Pregnant Bellies

It could just be because I have a pretty big dislike of my post-preggo belly, but I've been missing the little kicks and movements as my constant companion. While here in bed in the middle of the night my tummy did a little gurgle. It brought tears to my eyes. I knew before I got pregnant how excited I was for a belly, and was surprised at the bitterness toward it at the end. Now, though, I desire the pregnant belly even more.

There! It's said! 10 weeks after Alexi was born I miss being pregnant. Boy that didn't take long!!

BT

Workout Wednesday (on Thursday)

The boxes are slowly (and I emphasize slowly) going away. I have managed though to be fairly consistent walking!! Usually each evening baby girl and I go for a walk (stroller or Moby Wrap).

We've missed one day this week (today) and instead I did a very short body weight workout set. Finding that it's hard to fit in the working out as that is usually when baby girl wakes up wanting to be held, or I feel like I should be unpacking instead.

And until I find my scale and measuring tape, no stats for y'all. The other thing I'm trying to stress to myself is that I must drink more water!

How have you been staying active and healthy this week?

BT

Memorization Monday

We are back on track with blogging!! This past week I've spent time working on memorizing. Every morning at 8 AM this reminder pops up on my phone.

My neighbors before we moved taught me that tip. The first letter of each word is there and you try to remember it from that. By this morning the reminder popped up and I said it without looking then checked it. Therefore, on to the next passage!

Philippians 1:3-6
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

BT

Focus for the Week - Completion

I have a motivation problem. The best motivator is being able to see that the end is in sight. In our new house, with all of this space, with pieces of furniture missing (we haven't bought them yet), with a question mark still by the decorating choices we are going to make, I've been finding it exceedingly easy to spend most of my time chillin with my baby and not working on the house at all. The job seems too big, I don't see an end in sight.

I know if I break it up into small jobs it will help my motivation. So that's what I'm striving for - the completion of smaller jobs.
BT

Walking

It's not Wednesday, so it's not workout Wednesday. Regardless, I'm excited to tell you that we went walking this morning! Little girl was sunscreened for the first time (never knew I missed the smell of sunscreen), and we travelled our little loop (as opposed to the big loop. This sleepy little road is absolutely perfect for us! We can walk and walk, if I ever get a seat for her we can bike, I would even be okay learning to like running on it (yeah, didn't mention that goal did I).

And the whole sunscreen thing makes me want to take Bright Eyes swimming for the first time. Since I'm not a fan of swimming, that's saying something.

BT

Bird Watcher

Apparently I am now a bird watcher. We have a bird house in our front yard home to a family of barn swallows. Now before you think I actually know what I'm talking about, the only reason I know they are barn swallows is because of my friend Cherry. She went out and checked and told me the babies were big and I should take a look. I worked up the courage to lift the side of the house this morning (something about spying on birds and getting that close to the babies feels wrong). I've never been so excited about birds. Never really could get into watching bird feeders, but this feels more like our own little family. If you need me, you'll find me watching the birds fly back and forth to get food and feed the little ones :)

Source: http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/bigdog3c/2475376530/

BT

Still Here

I'm still here, I promise. We are in our new house, just boxes are everywhere!! I'm working on getting some order back to life, until then expect me to be just a bit MIA. This move has been good, just time consuming. Oh, and little girl, LOVING having her own room and bathroom. Had our first fun bath last night and has slept 8 straight hours too days in a row now!

Packing

This is what packing looks like!

BT

Skipping the Week

Life is being lived over here...I've been working on my Memorization...I've been walking...I've been eating (not healthily, but eating)

But there has been an activity that has taken the place of blogging for the week, packing. We found out for sure that we are moving in to our new rental. And we are moving this weekend!! So, I'm in full packing mode, blogging has been postponed.

I'll leave you with this.

This is our little Bright Eyes. Besides Alexi, she gets called Bright Eyes and Baby Girl most, so I think we've settled on our nicknames for a little while here :)

BT

Focus for the Week - Focus

This child of mine stole all my brain cells and won't give them back. At least that's what I'm claiming. I've completely gone bonkers and have no focus left. I realized that today as I questioned why I got up every time that I did. Only half of the times did I remember why I got up; the other half is still a mystery to me.

The other part to this Focus focus is focusing on what is important and/or imperative. For example: cuddling with Alexi is important; reading a magazine is not. Doing the dishes is important; reading emails is not. Then the line gets blurry, things like sleeping or packing, fellowshipping with neighbors or organizing still not put away baby things.

So Focusing this week means praying the Lord would return brain cells that I may live efficiently and that he would give me the wisdom to know what is most important in each moment.

BT

Food Friday

This was supposed to be up yesterday, just didn't quite make it.

Ever since getting engaged I said that I wanted to define a taste palate for myself. In that I wanted to include more real food (veggies, fruits, grains, non-processed/non-prepackaged foods). In reality I've had some weeks where I'd do great and other weeks where I'd eat way too much of everything I shouldn't. Here is where I plan to use Food Friday. I have lots of cook books and recipes pinned on pinterest that would be suitable for that idea, I just haven't ventured to get into the habit. So, documenting the GOOD choices that I make. The number of good choices would determine how long the post is each week.

As far this week goes, I've had 4 side dishes that have been good.

1. Sauteed Summer Squash
2. Summer Squash and Asparagus Parmesan dish
3. Sauteed Asparagus with a fried egg (a co-main dish)
4. Peach, Strawberry, Banana smoothie made with Peach Yogurt and Milk

There probably are even "better" choices I could be making, but this is infinitely better than what I have been eating. I hope the next times I'll have pictures, and maybe even a recipe or two.

BT

Enjoying the Outdoors

The weather here has been beautiful the last couple days, so Alexi and I have been spending at least a little of each day outside. It makes me excited as she gets older and awake more that we can spend more and more time outside. I hope she grows up knowing more about the layout of her back and front yard than the tv guide lineup. It's something that'll take effort. I can see the attraction be strong to the ease of the tv and how much less effort it would take to sit her there. But I know that spending the time with her outside will do me good as well; I do and will need it just as much as she.

God's creation is the best medicine :)

BT

Workout Wednesday

All doctors and literature tells me that as a mother postpartum I'm supposed wait 4 to 6 weeks before resuming exercising. It's been 6 weeks, I've been walking when I go crazy in the house, but that tells me that it is time to start it up. Being intentional is the only choice. For this month, my goals are:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Walking - not setting a time or distance amount on it, not this month. Just getting out with or without baby girl is the plan.

Tuesday, Thursday
Abs Workout - I know a full body workout would also be good, but for this month I'm slowly introducing workouts back into my life.

Saturday
Cardio of some kind - Can be walking or playing with the neighbors and Alexi or anything else cardio, as long as it gets me moving.

Sunday
Day of rest - Nothing planned.

My focus for the process is not toward a specific fitness, weight, size, or measurement goal, but for fitness in general. For the purposes of documentation, these are my facts and I will be reporting them weekly.

Height: 5'6"
Weight: 182
Hips: 42"
Waist: 38"
Thigh: 24"
Calf: 16"
Arm: 12.5"
Pants Size: 14
Dress/Top Size: L

At the moment the motivation I'm trying to remember is that no matter how tired I am, exercising is good, and that it can actually give me more energy (which is completely counter intuitive).

BT

PS This will all start up next week, this week I have some organizing of life stuff to get around first. I need to be sure I don't let myself wait any longer than that, but it is a necessary delay...

A Good Morning

I try hard, try to make mornings good. Without a good morning the rest of the day tries to fall apart on me. Well, this morning is a good morning, and I have pictures to prove it!

It started at 6:20ish when baby girl's insistence woke me up. (Well, it really started when Chad kissed me before going to work, but since I barely woke up enough to acknowledge that I don't think it counts.) I changed her diaper, put drops in her eyes, swabbed her nose with ointment (we are battling an infection), and fed her. After a full feeding we decided it was time to do something constructive with the 1/2 hour we had left before she would go down for her first nap.

Going to the back porch was the choice. We both got dressed, put hats on (to cover my hair and a bonnet to protect her head and face), gathered books, and grabbed a blanket. I read the first chapter of the Jesus Storybook Bible and Thankful for God's Blessings to baby girl before she told me it was time for her first nap. After putting her down I was able to come out and read Philippians.

Good, very good start to the day don't ya think?

Now to tackle some household chores while listening to SiriusXM Coffee House!

BT

Memorization Monday

Here I plan to record my efforts in memorization. I'd love for anyone to join me in memorizing Philippians if you'd like. If not, I hope this record can encourage you!

Each week I plan on reading Philippians on Monday before working on my passage(s) for the week. So start there. 

Philippians 1:1-2

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The passage for the week is the first 2 verses. I did attempt these two verses before, and was mostly successful (I have issues memorizing in general). Looking forward to the next weeks to show progress...motivation motivation motivation.

BT

Busy Weekends

So far, every weekend but one that Alexi has been alive has been busy with someone itching to meet her. It's been great sharing her with family, and are looking forward to introducing her to more as life allows. I thought I would share some photos of one of those weekends to make up for the wordy posts of late. I very craftily borrowed these photos from my aunt and mother :) The complete Salsbury ladies had a fun weekend!

BT

Focus for the Week - Renewing My Strength

The first Focused Week is going to be on renewing the strength of God in my life.

Motherhood is hard, and I'm tired often, if not always. I don't know how any mother can make it without the faith, hope, trust, and relationship with God. Without His strength and help I'd be toast.

I am more worn down than normal...than I need to be. I've been neglecting the most important relationship in my life, the one with my Father. My prayer life has been great since Alexi was born, but there has been no time had with God in the Word. This week my focus is living in communion with God throughout my days in prayer, in reading His Word, in thinking about and meditating on his Word. It's a must!

Back to the Basics I go...

BT

Blogging Redefined

The other night I ended up being awake for quite a while. I took that opportunity to do some planning, and I think I have a pretty good idea of where we are headed. At least I have a start. :)

So here's a sneak peek.

Sundays are important to me; it's when I celebrate each week with other Christians the fact that our Savior is alive! It's also the beginning of the week, perfect time to set the tone for the week.

At the beginning of the new year I decided I wanted to focus on one book of the Bible, Philippians. I was hoping to use focusing on that book to work on meditating on God's Word and memorizing it. I'm sad to say I've done horrible at that goal, but I refuse to give up and not try try again. My hope is especially to work on the memorization.

Since I got pregnant I've had my eye on getting in shape after having my little girl. I've been collecting workouts and fitness apps and food apps and healthy food ideas. I can't wait to share what I will be doing with workouts and food and the results I get (hopefully).

Of course I'll keep y'all updated on little girl, and I plan to do monthly updates for family and friends who prefer to read a little bit more about life as an update...

Then there are the big things that may be happening in life, moving, dedications, adventures in homemaking, photography challenges...

Can't wait to embark on this adventure with y'all!

BT