The Importance of Clean Eating

NO, I AM NOT PREGNANT!!



me and my food baby

As I mentioned in my last post, I started getting my nutrition back on track in January.  I was still drinking occasionally and would indulge in sweets here or there, but once I started Crossfit on March 1st, I cut that stuff out completely...

Until last night...

Last night I met a friend for dinner at a local Mexican food restaurant and indulged in some steak nachos.  I barely put a dent in them before I was stuffed.  Afterward we headed over to a gelato shop and I had the smallest serving of strawberry gelato.  Actually I had half of their smallest serving because I got half lemon and half strawberry and the lemon was so tart I couldn't even eat it.  By the time I got home an hour later, I was in a lot of pain.

The above picture is probably the most legit food baby I have ever had.  I think the dress contributes to it a little, but it stands up next to most of the baby bump pics I have seen others post.  It definitely reinforced my commitment to eating clean, and for that, I am thankful.

Some that have seen this picture told me to post it on Instagram or FB, but I am way too worried about the karma that comes along with something like that.  Hence the sentence before the picture.  What I do know is that the food I ate wasn't worth the consequences to my body.

Back on the wagon I go...

Introducing...

Jobin City Slicka Magooch!

Okay, so her name is Lucy Lee Vera M. Isn't she the cutest? I mean, THOSE CHEEKS! She is the third girl for one of my work besties, Monica, aka Jobin. She blogs her craftscapades over at The Painted Pisces.

Lucy Lee Vera (I've been calling her Lulu since I found out what they were naming her) was born on Monday, January 7th at 8:41pm. At 20.5" and 8lbs 10oz, she is the biggest baby that Jobin has birthed. Probably because she was marinating for an extra week! She was expected January 1st.

I haven't met her yet so all you get are the pics that mama Jobes sent me. I will definitely post more when I finally meet her.

Welcome to the world, Lulu!!!

"When Are You Having Babies?"

Aaaaaaaaaah, the most favorite question of every newly married couple that comes from every direction possible.  Parents, siblings, friends, coworkers, extended family; you name it, they're asking.  Many blogs that I read follow the same evolution; moving in together, engagement, wedding planning, newlyweds, starting a family, trials and tribulations of motherhood.  If you read some of the same blogs I do, I'm sure this is not the first time you have read about this topic.  I can gurantee you, it won't be the last.  However, everyone has a different answer to this question.

So what are we telling people?  I pretty much have it recorded on my phone and anytime someone asks, I just play the recording for them.  Okay, that's a lie, but it's a damn good idea.  Our answer goes a little something like this:

We are currently in the process of paying off our wedding debt.  Once we have this paid off, we would like to spend some time actually enjoying the income we have and building our savings before we have to spend it all on baby supplies, schooling, daycare, etc.  We are also at a point in our careers where the next few years are critical in moving up and getting to where we would like to be.  We are currently undecided either way on starting a family.  There are several aspects that interest us, but there are others that aren't so appealing at this point in time.  When we are at a place where we feel like sleeping through the night, sleeping in on weekends, and doing whatever we want whenever we want to do it without a second thought is no longer appealing to us, we will think about starting a family.

No matter what your opinion is on this topic, or how the above statement makes you feel, people should really try to keep the perspective that this is a very personal choice and everyone makes their choice for very personal reasons.  Right now, we are honest enough with ourselves to know that we are selfish.  And that's our perogative.

Many, many years ago, I had everything planned out.  I was in a long-term relationship at the time and I saw myself married by 26, first kid at 28, second kid at 30 and then we would be done.  After that relationship ended, I really came into my own and realized that I had different priorities and wanted different things in my life.  I still kind of told myself that after I was married, I would wait at least a year or two before starting a family.  Looking back now, I feel like I was doing what a lot of people do.  I wasn't giving myself a choice about a family.  I was just going with the "natural progression" that society places on us.  But if I really stopped and thought about it and learned from the experience of my friends and family, and took into account all that being a mother entails, maybe it's not in my natural progression.  Or maybe, just maybe, I'm not there yet.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good baby fix as much as the next chick.  And I am over the moon for my niece.  I just know that when she starts throwing a fit, that's my cue to hand her over and peace out.  Do I get that being a mother is the most rewarding experience the universe has to offer?  Sure.  Do I also get that it's the most difficult job out there?  Definitely.  And I have my friends and family to thank for both of those things.  I try to make all of life's important decisions with all of the information I have available to me, and the experience of others is great research.

You're not getting any younger.
You're never going to be ready.
M needs a cousin to play with.
Aren't you dying to know how gorgeous your babies would be?
So-and-so needs a friend
I need a grandbaby
It's what you DO.

All of those things may be true, but to us, they are not reasons to just start a family.  My response is usually, "That's great, are you going to pay to raise this child?  Are you going to come over and get up with it in the middle of the night or stay with it on the weekends when we want to go out of town?  No?  Okay great, so then we'll just go ahead and wait on that one."  To some people, getting married is just the step that comes before babies.  So, in order to get the babies, you have to get married.  To me, marriage is finding someone that compliments you well, that you love spending time with, and that you can rely on to get through the good an bad times with.  Having a baby changes the entire dynamic.  Some people love their partner even more after a baby, others find out that they were never on the same page about things after the wedding and that shows through much more when you have another human being to make a priority.

Every so often the topic of babies comes up between us and we have remained on the same page.  I know that JB thinks about carrying on the family name and would love to have his own little science experiment and someday coach a soccer team, and he would be an AMAZING father.  And I would be lying if I said I have never thought to myself, "I can't wait to experience pregnancy and have a little human that wants me more than anyone else in the world."  But that time for us is not now.  And we don't know when it will be.  And we are OKAY with that.

Now if we could just get everyone else on the same page....

Cuteness Anyone?

A girl I went to high school with has a newborn and family photography business, Megan Squires Photography, and started a mentoring program for others aspiring to be amazing newborn photographers called "Mentor Me Baby".  She contacted my SIL to see if she wanted to bring my little Monkey in to model for the mentoring session and in turn gave her a few of the edited shots to keep. 

BEWARE:  EXTREMELY ADORABLE BABY BELOW.  HANG ON TO YOUR OVARIES LADIES!!

 

That last one is my favorite.  It's actually the new wallpaper on my phone.  It seriously bursts my heart how adorable she is.  I ruv her so much!!!  My bro and SIL send me pics and videos of her being cute all the time, so I am swooning on a regular basis. 

Just thought I would share these with you to brighten up your Thursday!  Keep your head up, friends.  It's almost the weekend!!

Adventures In Babysitting

When I was a young girl, I was obsessed with the book series, The Babysitters' Club.  I belonged to the book club and received 3 books a month (which I devoured in half that time), a newsletter, and some kind of toy or whatever.  I had my own "kid kit" and was ready and willing to babysit any kid, any time.  I never really did, though.  Maybe it was because we lived on a a block without many young kids or something.  Anyway, I digress.

Last night I babysat my 6 week old niece.  I have been over to visit weekly since she arrived and really enjoy spending with her the short time she is awake between eating and sleeping on my chest.  I figured it would be a piece of cake to change a couple of diapers, feed her a couple of bottles, and watch her sleep peacefully until my brother and SIL returned home.

It was, for the most part. 

My SIL fed her before they left and I burped her and held her for a bit and then put her in the new swing I brought over which Nugget's mom is letting them borrow.  She loved it and fell asleep in mere minutes.  She slept for over an hour before I had to change her and feed her.  I don't know what happened during that feeding, but she was FUSSY.  I got some good burps out of her, but she was still not a happy girl.

At the same time all this was going on, JB had arrived with dinner.  I was starving, but didn't want to make him take a fussy baby, so I didn't really ask.  She wasn't happy no matter what I did with her and my hunger was getting the best of me.  I finally had to ask JB to help me get my dinner together, but to my surprise, he asked me if I wanted him to take the baby (Awwwww!).  I finally got to eat and he was doing his best to keep her happy.  She had already spit up quite a but of what I had fed her, and when he took her, she ended up spitting up the rest on him.  Poor girl!

We were finally able to get her to calm down enough to put her back in the swing and keep her relaxed.  She slept for another 30 minutes or so before she woke up hungry again.  I can't say I blame her since she spit up most of her last feeding.  JB had already headed home (it was MY gig after all), so I changed her and gave her another bottle.  She did much better this time and ended up falling right to sleep on my chest.

Sigh.

It was overall an enjoyable experience and I plan to do it many more times in the coming weeks/months/years, but just the way I was feeling during the time that she was fussy and upset tells me that I am nowhere near ready to be having one of my own.  I'll just work on this whole Auntie thing for a while.

Cupcake Shower!!

In case you haven't noticed, I need something to call babies when they are still incubating. Makes it more personal for me. What better nickname for a baby housed by my SIL who loves to bake cupcakes than CUPCAKE?! People have buns in their oven, but she has a little cupcake in there.

I know this is long overdue, but here are the pics and a brief wrap up from the baby shower my mom and I threw for my SIL and her local friends. Her mom and sisters threw her another shower in her hometown in the Bay Area. Needless to say, we went with a cupcake theme, which apparently is only being done for 1st birthday parties and beyond, not baby showers. We still made it happen though. Don't doubt me.

(party favors doubled as centerpieces)

(So many gifts!)

(she and my bro work for the PD)

(grubbin')

(cupcake martini glass that we made her drink punch out of)

(cupcake piggy bank from GG)

(friends and family)

(yummy cupcakes from icing on the cupcake)

(Close up of the cupcake favors. Found them here and then my mom put them together.)

(mom, me, aunt)

(my fave outfit!)

(GG, GG, aunt)

It was a very successful shower. We played a couple of games (matching baby to mama animals and gift bingo) and gave away cupcake related prizes, ate yummy appetizers, and cooed over cute baby stuff. My mom put in a lot of work for the shower and I think we made a pretty great team. Also have to shout out to my best coworkers for designing the games and helping me print them out. They turned out so cute!

Cupcake will be here within the month and I am so excited to meet her and be an Aunt!

Nugget Update - Halloween Lobstah

I have so many other things I want to blog about, but had to get this out there for the world to see.

How freaking cute is she??? They put her in a big pot and she just kicked it in there for some pics. Okay, maybe she got a little sketch after a few minutes. She is getting so big!

BABY NEWS!!!

Now that I have your attention...

No, it's not mine.

I am going to be an AUNTIE! My brother and SIL are having a baby, due 2/26/2011, which just so happens to be my dad's birthday. I have known since Father's Day and was forced to keep it a secret until their 12 week appointment which was this morning. Here is the first pic of Ziggy:

I am beyond excited since I only live about 15 minutes away from them. Can't wait to find out more about this little one.

Nugget Has Arrived!!!

AKA Juliana June, this little cutie arrived on 5/31/2010 at 9:54am, weighing in at 7 lbs even and was 19 1/4 inches.


Below is her first pic with Auntie Bre. She is so perfect! Mom and Dad are doing great and told me that she is going to go home in her blanket that I made her!

Hopefully they will send me a pic so I can post it on my bloggy blog. I am so excited that she is finally here. I feel like I have been waiting forever, so I can only imagine what they must have felt like. I can't wait to see what her little personality is like as she gets older.