Back in GA

So here we are... again, back in GA.  Boy are we glad we didn't buy a house after all, nuff said.  The drive here was expensive and stressful, especially with all of the tornado warnings.  What was meant to be our last day driving ended up being our second to last day because of how many times we had to stop and take shelter while the tornado got a ways ahead of us. We were basically chasing it all day. It was scary. I just wanted to stop at a motel and call it quits until I felt safe.  But we stayed on top of the zones that were the most dangerous and proceeded with caution one mile at a time. Rowan did MUCH better than we had anticipated. I'm proud to report we never had to give him any medication to make him drowsy. The first day or two he cried for about an hour strait and then for the rest of the drive he was just fine. We did our best to keep him fed and he took naps when he got drowsy.  Oh, and we also owe some credit to the movie Rio- which he watched about 10 times. :)

We have  been here for almost a month now. Danny returned to work this week.  It took us a while to get everything set up and unpacked and organized.  It took us a little longer to adjust to being together again. But we knew it was normal and that it would just take time. Now that our home is set up and we are back in the groove as a couple and learning to be a family things are going well! Danny is the best Daddy, i'm so tempted to just sit back and let him do EVERYTHING haha, but seriously. Its helped him to learn Rowan's little patterns and for Rowan to begin to trust his Daddy as a caregiver who meets his needs as well as mommy.  By the time Danny went back to work though I could tell Rowan was wanting some mommy time.  :)

Eating Clean

So we started our journey towards living a healthier lifestyle just like we promised. We have become as close to "clean" eaters as possible. We cut out sugar for most of our drive here as the first step and then made sure our first big shopping trip here was focused on clean, organic, natural foods. Or REAL food.  I can honestly say that it has been kind of fun! We are trying all sorts of new foods and experimenting with how to cook them.  I was SO intimidated for that first shopping trip. I had no idea where to start!  Pinterest is a wonderful resource! I found pins of first shopping lists for clean eaters and read some basic guidelines and off we went. Danny finally learned how to say quinoa and I can type it now without having to look it up! We haven't been perfect at it… but we are honestly trying.  I've already lost about 5 lbs. My clothes are already fitting better and I feel so accomplished when I go to bed knowing that for that day I did everything I could to better myself and to be healthy.  I can already tell when I taste foods that have been so loaded with chemicals and processes…I don't like them as much anymore.  For example- Its cold these days and I love hot chocolate. So we decided to get some sugar  free mix (even though its not at ALL  clean..) it was disgusting. I could taste so much artificial crap it grossed us both out. Shouldn't have bought it in the first place! Live and learn. Some of our favorite things so far have been-
Breakfast: Fruit and yogurt parfaits, oat protein powder pancakes, chocolate banana oatmeal, peach protein shakes and almonds, homemade coconut almond butter cranberry granola bars, spinach and fresh parmesan omelets.

Lunch: Leftovers from dinner! :)

Dinner: Baked egg rolls, Blackened  chicken pizza, 15 bean soup, baby spinach salad with cranberries and pistachios,  black bean soup, tacos, bbq chicken wraps with garlic roasted edamame, (you can find clean dressings and condiments at health food stores we just use them in moderation.)

Snacks: apples, granola bars, almonds, veggies, guacamole and clean chips, air popped pop corn with coconut oil..

Treats? YES. :) I made CLEAN fudge. STill excited about it. I just can't believe how yummy it was.  As soon as I started feeling guilty for having a treat I would go through my ingredient list again and realize basically everything in it was a superfood! And I have made clean hot chocolate from slack couple of times.

So as you can see…. we haven't been starving by any means! Most of what we have eaten has been substation. And buying clean foods to cook with.  Using plain yogurt has been a great substation for so many things, - ranch dressing (with seasonings), in guacamole, as sour cream.. yeah.

So the food has been fun, and a lot more work to cook from scratch all the time. My biggest weakness is still exercise.  I've finally started my zumba dad's.. still on the instructional one learning the moves! And I have been doing the stretch dvd from p90x haha… yeah… all I can do from their program is the stretching lol but it's a start. I have been doing some of the exercises recommended for after birth - tummies.