Four Months

Happy 4 month birthday,

Bentley Charles!

You, little man, are amazing. I admit, I didn't know what to do with you in the beginning because you screamed. A lot. And then some more!  You were nothing like your brother who was the easiest baby ever.  But sloooowly, sloooowly, we got on the same page. I felt like a new mom there for a while because you were so different than Jack. But, guess what?  I LOVE IT!  I love that I have two little guys who are so unique.  And I finally discovered the sweet spot for your last feeding... if I feed and put you down by 9pm, you will pretty regularly (except for last night, ironically, when you were up at 3:45am) sleep until 7:30am.  Like I said, you're amazing.  And know what else?  You smile so much during the day, I could not care less about the fits of screaming you still bless us with now and then.

How have you already gone from this:

To this?:

I am so lucky to be your mom and so happy that you came into our family.

And I love the fact that you and Jack already have some weird brother bond going on. You both just stare at each other with big goofy smiles.  You both light up around each other.  I know Jack is itching for the day you can get up and play with him.  And as much as I'm looking forward to that too, I'm so gonna miss this cuddly baby right here.

Right now you are sitting on my lap watching me type and as usual, you are holding my arm with your tiny little hand. 

 I hope I remember how this feels forever. 

And one more thing... am I wrong?  Or are you working on your droopy dog impersonation?

 I love you baby B.

Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey!

If you read my preggers post, you may be wondering about my diet. If you feel like reading about it, I'm sharing about it.  Here goes the back story... I have always (quite literally, people) been overly aware of all things food and health related.  I have always been on the heavier side so by the time I was 14, I put myself on a 'diet' and have been on one on a regular basis ever since (I'm not advocating this, it's actually quite annoying).

I have memorized every piece of nutritional information I could get my hands on related to 'how to lose weight'.  I have always been pretty active, I've never 'drank' my calories (wellllll, except for the wine), I've always eaten only whole grains (I grew up on wheat bread; my mom was always very health conscience), skim milk and fat free dairy, lots of fruit and veggies and healthy fats (avocado's and olive oil).
 All the stuff you're supposed to do, right? But, for some reason, I have always carried around an extra 10-15 pounds.

At one brief point when I was around 25, I was at my target weight. But sadly, it didn't last because I was doing so much more than I could possibly maintain. At the time, I was single and would go to the gym after work, then meet up with a girlfriend (hi Gwen!) and run up to five miles, then go home and eat either a can of green beans or a baked potato or a single piece of tilapia for dinner. I also did the boot camp program at the Fishers YMCA.  And I trained for and ran a 1/2 marathon.  So, once a boyfriend entered the picture I slowly lost all the muscle tone I had gained because I couldn't keep up that workout schedule and then once he became my husband, I packed on the pounds again.  I was cooking a full course meal every night; meat, veggies and a starch.  Naturally, I ate it too. So I know exercise works (especially for me), and can fix the problem, but right now, I struggle to find time to finish just ONE 10 minute workout dvd per day!   I'm looking forward to working out insanity style as Bentley gets older... it's just tough with a 2 1/2 year old and a 3 month old (either of whom barely sleep through the night on the same night, ever). 

So there.  I'm tired.

Point of that?  I have much better control over my eating right now than my exercise.

So, wah wah. Sad girl can't lose the last 10 pounds. Ever. Then, last summer, I heard about this eating plan called Paleo or Primal (similar plans, but with Primal you can have some dairy, in Paleo, no dairy).  You can find all the scientific details at marksdailyapple.com (Primal) or everydaypaleo.com (Paleo).  But the general idea is to eat what our ancestors ate.  Cut out all the "food" that is made in a factory and comes in a box.  And cut out all the gut irritants, like gluten and legumes and dairy (for some people). I would like to clarify that a big part of this is based on evolution... which I do not believe in.  I believe that God created people as we are now.  So, I'm not buying the stuff on how our bodies evolved to eat certain foods. 

But I fully believe in cutting out all the gross processed food. 

I stated eating Primal in March 2011; I was six months pregnant at the time.  As you can tell from my pictures, I was able to only gain 20 pounds with B, verses 50 with Jack! AND, I was back to my pre-Bentley weight in THREE WEEKS!  Not kidding.  Three weeks.  For comparison sake, it took me about one year to get within 10 pounds of pre-Jack weight.  Seriously. I am now about eight pounds under my pre-B weight (but flabby... working on that).

(and because how boring would I be without a picture? awwww, little B)

  I eat, meat, fruit, veggies, eggs, nuts, seeds and a little dairy (some cheese, no cow's milk, just coconut milk).  I also eat 86% dark chocolate squares and I still have wine.  I'm not totally hard core, I will eat some 'processed' food like mayonnaise or salami.

I do not eat legumes, any grains (bread, pasta, rice, oatmeal), white potatoes, corn or added sugar.

Sounds easy, right?  That's because it is easy.  Easy and delicious.  We are enjoying so many new and creative foods now, and TONS of new veggies that I had never eaten before! For example, things I love now that I rarely (if ever) used to eat... brussels sprouts, turnips, fennel, parsnips and beets. The food is all so fresh and delicious, I can't imagine eating any other way.

The biggest change in how I feel is I no longer feel sluggish or over-full after I'm done eating.
 I am also very satisfied after eating and no longer need to graze all day long.
And I am in LOVE with eliminating all the processed food crap from my life.

So, after all these (many many many) years, I have *finally* discovered a way to eat that is so healthy, easy and that I can live with (except for those occasional runs to DQ. But c'mon, we all know those cave men would have traded a slab of fresh beef for a Blizzard of the Month).   I even have Jack and Chris on board (for the most part).

PS, this is NOT a "low carb" plan. If you are eating enough vegetables, you will get plenty of carbs. 
Just sayin'.

So, that's the scoop.  I've been writing this post for a month now (busy mom, anyone??) and now B is almost four months and I'm scheduled to do my first Insanity workout tomorrow. 
There's a chance you may never hear from me again. 
Wish me luck! 

Some Crafty Parents

My dad is an awesome woodworker.  He has built so many many pieces of furniture and they are all beautiful!  But this one is super special.  It was a wedding gift from my parents and is an exact replica of the antique pie safe in their dining room that belonged to my

Great Grandma.

How beautiful is this?

It's so sturdy (uh, heavy).  Made of solid oak.

My mom punched each hole on the tin tiles! Then she got a little creative and put our names on the tiles too... people usually notice after they've been sitting in our living room for an hour or more.


'Hey, your names are in there!'

We don't have a fireplace, so we use this as a mantel of sorts. 

As you can tell by the name, it's really a dining room piece, but we already have a table and chairs and a hutch in our small dining room.  So we use it in the living room.

I LOVE it.

Jack goes to 'cool'

Otherwise know as,

 this little fella-

{literally overnight},

became this little fella

and off to {pre}pre-school he went.

**SNIFF**

Also known as,

he couldn't get me to leave quick enough and didn't really care when I came back to get him -FIVE- hours later (!) and this school business was so much harder on me than him.

But, on the upside, he had a fabulous day making new friends and hopefully learning to say the letter S. 

All of this while sporting his new froggy back pack and a slight attitude.

Annnnd, I got to spend the day enjoying these smiles...

And as a side note, we found a Bentley in a parking garage this weekend. 

So like the nerd I am, we made sure to get a picture of my Bentley on the Bentley.

Happy Thursday, ya'll!

My Joy

I've been reading a daily devotional at proverbs31.org.  I really like their style and application to my life.  Today's was a great reminder of how I can not in any way control others behavior or comments, but I can control my own.  I loved it. 

I just copied and pasted the reading below... check it out, short but powerful.

September 1, 2011


When My Mean Girl Wants to Come Out

Lysa TerKeurst


“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” John 15:11 (NIV)


Do you ever have days where someone tries to rip the joy right out of your life?

I do.

And it’s really hard. It’s a battle. The good girl part of my brain says, “Be nice. Honor Jesus with your actions. Your response is your responsibility. Self control, Lysa, self control.”

But the mean girl part of my brain says, “How dare they act that way! I’ll show you!”

One part of me says fold your hands in prayer.

But another part of me says throw your hands in the air and pitch a good old fashioned hissy fit.

Issues.

I have them. Maybe most of us girls do. Especially that one special week a month.

But God.

I love how those two words interrupt me. Redirect me. Remind me. Comfort me. Battle the mean girl in me. And cause me to pause.

Pause. Just for a minute, pause. And it’s in that pause where we give the Holy Spirit room to interrupt the mean girl response just dying to come out and bloody the situation.

The Holy Spirit says, “Lysa stop and think. It might feel good in the minute to scream, retaliate, pitch a fit and flood the situation with scary emotions. But it won’t feel good in the long run. It will feel awful in the long run. You’ll feel the sting of regret. Come on Lysa… be rare. Be a girl who looks ahead and determines to do what’s best in the long run.”

Yes, it stinks that this other person is determined to steal our joy.

It really does.

But in reality, my joy can only be stolen if I let it be stolen.

In John 15:10-12 Jesus says, “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”

Several things struck me as I read this verse. Each interaction I have with others I’m faced with the choice to either remain in God’s love or retreat from God’s love. I can’t control how this other person is acting towards me. But I can control how I act and react. If I chose to remain in God’s love and react to this other person kindly, it affects my joy. Jesus interjects His joy right into the heart of a kind person. If I make the choice to be kind, instead of my joy being depleted, it will be completed.

So back off mean girl part of my brain. The Jesus girl in me is taking over. And holding on to every ounce of joy that’s rightfully mine. Circumstances can steal stuff from me. But not my joy.

Dear Lord, this sounds so good in this moment. But it will not be easy when I have an interaction today with “that person”… the one who makes my mean girl want to come out. Will You help me remember these truths? Will You help me remember this person can not steal my joy? And help me remember if I react kindly my joy can be completed rather than depleted. And that’s what I want. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Keep these three thoughts in your mind:

This person can only steal my joy if I let them.
I can’t control this person, but I can control how I act and react.
If I make the choice to be kind, instead of my joy being depleted, it will be completed.

Reflections:

What situations in my life might get better if I apply what I’m learning in this devotional today? Do I want frustration or joy to be my reality today? What would it be like to live with Jesus’ complete joy in my heart?

Power Verses:

John 15:10, “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.” (NIV)

John 15:11, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (NIV)

John 15:12, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” (NIV)

Good stuff.