What's in Yo' Fridge Link Up

So, Holly is so awesome that she comes up with super cool link-ups on Fridays like a tell all of what's in our fridge. What better way to make friends than to take a peek in their fridge?!

Anyway, I decided to play along and do a nice lil' reveal. As you can see, apparently our fridge light is like a spotlight.

Some necessities that we always have in stock are: eggs, milk or coconut milk, yogurt, cheese, condiments and fresh produce. We are a condiment family. Ben's side of the family is especially. My family mostly just appreciates a good jar of may. Or food lube as my dad calls it. I know. So we always have salad dressings, asian sauces, sandwich condiments, bbq sauce, ketchup, those sorts of things.

Fresh produce now includes our organic produce home delivery. How much more hippie/confused yuppie can we get?! Well, we are trying it out to see if the cost, convenience, and quality all make sense. Our first delivery was yesterday so that is why there are so many fruits and veggies in there. And no the bottom left is not just full of oranges. There are also pears and apples. And the right drawer isn't just carrots. There is celery, cucumber, peppers, fennel and cauliflower all thanks to our delivery. So far, I like it.

Some randoms that I will buy usually just depend on what's on sale. I see a jar of sun-dried tomatoes down there. That casserole dish is some leftover spinach from the other night. Our pork for our fajitas is in there on the bottom marinating. The big bowl in the middle is leftover salad that we will finish up tonight.

So that's that. Go ahead and play along!

The In-Betweens

I seriously love the age Eleanor is right now. She understands so much, she is getting so much better at expressing herself and what she wants. She is interested in everything and always learning.

The issue I am having is that sometimes I think she is bored. We play with her toys, roam around, she loves to help with chores like the dishwasher and "folding" and putting away laundry. We eat our meals. We try to go outside for walks as much as possible. But I want to make sure I am challenging her or teaching her as much as I can. I feel like a lot of the activities I come up with or can think of are just a little too "old" for her. Baking, putting pipe cleaners in the colander, sorting craft pom poms. I don't want to wish her older, I just wish I could come up with activities that are age appropriate  I mean, I know she is a 14 1/2 month old with little to no attention span but there has to be a few things.

We have found that she loves stickers. So that keeps her attention for a bit. And the girl loves books. I mean like big, puffy, heart lovin'. Books, over and and over. Which I love.

All this aside, Eleanor and I are in a really good place right now. It's not to say that I haven't loved other ages up until now, I just think that some of the previous challenges are starting to fade and my confidence as a mom continues to grow. I find that things I used to stress and agonize over are becoming less of a big deal as time goes on. I try really hard to go with the flow a little more. I think that was kind of an oxymoron. She really is such a good girl. She is happy most of the time. When she isn't I can usually figure out why. Minus the damn teeth! Those little buggers, seriously, come out of no where or take forever, for the love, to come in!

Again, we are really looking forward to nicer weather because I think E will want to live outside. Just like her mama.

Any ideas on good or fun activities for an almost 15 month old are very welcome!

Hey, Hey...

...It's Friday!

Another week gone by. Some days seem never ending and then all of a sudden here we are meeting with another weekend. Today feels like a good day. We have been having a rough bit of sleep this week because I think little Miss is getting a molar. Or two. Whoever really knows?!

I always do feel just a bit more chipper when the sun is peeking out which it did yesterday afternoon, today and is predicted for the next couple of days. So nice. I just can't stop thinking about how much fun it will be once the nice weather is more frequent for Eleanor to be outside. She loves it outside and I think she is going to be such a fun age for summer this year. Camping, swimming, the zoo, long walks...gahhh, hurry up summer!

Let's not get to far ahead of ourselves. This weekend we are headed out on Saturday night to celebrate a friend's birthday. We are leaving a bit early so Ben and I can have some alone time before we meet up with the group. The month of January is filled with a lot of work hours for him so we are a bit over due on some time out together.

I am already beginning to think about our garden this year and what we will be planting. We tried starts last year and they didn't really work any better than just putting seeds into the ground when the time is right so I think we will just do that. I also didn't do many flowers on account of not having a functioning brain due to lack of sleep so hopefully I can plant some more flowers this year. That will be another fun thing to do with E babe.

I am also trying to decide if I want to forge into some toddler groups for E. I think it would be fun to get her around some more toddlers however, the only hesitation I am having is that the flu is rampant around here right now! I know I can't keep her cooped up all the time, but when there are high-risk situations, i.e. a group full of germ-y kids, I feel I should keep her away. Maybe we should hold out a couple more months until the sickness dies down a bit.

I also wanted to say thank you to Holly for the mention in her post today. I think it is so nice to have those special girls that we connect with and relate to. She reached 1000 followers which is amazing because just a year ago she was lingering around the number of followers I have. I love reading her blog and staying in touch.

{Kind of} Wordless Wednesday

Some Most days...

I can't believe she's mine.

The First One is Always the Hardest, Right?

Okay, yes I am probably beating a dead horse but I do feel that accountability from others helps immensely when working out and trying to get fit. Or eating right. Or even trying to quit a bad habit.

So I'm going to talk about it.

I am hoping to do the Color Run in May with a group of girls and, I know, if I had all the time in the world and could run whenever I wanted I would have no problem achieving that goal. However, I have a little shadow in the form of a 30" tall 14 month old that can sometimes put a damper on the workout front. I want to stop letting that be an excuse. I told my brother I wanted to do this and he asked what my goal is. I want to run the whole time. I know run can be a loose term but I just don't want to, at any point, feel like I am walking. So, then they told me about this run at the end of April that you get a doughnut at the finish. Well, I looove me some doughnuts! I may look into that one as well.

Anyhow. He sent me my workout today and I strapped E into the Bob, told her to be a good little running partner and she was. Me, however, I was a kind of embarrassing running partner. I was huffing and puffing and barely lifting my legs because they felt like they weighed about ten pounds each! Mind you, I am down pretty far in weight but I am out. of. shape. The bro sent me a walk/run 20 minute workout which I picture to be similar to what the C25k is. So it was good, I completed it. I just felt like I was going to die.

Mind you all. I don't know if a 45 degree, damp day, pushing my 22 lb. babe was probably the best idea. Oh well, I figure it can't get much more challenging from there, right?!

I am happy to have started the road. It could be a long road. But that's okay. I'll get there. I think for awhile I was using every excuse in the book to not work out. I'm tired. I have no time. I'm always nursing. I have no time. I'll probably get pregnant again this year so what's the use in getting in shape if I'm going to gain weight again?

Well. While all of those excuses comforted me for about a year I finally realized, OH WELL! So what if I'm tired, working out or a little exercise gives me a little more energy and helps me sleep better at night. Time? Give me 20 minutes and I can accomplish some sort of body movement. I am still nursing but only at bedtime so that has helped in that area. And pregnancy?! Pshhh, if I do, I do and then I'll be one step ahead in a healthy pregnancy!

So there we have it. Day 1 of the road to a 5K for this mama.

Do You Yoga?

I mentioned in my last post how Ben got me some yoga classes for Christmas. I have always wanted to like yoga but have never really gotten into it. I did a few Bikram classes when I was in college which I really liked but then fell away from because I couldn't justify the cost. Over the years I have done a video here or there, or some On Demand stuff but never really stuck with it. 

Well.

Going to classes has been so great. I have yet to go to a hot yoga class at this gym, but the regular classes I have been going to have been great, mind-clearing and really just what I need to each week. I have really allowed myself to, I know this sounds so yoga-ish, but to clear my mind and just be in the moment with my body. It is an hour to myself where I can just focus on my body and what is going on. I have never been at a point in my life like I am now where I feel like I have a lot of noise. Do you know what I mean? Just like, always having to get something done, take care of something/someone, catch up on this or that. I am so glad my husband did this for me and so glad I am actually taking the time to enjoy it. 

I have only been three times but I am hoping to up it to twice a week since I have only been managing to make it to one. It sounds so silly, even to me, but I can tell such a difference throughout the rest of the day that I had gone to class. 

I think it also helps I am doing a few other things here or there, just 20-30 minutes a day in my living room to strengthen my body. I definitely lost all the baby weight but with that and nursing, I also have managed to lose a lot of muscle with basically no working out over the past year. There have been a few weeks here or there where I get into kicks but I hope this yoga is longer than a kick. I hope that these ten classes really give me that jump start that I need and that whether I keep going to class, which I definitely hope to do because there is just something to be said for getting out of the house and spending time for myself, or just get a good video that I like, I really hope to keep going because--it just feels good to feel good.

Almost February?!

What a couple of months we have had. December came and went in a hurry with Eleanor's first birthday, a trip to San Antonio for ten days over Christmas and back to Washington to ring in the New Year!

Oh yes, her hair is still wild.

We were home for a couple of weeks in January and then my mom, E and I took off for sunny Arizona to spend a week at my aunt's house. Yes, we sadly left Dad behind to work and even though it was very hard to be away and hard for him to not have his girls home, it seemed like it was for the best because was putting in some ridiculous hours. Oh, the life of a CPA.

Hopefully he is on the downswing of things and we can get back into our groove around here.

Travelling with a baby was, yes, I really am going to admit this--not as horrendous as I had anticipated. Of all the four flights there was only one that was super challenging and of course it was the longest flight that was oh, so perfectly right around her bedtime. Although there was no endless screaming, thankfully, she was just a squirmy, tired mess. Ah, well, we survived and apparently it wasn't too hard because we did it again!

This girl, I tell ya, is just amazing. I can't believe how quickly the time is flying by and how much she grows and changes everyday. She is such a toddler now and although I still see her as my baby, she proves daily that she is moving at a fast rate into toddler-hood and being such a big girl.

She is beginning to say quite a few words. She definitely mimics everything. Her words right now include:
mama {or mostly, mum}
dada
nigh nigh
mah {more}
beh {bird}
buh {book}
bah {bath}
ah-pa {Opa}
di-puh {diaper}

I know, I know, most of these just look like different sounds, but I want to remember how well she was associating her words with actual things and differentiating sounds. And, I'm her mom, right? So I speak her language fluently. Or at least I try.

On the personal front, I have really started to make an effort at working out. My brother has been sending me workouts so that if I can magically get E to stay in her crib for at least thirty minutes of her nap, I can get something accomplished. It is amazing what just a quick twenty minutes of abs and strength can do. Ben also got me ten yoga classes for Christmas of which I can use for regular or hot yoga. I always thought I was partial to hot yoga, but I have been to two regular and it turns out I love it too! I can also use the gym on days that I go in for a class so I will see about that. It is really amazing how much better I feel when I get a little alone time or do something active.

My one, main goal for the year, no I am not calling it a resolution, is to meal plan. I am usually good at stocking up on groceries and try to get good deals, but then once five o clock is all of a sudden upon us, funny how that happens everyday, I draw a blank as to what to throw together. So, we end up eating a lot of the same meals on a semi-regular rotation. Well, I have had it with that and am trying to get better. Even if it's searching through the cabinets and freezer at the beginning of the week, I want to write down each day what we will have so I don't have to think about it. I also want to go through the 14,000 3 magazine subscriptions my grandma has gotten me {well, I actually get three separate and then the same one three times. How's that math for ya?} and try some new recipes. I like simple recipes that use pretty standard ingredients so that's what I look for.

So that's what's up. Not too much detail but a little update. I need to get back here. I still love following along with all my regular reads and I do try to comment when I'm on the regular computer but unfortunately I still do a lot of blog reading on my phone. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and all that is to come in 2013! ;)