When it rains, it pours

So we've hit a few road bumps lately in the finance department...and forking over the money for it is NOT FUN!

First up..washer dies over labor day weekend! Not a big deal as I always wanted a new washer...so we went washer shopping and purchased one. Small expense?...NO, but needed! Especially when you are a cloth diaper family! Need that thing to keep those diapers clean!

Then...when MEA weekend started (for those not in MN, students get Thursday and Friday off of school...so there weekend starts Wed evening), some kids decided they would like to destroy other people's property. We were the lucky people they decided to throw a rock through our 2nd story window. Not only did it NOT wake us up, Mya didn't even do anything. I noticed it the next morning after feeding Turner. I went to go put him on his play mat so I could get ready and there was glass all over our couch and living room floor. The shades were down so I didn't know exactly what happened...but it freaked me out so I immediately went and woke Tate up. We called the police and they came to take a report. Turns out we were one of twos with window damage. What worries me the most about this is that living room window is right next to Turner's room. I just freaked out thinking what if they would have hit his window. What pisses me off is that these punk kids think it's OK to do this type of stuff. I said a prayer for those kids.

Next up...Tate and I BOTH needed new tires for our cars. Well we all know those cost a pretty penny. It's also something we can't put off. Winter is approaching and we have a little one to think about for safety reasons. So new tires it was...wah wah!

As I am getting my tires installed...they decide to tell me my brake pads need replacing along with some rotors. That would be an additional $400+ just for that. Luckily...I thought maybe our daycare lady's husband knew a think or two about cars and asked if does this type of work ever. Sure enough...he does!!! Woohooo...that saved us over 50% of what the auto repair place would have charged us.

THEN...haha, yes...a few more things!

Our house was built in 1995. We have windows that are wood frame inside (vinyl outside). I was cleaning and noticed that our bedroom window was 'rotting'. There was condensation on the window which causes the wood to get wet and eventually rot over the years. Well great...we've been sleeping in a room with rotting windows. I am a germ freak so of course I bleached the heck out it and called my dad to figure out what to do. He talked about ways to reduce the condensation in our home and also told us to consider replacing the windows since they were older. I've wanted to actually replace our windows and patio door for some time, but never wanted to fork over the money for it...I mean we are talking 5 digits here!!!! We've had a few window companies to the house to go over things and now Tate and I need to make some decisions on what we want to do for sure.

Then...one evening Tate and I were driving back from a evening with friends (with Turner in the car). We were about 1 mile from our house when a deer ran out in front of us...luckily Tate avoided hitting it. But then...the buck that was chasing the doe that we avoided hitting, literally runs into the side of my car. Hits my passenger side (where I am sitting). FREAKED ME OUT! Tate pulled over and got out. The deer had gotten up, ran back to where it came from, and then crossed the road. My car had a nice big dent on the side and my door makes a lovely noise when you open it. Thank gosh for insurance...but there is still a deductible to pay. I'm just thankful we were all OK and nothing more serious happened. Turner slept through the whole thing.

Even though we've been hit with a string of bad luck, I am still feeling truly blessed and thankful. I've been waking up every morning so excited for a new day and feel very grateful for the life that God has chosen for me. I'm not going to lie...this is not normal for me when things like everything listed above has been happening. Maybe it's because being a mom puts everything into perspective of what is really important, maybe it's our food challenge making me feel really good or maybe it's because I know we are going to be OK since we have money saved with our emergency fund for these type of situations. Either reason is fine by me and it feels good to not be stressed about it.

With Thanksgiving approaching, it's nice to be extra thankful for what we do have. We have our health and our happiness. We are beyond blessed. Of course I'm always thinking of new things I want want want...but everything I need...I already have!

And it looks like our luck is finally turning around. We got pulled over on Friday evening on the way to a friends house. Tate wasn't paying attention to how fast he was going. The State Trooper gave us a warning and sent us on our marry way...THANK GOSH (it may have had something to do with Tate telling the trooper that it was getting close to Turner's feeding time and him screaming in the back may have just helped)!!! Fingers crossed we are on the up and up from this point forward!!!

  

Food challenge update

A few weeks back, I blogged about the 100 day food challenge that Tate and I started. Now that we are 3 weeks in...I thought I would give you all an update on how it's going!!!

TOP 10 THINGS I HAVE FOUND GREAT ABOUT OUR FOOD CHALLENGE:

TEN

It is so much easier than I had thought

I honestly thought I would have a hard time finding foods to eat since I am a very picky eater and that I would slip up all the time...but it's been the complete opposite. I have yet to have any type of candy (even as a cheat snack) and find myself munching on a raw carrot when I get hungry.

NINE

Meal planning weekly is much easier than doing it monthly

I use to meal plan for the whole month and then try to buy as much as possible at the beginning of the month. It was always hard figuring out meals towards the end of the month and then meals would get switched around because things would come up, etc. Now I meal plan for the week ahead usually on Friday evening and sometimes hit up the grocery store that night after Turner goes to bed (it's a bonus that nobody is @ the grocery store on Friday night).

EIGHT

Some people think we are a bit crazy, but MORE people have been intrigued.

Some people have stated they would never be able to do this and think we are crazy for doing it, but more people have asked questions and want to know more. Co workers have asked for certain recipes of things I make and would like more information on items that are in food. Some have even tried to better their diet but not necessarily do the full transformation of real food eating. I love educating others!

SEVEN

I'm learning so much!!!

WOW...I can't believe how much I am learning while doing this. I really can't believe all the stuff they put in processed food that is not good for us. I feel like I have only scratched the surface on information that is out there about what is in our food.

SIX

My energy level changed within the first week.

This one blew me away. I have a 5 month old who LOVES to get up very early in the morning. I'm talking on average...5:30 am. I usually don't go to be until 10:30 pm. Before we started this challenge, I always felt tired and was dragging through the day. I was always yawning and just wanted sleep. Now...I am not even really that tired at the end of the day. I have so much energy through out the day and feel like I get so much accomplished without feeling like I need a nap. I honestly have never felt so great!!!

FIVE

I have tried new foods that I am loving!

It is widely known I am a very picky eater. I hate cooked veggies and cooked fruit. I don't like 'blah' food. Well, when you've committed yourself to something, it forces yourself to eat food you wouldn't have tried before. Now, I still don't like cooked veggies or fruit, but I do love raw veggies. I can't get enough of snap peas...just love them. I also love my spinach salad I have everyday with a hard boil egg, sea salt and pepper and some olive oil...so delicious. We make our own homemade granola and it tastes amazing (I have never liked any granola out of a box). I also make whole wheat muffins that are super delicious! My list is growing and I love it!!!

FOUR

Cheat meals are OK!

This one is big and needed to keep one sane! Tate and I have agreed that we get one cheat meal day. That means we get one cheat breakfast, one cheat lunch, one cheat dinner and one cheat snack. We could take it in one whole day or break it up during the week. We have broken it up and have stuck to only the one. Sometimes we feel like crap after wards and regret it, other times we feel satisfied. Sometimes it's not even a full cheat meal because 1/2 the meal was actually healthy. 

THREE

I'm starting to notice a change in my body.

I feel like I have more muscle tone and my stomach pooch is going away. I feel like I have always had a lil' stomach pooch even before I had Turner...I always thought that I wish I had a baby for an excuse why I have this. Tate's noticed a change also. I love that within in 3 weeks I am noticing that change so I can imagine what I will feel/look like in 10 more weeks.

TWO

I feel even more connected to my husband.

We've been on the same page for awhile on finances and raising Turner, but I always battled with him on my eating habits. In his profession, he learns so much everyday about eating healthy and the benefits. He would hear me complain about my stomach pooch that I hated (to which he would disagree that I even had one), but tell me if I wanted to feel better about myself....I should eat better! I was too stubborn and thought working out would get me to where I wanted to be. Well...now that I've seen a change, I know my husband was right that eating better is the biggest way to see a change in your body. We agreed that when doing this, we would do it together and share the responsibility of making lunches, dinner and snacks. I love having his help with all this! 

ONE

Everything about this is POSITIVE!

There has not been ONE SINGLE negative thing that has come of this change we've made. Everything truly has been positive and I am so grateful for it. I can honestly see this becoming a lifestyle change. I look forward to the weeks ahead to see what more changes I will see. 

I hope to soon blog about some of our recipes we've fallen in love with during this challenge and also the strength training workout Tate created for us. We will be taking our measurements again when we reach the 6 week mark so I am anxious to see how far we've come to reaching the goals we've set.

Would you ever consider doing a real food challenge? 

Turner - 5 months

November 2, 2013

5 months...I seriously can't believe I have a 5 month old!

Baby Stats:
Weight

16 lbs 6 oz

Length
26.25" (90th percentile) @ 4 month check up

Sleep
Don't we always wish babies slept more. 95% of the time he wakes us up in the morning. Sometimes he gets up pre 5 am which is not pleasant...but for the most part he gets up in the 5 am hour and sometimes hits 6 am. If he ever gets passed 6...it's heavenly. The weekends seem like he sleeps a lot better...not sure why but I like it.

Daily Routine
 I get up with him every morning to feed him. I get him ready for the day then. Then it's time to wake Daddy up so I can finish getting ready for work. Tate takes Turner to daycare every day. It's on his way to work so it's a good 30 minute drive. Turner naps on they way there. He has a super fun day at daycare which usually consist of a nap around 10 and 2...lasting anywhere from 30-90 minutes each. Some days I go get him, but for the most part, Tate brings him home and Turner usually takes a lil' cat nap on the way home. Once home we play and have family fun. After dinner feeding it's either bath time or play time including reading. Tate gives him his bed time bottle and puts him to bed around 8-8:30.

Feeding
Turner still gets 6 feedings a day every 3 hours. I nurse him at 6, bottles at 9, 12 and 3. I nurse him again at 6 and then his bed time bottle around 8. He takes down about 6.5 ounces per feeding.

Diaper Size
Still going strong in the cloth diaper department. I switched the snaps on one type of diaper thinking he was big enough...shouldn't have done that because we had major leak problems with those. Switched it back and we've been good. The cheaper cloth diaper brand I bought seems to have leaking problems...may just stop using those and buying more of the ones that are working for us.

Clothes Size
He fits into to most 3-6 month onesie and pants. He also wears 6 months clothes. All sleepers are now 6 month size.

Hair Color
Light brown color.

Eye Color
He's our lil' blue eye boy for right now!

Milestones/Likes/Dislikes
-Turner loves bath time. He splashes away in there and loves to stick his rubber ducky in his mouth. He loves it also when I pour the water on him.

-Tate and I had our first date night away from Turner. He did well with his babysitter (our daycare lady came over to watch him). Turner also had his first night where someone besides Tate or I putting him to bed. We attended a birthday party for a friend so my sister came up to watch him. He did great for her!!!

-Turner is so much better at sitting up now. He'll go a solid 10+ minutes. He has yet to catch himself from falling over when he does get a little wobbly. 

- Turner wants to get anything and everything he can get his hands on. If it's withing reaching distance...he will want to grab it and put it in his mouth. 

- Turner is still a very active boy. He likes to be moving at all times. Rolls like crazy and scoots his way around. I'm very afraid of what he will be like when he starts crawling!!! He also loves his jumper!!

-Turner had his first visit to the pumpkin patch. He loved it :)

-Turner celebrated his first holiday (and the best holiday in my honest opinion)!!! HALLOWEEN!!! Turner was a pea pod this year! 

-Turner was also baptized this month! We had a beautiful church service followed by a luncheon at the house with friends and family!!!

outfit change after church!

-A major dislike of Turner's is laying in his crib awake. Once he up...he wants to be out of there. He will cry cry cry until we get him. He's pretty good at entertaining himself when he is playing on a blanket or play mat, but not in his crib (since he doesn't have anything in there with him).

Turner,

You make your father and I laugh everyday with the new things you are learning and your personality!!! You seriously are the sunshine in our lives! You have made life so much better and I honestly can't even remember what it was like before you! You are so determined to do everything or get everything you want. If you can't...you'll fuss for a few seconds and get distracted by something else. Everyone comments on how cute you are and it never gets old hearing it! I thank God every day for choosing me to be your mama...because it is seriously the biggest blessing!!! Keep being the good baby you are...you make this parenting thing so much easier than we had ever imagined!!! Love you so much!!!

xoxo, your mommy!!!!
  

Tate & Bridget's 100 day challenge

WHO:

Tate and I will be embarking on a 100 day challenge!!!

WHAT:
Tate and I have decided to do a 100 day challenge of eating 'real food' and working out consistently. We are going to eat food in it's most natural state and cut out food that is just down right now good for us or our bodies. With my husband working in the fitness industry, he has written up work out schedules for us to do during this 100 day challenge.

We do plan to have cheat days/meals. We don't plan to deprive ourselves of great holiday food. There will also be times when we plan to go to dinner with friends or attend a social gathering and would like to indulge. We decided to do have a cheat day/meal once a week.

WHERE:
Making all the food ourselves and workouts can be done at gym or home!

WHEN:

October 28, 2013 was our start day because that is exactly 100 days until we leave for the wedding in Mexico.

HOW:

A few weeks back I was thinking where I could find information on what is considered real food and what is not. What we can include in our diet and what to eliminate. I was on Facebook and someone had liked '100 days of real food' and I new immediately it was sign that we for sure should do this and that was where I was going to get lots of my information. 100 days of real food has so much information for anybody thinking about doing it or wanting to do it.

I am NOT getting paid and was NOT asked to blog about this at all...I really did happen to stumble upon this site and have found it to be very resourceful and wanted to share.

We plan to follow pretty closely to the real food defined on the 100 day so of real food website.

* Whole Foods - eating food in its most natural state

*Lots and lots of fruits and vegetables

*Dairy products - yogurt and eggs

*100% whole wheat and whole grain products

*Seafood - wild caught salmon, cod & tilapia

*Meats - turkey & chicken

*Natural Sweeteners - honey

*Snacks - dried fruit, seeds, nuts & popcorn

*Beverages - water, almond milk, tea, wine & beer 

(wine and beer will be in moderation)

If we buy packaged food, we decided that we need to be able to pronounce or know all the ingredients and try to have 5 or less ingredients.

WHY:

My husband recently became a Certified Nutrition and Wellness Consultant (recent as in last spring) and has always talked about eating better. 

For the last month I have been thinking how I could eat even better and get back into shape before our Mexico vacation/destination wedding in February. I brought up the idea of the 100 day challenge to Tate and he immediately was on board. So here goes nothing!!!

Our GOALS:

Bridget

*Gain 3-5 lbs of muscle (yes...you read that right, I want to GAIN weight)
*Increase size/strength in glutes & quads
*Decrease inches in waist
*More definition in arms
*Decrease % of body fat

Tate
*Increase size in arms & chest
*Decrease % of body fat
*More definition in core, back & arms

Tate and I are also excited to see how we feel during this. We hope to have more energy since we are feeding our body natural food vs highly processed food.

Other items:
We did take our measurements when we started and before pictures.
We DO NOT plan to calorie count.
I am still breastfeeding so it's very crucial that I still get enough calories to produce milk for the little guy.

We are almost one week in and so far so good! Let's hope it keeps going this well ;)

Halloween 2013

I can't believe October has come and gone...best month is over and best holiday is now done!

I had so much fun this Halloween...even though it's been a lot different then years past. No party, no dressing up (I wanted to put couldn't find my cat costume..grrr), minimal trick or treaters cam this year...but the part that made it oh so much fun...was I got to dress Turner up and make Halloween special for him.

I dressed him up in Halloween attire during the week!

He was really excited to start wearing some Halloween gear!!!!

Sporting his glow in the dark onesie form his Auntie Hannah!!!
1 - "OK, I'm sitting still mom"
2 - "What do you want to do?
3 - "Really, another #halloweenwardrobe photo shoot?
4 - "Is this good mom?"

Could pumpkins on baby butts be any cuter?!?!

Our lil' pea pod ready to go trick or treating!!!!

He did perfect while visiting a few neighbors. Some got to meet him for the first time!!

I loved sharing my favorite holiday with my lil' man. I look forward to each and every Halloween I get to share with him and hope he falls in love with Halloween like I have!!!