all right.  Because you know they are trying their very hardest to be the best they can be to their babies. Let's end these stupid mommy wars and support eachother or at least bring them a big bottle of wine! ;) 

Family Pictures

So we had some family pictures taken while we were on vacation by a friend of mine named Michele. She is a photographer in LA and just so happened to be in Houston for another photo shoot and drove down to Galveston to take pictures of us on the beach.  I was stressing majorly because the weather was not good while we were there. It rained A LOT and  I was very nervous that our shoot would be a bust. BUT thankfully it was just cloudy with light sprinkles and perfect conditions for pictures! 

Colin's funnies

Me: Colin are you really big?  

Colin: No, daddy is really big and I'm just big 

Me: what about mommy is mommy really big? 

Colin: Almost.

Colin: I'm a police boy. I have police pants and police shirt and police things like a gun, a stick and hiccups. 

Hiccups= handcuffs 

Colin wearing a stethoscope: mommy you need a diagnosis, you have boo-boo-itis  (too much doc mcstuffins)

He loves pretending to be a police man and a fire man. He knows firemen help people so he will put on a fireman hat and ask what help I need. It is a fabulous way to get him to clean up!

My favorite word that he says is pepperoni, pronounced: pepamoni! 

Another funny he says is last morning when he is talking about something that happened yesterday or a few weeks ago, he says last morning I did this or that! 

Hellooo!!! Are you there??

I'm back from a blogging hiatus.  Truthfully I just got a new phone and never downloaded the blogger app!  Ooops!  I didn't miss it too, much except for the fact that I use blogger as my baby book!  I think I got burnt out on blogging because nobody ever reads it... hello all my non-readers! Prove me wrong!! Let me know you're out there! Lol   Regardless, we've had an eventful few weeks/months!

We went to Telluride for a wedding the first week in July. We had an amazing time and can't wait to go back to Telluride to go exploring on our own terms. Instead of rushing around for the wedding's events. The wedding was so very beautiful too! My birthday was also around then. We didn't do much, but it was still fun!

Then I was crazy and adopted a puppy....  A friend I met's dog had puppies memorial weekend.  Mom is a white German Shepherd and dad is a Golden Retriever. I fell in love with a puppy who looks like a clone of  his daddy and we took him home... after a week of convincing Ryan we NEEDED him! He is adorable. Colin LOVES him and named him Truck. We tried convincing him of several different names, but he really liked Truck... so Truck it is.

I've been really busy with the newspaper and with my LLL group. I organized a big event last weekend and had over 60 people come to support World Breastfeeding Week.  It was awesome, but I'm glad it is over!

We've also been trying to head out to the lake whenever we can and  Colin decided he wanted to be potty trained! So yeah... how's that in a nutshell?!

Update

Life has been crazy around here! Which is my excuse for not blogging!  I sometimes feel like maybe I should blog anymore, but I know I updated it soo much during my pregnancy with Colin and Colin's first year that it would be nice to at least keep it around for memories!

Anyway! We've been busy doing doctors appointments from our car accident, blah, taking the truck to get looked at and hopefully fixed soon, taking the dog to the vet, writing newspaper articles and I also had my first LLL meeting. Between all of that we haven't had much breathing room, BUT I'm hopeful that the next few weeks will be a bit more relaxing!

We are going camping next week, which we are all REALLY looking forward to!  Then the next week we have a wedding to attend in Telluride! I am SOO excited! I still need to get Colin's outfit all situated, but mine is basically done and Ryan will be in a tux. We should have a good time exploring Telluride and enjoying the wedding ceremony. We are staying at a resort where the wedding is, so probably lots of swimming for me and Colin while Ryan does his groomsman duties!   I am wearing a brown/gold lace dress from JC Penny, I love it and can't wait to wear it!  I bought a khaki jacket for Colin on clearance at Target and I am planning on pairing it with a white button up and either khaki shorts or pants. Haven't decided yet! I will share pictures after  we return!

Colin is talking our ears off. Which is fun! He is very obsessed with the fact that the ball is broken on our truck from the car accident and because of this it cannot tow the boat. He says stuff like, Mommy the boat is crying because the ball is broken on my truck. I'm assuming that is his way of dealing with the accident.

He also has been talking about Sames.  Things that are the same. Same color, same size, etc. I love that he says, sames with an s. So cute!  Love that crazy boy!

Well I should go clean my house! Expect photos in about 2 weeks!

Hello world!

I hope you all had a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend!  We are basically just returning from ours! 

Saturday was an interesting day. It started off normal. I exercised, came home and picked up the boys for our friends birthday party. Spent lunch time at the park. We ran a quick errand and then headed home. On the way home and almost a mile from our house we got hit by a drunk driver. We were making a turn and waiting for traffic when out of nowhere someone slammed into us from behind. They didn't even hit their brakes and were going probably 30 mph. Thankfully we were in our truck and have a big ball and hitch, which is what they hit. They broke the hitch, but that was about it for our damage. Their vehicle was totalled.  Thankfully minus some whiplash we were all ok. The other driver spent the weekend in jail and we were ok to enjoy the rest of our weekend! 

Ryan's brother came in Saturday night... With the intentions to use our truck to tow his old truck. Ha! That wasn't going to happen! And we were also going to go down to Grants and use the truck to tow Ryan's car out of the garage there... But that also wasn't going to happen!  We had wanted to Ryan's brother out on the lake too, but couldn't tow our boat! 

Sunday we relaxed. Went to church, had a sushi lunch, did a crazy workout and went for a walk by the river after dinner.  We also convinced our good friend to go boating with us on Monday and tow the boat!!

So that is what we did! Got to spend a nice day out on the lake Monday cruising around! 

Tuesday after a quick chiropractor visit for my neck I went with my brother in law to Socorro for the night to visit my parents and we came back yesterday! My parents had found a turtle wandering the road the day before we got there and saved it for Colin. We ended up taking it home, but I did a ton of research on the drive and discovered it needed lots of water and we just didn't have that to offer it without building a pond in our backyard. He was pretty big so we would have needed a giant aquarium if we kept him indoors and I felt bad taking him from the wild... So we brought him to the river! I put him about a foot from the water and he quickly dived in an was happy as can be! 

Mamas day

A mothers day weekend in pictures! 

While getting ready for the weekend Colin tried his first attempt at mascara... He failed. But he kept saying he looked pretty!!

I did some dress shopping for our summer wedding. This was my favorite, BUT I didn't buy it!  Hoping to go again this week and look for some more!

We stayed at a hotel with my parents and the rooms connected so once Colin fell asleep Ryan and I snuck out and left my parents with the sleeping child! I was super paranoid the whole time that he would wake up and open the hotel room door and walk away without my parents hearing! Ha! So I only lasted one drink before we came back!!

Sunday we went to church with my family and then out to lunch. Colin enjoyed his food a little too much! 

Me with my mama! Love her! Happy mamas day!!

God daughter and handsome son!! They loved hanging out together today!! 

And finally getting a pedicure, a wonderful mothers day treat!!

2.5

Colin is 2.5 today. Say what??  Two and a half years old.  In a half a year he will be 3!  :(  My baby is growing up WAY too fast! Make it staaahp!


So for a little Colin update!

He is 27 lbs and 37 inches, wears 2T clothes, size 7 shoes and size 4 diapers.

Colin LOVES playing outside, chasing the dog around, playing with water, Curious George, anything with wheels or an engine and music, specifically guitars.

Can identify colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, brown, black and white), some shapes (circle, triangle, diamonds), and a few letters. 

You love singing the abcs except your version goes, abcdefg wxy and z. :)  

You don't stop talking. ALL DAY LONG. You wake up talking, Where'd daddy go? Daddy go to work. Daddy take the Truck or the race car or the jeep?

You tell me EXACTLY what you want to eat or wear or do for the day and whether or not it is acceptable to you.  And if you want food, you help yourself in the fridge or closet or counter. You are very self sufficient and I think you could probably survive quite awhile on your own... until you needed a diaper change or got your hands dirty!

You also are very in touch with feelings. Worry if people are sad or sick. Although we still have issues with you being mean to other kids, but that is normal.  You have a few best friends that you are NOT mean to. You LOVE the neighbor boys, Braden and Judah who are older than you and you love our friends Brooks and his little sister Chamonix. I'm convinced you are in love with Chamonix. Since she's been born you hug and kiss her and talk about her constantly.

You think your grandpas are the funniest things ever.

You have a major sweet tooth and love chocolate almond milk (choch chee milk), and cookies (tootties).

Your favorite foods are yogurt, berries, apples, pepperoni, ham, cheese, pasta, hot dogs, chips and salsa and most recently apple juice.

My favorite thing you say:

What are you Dooning Mommy?

Easter weekend

Easter weekend was a blast!  Ryan had training in Albuquerque the week before so we went down there on Thursday. We got to visit with friends Thursday while Ryan was in training and went  to a nice dinner (PF Changs! Mmm). 

Friday we met my parents at the zoo. Can I just say baby season at the zoo is so awesome! There were two baby monkeys and a baby elephant! Soo cute! I melted! I want a baby monkey and a baby elephant! Lol 

After the zoo we went down to my parents house and spent the weekend there with my parents and Ryan's grandparents. 

Favorite Paleo snacks

So now that our paleo challenge is over, I thought I'd share some of our favorite recipes.

I have been slowly adding a few things back in my diet and for the most part I have been ok. I think my body likes dairy better than it does wheat.

We are doing more of an 80/20 paleo to suit our family's needs. I love oats and since I'm still nursing I figure it is important.  I found gluten free oats to make my granola with. I've added some precious cheese back into my diet as well. :)  And occasionally some greek yogurt! But everything else has still been paleo.

I made Colin a whole wheat tortilla pizza last week and I had a slice of it. I was sick the rest of the night after I ate it... so I think I have an issue with wheat. When I got allergy tested about 6 years ago I had a sensitivity to it, but didn't think anything of it. And now that it was eliminated from my diet, it came back.

Here are some of my favorite paleo recipes!

This beef and broccoli stir fry... OMG... so good!
http://ameliaandme.com/beef-and-broccoli-stir-fry/

And to satisfy my sweet cravings :

http://ameliaandme.com/ch-ch-ch-chocolate-chia-pudding/

http://ameliaandme.com/green-smoothies/


I also made Lara Balls... basically, nuts, dates and either cherries or extra dark chocolate in my food processor.  No recipe because I just threw them in! Lol

Another favorite is cauliflower rice! Soo good!

These were our favorites that I will continue to use in our diet!

Paleo no more?

So Ryan's 8 week paleo challenge is up in a week! I on the other hand maybe oficially not paleo anymore! Don't hate!  Ha ha! I made it 7 weeks, when my initial goal was only a month!  Actually Wednesday was my bad day. I had a bowl of cereal (with almond milk) for breakfast, went on a play date and the mom I met had cookies so I had one and then for lunch I ate a bite of cheese from Colin's plate! Oh man! Living on the edge!  

But Seriously once I finish my paleo muffins I think I will go back to non paleo breakfast. That is the one meal that was KILLING me! I just really don't like eggs.. like at all!  I tried! I can do them like 2 days a week... max. Then I'm ready to throw up! Like totally gross!  I even tried putting/hiding them in my smoothies but now the thought alone freaks me out. I've been surviving on paleo pumpkin muffins and turkey bacon for breakfast most mornings until this past week when I discovered chia pudding.  But I can't eat chia pudding for breakfast everyday... Or can I?  I do miss my granola and I was making it myself so it isn't even THAT bad! :) 

 I picked up a lot of healthy snacks, habits and meals from doing paleo and those I will definitely continue!  I want to do a blog with all my favorite paleo recipes in my spare time...

But I would like to add back in healthy carbs to mine and Colin's diet! Like oats, brown rice and quinoa (I've missed them all!) And Colin used to love eating quinoa with black beans. So a little beans too! My hubby may try to stick with paleo a bit longer, which is fine! Mine will just have to be a bit modified and Colin's too because the boy doesn't enjoy steaks, burgers or fish and I'm having a hard time finding foods he will eat! 

Ryan did really well on this diet and crossfit exercising! He has lost I think 12 lbs so far! I can tell he looks thinner and more toned! I really don't feel that much different but definitely feel more toned! Would have helped if I had exercised more, I'm sure! 

Here are my official before and afters! 

My side view seems the same or worse to me so I'm not posting it! Lol  And there you have it! Can't believe I posted that for the internets! Yikes!

A Month Late

March Pictures of my sweet.  I was trying to catch his eyes because they are becoming more and more green everyday. Right now they are a pretty hazel with blue, green and yellow!  Of course every time I would tell him to show me his eyes he would make silly faces! :)