Table for MORE

Twenty-Six and Thirty-Six....

2012-02-09T17:02:00.002-05:00

Yes my dear friends....

My parents blessed the earth with me a mere 26 years ago today! haha

{I actually wasn't born til 8pm-ish but whatever)

I am shocked at how much has gone on in these 26 years of life...

Never in a million years did I think I would be weeks away from welcoming baby #3...

Jordan and I have really been knocking things out these past 4 years...

I wouldn't have it any other way!!!

To celebrate my birthday we did a lot of my favorite things...

Involving my favorite people and eating LOTS of my favorite foods!:)

Saturday we started off with a trip to Coldstone to get a cake...

I couldn't resist Vincent making his own little creation...

Chocolate fiend..Chocolate Ice Cream, M&Ms, Oreos, Brownies and Sprinkles

::because we all know sprinkles make everything better::

He loved it....

I went with a large Cookie Dough cake....

I am really embarrassed to say on night one we ALL shared one piece and were stuffed...

On day 2 we crushed the ENTIRE CAKE....

Every last bite of it!:)

Monday we left with Jordan to travel for work...

His territory stretches close to my parents house so it is nice to come

along and visit with friends and family from my hometown!

Tuesday went to dinner with my parents and friends at my favorite burger bar....

The best burger ever...

Bacon and pulled pork on a burger with amazing BBQ sauce!

YUM!

I wish I would have taken more pics but it was dark inside... I love their interior!

Last night we cooked dinner in the room
and I made chocolate covered strawberries!!
They have 2 amazing organic stores here and they had them 2/5!! I stocked up on strawberries...

We also like to buy a ton of chocolate and do our "taste testing!"
My fave from this batch was the Divine Hazelnut Milk Chocolate...
Mainly because it tastes the same as some of the Swiss stuff Jordan bought on his trip!

The Chocolate XOXO brand is one of my faves,
there are love poems in each bar!

We are also 36 weeks this week!!!

I added a poll to the right side bar of when you guys think Jude will arrive!:)

Vincent was 41 weeks and Luke was 39 weeks...so I am curious when Jude will come!

I think early but I am always wrong!!!

How far along are you?

36 WEEKS which equals 9 months!?!?!

Is this for real!!!>!

Total weight gain:

30 lbs....{hides face}

I gained no joke 3-4 lbs from last week.....

WOOPS....

How big is baby?:

Jude is around 6lbs and 18.5 inches

Maternity clothes:

Still no, but these tights are not looking so hot anymore...

Come on Jude, I think people are tired of my pregnant butt in tights!:)

They are just so darn comfy!!!

Stretch marks?:

No more have popped up....

Vincent and Luke's pregnancies caused MORE than enough!

Sleep?:

Not so much...

We are in the hotel this week so it has been killer...

Luke was up on and off for like 4 hours last night!?!?

I think he was just so excited it was my birthday...

He was just "singing" to me...

Best moment this week?:

Soaking up this last "trip" with our family of 4!!

Movement?:

Lots and LOTS!
It is pretty painful at times...

Food cravings?:

Everything that is NOT GOOD for me....:)

CHOCOLATE and Ice Cream...

::hence the weight gain::

Food aversions?:

Nothing...everything looks and sounds good!

Labor signs?:

More braxton hicks...

Belly button in or out?:

Still in!

What I miss:

Rolling over in bed...haha

It is getting really tough to also pick the boys up and play with them!

What I'm looking forward to:

Meeting Jude!:)

And kissing him ALL OVER!!

What I'm not looking forward to:

The weeks of zero sleep...

Those first weeks and months are ROUGH!!!!

Milestone:

Just packing on the pounds...

Jude let's stay under 8lbs...

My lady parts will thank you!:)

Off to spend the day with my boys!

We are going swimming in the hotel then heading home...

Yay for wearing a swimsuit...not

{ps after last night I cannot wait to sleep in my own bed and Luke in his haha!}

I will spare the pictures for you :)

ONE LAST THING!

My love Holly has an amazing giveaway going on!

*I want to win so do not enter hahahahaha*

Joking....kind of!:)

Have a great day!

xoxox

Monday Meals....Gluten Free Waffles

2012-02-08T09:56:00.000-05:00

Yes, it is Wednesday so I am a few days late

We are on the road with Jordan for my birthday week...
{you have one more day to figure out the perfect gift, people haha}

He is busy making sales calls during the days, so the boys and I just hang out at the hotel...

{{Vincent LOVES hotels, he talks constantly about coming to one haha}}

During the evenings we have been spending time with my family and friends...

It has been perfect...

It is pretty bittersweet because this is our last travel as a family of 4!

Next time we hit the road for hotel trips it will be with 3 babes! AHHHH!

Anyways Monday before we hit the road I made a huge batch of waffles...

Usually I just buy the organic frozen waffles but they contained gluten...

Which my friends, is yet another new enemy we are cutting out in this family...

{I am going to touch on the dangers of gluten in another post}

But here are some quick reads for you. This and This are good starts...

Gluten is found in grains, whole wheats and all that jazz.

You probably ALL think I am nutzo with our new eating habits but once you actually

read about whats in food, it opens your eyes to a whole new world.

A world that I want to protect my kids from...

Therefore...PEACE OUT GLUTEN...It's been real!

The switch is not too hard since we limit carbs to begin with, but I noticed the boys diets

still contained gluten {waffles, mac&cheese, cereals}

I searched to find a replacement for waffles first since that is their favorite!

I found the perfect recipe using coconut flour!

Gluten and Grain Free Waffles

{Makes 8 waffles}

4 TBS melted Butter, Ghee or Coconut Oil {I went with coconut oil}

1/4 cup Coconut Flour

6 eggs

2-4 TBS pureed apple, banana, pumpkin, pineapple or other fruit (I chose banana)

2 TBS Honey

1/4 tsp Salt

{I doubled the recipe because I froze them}

It made 18 for me because I make mine thinner so the crisp up!:)

Mix all the ingredients in your mixer.

Heat your waffle iron, pour batter onto the waffle iron and go to town!

Top with butter, syrup, fruit, whatever your heart desires.

Freeze the extras and pop in the toaster for quick access during the coming weeks

RESULTS: They tasted great.

They were a little strong with egg flavor but the syrup cut that out.

They were very EASY to make and I love how much simple goodness is in them.

I mean there are no silly unneeded ingredients, they were made by me

also which always makes me feel better! I love them!

*Coconut Flour was a little hard to find (we do not have a Whole Foods)

and it is A LOT more pricey than regular flour but the recipes never call for a lot of it, so I can justify it!

Plus coconut is full of protein! BONUS!*

The brand we got is called Red Mill

You can buy it in 4-packs on Amazon Subcribe and Save for 22.50!

I am going to do that next time because I paid 9 bucks for ONE!

For coconut oil our fave is Spectrum Unrefined

This is A LOT easier to find in stores! We also use it for stir-fry, baking,

popcorn and frying!

Hope you enjoy the waffles!

xoxo

Our LOVE Story...

2012-02-07T09:39:00.001-05:00

Ever wonder the story of Jordan and I?

Well if the answer is "YES" then read on sista!

Alrighty, I am linking up today with the fabulous Becky for "What's your love story!?"

I am a sap for hearing how people met!

I think have shared bits and pieces of how Jordan and I met but here is all the other details...

ENJOY!:)

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

Jordan and I have been together 4 years...

Yes, if you are doing the math things went QUICK!

We wouldn't have it any other way!:)

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}

I had heard about Jordan somewhat through his roommate, Harold, was my manager at Express...

He would randomly talk about his cool roommate and things they would do on the weekends...

I didn't really think much of it just because I was literally so BUSY working 3 jobs....

One January day my manager and Jordan walked in to the store, I was working at the register

so I spotted them the second they walked in....

I saw Jordan and was like "HOLY COW, I HAVE TO MEET HIM!"

Needless to say I called Harold over to tell him I wanted to meet Jordan,

He brought Jordan over to the women's side of the store and introduced us.

I of course was super shy and just said hello and all the small stuff.

They left and moved on with their day, so I texted Harold to see what Jordan's deal is....

He said that he was single and they were having people over for a football game the next week...

I said I would come but when the day came I was exhausted and bailed...

I am shocked knowing Jordan now that he did not axe me then hahaha....

We set up for us to all go out to dinner the next night...

The rest is seriously history!

Jordan and I have been together since that night...

We had the exact same values and goals in life and we knew it right off the bat....

We seriously signed a lease for our first apartment on my birthday 4 years ago...

Yes, one month after meeting we moved in together!:)

Soon after living together we got our first "child", Verner...

Bought our first house, got engaged...

Found out we were expecting Vincent...

Had Vincent, Got married, Got pregnant with Luke....moved to a new city....

Got pregnant with Jude and here we are hahaha!

I would not have it any other way, Jordan is the best husband and father ever...

I am very blessed to have met him!

3. If married, how long have you been married?

We have been married 2 1/2 years, we chose to wait until after Vincent to get married.

I didn't see any reason to push our marriage forward just to be married before a baby.

We got married when Vincent was 4 months old!:)

4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?

We got married in Jordan's hometown, he lives on the lake!

We had about 100 people, it was perfect.

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!

He calls me gator (allie-gator)...or babe.

I call him babe, honey, honey bear (haha because Vincent has started saying it and it's SO FUNNY)

and this one is random I call him Blagojevich or Blagoy

(I just thought the name was so funny when we heard it in the news a few years back!)

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

There is so much I love about him, but the top 3 are....

#1, his heart, he has such a big heart!

He loves me and the boys with all of it!

I could not ask for a more loving husband and father for the boys!

#2 is his honesty. He is brutally honest, and is a straight shooter and I love that about him.

He doesn't BS people and he ALWAYS follows through! I love it!

#3 is his humor. Jordan is hilarious!

There is NEVER a dull moment with him, he is like a big kid.

Watching him with the boys is always a treat!

He has taught me to loosen up and have fun!:)

Oh yeah and his sexiness doesn't hurt!!

7. Tell us how he proposed?

I was actually in the middle of cooking dinner one random night and I turned around to him

on his knees. He popped the question and I squealed "YES!!!!"

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day,

or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?

HAHA I told Jordan this question and we both giggled. He is neither, actually WE are neither. I am not a big flower person or teddy bear (knick knack) person. I would say if we had to choose we are more of a chocolate couple ha! We love to taste test chocolates for no reason, so we just surprise eachother with fun chocolates we find when we're out and about!

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl,

or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?

RELAXING type girl! I would much rather snuggle on the couch with Jordan than get ready and have to leave the kids lol I am such a home body! We usually cover the going out thing when we go on a "Mommy & Daddy" vacation weekend. We get our fixes then!:)

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day.

If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

I want to travel abroad a lot when the kids get older. We watch House Hunters International all the time to see locations we would love to go! Ireland and Italy are at the top of our list! If we could also move abroad we would be ALL OVER that!!

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.

Probably nothing haha! Sorry to disappoint you all!:)

We will probably have a romantic dinner with the boys!

Maybe I will make a cake, who knows!

Not sure how romantic it will be at 37 weeks pregnant! ha

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?

No, my birthday is on the 9th and he has already went above and beyond this past month

with our new SUV....I do not want a gift for a LONG time! Just his LOVE;)

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.

Have FUN! Never take things too seriously...

If you have a little disagreement walk away and think before you speak...

Chances are things are NEVER as bad as you thought they were in the heat of the moment.

Talk A LOT, ask how your husband is daily. LISTEN and always be there!

I know that I can talk to Jordan about anything and I love it! He is my best friend!

14. Show us a picture of what love means to you.

I love you babe!

Buffalo Chicken Dip...

2012-02-03T20:32:00.000-05:00

I am obsessed with Buffalo Chicken Dip...

If it is ever at a party I have like 2 4 servings!

It is AMAZING....

Since this weekend is the Super Bowl {which I no joke just found out today, I love football....not}

You can make this for your party or really just for any reason!

It is VERY easy to make....

{this is totally not primal haha}

2-8 oz packages of Cream Cheese

1 cup Ranch {you can use Bleu Cheese if you fancy that or half of each}

3/4 cup Franks Red Hot

1-1/2 cup shredded or chopped Chicken Breasts

12 oz Shredded Cheddar {shred your own from a block or else it gets really greasy}

Boil your chicken breasts & shred/chop

Place back in pan, add red hot over low/medium heat.

Add cream cheese, ranch and half of the cheddar cheese until melted and smooth.

Place in baking dish, top with remaining cheese.

I sprinkled with Parsley and Black Pepper.

I baked it for like 5 minutes at 350.

Serve with Tortilla Chips!

Vincent was not a huge fan but Luke was okay with it!

Sounds like more for this mama!:)

ENJOY!:)

One last picture....

Jordan is retiring 'ole blue', his down vest...so I decided Verner should wear it! haha

Can you tell how much our dog loves me;)

Happy weekend!

xoxo

Friday Randoms....

2012-02-03T08:15:00.001-05:00

1. Jordan is finally back from Switzerland...

Someone asked what J does, and he is in sales.

I would tell you what he sells but I honestly cannot explain.

It is chemistry related...

Which equals Allie having zero knowledge haha!

Jordan is one smart cookie though :) Hopefully the boys get his smarts!:)

View from the plane...How cute is this village!?

The country side is SO GREEN....this was day one...it changed drastically!

Yes, please let's move!

This was the country side a few days later! Isn't that nuts!?

Zurich....

A very tired Jordan, he ran all over Zurich soaking it all in his last day...
He took like 300 pics in one day...must run in the family :)

I have told Jordan time and time again if any jobs in another country pop up...

I AM IN...

I would LOVE to live abroad!

Germany would be my number 1 pick because Jordan and I have a lot of German in us!:)

2. CHOCOLATE.....

He came with no joke probably 5 lbs of Swiss Chocolate...

Can you guess how much is left?

ZERO!:)

The best chocolate hands down was the Minor Bars from Maestrani....

They did a tour there...

Its a chocolate hazelnut bar...

Its so soft and has the BEST flavor ever...

I am no joke contemplating ordering a huge box and having it shipped here...

It was THAT good people!

He also brought home raspberry and strawberry chocolate which is usually brown in the US...

It was PINK and was INSANE...

All that chocolate made any that we have had here seem not so great!

Ugh typing this makes me want more chocolate...

3. Ice Cream monsters....

I found a great organic brand of ice cream called Alden's!

It has a great taste, the Cookies & Cream is my fave!

The boys approved {of course}

4. Happy Birthday to me!:) {not til next week you still have time! haha}

My old watch broke so I got a MK watch and I LOVE IT....Thanks Jordan!:)

PS I am VERY glad we ordered it early for this next reason....

5. Who knew that when a car says Premium Gas on the gas cap

that it MEANS ONLY PUT FREAKING PREMIUM GAS INSIDE IT!??!?!?!

Sylvie's check engine light came on YET AGAIN....

Jordan was in Switzerland so I had to take care of this one...

They came and picked her up again...

Well this time it was MY FAULT because I put regular gas in her !:(

Needless to say it was not a cheap fix!

I learned my lesson!

6. I made the boys Quesadilla's for lunch the other day...

and after Jordan read all this WONDERFUL stuff about gluten it may be the last time they eat them...

Luke is back to making his CRAZY faces....

This kid is NUTS!

7. Luke LOVES Fish Oil pills...lol

It is so random but when I get mine out he freaks out...

So he pops one in and sucks the oil out...

He doesn't even flinch over the taste...

Crazy nut!

8. Vincent and I had a mommy/son date :)

Sometimes I love to just have some 1 on 1 time with each of them...

We went to pick up a down vest for Jordan from this hunting store...

I have never seen so many men in Carhartt's and Hunting coats in my life....

Vincent enjoyed the fish tanks they had!:)

We jammed out to Jack Johnson the entire way there and back...

An oldie but goodie!:)

Now I am thinking me and Luke will have a little date this weekend...

Gotta keep it fair!:)

9. New Obsession

I usually do not like "cooking" shows but OMG I LOVE IT!!!

10. Last but not least...Canvas People is offering my followers a FREE 8X10 Canvas Portrait!
{$50 value....just pay shipping}
They turn out AMAZING & Arrive QUICK!!

I think that is all for this week....

xoxo

Never a dull moment....

2012-02-02T15:15:00.002-05:00

I wasn't even going to post today...

because I was feeling lazy...

But then I heard Vincent singing in the bathroom...

I walked in to this....

He was playing the keyboard, singing and going potty!

He must learn his multi-tasking from me!:)

Happy Thursday everyone!

xoxo

35 weeks...

2012-02-01T09:41:00.000-05:00

I no joke typed up my entire post last night and had it scheduled....

It went live and was BLANK!!?

Has anyone ever had that happen!? I have no idea what went wrong....

{stupid blogger}

Time to retype the entire thing....

OH JOY! :)

Here we go....again....

35 weeks...

How far along are you?

35 WEEKS...no freaking way!??!?

It has flown by!

Total weight gain:

up 26 lbs...

Which I am sure will climb a lot this week with ALL the chocolate Jordan brought home

from Switzerland....I am a little embarrassed at HOW MUCH we have consumed! haha

How big is baby?:

Jude is around 5 1/4 lbs and 18 inches!

It is nuts because Luke and Vincent were both 19 inches at birth...shorties!:)

Maternity clothes:

I vowed to try to get through pregnancy without opening my box of maternity...

So far so good... Tights are my best friend!:)

I am sure not everyone appreciates seeing my butt in them but I don't care!:)

Stretch marks?:

No more have popped up....

Vincent and Luke's pregnancies caused plenty!:)

Sleep?:

Still hit or miss.

I think my body is just gearing up for round 3 of sleep deprivation!

...YIPPIE SKIPPIE....

Best moment this week?:

Vincent hugs, kisses and cuddles my belly constantly.

We will just be sitting there and he will start rubbing my belly...

It melts my heart!

He had no idea what was going on when Luke was in my belly but this time

he totally gets it!

Minus the fact that he asks for me to pull Jude out constantly hahah

I would if I could little man ;)

Movement?:

Lots and LOTS!
He kicks so freaking HARD at times...

I also swear he is trying to climb out of me...his movements are so LOW!

Food cravings?:

Everything that is NOT GOOD for me....:)

I am more obsessed than ever with pirates booty brand Smart Puffs....

they are like crack!

Food aversions?:

Nothing...everything looks and sounds good!

I think my body is trying to get one last hurrah in of bad food;)

Labor signs?:

Braxton hicks are random....

They need to just chill out and wait for the big show...

More of an annoyance than anything;)

I hope things stay quiet for another month or so...

Belly button in or out?:

Still in!

5 MORE WEEKS!!:)

What I miss:

My body...

Sleeping on my belly...

Wine;)...

What I'm looking forward to:

Meeting Jude!:)

I am so curious who he is going to look like...

Vincent has light brown hair and dark brown eyes...

Luke has blonde hair and blue eyes...

So I am curious what Jude will look like...

I asked Vincent what he thinks...

He chose brown hair and green eyes...

So we will see if Vincent is right!??!?:)

What I'm not looking forward to:

Delivery...lol

Milestone:

He would be perfectly fine if he came now!:)

For now he is just packing on the lbs!

That is all for pregnancy related news!

We had a moms night in at my house Friday....

Which to my surprise was actually a baby/mommy shower...

I was a tad shocked when I walked downstairs to find ALL OF THIS....

They planned the cutest "Pink Lemonade" theme....

Everything matched so freaking adorably! I was in LOVE!

My friends are master bakers, I swear!!!

Those cake balls were the bomb! I am never putting those on a stick EVER again!! haha

They went above and beyond with this surprise!

Instead of baby stuff they each gave me things

that got them through those 1st months of new babies....

Lots of stuff to pamper myself!:)

Which let's face it, is something new moms put on the back burner but it is VERY important....

With Vincent and Luke I went a little nutso trying to be SUPER MOM...

This time around I am going to actually take the help

(which pains me a little because I like control)

But I know it will make me more sane!:) haha

They made me an amazing bracelet where they each chose a bead color

and had a meaning and prayer with each.

I will take the bracelet with me on D-DAY and have them all their in spirit!:)

I am blessed to have such amazing women as friends...

It makes me tear up a little....

THANK YOU LADIES from the bottom of my heart!

Well the countdown really is getting closer...

It could be 6 weeks....

or 4 weeks or who EVEN knows!??!?!

Valentines Deal: Canvas People FREE 8X10 {$50 value}

2012-01-31T10:50:00.001-05:00

I ran this special with Canvas People over the holidays...

And it is back one last time through my blog for Valentine's Day

Get a FREE 8X10 {$50 value}

{just pay shipping!}

Just think if you would pay full price it would be 64.99....screw that!

The deal reloads everyday, so if you want more just check back and click the link again and

it will give you it free!

This mama is all about deals!

ENJOY!

xoxo

Cringe Worthy....

2012-01-28T13:17:00.001-05:00

I saw this a few weeks back...
MY OH MY....
This is the short version...

I sadly cringe even MORE when I watch the full clip!

I really just cannot even express just how sad this is....

PS did you catch her say that she doesn't like doing pageants?

Friday Randoms....

2012-01-27T08:14:00.002-05:00

1. Jordan has been here all week for work....

That would be Zurich, Switzerland....

On his last day they have a freaking chocolate and cheese tour

::insert very jealous pregnant wife::

He had a very horrid time getting there....

{missed connecting flight because it was delayed, had a flight cancelled}

anything that could go wrong did...I felt so bad!

Anyways I cannot wait to have him home, I miss him so much!

2. SUV Problems ALREADY...

Why yes, we did just buy our LR3 LAST WEEK...

On Day 1 we noticed the air suspension button wasn't working on command...

Then on Day FREAKING 3 the check engine light came on....

I almost died...Jordan, I think wanted to choke me....

Rememeber he was VERY hesitant about this car from the reviews but I loved it...

Anyways they picked ours up and left me with a new LR4 while mine was fixed...

(shown below...sexiest car EVER)

They called with the wonderful news about what was wrong with our LR3...

Bill totaled 1,200.00!

I almost had a nervous breakdown...Jordan was in Switzerland so I had to deal with it...

So I called his brother Alex....hahahhahahhaha

Anyways Alex handled it for me...

{because I would have probably screamed at the sales manager and told him to shove the LR3 that was such a "great SUV" up his you know what!}

They covered EVERYTHING...

I was happy to tell Jordan the news that we owed nothing....

Now here's to praying we have NO MORE problems....

3. Little Einsteins....

or "Littttle Stein Steins"

Vincent is OBSESSED with this show...

We build rocket ships daily and talk about the moon 247! haha

I am now considering a space/rocket birthday party...

Homeboy changes his mind so often so I am hesitant to pick one theme...

but I want to have his party planned before Jude comes...

Which is LESS than 6 weeks....

HOLY COW!!
If you have seen any cute rocket/space party ideas let me know!:)

4. Speaking of Jude coming....

As of NOW....I have no interest in rushing him out...

I told the doctor I still need these next 5-6 weeks to get mentally prepared

for pushing him out....

I seriously just am SO TIRED....I told Jordan I can't imagine having to push him out....

I know I can do it but I really don't wanna....

Yup lady parts....this IS going to happen again!:)

5. Get that crap on video STAT!...

With Luke's birth, my boss no joke took pictures for me of the birth...

{she was more of a friend}

This time since we moved I have NO IDEA who will man the camera...

can you hire someone for this!?!?!

You better believe IF I could maneuver the camera I would take pictures and
PUSH at the same time:)

This time I also want video...

{I know you are NOT allowed}

But I really want to see how I act during labor...

I always watch all these women and ask Jordan "Did I act this crazy!?"

So I decided I need to see for myself...I do not want the camera filming him coming out....
we don't need all the yucky pictures...

I want it focused on me, gotta keep it PG people...

Plus I would LOVE to see Jordan and I's faces when they hand him to us!:)

I am still trying to figure out the logistics but that is my dream...

6. I am almost DONE....

I started Invisalign in July or August

and I will be done starting in February!:)

My uppers are done first around Valentine's Day

then my lowers are around Jude's due date...

I really just want the uppers done so I can get the attachments off

{the attachments are pieces of molding that are on my teeth to hold the retainers in}

I am just excited to have my teeth back and STRAIGHT!:)

PS...Jordan's insurance just started covering adult orthodontics (a year too late! UGH)

7. I cannot even bring myself to watch The Bachelor...

This is nuts,

Because I am ALWAYS a crazy Bachelor watcher...but I.JUST.CANNOT.DO.IT

this season...I would rather stab my eyes out....

THANK HEAVENS that Emily is the new Bachelorette...

I have something to look forward to!

8. My BIRTHDAY IS COMING...

Yes, I will be the big 2-6 in a few weeks...

We are going to travel with J for work so we can see my parents and friends...

Jordan is making fun of me because I requested we go to this amazing burger place to eat...

He thought I would pick somewhere fancy or what not...

But I want a SPECIFIC burger from this new place by my parents...

This burger is NUTS...

It is a grassfed burger {score} with PULLED PORK,

BACON, CHEESE, BBQ SAUCE and Onion Straws...

{no bun...that junk gets in the way haha}

It is AMAZZZZZZZZING!

I cannot find any pics online to even give you and idea of it....

BUT HOLY COW and PIG....literally....

I cannot wait to eat it....

I also requested a Coldstone Ice Cream Cake...

I am beyond excited to EAT on my birthday...

9. Crack Kills...
If there is one thing Vincent is does well it is showing his bum...

He also dresses himself in the middle of the night...
He wakes up in something COMPLETELY different...
This time he is sporting LUKE'S pants backwards...
He cracks me up!!!
My little cooks...

I shall leave you with another belly pic from last week...

That is all for now...

I am behind on so many comments right now...

I promise to get back to you all when Jordan gets home...

XOXOXOXO

That face...

2012-01-25T08:27:00.000-05:00

Do your kids have "that face" that they make that just makes you crack up....

Well Luke has a special one when he tastes something funny...

I NEVER can catch it on camera and we always try to make him do it...

and it never works...

Well tonight at dinner {of course while Jordan is not here}

He busts out THE FACE...we mocked him along and he kept doing it FOREVER...

I think he will maybe do it on command now...

Here is a quick sneak at "that face"

I could not stop laughing...

I thought Jude was going to fall out of me from my stomach muscles cramping! haha

Do your kids have a special face they make?

Have you caught it on camera?!

I would love to hear about it! Or tweet a pic @mommygator22

haha I love the funny faces!

Happy Hump Day!

xoxo

Parenting IS NOT Hard....#&!(^!*&!

2012-01-24T08:02:00.004-05:00

Before you get all up in arms at me...

Let's remember...

I am NOT crazy...

And would NEVER EVER believe this statement...

This weekend I got my weekly email from BlogHer and I usually just skim it quick and delete...

Well this was one that I could not just delete...

There was an article titled "Parenting Isn't Hard!"

I had to read this article asap...I was curious who in the hell was off their rocker

thinking this stuff was easy!?

{my first thought was it was someone without kids haha}

You can read the post here...

ALSO....

This is her own description of herself:

"I'm a homesteading, polyamorous, atheist, tattooed, hippie, burner, pink-haired ball of awesome. I live in a log house with my partner and my new baby where I'm passionate about (and write passionately about) raising happy livestock, treating children like people, and living a big fat life out loud."

{as much as some of her choices pain me I try to not hold it against her...

thankfully I read these tidbits after I read the article....}

Anyways I of course posted on twitter and facebook right away after reading this wonderful post...

The lovely Hannah also wrote a post about this little gem we found!:)

So let's cut to the chase...

IS SHE NUTS?!?!

Well YES and no....

I will start with the no since its a much smaller percentage.

At times parenting is easy...WHEN THEY ARE SLEEPING! haha

Therefore YES, she is nuts.

From the second my boys wake up it is game on.

I LOVE every single moment that I get to spend with them and would not trade it for the world.

Just because I love them with all my heart does not make it EASY!

By the authors definition "being mean" is pretty broad it goes from spanking to punishing a child

{and everything in between}

Well let's just chalk me up to being one of "those" MEAN mom by her standards...

You are damn right that I am going to punish my children when they do something wrong...

The punishment can be as little as taking away a treat or as big as time out and sending them to their room...

And maybe even a quick smack on the tush...

::judging eyes::

If that makes me a BAD MOM then so be it....

Children are NOT our equals and the analogy she uses is ridiculous...

To compare a child to a grown adult is just not even right...

Of course adults KNOW better to spill their drinks, I do it from time to time

and think "Come on, Allie are you serious!?"

when it happens...its frustrating...

But Vincent could knock a drink over and not think anything of it....
He is still learning right from wrong
{ps last time I check they do not come out of the womb with adult knowledge}

Do I scream at him or drag him out of the place?

NO, I explain and tell him that he made a mistake and

teach him how we can avoid that mistake in the future...

If I just sat back and DID NOTHING when he did something like this...

I would NOT be a good parent...

I would NOT be teaching him what is right from wrong...

He would just go on assuming that he could knock whatever he wanted off the table

with NO repercussions!

And then we would have world full of kids thinking they ran everything....

OH WAIT that is where we are pretty much at...

{I could rant all day on this topic}

There are BOUNDARIES...

and when they are crossed it is our job as a parent to step up and teach our children...

{abuse is NEVER okay....EVER}

Discipline and punishment is okay and MY JOB!

If we do not teach them now they are never going to learn.

We are responsible for them and their actions until they are old enough to make their decisions alone...

I am getting off track...

But I guess what I am saying is that her definition of parenting is that it must be "easy"...

It would be easy for me to ignore when Vincent sometimes pushes Luke...

It would be easy for me to ignore when he tells me "NO!"

It would be easy for me to ignore all those little bad moments....

But the moment I became a parent it was NOT easy...

EVERY SINGLE DECISION I MADE...

effects them...

If I do not teach them right from wrong they will NEVER LEARN...

If I do not teach them how to work hard...they will not want to push themselves...

If I do not teach them manners they will never know them...

If I do not act like their parent...they will think we are EQUALS...

So yes, I, mother of 3 will stand up and attest that PARENTING IS HARD...

Each day it is something new...

My children and family are my world...

But yes, it gets hard....

Does that make me love them any less...

NEVER EVER, EVER!

Am I perfect...not by a landslide...

Do I make mistakes....yes, all the time.
Will my kids make mistakes...YES

So to the author of the post....

CHILL OUT...

Do not jump to judge every parent...

Just because I raise my voice does not make me abusive or a bad parent...

So after reading this I think I just need to say....

Let's give other moms the benefit of the doubt...

When I see a kid having a break down and a stressed mom...

I usually say "Hey, I have been there" or just smile to let her know that what is going on is NORMAL...

Kids are NOT perfect...and either are parents...

Some days we will all be OFF and THAT IS OKAY....

If the author was trying to make a post about abuse not being okay I think she really blurred the lines...

Categorizing abuse and discipline how she did, did not work in my eyes...

I said it once and will end with saying ABUSE IS NEVER OKAY...

But parenting your child is, and is our job....

XOXOX

Monday Meals-Whole Chicken and Honey Glazed Carrots

2012-01-23T08:12:00.000-05:00

I figured I would start posting meals that we do during the week to give you all an idea

of easy things to make for the "Jordan diet" haha

You will hopefully find all of our meals easy!

This is a VERY quick meal and one of our favorites...

Whole roasted Chicken & Honey Glazed Carrots...

For the chicken you just place it in a roasting pot,

(try to buy organic chicken)

I use olive oil on the skin and salt and pepper...

Bake at 375 until internal temperature is 180.

The skin gets nice and crispy...

I love eating the skin of the chicken....best part:)

The carrots were a brand new recipe I used...

I got a 2lb bag of organic baby carrots.

I boiled them until tender,

Added 2 TBS of Butter

and 1-2 TBS of Natural Honey

Salt/Pepper/Parsley

That is it!!

The boys are carrot freaks so they loved this tiny twist to them.

Enjoy!

SNOW much fun!

2012-01-22T13:23:00.001-05:00

It finally snowed more than 1/2 inch around these parts...

So the snowsuits actually made sense for once!:)

Vincent was singing "row, row, row your boat!"

I lasted for like 25 minutes...

The boys lasted MUCH longer...

Vincent could stay outside ALL DAY LONG!

Thankfully the snow hasn't gotten too crazy and the roads are good!:)

Hope you all had a great weekend and maybe even played in the snow!

I have decided to start Meal Mondays where I will post meals

you can use for the "diet".

I promise they are ALL EASY!

xoxo

What we actually eat!

2012-01-20T21:25:00.000-05:00

Hello loves,

I know a lot of you who are interested in Jordan's diet or may have even started it

{give me all the details please}

are curious about what we actually eat.

I thought the best way was to make a list of things we eat on a regular basis.

With the boys we obviously allow fun stuff like mac & cheese for lunch {Annies is our fave}

But they always eat exactly what we have for dinners,

I refuse to cook 2 meals lol

I will fill you in the organic/natural brands that we have found to be the best!

The grocery shopping is a breeze for this way of eating...I am in and out the store in a flash...
The cooking is simple...
Nothing is complex at all! I love it!

Fruits and Veggies-

WE EAT THEM ALL!!!

The original Primal Blueprint diet discourages a lot of the fruits

because they contain carbs but Jordan allows them as much as he wants.

I mean seriously an apple is better than a 100 calorie bag of crackers.

So indulge in the goodness of ANY fruit and veggie.

We are restricted to pretty much only apples, pears, kiwi and oranges

since most the other fruits are out of season.

We choose to buy only organic because of the pesticides and junk

so we only can buy whats in season!

Meats-

EVERYTHING again!

I have touched a few times on the reasons we buy organic, free range and grassfed meats.

If you haven't already watch Food Inc!:)

I am going to do a post on the benefits of grassfed over the cornfed beef.

Check Eat Wild to find a local farmer, it is worth the extra price.

We have started buying whole animals to keep costs down...IT ROCKS!

We just got an organic whole pig and I am loving it! {mama loves her some BACON}

I barely have to pick up meat at the store, we have it all at our finger tips!

I think it was around $3/lb, which rocks because we were paying 8.50/lb for bacon

at the same farmer...so consider the bulk option!:)

Ps quick facts... Switching to grass-fed beef could save you 16,642 calories a year.

Dairy-

Jordan does not do dairy very often just because he is not that big of a fan.

I on the other hand love dairy.

We again choose for health reasons to buy organic in this category.

The best choice is to buy grassfed milk though. TONS of DHA!

It usually comes in glass bottles {old school},

but we only buy WHOLE milk, the fats are VERY good for you.

If you have a Whole Foods they almost ALWAYS have a local grassfed milk!

Our local meijers also has a more popular brand called Grass Point Farms...

When they cut milk down to skim and 2% it loses a lot of its natural vitamins and minerals.

We also do the same in yogurt and we look for whole milk yogurt or greek yogurt.

The reason I am so anal on grassfed and also organic is because of what the cows are fed.

Regular milk cows are just fed their normal corn feed and

obviously cows should eat grass so therefore the milk product they produce will be high quality.

I get a lot of flack for this one because I know people love to debate whether

there is a difference between organic and regular so that is typically

why we do buy the grass fed/local milk but our second option is organic.

Plus no offense I would rather spend the extra 2 bucks for peace of mind to buy organic.

PS I also buy all the cheese in blocks to cut out processing...

Buying raw cheese is the best option...followed by whole milk cheese

Snacks-

{our faves at the end of the page}

Most of Jordan's snacks are just fruits and veggies.

We also try to buy all organics/naturals here as well!

We keep as far away from the processed stuff as possible...and I can feel the difference.

Oils & Fats...

Like I said we eat Grassfed Butter and use it a lot!

We try to stay away from Vegetable Oil and replace it with Coconut Oil.

Olive oil is usually what I use to saute veggies and all that jazz.

We also save the bacon grease and use that to cook stuff in...natural fats baby!
We also take a fish oil supplement...

{proven to be great for anxiety, mood and depression..bonus for my raging hormones}
This is the brand we love...Costco has it for cheap!:)
2 pills a day!:)

Drinks
This is where it gets boring...
WATER! :)
If and when we venture out to eat I will indulge in a diet coke! Yum....

OUR MEALS...

They are really pretty basic.

Here is a quick breakdown of typical options

Breakfast...pretty much always involve eggs lol {hope you like em}

Eggs

Omelets

Bacon

Sausage

Homemade Salsa for eggs

Whole Milk Cheese

Yogurt

Lunch and Dinner...

Salads

Veggies

Fruits

Meat

I know this is super bland but what we do is just take the carbs out of whatever it is...

Here are a few recipes I have posted and some that are to come

Eggplant Pizzas

No Bean Chili

Italian Sausage in Fresh Sauce

Chicken Parmesan with no noodles (chicken parm pizza for the freebie days)

Pork Stew-Shred pork and add tons of veggies

Whole Chicken roasted with veggies

Pulled Pork (I posted this recipe before the diet so we do it without the bread now)

Burgers..without the bun

Italian Stuffed Peppers (without the rice...my fave)

We pretty much eat whatever we want we just take the carbs out and add veggies.

Snacks the boys and I approve of!

Here is a list of some of the snacks that we buy :)

These are obviously in addition to fruits and veggies....and what the boys LOVE!

Jordan barely will eat these...he is committed guys, but I will munch on them!:)

Pirates Booty is amazing...the Smart Puffs are actually my fave though!

The boys faves- we buy them in bulk at costco in the snack sized bags!

My replacement for Cheez-its..AMAZING (buy in bulk on amazon..way cheaper)

To fulfill my chips and dip need I use these with my fresh salsa

Apples & PB....it is a hard flavor switch we try to use organic or natural PB

(stay away from hydrogenated oils)

Fresh cut fries...these are my fave
YES you can still have them but obviously not every single meal every day...
We buy a bag of organic poatoes they are like 4 bucks for 5 lbs...makes a TON
Buy organic...article at end of post on why
This is one place where I do use Veg Oil
I hand slice 2-3 potatoes, fry them in oil on the stove and sprinkle with seasalt

Smoothies

Throw all your fruit into the blender with some ice cream! YUM!

Homemade ice cream....

Use all organic/natural stuff to make your fave flavors at home!

Organic homemade popcorn...

{read up how bad microwave popcorn is for you...cancer causer... no thanks!}

Jordan loves popcorn so on occasion we will make it homemade...

we use coconut oil, real butter and sea salt!

We got this popper off Amazon...the boys love it!

Here is the list of 7 things you should NEVER eat...
I have heard Muir Glen brand has completely taken BPA out of their cans...

The bottom line is you can still eat what you want just watch the labels...
Cutting out carbs can suck...I say start slow...
You will slowly notice yourself not even wanting them...
They may even gross you out...
Slowly take them out of meals and you will find that you can actually live without them...

That is really all I can think of off the top of my head...

I am going to try my best to start taking pics and posting recipes,

We really just take meat and veggies and make some random concoction!

*ALSO when making the switch to organics you may sometimes notice a different taste, such as the Peanut Butter and Mac & Cheese...it takes awhile to get used to but its funny because it is HOW IT IS supposed to taste without all the junk they add, the fruits and the veggies in my opinion taste better and are larger in size! The berries are where I can really tell a difference*

If you have any questions feel free to ask!!!:)

xoxo

I pinned it...Hubbs did it!:)

2012-01-19T08:11:00.000-05:00

This was one of the first things I actually pinned on my beloved Pinterest

{ps who else has been having problems with stuff loading on there lately!? Pain in the ace!}

This helper stand was perfect for the boys, they ALWAYS want to be up at the counter with me...

I do not mind if Vincent stands on a chair but Luke is the problem...

I cannot tell you how many times he has fallen from climbing on chairs in the past 3 mos!

I figured this would protect him a tad more!:)

Plus he also likes to dance of chairs...which is really terrifying!

To buy one these are like $200+
Jordan made ours for like $20!!!:)

Here is little man with his old tactics, standing on a chair...

I mean seriously dude...could you be FURTHER AWAY from the counter!?!?!

Classic Luke...check out that grin....

I'm cute and NOT LISTENING to you!:)

I did not care if it was exactly like the one on pinterest, I just wanted a "cage like" enclosed area

around the little monster man, Luke!

Jordan looked at the plans and just banged out something similar.

The coolest thing is Jordan made it as much by hand as possible...

He screwed every screw in with by hand instead of using his drill...

It's made with LOTS of daddy love!

It is also painted with lots of LOVE by Vincent and I...color chosen by Vincent as well!:)

I attached plastic wrap so he didn't get paint all over his shoes and the house haha!

and here is the finished product...

Luke still climbs chairs but he is getting better at using this instead...

He likes to have his dance parties still...

But now he is safe and secure...

Crap he is kind of like a cage dancer though....!?!?

A good looking one if I may add!:)

If your man wants Jordan's plans let me know....

He said his way was VERY easy!

If not here are the other peoples plans...

Next on the list is this HUGE chalkboard for the playroom...

Pottery Barn wanted 300 bucks for this...

I mean seriously...it's a chalkboard guys?! Really!??!?

They can take that 300 bucks and shove it!:)

We will be making this gem for next to nothing...

I will be sure to post all the materials and stuff we use for the project...

I also want to attach a little tray for the chalk to be held in...that or a mason jar attached...

Not exactly sure yet...

If your hubs is handy have him build you one of the kitchen helpers...

It is really GREAT and I am not on edge as much when in the kitchen with Luke!

He can now "help" without me having a nervous breakdown about falling off the chair!

You can follow me on Pinterest on my right sidebar...

I LOST all my followers somehow last month, one day they were ALL gone at once...

I still was following all my friends but you guys must have conspired against me...

haha Anyways...follow me again on Pinterest!

Happy Thursday!

Dieters...Our food list is coming...hubs has been crazy busy with work this week!

xoxox

33 weeks!

2012-01-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

Alright guys we are getting even CLOSER to baby Jude's arrival

I am still praying he comes a little early on Feb 29th!:)

So cross your fingers!:)

Now onto the survey!:)

How far along are you?

32w5d, I am measuring a week ahead though!

Total weight gain:

up 24 lbs...

I have been craving ice cream a lot since my last update!:)

My BUTT is starting to look like a Kardashian which is NOT OKAY!

How big is baby?:

He is a little over 4 lbs and around 17 inches!

AHHHHHH!!:)

Maternity clothes:

Still a big negative!

Tights are my best friend and loose shirts! I am sure it may not be too hot but whatever!:)

Stretch marks?:

None that I can see...

I do not think I can get anymore than I did from Vincent's pregnancy

I no joke have them between my thighs from his! HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN...

O yeah it happens when you pile on 70lbs....

Sleep?:

Still hit or miss.

Thankfully now I am done stressing over buying cars

Now all that I have to worry about is when he will arrive!:)

Best moment this week?:

Today, Vincent was cuddled up on me....

He was holding my belly and Jude was kicking!:)

He loves his little baby brother already!:)

Movement?:

Lots and LOTS!
He totally enjoys my ice cream cravings!

Food cravings?:

I already said it but ice cream...

I may or may not have finished a whole container of Cheer Cordial in a few days!:)

I also may or may not have had it for breakfast those days!:)

I told you I have been BAD!

Food aversions?:

Still not feeling the carbs...

I can handle some of them but only in small amounts!

Labor signs?:

Nada...I am really not expecting them til 39ish weeks

Vincent was a week over and Luke was a week early

But like I said I will take him a little early for a leap year babe!:)

Belly button in or out?:

Still in!

What I miss:

My body haha....I looked down at my legs today and I do not rock an extra 24lbs well...

My face is starting to get way too chubby...

I am just excited to get my body back...

Plus its a PAIN to climb the stairs holding one of the boys...

Its so much weight! WHEW!

What I'm looking forward to:

Meeting Jude...

And I said it last time, but just sharing the experience

with Jordan and us soaking all of Jude in for the first time!:)

I am also looking forward to the snuggles with Jude!

What I'm not looking forward to:

I will have the same answer every week...

Delivery....

I will devote a post to this!
I have done it twice naturally, it just scares me each time!

Milestone:

I am not sure...I think he is just packing on the pounds these last weeks!:)

Vincent was 8 lb .5oz

Luke was 7 lb 11oz

I keep telling Jordan I would love him to be a healthy 5-6 lbs hahah

I might be a TAD less painful...

VERY Doubtful but wishful thinking...

I am very excited to be nearing the end of the road. I am going to try to suck in these last few weeks with our family of 4! I am still shocked that we will be a family of 5!!!

I do not know what the future holds for our family but all I can say is we are VERY blessed!

I cannot wait to watch these 3 boys grow up together.

Vincent and Luke are already best buds, so seeing the 3 of them will be amazing!

I know I will be exhausted with the switch from 2-3 kids but

I know it's all worth it! Plus Jordan is the best daddy ever so I will have a lot of help!:)

That is all for this week!:)

I have an appt next week. Then I will be in almost weekly!

EEEEEEEEK!!!

XOXOXO

Meet Sylvie....

2012-01-17T13:57:00.001-05:00

I always name my cars....Jordan's car is "Boom Boom"
It's so funny because that is what Vincent refers to it as now...so cute!
and I have named mine Sylvie (thanks Linds)!

Yesterday, I ranted about how stressed I was over the SUV search!

We went to drive the LR3 first....and I was in LOVE, it was HUGE and perfect!
We started the negotiation process and they wouldn't budge on the price...
They wouldn't even give us an idea of how low they would go...
I was pissed...
We also had the boys with us so dealing with lame negotiations was not ideal....
We left and went next door and drove the Volvo...It was decent but I was not in LOVE...
Jordan and I chatted and discussed our plan...we decided on a set price that we would offer...
We went back in and Jordan gave them our top line price...
He was actually hoping they would say no because the Volvo was so cheap compared to it...
I of course was crossing my fingers and praying...
Luke and I stayed in the car because I figured it would be quick!
He walked in and walked out within 5 minutes...
My heart kind of dropped but I did not want to pay more than what we agreed on,
So I was fine with walking away....
While he was strapping Vincent in the manager came out...
They chatted more...He asked Jordan if he would go up anymore...
Jordan busted out his MBA skills in negotiation and went to town...
He told him point blank he didn't even want to give him that much money...
Anyways he took Jordan back inside...
They pounded out more discussions....
He walked out with a straight face, which I figured was bad news
and said "Well hunny you own a Land Rover!"
I about died....

It took a few hours or so to get all the paperwork done and trade in our Equinox...
But she is now OURS!!!

I didn't even drive her yesterday, I was actually a little nervous...
I took her to the grocery today and holy cow she is a beast...

Here are a few reasons why I love it...
She is HUGE....
I can no joke fit the baby carseat in-between the boys!

We won't even have to use the 3rd row unless we want....

The height inside is NUTS...

I used to hit Vincent's little head on the edge of the Equinox trying to get him in....

Now it is NO problem...

They are also sitting up so high they can see EVERYTHING...

Luke was freaking out with excitement when we started driving it!!!

Here is it with the 3rd row up....

Here is an actual inside view to get a better idea....

It has sweet panoramic sunroofs...Vincent found this really cool...
I am thinking fireworks from inside the car! :)

She is SEXY as all get out....

She is HEAVY....6,000lbs or so...so we can take out anything in our path...
I wouldn't suggest cutting me off...
haha Joking but I love how strong and sturdy she is just in case...
You can lower and raise the entire car with the push of a button.
You can off road and go through water like a champ...as if I will ever do that!

I am just in LOVE...
Thanks to Hannah (we have twin cars) & Lindsay for all the info and help!!
If you are looking at 7 seaters, check these bad boys!
With that being said the others I drove were amazing...
The Honda Pilot is an 8 seater...nuts!
I just really wanted this one...you can see why!:)

Happy Tuesday everyone...
I am updating tomorrow on the pregnancy!:)
33 weeks...I am getting WAY bigger...
in the belly and the BUTT!! UGH!!!!

xoxo

TRUE LIFE: I'm a Car Salesman...

2012-01-16T08:17:00.005-05:00

Okay....not really but I feel like one....

I have no joke spent all weekend {and the past few months}

researching our next SUV...I mean literally it is sucking me dry.

Vincent went with us Saturday and found a car perfect for him! :)

We currently have an Equinox which I love but we outgrew it quickly...

So we have been on the search for the perfect 7-8 passenger SUV...

Let me also add that our other car is Jordan's company car...

He chose to go with a Toyota Sienna {swagger wagon} Minivan...

So we have a minivan already {which I LOVE}...

But I refuse to have 2 MINIVANS haha....I have to keep some sort of cool mommy factor!

The SUV barely sees the light of day though, like I drive it maybe once a week

since we have his car and gas for free...

Anyways so this new SUV will be with us for a LONG time...

So I want to get the exact perfect one and not just settle because once your in a 7 seater,

there is no upgrading to a bigger one...because there isn't one...

Therefore I am being as picky as possible on the choice because I will be driving it forever...

I had my heart set on the Audi Q7 and Land Rover LR3

{Before you think we are loaded , or stupid lol, I was actually shocked to see how cheap they are used!}

Anyways, I was head over heels with the 2...
until we drove the Q7 this weekend...

I did not like it at ALL! Okay that's a lie...

I liked it but NOT with 3 kids which is the sheer fact why we are getting a new SUV...

I started to have a minor panic attack when we were trying to figure out

where we would put all the carseats and imagining myself trying to get ALL the kids in!

All I envision is me trying to pile 3 kids in, trying to chuck Vincent into the 3rd row,

leaping over Luke or Jude to even reach Vincent to buckle him...

Kids screaming, me crying and people staring...

That is the exact thought going through my head....

Plus then we envisioned what IF we had a 4th kid....
I won't even go into the thoughts of trying to fit 4...

The sales guy pitched all the regular crap about features and technology
which I COULD CARE LESS ABOUT...

With 3 kids in the car I will barely be able to hear myself think let alone play around with

cool features... It is a mighty sexy SUV but not for a mama with 3 under 3...

Heartbreaking...

We added a few other SUVs onto the list after the sadness of the Q7...

We drove the GMC Acadia

Volvo XC90

& we also added Honda Pilot

... along with the LR3 still....

Next to my love obsession with the LR3...
I am in head over heels with it....It fits all my needs {looks and size wise}

I love the boxy exterior and how beefy it is.

I get excited just looking at them....
They are ALMOST as sexy as my husband...and oh my him driving it...
OH LA LA!

They are also VERY SAFE! My cousin and a friend have them and LOVE THEM...

ALSO my cousin fit 3 car seats in the middle row which is what really sold me on them!

BUT...

We have read some pretty crappy reviews on things breaking on them...

The closest LR dealer is an hour away so if we have problems it would be a HUGE headache...

{I had a VW Jetta before kids and it was a PAIN and

always in the shop and I never want to relive that again...}

So that is VERY concerning to me...

Plus I know if something were to go wrong I would NEVER hear the end of it from Jordan haha

But we are going to test drive one today...

I am hoping that it blows me away but it could be the same scenario as the Audi,

in which I leave disliking it and having no hard feelings...

We are also going to drive the Pilot and XC90 today!

I am so confused on it ALL....

The LR3 is the most expensive and has a good chunk of miles on her (which is fine since I never drive it)

The Pilot is in the middle and has a SUPER LOW number of miles & is certified

The XC90 has the most miles but is the cheapest...

All 3 are INCREDIBLE on safety...

Therefore I am happy with knowing whichever one I get will be safe for the boys and I...

I just feel like I am stuck on the stupid LR3 because I love the exterior and sexiness of it...

So I am trying not to be biased but then again if I am going to have it for a LONG time...

I need to LOVE it...so me liking the exterior is HUGE too....

UGH....

Hopefully we will come back from today with it narrowed down to ONE....

Thanks for listening to me rant or work it out...

Say a prayer we figure it out :)

Any input on the vehicles is GREATLY appreciated!

Diet Q&A: Take 1....

2012-01-13T21:37:00.002-05:00

Your Questions from last week my sexy pals...

I hate even refering to this as a diet first off...lol
It's more just revamping your eating habits...
There are no gimmicks or set number of calories...
{unless you start counting calories like I did just to see what I was actually eating in the start}
You can eat whenever you like...
Just healthier and fresh stuff:)

What do you eat and how do you start out?

Start eating more green leafy veggies.

He thinks salads are the #1 key!

Jordan eats 2 large salads a day (10 cups) 1-1.5 lbs of meat, and fills in the gaps with fruits.

As far as fruit goes he really does not freak over the carb intake from them since it is a natural source.

What should I cut out in the beginning?

The most important things to cut are processed food in general {candies, chips, ect}

If there are a ton of things on the "ingredient list" that you don't know {chemicals}...it needs to go!

Does this diet involve exercising?!

Exercising is a component, but it is not required.

Just by eating right you can lose the weight

How long did it take before you started seeing results?!

A week or two, Jordan started out losing a few pounds.

The week I tried it {by keeping my carbs around 100mg} I lost 5 lbs!

What kind of exercising does he (you) do?

Jordan loves to WALK. He walks to church every morning even in the snow...he's crazy!

He also takes the boys out as much as possible.

He does 2-3 heavy lifting workouts {1 hour} and sprints once a week.

If you are looking for just dropping weight he suggests the walks and possibly some sprints.

You will feel 100% better and healthier.

PS My exercise is chasing the boys!:)

What does his typical daily meal plan look like?

Breakfast: Salad with whatever we're eating {eggs, bacon, sausage}

followed by some fruit for something sweet.

Throughout the day: He snacks on his salad and lots of fruits {apples, bananas, oranges, kiwi}

Dinner: Very similar to breakfast, Salad along with whatever we're eating {chicken, pork or beef}

Did you have to give up the skinny girl margarita (please say no!)?

HAHA

He said you would probably just want to stay away from it because of all the artificial sweetners,

but on occasion it is fine!

Jordan lives by the 80/20 rule, try to eat right 80% of the time and allow yourself a giveaway for the other 20%, or eat well 4 nights and have something you love on the 5th {pizza and beer}

Is this the lifestyle that has you eating all the time,

healthy food of course, but you need to eat like 6 times a day?

No you can still use the 3 meal structure.

He likes the 2 meal structure.

It is not about how often, more about WHAT you eat.

Do you have to have a wife to prepare the meals (partially serious, is it difficult for the “average” man to follow/prepare food on his own)?

You can handle it on your own.

We make him a huge salad at the start of the week so he takes from that daily.

We have our fruit out on the counter for easy grabbing throughout the day.

For meat he just eats what we do or will fry up eggs quick or grill something.

He loves whole chickens, he just grills them up and chows on them for days.

Does this lifestyle have you running to the bathroom a lot (high fiber)?

No, not really but it probably does have more fiber than a typical American diet.

The fiber is less harsh than grain fiber so it is softer on your body.

I want to know what he will NOT eat:

Processed stuff, he will still eat them on occasion, like over Christmas

He ate one of every dessert/cookie.

He will eat those things, just not on a daily basis.

What do you do when you're at someone's house for dinner?

Try to stick to the rules as much as possible but this is where you give yourself

the leadway with the 80/20 rule. If he knows we will be going out for pizza

he will be extra good the days leading up to it.

How much more expensive is this diet than your old grocery budget?

It is the same. And we even switched to all organics!

We cut out all the processed stuff {crackers, chips and cookies} and inserted all fresh stuff.

I literally only shop in the produce section, except for running over to get milk and cereal for the boys.

How much prep time/cook time does it take?

Slim to none. With making his salad at the start of the week I never have to worry about his lunches.

As for me, the boys and I just eat everything fresh and add meats.

We cook meat for dinner and that is really all that needs cooked.

I will sometimes make fresh cut fries (I'm preggers guys!), which take 10 minutes but other than that we just

add fruits and veggies that do not need any prep time.

Can a picky picky eater like myself enjoy this?

Yes, if you like fruits and meat you can do this!

You choose what you want to eat.

Jordan loves APPLES so he eats a TON of them, he also loves carrots, so he eats those a lot!

I am a huge meat eater {bacon, pulled pork, steak} so I love eating more meat.

I also love fruit so I can handle that. I am trying to get better on the whole salad situation but I try.

I hate that I cannot give you an exact account from my point of view...
But my weight is clearly on the rise with Jude in my belly...
I will say that I have not gained NEAR as much this pregnany though...
I think it has to do with me cutting out the processed crap...
I have not brought myself to salads 247 but I have made significant changes...
With Vincents pregnancy I was up at least 50 lbs at this point.
As of today I am only up 24lbs...
That tells me a lot about the power of this "diet"

There were a lot more questions on our recent post and I am going to get to those here soon.

We are also going to break down whats the best in each food group.

We will also compile a list of potential meals and snacks that work perfectly for this!

Thanks for all the questions and input!

Let me know how your diets go!:)

xoxo

Nail Files Link Up!

2012-01-13T12:17:00.000-05:00

I figured I would join in this week with Tara @ Fabulous but Evil for the Nail Files Link up!

I typically never paint my nails...

with the exception of my toes...

I love having them painted...

But for Christmas my brother-in-laws girlfriend got me some cute OPI colors...

I figured I would give it a shot and paint them....

I chose OPI-French Quarter for Your Thoughts...

Looks great right....

Well being a SAHM kills any chance of them surviving....

This is less than 12 hours later...

Heartbreak HOTEL....

Now I look like an idiot with jacked up nails haha

Any tips to make it stay LONGER when you are constantly using your hands

to cook, clean and change diapers! haha

I used two coats and a clear top coat :(

Any input would be appreciated because I would love to rock some fun nail polish but

this just seemed like more of a hassle to take the time to paint them only for them to last 12 hours!:(

Alright, ENOUGH of my sob story...

Link up!

xoxo

The "Diet" Post....Take 1

2012-01-12T21:34:00.006-05:00

My husband is super genius when it comes to eating healthy...

He no joke has spread sheets of nutritional info on things that he eats...

He does not follow one paticular "diet" but its kind of a mix between

The Primal Blueprint and The 80/10/10 fads...

He has tried them out both to their full potential and found problems with each...

So he has just done his own thing and gotten the best results...

Now I can share those secrets with you guys!:)

If you are new and have no idea what is going on..
Read here
Basically just by eating healthy my husband went from 184 to 170 in a few months

His way of eating does not contain very many rules or gimmicks...
It does not require a "set" number or meals or calories...
It just requires eating more produce and healthy meats!

Here are some key points to his ways....

1.) Cut out processed foods:

If foods have a whole bunch of chemical additives, you should not be eating them.

Check the labels, if you see the last several ingredients are things you have never heard of,

you probably should not put it in your body.

I have sadly said goodbye to Cheez-its and pretty much anything not organic or all natural.

Pirate's Booty now fulfills my snacking needs!:)

2.) Eat LOTS of Vegetables {particuarally green leafy ones}

Insert one of your normal meals a day with a BIG salad! {his biggest advice}

Pack your salads full of spinach, lettuce, cabbage, and arugula.

Also make your salads fun and colorful , add tomatoes, broccoli, onions, celery, peppers.

Spice them up and make them fun to eat!

3.) Cut out grains {even whole grains}:

When it comes down to it, they generally are not good for us.

They are typically "fortified" with all the minerals vs being a natural source.

They cause unneeded inflammation and also cause a large insulin spike.

Stick with the real sources of minerals, fresh produce.

So for dinners find a substitute.

When we do Chicken Parmesan we do not have noodles and also do not bread the chicken.

Instead of potatoes have a non starchy veggie.

Make burgers without the buns.

Make Chili without the beans.

We used to do a lot of casseroles and I just switched to stews with fresh veggies.

You will find tons of creative ways to be able to cut them out completely.

4.) Try to stick with Organics and Free Range-

I have done several posts on why we have made the switch

to Organics, Grass-Fed and Free Range products.

I never knew that cows shouldn't eat corn....

if you want I will add a post on grassfed beef vs cornfed beef.

The nutritional facts are CRAZY different!

The quick take home message is that Grass-fed beef is WAY lower in calories,

contains more healthy omega-3 fats, more vitamins A and E,

higher levels of antioxidants, and up to seven times the beta-carotene.

Those quick facts alone are enough to consider a switch.

5.) Live by the 80/20 Rule:

The hardest thing with diets is sticking to them 247.

Jordan suggests eating "perfectly" 80% of the week and

giving yourself a break the other 20% of the time.

That was you are not so stressed over what to eat and not getting your favorite bad foods in.

Jordan loves Dark Chocolate so that is one thing he will allow as his weakness,

but when he eats amazing all week he does not feel bad about indulging!

Those are pretty much the quick steps to the diet.

Before I got pregnant I tried the diet out, back when Jordan was doing the strict "primal diet".

Here are some steps I took and my results...

I counted calories on FatSecret.com because frankly

I had no idea how many calories or carbs I was taking in.

The primal diet says for weight loss to keep carbs near 100g a day...which is pretty tough!

It helped me to track the facts and see where I was at during the day.

I averaged about 120g of carbs that week...

I lost 5 lbs just by watching my carb intake...

then that next week I found out I was pregnant haha!

But anyways for the week I was able to actually "diet", IT WORKED!

Jordan tracked his calories too for months but he stopped once he figured out

the normal intake that worked for him.

It is not a "must do" for the diet but it helped me to actually see what was going in my body.

We have all your questions answered but I did not want this to be the LONGEST post ever.

One last thing

What is in our house to eat, you may wonder!?

Jordan makes a HUGE salad at the start of the week, that way he just has to grab a bowl and eat.

I make a giant container of my fresh salsa that we add to salads vs dressing

Jordan's salad includes: Spinach, Arugula, Broccoli, Green Peppers, Celery, Onions and Salsa

My salad includes: Spinach, BACON, Pistachios and Cranberries

Breakfast its usually meat (bacon/sausage) and eggs {salsa also works here!!!!}

Lunch is salads and fruits

Dinner is meat and veggies.

Snacks are usually fruits/veggies and I allow chips with salsa for myself!

{I am pregnant do not judge my carbs}

We 99% of the time drink only water which is great for hydration obviously! ha

It is probably the easiest "diet" ever. Just eat fresh produce and meats, get rid of the crap processed stuff!

I must say the stress level for cooking meals has gone WAY down.

There is barely ANY prep time for me in the kitchen!

I love it!

When I grocery shop I literally ONLY shop in the produce section now.

We get our organic grassfed meat from a local farmer{eatwild.com to find one near you)

Also it is NO more expensive to eat organic

It was tough at first to not go down the crackers aisle

but now if I even walk over there I just think about how processed it is

and cannot even bring myself to buy it.

{even though I can envision that freaking Cheez-it Snack Mix melting in my mouth}

So other than getting milk and waffles for the boys
It makes my trip quick and easy.

The boys eat exactly what we eat with the exception of salads and the fact that they LOVE waffles, cereal, chicken tenders,and Cheddar Bunnies, but they are kids!:)

I will have the Questions portion of this tomorrow to fill in any gaps!

If you have any other questions just ask.

I will start adding more of our meals and recipes in the mix.

They are ALL simple and easy!

It is hard to contain all the points in one post...

There will be many more posts on this topic.

Anyways...
The take home message is start by replacing one meal a day with a BIG salad...
Start cutting those carbs...I know it sucks but it's worth it...
Track your weight and see how it goes....

AND LET ME KNOW....

Let me know your thoughts...

Here's to losing weight the natural way!:)

Mid-week Randoms....

2012-01-11T15:45:00.001-05:00

Jordan finished Luke's kitchen helper stand...

I accidentally cancelled Jordan's hotel room....

I skipped the home tour link up yesterday because we went on a quick little road trip...

Mainly the story goes like this...

I woke up, and had an email from Banana Republic Outlet...

I decided I wanted to go shopping because I got an adorable dress there last month...

And I had a coupon...double score!

I checked the weather....almost 50 and sunny...

I asked my mom to come along, she wanted to! SCORE....

I decided rather than to just make it a day trip that we should make it more fun...

HOTEL NIGHT, Because the boys LOVE swimming in the pool...

{gives Vincent a good reason to be extra good while shopping}

Another reason I justified it is because HELLO Jude is coming in 2 months...

I will be home bound for a few months before I tackle traveling with 3 under 3...

This getaway would be one last hurrah for me and the boys...

Therefore...I checked our hotel points and booked it...

{we get free nights from Jordan traveling for work}

On the way to the hotel I called to see if we could check in early,

Mainly to just drop the bags off to make more room for our shopping bags {joking...partially}

They said only ONE of our rooms was ready?

SHOOT I must have double booked, she said one was on our credit card and one with points...

I started to panic, and had her cancel the credit card one...

LOL No way Jordan would want to pay for a hotel only an hour away haha

So we got there and checked in and went shopping!

After shopping we went to Red Robin....YUMMM...

Then headed back to the hotel....

I had not talked to Jordan all day because my phone was dead

{charger broke, waiting on new one to arrive}

I had emailed him but had not heard back because he was in meetings...

Anyways he never got my emails and had NO IDEA where we were when I finally got ahold of him...

He just got a new work phone and his gmail was not connected to it...

So he had no idea what was going on lol...

Anyways...

He was asking exactly what hotel we were staying at and all that jazz...

I told him and he said "YOU ARE THE ONE WHO CANCELLED MY ROOM!!!!"

Ummmmm what!??!?!

Then it ALL clicked....HE WAS BOOKED AT THE SAME HOTEL...

I thought he was in a different city further north that night....

NOW It made sense why the lady said we had 2 ROOMS....

Long story short, we ended up seeing Jordan at the hotel last night! HAHA!

It was a nice surprise and funny twist to our fun filled day!

The ZOO in January!!?!?

Seriously the weather has been unreal....

We hit up the zoo on Saturday...

SLACKER...

This seems like a reoccuring thing lately...I am so behind...

obviously I missed the home tour link up yesterday and who knows if I will get to it today...

I will maybe just do all 4 days in one!

I have a few guest posts to finish and also the finishing touches on the diet posts!

Also a lot of you have TONS of responses coming from my posts!!!

I am totally going to pull the pregnancy brain card!:)

Because let's face it I can barely function this trimester....eeeek!

For you diet ladies...

Jordan's #1 tip to start is replace one meal a day with a YUMMY SALAD...

lots of greens and veggies...he makes a HUGE one at the start of the week and munches all week!

I also make my homemade salsa that we use on our salads...YUM!

Nella's 2 FOR 2...Pay it Forward...

{Kelle Hampton Photo}

I am in love with Kelle Hampton as I am sure many of you are as well...

Little Nella and Lainey are the cutest things ever....

I seriously will never forget the day I read Nella's birth story...

I have been obsessed ever since...

Kelle is such an amazing person and I love learning from her blog and life...

Please help and donate to Nella's 2 FOR 2 FUND...

I tried to make Luke like Michigan...

My dad is a huge Ohio State fan so I always send pics of the boys with anything I can find Michigan...but it looks like Luke will not take any Michigan shenanigans either...

ALMOST to 500 FOLLOWERS.....

I am only 10 away from the BIG 500!

I must say I am a tad shocked that almost 500 people find us interesting...

It must be because of those good looking little men I have;)

Or my husband's abs?

Whatever the reason, I want to say THANK YOU!

I have made so MANY AMAZING FRIENDS through this blog...

and I honestly do not know what I would do without you guys...

It would be VERY BORING without you all and your wonderful blogs!

xoxox

That is all for now....

I shall leave you with this....

For my Real Housewives lovers...

House Tour....Day One!

2012-01-09T15:15:00.000-05:00

When Tara over at Our Journey said she wanted to do a House Tour, I was totally in. I am always at a loss at what to do inside our house as far as decor so I love creeping into others houses to get ideas!:)

She is having something for each day of the week for the House Tour...

Here is the schedule!

Monday: Where you & your family eat {kitchen,nook,dining room ect.}

Tuesday: Where you & your family sleep {bedrooms}

Wednesday: Where you & your family work & play {office/playroom ect}

Thursday: Where you & your family relax {living room, study ect}

Friday: Favorite parts of your house that make it YOUR home {in photos}

Let's get started with my Kitchen/Eating AREA!

I am in love with the open concept in our house...I can see the boys while I am cooking and all that jazz...

This is where we eat....

(we also have a dining room but NEVER use it, You'll see why)

Back to the kitchen, my favorite space in the house

It is NO JOKE the most important room on a home search for me!

The desk area I never use...works for pictures though!

I love our fridge and here's a little secret to keep kids out!:)

I figured I would give you a look inside the fridge...

The salads and salsa will be explained in the "diet" post...

We have a pantry that i love down the hall behind the kitchen...

I also love the double ovens...

They look amazing and help for holidays!

We have tons of counter space...

It also opens to the hideous formal dining room...

This is seriously MY STORAGE/PARTY PLANNING ROOM!:)

A few reasons I hate this room...

Plus hello...carpet to eat on with kids? NO THANKS!:)

That is my place...

I will hopefully link up each day to give you a look around our place

Stop on by Tara's blog and link up...

I wanna creep inside your place!:)

Oh the WEEKEND!...

2012-01-07T12:15:00.002-05:00

This weekend has totally delivered so far...

It was in the 50's yesterday...which was heavenly for us northerners!

We packed the boys up in the jogger and went outside on a walk...

We took the LONG stroll over to the local high school so Jordan would run sprints...

Vincent totally looks like one of my legs...a HUGE leg haha

I busted out my vibrams for their first trek....I love them!:)

Vincent loving on baby Jude

We recently pulled out our old point and shoot camera and Vincent is in LOVE with it...

It's great because now my camera does not seem as neat to him!:)

He took pictures the entire walk yesterday...I had to delete like 200! haha

Also on our walk we saw one of the houses with like 4-5 kids playing out front...

Of course I was all like...

"We need to high tail it over there honey, I see a LOT of friend potential"

I pick up the pace and of course they are all outside still...

We of course start chatting it up with them...{thank God for niceness}

It was like the holy grail of young families...

No joke, 3 families with little ones moved in within the last year...

2 beside eachother and one across the street!

It was seriously my PICTURE PERFECT setting for living...

I am not knocking our sweet cul-da-sec because it is AMAZING

but all the families have older kids,

They all built their houses when they were our age and at one point I guess our cul-da-sec

had 25+ kids between all the families...

I envision LOTS of block parties and FUN was had....

Anyways we are the youngest people in our allotment, so it was nice to see

the next neighborhood over had some potential...

Also when we were chatting it up another HUGE BONUS...

This older gentleman, George walked out...{you must know I LOVE older people}...

He was so sweet and totally someone I would LOVE as a neighbor...

We need to move over there ASAP! We told them to work on getting rid of a neighbor...

We said come spring we will come hang out!:) I am pumped!

Here are also some pics from our night out to get pizza Thursday!

{see we still eat YUMMY stuff in this family}

We went with our friends, who also have 2 little boys!

It was fun to get out and not COOK!:)

I die over deep dish pizza! This stuff is almost as good as Chicago!

We are now off to the zoo once Luke wakes up...

I hope you are all ENJOYING this weather!!

xoxox

{Jordan and I have started on the "diet" posts, they are coming next week!}
If you have questions let me know!