Well guys, life happened already. *SIGH* I promise I had every intention of making a fabulous and healthy meal tonight for dinner-marinated chicken, baked red potatoes, asparagus. But when you have a fussy baby, *SIGH* diarrhea going up baby's back, *SIGH* and food & bottle flown across the floor because of that fussy and diarrhea baby *SIGH*, you give up trying.

To rest my case, I did prep the potatoes, seasoned them, placed them on the prepared pan, and tempted to place them in the oven...but when you dump half of the 3 pounds of prepared potatoes on the oven door while trying to put them in the oven, you try not to curse and say "forget this! It's just not meant to be today...there's always tomorrow!" Which I intend on trying again tomorrow for two reasons: 1 - to not let the food that I bought with our own money (that my husband worked SO hard for) go to waste and 2 - to have triumph over those potatoes!
"You think you won potatoes, but think again, this Momma ain't givin' up that easily!!"

Needless to say, all of this led to pizza and broccoli bite take-out. It was good, it was easy, and it was satisfying. However, I can say that I can tell my body isn't used to that grease and stuff already, and it's only my second day of eating "healthy". So hopefully tomorrow will go as planned. But, at least the pizza had veggies on it and I chose broccoli bites over french fries...right?

The key is to NOT let myself fall back into my old habits of eating. It's okay to give yourself a treat every now and then, especially in desperate moments like tonight, but it's important to have the mindset of getting back on track the next day.  

*Thanks to my Momma for the paying for the pizza and broccoli bites and for your help!!*

•Peanut Butter Banana Shake (see second picture for recipe) 
•Blueberry Greek yogurt with crushed up granola bar.
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My goal this week is to rotate breakfast and lunch between 2 different days worth of meals in order to use up the ingredients I bought from the store so to keep to our budget as well.

So for instance:

TODAY:
Breakfast: shake and yogurt
Snack: cucumbers and sea salt
Lunch: chicken salad wrap with cranberries, kiwi
Snack: carrots and ranch
Dinner: chicken, asparagus, and red potatoes 
Snack (if needed): kiwi and almonds

TOMORROW: 
Breakfast: turkey bacon, eggs, and toast
Snack: cucumbers and sea salt
Lunch: turkey slices (although it will be ham slices to finish up what we have open already), 2 tangerines
Snack: carrots and ranch
Dinner: leftovers 
Snack (if needed): Shake

And then I will rotate these meal plans until I run out or until I go to the store next, which has been every Tuesday so far.
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*For this month’s budget, I tried going to the grocery store once a week to see if it would cut down on our month expense for that category. Other than eating out twice and Hunter’s birthday, it would have ended great! So I am going to try it again next month, without eating out and without Hunter’s birthday and see if it ends well again.*

Peanut Butter Banana Protein Shake
 1/2 cup of Almond Milk
2 scoops of Organic Protein Shake (it’s a smaller scoop inside the container)
2 Tablespoons of Natural Peanut Butter (yes 2, but it helps to cut down on the grittiness
1 whole banana 
Couple handfuls of spinach 
Ice
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It’s not the best thing in the world, but after a couple of sips you get used to it, and then it’s not too bad.

So today was core workout. I loved it! And can’t wait to see those results when the time comes! But it’s a process and a life one, not just a season!
Does anyone else struggle with the plank?? Have any tips for me?
•••
Arms are tomorrow-yippee and yikes at the same time!

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"​The God who does all things makes oceans from river" -Josh Wilson

I heard this song on my Spotify the other day and it spoke wonders to me. I'm always thinking and dreaming about the future, about the "big things". I ask "big" of God all the time. But maybe I need to start asking for those "smaller things".

It's not that it's bad to want, think, or dream those big dreams, but don't let it become your whole focus that it distracts you from what's right in front of you. (I'm learning this, myself!). Enjoy every moment that God gives you, because you never know when it will be gone. Plus, it's in those "smaller moments" that God can do something "BIG!"

Ingredients:
Small can of diced tomatoes
4 cups tomato juice
14 fresh basil leaves
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup butter
Salt and pepper to taste

​Directions:

*When you puree it, make sure you use a safe tool to do it, and be careful of the steam....I pureed mine in my blender, and although it did its job, I didn't think about the steam coming from the plastic lid before I done did it...ouch and oops!*

​*Yes, I used heavy cream and yes, I used a stick of butter in it, and you know what??...it tasted amazing! haha. It was my way of using up things in the kitchen that needed to be eaten up before the expiration date.*

*For the grilled cheese, I used Sara Lee Artesano bread (which is thicker than normal) and I spread Mayo on them instead of butter. Again, not the healthiest, but SO good!*  

I can tell my body isn’t used to having a breakfast like this as I usually eat 2 or 3 bowls of cereal or sometimes toast (what can I say, I love my carbs 😉). But I think it’s because I’m not use to feeling this full after a morning meal. Or it also could be because I put too much milk in my eggs and now I feel icky from that 🙃...it’s a process haha).
•••
As you can see I also used white toast as opposed to wheat. But it’s because that’s what we had on-hand, and in order to stick to our grocery budget, I am going to use up what we have in the kitchen already so it doesn’t go to waste. However, I still might not always buy wheat bread or things like that as it’s not my favorite things in the world, but I think as long as I find balance in my other meals and in my portion control, then it should be fine.
•••
I used to get SO caught up into doing it all the “right way” as if there’s some kind of formula to being healthy. But it’s not! It’s just choosing healthier options over non-healthy ones. Choosing to eat fresh, instead of processed. It’s watching how much you eat. It’s making a balance of your meals. And it’s finding exercise in your day, even if that’s just walking in the park or playing with your kids...just stay active or find ways within your day to be active.
So I might not get it perfect all the time, but I am committed to doing my BEST!!

I am determined to commit to doing my best to stay healthy for my family and to boost my own confidence. So here is my first of many videos/posts of becoming the “new me” with the same heart.
But I NEED YOU to keep me going! So feel free to shoot me a message or status asking if I did my workout and meals that day. If you like what you see, then I also challenge YOU to join!
I’m not doing anything too special. I have tried and tried doing paid fitness and health things, but they just never worked. But through doing those, I have learned (but still learning) what to eat and not eat and how to exercise better. So I’m kinda just winging it myself, but I’m hoping with accountability, that it will help me to stay the course.
So who’s with me??

I ordered this almost 1 year old's birthday cake today. Enough said! 

 .... you can read some of the captions by hovering over the pictures ....

You're never too old to color, right?! I hope not cause these 28 (him) and 27 (her) year olds decided to color this Leprechaun picture for their date last night in honor of St. Patrick's Day a few days ago. They had fun doing it, too! ;) 

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It's funny how coloring a simple children's coloring page brought out the differences in each other...

Wife: "Why did you use that shade of blue?"  
Husband: "I don't know. Cause it's the only blue that looked actual blue to me."
Wife (with raised eyebrow and crinkled up nose): "Noooo, that is definitely NOT a normal blue, that's definitely much brighter!"
Husband (with a perplexed look): Oh...well, can you find a regular blue?"
(After scrounging around for a few seconds, picks one up, and is about to hand it to husband) Wife: "Welll...actually now that you've already started coloring with the bright blue and since you used a bright purple as well, I guess it would be better for you to just continue using brighter colors."
Husband (with rolled eyes): "Really? After all that?"
Wife (with giggly response): "Yup!"

Apparently we have different ideas of what "regular colors" are, at least when it comes to coloring. Makes me wonder if that's how we view the world. Maybe through one lens, the world is very "to the point", whereas the other sees it as "a way of expressing oneself."

This is ironic too, though, because normally Brandon (my husband) is the one who sees things more directly. Whereas I am the one who enjoys living outside of the box (or at least I have thoughts about it). He's more of a list person who intends to get those things done. I'm someone who likes writing task lists and has every intention on getting them done....but that doesn't always happen. He's more of a "keep my feet on the ground" kind of person. I am DEFINITELY someone who loves to "fly". He's the strict planner. Although I may plan, I am more spontaneous at going about that plan. 

Regardless of these differences though, they are crucial to our marriage, to our relationship. Since Brandon is more of a "black and white" kind of person, he needs someone (me) to show him there's more than just the words on a page, but that there's life and a story within those words. He needs me to take the weight off his shoulders to not be perfect all the time. He needs me to show him how to live life more abundantly. I need someone (Brandon) to keep me grounded and secure as my story gets written. I need Brandon to calm my overwhelming heart and mind when I worry and over analyze EVERYTHING. I need Brandon to remind me to appreciate my life where I'm at presently. 

So even though we, as individuals have different strengths and weaknesses, we, as a couple NEED each others strengths and weaknesses to make our worlds go round. They counteract as well as comprise each other. And, ain't it cool how God stitched us together?! God is SO good!  

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....Or I could just be a perfectionist at coloring haha....  ​

When you have an almost 1 year old who loves the vacuum, it’s pretty cool but it also makes it hard to vacuum and keep baby safe. He follows me everywhere I go and if I stand it up even for a second to use the handle, he is right there.

The other day, I regretfully caught his finger in between where it folds up and down. Boy, did I feel like the worse Momma ever in that moment! We washed it, put ointment and a band-aid on it (we had to put a glove on his hand to keep him from taking the band-aid off), and gave him lots of snuggles.

Thankfully even after all of that he still has a fascination with the vacuum, but it doesn’t help the fact that he could get hurt again.
Do any other Momma’s have “guilty Momma moments?”
#mommamoments #vacuumproblems