Changing our ways

A sweet friend gently reminded me that I should update my blog *cough, Stephanie, cough*. Thanks for the love! I've honestly been trying to think of what to write for the past week. We've had a bumpy start to 2013 with the kids getting colds. I didn't have the chance to tackle the polar plunge. I have to admit I was a bit bummed to not cross that off my bucket list but I was really needed at home to be mom =) So for several weeks I would squeeze in "me" time to workout but nothing on a regular schedule. I actually became a bit unmotivated at times. My new year goals just seemed to have started off on a bad foot. I'm blaming it on the winter blues and started taking some Vitamin D supplements to help. Thankfully our NC weather is now warming up a bit and it's not so gloomy. Martinez and I have done a few times what is called 'Deck of Cards' workout. Each suit is given a type of exercise (Diamonds= pushups, Spades= mountain climbers...you get idea) so the number on the card is the number of reps of the exercise. Jokers we've marked for either water breaks or 30 second plank holds. It's pretty fun and only takes roughly 20-25 minutes to complete.



My sweet JuJu Bean has been having some tummy issues. She's had this way her whole life. I've tried switching out foods, reading labels to have no food colorings, how much sodium or HFCS, etc. Nothing seemed to help long term. Until I watched a simple 5 minute youtube video of a man talking about the worst "health" foods on the market. He basically stated how much sugar was in these items. Intrigued I ran downstairs and looked at all of the snacks we feed Julianna on a daily basis. I.was.stunned. What I thought was "healthy" was the complete opposite. Some days we were unknowingly giving Julianna upwards 60-70 grams of sugar a day! 4 grams of sugar = 1 teaspoon of sugar. That night I started making a plan to change what she eats-asap. Thankfully a health food chain that is just over an hour away sold her favorite crackers and lunch snacks in healthier versions. And didn't break the bank. It's been trial and error with foods that she'll eat. Her doctor also suggested that we increase her fiber intake to 14 grams a day. It's been a challenge keeping track of that and handling the sugar withdrawals. Not a fun week.... But on the bright side we're now getting her tummy issues back in control and she is sleeping better with no sleep medication! A full night's sleep is rare in our household so this has been a huge blessing.



During one the days that JuJu was sick I was surfing Netflix for any new documentaries. I'm such a nerd, I love watching them. My husband has now dubbed me as the "Granola Mom." For those that are interested some great ones are, "Food Inc.", "Fat, sick, and Nearly Dead", "Hungry for Change", "Dive" and my favorite "Forks over Knives". Since watching these I have become more aware of where our food comes from and what types of food we're eating. We bought a juicer the end of last month. It's been fun testing different combinations of veggies and fruits. My favorite so far is carrots, apples and ginger. My youngest actually loves one that had beets, carrots and apples. This month I'm also trying out vegetarian meals. I would love to eventually have our family only eat meat once or twice a month. I don't know how much on board my husband is with this idea but so far we've done really well. I wish that I could go vegan but I love cheese too much to give it up-ha! Pinterest has been a lifesaver for searching for recipes. I found more recipes in 30 minutes than at the bookstore. Some of the cookbooks I've found have too many recipes that call for hard to find ingredients and items we would probably never eat. If anyone does have a great vegetarian cookbook that isn't complicated please send me the name of it!



Now to brag on my oldest, Isaiah. He tested the end of February for his green belt! He's worked really hard the past few months to become more confident in his ability. He still struggles at times but he has some a long way. I'm so proud of him!!




My husband took Isaiah on a rainy Saturday morning to go learn to shoot a bow and arrow. He's never done anything like this before but it turns out that he's quite good at it!!





This past weekend we went to an Easter picnic and my son found out that they were having a pie eating contest. At first I refused to let him participate. *Cringe* I could already picture the stomach aches and tears. Then after a few minutes it hit me that my son is old enough to know this and somehow he still wanted to do it. I know I need to give him a little wiggle room in the decision making department. So we decided to let him join in. It ended up he was going up against 1 adult and several kids. I must admit as much as it hurt to watch them eat, it was pretty funny to watch. My son earned 2nd place! He was so happy for 10 seconds and then he looked at me and said, "I don't think I'll ever do this again." I just smiled and handed him a bottled water ;)



We'll be running a 5k later in March with Ainsley's Angels. I'm thrilled to get back into our racing schedule. I better take JuJu on a few runs before the race. I'm out of practice pushing the stroller!