Fitting Back In

My Favorite Things Monday: Product Reviews!

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 18:27:00 +0000

After Wednesday's big 'life download' here is a fun update on 5 things I'm obsessed with these days. Enjoy! Happy Monday - and here's to wonderful weeks for us all - cheers!

1. This Water Pitcher. Obsessed. I found it online and when I went to Ikea with besties Monica & Sharon they found it for me! I wanted it purely for decoration - looking at it truly made me happy. But during our prepping of the house for potential buyers we added a lot more flowers to the backyard. I designated myself water girl and the pitcher has been my right hand gal. Love it and look - together we totally rock at keeping flowers alive and beautiful.

2. This Cell phone case. The jimmyCASE is basically an iPhone wallet. Having finally converted to the iPhone 6s plus it was great to find a case that makes my phone do even more. For instance, as you know, I spend my days running around town with a three-year-old. I sincerely hate having to carry my purse everywhere - it's heavy, cumbersome and I'm often holding other bags that I can just toss my phone and keys into. But what about my wallet? Ugh - needing to carry that third thing makes me resort to bringing my purse.

But this case makes it so easy to just tuck my baby (the Amex) and some cash into the phone case. My keys have my gym card hooked on them so it all fits right into the phone case so I'm only keeping track of ONE thing vs. having to carry my heavy purse OR having to hold my keys + wallet + phone which creates a hand cramp as well as the likelihood of leaving something behind at the checkout counter. This case is truly perfect for quick errands, and an absolute must for the pool bag. The wallet part is stretchy but hasn't stretched out at all, and I love the wood grain part, too. And I, of course, chose Auburn colors! Austin now wants one which makes me think this could be a great gift, especially if the cases match your school colors!

3. These Salad bowls. I can't go on about these enough. Me and Beckett are obsessed. I can just toss two in the cooler with a banana or a fruit bowl and we're done - off to the pool and we won't starve or resort to eating the main other lunchtime offering: sandwiches. She asks for these all the time - her favorite is the Chef Salad; mine is the Turkey and Bacon Cobb. When I'm at home, I've been known to add extra veggies (cucumbers, tomoatoes) and extra meat (ham or diced grilled chicken) to beef it up some. I've also changed out the dressing at home. But for somewhat healthy on the go eating that both me and Beckett like - this is where it's at!

4. These tanks. Athleta's chi tanks have become my summertime staple. Already. I went from owning 0 to 4 pretty quick and I wear them everyday. With the chaturanga capris when working out at the gym, and with the swagger skirt for walks and errands - haven't run it in yet but that's what it's for so I'm assuming it will work! The tanks are SO lightweight and soft. I have washed them several times (and air dry) and they look perfect still - woo!

5. These boxes. We use these every. single. day. She used them during the school year for lunches, and now we use them for snacks at camp (dipper in small box; fruit in bigger box and veggies in biggest box). They're the perfect size and fit right in to the skip hop lunchboxes and (so far) all others I've tried. She likes to pick her color each day - it's the perfect size for her!

I'm not the only one who loves the salads and lunchboxes! Forgive her for always eating in a leotard or princess costume - we're on week 3 of ballet princess camps!

Our backyard flowers are loving the watering can!

Q: What's your favorite thing these days?!

4 Things: Weight, Lodging, Fertility & Transition Time

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 20:52:00 +0000

1. Weight:

I've been between 125 and 127 for the past few weeks. This has made me pretty happy in that I've been eating good and feeling good and my clothes have felt great - even big. I actually went to Athleta and got some work out clothes that fit which was super fun. Of course B came along with me (straight from swim class to gymnastics class to lunch in an Athleta dressing room - gotta get it all in! LOL

She may or may not have made friends with an employee named Loraine who helped me look after her and make sure her little hands didn't make big messes!

2. Lodging:

Long story short - we're MOVING! It wasn't the plan. At all. We were actually about to finish the last piece of renovation in our home - the master bathroom which is seriously outdated. However, Austin went to surprise me with a Mother's Day treadmill (I was SO SICK from allergies and was missing walking so he was going to solve my problem). Long story short, when he went to a neighboring home to buy the treadmill it turned out they were selling their home. He walked around and loved it; I came and did as well. While we didn't end up with that house, it sparked our interest in moving and we quickly found our 'forever home' - just a mile away.

Enter 'day in day out' of pulling finances, making an offer, back and forth on due diligence repairs, contractor involvement, inspection, etc. All while, of course, getting our home ready to sell - pressure washers, carpet cleaners, landscapers - you name it. We ended up agreeing on all due diligence items on the new house on May 24, so we listed ours on May 25. We had 13+ showings starting that evening, got two offers on Sunday, May 29, and were under contract by Tuesday, May 31. Needless to say, this is what we've been doing every day - between house hunting, to finding our home, to selling our home - we have not rested and it's been a whirlwind of fun and excitement!

Somebody had to get the house ready for prospective buyers...

3. Fertility:

Well, lots of ups and downs this time around. Weird cycles (too long or too short), frustration, feeling like shit and getting downright upset about why this just isn't happening for us. While we're not ready for IUIs or IVF, we were ready for something more assertive. Enter, clomid. Had an ultrasound to make sure the ovaries wouldn't be overstimulated, then quickly had Cycle 1 during all of the aforementioned house stuff. By Cycle Day 12 I had another ultrasound - not awful, but not amazing progress on follicles. My Day 21 test had to take place on Day 22 due to Memorial Day. It was yesterday. I was excited. I thought maybe this time? They drew my blood yesterday and I didn't even make it home before my period started. Another too-short cycle of just 22 days. Another opportunity lost. Deep sigh.

That being said I still called my mom and cried because, you know, I can and I felt better. I even left a teary voicemail to my nurse - we talked today - she was disappointed, too.

I go in tomorrow for another ultrasound to make sure the ovaries are still good (they feel certain they have reset since not that much happened by way of clomid stimulation). From there, I'll start Clomid Saturday - not sure if I'll stick to the 50mg or bump up - we'll see. But likely Days 5- 9 of Clomid mg TBD and then we'll see. Big frown. While I'm loving having the house stuff as a super fun distraction, I have to make sure that it's not a big stressor that can affect fertility. Time to get zen. For real. In the meantime, at least I still have my special Beckett - can't get enough of our funny, sweet, precious little girl who is everyone's friend and loves to sing and dance and smile. Now she also loves to push my buttons for a reaction, but that's another story!

4. Transitioning from Spring to Summer: The focus for a while now was end of year - wrapping up choir, school, gymnastics, tap/ballet & swim lessons.

Obligatory overpriced school pics. At least they don't involve laser beams anymore!

Now, we're moving into summer - gymnastics camps, dance camps, lots of pool time, and lots of chill time.

Water table with friends = super fun Memorial Day. And we've been to the pool every day since last Wednesday. Our hair hates us but we're having fun!

Her camps are three to four mornings a week - love that they start later so we can have slow mornings, and they end earlier so we can have picnics or lunch by the pool. So far, so good. Work hasn't been too crazy which is nice (being that I've been so bogged down with #2 and #3!)

Someone is rocking 'teddy bear' dance camp this week

So... it's been a little wild. I haven't rested as much, worked out as much, read as much, or cooked as much. I have had lots of fun and have enjoyed this house project with Austin so much. After 7+ years in our home, it's nice to start this new exciting chapter together. We just really see ourselves in this new home - sharing ideas and planning and day dreaming about it all has been a blast.

Love my little family

So - that's what's been up! And here is me and B right now as she asked me for a 'mommy and Beckett picture' (she just woke up from nap!). We're off to the pool - happy Wednesday. :)

Yummy Recipe, Good Read & What's Been Up

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 17:49:00 +0000

Wow! You guys I have bad allergies so sinus infections, while miserable, are common. So I feel bad but get a sinus infection and get good meds and feel a bit better but the allergies persist. Then I get hit by a tummy bug - OMG they are the worst. In between being sick, here's what's been up:

My Number:

Pretty sure that one-pound weight loss is named Gastroenteritis. Yuck.

What I Ate: Still keeping breakfasts carb-free with omelets (vs. muffins or tacos). Morning snack has been a banana - keeps it simple! And Lunch has been easy, too - chicken salad, raw veggies, fruits, hummus - doing cold lunches instead of hot lunches. I'm obsessed with these containers from Whole Foods and have been cleaning and reusing them to make adult bento boxes!

These are so yummy and filling

Dinners have been a little different since last week we had a couple of Easter events and this week we had a guest - my mother-in-law was in town! It's always fun to go out to eat with her. We went out to eat two nights - yummy sushi one night and mexican the other. I also cooked a new recipe Monday night and we liked it! It was Cooking Light's Skillet Chicken with Roasted Potatoes and Carrots. The sauce and chicken were amazing, but the veggies were still crunchy so I need to modify this recipe a bit but we're definitely having it again - so hearty and tasty.

Source: Cooking Light

Fitness/Steps: Still loving my M-W-F classes - am honestly considering buying a step. Is that weird? I just love it so much and feel I'd do it every day if it were offered! If you know of any good YouTube step videos holla! Steps have been on the lower end since I have been avoiding this pollen and staying indoors so no family walks for me! But that's okay - when I feel better (hopefully ASAP - still in bed today with this tummy bug - blah) I plan to add in my more gym time for treadmill walks until the pollen calms down out there!

What Else Has Been up:

Easter Egg Hunt and dinner at church

Easter Egg Hunt & Family Lunch at my sister's house - so fun - the kiddos painted Easter crafts, played and loved the hunt together!

Pics by Revelry Photo House

This one makes me smile so hard - her with her new ballerina bunny from Gigi! Pics by Revelry Photo House

Cutest family! Pics by Revelry Photo House

Love my mom & my baby girl; Pics by Revelry Photo House

Love cakes from Whole Foods! Pics by Revelry Photo House

These cuties have my heart! Pics by Revelry Photo House

Time to paint in our 'painting jackets' since it was surprisingly chilly! Pics by Revelry Photo House

I can't handle this cuteness Pics by Revelry Photo House

Beautiful! Pics by Revelry Photo House

Book club Girls night at my mom's; this book was VERY good! I recommend it for a great quick read that keeps you interested and gets you thinking. It explores the choices we make and how they send us down different paths. Fun nonfiction read that we all enjoyed

Pizza night with friends - family selfie beforehand!

B always asks for a show after dinner LOL

Lots of fun with her from ballet to...

her first pedicure! She chose purple, with white flowers!

So, all in all, despite having felt anywhere from funky and weak to sneezy and miserable for two weeks straight, fun has been had! LOL SO ready to feel better. Next week is spring break so lots more time for me and B to have fun! And lots more time for me to get my behind in the gym and make some more new recipes!

Same Number, New Recipe, What's Been Up

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Tue, 22 Mar 2016 12:54:00 +0000

In addition to Georgia giving us seasons, it also gives us allergy problems. I am currently on what feels like day 87 of a sinus infection, and Beckett and Austin are snotty and coughy, too. Sigh. Definitely used it as an excuse to try to slow down and rest and take antibiotics. I am not very good at slowing down.

Today's Number:

Still at this weight - have seen a couple of 129's and nothing lower, but 128.5 seems to be the star lately.

What I ate: I've been doing great here for the most part. Sticking to breakfast omelets; lunch has been half sandwiches & raw veggies & fruit; and I've cooked a healthified dinner from the blog almost every night (e.g., green chicken enchiladas; skillet lasagna). We did go out to eat last Thursday, and I had spring rolls and they were awesome. Also, the day my sinus infection hit its low and I couldn't breathe or open my eyes properly I felt sorry for myself and ate an absurd amount of reese's pieces. Like I was almost ashamed of myself. I also made a new recipe - Cooking Light's Honey-Lime Drumsticks. I will link up my recipe as I changed it a bit, used basmati instead of brown rice and substituted edamame for snow peas. We all loved it - even little Beckett! We did have to cut the chicken off the bone for her first and she wanted broccoli but still a win. She liked that it wasn't spicy - it was sweet!

Fitness/Steps: I've been doing pretty good here, although the sickness brought me down a little! I am finding that I pretty much always work out Monday, Wednesday & Friday - these are my favorite 1-hour classes at the gym - one one-hour kickboxing class and two one-hour classes that are half step and half full-body strength with dumbbells/body weight. I know 3 days isn't enough though, so I have been trying to at least walk or run on Tuesday & Thursday. This week though, I took a one-hour step class on Saturday and it was so fun! I think if I could take step every day I would! So on Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday I had 11,228, 12,265, 12,427 and 12,194 steps - easy to get to 10 when I take a class! But Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday are between 6,000 and 9,000 if I don't do intentional cardio. SO working on getting more classes in as I know that that is what I really enjoy - fun music, fun instructors and fun group of women!

What Else Has Been Up: Honestly, this week had a lot of events outside of the normal school/work/tap & ballet/swim/gymnastics/choir - YIKES. We got it all done though, despite not feeling well.

Added an art display to the play room and moved things around again!

Made St. Patrick's Day Lunches and snacks for the week

Had our St. Patrick's Day picnic with our play group

Beckett's Art Show at School - super fun event before a not fun one -taxes!

Baking cupcakes for my nephew's lego fifth birthday lego party

Shoe shopping with Beckett - nothing fits for this warmer weather!

Celebrating Dane - this little cutie turned 5!

My mom and Beckett - my mom stayed with B Saturday night when we went to our cousin Laura's engagement party!

I am currently on a less-busy week as we really don't feel well. Boo. Wish us a quick recovery!

Day 9 -12: When It's Sunny, Everything is Possible

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Mon, 14 Mar 2016 11:36:00 +0000

Living in Georgia we have seasons. And rain. I have tried to go with Gretchen Rubin's thinking of, "It's a rainy, day, what a great day to be inside!" and "It's a sunny day, what a great day to be outside!" But after lots of rainy days I get to be quite the crab and don't want to be inside and just want the sun to make things easier. And it does. This whole week it was sunny and amazing.

Seriously - I can't get enough outside time (or Claritin) in this weather!

Today's Number:

I'm devoting this weight loss to two things (1) running out of girl scout cookies. (2) keeping up the workout part - which I've always found easy - BUT doing better with nutrition, which I tend to be pretty flexible on since I like pizza and rice and stuff.

What I ate: I did much better here because I had MUCH less activities so all meals were eaten at home which was nice. Breakfast was omelets (no carbs); snacks were fruit (apple slices or grapes) and veggies (carrots, broccoli and cauliflower with yogurt ranch); lunches were salads; and dinner was mostly grilled - Austin grilled the BEST BBQ chicken. I need to share the marinade. And a picture. He also made our easy hot wing chicken (think big tray of chicken thighs + lots of Frank's hot wing sauce marinating for 2 days until grilled). We had the chicken one night with just green beans and one night with a big salad. I will say I have been struggling with afternoon snacks. I just really want something snacky as in a bag of pita chips and hummus. So I'm trying to get better at portioning out that snack so I don't end up eating 400 calories which is a meal, not a snack. I've also thought about cutting my lunch and having a small lunch at 12:30 p.m. then the other half at 2:30 p.m. We'll see how that goes! Just glad that thanks to putting this more into focus because of the blog I'm realizing this pattern of overeating at snack time during that late afternoon lull!

Fitness/Steps:
Tuesday was 10,539 steps. Wednesday was 11,944 steps - a great day with hour-long cardio kickbox! Thursday was exactly 10,000 steps; was busy with Beckett's new swim lessons; her gymnastics class and work; but I walked a lot and stayed and played outside with B with playground and backyard and during her bath with Austin I went for a run. So all good!

That's it for today - had this post ready to publish Friday but forgot to hit send. Best blogger ever. LOL Hope you all had great weekends! Will do a post of our weekend tomorrow!

Day 4 - 8: Let's Talk About Art

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Tue, 08 Mar 2016 02:38:00 +0000

I am impressed with my past self for daily posts - it's not easy at all! To quickly play catch up - I've been, let's go with 'flexible' with my eating and I haven't lost a touch of weight. Oops! Every day is new and tomorrow I will do better - that's the best I can do today! Today's number:

I dedicate this one-pound weight gain to the ones whom I owe it to, the girl scouts.

What I ate: I kept it simple for the most part - my usual omelet for breakfast, fruit or bar for snack, salad or half sandwich/hummus/carrots for lunch; and a healthified/hot dinner BUT the weekend truly derailed me with too many activities, and my usual 15 minutes of contracting was 24 hours - this made it tough to keep up my schedule! Friday we had friends for pizza night, and Saturday alone I had a fun Ikea morning with friends (which ran long so I ate a pizza lunch at Ikea!); a first birthday party (another slice of pizza) and a planned date night (at a new Italian place - enter pasta & wine). SO I fully deserve that pound - ha! All super fun events and totally worth it, but being that busy means less time for workouts and I didn't plan in healthy choices so there you go.

Fitness/Steps: Wednesday is always one of my better days - 1-hour cardio kickbox class. I enjoy it so much and always burn a lot and get lots of steps! Ended up at 13,608. Thursday ended up being a busy work day (logged 6 hours... yikes!) - ended at only 7,310 steps. Friday I walked 2 miles then took 30 minutes of my favorite step class; easily hit 12,838 steps. Despite all of Saturday's activities, I did get in a good bit of steps at 8,473. Walking Ikea is good cardio apparently. Sunday I charged my fitbit and realized around dinner that I hadn't put it back on - OOPS! It was definitely a rest day with just a short walk - I wasn't feeling good and I didn't feel good today either and gave my body a break. I thought about pushing myself to go to my favorite class but honestly I felt run down and 'sinus infectiony' and I was like nope, going to go to the grocery store and go home and pre-cook today vs. tomorrow. While I missed my friends it felt good to listen to my body!

Who doesn't love Ikea? And yes, send help - I clearly can't keep up with the laundry!

Organizing Update: Today's is more focused on home decor as I have gotten that bug again to update a few things around the house and my fun trip to Ikea only helped me get excited about the projects again! One of the big things I want to focus on is art. I have a lot of frames around our house and many have family photos which I love. And lots have artwork as well - but I want to focus more on finding new, meaningful artwork. I'm also interested in making artwork myself (with canvases) or with Beckett - so special! A few things inspiring me:

This post of Emily Henderson's - what an amazing roundup/resource of art sites

Source: Emily Henderson's post

Young House Love books - I own Lovable Livable Home, which is great, but I got the first one from the library and it's full of cute ideas to make your own art!

My friend Sharon - she has done several cute pieces herself with using coupons at Michael's for inexpensive canvases. She'll find something she likes and uses sharpies to outline it then paints and it turns out so good! Here's one she did lately - so cute!

My friend sharon's replica - how cute, right?!

Kiddo Artwork: I have been looking through my old sources I used for Beckett's room, play room, and play area in our office - I am obsessed with kiddo art - it inspires me to keep going until I find adult artwork I like just as much!

source: Etsy

Q: Any other DIYers out there like my friend Sharon?! Any art resources i'm missing for fun artwork more geared toward adults?

Day 3: Mind Full or Mindful?

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 01:55:00 +0000

Here we go, Day 3!

My Number today: Down a half pound.

What I ate: Breakfast was a taco - 1 egg, 2 slices avocado, sausage + 1 small/fajita size tortilla + grapes; snack was a luna bar; lunch was 1 spicy tuna + avocado quinoa sushi roll; dinner was spaghetti made with no-salt tomato sauce/tomatoes & lean beef with 1/4 cup pasta; and of course, the apparently obligatory girl scout cookies - 4 thin mints - yikes!

Fitness/Steps: Today ended up being an off day! My MIL was in town so I skipped the gym; instead we took B to to the grocery store; ballet/tap class; to get a haircut; and out to lunch at Whole Foods (where I got that yummy sushi roll above at!). Even though I didn't take a class or anything, I did take a walk with B and stayed outside/active when possible! I ended up at 10,180 steps and 1,997 calories burned.

Organizing Update: In addition to the Master To-Do List I talked about Monday, and Jess Lively's podcasts I'm addicted to, I have been finding a lot of inspiration in this quote:

From Beproductive IG stream

I don't know about you, but I find myself "Mind Full" a lot more frequently than mindful, and that's something I'm working on. Have you heard of Headspace? It's a pretty cool app focused on mindfulness. I've just started using it but really like it so far!

Q: How do you feel about mindfulness and its growing popularity? Too 'new age' or do you believe it promotes physical, mental and emotional health?

Day 2: Getting Started with Values-Based Intentions

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 19:28:00 +0000

Hello! Just kicking off Day 2, starting with a pic from yesterday!

Selfie at Deadpool showing at 5 p.m. - had the place to ourselves for sure!

My Number today: same as yesterday!

What I ate: Yesterday was better! Like usual, knowing that I was going to post what I ate helped me not eat as poorly as I would have otherwise. Accountability is a miracle. Even if know one reads it you're putting it out there. Weird! Anyway. Breakfast was carbless: 2-egg omelet with ham, mushrooms and a little grated cheddar cheese; Lunch was a flat out wrap pizza with sauce, turkey pepperoni, red onion, banana peppers and a little mozzarella cheese; snack was 4 thin mints (LOL) and a banana. Then it took a turn as dinner became about 2 cups of movie theater popcorn + a slice of pesto + mushroom pizza & 2 glasses of wine. Not awful for a somewhat spontaneous date night with Austin (My awesome MIL came in town so we took in a 5 p.m. movie + dinner + drinks).

Fitness/Steps: I LOVE to take group fitness class on Monday. I truly need someone else to push me or i'll just waste time being lazy on a treadmill. Today I took a one-hour class - half step and half strength. I love some step. Per fitbit, I ended up at 13,872 steps and 2,270 calories burned.

Organizing Update: In addition to the Master To-Do List I talked about yesterday, I have been finding so much inspiration in Jess Lively's podcasts. Anyone listen? She's all about creating values-based intentions and only doing what really, really matters to you instead of all the other shit that comes your way that may be important to other people but not you. And that's okay. It's very freeing to hear her (and her guests) discuss mental health and topics ranging from how to set boundaries to how to eat intuitively.

Listening to her podcasts has led me to getting more steps as she can join me on walks! I have listened to most of her podcasts, but also wrote down the numbers to my favorites that inspire me even on the fourth or fifth listen! I have taken a couple of her workshops and just love it. If you're interested in building your very own values-based intentions, start with this post of hers - it's how I went down the rabbit hole! More on it all later for sure as it's become a huge part of my thinking!

Also, this has been inspiring me.

Source: IG post on productivity planner

So true, right? I am working so hard to be a good wife, mother, employee, etc.; to be healthy, fit, generous, productive; to be happy, to relax to have fun, and the list goes on - SO MANY THINGS I have going on in attempts to be my best self. I just don't really want to invest time and energy in talking bad about other people who, like me, are probably in progress to be their best selves! I do take issue with "so busy" in the quote, but more on that later! :)

Q: Who is inspiring you to be your best you - any authors, podcasters, or Instagrammers I should be following?!

Day 1: Back on Track; March To-Dos

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 17:02:00 +0000

Hi, friends! Thanks so much for welcoming me back - I appreciate you and your support. Also, I appreciate your kind words - it means so much! :)

So, Day 1, looking forward here is how I kind of plan to set up my posts. First, a pic from yesterday. Why not?

Me and my lady bug walking into church; I think she looks precious and I look bitchy - was talking to Austin! ha

My Number today: Yes, I know it's not for everyone. But for me it's a quantitative look at where i'm shaking out this Monday morning which we'll call Day 1 - don't you just love a clean slate?

What I ate: Yesterday wasn't clean. At all. Started with a whole wheat English muffin + avocado + sausage + 1 egg + cantaloupe; followed by half a luna bar en route to church. Lunch was a slice of leftover pizza + spinach salad. Snack was 4 thin mints. Damn those girl scouts. Dinner was my favorite - spicy salmon roll followed by grapes. So not absolutely horrible, but definitely not "i'm tracking and being responsible and holding myself accountable to eat clean to lose 5-10 pounds" kinda eating. Just saying. LOL

Fitness/Steps: I don't normally work out on Sunday but do like to do light activity - a walk or what not. Today I walked for 30 minutes and stayed active around the house including cleaning out the garage! We also went to church,, PetSmart, Goodwill donations and the playground! Per fitbit, I ended up at 9,157 steps and 1,901 calories burned.

Organizing Update: Something I've been doing that is really working is a Master To-do list. You know - sitting down and identifying what things, as a family, we need to do in January, February, March and so on and so forth. I built it throughout last year as we were doing things and being more reactive than proactive but I enjoyed knowing I would have it in place next year. This is NOT a list of one-offs or a list of things that can be done at any month like a haircut. It's truly things that you want or need to do annually during a specific month of the year. Think 'taxes' in March or 'decorate Christmas tree' in December (which create earlier To-dos like 'gather tax materials' in February and 'gather Christmas decorations and purchase anything missing or broken' in November. With that said, here is what is on our list for March - it's a light month which I love.

Spring clean. Clean out bathroom cabinets; clean out junk drawer (s); wipe down kitchen cabinets; clean oven and refrigerator.
Taxes with accountant.
Confirm spring vacation plans & Easter plans.
Get out green for St. Patrick’s Day (buy Beckett outfit if needed)
Get out Easter dresses for Beckett’s events (buy outfits if needed); also get out basket
Stuff eggs. For Beckett's family hunt; friend hunt; and for the church for the big church hunt
Pressure wash the patio.
Get excited about Daylight Saving Time!

I am seriously pumped about Daylight Saving Time and having that extra hour to spend outdoors on dog walks, at the playground, eating dinner outside, etc. I got such bad cabin fever this winter and am ready for this change!

Q: What does your family look forward to in March - anything missing from our family's list?!

Anyone Out There? I'm Back

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Sun, 28 Feb 2016 12:54:00 +0000

I have no idea if anyone is still here as I haven't been here! I linked up my Instagram feed which is where I live the most, just posting pictures of my now THREE-year-old. (Seriously just updated the sidebar from one-year-old to three-year-old).

It was funny, last night I was trying to find a picture I had posted on the blog to illustrate a sad day. I hadn't thought about the blog in a long time. I had definitely become one of those people that I didn't used to understand: those people who, like me, had abandoned their blog. I felt a little guilt but mostly I was just surprised that something that had been so important to me and such a huge part of my life that I enjoyed (I heart documenting and accountability and sharing and all that good stuff) no longer fulfilled me. It had gone from feeling like this amazing outlet to this amazing burden. It made me go huh, I guess I have changed. And looking at the blog now I'm like wow. My 20's were just so dang cute. Look at that travel! Look at all those books I read and recipes I made! That's just precious.

I'm halfway kidding. I have always said that I love each part of my life and my 20's were no different. All that "going out." And the corporate ladder climbing. All that binge drinking. Good times for SURE. But I found myself in such a different place pregnant with Beckett. And once I had her in my life I wanted to channel all of my energy to her, especially once I quit the job that - like the blog - had been so dang important to me and just wasn't anymore.

I have thought about blogging again here and there, but I kept going ugh, I don't want to have to do the dreaded obligatory update post where I look at the last almost two years and pull pictures and figure out what I did and blah blah blah. Then last night I was looking at my blog to find that one picture and found myself just enjoying it and laughing at some of the stuff I posted and just how much I didn't give a shit. It made me want to post again. And it made me go who says I have to do that annoying labor-intensive post to say hi again? No one.

I can just say Hi! I'm back for now to say hi and to likely post about losing weight as that's really what got me blogging in the first place and being fit remains important to me. I'll also post about:

Food: things I dabble with like paleo & 21-day fix
Working out: what's working; what's not
My fitbit: dang that thing makes tracking easy; knowing me I'll post daily stats and, at least at first while I try to lose weight, will post numbers because I'm that way and I like numbers
Organizing : everything from the values-based intentions that I'm working on to the optimal weekly schedule; how I build in 'me time'; which authors are inspiring me to do all of this to live intentionally and not by what other people ask of me.
Secondary Infertility: probably not a whole lot about this as it's a painful subject, but honestly it's been a big part of why I've struggled with my weight . . . since having Beckett I have had two losses (20-week baby boy October 2014 and 9-week baby girl November 2015). I don't know about you, but when I want to be pregnant I'm not worried about losing weight... then when I get pregnant I'm not worried AT ALL and feel entitled to my own personal pizza.. then when I have these losses I feel empty and fat and demotivated as I want to try again but have to wait and so on and so forth. I would like to break this cycle as I know I am simply more happy with myself when I weigh in my 120's. Not because of the number, but because I've discovered that that number correlates with a body that feels slim and strong and active and healthy. I'll do a post about this later but for now I managed to get back to 127 after the first loss, then got pregnant again and got myself back to 127 again - but I teeter up to 131 a lot and would like to buckle down and get and stay in the 120's through nutrition - preferably whole foods as I'm finding that my beloved carbs truly upset my tummy and they affect my daughter as well!

Obviously other things will be sprinkled in - books, recipes, Beckett (duh) but I really want this blog to be more about my personal health journey. K - out for now. Here is a pic of my family simply because I hate to post without at least one picture.

What's Been Up

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 14:31:00 +0000

It's almost Easter - eek! Haven't posted in a while - eek!

Yes, she's not a baby anymore. I know I've watched it happen but now i'm chasing after a toddler going where did the time go?! Ah! At least she still has her baby swirl on her forehead that she's had since day 1 - heart that trademark Becks.

So what's been up? Lots! Mostly, I've been having entirely too much fun with the new Instagram shop!

@hercutecloset Instagram shop for girls!

I've had 4 sales so far and it's been a blast! I'm selling lots of Beckett's stuff, as well as fun finds here in Atlanta for girls up to 5T. It's been a fun thing to do and who doesn't love an excuse to shop?!

Other than that, I've been battling an awful stomach infection. True story. Turned out to be bacterial so I'll find out next week/bloodwork if the antibiotics have knocked it out - crazy!

I also spent my first weekend away from Beckett - a girl's trip to Miami with my three besties from high school! Good times for sure!

We think we have found our church! It's been on my list for so long to find a church near our home and now we've found one and Beckett did well in the daycare - yay!

home from church and happy!

Beckett's made so many neighborhood friends! It's adorable watching them walk around the playground together!

We visited Athens! Austin's parents got a new gameday condo so we went and checked it out - actually, Beckett has now visited twice as her and Austin did a daddy-daughter overnight trip with the family while I went to a 30th birthday dinner!

Other than that we've just been gymming, visiting with friends and having playdates, visiting with Austin's brother Tyler who just moved back from NY, and enjoying the warmer weather - park dates, walks, etc. All is well - hoping the warm weather stays!

Happy Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Tue, 11 Mar 2014 17:49:00 +0000

I don't know about you guys but I try so hard to be happy. Even on those days when I'm like FML if one more bad thing happens I"m throwing in the towel, I stop and focus and try to be grateful, try to concentrate on what's going right and try to get outside as, even though I'm by no means an 'outdoorsy person', it's just so dang calming. Other times I don't even try to be happy because one wonderful thing happens after another - that was how thing weekend was - nonstop fun and celebration and joy. I love weekends like this, surrounded by friends who are family and family who are friends. This is how all weekends should be!

Celebrating at my bestie Mon's baby shower

mom to be!

so happy!

Mary, Monica, Teresa & Me - hard to believe these friendships are in Decade #2

I made cookies to celebrate baby John!

The dad-to-be came and visited Austin for a while during the shower, and my sister rode over with me and visited after the shower for a bit - so fun to have a full, fun house! Reuben & Remy were especially excited that Cassie and Daisy visited!

Getting pedicures with my out-of-town besties Teresa & Mary, and Mary's little girl Emma

Love these girls! Look at little Emma in the back - hilariously cute!

Going out to eat with two of our longtime favorite couples from college and our babies

not so sure about their first date... haha Mike Mike's like "whateva" and Beckett's like "i'm on a WHAT?"

Seeing all of our kiddos play so well together in the morning = adorable.

Going to the park with the family! (seeing Reuben meet a little girl and actually make a friend!

Reuben's favorite friend was Sasha in the pink harness!

Having neighbors who are friends (or friends who are neighbors?) - whatever - meeting up with the Rollers at the park on Sunday evening!

15 Things I'm Loving

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Sat, 08 Mar 2014 12:14:00 +0000

1. Crazy 8. I had never been before but if they want to give me this puffer vest for next season for $3.50 brand new I will be returning! Had no idea it was owned by the same peeps as Gymboree & Janie and Jack - wonderful and our salesperson was the nicest girl ever.

2. Shopping with my family. Cheeseballs on aisle 12 in Dick's Sporting Goods! Lately I've been saving a few errands for the family to go on together on the weekend, then we go for lunch - its nice and Beckett seems to really enjoy having us both there - she like looks back and forth smiling!

3. Walking in to see Austin and baby girl playing - it's adorable. We borrowed Henry's tent for Beckett's birthday but a snowstorm followed so we had it longer than expected. She loved playing in it with her dad - must go get a tent!

4. Seeing baby girl use our furniture in surprising ways. Maybe I don't need a tent, baby girl seems to make our bar stools work as tents . . .

5. Consignment sale shopping - seriously, all of this for $49:

6. Reuben & Remy cuddling up with Beckett's toys. Usually they just leave them alone. However, if they squeak it's game over.

7. Beckett's climbing - she gets so excited and squeals the whole time... although I hate her climbing and worry she's going to hurt herself!

8. Seeing Beckett play with the "big girls" in our neighborhood - she loves them so much and they are so sweet with her!

9. Seeing the sun pour into our front room - really, I'm just obsessed with this room and am spending so much time in it with the fam.

10. Facetiming with my baby girl - she loves it so much!

11. Seeing all of the wildlife in our backyard! We see this owl (and hear it!) almost every day, and this morning there was a deer walking around for several minutes - Beckett LOVED it - think she thought it was a big doggy.

12. Helping my future self. Exhibit A: posting reminders all over the house to make sure me and Austin fasted before our 'finger pricks' last week for his company to get preferred insurance - we tested great on cholesterol, triglycerides, etc.!

13. Bundling up for chilly outdoor walks! Still getting in lots of neighborhood walks with Beckett, and family walks with Austin, Beckett & the pups. I also get to walk with Sharon a good bit, too - or we'll go to the greenway so we can stroll with the girls side-by-side on the wide sidewalks!

14. Going out to eat with the family. We've been taking Beckett out a couple times a weekend, for lunches or early bird dinners at 5 p.m. She really likes the people, the high chair, and just being at our level. She almost always makes besties with the server.

15. Catching Beckett being silly - this happens a lot. She is a nut.

getting inside her toy boxes

wearing her bathtime stacking cups as mini top hats

Top 10 New Mom Moments

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 20:14:00 +0000

Before I launch into several of the mistakes I've made as a new mom, here is a pic of happy Beckett. I swear she is happy despite having been a victim to my 'newmommyness'!

No, I'm not a horrible Mom. I swear. BUT I am new at this and make mistakes sometimes! Here is my Top 10 New Mom Moments - no doubt there will be many more but these are definitely some doozies I wish we had avoided. Poor girl! So glad she loves me anyway!

Realizing that if you leave the cool mist humidifier on high facing the crib overnight everything, and I mean everything, will be soaking wet the next day. Poor girl! She was fine but it scared me so much seeing her crib, bedding, etc. all wet. Thankfully the sleep sack helped and, oddly, it didn't seem to bother her - just me!
Finding that it's best to really really move those awesomely chunky thighs when you snap that car seat in. Yes, I pinched her little leg in once and felt awful. She cried like I gave her a shot - eek!
Similar to thighs - really really move those awesomely chubby arms when you zip up the side zippers in her sleep sack OR put on something with long sleeves before zipping her in. Sleeveless tops + zippers in the dark is no bueno.
You cannot start tummy time early enough. I started after a couple weeks and apparently it was "almost too late." Thankfully she was fine after multiple 10-minute sessions a day starting at 3 weeks. She didn't have to do the helmet or anything but it took months of tummy time for her little head to shape out right.
Discovering that eventually you do have to remove the newborn insert from the infant car seat. I didn't realize it was an insert. I thought it was padding. Nope. Poor Beckett was just spilling out of that sucker.
Swaddle around arms not around legs. Thankfully, we caught this early on and made sure to leave her plenty of room in the leg area!
Check those folds often. Especially in the neck area and if you even think you might see red streaks go ahead and lather on some aquafor to avoid yeast!
Similar to the neck area, do the same in the diaper area and keep that butt paste a flowin'.
Always put a diaper on your kid. Don't get distracted when a friend is over and skip that step then wonder why baby girl is sad and "leaked" through her diaper when really she wasn't wearing one. SIGH.
Don't just avoid doing something because you don't want to ask questions. Ask other mommies how to feed your kid on the go (snack trap!), what toothpaste to use (Tom's!), tips for flying with baby (list entirely too long to put in parentheses here!). Bottom line, as a new mom, I'm glad I embraced that 'newmomminess' and asked a lot of probably dumb questions whose answers made me feel like I kinda knew what the hell I was doing - so worth it!

So yes, despite my greatest effort I have definitely had some new mom moments and hope my sharing will help someone else avoid them!

Love this special girl!

Beckett's New Activity Area

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 00:42:00 +0000

I don't know if the term 'activity area' makes sense, but in my mind it's the place where Beckett will be creative! For now, it's a lot of play, but I hope that later it's where she'll do art projects, learn, craft, crayon, write, read, explore - ya know - all that good stuff. For now, she can't even sit in the chair... we have a ways to go. Here's some pics I snagged of it today! And please note, it's not done (e.g., the white board is a magnet board and isn't hung yet, I haven't put her magnet toys on it, the other rack isn't mounted yet under the bookshelves, etc.), but's it's really coming along! Also, I realize it's cluttered with walkers but this is the stage we are at right now!!

How Atlanta's Carmageddon/Snowpocalypse Impacted Us

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 01:31:00 +0000

First of all, we are all home safe and sound and have been since last night around 6:20 p.m. The day began totally normal, as in Austin drove in to work and me and Beckett had our morning at home and then left the house around 10:30 a.m., swung by the drycleaners, and then went to the 11 a.m. class at the gym. At noon when my class ended I checked my phone and saw that my mother-in-law had texted saying it was snowing in Birmingham - weird! I got Beckett at 12 p.m. and saw out the window at the gym that it was snowing in Atlanta - brrr! I decided to skip our Walgreen's errand and go straight home. Beckett had lunch then went down for a nap, and then I started baking cupcakes for an upcoming playdate. Me and my friend Sharon started texting as her and her 2-month-old were planning to come visit us at 3 p.m. after Beckett's nap. She asked if Austin was getting off work early due to the snow and I had no idea so I called him at 1:15 p.m. He was in great spirits, had just had lunch with a colleague and was in his car leaving work as they had gotten dismissed.

Austin's office is 19 miles/6 exits from the house and his commute typically takes anywhere between 30 - 45 minutes up 400N. We figured he'd be home by 2 p.m., maybe even 2:30 p.m. at the latest. But it took him 2 hours to get to 400N (this is normally a 5-minute drive, maybe). He was like 'Kel, I have water, I have food, I have my long coat and my ski shell, I have my gloves, and I have audio books. I'm staying on the highway and I will get home, it's just going to take a while.' It did. We talked on and off all day, I texted with his mom, my mom, my neighbors and friends. Me and Beckett turned on Channel 11 which covered the snow storm all day.

He ended up getting home at 6:20 p.m., so 19 miles in a little over 5 hours, 4.5 hours longer than normal. I don't know how he did it. I'm just not that patient. I would have pulled off. I would have freaked out. But he just patiently and persistently steadied the course and I'm so proud of him. Even when he got to our exit he plugged on past it as there is a big 'up' hill to get to our house, so he figured if he took the next exit he could go down the hill vs. up it. Great idea, but the roads were already icing at this point and the exit was blocked by cars who all spun out trying to get up a small hill. So he cut off, went through an office park, and managed to get to our street and go up the hill and get home! Seeing him pull in was wonderful!

While I was like Austin, this is CRAZY, 5 hours??!!, he ended up being one of the lucky ones as many of our friends were stranded. I reached out to my mom's group and found that lots of mommies and daddies couldn't get home and were staying overnight in hotel lobbies, their cars, Home Depot, etc. And this was going on in Birmingham, too, friends stranded at CVSs, Publix, their offices, having to abandon their cars due to no more gas and no gas available for purchase, walking to get their kids at daycare, friends whose kids had to spend the night at daycare - my father-in-law even walked home from work! Many friends were also trapped in their work parking decks, unable to leave if they wanted to. We were glued to the TV like OMG what can we do?! This is crazy, we are so fortunate, wow...

We got Beckett to bed around 7:30 p.m. then went back to the news and phones to check in on family and friends. Around 9:45 p.m. Austin was talking to his Dad and I got a text from one of my AutoTrader.com co-workers and friends Jenn. She was on 400N at our exit and they had closed 400! A tractor trailer had jackknifed blocking the road and it wasn't safe - she couldn't make it home but COULD make it to our house so we told her to come on over! Poor thing had been in the car since 3:30 p.m., hadn't stopped even to use the bathroom as she just sat and sat to get 15 miles in 7 hours. We were so glad she reached out and that we were able to help just by being home and having water, wine, food and a guest room! While the circumstances were beyond unfortunate we enjoyed catching up with her and having her stay over. She was able to get home safely today just after lunch - we are so happy for her!

So that's our story. Me and Beckett were here, home and safe. Austin made it home after traveling 19 miles in 5 hours inching up 400N. And we were able to be there for Jenn - it was the least we could do - so glad we were here and so glad she called and was able to get here safely.

What a nightmare. I am just in disbelief about this whole thing. It was such a normal day until it wasn't, you know? It's shocking and scary and I truly can't describe how fortunate I feel to know, right now, that all of my loved ones are safe and warm. I hope the same can be said for all in Alabama and Georgia ASAP.

I realize this is somewhat of a weird post but I had to get this all out here just to like read it again and be like 'this happened.' Don't get me wrong - we've had bad snow situations before (like in January 2011 when we flew in from Arizona/Auburn's National Championship Game to find that Atlanta was shut down and we had to drive from the airport to home which took 2 hours) - now that pales in comparison to this storm.

K - i'm out. Hope you're all safe and seriously considering putting together a small emergency car kit (if you don't have one already) - I know I am! And in case you're wondering, the poodles LOVE the snow, especially Reuben! (no, I'm not being sarcastic - it's adorable seeing them play out there!)

Post Partum Weight Loss Update & What I Would Do Differently Next Time

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 19:06:00 +0000

Every morning I get up and get on the scale. It's just what I do - I don't even think about it. I know that the number doesn't say everything but it does say something. Something tangible. To me, anyway. And I've tried the measuring but quite frankly it's much more time-consuming then hopping on a scale each morning and I am always worried about user error! Right now, since I'm trying to lose weight, I like to see the same number or a lower number. I don't even mind seeing a slightly higher number as I know that weight fluctuates.

I had really hoped to be back to my 'new normal' by the time Beckett was 'out as long as in' - so 40 weeks. We are rounding 47 weeks (OMG - how is my baby becoming a toddler?) and I still have some work to do, but I am honestly really happy with my weight loss efforts thus far, and know what I will try to do differently next time.

January 2012; 125 at the Chick-fil-a bowl supporting Auburn

January 2013; pregnant with Beckett

Back at 128; January 2014 with the family in Colorado

As of today, I am 127. I have been holding steady at 127/128 - so excited to be in the 120's and this reminds me to keep pushing and that what I'm doing is working.

Typically: 120 - 125 pounds
May 2012 after all-inclusive week in Mexico: 128 and pregnant
Goal: Get back to 128, preferably 125... or lower! :)
February: 149 post-baby after freaky 36-pounds-in-two-weeks weight loss
April, May and most of June: 148 despite workout efforts
June 22: Still 148 and over it. Me, Monica and Austin put together a workout plan to step it up!
July 31: 143; was very happy with this 5-pound in 5 weeks weight loss
August 21: 142; finally a new number; it. took. forrreeeevvveerrrr to lose that pound.
September 11: 141; was excited to see another pound drop - so close to the 130's - woo!
September 16: 141; started paleo (eating whole foods - meats, vegetables, fruits & fats)
September 25: 139; day 10 of paleo!
September 29: 138
October 14: 137; almost 30 days of paleo; I can officially say I lost 4 pounds during the first month of paleo
October 25: 133; 4 more pounds gone - I'm not kidding - it's like it's FINALLY shedding. And I have even cheated a couple times (e.g., a reese's cup from the Halloween stash; a few crackers with cheese; etc.)
December 8: 128; 5 more pounds gone - about a pound a week in November
Today and ever since December: 127 - 128 every day, and I'm okay with this! I'm still working out and I definitely took a break from Paleo over the holidays!

So, I can safely say that since June when I settled in at 148, it took a little over 5 months to lose the last 20 pounds to get to my 'pre-pregnancy' weight: 128.

What is Working & What I Would Do Different Next Time

Drinking tons of water. Really, since I have had Beckett I pretty much stick to water, wine and coffee.
Getting lots of sleep. Beckett has been sleeping 12 solid hours since 7 weeks old (roughly 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.). Getting her on a schedule and being able to sleep when she sleeps has REALLY helped. In those first 7 weeks I had to MAKE myself (and Austin had to make me) sleep when she slept - this means sound machine and sleep mask. When I didn't sleep well, I skipped working out and made horrible food choices. True story.
Going Paleo. Next time, I would do it sooner, maybe 1 or 2 months post-partum vs. 7 months. Now that i'm getting into it and doing the legwork (mealplans, recipes, grocery lists, etc.) I think it would be easier to get back into. Note, I'm assuming that if we have another baby my pregnancy likely will not be paleo - last time I was paleo when I got pregnant and immediately switched to reverse paleo and only ate white carbs for months - eek! Then again, the main reason I went Paleo was to eat more whole foods because of Beckett... so maybe I will stay more paleo-focused. Who knows? Either way - eating fats, meats, vegetables and fruits has been good for me and my body, and the shift away from processed foods really helped me lose that 13 pounds in 14 weeks and my body just looks different - more toned/lean - like a layer of bloat is gone. (don't get me wrong - I still have work to do - but I can feel that what I'm doing is working!)
Group Fitness. Obviously, it's very tough to get to the gym until baby is at least 3 months old (assuming your baby is then in daycare and/or you are comfortable bringing your baby to the gym's daycare). I began taking Beckett to the Infant Room in June and it made such a difference being able to challenge myself with the gym's tough cardio and strength classes. I also took the time to talk to the instructors before or after class about my post-pregnancy body/aches/pains so they could help me find modifications for different moves so I could still participate and get a good workout but not feel guilty about not doing it exactly like them! At times it was hard - I felt out of shape and like everyone was smaller than me. But mostly I'd say screw it, I'm here and I'm trying and I just had a baby! I would use others for motivation vs. fat shaming. And honestly, I think it was great for Beckett. She gets an hour a day to socialize with other babies, and she is much more comfortable around non-family because she spends time with different care-givers. And now we have a great pipeline for future babysitters who have known Beckett since she was 3 months old. Win-win in my book!

So what timeline would I strive for next time?

4 Weeks Post Partum: Begin paleo (assuming I quit during pregnancy). Have that first sleepless month at home enjoying comfort carby foods and easy casseroles, then begin focusing more on whole foods and my Paleo comfort menus (Meatballs & Zoodles; Chicken Salad; etc.).
8 Weeks Post Partum: Workout at home once the doctor gave the green light assuming my body felt ready. I would do a program like P90X or Insanity beginning at 8 weeks post-partum right after baby went down for a nap. The great thing about being at home is I wouldn't feel as guilty for not being able to do the program 'full-out' but I WOULD be challenging myself.
13 + Weeks Post Partum: Begin a heavy group fitness schedule at the gym, maybe even a bootcamp at gym, just after 3 months (assuming me and baby are ready for the gym daycare!). Do 3-4 classes a week, wear HRM, push myself!

So that's that! Hopefully this timeline would enable me to lose the weight quicker than the 9+ months this took me! Then again, if it didn't, that's fine, too - I'll work hard regardless! I'll continue to post weight updates and am excited to have now been in the 120's for well over a month - eeee! And of course, it's all worth it for this girl!

Q: What do you find is the best way to lose weight?

Q: Have you ever tried Paleo? I'm genuinely happy with the results and it makes me think I can keep it up when I know it's working!

2013: Our Year of Change

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Wed, 01 Jan 2014 17:22:00 +0000

It's 2014. Seriously? I'm ready but I loved 2013. Although I will say it was definitely a year of change. Not bad change, just a lot of 'new.'

I'm still amazed that I became a Mom to sweet baby Beckett. Giving birth and just the whole pregnancy experience is something I had to experience to understand. I used to hate when people said that but now I get it - it's surreal.

Sweetest baby girl ever

My baby

I am shocked that I no longer work at AutoTrader.com. I always thought I'd be a longtimer there and I guess I was, with 8 years, but I never thought in a million years I would quit to stay home and have no income (just writing that gave me a touch of anxiety).

Still keeping up with my amazing team. Not the same, but I'm grateful to still have them in my life!

I'm grateful that I'm now a stay-at-home Mom and get to spend my days with Beckett feeding her all of her meals, playing with her and doing activities, going on playdates, etc. I have met so many new 'mommy friends' and am enjoying my new friendships and getting to see Becks grow up among this awesome group of kiddos. I can assure you had it just been me, I wouldn't have ventured out to the Splashpark, Macy's Pink Pig, Catch Air, and more fun places for the kiddos that I went to with this amazing group of women.

me and BG

Pink Pig Adventure

Catch Air

Zoo with Cousin Dane and Aunt Devon

BG and friends at the Christmas Gift Exchange

New mommy families on Halloween

Mommies and Babies at Ben's First Birthday Party

Friends with Santa

I'm so happy for Austin and his new job. While no longer working at home has been tough (his commute used to be awesome), he's at a great company that he's always respected and he's doing great. I'm so proud of him and how well we're both adjusting to the same-day switch of him going from inside the home to outside and me going from outside to inside!

iPhone shot of Austin heading out for a business trip

I'm enjoying how much our new gym has become a part of our routine. We love the people there, the infant room staff, the instructors - I have never been in to group fitness but now take at least 4 classes a week and just love it. I definitely credit the gym with helping me lose 22 pounds this year.

No pics of Beckett at the gym, but do have this shot of some treats we made for the Infant Room staff!

I'm getting into baking. I don't know what it is about it but it's very appealing. I don't eat much of the results but enjoy sharing with others! It started with just standard cupcakes, and now i'm branching out and having fun with different liners, frostings and toppings. Am hoping to make all of the food and sweets for Beckett's upcoming first birthday.

I went Paleo, again. I think it also helped me lose the weight. While I'm not 'perfect paleo', or perfect anything for that matter, I do think that the more I focus on meats/vegetables/fruits and the less I focus on grains the better I feel. I found that cheese doesn't bother me - yay!

One of our favorites - a Paleo chili

We finished transforming our home for baby. January brought us the breakdown of the pool table which was shipped to Austin's parents house. This ushered in a new, big to-do: transforming the pool table area into a family room for us and baby. So happy with how it turned out! As well as all of the painting we had done in January. And of course putting the finishing touches on Beckett's nursery!

Beckett's Space!

new family room

I'm loving our new home office. I have already gotten so much done having this single creative space, and it's great that it has a play area for Beckett, too. It's not done as I am still working on an activity/craft area for her when she gets a bit older, but it really came along in 2013 and I'm happy about it.

Need to get some new pics as I've done a bit more since this one was taken, but you get the idea!

I joined Instagram. At first I didn't get it, but now I love it. It helps me take more pictures because it's so mobile and easy. My new mommy friends talked me into it and I am so happy that I took them up on it (@kellyshawmartin).

My holidays, and football season, were so different but so much better. Getting to experience Memorial Day and Labor Day lake trips with Beckett were so fun, not to mention her first Halloween with friends, her first double family Thanksgiving, her first Christmas - amazing! It was also fun to take her to our alma mater and even into a game thanks to great friends! We have spent so much more time with our families, too, and are currently on our first ski trip with her in Colorado!

Valentine's Day

St. Patrick's Day

Mother's Day

Memorial Day

Labor Day

Football Season

Auburn Homecoming Game - she loved the stadium & the band!

Tailgating with Daddy

Auburn vs. UGA game

Halloween

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Her first flight to Denver for a week in Breckenridge, Colorado over New Year's

I got into making 'holiday food.' Halloween spider dip, Thanksgiving turkey cupcakes, Christmas tree pita appetizers. It's just so cute!

My new favorite Halloween App

Thanksgiving Cupcakes

Christmas Trees

I had fun with Beckett's photo shoots. She started doing photo shoots for Kids II at 3 months old, and did several as well as some fun ones with House of Mia, North American Bear and Mudpie. It really got me out of my comfort zone in terms of taking her out of the house and spending 3 hours on a location where I had to learn to feed her, change her, get her to nap, etc. on the go. I still get nervous when she does one, but it's always fun and I know we'll treasure the ones that gave us pictures (and I'm sure we'll treasure the ones that gave us cash down the road as Beckett already has a little account at Wachovia with her earnings!).

For House of Mia

House of Mia + Sophie & Lili

For North American Bear

I was majorly inspired by David Allen's Getting Things Done. Austin introduced it to me thinking I would like it and boy was he right. It's a great organizational system that I've been slowly implementing all year. I can't wait to finish getting it into place, probably in January! I need to do a big post on this online + offline system!

I'm loving our neighborhood. I had really never thought much about it before. It was just a place that had our house in it that I had to commute to and from. That may sound bad but I guess I'm just saying I didn't spend much time there. Now I am loving it. The sidewalks have hosted many a stroller walk and the swingset across the street has been used. I have made new friends in the neighborhood and am loving having Sharon and her new baby so close. I can tell the neighborhood is going to be an even bigger part of our lives this year!

Such an amazing year. Looking forward to 2014 - am still working on locking down our 2014 goals - so exciting!

LOVING The Gap

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Sat, 07 Dec 2013 01:38:00 +0000

Gap is a place that was kind of a little bit on my radar before motherhood but is HUGE in my life now. I love Baby Gap for Beckett, loved their maternity stuff , and am into their 'fit' athletic wear and lounge clothes, too. Everything is so dang cozy.

Back in November I ordered some cold-weather items for Beckett. Apparently it was 'gap cash' timing, and when I purchased I made Gap Cash. I got an email this week saying I had until 12/8 to spend my gap cash and if I spent $300 I would get $150 off... Huh. I immediately looked at stuff for Beckett but that girl truly needs for nothing in her current size and I'm nervous to buy ahead too much with the changing season making it tough! I don't really need anything either, but I will say the majority of my clothes are now too small or too large or just don't fit right. Austin suggested I get some comfortable, classic pieces (no, he didn't say it this way - but that was my takeaway to 'stuff that fits good, is nice and you'll wear later.')

Anyway, I went today knowing I would spend $150 at most... I didn't expect sales but there they were - SALES! Sweaters and knits were 40% off, cords were 40% off, button-ups were 20% off, etc. Thanks to my Gap Cash and a $10 reward, I ended up getting the following, including tax, for $165... 2 pairs of cords, 3 waffle shirts, 2 button up shirts, 1 sweater, 1 cardy, 1 skirt, 1 long-sleeve t shirt, 1 short-sleeved t-shirt.

Love - saw this boyfriend shirt on a mannequin with mint green cords - adorable! They have it for $50, I got it for $21

skinny cords? yes! Love. List was $60, I paid $19

another pair of skinny cords - fab. Like the other pair, list was $60 but I paid 19.

these waffle shirts were SO cozy - list was $27, I paid 8.

Been wanting a chambray shirt that doesn't cost $100; this listed at $60, I paid $35

cozy waffle shirt in my favorite color? easy purchase

more waffle - yes!

striped cardy - in person this is Auburn orange and it fits great! And it was on crazy sale from $50 to $19, but I paid $10.

love this cotton, sweatshirt-material skirt - it will be worn with leggings and an oversized sweater for SURE; it was on crazy sale, too, listed at $45 but I got it for $9.

war eagle - auburn sweater! List was $45, but I paid $15.

This is also AU orange in person -and it has a little zipper on the shoulder that is too cute; listed at $25 but I paid $9

Cute, cozy 'star' T-shirt - listed at $20 on sale.. I got it for $4

I thought that was a great deal for some new pieces that fit my new body - yay! Hope you like!

Q: Any good finds lately? Are you a Gap fan? Any good sales out there?

November Catch Up!

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Sat, 23 Nov 2013 15:51:00 +0000

It's November 23 and I haven't posted since November 2 - oy! I have the photos, keep track of what we did but whenever I sit down to post something distracts me! Something is usually Beckett. Or, once Beckett goes down for the night, I'm distracted by hanging with Austin and/or watching Fall TV. We've also been out of town, going on new adventures with Beckett and having fun! Here's what's been up:

Friday, November 1: Andrea, our friend from the gym Infant Room, came to watch the monitor while we went out for Meghan's Birthday Dinner! Chanel & Jan picked us up, and we met up with Josie & Nick, who did much of the planning, Hanna & Sam and Meghan's husband Jay. We ate at Table & Main in Roswell and the food was excellent.

Saturday, November 2: Lots of family time at the house before going over to our neighbor's house for dinner! I met a new friend on Halloween, Lidiya, and she invited us over for football and a steak dinner! We brought a tomato salad and cauliflower mash. Auburn won the game and we had a great time with her and her husband, and daughter Sophia.

No pictures at their house, but a shot of me and Beckett when we were heading out the door

Sunday, November 3: A day of rest for sure! Me and Beckett didn't leave the house and loved every minute of it! Austin, however, had to leave for St. Louis for a few days for work. :(

Playing with her dino after Dad left

Monday, November 4: Mid-morning strength training class at the gym while Beckett enjoyed the infant room! After her nap, we headed to the mall and got an adorable puffer vest at Janie & Jack, and went to Pottery Barn to pick up her Carolina Activity Chair. When we got home Lidiya and her daughter brought us over some Tomato Soup - so sweet!

Acting like her doggies wanting to go outside!

Tuesday, November 5: Cardio class at the gym; lots of playtime at home and time with her favorite finger food, avocado!

Wednesday, November 6: Met a shopper at Nordstrom to finish out our Christmas shopping!; got Beckett her snowsuit for our upcoming trip to CO! Later that afternoon we visited the chiropractor, and we beeped over to Lidiya's to return her tomato soup container and she had us in for playtime (for Becks!) and a glass of wine (for me!).

Thursday, November 7: Morning and afternoon at home (had an around-the-house little photo shoot with Beckett!), until gym for a long treadmill walk! Austin got home that night - yay!

Friday, November 8: Beckett turned 9 months old! We visited the gym for a cardio class, and then spent the afternoon playing and cooking!

Friday night bath fun!

Saturday, November 9: Pedicure with Lidiya, Celebrating Ben's First Birthday, Celebrating Andrew's 29th Birthday and an Auburn win!

Mamas and Babies with the Birthday Boy Ben & Mom Joleen! She did an AMAZING job on his 'Vintage Storybook' party - see pics here of the decor here!

Beckett wasn't entirely amused to be woken up for her nap and forced to take pictures LOL

Later she had fun playing with Lee - such cuties!

The second birthday boy, Andrew, and beautiful LA & Adorable Lee

Sunday, November 10: Family day! Austin's parents even came by on their way home from Athens and got to spend several hours playing with Beckett - so fun!

Monday, November 11: Gym for strength training class in the morning, pediatrician for 9-month appointment that afternoon!

Tuesday, November 12: Gym for cardio class; working on planning for Santa photo shoot; grocery store, drycleaners, and walgreen's!

Wednesday, November 13: Poodles got groomed! Went to Lenox Mall for the Macy's Pink Pig Train with my mom's group - Austin even got to come! Went to the gym that afternoon for a long treadmill walk.

Thursday, November 14: Gym in the morning, packing for Auburn weekend that afternoon, making TONS of baby food!

Friday, November 15: Boot shopping, off to Auburn for the weekend, Mellow Mushroom with Jimmy/Mary & Peter, hanging out with everyone at Teresa & Forrest's!

Saturday, November 16: Out at the tailgate by 8 a.m,; fun day with family and friends enjoying the cool fall weather. Becks did great! And so did Auburn - another win! We even got to see our UGA family!

Sunday, November 17: Drive home from Auburn then family day! We definitely didn't leave the house after a great, packed weekend with so much family and friends!

Monday, November 18: Surprise visit from my MIL! She drove over to see Beckett and spent the night with us! Before she arrived, we went to a strength training class. That afternoon the three of us went to Marshall's, Carter's, Babies R Us and Total Wine & More, then we did Beckett's bath and bedtime before having dinner and wine - great night!

Tuesday, November 19: Cardio class in the morning while Beckett stayed home with her Mimi, then a great afternoon just chilling with my little! She LOVES walking alongside the couch - adorable!

Wednesday, November 20: Strength Training Class in the morning, and then in the afternoon Sharon came to visit us! Great to see her - her little girl is due in just a couple weeks! Then we headed over to our neighbor Shana's house to meet her new 2-week-old daughter Marcella! She is the tiniest little newborn - Beckett was fascinated, but must more interested in playing with 2-year-old Billy who was very excited to show her his music kit, train table, yoga moves and books. Great visit with the Silva's!

Thursday, November 21: Lunch with my AutoTrader.com Comm team! Love these people so much, and enjoyed catching up with Billy, Leslie, Ali & Amanda at Nordstrom Cafe. That afternoon we cancelled the gym and instead went over to Sharon's to see Peyton's room and adorable clothes! Everything turned out so cute, of course! That night I started feeling funky and went to bed early, then woke up at 3 a.m. sick...

Friday, November 22: This day was spent in bed. With pedialyte. Austin had to take the day off work as I could barely even get back and forth to the bathroom - NOT GOOD. It seemed I had a stomach bug or food poisoning. Either way, I felt like I was going to die. Austin kept me as hydrated as my body would allow and I mostly slept all day and felt sorry for myself and missed my baby girl. :(

Saturday, November 23: I feel better. I can now sit up a little bit and keep water down. I still feel weak and am quarantined in case I am contagious - I would die if Beckett got this! So, Austin brought me a laptop and an iPad and a remote and I'm at least able to do more today than lay on my side and moan. Silver lining? haha I am very sad though as we had super fun plans for dinner and drinks for Shana's birthday, have had our favorite sitter lined up for 6 weeks and have been really looking forward to the night! BOO. Boo boo boo. I have no idea how long this will last but am definitely ready to feel better and see my family & friends again. Thankfully, my sweet poodles have been amazing company - dogs are the BEST.

K - I'm out. Hope you're all having better weekends than me - TRULY!! I wouldn't wish this on anyone!

October Catch Up, Beer Fest, Weight Update

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Sat, 02 Nov 2013 16:24:00 +0000

It is November. How? I mean, really. Time is flying faster than it did before I was a mom! I thought it would slow down and the days would be long - NOT the case! Anywho, backing up yet again . . .

Thursday, October 17: Nasty, rainy day where Beckett and I ended up spending the day going back and forth to Lexus getting 4 new tires. OUCH.

Friday, October 18: No Limits Cardio class at the gym, then a fun day with Beckett! We were both a little congested though - I was so nervous we were going to get sick but so far, so good!

Saturday, October 19: Visit to Andy & Monica's for the Texas A&M Game! Great to see Laura, who was in town from Florida, and their fun neighbors Jason & Emile. And of course always awesome to see Andy & Mon!!!

playing at the Blanco's!

Sunday, October 20: Family day! Did get out and attempt a Greenway walk with Sharon (but it went badly as Beckett is officially over strollers.... sigh!). That night Jamie and Sharon came by to help us put the glass on our desk - the office is REALLY coming together now - yay!

outdoor dining!

Monday, October 21: Austin left for Boston - BOO! Back to the gym for an ST class while Beckett visited with Miss Andrea in the Infant Room! That afternoon she did her first photo shoot with Mud-Pie thanks to Laura Anne's recommendation! It was on location in Buckhead - she wore an adorable bubble suit that will be in their Spring 2014 catalog - fun!

waiting to have her picture taken!

Tuesday, October 22: Back to the gym for the cardio class while Beckett visited with Miss Andrea and her little gym friends (10-month-old Dominick and 6-month old Faith - me and their moms work out at the same time almost every day - love seeing her play with these kiddos). Another full day with Austin in Boston - but me and Becks made the most of our girl day - I can see why he enjoys bathtime so much - she's fun!

happy bathtime baby!

Wednesday, October 23: Playdate picnic at the park with the mom's group! It was surprisingly cold, but Beckett still enjoyed swinging. And eating grass. Sigh! That afternoon we hit up the grocery store, and that evening Austin got home!

thanks for the pics, Joleen!

thanks for the pic, Sarah!

Thursday, October 24: Meetup with Stacy & Lola! We walked for a bit then threw down blankets and ate, chatted, and kept up with our little girls who were toddling and crawling everywhere!

Lola is only 5 months older than Beckett!

Friday, October 25: Back to the gym for a cardio class in the morning, then that afternoon she had another photoshoot with Mud-Pie - this one for a sleeping gown and a couple of bibs. No pics during shoot, but have a happy post-shoot shot!

me and my cutie!

Saturday, October 26: Time for our Beer Fest! I spent most of the morning cooking, then we drove Beckett over to my mom's for her first sleepover!! Then around 3 Sharon & Jamie came over early to help us set up, then at 3:30ish our friends starting arriving. SO much fun. Great group, good weather and fun football. I loved seeing our buddies and having a few drinkies. And while I missed Beckett terribly, I know it was good for her to have time with her Gigi, and I can't thank my mom enough for giving us a night to ourselves!

an early shot of our outdoor setup - I finished decorating but never took more pictures - grrr!

voting!

slider bar!

loved hanging with these girls!

I think the guys had fun, mostly hung outside watching football and playing cornhole or foosball!

Love these girls!

hanging outside beer tasting!

the night's winner and loser! :) (highest voted beer & lowest voted beer!)

Mon and Sharon made desserts! These were Sharon's fabulous pumpkin cookies!

Sunday, October 27: Woke up early missing Beckett! Cleaned up the house and visited with Tyson who had stayed over, then headed over to Decatur to visit with my mom and get our little girl! We got back home around 1, put Beckett down and began putting the house back together!

Love having my sweet sleepyhead back at bedtime!

Monday, October 28: Joleen and her 11-month-old cutie Ben came over early for a North American Bear reshoot, then Beckett took her morning nap and I cooked for the week - a chili, a chicken salad, deviled eggs, etc. At 10:30 we headed to the gym for my strength training class and her time with her gym friends! Then I finished putting the house back together - ugh - I LOVE having get togethers but it sure throws a week off, ya know?!

rainy day indoor play!

Tuesday, October 29: I began REALLY researching flying with a baby. We are potentially taking Beckett on a weeklong family ski trip after Christmas, so I am trying to get in front of it to ensure (as much as possible!) that we have a good flight and fun visit. At 10:30 we headed to the gym for a cardio class, and then we spent the afternoon hanging at home!

loving that her hair is starting to get longer, curly and unruly - so cute!

Wednesday, October 30: Back to the gym again. I normally don't go on Wednesdays, but I knew Halloween was going to be a no-gym day so I went ahead and went to a great ST class. Then we just hung at home and during naps I continued researching Paleo recipes - I have definitely been less strict between Beer Fest and Halloween and am looking forward to refocusing!

playtime!

Haven't finished editing Halloween so this is it for now! Things are going well. I will say I feel like I've been signing up for a bit too much and am TIRED! I want to refocus on gym + paleo so I can hopefully keep the weight loss up (have been at 133 lately!). I am still loving my time as sweet Beckett's stay at home mom and am just so happy to be here with this girl who is crawling everywhere, lifting up to standing, babbling constantly with lots of 'mamas' which are the sweetest thing to hear (especially after months of 'dadas' :)).

K - off to work on editing Halloween and have TONS of paleo recipes to post - excited to be updating today!!

Weight Update, Becks Goes to Auburn & Models for North American Bear!

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 18:19:00 +0000

And time has marched on yet again! I'm not believing it's October much less the 17th! I took my car today for 4 new tires (ouch - anyone want to give me $1K? Anyone?) and while I was ~~selling my soul~~ signing the paperwork I was like "what is it the 11th?" He was like "no... the 17th" and I was like "shit!" And then he was probably judging me for saying shit in front of my baby girl. Anyway, backing up, yet again!

Wednesday, October 9: Me and Beckett went to a playdate at Catch Air! She really seemed to love it, and got to go down the slide (with me!), crawl around in tubes, visit the bounce house (with me!), etc. Great playdate with 10+ moms & kiddos! That afternoon we visited the chiropractor and then later the gym - I did a great Tabata workout on my own - woo!

Big Baby Girl in the ball pit all by herself!

Becks & her girlfriends Abby & Harper!

doing some light office work with Brittany while mom gets adjusted LOL

Thursday, October 10: Me and Beckett visited Sweet Tomatoes with Hanna and her daughter Abby and Ashley and her daughter McKenzie. The girls did great! So fun to talk with other moms whose baby girls are about 7 months ahead of Beckett - so much to learn! The rest of the day was spent around the house and at the park across the street - and Hanna stopped by to loan Beckett Abby's headphones!

Becks, Abby & McKenzie!

testing out abby's headphones!

Friday, October 11: Packing day! Time to take Beckett on her first trip to Auburn! So fun to take her there and get her some time with the Veloti & the Cardens!

time to get out my gameday purse!

Saturday, October 12: Game day! We headed out early and took Beckett out to the tailgate! She had a hard time getting to sleep for both naps, but eventually slept for both and did very well! We ended up taking her into the game - so fun!

morning playtime with Emma

Emma crowned Beckett!

Dads & their babies heading to the tailgate

one of many pictures of napping Beckett on campus!

Good times at the tailgate - she had lots of friends!

watching the game with dad

headphones during loud music parts, and who doesn't travel with a sophie?

post-game happy girl!

Beckett and Emma enjoying the tailgate

The ladies

Me and Beckett in the stands!

Beckett and her proud dad!

Sunday, October 13: Time to get back home! Got an early Eastern Time start back home and spent the day catching up, laundry, dishes, cooking, etc. Austin also installed the lights on the bookshelf - woo!

continuing to come along!

Guess I'm kinda running again? Was surprised when my body was like yeah, let's keep going! I was looking to do a quick 5 minutes.

Monday, October 14: I caught Beckett's crawl on film - woo! Big girl! That afternoon we went to the gym where my body said "I want to run" and I said "okay" then did some ST. That night I went for a quick trip to the grocery store sans Beckett then cooked 3 recipes!

Tuesday, October 15: Beckett participated in a photo shoot for North American Bear Company with Joleen! So fun - so far I have this adorable sneak preview shot - Joleen is so talented! We stayed and played with Chanel & her son Henry, then headed home for nap and playtime! That night I picked up Hanna and we headed to Mom's night over at Ashley's - she made so many great apps - wish I'd taken a pic! :(

Sneak peek from Joleen - more pictures from the shoot here!

Chanel captured these sweet shots of Beckett!

Becks & Henry!

Wednesday, October 16: To-Do day! Knocked them off left and right, visited my neighbor Shana who gave us materials for Beckett's Halloween costume, and went to the gym for a 1-mile run followed by a cardio/ST mix blast - good workout!

WOO - so that's what's been up here - lots and lots but it feels so good to be getting things done, especially before the holidays! And quick weight update - been 137 for about 4 days now... slowly but surely, right? At this rate I'll be in the 120's in 7 weeks - 1 pound a week?! I hope so - I will take it!

Holding Steady, New Bookshelves, Fun with Becks

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Wed, 09 Oct 2013 18:02:00 +0000

Major catch up commences now - woo!

(Last!) Monday: Standard day with sweet Beckett! Can't get a picture of her without her o-ball or sophie. LOL Did an ST class and Becks had so much fun at the infant room!

ST cal burn

Tuesday: Great day with Beckett! Went to the gym for a cardio class (forgot my HRM - sigh!), and Beckett hit up the infant room again. After her afternoon nap, her Mimi arrived for a 4-day visit! And then her Dad got home early - lucky lady. Fun night in with the family.

Love those stripes!

Beckett, her Dad & her Mimi at the park

Wednesday: Day with Beckett and her Mimi! We hung out at home, then spent Beckett's mid-morning awake time at Ikea! That afternoon, we ran a few more errands. Towards the end of the day Beckett was visibly OVER her carseat. LOL That night, Michelle stayed with Beckett and me and Austin had dinner with Andy & Monica at Brooklyn Cafe. So nice to get out just the two of us, have some yummy wine and amazing crabcakes.

Sweet baby girl!

Thursday: Went to an ST class (and to the grocery store & drycleaners!) during Beckett's nap, then we had visitors: Austin's grandfather and friend Mary came over to have lunch with me and Michelle - Austin even came home from work to join us! We also had pressure washers visit (yay - house looks SO much better), and we ran a few more errands then Michelle planted flowers in the frontyard - Beckett supervised.

Still loving her bins 'o toys

ST burn

Planting flowers

Friday: Took another ST/Cardio class, this time with Hanna and Ashley! We all showed up unexpectedly - good to see them both! Afterwards Sharon told me and Michelle about this crazy organized neighborhood garage sale at the next neighborhood over, so me and Michelle loaded Beckett in that afternoon and Michelle got her a few things - 7 books, a bib, and an outfit for $9! Around 3:30 Michelle ended her visit - we were sad to see her go - such a great few days!!

Think I would have burned a lot more but the class was 50% step and OMG I had never done a step class (if I had I blocked it out, OR it was much easier and I forgot about it!) - I was clueless and painfully behind the group!

Me and Little Becks enjoying the beautiful weather

Dad's home! Time for family walk & a swing sesh

Saturday: I was entirely too sore for my morning Insanity, so I stayed home. Good thing, too, as the bookshelves arrived early! YAY! It took a couple of hours to install - so worth it - love them! Then we headed out to my Mom's to see her new apartment and help her move a few things. We had a great visit and my sis and nephew Dane even came by, and we got to visit with her good friend Steve! We raced home to get Beckett down for her afternoon nap, then hung out until around 5 when Melissa, Jon and their 3-year-old daughter Madison came over to visit! We stopped by the swings, had dinner and hung out and watched football - another Auburn win!

Bookshelves delivered

Monday: Starting to decorate . . . (desk is glass - staging it with a sheet of foam!)

Tuesday: And decorating continues - can't wait to finish up the room - it's coming together quickly!

Sunday: Cooking day! Made the list, visited the store and cooked tons of stuff - so fun! We had our usual great family Sunday - my favorite day of the week!

Beckett stayed in her PJs almost all day - so did we!

Monday: Office day! Spent all of Beckett's naps working on the study/playroom! Did make it over to the gym for an ST class and Beckett got her favorite Andrea at the gym!

ST Class

Tuesday: Beckett turned 8 months - omg - why is time marching on so quickly?! It's all so very bittersweet and makes me so weepy! We had a great day together, went to the gym for a cardio class with Hanna, played outside with her exersaucer and went for a long neighborhood walk (+ swinging!) in the afternoon - great day with my little one while Austin had a work event.

I thought I might die - ugh!

good times!

WOO - it's been fun but I definitely haven't been near a laptop - hard to stay caught up! I hope you're all doing great! I have been holding steady at 138 - no more loss but still doing great/feeling great on Paleo and now that my body is used to it again am finding i'm less hungry so hopefully I can lose this last 10 to 12 pounds - trying to stay motivated but of course enjoy the journey!!

Lots of Cardio, A New Weight, Fun with Becks, Yes, Crappy Things Happened

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 11:14:00 +0000

Happy Monday! I hope you all have wonderful, fun weekends ahead! I am exciting about my mother-in-law coming in town, a playdate, lots of fun cardio classes, a dinner out, my mom's move/new apartment and more! Lots of fun to look forward to, but in the meantime, backing up:

Wednesday: Rainy morning PJ fun; rainy afternoon playdate at the mall with sweet moms; incline walk and upper body ST at the gym that afternoon.

Gavin, Beckett, & Graham

Playing in my PJs with my poodles

I think I ate two of these this day - breakfast and dinner - Paleo Omelets (egg, olive oil, sausage, mushrooms, garlic)

Short workout before braving the rain (again)

Happy girl at the end of the day - I love taking her pictures!

Thursday: Day off gym and Dad in Dallas means Beckett & Mom day! We stayed in our PJs and did lots of new activities, including 'pasta in a spice bottle' - she loves this noisemaker - and of course the ever popular 'choose your toy' from her little bins!

She helped us rid our pantry of carbs! LOL

I must test them all!

Friday: Beckett did some morning yoga, and then we went to the gym for a new cardio class called 'no limits cardio' - It was a shorter class which is good because I almost died - UGH! I swear these classes are like personal training.

Even cute when she's focused on mastering a new skill - love this baby girl!

Another killer cardio class

Saturday: Early morning family time, then I started my new Saturday solo ritual: Insanity Class, shower @ gym, gas, drycleaners, grocery stores and home to cook - WOO! Around 3 p.m. Monica & Andy came over for the UGA game, quickly followed by Andrew, Sharon, Jamie and later LA and sweet Lee, but they had to cut their visit short as Mr. Lee wasn't feeling 100% - poor guy! We had a fun day watching football outside, and mostly just visiting and eating too much - wish I'd taken pictures - grrrr! Beckett seemed to enjoy the company, practicing standing with Andrew and sitting on her blanket outside playing with Sharon - love to see her with our friends - so adorable!

Shot of me and my girl in the hallway while getting ready for guests! (she's a little more ready than me - standard!)

Insanity - ugh! On the heels of 'no limit cardio' I thought I'd really die!

Turkey, cheese, grapes, crackers & melon

guacamole and veggies/chips

bacon balsamic deviled eggs; buffalo chicken dip

Sunday: Did a lot of cleaning - ugh! Had a great family day and lots of Beckett 'free roam' time to practice her yoga/crawling. LOL I did make tons of stuff: Paleo hummus, almond butter, Paleo tortillas (with coconut flour and egg whites), and the list goes on - Austin helped a lot and even made an Indian Chicken recipe for this week - I think he enjoyed being back in the kitchen!

One of our paleo concoctions Fish Tacos: homemade tortillas, homemade enchilada sauce and homemade guacamole with tilapia

I'm coming for you, O-Ball

So yes, another wonderful week! Did crappy things happen? Sure - I stepped on a teeny tiny piece of glass last night and ended up having to go to the emergency walk-in clinic after several painful attempts to get it out ourselves (we thought it was a splinter... nope - a pointy shard of glass); our not-allowed-in-the-dryer mattress pad liner was accidentally put in dryer and is now ruined and since our sheets were in with it they were scorched/ruined; at the gas station the pump didn't turn off.... I paid an extra $10 to cover my car and the gas station cement in gasoline; I burnt my finger making an omelet; the TruGreen lawn people left our fence open and Reuben got out giving me a mile heart attack; we are STILL waiting on an ETA from the bookshelf people and have no resolution on the mailbox... I could go on and on! We all have annoying things that happen and while they suck (they do!) it's how we handle them and whether or not we choose to focus on that negative. I for one don't - normally I leave this kind of stuff out of my blog posts because, quite frankly, who wants to hear someone whine when things didn't go their way or as expected? Do I react strongly and negatively when they first happen? Yup - and I'm working on it because, let's be honest, when I look back at a great week they simply are only as significant as I make them - and there's so much more good than bad if you choose to see the good!!

Have GREAT days - I'm looking forward to mine, and to feeling great at my new weight (now 2 days) of 138!

Weight Update, Fun with Sweet Beckett, Where Have Zoodles Been?!

noreply@blogger.com (fittingbackin) — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 10:48:00 +0000

How is it Wednesday? Time is flying but I can't complain! I am really enjoying my time with Beckett, and am loving seeing her hit so many new milestones. I mean really, last week she was kinda babbling and kinda sitting up - now she is all 'dadada' and 'hi' and sitting up and playing with bins of toys all by herself - it's amazing. I'm also enjoying getting more involved with these awesome moms - so fun to see Beckett chilling with other kids. And I'm still loving the gym - getting in lots of great workouts, meeting new people and Beckett just loves the infant room - Miss Andrea and team take such good care of her and it's like a playdate with other little babies - SO CUTE. Lastly, I'm loving Paleo - I think today is Day 10? It's running together and I'm finding it so much easier this time. Already in the 130's! Granted, 139, but still - I can feel my body changing and that my hard work is paying off! All in all, things are going great. Quick Recap!

Thursday: We had a trip to the swings and then a visit to the gym! My HRM chest strap wasn't working so no track, boo, but we had a good visit and I got a 2-mile incline walk and some upper body ST. When we got home Sharon had texted about a walk, so we went out with her from 5:30 - 6:30. Great to catch up and Beckett REALLY likes facing out in the city mini!

Happy girl before she fell asleep during the walk haha

Friday: We met Chanel & Henry at the park at 7:30 a.m., and had fun visiting with them and swinging of course! Later that day we visited the gym for a short 30-minute core class and then hit the grocery store for another week of Paleo.

can't get this girl to stop swinging - loves it!

Saturday: I got up early and went to Insanity - another day with no chest strap but another GREAT workout! Afterwards we all got ready and headed over to Stacy & Shane's for Lola's First Birthday! Great to celebrate and see sweet Lola, although I didn't get a picture - ugh! Then we headed home in the rain and I went to Shana's Baby Shower. She's having her second, a sweet little girl named Marcella - so happy for her and Bill. Then we rested and hung out all afternoon before heading over to Laura Anne & Andrew's new house for Auburn football! We got Beckett and Lee together which was just cute overload, and then the guys watched the game while me and LA caught up and watched a little. Love their new home and so glad they're now only 3 miles from us - yay!

partying at Lola's

beautiful decorations for a beautiful baby girl!

Becks and Lee pre-game and unsure if they're having fun or not. lol

Sunday: We stayed home all day - time for family day! I did head out during one of Beckett's naps to get a few thing I didn't know I needed at the grocery store, which resulted in 2 stores (annoying!) but short of that we spent the day at home with this girl.

When I got out of the shower and went downstairs, I couldn't find them! Austin had taken her high chair outside while he gardened for a few minutes. She was SO content just watching LOL

Monday: We had a great day with lots of play and sitting up and exploring bins of small toys. She is getting so big! We did go visit Monica for a couple hours and had fun seeing her and Reina, then it was back home and more fun, this time with our activity "table" (2 legs taken off until she can lift some!). Austin got home early and insisted I go to the gym since I hadn't made it yet - I obliged... I got there at 6 p.m. and class was cancelled - what?! Big boo. They saw me standing there all wtf and offered up a Boot Camp class (which I think costs money). I found myself doing 5 circuit exercises then running around the building, and repeating 4 times. No chest strap but GREAT workout!

She loves this thing! Especially the center book piece - she turns it over and over!

Tuesday: New chest strap came in - yay! Becks and I went to the gym and I took a Cardio Class with Ashley & Hanna. I picked up sweet Beckett an hour later and she was having so much fun with Miss Andrea sitting up with a bin full of toys next to another baby just smiling and sharing - SO CUTE. Love that Infant Room. That afternoon we ran out to use reward money that was about to expire - we got a Carter's hoodie and PJ for $4 after $10 coupon, a Graco Pack & Play Sheet for $2 after a $10 Babies R Us coupon, and a julienne peeler for $8 at Bed Bath and Beyond after a 20% off coupon - $14 for a peeler, sheet, PJ set and hoodie? I'm in! Then we got home and found a surprise - a gift in the mail from Beckett's Mimi and Poppa!

An adorable onesie and super soft pants from their recent trip to Napa! So sweet

Another awesome cardio class!

One reason why I needed a Julienne peeler - zoodles! Another great Paleo meal: Sausage Meatballs with Zucchini noodles - didnt't miss the carbs at all and do not know why, at 31, I'm just now experiencing zoodles - so much time lost! haha

WOO! Looking forward to another fun day - playdate at 11, gym this afternoon and of course the daily laundry, dishes, etc. that are just part of the gig!

Q: Ever had zoodles? If not, go! Get a zucchini and a peeler. Put zoodles in a bowl covered with a wet papertowel and microwave for 2 minutes then add a little sea salt and pepper. Amazing.