Sittin' Pretty

Look at me sittin' pretty.

Daddy thought he bought a new arm chair for himself

 but SURPRISE...

I'm claiming it as my own.

those silly parents

they didn't think Maddie and I would leave this leather beauty be,

did they??

Real Food Day 1

Dun. Da Da..Dun!! We made it through our first REAL food day.

So, I'm not going to write about EVERY day of our real food challenge, but since Audrey posed so well I thought I'd let ya'll (otherwise known as-Mom, Jessica and EMU) know how it's going.

1.  Joel is cheating. Wha..wha...whaaaaa.  Oh well. He is following along for the most part, except for an occasional Coke Zero and slice of deli ham.

2.  I accidentally put brown sugar in my oatmeal out of habit.  I was able to scrape most of it out. No worries.  Although, if I don't lose any weight this month, I'll blame it on that micro-ounce of sugar. (not that we are doing this diet for weight loss)

3. Our meals were delicious!  Joel changed them around a bit, but I think his ingenuity made them taste even better.

Real Food Month

Hey, ya'll...it's REAL FOOD month at our house.

Tomorrow we start REAL food month.  We are following many of the rules posted on this blog, but not ALL of them.  Unfortunately, our budget will not allow us to eat all organic foods.  So, I decided to list the  guidelines we've decided to follow.

We will not eat:

1)  Food with more than 3 ingredients (unless we mix together a salad...I'm talking about crackers, bread, etc)
2)  Food with any ingredients we can not pronounce.
3)  Refined sugar
4)  Refined flour
5)  Canned food

If anyone serves us food, we will eat whatever they prepare...even if it's cheese from a can and wonder bread!  I'm not doing this to offend anyone.  We just want to see if it makes us feel healthier.

You may wonder what we will be able to eat on this diet?  Many tasty meals, actually. Here is what I will be eating tomorrow:

Breakfast-Oatmeal with a dollop of peanut butter (REAL peanut butter...not JIFFY) and a bit of honey

Lunch-Migas-this is a meal Joel introduced me to.  Basically, it is scrambled eggs with beans, brown rice, tomatoes and onions thrown in.  I guess he learned about it while living in TX?  I was hesitant to try it, but it is YUM, YUM, YUMMY. (also, don't call it "Amigas" around Joel...it will really annoy him!)

Supper-Salad with chicken breasts.

We will snack on plain Greek yogurt sweetened with honey.  We also have a lot of fruits and veggies to munch on.

Cheer us on!  I'm sure I will wake up and want some decaf and creamer in the morning!

All Smiles!!!

Lately, Audrey lights up EVERY time we pull out a camera.  She even smiles at my phone (she must already know there is a camera on that, too!!)  What a funny girl.  I love it.

The other day, Joel deleted the entire blog by accident.  We weren't sure if we would be able to recover it.  I was a little sad and it made me think about WHY I am doing this.  Then my sister-in-law wrote this POST.  Her words really had me pondering for a bit...especially since my updates are a lot less organized and more infrequent then hers.

Surprisingly, Joel was more upset about the lost blog than me.  This is interesting as he is a much better writer than I am, and he refuses to comment on my posts.  Apparently, "commenting is pointless if you live in the same house."  He DOES tell me how much he likes every post, though:) His words of affirmation make the slight effort worth while.  So, I'll keep blogging.

Baby Toes and Nose..

Look at Audrey's sweet feet, 

and chubby legs

and adorable nose.

Notes from the author of this blog.
1)  Many ask me, "What I've been up to?"  Hmm...good question.  I've been taking care of a baby.

2)  Someone at church stated "As a mother, you will feel bad if you work or if you stay home."  What a true statement.

3)  I'm afraid I was infected with"comparitis" last month.  Comparitis is a word I made up that describes the syndrome that causes you to compare your child with book statistics. Whew...that can make any mother a hot mess REALLY quickly.  What cured my comparitis, you ask?  Audrey passed her 7 month exam with flying colors yesterday.  Whew...good thing I worried for a month (j/k).

4)  Tis the season of many, many, many evening events at Joel's school.

5)  This year Joel and I decided to try a different diet every month..  So, in January we had no dessert.  In February it was no cheese.  May is no wheat month.  Next month we are only going to eat REAL food.  I read this blog and was therefore intrigued.  We won't be eating all organic food, but we will be eating NO processed food.  That means no canned beans, crackers, cheese.... Does anyone want to join us in this challenge?  Or check up on how we are doing?

6)  Lately, I've been wondering why God placed a small town girl like me in this metropolitan area  (okay, maybe I've been wondering since we moved here).  I'm still not really sure, although  my appreciation for the Midwest has skyrocketed since our relocation.

7)  That being said, there are things I would miss about this NJ if we left.

8)  I've been checking Craigslist for a double BOB stroller.  (No, this is not some kind of pregnancy announcement.  I just don't see the point in buying a single as we HOPE to have another child one day).  Whew.  I really want one, but they are sooooo expensive!

9)  Today, my girlfriend brought flowers and made me an authentic Chinese lunch.  She needs to teach me how to cook.

10)  I've been dreaming of traveling lately.  I have an itch to go to Africa...

Swing Time...

Mommy finally decided I was ready to try out the swing at our park...

Sheesh, mom.  It took you long enough.

Whew!! This is so much fun!

Hip, hip, hooray!!  Even mom is having a blast.  

Aren't I the cutest in my little sun hat?

Daddy slid with me down the slide.

Ehhh, I wasn't impressed...but I sure loved hanging out with momma and daddy at the park.

A few thoughts from the adult writing the above captions:

1.  Am I the only mom that does not take pictures with my baby holding numbered signs each month?  I felt bad at first, then decided that it was probably good I didn't start that tradition.  I'd probably let our next child down:)  (if God decides to bless us with another child, that is).

2.  Audrey developed a h-e- double hockey stick-ish sleep pattern during the last couple of months.   Unfortunately, it coincided with our visit to VA Beach and Milt and Linda's stay. Things are settling down, thanks to the Sleep Lady. I love this book because it gives you a detailed plan on how to help your child sleep from infancy to five years old.

3.  Sometimes I see my sister, Paige, in Audrey.  This makes me miss my sister and wish we lived closer together!

4.  The other day, Joel asked me "How do single people ever do this [raise children] on their own?"  To that I said, "I have no idea...and I really think this is a job for an entire FAMILY!" Oh, how I wish Audrey could live next to her cousins and grandparents.  Maybe someday.

5.  I've started reading Mr. Money Mustache.  This blogger really intrigues me. He and his wife RETIRED at the age of thirty.  THIRTY.  His blog really makes me question the ways I spend money on food, clothes, electricity, cars etc.  He's a witty writer and has entertained me for countless hours.  Warning...he does cuss a bit.

6.  It's now 8:46 pm and Joel is already in bed.   I should probably join him.  I used to wonder HOW my mom fell asleep so early at night.  Now I know.  Toodles!



 

Action Shot

I'm embarrassed to say that these are the last pictures I've taken of Audrey.  I snapped these almost 2 weeks ago.  I didn't take any photos while Oma and Opa were here.  Nor any of her doing the cute baby things she does!!  Ya see, our little Audrey has been WEARING us out.  She's decided she does NOT like to sleep.  We are hoping this is a phase, because mommy and daddy DO like to get some shut-eye every once in a while :) Anyway, enjoy some more bath pictures!

Hey there!

You don't mind if I splash around a bit, do ya?