Friday, April 27, 2012

Photo Friday: Catch Up!

Since I'm finally getting out of the sickness haze, I've realized just how much I've been gone. Here's a quick catch up, Photo Friday style!

Warning: Picture heavy and extreme cuteness ahead :)

{You mean to say you don't nap in this position? Oh... well, neither does Jillian} 

{Jillian is getting really good at siting up and using those ab muscles!}
{And that face? Priceless} 

{I've been helping cover the office this month and Jillian would come to work with me!}
{My little bookworm :) She grabbed the book like a normal person, but then did this so she could chew on it HAHA} 

{Precious little feet} 

{Monday was not so great for me. I was wearing my maternity pants even though they're huge on me because my regular jeans are still a little snug. Well, I went to sit on the floor and this happened} 

{This is one of the many reasons why I love Phil. Even though he's working, he still makes time for his daughter :) And her arm being there? That's just adorable!} 

{Spit bubbles} 

{My precious baby at 19 weeks!} 

{Shortly after, the toes made their way into her mouth HAHA} 

{If you look under the "g" in blogspot, you can see her first tooth emerging!} 

{Getting our bottle at the OKC Festival of Arts} 

{With daddy in the shade. Even though it was warm, it was a beautiful day!} 

{Our lunch! Honey Pepper Bacon Chicken Sandwich, and a Strawberry Newport! Very yummy :)} 

{I love this girl!!} 

{Distracted by everything going on :)}

Happy Friday everyone!

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

What I'm Loving Wednesday 4/25


I do believe this is my first official WILW!

In honor of my improving health, I'm doing a "What I'm Loving Wednesday: Sickness Edition"

I'm loving facial tissues. Specifically, I like Puffs Plus Lotion. When I need a tissue, I usually require several, especially during allergy season. The lotion helps keep my nose from getting chapped. And if you have a cute box for the tissue like this? Super score! 
{via}

I'm loving Sudafed... and Claritin... and Tylenol. Between a sore throat, running then stuffy nose, and overall aches? These babies work. I'm so very thankful for modern medicine y'all!
{via}

I'm loving Progresso Light Chicken Noodle Soup. It's very yummy, good for a queasy stomach, and the big noodles are fun to eat :)
{via}

I'm loving my Keurig and the Hot Apple Cider we got for Christmas. I had a nice big mug of cider before bed last night and it was amazing. I stopped coughing as much, my throat felt better, and it made me sleepy enough to finally drift off.

I'm loving my amazing husband who has not only been helping me feel better, but has been SO helpful taking care of Miss Jillian while I recover. He's a super-dad meets super-husband and I am incredibly lucky to have him in my life!
{<3 him :)}

What are you loving today? Be sure to link up!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Weight Loss Update

Starting Weight: 235.6
Starting Upper Arm: 15"
Starting Chest: 45"
Starting Waist: 39"
Starting Hips: 50 1/2"
Starting Thighs: 27 1/2"
Starting Calves: 18"


New Weight: 222.4         - 13.2 pounds lost
New Upper Arm: 15"      - 0" lost
New Chest: 43"              - 2" lost
New Waist: 36"              - 3" lost
New Hips: 47 1/2"          - 3" lost
New Thighs: 26"            - 1 1/2" lost
New Calves: 16 1/2"       - 1 1/2" lost



Jillian was acting different at the beginning of the week, so I had Phil take her to the doctor on Friday to be 100% sure she was ok before the weekend started. Well, she has a small cold that created a throat infection. Poor girl :( Luckily, of all the illness should could get at the point, a small cold like this is the most minor according to Dr. V. We were told to give her Tylenol as needed and clean her nose out as often as possible. He also warned that one of us might catch her cold.

Guess who woke up Saturday morning feeling awful? Yep, I caught her cold.

That caused a bit of a snafu for my diet/workout plan, but I survived. It does explain why my last workout session left me with a massive headache. Fortunately, Phil did not succumb to the cold, Jillian seems to feel better, and I know my road to recovery is on its way.

Now that I am officially back to my pre-pregnancy weight, (it was 224.4), my next mini-goal is to get to 212 by our anniversary, (May 24th). I think I can do it :) Clearly my weight loss is slowing down somewhat, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve to help me stay on track. Plus, I'm still losing about 1 pound a week, which is what my MyFitnessPal caloric intake is for. 


Here's to more success!

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Something Worth Sharing

I was going to do an update on my "Hopes for 2012" goals, and realized I have some 'splaining to do.

First of all, I had to drop one of my goals; watching every movie we own. 1) We just have too many to do that, 2) Instant Netflix killed that one quickly, and 3) Have you tried watching even 1 movie at home with a young infant? It is not easy. Of all the goals, I think that one is ok to let go. It was mostly for fun anyways :)

For the other goals, here's a quick update:

1) Get back under 200 pounds by my half birthday: September 26th - I am already down to my pre-pregnancy weight, which means I have 5ish months to lose 23 pounds. I think it's do-able :)
2) Read 4 classic books - one for every season. The books are "Little Women", "Sense and Sensibility", "Great Expectations" and "Uncle Tom's Cabin"I'm started "Little Women" because it is my spring book. My mama gave me the book on my 12th birthday and I've started it several times without finishing. Hey, it's 643 pages long! I'm a little over 100 pages in, which is the furthest I've ever gotten. I'm enjoying it, but it does make me miss my mama.
3) Build savings account back to where Phil and I are comfortable - We really can't do this until Phil starts his "big boy job". However, we have a plan and are waiting to implement it!
4) Have a date night with Phil every other month - We went out for Valentine's Day, which means we have 11 days to go out again for the month of April. Whoops! Better find a babysitter and fast!


Now for the "something worth sharing" part. If you recall from my "Hopes for 2012" post, I talked about my word for the year being "obey" for reasons I could not speak of yet. Well, I can speak about it now :) 


You see, when Phil and I found out we were expecting, we started discussing the type of family we want to be. Stay-at-home-mom or working parents? Day-care or babysitter? Old family traditions or create new ones? I'm sure every couple goes through this. 


One thing unique about our conversation is that it involved a very specific church discussion. As I've said before, Phil and I are both active and devout members of our church, but we both had a separate church. We decided before we got married that it would stay that way until we felt it was too hard for us as a family. Whether it was hard on us as a couple, or our children, we made the decision to find a new church together if we needed to. Coming from a family where both parents are pastors at separate churches, I knew it would be ok to have a split church situation. (I understand that it wasn't too hard on my brother and I since both churches were Presbyterian and not two separate denominations.) 


Even though it was still working for us, we really wanted to find a church so we could be together on Sunday morning. It just felt better to be a full family unit. We made the decision in late August that we would start searching together sometime soon. With the type of personalities we have, we both made a list of denominations we felt comfortable visiting and tried to find common ground. We also listed the two MOST important things we personally needed in a worship setting to feel like we have worshipped God in the way He approves. The top two we used when looking at specific congregations were: 1) Serves communion every Sunday morning (Phil), and 2) Allows women to be active parts of the worship service through liturgy, prayers, or music (Courtney). 


Around the time I left work for maternity leave in November, we started finding specific churches we wanted to visit. Each one had something we liked, something we didn't like, etc. Any congregation we really enjoyed, we would go at least one more time to make sure we felt at home there.

I am happy to report that I believe we have found a great church home that we as a family can call our own :) It is a Lutheran church in Edmond and we are just thrilled about it! They serve communion every Sunday, they have a choir I can join, and the congregation is the friendliest one we've encountered. Even the pastor made it a point to meet us before we left the first time we visited, and every time thereafter. There are children fairly close to Jillian's age, (though she is still the youngest), and a few couples we can hopefully connect with as well. They do mission trips, VBS, potlucks, prayer groups, and all kinds of other great outreach opportunities. Best of all, we are both excited to go to church on Sunday morning and hear the message the pastor has for us.

I will admit that this entire process was hard for me. I have never attended a church on a regular basis that I did not have some kind of family connection to. I didn't know what I was supposed to feel to know I liked a church enough to attend more. I also have a specific way I like pastors to preach because that is the style both my parents used, (read: short, simple, and to the point with a 1-2 appropriate stories or jokes). Phil was patient with me and really helped me open up my heart and mind to this process. Without his support, I probably would have just kept doing what I was doing. I'm not a huge fan of change, especially if I think it's going to hurt other people, (specifically from the congregation I was leaving). My church family is incredibly important to me and I really wanted them to not be mad at me for this decision. Regardless, this is a decision that is right for our family. I truly feel like God has lead us in our journey and I want to obey Him.

Church is an important part of our family, and I feel at peace about our decision. It was not an easy journey, but we have made it safely. I love attending church as a family now! Most of all, I'm happy to follow God's plan and obey when I hear Him telling me where to go. He really knows what he is doing, and He reminds me of this over and over again.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Slack

I really need to cut myself some slack.

I'm covering my old office twice this week and twice next week. That's not too bad, but I just started a new housewife schedule of chores last week. Although I'm accomplishing my goals for the day, I'm really exhausted. Between working, the cleaning, the cooking, the baby, and the husband who is trying hard to finish his dissertation... I'm frazzled.

In no way am I complaining about my life. This is why I decided I need to cut myself some slack. I deserve a little time to myself. I deserve to let that pile of books and toys stay on the floor overnight. I deserve to read two chapters of my book tonight for a short escape. I deserve that Route 44 Diet Dr Pepper from Sonic. I deserve to remember that I'm worth spending 10 minutes of adult talk with. I deserve a few moments to cuddle with my husband because I missed him.

I won't lie, having the apartment clean again has been nice. I guess my nesting instinct is still in full force. However, I want to be a little less stressed for the next few weeks. If I'm high strung, it may not be helpful for Phil as he wraps up his graduate education.

If I'm trying to be everything, I will fail. I may not fail immediately, but I will fall flat on my face soon enough. To help myself, I have to let go of my perception of perfection. If I accomplish my chore for the day and something else gets messed up? I will let it go. After all, it's more important to cuddle with my Jillybean than make sure the space around her is immaculate.

On a different note, here are two pictures from the other night I wanted to share :)
{Baby's First Tornado Watch Party} 

 {I may be the only one in this family that will be a scaredy-cat when it comes to tornadoes}

Teriyaki Joes

This may make me un-American, but I need to admit something. I hate Sloppy Joes. Now, I try not to use the term "hate" too often because it's a very strong word. However, I mean it.

I would eat it if my mama made it for dinner as a child because she didn't make alternative meals. If you didn't eat with the family, you didn't eat. I don't believe I've had a Sloppy Joe in over a decade.

When Phil and I were engaged, we had a wedding shower at Phil's home church. One of the gifts we received was a typed up book of family recipes from a sweet old lady. From the first recipe we tried, we have LOVED this book! We have yet to try a recipe that wasn't delicious. There was a special section for sandwiches that included a recipe for Teriyaki Joes. They are essentially Sloppy Joes, but with teriyaki sauce. I was willing to give it a try since Phil is a fan of Sloppy Joes.

It rocked my world folks! This recipe is now a staple in our house. We made it for dinner tonight so I thought I'd share this yummy, and easy dinner! Any changes to the original recipe are marked in italics.

Teriyaki Joes
Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 can (14.5 oz) diced or stewed tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped (we omit this if we don't have it on hand)
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1 Tbsp prepared mustard
1/8 tsp black pepper
1-1/2 to 2 Tbsp of all-purpose flour
6 hamburger buns
6 slices of American cheese

{My sweet, (and clearly happy), helper for the evening :)} 

{Brown meat, (and onion if you are using), in a skillet. Drain grease from pan} 

{I usually measure out the other ingredients ahead of time}
{The mustard and teriyaki sauce} 

{We usually use stewed tomatoes, but we had a can of diced in the pantry. Either will work just fine} 

 
{Add the tomatoes and stir in to beef (and onion)}

{Add the teriyaki sauce, mustard, and black pepper} 

{Bring to a boil, then lower the temperature to low}
{Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally}

{Because the mixture is a little runny for me, this is where I add the flour. Depending on how it looks, I will add 1-1/2 to 2 Tbsp of flour to the mixture until it looks like this...} 

 {That's better :)}

{Spoon mixture on a hamburger bun. We add a slice of American cheese} 

{We serve it with sweet potato fries! I can make my own, but for the nights I'm in a hurry, I'll use frozen which taste just as good}

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Eye of the Storm

I wanted to give a quick update to let everyone know that we're doing ok after last night's storms. After the Norman tornado at 4:30, we had a power surge that knocked out our cable and internet.

Trust me when I say that it is really unnerving to not be able to track the next 3 severe storms headed towards you. I was up around 1ish until I decided it must be safe enough to rest. Wrong! Apparently the sirens went off between 2:30 and 3 a.m. Both Phil and I slept through it! We are obviously ok, but that was a horrible thing to realize this morning. Well, tonight is supposed to be even worse.

Remember how we spent our 3 year wedding anniversary? (In the broken down basement of my church eating pizza, and listening to the radio while Petey meowed in his crate.) The forecast looks as bad as that, so we may have to seek shelter somewhere.

Our cable/internet is supposed to be worked on between 4 and 7 p.m. today, but that's when the storms are going to start firing up. We'll have to see how it goes. Plus, the worst part of the storms may happen between 4 and 6 a.m. Bring on the coffee because I will not be sleeping tonight. If you're in the path for tonight's storms, please stay safe! Any thoughts and prayers for tonight would be appreciated. Not only for our safety, but for those already cleaning up their homes and who will be in harm's way again.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Jillian: {Four Months}



Jillian -

You are four months old today! You are 12 lbs, 3 oz, and 24 inches long as of Tuesday, 4/10.

You are such a delight! Even your pediatrician asked if you're always this content. Unless you're tired, hungry, or occasionally wound up, you are a smiley and calm baby :)

Depending on the brand, some 0-3 and 3 month clothing can either be too big or just about the right size. Your pajamas are starting to get a little short, but that's pretty typical since you are so long. There are a few Gerber plain onesies you wear that are 3-6 month, but those run small. You still wear size 1 diapers, but we made need size 2 for overnight soon. 

As far as feedings go, we usually have you at 4 feedings a day and you eat between 28 and 32 ounces total. You are still exclusively on Similac Advance formula. Your pediatrician gave us information for starting solids, but we are going to wait a little bit before we start.

You are still taking Zantac twice a day for your reflux.

Bath time is still a favorite of yours. We did not bathe you once and you did not go to sleep until close to midnight. We won't make that mistake again!

We are constantly complimented by how beautiful and well behaved you are! You seem to love meeting new people as long as they are nice and smile at you first :)

You went on your longest road trip to date this past month! We drove to Kansas City, then up to White Bear Lake to visit your Jemma and G-Chaz! We also traveled to Sioux City to meet your great-grandma and some more of Jemma's family. We also went to Jemma's office in Baldwin. By the time we got home, (thanks to a detour at Joplin), you had traveled over 2,000 miles and saw 5 new states! Overall you did wonderfully in the car and I'm so very proud of you. You also met several family members on G-Chaz's side of the family! You might think you've met most of your extended family, but you still have a ways to go to meet everyone :)

You are much better with holding your head up, but you're still not rolling just yet. Some days you try and others you don't. All in good time sweet pea! You like to sit up in our arms and propped up on pillows, though sometimes you prefer laying flat on your back. It really depends on your mood. You also have started trying to sit up on your own! You get a little frustrated after a few seconds, but you just keep trying. Keep that attitude up and you'll go far baby girl!

Chatter, chatter, and chatter. You really love to talk and babble, which is a great sign! You are also laughing at least once a day and we love it! You had a follow up check up at the hearing clinic. We found out that you hearing has not gotten worse, (which was what we were hoping for!), but it hasn't improved on your right side. However, you are where you should be developmentally for you age. We'll continue to monitor your progress and we will get you the help you need when you need it.

Ceiling fans and your new mobile are your favorite things to look at. We can tell that you are looking for ceiling fans whenever we go out. It's really cute! Also, you got a squeaky Piglet toy from your Jemma during our trip to Minnesota and you are in love! You light up when we squeak your Piglet, even if you don't see it right away.

Sleep is great! You sleep between 8 1/2 and nearly 10 1/2 hours at night and we are thankful for that. You still catnap throughout the day. This doesn't bother us as long as you get the amount of sleep you require.

Tummy time is getting better, but you can get a bit dramatic about it. You'll start fussing, so I'll pick you up. Sometimes you'll continue to cry and work yourself up for the next 5 minutes. Your protest cry is so cute that I usually laugh when you do this. You are also starting to master your pouty face. Your daddy is in trouble now! HAHA

It has been a pleasure to watch you grow! Your personality is really starting to show, and we're excited to see more of it. Your daddy and I love you so much baby girl! You are our pride and joy :)


Now for some outtakes!
{We certainly love those hands}

{Kicking and moving all around}

{Trying to sit up}

{Big smile!}

{Ballerina Pose}

And some comparisons :)



But I Know What It Feels Like

This post is going to be awfully vulnerable and hard for me, but I really want to finally say it out loud. I got permission for my daughter ...