Our best Christmas yet

Christmas this year was the best one we have had in a long time. Not because of all the presents but just the over all experience. Last year Charles was almost 2 months old this year he is up running around and talking up a storm. I was amazing to see how loved all his gifts. Ate his first big boy Christmas eve dinner and Traditional Italian 7 seas dinner too.

Playing football with grandad

He is beyond loved this one. He got some amazing books, toys, Pj's and toys and toys galore. He also became a full on artist this week. He drew in the hallway and also one in my office.

Tell me you see a dog figure too!

He now is also an accomplished singer. I seriously can not wait for more amazing experiences like this! We are beyond blessed. I hoped you had a great holiday too. What was your favorite thing this year?

mini me

Bluum box Review

I promise the financial stuff along with out monthly budget is coming. Davis has just been working like a mad man and hasn't had the time to sit now and share all that info but hang tight because it is coming and soon. That said I want to share our experience with Bluum box. 

Before Charles 1st birthday I felt really bad about the amount of toys he had. We have been really tight with our money  as far as paying off our debt, and we weren't buying everything we would like to. We are living like no one else so that later we can live like no one else. This is not something that is easy or that I made up. We got this saying for Dave Ramsey. Charles had a few little toys but but nothing crazy it's safe to say he had about less then 10 toys. As a mom it's hard to not give your child everything that I would like to. He is small and doesn't NEED much this is key. He doesn't need it. This is all stuff I want to give him. That said one day I was reading one of my favorite blogs. Mandy had just done a review about her Bluum box. After seeing what was in it I really wanted one for Charles. I talked to Davis and since Charles gets a $30.00 a month for anything he needs or wants.(Clothing toys.) We ordered one. Well since I ordered it through Mandy's link it gave me 1/2 off so it was less then 12.50! Score. And on top of that she got a free month for the referral. Double score! When we got our 1st box he had already been getting birthday gifts in the mail so he knew that a box meant something fun for him! He was so excited, His first month he got  

We really liked it and it started to add more books to his collection which made this momma very happy. 

http://bluum.me/15kXdFh Use this link below to get your 1st Bluum box for 1/2 off and Charles get a free one.  After our birthday party Charles had a ton of the most amazing toys out on the market and we are so grateful to our family and friends for sharing our special day with us and truly blessing Charles with all of the presents on his birthday this little boy is truly spoiled by all of our loved ones. Hope this review helps if you were interested in getting one for your little one.

Pepermint Chocolate Shakeology

Doesn't it feel like Christmas! To some people like my husband it's not the holidays until he's had some eggnog. For me it's all things peppermint. I love it. Borderline obsession. I want to use peppermint everything during this time of year. I happened to have some peppermint bark lying around the house. Meaning I totally went out of my way to pick some up while we were grocery shopping =). So I thought I would share my recipe with you.

I used 1/2 of the candy cane, 2 Ghiraradelli peppermint bark squares and chocolate Shakeology and some almond milk.

1. I took my half candy cane and put it in my ninja food processor to break it into tiny pieces. 

 Then I added 8 ounces of almond milk, 1 scoop of shakeology gave it a quick spin then added some ice cubes (4-5 cubes) and the chocolate squares finished blending it. Serve it up hopefully in your Shakeology cup or in a cute mason jar with a festive straw. I have been lacking in the festive straws I am still using my these.

 

It's not Christmas till???  What makes your holidays? I would love to know.

P90X 3

Yesterday P90X 3 Launched! I am so excited, P90X was my very first Beachbody program. It was not always easy. To this day I have not been able to finish Yoga X. And from what I have heard I am not the only one it's 90 minutes. I just can't do that Lol. So when I first heard that P90X 3 was only 30 mins. I was beyond stoked.  I want to finish it I can't give up. So if you have ever started P90X and couldn't finish or even if you did. Lets do this together. Make me your free coach here. If your ready to order shop below.
Order from my shop before December 18th  and I will send you a free gift. Here's to a new you!
 P90X3 BASE KIT:
http://www.teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/X3Base?referringRepId=312487

P90X3 DELUXE KIT:http://www.teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/X3Deluxe?referringRepId=312487

P90X3 ULTIMATE KIT:
http://www.teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/X3Ultimate?referringRepId=312487

P90X3 ELITE DVDS:
http://www.teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/X3EliteDVD?referringRepId=312487

P90X3 CHALLENGE PACK:
http://www.teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/BCPX3205?referringRepId=312487

Free Jamba Juice

Jamba Juice is giving away 1 million free smoothies and juices. All you have to do is 

download the free Isis Mobile Wallet® app on their smart phone can receive one small smoothie or 12 oz. juice per day at all participating U.S. Jamba Juice retail locations until the company gives away one million of the beverages. Click Here for more information and happy sipping!

My breast feeding story

Before I got pregnant I would totally make fun of my mom when ever she would say "breast feeding is the most beautiful natural thing." I was so clueless never having had a child before. Oh my how I was wrong. She was right. It is so hard but so worth it. When I was pregnant I knew I wanted to breast feed. Once Charles was born via c-section I got so see him after about and hour or so.

 That was really unfortunate but that's just the way it is. I started attempted to breast feed him on my left side he latched on and went to town. He did so good on the left side. The right side which is  my larger breast was not easy. I felt like I was going to smother him. My amazing nursing staff at the hospital said not to worry about that he know how to breath. Well I was not comfortable feeding him with the right he was so tiny and he just couldn't get a good latch on the right nipple. So until we got home 4 days later he didn't get milk from the right side. I got my milk 2 days after he was born. I took a little longer then I hoped because of the c-section but it did come in.

 Your breast will feel engorged and look like you just had a boob job. Snap a pic of them so if you ever want to have them done you can be like look doc like this! When we got home that monday I started to use my breast pump. I had a lot of milk on my right side I put it in a bottle and he drank it. Pumping was great but so hard. I would need to wake up at crazy hours in the middle of the night and hope that the baby wouldn't wake up until I had enough milk to give him. I would pump for about 15 minutes on each side. During pumping I would  down a bottle or two of water. Tip keep a lot of water by your pumping station that way you have it right there and ready to go. I would also keep protein bars and pretzels to munch on while you pump. After pumping at home and in the car and at my parents housed every where you go Charles decided that he no longer wanted to drink from bottles. He was about 2 months old at the time. We switched exclusively to breast. The down side is that daddy couldn't feed anymore.

Daddy & Charles

 This is when the his weight started becoming a real issue since I couldn't see the amount of milk he was drinking. I actually did everything I could to produce more milk I drank Earth Mama Angel Baby Organic Tea and that helped with my milk production for a while. But then Charles wanted to start eating more and more and I just couldn't produce more. It was a combination of improper nutrition and stress. I went to the my amazing OB and he gave me a prescription for reglan. It made all the difference in our breastfeeding story.  I would feed him on both sides till he didn't want to drink anymore. Charles started seeing a gastroenterologist around 6 months. He was not gaining weight he was eating solids by this time and still drinking bobbie milk.

I am sure he got some food in his mouth

 He had fallen under the 10 percentile.  Also he is really tall, Davis family is really tall and lean. They just had us monitor him. His doctors were concerned  about it we had a ton of blood work done. It totally sucks. I felt like a failure and a awful mom. The told my to start using formula. I didn't want to but if this is what he needed I was going to do it. Charles hated it. I cried so much when I gave him the formula even before feeding it to him. It was really tough. He wouldn't drink it I would sit with him with and a straw feeding him drop by drop 2 ounces took half and hour. It didn't work for to long he just cried and cried until he got the boobie milk. We even have a song for it. "Boobie milk, boobie milk, you are the baby and you drink boobie milk." He loves it. Once he got his teeth he started eating more and more. He can throw it back. Doesn't matter because is metabolism is crazy.

Charles with my 11 year old brother who is almost 5'5

 At this one year mark he was 29 inches and only weighted 15.2 lbs. That put him in the .01% tile. I don't know how I managed to keep it together when I saw the stats. I felt terrible. But on the other hand I knew we were doing everything we could do and he was getting all this vitamins and meeting his milestones two months ahead of time so they weren't so concerned. This is when he got put on pediasure. Now he has gained 2 lbs in a little over a month. We couldn't be happier. Next step is to get him to 20 lbs. In the end he is healthy and I am so glad that I was able to breast feed for over a year. I am still breast feeding him at nap time and bed time he drinks his pediasure through out the day. If you are struggling with breast feeding talk to your doctors, family and supportive friends. Stick with it and do it if it feels right to you. Good luck and please share your stories I would love to hear them.

My little prince baby. I love you so.

Long and Lean

Best times when he would sleep on my chest.

Mandarin Orange Chrispy Ckick'n

This is on our current must have dinner menu. We only discovered it recently and let me tell you we are totally obsessed with this meal. It's simple and easy to put together. We have had it like 10 times in the past month it's that good. 

First cook the chick'n per the instructions you will need a little oil to get it going. While that is cooking thaw the sauce it comes in the packet. Then put your veggies in the microwave with that's all going. Once they are ready and your chick'n has browned added it to your pan. Mix it all together and add the sauce to it. Make sure the sauce is fully coating all the food. Serve over rice and add the sriracha sauce and your all set for a delicious meal.

Here is the best part of the meal.

Getting Started

Getting started for everyone is different for some people they can just jump in. For me I had  to ease into it. First I did my research once i found my now coach Kati  via pintrest I started reading everything on her blog about what to eat and what to avoid. She has this awesome and super simple rule of thumb. The 6 and 6 rule. If it has more then 6 grams of fat and or sugar avoid it. This was so easy just start reading those labels. Then once I started doing that for a few weeks I began loosing a few lbs. At that point I new I had to do something with my self I was 25 years old with a 8 month old and still looking pregnant. Not cool at all.

I am not pregnant in this picture. This one is hard for me to look at but it's not were I am now.

I started grocery shopping totally different. Prior to this lifestyle change I was making pasta 3-4 times a week. Mind you I breastfeed my son exclusively for the 1st year. All I heard when I was pregnant is that you'll lose the baby weight by breastfeeding. Not the case at all of me. I actually did everything I could to produce more milk I drank Earth Mama Angel Baby Organic Tea and that helped with my milk production for a while. But then Charles wanted to start eating more and more and I just couldn't produce more. It was a combination of improper nutrition and stress. I went to the my amazing OB and he gave me a prescription for reglan. It made all the difference in our breastfeeding story. I would not have been able to produce the amount of milk the my son needed if it were not for this. I know that it is not for everyone but it worked for us. With taking the reglan I had to increase my caloric intake which of course caused more weight gain. Fast forward to us changing our eating habits and just the way we looked at food had made all the biggest change. We started trying new foods and stopped by crap. Because in the end lets call in what it is. We stopped keeping junk in the house. So when we got the urge to binge eat we couldn't all we had was clean foods so that really helped. After a few weeks of eating clean I started researching shakeology for us with us trying to get debt free we weren't just going to go out and buy it because of the cost It was something we needed to save for in order to get. Well we finally got it. It was worth it. It's really tasty and makes me feel great. One day I didn't drink it when I normally do and I felt it. I was craving crap and just felt useless. So I won't make that mistake again. This is what we were eating when we first started.

After a T25 Workout 

My baby and me over the weekend

Protiens
Eggs
Egg Whites

Chicken Breast
Talapia
Salmon
Ground Turkey
Tuna
Gardein mandarin chicken

Grains
Corn Tortillas
Whole grain flat bread
Whole grain pitas
Kashi Warm Cinnimon cereal
Brown rice


Veggies
Lettuce Iceberg or Romain
Sweet Potatoes
Red Potatoes 
Spinach lots and lots of spinach
Zucchini
Onions
Bell Pepers
Spaghetti Squash
Mushrooms
Cucumbers
Celery
Avocados

Fruits
Grapefruit
Green apples
Oranges
blueberries
Raspberries
Tomatoes
Strawberries and Bananas in smoothies and occasionally only they have a lot of sugar.

Oils
Extra virgin Olive oil
Smart Balance Cooking Spray
Pomace Oil Blend

Dariy
Low fat yogurt
Almond Milk
Non Fat Milk
Low fat String Cheese

Other
PB2 All natural peanut butter
Justin's Almond butter
Sriracha Sauce
Salsa
Unsalted Nuts Like Almonds and Cashews

Hope this gives you a jump start on a happier healthier you!

Green Chile Enchiladas

I love green chile enchiladas the are so easy to make and super simple to put together. I made them as a dish for Charles 1st Birthday party. They were a huge hit but those were made with shrimp. For a easier way to incorporate it to your menu I used chicken.

Preheat oven to 350° Once your chicken breast are cooked, cooled, and shredded.

I take about 6 of the tortillas and wrap them in paper towels and put them in the microwave I find that this prevents them from breaking. While they are warming up I layer a coat of the sauce on your baking dish. Once the tortillas are out I start my assembly line. Add your chicken to the tortilla and the tuck in the sides. Place it seam down in to your dish. Repeat over and over until your done. Once you have your whole dish full with one row you top it more enchilada sauce.

 Here you can choose to added a second layer of enchiladas for more of a casserole or just get another dish and do single layers. Top it off with your cheese, cover with foil. Then place in the oven for 15-20 minutes and your ready to eat.

 We pair our enchiladas with brown rice salsa and a couple of slices of avocado. & Being me I added some sauce to my rice. Cause I am awesome like that.

Do you use store bought or make your own enchilada sauce? I tried so many recipes and can sauces and I finally found my favorite will you share yours.

Spicy Salmon Bake

How is it tuesday already? No seriously, Thanksgiving is two days away. We don't go out to eat because 1. I love to cook. 2. It's was cheaper. That said I have an awesome dinner idea for a baked spicy salmon.

Top it off with fresh ground black pepper. Serve it up with a side salad and corn tortillas and enjoy.

Cooking one meal for all

What? Can this truly be done? But I am eating healthy and my family won't eat that. Does that sound familiar? I  as well as many others are  so guilty of this. I am on a diet so I have to cook different for me then what I do for my family. Although that may not always be possible because of health issues or allergies. I get that. In our case this is a non issue for the most part except we don't eat pork. I am allergic so we don't have it. Davis does eat it when his mom makes it but I will not cook it at home. Other then these reasons why is it that when we are on a "diet" we always think that we have to cook 2 seperate meals for your family and then for you?  Davis and I started working out together in September of this year. Before that I was cooking separate meals why? Well it's just what you do when one go on a diet right. Wrong. Or even cooking different things for your family just because your eating healthy and they are not. Yeah make total sense to do double the work. Huh? No makes no sense at all. Some kids are picky or allergies come in and play role but if there is no reason why you all can't eat the same meal simplify your lifestyle and your cooking it will be just that much easier for you to stick to a lifestyle and not a diet.

This is Davis and I when we were dating aww we were babies.

 

 

On our trip to California in 2010

Before our Church Wedding in 2011

6 Months post baby. Yup not pregnant here. This was such a low point for me. But I am happy to have moved past this.

Now since Davis is as committed as I am to our new lifestyle it is so easy to cook. We have our set meal plan, We eat the same food. Cooking is a breeze and packing his lunch takes minutes not an hour at the end of my long and crazy day. I just take my cooked brown rice, pick a protein and some fruit and nuts get his Shakeology ready and I'm done. In the morning he grabs it and goes. It really takes the guess work out of it. He has lost a little over 20lbs in 2 months! I am so proud of his hard work and change in his eating habits. He was a huge fan of soda and gave it up cold turkey. What a champ.So go ahead and try this make a meal that is clean and healthy and cook it for everyone in your family. Guess what if you make it there is a good chance they are going to eat it  just because it's cooked and they are hungry.

Christmas Bucket List

I am so excited for Christmas this year, last year Charles was a little tiny thing and slept the whole time. Now he's all over the place playing and walking. He gets excited about presents and opening them. I can't wait to see the look on his face once we get our Christmas tree set up and decorated. We want to start a new family tradition now that he is getting older. We have decided to stay home and have my family over for Christmas Eve dinner and my sister, brother in law and niece will be staying the night. We will do a movie night with pajamas and popcorn and drinking oh my. So I thought I would share our Winter bucket list.

His first Christmas looking so chubby and cute.

Santa's Favorite little helper. Now he goes around saying Santa!

1. Go check out Glendale Glitter.12/13/13
2. Play in snow. 12/13/13
3. Donate clothes, toys, and food to local charities.
4. Make gingerbread house. (I'm already thinking of the cleanup.)
5. Decorate the house. I may Have added a few things here and there. No tree up till after Thanksgiving!11/30/13

Charles helping decorate our his 1st Christmas Tree

6. Sip on hot cocoa by the fire.
7. Buy something red. New nail polish maybe??? I think yes.
8. Try something new. I totally had a strawberry funnel cake where have these been all my life! 12/13/13
9. Cook a new meal
10. Take the long way home.Every way is long to us we live almost and hour out of the city.
11. Play the Christmas vacation drinking game.
12. Have a Chick-Fil-A peppermint milkshake. After I finish my Challenge group of course.
13. Make a christmas craft.
14. Watch some holiday movies.11/28/13 Elf. Last Holiday and Christmas Vacation.
15. Camp in the living room.
16. Make Homemade Pizza
17. Bake GiGi's sugar cookies
18. Go to dinner with our my sister, brother-in-law and niece.

My niece & nephew, Charles & I at dinner.

19. Host a brunch
20. Have a picnic. Done 11/25/13.
21. Take a family photo.
22. Bake christmas cookies

23. Write a letter to Santa
24. Pay a visit to Santa
25. Have a day of nothing but family time.
What are your family traditions or are you making new ones?

Baby Meals

I am always on the search for new meal ideas for Charles. He is not a picky eat so it's not to hard to feed him. But coming up with meals is not always easy so I thought I would put together a few of his meals and hopefully inspire you to try some of these with your little ones. Charles loves sweet potatoes he has them a few times a week. I bake them on my meal prep days and just have them ready to go. I use them for his breakfast our current family favorite is Turkey bacon, sweet potatoes, eggs and a little bit of cheddar all scrambled together and stuffed in a corn tortilla.Recipe is adapted from Schue love  It's awesome. I always put a little homemade salsa on it and  inhale it. On and there is Pediasure in his cups. Per his G.I. we are trying to get him to gain weight. That will be on another post about our struggles with his weight.

Ezequiel Cinnamon Raisin, Peanut butter, and peaches.

Eggs with Spinach, Ezequiel bread, Kashi Warm Cinnamon cereal, Apple sauce.

Sweet potatoes with turkey bacon, eggs and cheddar, and Apple sauce. 

Chicken Del Sol over brown rice, peaches with pineapples.

Gardein Mandarin Chick'n I added veggies, and served it with brown rice.

Campanella pasta with spinach, Cantaloupe, Sweet potato, Apple sauce and Simply Cheetos Puff's 

He is a lean and tall baby, but don't let his size fool you he can chow down like the best of them. Hope this gives you a few ideas on what to feed your little ones.