Food, Fitness, and Family

What Is Beautiful

2013-05-21T13:07:59Z

**I have been selected to participate in a sponsored campaign with Under Armour through my affiliation with FitFluential. In this circumstance, sponsored means I will be receiving free product. No other compensation will be provided. I LOVE the premise of this campaign and hope you do too.

By now many of you have probably seen that What’s Beautiful 3.0 by Under Armour has launched! The goal? To get women to set epic goals and then motivate them to achieve them. When you sign up, you can share your journey with others. There is even a competition involved where you can set yourself apart from the rest with a chance to win a trip to Costa Rica for a 4-day yoga and surf retreat! BAM.

You might be wondering why I have waited until now to join in. Well, I wanted to announce my pregnancy first! You see, being pregnant makes my “epic goals” a little different than if I weren’t. I’d love to say that my goal is to finally run a sub-2:00 half or do x amount of unassisted pull-ups but that’s not the case right now. So instead, #IWILL focus on having a healthy and active pregnancy. I would like to maintain a certain level of fitness until the very end. I attribute an easy labor and delivery with Emmie to staying active until the day I had her. Goodness knows I’d love a repeat experience

I also want to cheer you on if you participate! I’d love to connect with you on the What’s Beautiful platform. You can find my profile HERE. I can’t wait to see what you can accomplish! You can join teams, accept challenges, and continue being your awesome motivating selves. Let’s do this!

Are you participating in What’s Beautiful? Leave a link to your profile so I can find you!

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Baby #2: 12 Weeks

2013-05-19T16:33:31Z

For probably selfish reasons I am really excited to bringing you my pregnancy week-by-week. I am already noticing differences between my first pregnancy (read about it here) and this one. Having a toddler and being pregnant is a whole different journey! So bare with me … it is seriously the most amazing thing to be able to look back on my pregnancy with Em and I look forward to having the memories from this one as well.

What is baby up to at 12 weeks?

Baby is the size of a lime. They are measuring around 2 inches long and weight half an ounce.
Baby is developing reflexes! Their fingers and toes will start to open and close and more.
Baby is looking more like a baby and less like an alligator

How is mama doing?

Weight Gain: First, I want to be clear that I am monitoring my weight gain out of pure curiosity and to be well-informed. I am not worrying about the weight gain because I know how to take it off later. I did it once before That being said, dealing with hyperemesis had me lose 9 pounds in the first few weeks of pregnancy. Right now, I am sitting at minus 7 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight. My goal is to gain back what I lost and stay on track for a healthy weight gain.

Pregnancy Fitness: BAHAHAHA … none to be heard of. Exercise for me is trying to pick up my house at this point Again, it’s not something I am worried about quite yet. I had a lapse in workouts when pregnant with Emmalyne and was able to pick them back up in the second trimester. Gym … I am coming for you!

Symptoms: The most obvious symptoms I am dealing with are nausea, vomiting, and fatigue. I can’t remember I day where I haven’t thrown up since being 5 weeks pregnant. It’s getting old. Luckily the nausea is becoming more manageable and I am finding myself having some good days. Like clockwork though by the evening I am sick to my stomach. But I will take that over the all day sickness. Other symptoms:

Weird taste in my mouth. This also happened with Em and went away in the second tri. I battle it with watermelon gum and Altoids.
Food aversions to everything. Nothing sounds good. Chris makes our dining choices and I manage to eat.
Vivid dreams. I definitely didn’t miss the pregnant dreams! They are so real and so weird.

Sleep: One thing I can’t get enough of The constant fatigue is starting to abate a bit but I do find myself laying down when Em naps. Bedtime is also promptly by 9PM. Sleeping pretty well through the night with sometimes waking up to use the bathroom.

Looking Forward To: We have our 12-week NT screening ultrasound today! The nuchal translucency screening can help determine your risk for different chromosomal abnormalities. We opted out of this test for Emmalyne but decided for it this time. While results wouldn’t change our thoughts on our baby (we will keep and love whatever child God grants us with), I do want to be well informed and prepared. Plus I get to see the jellybean again

Whew … that should do it! If there is anything you’d like me to address specifically, leave a comment or email me! I have a lot to do on post this morning for our family readiness group, laundry needs doing, and packing must commence! Two days until we are Phoenix bound …. weeeeee!!!!!

Mamas – did you notice a big difference with your second pregnancy? Non-mamas – how do you get motivated to work out when your energy levels are nill?

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Pregnancy Q & A

2013-05-17T12:49:09Z

Hi guys! Thank you for all your wonderful comments on our pregnancy announcement! We are SO excited and blessed to be adding to our little family! I figured I would put together a little post on some of the pregnancy details for you guys since I have been getting a couple questions

How far along are you?

I am 11 weeks and 5 days pregnant with a due date of December 1!

When did you find out?

I found out on our Operation R&R trip to Hilton Head. I had a feeling and decided I couldn’t wait to get home to test. It was a great time and place to find out about our next adventure.

How did you tell Chris?

This was actually a lot of fun for me because I didn’t get the joy of telling Chris in person when I was pregnant with Emmalyne. I found out I was pregnant with her the day after Chris left to go back to Afghanistan so we didn’t get to experience the excitement together. I asked Chris if he thought he would be able to take a day or two off during his change of command process this December. He get pretty flustered and said he was NOT going on vacation then. I then said even if it’s just for a day or two in the hospital? He got really confused until I showed him the positive test. It was so fun seeing his excitement this time!

Who else did you tell?

We wanted to keep things really quiet at first. For some reason I felt a little more protective of this pregnancy this time. Plus we have a trip planned to Arizona and Las Vegas next week where we would see our families in person and thought it would be fun to surprise them. Unfortunately my symptoms ended up making that wait impossible so we told everyone at 6.5 weeks after we saw the heart beat.

Where the heck have you been?!

I suffered with hyperemesis gravidarum with Emmalyne which is basically acute morning sickness an characterized by severe nausea, vomiting, and weight loss. With Em it started 2 days after my positive test. This time I had a blissful 8 days where I thought I dodged the bullet. Then it set in and things went rapidly downhill. I’ve lost a significant amount of weight, been put on anti-nausea meds (that don’t always work), and had to go in for fluid rehydration. Hence why my mother-in-law came for 3 weeks. I’ll talk more about this another day though.

Right now I am just living in survival mode. Working out hasn’t happened in weeks. I am living off carbs. It happens. I am hoping that with the second trimester comes some relief and that I can get back to the things I love the most – playing non-stop with Em, getting a good sweat in, and eating right!

If you have any other questions, I’d be happy to answer them. I plan on doing weekly “bumpdates” like I did with Emmalyne so I will be back next week with a 12-week update! I hope you enjoy your weekend … we will be getting ready for our trip over here!

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An Early Christmas Present

2013-05-13T21:50:20Z

Christmas will be coming early to the G house!

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Plant-A-Tree

2013-05-08T11:18:21Z

**This is a sponsored post for Odwalla & Glam. More information is at the end of the post.

When I was a kid my mom and I had these amazing grapefruit and orange trees in our backyard. Every year when the first blooms appeared I would excited knowing that fresh citrus was soon to be mine. Nothing tasted better than those sour grapefruit picked right from the tree. You can’t beat that freshness!

Trees are so important to our environment and it’s really one of those “the more the better” scenarios. Trees contribute to better air quality, delicious food, and so much more. Odwalla is teaming up with The Nature Conservancy’s “All Hands on Earth” campaign to plant 100,000 new trees in 2013. On Odwalla’s Plant-A-Tree website you can design your own virtual tree and one real tree will be planted in your honor.

What could be better than having a tree planted in your honor? Having the chance to win $10,000 gift card and year of Odwalla juices and bars! Seriously awesome right?

Now if you’ll excuse me … I am off to go “Plant-A-Tree”

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Between March 20, 2013 and May 31, 2013, Odwalla will contribute $1 for each tree you create to The Nature Conservancy for the planting of trees– no less than $75,000 and up to $100,000. The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to conserve the land and waters on which all life depends. More information about the Conservancy is available by mail at 4245 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22203, by phone at (800) 628-6860 or at www.nature.org

**Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Odwalla via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Odwalla

Savannah Seafood Festival

2013-05-07T12:53:53Z

This last weekend was Savannah’s annual Seafood Festival. Since it was also Yon’s last weekend here we knew we had to check it out. Unfortunately Mother Nature didn’t agree and gave us rain ALL DAY Saturday. A little wet couldn’t deter us though and we loaded up and headed down to River Street.

I think the rain scared some of the vendors away. There were multiple craft tents up with some unique products but the variety for seafood was rather limited. Chris grabbed a beer as we walked around but the general consensus of our group was to duck into a restaurant instead. We ended up hitting up The Cotton Exchange which is one of our favorites. For starters, we shared the hot crab dip which is SO GOOD.

Em was in a particularly friendly mood and happily chatted with everyone who walked by making our dining experience a ton of fun. For my main dish, I went with the shrimp po boy for fun. I never had a po boy before moving to Savannah and I have to say I am a fan!

On our way back to the car, we hit up River Street Sweets for a little dessert and a “Flat Stanley” photo op. My youngest nephew sent us his Flat Stanley for his school project and I was on a mission to complete our photos for him.

Finally, we stopped to watch the Kentucky Derby before heading home. All in all, we all had a ton of fun and are looking forward to next year. Hopefully next time Savannah gets the memo and blesses us with sunshine

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Pin It Party Link-Up

2013-05-02T21:45:14Z

My girl Lindsay from The Lean Green Bean had a FANTASTIC idea of hosting a Pinteresting link-up! I am joining in this week (and you still can too!). The idea? Choose 5 of your favorite Pinterest-worthy posts and link-up on her page. A fun way to discover awesome topics from other bloggers and share some of your favorite all time posts too.

1. Tips for Going to Disney with a Baby – this is probably one of my all-time most pinned posts. We went to Disney when Emmalyne was 7 months old and had a blast! These tips take some of the guess work out of the process.

2. How to Juice Using a Food Processor – Before I got my juicer, I used my food processor to make some delicious juices.

3. Oven Baked Tacos Recipe – My family LOVES these oven baked tacos and yours can too!

4. Tips for Flying with a Baby – Another one of my most popular posts! I have my first edition here when Em was 4 months old and a revised edition here.

5. Baked Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal – Another family favorite! We have this in the fridge every week.

There you go! My 5 favorite posts for Pinterest! Make sure to link-up with Lindsay and share yours too

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A Sucker for Hard Candy

2013-04-30T14:06:16Z

I am a sucker for hard candy. I love it when I am working or when I am not feeling well. There is something soothing about it! One of my absolute favorite hard candies to treat myself to are Wether’s Original Sugar Free Candy.

My grandma is actually the one who introduced me to Werther’s. My grandma is a type II diabetic and therefore has to watch her sugar levels. Since Werther’s are sugar-free she could have one of these when her sweet tooth struck. In a survey, Werther’s found out that 35% of those who responded missed the satisfaction that came when they enjoyed a sugary treat. However, 78% of those responders said that they enjoyed Werther’s sugar free treats. That’s a pretty good margin isn’t it? With just 8 calories, and 3 grams of carbs, these treats are hardly indulgent but just as satisfying.

While these are sugar free, there is nothing “diet” about the taste. Wether’s makes their candies using real butter and fresh cream giving them a decadent taste. I was pretty excited when I got this awesome package in the mail to try:

In the package, I received the original flavor, caramel apple, caramel cinnamon, and caramel coffee.

While my heart belongs to the original, the other flavors were pretty good too. I have been sharing them with my mother-in-law because she is a huge fan of Werther’s too! The caramel apple was my second favorite of the flavor samples.

If you’re like me, a good hard candy is seriously enjoyable. Being able to indulge in one without the guilt is even better. You can find Werther’s Original Sugar Free Candy on Facebook to learn more.

Do you like sugar free candy? What is your favorite?

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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Fashion Friday: Neon Shorts

2013-04-25T23:42:41Z

Hey guys! I know I have been a bit sporadic the last 2 weeks … things have been a bit crazy around here with Emmie being sick, Army commitments, and my MIL in town. Things should be back to “normal” in another week or so. Thanks for bearing with me! I am so thankful you guys keep coming back

I have another fun outfit to share with you guys. I found these awesome neon pink shorts at J.Crew back in January when I was home in Phoenix. They were $5! Proof that with some smart shopping you can get name-brand clothes for cheap.

Shirt: LOFT

Shorts: J.Crew

Shoes: TOMS

Hope you guys have an excellent Friday and upcoming weekend!

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Weekly Food Prep

2013-04-22T23:54:04Z

I am a Type-A kind of person. I like making lists, cleaning charts, and planning. One of my favorite things to do each week is sit down and meal plan and making our grocery list for the week. After grocery shopping for our necessities, I take some time on the weekends to prepare our family for the following week. Chris works long hours … he leaves the house at 5:30AM and gets home between 6:30-7:30PM on good days …. so my weekly prep is particularly helpful to him. We are a “grab and go” kind of family so the fewer steps we have to take, the better the choices seem.

I find a lot of inspiration in reading about how other people prep for the week and thought I would share how we prep with all of you. I timed myself and from start to finish the process takes me and hour and a half.

First, I wash and cut our fruits and veggies. We are weird in the sense that strawberries tend to get forgotten unless they are washed/chopped ahead of time. Lazy much? When they are ready to eat we can’t keep them in the house long enough. I also prep cantaloupe, celery, carrots, blueberries, and mushrooms on a weekly basis. Other fruits/veggies are on a “by meal” basis but we use all of these almost daily.

I always have some sort of grain on hand and it’s usually quinoa. Em loves it and so do I. On top of that, I cook and shred a couple of chicken breasts for easy salads, quesadillas, or for a meal like chicken tortilla soup. A few hardboiled eggs an another snack likes roasted chick peas and homemade trail mix always make the cut too.

For the freezer I make several “smoothie-in-a-bag” for Chris to take to work throughout the week. All the awesome ingredients of a smoothie in a grab and go variety. I also make some breakfast burritos that he can pop in the microwave for breakfast.

Finally, I always make a tray of baked apple cinnamon oatmeal. Everyone in the family loves this and it makes breakfast easy most days of the week.

There you have it! This is our typical weekly food prep that helps us be successful in mostly clean eating throughout the week without the hassle.

Do you prep food on the weekends?

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