Back To Work

Since February 11th Chris and I have both been off work together. We still have a week and a half to go before we are both back to work full time. This was possible by a combination of vacation time for me and parental leave for him. It has been great taking turns getting up with Maya and just spending quality together as a family. Sure, we've had a few moments of needing to have a break from each other but for the majority of the time it has been great!

During this time we have been preparing Maya for day care. We have been doing short visits here and there so that she can get used to her teachers and the other kids. So far, it has been a positive experience. We have picked a day care we are confident will take good care of our little munchkin, but at the same time  it is difficult to think of leaving her there by herself all day, on her own so to speak. As my one friend put it, they just don't love her at day care like her parents and family do. They are professionals who like children and do a great job at what they do, but they don't "love" her, know what I mean? At the same time I think socializing with other kids her age on a consistent basis will do her good, and so far she is adapting well. I am not looking forward to the morning when she realizes that I am leaving her there and she starts to cry, but I know that after I leave she will be fine.

Going back to work after having a year off has got me thinking about what our life is going to look like with Maya having two parents working full time. How the heck are we going to get supper cooked every night at a decent time? How am I going to get to kickboxing four times a week and still have some quality time with Maya after work? How are we going to keep this house in order? And most importantly, how am I going to keep getting all my servings of fruits and vegetables in and eat decent? You see, I have a job that  is emotionally stressful and fast paced. It is so easy to resort to bad eating habits to cope with the stress. It is so easy to use the convenience of processed foods and take out when you are in a situation like that. On top of that, there are the pregnancy hormones that sometimes make me make rash decisions and give into cravings (I am wanting sweets like there is no tomorrow lately!).

But I have been thinking about what kind of life I want for my daughter. Do I want her to have a Mom who is always tired because she is not getting enough nutrients? Do I want her to have a Mom that is literally scraping herself out of bed in the morning because she has no energy? Do I want her to have a Mom that feels all gross and groggy because she isn't getting decent exercise? No I don't. You are what you eat right? I have to remind myself that what you eat has a lot of influence on your moods and how you manage stress in your life. If I am having a bad day, that is when I need to grab an apple instead of a cookie. That is when I need to go for a walk on my lunch instead of sit at my desk. That is when I will need to really use healthy food and exercise to stay afloat. And besides, I have a little bean inside kicking me who will remind me to stay on track.

So although I am a bit anxious about going back to work and it's impact on old habits, I know that there are lots of reasons for me to stay focused. Mainly my little girl and the newbie on the way. It's not about me anymore y'all!

On a side note, I was a bit stressed about getting Maya some new clothes for day care. They require an extra change of clothes every day and she is quickly growing out of the stuff she currently has. Now that she is almost a year old all of the nice hand-me-downs and gifted outfits are packed in a bin for the next one so I have to go out and actually buy some stuff for her. The thought of spending a lot of money on baby sized clothes just doesn't mesh well with me since they grow out of the stuff so stinkin' fast - so I went to a local thrift shop during a 50% off sale and I made out with all of this for only $40!

That includes two jackets, five shirts, six pairs of pants, three jackets, and a pair of rubber boots. I also threw baskets for Maya's birthday party in the cart. All for forty bones. Score!  And some of this stuff was brand new with the tags still on! They were all in mint condition (because really, most baby clothes don't get worn out cause they only get worn a few times before they outgrow them). And most of the clothes were from the stores that I shop at anyway. When Maya is older we will shop at regular stores but till then I plan on saving some cash by hitting up second hand once in a while. This stash should last us until we get into the set of spring/summer clothes that we bought in Florida.

A Few Things

1. A while ago I talked about getting onto Pinterest. Well I've been on it for over a month and at first I thought, although the site was cool, I didn't see why people were on it so much. But then as time went on I started spending more and more time pinning things as I began to think about nurseries and birthday parties and all that jazz. Now I totally love it, such a great way to organize my ideas and to exchange them with others. Great for when you are say, planning a wedding shower with your sister who lives in Nova Scotia for your SIL and you need to share ideas. Or when you want opinions on nursery colours. You just call the person up and be like, "check out my boards, what do you think?". So convenient! Check out my boards yo!

2. I have finished weaning my little precious baby girl who is not such a little baby anymore. The last feeding was the morning of February 14th which I will always remember cause it was Valentines day. Although trying to get her to switch exclusively to the bottle was a bit rough, but she is getting used to it now. It was a bit sad but at the same time I was ready, I knew it was time for me. Last night I went to bed without a sleeper bra in like a year! I actually walked around the house bra-less this morning. Was a weird feeling but very liberating! Although I wouldn't be caught dead being braless in front of anyone else now. Have you ever heard the song, "Do your ears hang low?". Well apply that to my breasts!  This person's post has inspired me to do some bra shopping!

3. I think I have a problem with pictures. You see, I take a gazillion, just to get one good shot. Then when I make a scrapbook or whatever I can't narrow it down and I end up putting way too many pictures. It's a bit redonkerus actually. The same thing happened when I recently made a photobook of Maya's first year, which, by the way, was crazy to look back at how friggen much she has changed even since just the summer time!

4. Omigod this and this has to happen!

Ok, carry on.

For Comparison Purposes

So here's what I looked like when I was pregnant with Maya around 26 weeks, 36 weeks, and 38 weeks. 

First of all, I look back at these pictures and think, "Wow!" I was as big as a house. How could my belly get that big, seriously people!". But the part that really stands out is how unhealthy I looked cause of all the extra weight. I thought maybe I would see how I look with this pregnancy and compare later on, just to see if I will look a bit different or not this time around since my weight loss. So far my pregnancy weight has been wavering back and forth in the 4 lb range. Some days I am up 4 lbs since my pre-pregnancy weight, others I am down 2. But the past week I have mostly been up. I already feel blah when I look in the mirror. My waist is completely gone and I am already popping out a bit, depending on what outfit I wear. I feel flabby because the foods I have been eating have dramatically changed since I was on my weigh loss meal plan. I have been eating way more bread and pasta. Still can't seem to get into eating a lot of meat. It's been hard to get all my servings of fruit/veggies every day. I have no problem with fruit, but veggies is a bit more difficult. I have been going to kickboxing regularly - this is the only thing keeping me from feeling completely gross. I keep telling myself being in the second trimester (I'm now 14 weeks) I will be able to eat more normal again but thinking back to my pregnancy with Maya all my tastes were changed just like this time. As soon as I was no longer pregnant with Maya I craved salad and apple sauce and meats - all things that I couldn't get into when I was pregnant. Anyway, the point of all this rambling is that pregnancy has changed my eating and I am going to have to really make an effort to stay afloat in order to maintain and give my little bean all the nutrients he/she needs.  When I go to my first OB appointment in a few weeks I am going to ask them how much I weighed at this point in my previous pregnancy just for comparison purposes. I think I need to use the numbers to keep myself focused. I have been feeling the baby move a lot earlier than when I was pregnant with Maya - just little pops here and there. But last night when was taking a bath I felt full out movement. Oh how I missed that feeling!

Not So Tasty

So my husband was all excited to make this dinner on Valentines day. He had talked about it for a few weeks, and had carefully shopped for all the ingredients. I was super psyched because since I have been on parental leave I have made 99% of our dinners. He got the recipe from a magazine I had laying around, House and Home. We even waited until after Maya was in bed before sitting down to dinner that night so that we could actually take our time and enjoy it. When he was cooking it my stomach was a bit queasy but since it looked good in the picture I was still excited to give it a try. As soon as it hit the table, I knew that as yummy as it looked to my eyes, my stomach was saying "ooooh gross!". You see, I have been taking this pill called Diclectin for morning (all day sickness). I have been feeling pretty good lately so I stopped taking it for a day. Bad move. I immediately started feeling sick again, and my appetite just went with it. The aversion to certain foods was back full force! I took one bite of the dish and had to slide the plate away. I felt horrible and you could tell Chris was a tad bit heart broken after all the work he put into it. In the end I settled for a pb&j sandwich. But since it looked like such a good recipe I thought I would share it anyway. Chris loved it and had lots of leftovers for the next day. I'm sure after this pregnancy I will give it another try.

The dish was called, "Ginger Scallion Beef with Oyster Sauce".

1 1/2 lbs flank steak, trimmed
2 tbsp minced fresh ginger
2 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp vegetable oil
7 snow peas, strings removed
4 green onions, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/4 cup oyster sauce
1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp sake

Cut the flank steak in half lengthwise into 2 long pieces, then cut across the grain into thin slices. In a large bowl, stir together the garlic, ginger, and mirin. Add the flank steak, toss to coat and let marinate for 20 minutes.

Heat the oils over medium high heat in a wok or large saute pan. Working in 2 batches, sear the beef slices until no longer pink, add the snow peas and continue to cook until bright green, about 2 minutes. Add the onions, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sake and cook for 2 more, until the beef and vegetables are saucy and hot. Serve.

I would show a picture of it, but I couldn't find the same recipe online, you will have to take my word for it, that it looked good!

Here is a similar picture I found on this site.

Today is a rainy day around here. The snow is melting and it is just blah. Our solar panels are finally done and we hook up to the grid next week.

I'm kind of sad that these things kind of mess with the view out my back windows, but they are starting to grow on me. Once all the leaves grow on the trees and our grass is green again I'm thinking it will blend in a bit better. The good news is with this investment we are hoping to pay off our mortgage earlier and we are promoting sun energy!

Bad Hair Day

Hey it's Miss Maya here! It's been a while since I have said "hi", so thought I would tell you about my day so far. This week has been a good week because my Daddy has a month off of work and my Mom doesn't go back to work for another four weeks so I get to see both of them all day every day!  If I had it my way, there would be no such thing as work for adults to go to. Anyway, today has been pretty uneventful, but I wanted to mention a problem that I have been having. It's called a BAD HAIR DAY! Well I pretty much have a bad hair day every day, usually my hair sticks up all over the place. No matter what my Mom does, it won't stay put! But this morning after my nap it was especially unruly and I asked my Mom to take a picture for you to see. 

What is a girl to do with such hair?

Mom tried a few different things to get it under control. Sometimes she puts a little pony tail on the top of my head just so it will stay out of my way when I am eating and playing.

But it still looks kinda funny.

We tried piggy tails and that looked a bit better but I couldn't help myself and I started playing with them until they fell out.

There's always the classic barrette to use when trying to keep bad hair under control, but they are so small sometimes Mom get's worried I am going to put them in my mouth (and sometimes I do!)

This clip is my Mom's favourite, but it doesn't match a lot of my outfits.

So most of the time my Mom just ends up wetting my hair and brushing it down like this until it gets crazy again!

I can't wait for my hair to get longer so it won't stick up so much!

So today we spent some time on my hair and now I am just getting ready for another nap. Mom and Dad have been talking a lot lately about a "new baby" that is coming but I'm not really sure that that is about. They seem to get real excited when I clap my hands lately or when I say the word banana. I don't see what the big deal is but I go along with it. I hope you are all having a great day!

Valentines Day

Valentines day is usually not a super huge deal at our house, no crazy sing-o-grams or lavish gifts, but Chris and I always do a little something to acknowledge our love for one another. Before we were married and living in different cities Chris would send me flowers and we would be all lovey dovey and be all like, "I miss you". After we moved in together and got married we would use it as an excuse to go out for a nice dinner. Now that we have a kid we are mostly just focused on showing Maya that we love each other and that she is loved. I think that is important for kids to see at home. Anyway, one thing that I have done over the years is make a pancake breakfast. I cut the pancakes into hearts and then set the table with a nice card and maybe some candy and then Chris comes down stairs to pig out.  Here's how it turned out this year.

I made sure to have a serving of fruit with my pancakes and I had some leftover grilled veggies and pork for lunch that came to about two servings. So two more to go at dinner. Chris is making some ginger beef chinese dish something or other. 

Hope you get to spend valentines day with your loved ones!

Let's Get This Started

Ok so I have been thinking about how to set some realistic goals for myself during this pregnancy so that I have something to work towards to stay healthy. I guess the only outcome I am really looking for is to maintain a healthy weight, only gaining baby weight and not extra on top of that. In order to do that I need to keep active and eat healthy. Sounds simple, but with going back to work soon I definitely have to set some guidelines for myself so that I can stay on track. They are simple and seem like no brainers but I still need to put it in writing so here goes:

1) Eat five servings of fruits / veggies every day. If I do that I am less likely to fill up on things I don't need.

2) Exercise four times a week. This will be hard when I go back to work, but I am willing to at least try to go for walks on my lunch break or go to the YMCA that is right next door to my office. I will also have kickboxing on the evenings for as long as my belly doesn't get in the way.

3) Go to bed at a decent time. If I don't get enough sleep, I don't function well at work and tend to not plan ahead for lunches and snacks.

That's it. Most people would be able to do these things no problem but I tend to cave under stress when I am working and forget to take care of myself.

The good thing is I will have to be home every night at a decent time, because I will want to have some quality time with my sweet little girl. I also think that planning healthy meals once I go back to work won't be too bad because I have a child to feed now - it's not just about me.

I have these ultrasound pictures on the fridge that I hope will keep being a reminder when I have the urge to skip a workout or order take out.

Everything looked good at the ultrasound last week. Heart beat was 160. Measuring right on schedule for a due date of August 17th! The grandparents on my husband's side are hoping for the baby to be born on the 16th because they already have grandchildren with birthdays on the 14th, 15th, 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th of various months. So the 16th would fill in the gap! 

And here's a preview of what we have in store for Maya's 1st Birthday coming up in March with all of our family and friends!

Personalize an invitation

It's Time

Source

You remember when I had the cookie standoff? I had those cookies in my cupboard forever, never touched them. Then this week, the pregnancy cravings were in full force and let's just say the bag is half gone. This has got to stop. I can't use pregnancy as an excuse to abandon all my beliefs I have established about eating healthy (more on that in another post).  Seriously, I went through the whole holidays not touching any desserts, sweets, dips, finger foods, etc. But ever since new years I have been letting things slide. So it's time to start setting some new goals. Once it's on here, it's the rule and I have to follow it! I'm gonna think about this for a few days so stay tuned...

Time to talk about some stuff.

Ok, now that I am pregnant again things are so much more simple and so much more complicated at the same time. I don't even know where to begin. I will start by saying I have not been giving this blog much attention lately, and I think it is partly because I have been wanting to change the focus a little bit and revamp but just haven't had time. Plus with being pregnant and not announcing it yet it was hard to write about my weight loss journey without talking about it.

So details. I am currently 12 weeks. My due date is August 17th (same day as my cute little niece's birthday).  I found out pretty early, the morning we were getting ready to have my in-laws over for a Christmas get together. There was a faint pink line, and my husband and I were trying to react without waking up our guests who had stayed overnight. So we kept silently mouthing what we were thinking to each other and smiling at the news. At the same time we were kind of like, "What did we get ourselves into?". Our little ones will only be 17 months apart - almost a year and a half. But although it was a bit scary to think about, we were so excited about the idea of our family growing.

We told our close family and friends early, because we knew we were going on a vacation with Chris' parents and we wouldn't be able to go the whole two weeks keeping it a secret from them - especially when I would have to turn down a glass of wine (or sangria in this trip's case). I still have not had an ultrasound - where I live they do a routine one at about 11-14 weeks and another one around 18-20 weeks. I have one scheduled next week.  Hopefully the results will come back without any worries, but if something does show up we will handle it.

So this change will have a major impact on my goals of getting healthy and losing weight. It really has been difficult for me to wrap my head around what defines healthy eating because my goal has always been to lose weight and now my goal is just to maintain. The first thing my doctor told me was to quit the meal plan I was following (because essentially it was a diet) and just eat normal healthy food. On the other hand, I still have the issue of my gall bladder - doc says that I will have to try to get through this pregnancy without too much gall bladder inflammation because they only do gall bladder surgery on pregnant women in cases of emergency or infection. So essentially I am still supposed to eat low fat, high fibre - which was exactly what I was doing before. So she said that in my case I may actually lose some weight during my pregnancy instead of gain weight depending on how much fat intake I limit myself to.

Over the holidays I have been trying so hard to find what foods cause me gall bladder pain so that I can avoid them, but it seems that no matter what I cut out or eat I was still getting pain. Then all of a sudden after New Years the pain kind of went away. And again, it seems no matter what I ate or didn't eat, it didn't seem to make a difference. So I started eating things like margarine, milk, olive oil, and lettuce again (all things I was told to avoid). I still tried to stay clear of desserts and the like and was able to avoid them all together until I went on vacay.  So now lately I have just been eating whatever I want because there does not seem to be anything upsetting my gall bladder at this time. But I do wonder if I am just playing "russian roulette" and the time will come when I have another attack. So I really should still try to eat low fat as much as possible.

And that brings me to the other factor affecting my eating right now. Major morning (all day) sickness. I had it bad when I was pregnant with Maya and it has been back this time with a vengeance.  I have been taking diclectin - a safe pill you can take for sickness during pregnancy and it has definitely taken the edge off and some days I actually feel normal. But it has affected my appetite and I have had a few food adversions. I have been staying clear of chicken, it grosses me out, and have switched from ground turkey to ground beef for the same reason. I have been wanting mostly bland comfort foods like pasta dishes and toast and cereal. And omigoodness I have been craving sweets!

And now that I am pregnant I have been secretly telling myself that I can get away with eating things that before I would not have touched. I am gonna have to watch out for that! But more on that later.

So, yeah, things are a changin' for me. I am currently trying to wrap my head around the whole concept of weight maintenance rather than weight loss. I am trying to motivate myself to have some new goals specific to my pregnancy, which I plan to talk about on here.  I am still going to kickboxing, I got the green light from my doctor to continue. I am sticking to the basic moves and watching my heart rate. I am so glad that I will still be exercising cause during my last pregnancy I quit kickboxing and felt like crap because of it.

In the next few weeks I will be changing some of the stuff on this blog - updating things and deleting things - to keep up with the new changes and to reflect where I am in my journey right now.

This blog started out as posting daily reasons of motivation to no one in particular, mainly as a way for me to keep accountable and focused. It has since evolved into sharing about my life with others and saying what's on my mind.

I hope that you will enjoy reading about my journey as I continue to write about my experiences! Good or bad, no matter whether I accomplish or fail, I will always try to be honest about what I share with you all!

For now I will leave you with a few cute pictures of Maya on our vacation!

An Announcement From Maya

Lots to talk about....