Paleo: One Month

As some of you know I started the Paleo Diet about a month ago. I was tired of feeling tired and sluggish all day and not losing any weight despite all the exercising I was doing. I had heard little things here and there about it. I got up one Tuesday and decided to just do it. I bought the book so i could learn the "why" behind it. I knew if I knew why I would stick to it much better. The first week was pretty tough simply because I didn't know what to eat. I quickly figured it out though because I was HUNGRY!! My friend, Tina, helped me find some recipes. Another friend, Michelle, sent me a link to a blog with awesome recipes as well! So the second week was much easier and I really like the food. I have not missed anything at this point. And when I want something I have a bite or two and I am good. I call it cheating but I have not had any craving to just indulge in anything. And...I feel SO much better!!! If I do cheat I can always tell a difference in my energy afterward. I feel blah. I am sleeping better, exercising more, and finally the pounds are coming off. I am half way to my goal which I didn't think I would get to for another few months. The author of the book says to try it for at least a month and see how you feel. So it's been a month...and I definitely plan to keep going! We've had pizza, coconut shrimp, pesto shrimp, yummy bread, muffins, and more. All Paleo style of course!! Kevin and I went to Wild Goose Festival this past weekend (more on that in my next post) so sticking to the diet was more of a challenge. I brought my own almonds, bananas, apples, almond butter and bread. But the food choices for meals was limited and not very Paleo friendly. I was able to piece things together though and it was fine. I resisted all the pastries when I got our coffee! I'm so glad I finally found something that is beyond a diet. I feel like this is a lifestyle change for me. Kevin has been so supportive in trying all the meals I have made and he seemed to like them. Since I am buying less carbs, grains, legumes, etc. the girls are eating better too. It made me laugh last night when I was making our dog's food for the week, which includes brown rice, and both girls got really excited and begged me for some! I hadn't realized we haven't had rice for the last month. So Jonas (the dog) had to sacrifice a little and they each got a little bowl. They were so ecxited and ate every bite!

What a Great Daddy!

I love that at 12:30 (ish) everyday our house becomes very quiet as two little girls take their naps. It sometimes lasts an hour, sometimes 3. But it is bliss. But for some reason on Saturdays it just seems so much sweeter when Kevin is home with us and we all crash. Today I had put Hadley to bed and laid down to read. He was putting Ayda to bed but never came out. When I flipped on the video monitor I found this...

They were both passed out in Ayda's bed. What made me smile even more is knowing that Ayda would be so excited to wake up from her nap next to her daddy. Every night she asks him if he'll sleep with her. He usually will lay down with her but I think she's a little disappointed when she wakes up and he's gone. I asked her after nap today if Daddy took a nap with her and she grinned and said "Yes!". I love watching the bond and relationship between them develop everyday. Hadley is still a momma's girl but she definitely has some sweet moments with her daddy too. I am so thankful to be married to a man who treasures me and our girls the way he does. He encourages us, calms us, humors us, challenges us, etc. We are truly blessed!

Splashville

My best friend, Jen, came to visit with her two boys this week. We had a blast!! Her boys are almost 4 and almost 2. Her oldest, Nathan, and Ayda had so much fun playing. We got up Wednesday with nothing really to do. We had 4 energetic preschoolers/toddlers and 2 tired mommas. We finally decided to suck it up and take them to "Splashville" which is a fountain in Asheville that they could play in. The water shoots up at different times from the ground. Essentially it's a glorified sprinkler. I had talked to another friend of ours earlier about going so we gave her a call and we all decided to give it a try. And I'm SO glad we did. The kids had so much fun!! Hadley even played in the water, which kinda surprised me. Ayda and Nathan ran all over! They were all worn completely out by the time we left. Ayda has asked a few times a day, every day since if we can go back! Another summer gem that we will be frequenting often!

Ayda was so sad to see Jen and the boys drive off last night to head home. She cried and kept saying "But I need to play wif Nafan!". She loved having him here and Andrew and Hadley tried their best to keep up with them. I'm so glad they came and we will have to do it again soon!!! :)

Ayda turned 3 1/2 on June 4. I usually don't keep up with "month birthdays" for her anymore. But for some reason her half birthday stood out to me. I am not going to lie...3 has been a tough age so far. Ayda has such a big personality and is so smart. She definitely knows what she wants! We have had our struggles but I also must say this has been one of my favorite ages so far too. Funny how I can love and hate it. Days where she is just loving life and having fun are a blast! She has such a wit about her and sense of humor that keeps me laughing. So as we are into the second half of 3 and her 4th (how in the world?!) birthday will be here before long, I wanted to write down the things she is doing right now. 

Fashion: The girl has fashion and a strong opinion about it. The other day we were heading to the YMCA for me to work out and I realized she had on a nice sunday dress, pearls (fake), and her Easter sandles. For the Y!!!!! The girl loves clothes and wears dresses 95% of the time!

Learning: She loves Montessori. She has really missed being at school the past few weeks. She keeps asking when she will get to go back. I have some things at home that mimic what she has at school and she loves to sit at the table and work on them. She is writing her name better and better too! 

Ayda plays hard and then sleeps hard! Not much else to say. Below is a pic during nap time. She insisted on wearing her head band to bed! 

We really landed in a great neighborhood. There are lots of kids and everyone is so friendly. I am not sure we would make it without our neighbors across the street. They mow our front yard for us whenever they mow theirs and we have borrowed a cake pan (for when I had to make 150 brownies for Ayda's end of the year picnic!!) and a power drill to hang curtains. A couple weeks ago we had a neighborhood social. They had hot dogs and ice cream. We made it for ice cream after naps! There is an incredible play ground right next to the pool (totally saving me this summer). Ayda was really enjoying her ice cream below!

My water baby: Ayda still loves the water. She is a little more timid in the pool but she's taking swim lessons at the Y and doing awesome. And in the bath tub it's a whole other ball game. She has taught Hadley how to blow bubbles and they both get a kick out of that. And she loves to lay down in the water, have me take a picture, and she gets to see what her crazy hair is doing. The girl keeps me laughing for sure!

Ayda went through a little stage of not being so sure about her sister. Now that Hadley fights back Ayda didn't quite know what to do there. But after some discipline and chats about being kind and taking care of her sister they have really started to have fun together. I think Ayda needed to realize Hadley doesn't understand everything but that Ayda can teach her new things. Now they will play together and have a blast. Melts my heart!

So at 3 1/2 Ayda has her challenging moments but she also has more fun, hilarious, and sweet moments. She is so much fun to be with and the things that come out of her mouth keep us laughing. As my mom always says "That's so Ayda". So happy Half Birthday to Ayda! 

Major Update:

Ok so I am doing TERRIBLE with this blogging thing. I always have great intentions of keeping up to date and I just can't seem to do it. So here is a big update once again. Sorry for always having such long posts when I do finally post. Fortunately about 90% of my pictures are taken with my phone and I just found an app that allows me to make a collage of the pics I take. So I have clumped together several pictures for hopefully a less lengthy post!

Mother's Day:
My mom and Step-dad were supposed to come up and celebrate the weekend with us but my mom had a little set back with her leg. So they were unable to come which led us to having a pretty quiet weekend. With Mother's Day Sunday and Kevin's birthday Monday we did have a lot of fun celebrating both. It was nice to have a low key weekend though.

Kevin took me to Grove Park Inn for brunch with the girls. I was a little nervous about how they would behave at a nice place like that, but they were perfect!! Ayda LOVED being able to walk around and pick what she wanted to eat. And the ice-cream bar sealed the deal. And Hadley ate a ton of whatever we gave her. We really had a wonderful time, despite some nasty weather!!

These girls made me a momma and teach me new things everyday.

 Hadley Update:
Poor thing...I feel like I totally forget to update on all her changes. She is up to so much lately and I am really loving this stage. When she turned one she went through a sort of tough little stage. VERY clingy, VERY sensitive. We also started putting the pieces together to realize she was getting frustrated from competing with Ayda for toys, time, etc. Once we figured that out she really became so fun and happy again! At 14 months she still weighs 19 lbs and something. I don't think she has hit 20lbs yet. She is my little peanut! She has a big personality though. Because of her big sister she has discovered the "fire truck" shopping carts much earlier than Ayda ever did. She refuses to sit in a regular cart anymore and has a blast playing while we shop. She has been working on her molars to come through for a good 2 months and we have 1 to brag about. I am really hoping she cuts the other 3 really soon so we have a break before the 2 year molars start coming. She also LOVES to give us hugs and kisses. Makes my day everytime! She is so snuggly and sweet!

Dinner with Friends:
We have been so blessed to have made great friends already. I forget sometimes that we have only been here 6 months. We had dinner with a couple and their 1 year old at their house. They live on an old farm with mountains all around. It is absolutely gorgeous! The girls (and Kevin) enjoyed playing on their old school rope swing. It was a perfect evening weather wise and we really enjoyed that time with them!

Dupont Falls:

We went for our second time a couple weeks ago per Ayda's request. It's a little bit of a drive but so worth it. The hike is about 2 miles, of which Kevin ends up carrying Ayda 75% of it (bless him!). I opt to wear Hadley on my back in the Ergo! The falls are so pretty though. There are several you can hike to and both times proved to be such a sweet time with our family. 

New Diet:
I don't want to say diet because that's not really how I view it. But I was so tired of feeling exhausted all the time, tired of working out and "eating healthy" but not losing a pound, and just feeling overall blah. I sort of just got up one morning and told Kevin, something has to change. I had heard something about Paleo so we looked into it. I ordered the book in order to really understand the do's and don'ts. And we jumped in. We are not 100% Paleo but I am definitely pretty close. And I felt the results immediately. I feel so much better and I can tell such a difference when I cheat. There was a neighborhood social this past Saturday with ice cream and I wasn't even tempted. It just didn't sound good (if you know me well...you knot that's not my norm). After 2 weeks of it I am really hoping to make this a lifestyle change. And i'm dropping some pounds! Added bonus. Below is a picture of a Paleo Pizza I made Sunday. The crust is made of cauliflower, egg, oregano, and garlic. Sounds gross (trust me I was skeptical) but it was really really yummy. Hadley even enjoyed a big piece!! Tonight is Pesto Shrimp and Zucchini! Can't wait!!

So that is that. We are staying busy and trying to get into a summer routine. Ayda is home till August so I am just trying to keep both girls busy! And they definitely keep me busy!