Rhett at 18 Months

Somehow all the sudden my baby boy is now 18 months old and is acting more and more like a toddler every day. Here are a few things that he likes:

Cuddling his baby fox.

Ice cream!

Getting ready for church with dada.

Making crazy faces and taking pictures!

Juice, of course.

Being happy! He is such a happy guy.

Pushing the stroller rather than sitting in it.

Closing the doors and smiling innocently at mama from inside.

Brushing his teeth.

Being happy-again! And playing with the little chair Uncle D got him.

Wearing his sharka towel and cuddling dada when he gets home.

Wearing hats!

Taking pictures with mama.

Swinging.

Going down the slide!

Sitting on dada's motorcycle and having crazy hair.

Helping mama unload the dishwasher. While wearing an ice cream maker lid as a hat, of course.

Playing games and learning about shapes.

Wearing his cute church outfits!

Taking pictures in church...;)

Explaining the intricacies of nursery politics to the other kids. 

Devouring snacks in nursery. 

Every day is a new adventure with Rhett! We absolutely love this stage and all of the changes it brings. It's so fun to watch him learn and become more of a little boy with his own personality. Hopefully I'll still be saying this when he enters the terrible twos...

Our little monkey

Thinking About....

1. The bright, fresh colors of spring.
2. Staying in my pajamas all weekend and spending time with my family while we are spiritually uplifted.
3. Planning Rhett's 1st birthday party.
4. Changing up my hair.

 

Cleanse Day 3

Today had its highs and its lows. It started off great because both Clarence and I were down 3 1/2 pounds! Now I'm sure that's all water weight, but a lower number on the scale doesn't hurt to lift our spirits.

Breakfast:

Carrot, Mango, and Herb Smoothie



This smoothie was a great start to the day! I used mint as the herb, which was an unexpected taste and threw me off at first, but the more I had it the more I liked it. It was a nice change up from the berry smoothies we'd been having. It also seemed to more filling.

Lunch:

Spiced Butternut Squash and Apple Soup



I was so excited for this soup. I had fun preparing it and it made my house smell wonderful. But once I started pureeing it I knew I was in for trouble. The problem is the process was too similar to how I make Rhett's baby food. And once the soup was all blended up, it was the exact texture of his baby food. I couldn't get that thought out of my head, but I was feeling really woozy and hungry so I ate as much as I could. Well it wouldn't stay down. This was the lowest point of my day. I was so frustrated and told Clarence that I couldn't do it anymore. I simply can't do something that doesn't allow me to eat, and I have to eat, not only for myself, but for Rhett. After a call with Clarence I felt much better, and I ate a whole bag of a trail mix I made, which consisted of: 1/4 cup cashews, 1/4 cup peanuts, 1/4 cup whole almonds, 1/4 cup raisins, and 1/4 cup sunflower seeds. This trail mix saved me today.

Dinner:

Avocado with Bell Pepper and Tomatoes



After the rough afternoon, I knew we needed to have something for dinner that would pick us up, so I made our favorite dish so far, this avocado salad. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite the pick me up I had hoped it would be; Clarence couldn't finish his and was almost sick from it, and I choked it down. What is going on? As Clarence said after dinner, why does it seem like our bodies are rejecting food that is supposed to be so good for us?

Now before we started this cleanse, it's not like we ate fast food or pasta and pizza every night. We love salads and I make them often, big salads with lots of vegetables and fruits. I have always loved vegetables and try to get them in every meal. I also considered myself overall to be a health conscious person. For about 6 months now I've had a green smoothie every morning for breakfast, a salad or some light lunch, and then a variety of dinners, and I try to get in as much activity as I can with a new baby. Of course we love to eat out and we love our treats, so that's our downfall, but I considered our diet well-rounded. So that's why I'm so confused why we are feeling so nauseous at the thought of eating vegetables and I have absolutely no appetite.

I'll be honest, I'm not sure we're going to make it through the full 3 weeks. My main concern right now is getting enough to eat so I can continue to nurse Rhett, as that is my priority. I am counting my calories each day and if they are too low then I eat more, but I only have so many options. We are going to finish out this week and then evaluate. I wouldn't dismiss the benefits we are receiving from a 1 week cleanse. But, I know that I need to keep in mind that next week we will be adding in seafood, beans and lentils, and organic soy. I think that will make a big difference because we are really missing meat, so we'll feel like we're getting more food and we'll be more satisfied.

I want to be totally honest on here because if other people attempt this cleanse, I want them to know my true experience. It's hard for me to admit that this is really hard for me, but it is. I don't want to give up on this, but I also don't want to be sick and miserable each day. So we'll see. It really is just one day at a time.

Cleanse Day 2

Alright so today I am definitely feeling more side effects -- headache and fatigue. And cravings. Oh the cravings are plentiful. Pretty much two things are keeping me going at this point: the fact that Clarence is doing this with me and I don't want to stop if he's not and the fact that I've made this more public, so I don't want to be the wimpy loser who gives up. But I'm going! I'm not going to give up!

Part of the reason why today was harder is because I didn't enjoy the lunch and dinner meals that much. For some reason vegetables were making me gag today so I had to choke down every bite. I think my body is in rebellion. Here's what I ate:

Breakfast:

Orange Berry Smoothie



We both loved this smoothie and I prefer it over the one we had yesterday. 

Lunch:

Sweet Potato, Celery, and Apple Salad



Clarence surprisingly really liked this salad. It was a bit too tart for me with the green apple and the lemon, so I think next time I will hold back the lemon for me and see if it's any better. I ate about 5 bites of this and couldn't have anymore. An hour later I was hungry again, so  I made a smoothie of 1/2 frozen banana, 1/4 cup of almond milk, and some cinnamon. Now I am not 100% sure that almond milk is ok. My reasoning is that it's not dairy so I'm assuming it's ok...? If anyone has more details I would appreciate it. In any case, the smoothie was the most glorious thing I have tasted and saved the day. I'm definitely keeping it in my recipe list for one I'll make even after this cleanse.

Our favorite salad/meal so far is the avocado with peppers and tomatoes from yesterday's lunch. It's basically like eating delicious guacamole, which I'm totally ok with.

Dinner:

Roasted Peppers, Cauliflower, and Almonds



I added garlic to this and I think it made a huge improvement. I'm not a huge parsley fan so I think I'll leave that out next time. It was alright. I liked the cauliflower more than the peppers.

A few hours after dinner I was craving sweets, so I had an orange.

My total calorie count for today is 903. I know that is too low for me since I'm still nursing, so I think I'll have some trail mix before bed.

The high points of today were that Clarence lost 2 pounds already, he didn't have any headaches, and he liked his lunch; my high point was the banana smoothie!

I just have to focus on my goals. Obviously what we are doing is extreme because we are trying to change 23 years of eating habits, which isn't going to happen over night. I keep telling myself that I just need to take it one day at a time, and that after each week it will get better.

I am looking ahead to the part where my body starts to feel a lot better because I am feeding it better.

Out with the Bad, in with the Good: 2013 Detox

So today was day 1 of the 21 (possibly 28) day detox that Clarence and I have decided to do. We are following this plan from Whole Living, which impressed me because there seems to be more of a method to the madness rather than other cleanses I've seen. There are lots of reasons we're doing this cleanse, and we each have our own reasons. My top reasons are to have more energy and to give my body the boost it needs to really get serious about losing weight.

 Back in June, I joined Weight Watchers and lost 20 pounds over 6 months. I really loved the program and would advocate it to anyone who's looking to lose weight but doesn't want to necessarily feel like they are on a diet. I was also happy that it took into account that I was (am) nursing, so I didn't have to worry about losing my milk or anything. There's no doubt that if I had stayed on WW I would have continued to lose weight, so while I still hope to lose a few pounds on this cleanse, weight loss isn't my primary reason for doing it. I want to do something good for my body and give it a break from the sugar, dairy, and gluten that I eat far too much. After this cleanse, I'm hoping that I will have trained my body enough that I can possibly go gluten free, at least long enough to get down to my goal weight. Now I'm not going to kid myself and act like for the rest of all time now I'm never going to eat gluten, sugar, or dairy again, because I love food...especially chocolate cake...but I do want to have a diet that doesn't rely so heavily on these.

After being overweight my whole life, losing 40 pounds, gaining back 20, then gaining even more when I was pregnant, I've realized that I'm not and will never be one of those women who can eat whatever she wants and and not exercise seriously. I've always known I wasn't like that, but that didn't change the fact that I ate like I was. I want to feel happy and confident in myself and in my ability to do whatever I want. I don't want my health to hold me back in any way from enjoying life. So this detox is my first step to making some major changes to my lifestyle.

I am choosing to blog about our detox because I know that by making it public, even if no one reads it, I will have that much more motivation to keep going. I also am using it as a food diary to keep track of which recipes we like, how I'm feeling, and my failures and hopefully successes.

The rules for the cleanse are:

-Absolutely NO processed food or beverages, added sugar, dairy, gluten, caffeine, and alcohol.

For Week 1 you can eat fruits, vegetables, and plant-based fats, including nuts, seeds, and oils.
You will then add back in certain foods in week 2 and 3 (and the bonus week 4), but I'll get to those once we get there.

Here is an outline of what I ate today:

Breakfast:

I started the morning with 1 cup of hot water with some fresh lemon juice to stimulate the liver and release digestive enzymes. 

Antioxidant Smoothie



Morning Snack:

Cranberry-Pumpkin Seed Trail Mix



Lunch:

Avocado with Bell Pepper and Tomatoes



Dinner:

Roasted Garlic and Beet Soup



All of these meals were delicious. And I'm not just saying that, they were legitimately flavorful and very filling. I don't feel any of the effects of the detox yet that they say to expect, such as fatigue or a headache. I don't feel hungry at all tonight after dinner and didn't feel excessively hungry during the day, which surprised me. Each meal was simple to make with fresh, basic ingredients. I'm making sure to drink plenty of water and am adding a lemon wedge if I want to have a different taste.

Before I go to sleep I'm going to do these detox stretches that they recommend. I will also do my pilates, which I try to do every day. I'm not sure at this point if I'm going to go to the gym much, or if I do I will likely just walk uphill. I am still counting my calories and my total for today is 1,113, so I'm still definitely getting in some calories. I'm thinking by week 2 I will pick up going to the gym, once the negative effects of the detox have worn off and I have more energy. All in all, today was a great day and I'm not having any major cravings. I'm excited to try some other recipes tomorrow!

6 months

My little baby boy is 6 months old today! I cannot believe that a half of a year has gone by. I am so blessed beyond words to be able to be home with him everyday, while still being able to work and help out our little family reach our goals. 

 Rhett is such a good baby! He smiles and laughs so often and so freely, such a sweetheart. He can now reach the floor in his jumper and he will go crazy, jumping up and down, laughing, and playing with his toys. He is also pro at rolling over now and is getting close to being to sit up completely by himself. He has become so curious too, always grabbing everything and examining it, trying to figure it out.

 I had no idea that I could love someone so much; I thought I knew when I met Clarence, but this is a whole other level. I love nothing more than when Clarence comes home and I get to see them laughing and playing together. I love that we each can have our own special relationship with Rhett and that he needs us both. 

Right now he is in the perfect stage because he can't crawl yet, so he has no choice but to cuddle me and just chill out most of the time! I wish I could stop time for a few more months and enjoy his immobility, because I know it's going to get crazy here pretty soon. But I am excited for each new stage, it truly is amazing how quickly babies grow and learn. Watching him see and experience so many things for the first time inspires me to slow down and enjoy life more, enjoy the little things.