I am not working 2 jobs one full time and one part time job and going to school taking 15 units. My feet hurt, my body if sore, and I don't even know what day of the week it is more then half the time. My full time job right now is as a Hospitality Specialist/CNA and it is exhausting. Working 10 hour days for 4 days then 4 days off. My part time job I am still working with children with disabilities not as much anymore which makes me sad I miss my kids so much. I also just interviewed for an ABA Therapist job which I am praying I get. My true passion is working with children with disabilities.
Keeping up with my school work on top of working is difficult sometimes. I have all my weekly calendars for all five of my class hung up on the wall in the bedroom so that I know what is to when and what needs to get done. It looks ridiculous and not so pretty, I told Kris it's how we will now decorate our room from now on.
Staying on top of everything and working so much while trying to keep up with each other and have time with one another is not easy at all but worth it. When I wake up sore or am at work and my feet are aching I just remember I am working my but off because I am determined to save the money to get our babies. I imagine little faces, family trips, and just cuddle time and it all goes away. I am determined to get the money we need to get our babies no matter how much pain.
On the side note my diet is not going to well but that too I am determined to get back on track. (Stupid PMS I swear) So for this week its all about determination!
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Resolution In Full Affect!
Well I didn't start my new years resolutions right at the beginning of the year but have started this last week and a half, better late then never right? I am determined to lose all this extra weight I am caring around. I have gained way to much after moving to Texas and going through all the infertility issues, so now time to get back to being healthy.
After thinking about what I want to do to get healthy I finally decided on using Green Smoothies and Paleo to make this weight loss happen. My new daily routine is for breakfast I make a green smoothie and take my daily medication plus Flax Seed Oil, a vitamin, and a Pure Green Coffee Bean Supplement that Dr. Oz recommended. (Yes, I will try some things even if they sound ridiculous). If I want snacks I will have peanuts, almonds, tangerine, or pistachios and limit my amount to a small hand full. Lunch I eat a portioned meal that has a protein, vegetable and a fruit. I do not eat anything processed. Example of a meal I ate today was ground turkey with peas and corn mixed in and for my fruit I had a tangerine. Finally, for dinner I will make another green smoothie. Through out the day I drink a ton of water, drinking a lot of water will often times curve your appetite.
For those that want to know for my green smoothies I use:
1 cup Coconut Milk
1/2 a Banana (can be frozen of fresh)
4-6 Strawberries
3 cups Spinach
1 tbs Flax Seed Meal
I put it all in the blender and blend it up then drink it. For those who want to try but don't like Spinach I am happy to tell you that you can not taste any of the Spinach (Kris hates Spinach and loved it, plus I didn't tell her there was Spinach in it). I have also used different fruits like Pineapple, Orange, and Pear but remember fruit is high in carbs so limit how much you put in. Also, the Spinach can be replaced with Kale if wanted. I am working on figuring out a good no fruit Green Smoothie but so far no such luck.
For exercise I will admit I don't do a whole lot right now. I work with children so chasing them around is a work out most of the time. I have also been walking around the park near my house twice a day. I usually walk around it 2-3 times before heading home. I have yet to see how far that is so I am not exactly sure how many miles it it if I had to guess I think maybe 1.5-2 miles, but that is just a guess and I am not very good at measurements I am always off. I do however, plan to start maybe next week Insanity, I own it but have yet to try it. I figured after spending the money on it I should probably do it and get this body in shape.
So, for now this is my routine and so far it has worked amazingly well! Once I lose more weight I will add in another portioned meal instead of the green smoothie or I will do 5-6 small meals a day depending on my work schedule. I will keep you all updated on my progress and if anyone has any questions or suggestions please let me know! Hope you all had a fantastic weekend.
After thinking about what I want to do to get healthy I finally decided on using Green Smoothies and Paleo to make this weight loss happen. My new daily routine is for breakfast I make a green smoothie and take my daily medication plus Flax Seed Oil, a vitamin, and a Pure Green Coffee Bean Supplement that Dr. Oz recommended. (Yes, I will try some things even if they sound ridiculous). If I want snacks I will have peanuts, almonds, tangerine, or pistachios and limit my amount to a small hand full. Lunch I eat a portioned meal that has a protein, vegetable and a fruit. I do not eat anything processed. Example of a meal I ate today was ground turkey with peas and corn mixed in and for my fruit I had a tangerine. Finally, for dinner I will make another green smoothie. Through out the day I drink a ton of water, drinking a lot of water will often times curve your appetite.
For those that want to know for my green smoothies I use:
1 cup Coconut Milk
1/2 a Banana (can be frozen of fresh)
4-6 Strawberries
3 cups Spinach
1 tbs Flax Seed Meal
I put it all in the blender and blend it up then drink it. For those who want to try but don't like Spinach I am happy to tell you that you can not taste any of the Spinach (Kris hates Spinach and loved it, plus I didn't tell her there was Spinach in it). I have also used different fruits like Pineapple, Orange, and Pear but remember fruit is high in carbs so limit how much you put in. Also, the Spinach can be replaced with Kale if wanted. I am working on figuring out a good no fruit Green Smoothie but so far no such luck.
For exercise I will admit I don't do a whole lot right now. I work with children so chasing them around is a work out most of the time. I have also been walking around the park near my house twice a day. I usually walk around it 2-3 times before heading home. I have yet to see how far that is so I am not exactly sure how many miles it it if I had to guess I think maybe 1.5-2 miles, but that is just a guess and I am not very good at measurements I am always off. I do however, plan to start maybe next week Insanity, I own it but have yet to try it. I figured after spending the money on it I should probably do it and get this body in shape.
So, for now this is my routine and so far it has worked amazingly well! Once I lose more weight I will add in another portioned meal instead of the green smoothie or I will do 5-6 small meals a day depending on my work schedule. I will keep you all updated on my progress and if anyone has any questions or suggestions please let me know! Hope you all had a fantastic weekend.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Winter Break Is Over And Food Experiments
So, my school winter break is officially over back to school I go tomorrow. I have mixed feelings about this on one hand I am happy because means I am closer to getting school done and sad because I didn't miss all the studying, tests and note taking. This semester all my classes are on time which means I have to work hard not to get distracted my other things on the internet which is not always an easy task with me, I am very easily distracted. I am determined though to and ready to face it head on.
During my break though I have been doing a lot of food experimenting. The first one I tried was garlic, parmesan crusted Edamame which was amazing and so easy to make. I love edamame and adding the extra flavor to it makes an amazing protein filled snack. My next new adventure with food was mashed garlic parmesan Cauliflower. This one is a healthier alternative to mashed potatoes and surprisingly didn't taste much different. They were not as whip like as mashed potatoes but the flavor and taste was all there. Even Kris who is a huge mashed potato fan, she would eat them everyday if I made them, thought that the mashed Cauliflower was good. Finally, my last completely not healthy recipe I tried was Birthday Cake Rice Krispie Treats. These were so good and luckily I still have some left. They were fast and easy to make and would be a great recipe to try if you have kids. I will put the recipe for the Rice Krispie below and feel free to message me for the others!
Ingredients
Rice Krispie Treats
Buttercream Frosting
Instructions
During my break though I have been doing a lot of food experimenting. The first one I tried was garlic, parmesan crusted Edamame which was amazing and so easy to make. I love edamame and adding the extra flavor to it makes an amazing protein filled snack. My next new adventure with food was mashed garlic parmesan Cauliflower. This one is a healthier alternative to mashed potatoes and surprisingly didn't taste much different. They were not as whip like as mashed potatoes but the flavor and taste was all there. Even Kris who is a huge mashed potato fan, she would eat them everyday if I made them, thought that the mashed Cauliflower was good. Finally, my last completely not healthy recipe I tried was Birthday Cake Rice Krispie Treats. These were so good and luckily I still have some left. They were fast and easy to make and would be a great recipe to try if you have kids. I will put the recipe for the Rice Krispie below and feel free to message me for the others!
Ingredients
Rice Krispie Treats
- 6 tbs margarine* (3/4 of a stick)
- 3/4 cup yellow cake mix
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups Rice Krispies
- 1/2 10oz bag of marshmallows (5oz)
- 1 tbs sprinkles
Buttercream Frosting
- 1/2 cup margarine* (1 stick) - room temperature
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp almond milk*
Instructions
Melt margarine in the microwave (about 45 seconds). Mix in marshmallows and return to microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring between, until melted. Mix in cake mix and vanilla until combined. Add in sprinkles and 2 cups of Rice Krispies with a spatula. Add in the third cup of Rice Krispies.
Fill each well-greased muffin holder with the Rice Krispie mixture and press it in gently with the back of a spoon. Cool for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
For frosting, cream margarine in stand mixer with paddle attachment, then slowly add in confectioners’ sugar until well combined. Mix in vanilla, almond milk and food colouring if desired.
Remove Rice Krispie cupcakes from tin with a knife. Frost and top with sprinkles.
*Butter and regular milk could be substituted for their non-dairy counterparts.
**Makes 24 mini cupcakes. For a 9 x 13” pan, double the recipe.
***Note: Also try this out with a marshmallow cream frosting!
Fill each well-greased muffin holder with the Rice Krispie mixture and press it in gently with the back of a spoon. Cool for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
For frosting, cream margarine in stand mixer with paddle attachment, then slowly add in confectioners’ sugar until well combined. Mix in vanilla, almond milk and food colouring if desired.
Remove Rice Krispie cupcakes from tin with a knife. Frost and top with sprinkles.
*Butter and regular milk could be substituted for their non-dairy counterparts.
**Makes 24 mini cupcakes. For a 9 x 13” pan, double the recipe.
***Note: Also try this out with a marshmallow cream frosting!
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Why Adoption?
We get asked all the time why we decided to adopt instead of have children of our own and why we chose to adopt internationally and now I am about to explain. Adoption was always in my mind since I was younger, my parents had talked about adopting a child when my sister and I were in middle school but ended up not doing so. I also had a friend who's mom would foster children all the time and ended up adopting some of those children. So I grew up around the idea since a young age. Although when starting to think about a family adoption was not the first thing that came to mind, trying to conceive was. We planned to use a donor that looked like Kris and I would carry the baby, but life had different plans for us. I went to the OB to see about all this because I was having such erratic cycles so, predicting ovulation was nearly impossible. Turns out that wasn't my only problem, I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, and have a small tumor on my pituitary gland that is messing up all my hormones. We were devastated and didn't know what to do or think. I was put on some very harsh drugs that made me sick at first to see if they would help get me ovulating and regular. Unfortunately, none of them worked as the months went by. I was so upset and felt like less of a woman and it was tough to deal with at first. I knew I was meant to be a mother so why was this happening to me.
Until I figured out life had a different plan for me, I wasn't meant to have babies I was meant to save a child and give it something it otherwise would never have. I knew right then and there that I was meant to adopt. Both of us spoke about it and Kris was right there with me and felt the same way I did about things. We jumped right into doing the research to adopt and I was immediately drawn to international adoption instead of domestic adoption. Why you may ask, because the kids in some of the poorer countries don't have much of a chance and some of the statistics are saddening. In some countries in Africa the children don't even live past 2 years old due to little to no medical help. It hurt me to read some of the statistics knowing some of the children would never leave the country, to get to live a better life were they will go to college one day, be able to go to a doctor when they need too, and know were their next meal would come from. So, here we are today on a mission to adopt internationally and not only change our lives but the lives of the children we plan to adopt (we are adopting two hopefully). That is what I tell the people that ask and couldn't be more proud to say it.
Until I figured out life had a different plan for me, I wasn't meant to have babies I was meant to save a child and give it something it otherwise would never have. I knew right then and there that I was meant to adopt. Both of us spoke about it and Kris was right there with me and felt the same way I did about things. We jumped right into doing the research to adopt and I was immediately drawn to international adoption instead of domestic adoption. Why you may ask, because the kids in some of the poorer countries don't have much of a chance and some of the statistics are saddening. In some countries in Africa the children don't even live past 2 years old due to little to no medical help. It hurt me to read some of the statistics knowing some of the children would never leave the country, to get to live a better life were they will go to college one day, be able to go to a doctor when they need too, and know were their next meal would come from. So, here we are today on a mission to adopt internationally and not only change our lives but the lives of the children we plan to adopt (we are adopting two hopefully). That is what I tell the people that ask and couldn't be more proud to say it.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
A New Year...
We didn't do to much for our New Years Eve we played the Wii and played board games because we are children adults and that's what adults do right? 2012 was a year full of ups and downs but a year we will never forget. It was the year that I hopefully have had my last surgery, the year we became stronger as a couple and the year we decided to start a family together. Now that we have a whole new year to make memories and experience so much more. This year we have so much planned and are so excited to see what is to come. Like any other people we of course have the new years resolutions. Mine (Harper) are to lose weight because yes I am real original, finish up my school, and raise the money and save they rest of the money we need to get our babies. Kris' new years resolutions are to find a better job that she loves, and also save and raise the money we need to get our babies. We are hoping this new year brings us happiness and blesses us with amazing opportunities. I hope you all had amazing holidays and may the new year bring you complete happiness. I am oddly glad to say I return back to work tomorrow, I love my job and miss all the kids so much! Ready for this New Year bring it on 2013.
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