My gift to myself.....the journey of a healthy lifestyle

HERE they are - my first official pair of running sneakers. I said I'd give myself a week before I bought some. Mainly because I have tried to "eat better" so many times before and never stuck to it.

I knew I deserved these tonight because I have been on my treadmill every.single.night. Also, I have NOT strayed from my diet. Yes, I did indulge in a SMALL ice cream last night (a dilly bar from Dairy Queen which is 210 calories exactly) - BUT I made sure I saved enough calories in my diet plan so that I could enjoy this). 

Tonight, Antoine wanted to go to Red Lobster (and has been begging to go for months). I was so nervous to "eat out" while dieting. I didn't think I could control myself. However, I did just the opposite!

I made sure to order a garden salad and the light balsamic vinaigrette dressing. I got a lemon water....and they serve rolls while you wait for your food. I knew I shouldn't eat one....but this was my downfall tonight. I shared one with Noey. THEN she wanted another one so I ate another half. So I had one little roll. By the time my fish came I actually wasn't that hungry! I ate a third of my Tilapia/Linguine and had to pack the rest to go home. I really thought I did pretty good actually. Antoine had battered/fried shrimp and I would be a liar if I said I didn't want to try some! He even said "just try it!"....but I resisted the temptation and packed the food.

Because I have completed a week of sticking to this - I know I can do it. 

After dinner we went to a couple of stores because we are scheduled for pictures tomorrow with {{Lindsey Robinson}} check out her site (LOVE!!!!) and wanted to get Antoine a new outfit. I ended up with a pair of sneakers.

By the time we got home, it was 8:30, and I was pooped. Noelani needed a bath....and as I type now, I'm ready for bed. I told Antoine "ugh I don't feel like this treadmill tonight". He said "just skip it then"......WELL, that was all I needed to hear and I got my butt in gear and tried out those new sneakers and completed a mile on there! 

Funny moment of the night - I got Noey some oranges as a side with her chicken tonight (instead of fries) - and she kept saying "YELLOW YELLOW!!!!!" when asking for them. Hey - she knew they were SOME type of color!!

I am hoping I can stick to this healthier lifestyle. I know that I might have bumps in the road and slip up a bit - but I need to do this. 

YAWN - ok I need to take my butt to bed because  little miss gymnast has class at 9am and I will barely have the energy for it!!!

Vacation...maybe it's the teeth!

I.NEED.A.VACATION! We haven't been on vacation since our honeymoon (i.think)!!! That means it has been just about 4 years. Life is really making me exhausted lately!!!! Maybe it's this teething my poor munchkin is going through right now.
I can't even believe that Noelani will be 2 in just about three months. CRAZY. Right now she is battling her upper left 2 yr old molar coming in. When she got her two front upper teeth we thought they were coming in sideways! We couldn't tell what was going on because they were SO blistered and swollen. It wasn't until her pediatric appointment that we were told her poor teeth had burst capillaries in her gums and caused them to blister/swell. She's going through the same exact thing with this molar - she is so good that she rarely complains. I notice her chewing her hands a lot & we've had some rough nights - but overall she hasn't complained a lot!

This is my baby at 6 months old - practicing to brush her teeth. I SWEAR she had half a mouth full of teeth by then! She learned at a very early age to brush her teeth & that it's important we do this every morning and night. I will just be SO glad when she has a full set of teeth and these 2 year molars are over with. I just feel so bad for her because I know it must feel so crappy with them coming in!

I too, am really tired from her not wanting to sleep and waking up at the butt crack of dawn every morning (5:30am!!!!). I just hope once these teeth are in, she goes back to sleeping a normal schedule. YAWN....speaking of sleep....I better get her to bed - and just maybe I will catch a few hours too.

Oh believe me....I AM grateful to be able to complain about these things. There are people I know who cannot complain of these things because they want for a child. I completely understand it.....and believe me, if I had to live with a child who only slept 5 hours a night I would. But......i.am.tired and human.

Allergies & Progress!!

Here is Noelani, in all of her glory at my cousins baby shower. CHOWING down on probably one of the 20 strawberries she ate. Up until about a month ago, she would break out into the worst rash ever if she ate berries. It was really weird!! I tried it every couple months to retest....and suddenly, she didn't get a rash. I tried it a couple of more times and we had success!!!!! Weird how kids grow out of allergies so sudden! Thank GOD it is the only known allergy she had. So far we have been very lucky not to run into any other unknown allergies. That's one thing about adoption that can be scary. We know very limited medical health information about her birth family. 

She was so happy eating these berries she kept running around and spinning in the hall!

I snapped this picture, and even though she has a cheesy grin, I just cannot believe how big my baby is getting! 

I also think we figured out what some of our sleep issues have been! Two nights ago I checked her mouth thinking MAYBE some of her mid night waking was a 2 yr molar. There was NOTHING there, although it felt like her gums were hard - but it's just impossible to see that far back in her mouth. WELL, last night I was on the treadmill and Antoine said "Jenn, why is the floor all wet over here?!". I then noticed her shirt was drenched in the front and she was chewing on a toy. I stuck my finger in her mouth and TADA she is getting her two yr molar on the top left. That's what all the wet floor was from - my poor baby drooling! I asked her if she wanted Tylenol and she said "YESSSSS"

We had a bedtime with no tears and I am happy to report she went to bed around 9pm and slept until 6am! WOO HOO!!!

Speaking of treadmills, I am happy to report I have used it every single night so far. I am sticking to my diet and very proud of myself. I hope to at least lose 10-15 lbs by Thanksgiving/Christmas. I think that's a reasonable goal for now. I am starting to learn when to stop eating when I am full and NOT to continue to eat just because it tastes good. Tonight, I made shrimp fajitas and after a little rice and half of the fajita I was so stuffed I couldn't possibly eat anymore if I wanted. THAT is a big accomplishment for me.

Oink Oink....The tale of a TOO full piggy!

Hello new piggy - bye bye little baby piggy
(We have to go to the bank this weekend and deposit her actual dollars!!)

Well on the left you see Noelani's new piggy bank! Her little guy on the right was almost busting at the seams. As I said before, I always try to do special things with Noey since I have to work. SO, today we went to Target. She loves shopping. When we pull up to the mall or stores she always yells "shopping!!!!".

I had been eyeing this polka dot piggy you see above for quite some time. I couldn't bring myself to spend nearly $20 on it, even though it matched her big girl room. We frequent Target quite often and I had seen it on clearance for $13.98....then $9 something....then $6 something. Well, I told myself - she really doesn't need it....and TODAY, it was $3.48. I couldn't pass that up. SO, I told Noey "when we get home we can fill this piggy with alllllll the money from your baby piggy". She smiled and got all excited. I thought she would get a kick out of it and she did.

She must have sat on that floor with me for at least 30 minutes putting all of those pennies in the new piggy. She had so much fun (amazing how us adults forget the joy in such small things). 

She kept picking up the little piggy and shaking him out making sure there wasn't anything left in there HAHA! Once she felt confident she got them all out....she had to give it one last look:

She was so into this that when Dada came home she ran and said "Dadaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" and ran right back to putting her money away. THAT is a rarity!

Side note:

Yesterday we went to my sisters house and my mom brought muffins. Noelani thought they were cupcakes and was so very excited when she saw them. She began clapping and jumping saying "yayyyy". I sat her in her little chair there and cut up her muffin and as SOON as she grabbed them, she shoveled it in her mouth. She was playing around and licked her hands really fast and screamed "MMMMMM BUTTCAKES" LOL! All of us cracked up and I pointed to the muffins and said "what are these?!"....She responded and said "BUTTcakes". That girl cracks me up!!!! 

My new FRENEMY

Well here it is:

No more excuses! 

Most of my issue with exercising has stemmed from my endometriosis. There are days I have a GREAT deal of pain and can barely function to get out of bed in the morning. BUT....I can't use that to give up anymore. This is my new best friend....errrr....enemy?....Give me a few weeks and I will decide that one. But, I have to do this for my baby girl...so that I am healthier for HER.

Speaking of my silly girl. Here she is in the bath tub tonight. She kept dipping her head into the bubbles. At one point she dipped her finger in the bubbles and said "Yummy?!?!" ....she proceeded to lick her finger and answer herself "YESSSS!" All I could do is laugh. She really is sooooo silly and makes me laugh constantly.

We are still having some sleep issues. This past week it has been more of her fear of falling asleep alone. I am not sure if that is normal for her age. She has never given us any problems going "nite nite" as she calls it. We have added a continuous night lite in her room in hopes that might help. She has always had a radio that plays music throughout the night. Our routine hasn't changed much - so I'm hoping this is just a phase she seems to be going through. I will NEVER be a mom who lets her "cry it out". It's not something I believe in - even when she was a baby I never believed in it....so all I can do for now is comfort her. Today, her nap consisted of my laying on the floor next to her bed, holding her hand until she fell asleep. If it gives her comfort knowing I'm there, I will do that for her. I want her to always know she can trust Mama!

Shopping with my little girl.....

I love my little girl. I swear she is the cutest little thing God ever invented. I love it that she LOVES to shop too :) Every Saturday we go shopping with Nana & sometimes Auntie joins us. We wake up, have breakfast and then we do all of our errands until it's melt down time. Usually it includes lunch at Target - not too fancy, but she thinks it's the best thing going.

She's really into it lately! Every time I ask her if she wants to go shopping, she yells and says "SHOPPING" and runs to the door. This may come back to haunt me as she gets older HAHAA!!

Not only does my little girl love to shop - she is a shoe-a-holic!!! She has to try to put on every single pair of shoes in the stores. "Shoes....Mommy....Shoes". Today we bought 2 new pairs of fall boots. While we were there, she spotted out a big Dora stuffed animal/pillow. With much excitement she yelled "DORAAAA". When I put her in the cart, she sat her down and said "Hi Dora!!" And then she proceeded to snuggle her as you see in the picture below. 

SERIOUSLY, how could I say no to that?!?!?!

One Year Ago!

One year ago today, we became a family for FOREVER. Hard to imagine that picture above with the judge was a year ago! It's amazing how fast time flies by when you become a mom. Sometimes I sit and wonder what did I do with all of my time I had before becoming a mom? I wouldn't change it for the world!

I remember being SO nervous for this day. I am not quite sure why - but I just was. I remember stressing over what Noey would wear. It was a semi cool summer day so I remember not being able to decide if she needed socks or tights (such funny things I remember!). We gave her a nice little bath and got her dressed and drove down to the courthouse. She didn't make a peep! We had once again a ton of paperwork to sign. Once it was time, we were brought into a courtroom. Our lawyer came with us and we were among, if I had to guess, 15 other families being finalized that day. Noey lasted maybe through the first 3 families, and then she was not having it. She started screaming and crying - I remember it was her nap time and that made me nervous going in there. She was sooooo sleepy. I brought her into the hall and gave her a bottle and she was almost asleep when they called our family.

Both my parents were there, along with my sister and her husband Larry, and Antoines Mom & his sister Ashley. We were asked a few questions by the judge, took pictures and then it was all over!!!!

We all went out as a family and went to Olive Garden. My mom made Noelani this blanket you see in the above photo, and my sister & Larry got her an outfit and a very special alphabet block. It was my intention that we would do this every single year and return to Olive Garden. Of COURSE, Noey was sick all week and today I woke up extremely sick. 

For her first birthday, I froze the top layer of her birthday cake. It was my intention we would all come back to the house to have the cake - this is of course a big day for her and should be treated as such!

Instead, since I was sick, we did the best we could! Here she is in her pj's after her shower. Dada ordered her some french fries (her ultimate FAV) and chicken fingers with bread sticks. If we order out, she never gets to order food - unless it's pizza. So, we figured we would get her favorite since Mama was sick and we couldn't go out.

I don't think she minded this at all! She was just as happy as if we went out. I think the important thing is that we still tried to do something that she loved - and we were together as a family.

She saw the cake when she went to bed last night since it was out to defrost. She really wanted some and I had told her she could have some today. I felt really bad that everyone wasn't over - but again, today is her special day so we still let her have cake :)

Some of the little fondant snowflakes fell off, and the number 1 was cracked, but it still had it's glitter and the colors were still exactly the way they were back in January. I was amazed! The frosting still seemed creamy and the cake still felt moist (I had to pass on trying it because I still don't feel well as I type this).

She definitely did NOT mind that the fondant snowflakes were laying around. She enjoyed eating as many of them as Dada would let her. She was sooooo excited saying "YUMMY YUMMY CAKEY". To her - this day was just as great as if we went out to dinner.

Here she is, in all of her glory enjoying her cake, on her princess tray with her Yo Gabba Gabba plate. I sat down in front of her when she was eating and I said "this is because today is a VERY special day for you"....She looked up at me and tilted her little head. I said "one year ago, you became Mama and Daddys baby FOREVER and nobody can ever take that away from us!!!" She just smiled and said "YESH".....

Oh my little baby girl, you have no idea yet how important this day was to your Mommy and Daddy. You are the best thing that has and will ever happen to us!!!! We love you SO much!