We have some big news we want to share in a couple of days that prompted us to take the following pictures... I'm sure you can probably figure out what we're about to do... but either way, I'm saving that announcement for the official day that it happens. ; )

In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to share some pictures of what our house looks like now... minus some of our pictures that have been taken off the wall and mantel because they needed to go in some boxes. {I know, I know... I'm so good at keeping secrets. This upcoming announcement? Yea, you'll never figure out whats going on.}

We've been in this house about 4 years now and we've done a lot of updating. I'm really proud of all that we've done and as I look at these pictures I get all the feels thinking about the memories we've made and the life we've enjoyed here! The outside is a bit sparse right now because, well, its winter and grass and flowers don't really like to come out and play when its cold outside. So don't spend too much time on those pictures. Instead, feast your eyes on the kitchen, the nursery, and the family room and linger a bit there. I

Enjoy this little tour and a peak inside our home!

We eat way too much pasta in this house, but I can't help it. Its just that A.) its a meal that I can make with 99% confidence that it's going to come out tasting pretty yummy and B.) I just really love pasta.

These spinach lasagna roll ups are one of my favorite pasta meals to make, but its one that only makes it on our table once every couple of months. I always seem to forget about it! But it just makes it that much more yummy when I remember to make it. ; )

Reaghan and I have had a fun week doing Valentines Day crafts to share with family and friends and buying some special treats for the main man in our life to tell him how much we love him! Reaghan especially loved helping me pick up some goodies in the candy aisle at Target. I looked down and she had her own little stash of sweets in the bottom of the cart!

My older sister Erin is turning the big 3-0 next month so we wanted to do something fun and special to celebrate with her. She always loved Cinderella growing up and when she heard that Broadways Rodgers + Hammersteins Cinderella was coming to our area she really wanted to go!

We {my sisters, mom and I} decided to gather a group of her favorite ladies together to surprise her with tickets to the show and a nice dinner. We struggled at first to find a way to actually pull off the surprise part. We thought about just picking her up and taking her to dinner and having everyone there waiting, but it was a Broadway show so she'd have to get dressed up nice! Which meant, sure we could tell her to get dressed nice and be ready to be picked up, but sometimes {especially for Erin} part of the fun of going to something like this is getting to purchase a new outfit! We also thought it would be fun for all of us to ride together in a friends large 12 passenger van - my first idea was to get a limo, but I just couldn't afford it, so a 12 passenger homeschool van worked perfectly! And of course, anticipation of an event can be just as fun as being surprised, right? So we decided to let her in on the plans a week before the show!

I found this idea for a surprise box on Pinterest {where else?!} so mom, Mal, Sara and I put it all together for her one day. We found all of our supplies at Michael's Craft store - because they have 50% off coupons so we each buy something for 50% off ;). We had to be careful not to post any pictures on social media of our shopping outing because we didn't want to let Erin know we were out shopping and having a crafting day without her!

Here's how the box turned out:

Have you ever heard of The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman? It's a great book that provides insight in to how everyone feels love and tries to show love a little differently. It gives 5 general categories that you can fall in to and has a little quiz you can take to help you discover what your love language is.

We enjoyed a beautiful 70 degree day today. On February 3rd! It was amazing and felt like spring time. In fact, I think my garden thinks that it is spring time because all of my daffodil bulbs have sprouted and a couple of them have flowered. Its funny but also sad, because now I won't have any daffodils when its actually spring time.

We were up and moving early this morning to take Piper to the vet. It was my first time taking both Piper and Reaghan to the vet, I was a little apprehensive because Piper gets anxious at the vet and needs my full attention to make sure she behaves. So Reaghan and I got some more use out of our ergo carrier that we haven't used in a LONG time. Everything went great until we saw the vet...

Soooo....

 I got back on the Whole30 train after my cheat day the Sunday that ended my 3rd week.

And I stayed on it for 5 days.

And then I decided that I was done. We had a lot planned for this weekend including a baby shower lunch with my coworkers to celebrate a baby-to-be, a girls night shopping trip to cheer up my sis and a birthday party for Mark's little cousin who was our flower girl in our wedding. Could I have gone to all of those things and stayed compliant? Yea, probably. But I thought it over and in the end decided I was okay with being done just 4 days short of the goal.

I completed 26 days of the Whole30 and I lost 5 pounds throughout the process.

I'm sort of disappointed that I only lost 5 pounds. Granted, I had a cheat day, but for the other 25 days I was hardcore not eating sugar or any processed foods. AND working out 5 days a week. So yea, I was hoping to drop more than 5 pounds. Especially since most of that was lost the first week and was probably water/bloat weight. BUT weight loss wasn't the only goal (albeit a big one), it was really about restarting my eating habits to continue working towards a fit and healthy life and help me reach my goal of finishing the upcoming 1/2 Marathon with a new personal record.

Here's what I learned while Whole30ing it up in the Month of January...

Self denial is a good thing. We all have innate selfishness that makes us want what we want when we want it. Self denial is the cure. Or maybe more like a step in the right direction. Being aware of what you want, having the ability to have it, but still saying no is hard. But hard is not the same thing as bad.

Eating healthy is expensive - I spent $600 dollars in groceries alone this past month!!! YIKES! I did cut waaaaayyy back on our eating out expenses as I didn't have fast food at all (until my cheat day) and even going to a restaurant wasn't appealing since I knew I'd be restricted so we always opted to come home and make a meal. So while $600 was truly way too much for groceries, it was rewarding to know we were eating at home more.

Read labels - even things that say natural and organic can be total frauds. There are better options and sometimes they aren't even the more or most expensive options. You just have to watch out for those crazy ingredients.

I need more food education - having limited options made me want to take the time to find out what foods were considered healthy fats, what food would fuel my long runs and how much protein I should eat to stay full. Nutrition is an interesting thing and its amazing the way our body needs different types of foods for optimal energy and performance.

Planning ahead is crucial! You know those snack attack urges where you just want to grab some chips out of the pantry? Or those busy days where you've been running around so you just throw a frozen pizza in the oven for dinner? Not an option on the Whole30! I had to sit and plan out each meal for the week, thaw out the meat needed for dinner the night before and pre-package fruits and veggies for quick snacks during the day. I'm not the best at that, but I got better. Having something already planned cuts back on those urges to order take out on busy nights as well. Mark and I love Chinese food. ;)

I use food as comfort - as previously disclosed I did have a cheat day when the stress got overwhelming, but it was an eye opener. I craved something to make me feel happy and content. The other 25 days I had to find it in other things besides food like my husband, my sweet girl, journaling, and reading.

I eat as a habit - every time I walk in to the kitchen I want to grab something to eat, even if I'm not hungry! Just because it's there, doesn't mean I need to eat it. Especially at night before bed!

Trying new recipes is fun! Mark and I found this baked chicken thigh recipe that gets the skin deliciously crispy and the meat so moist. I definitely had a few fails, but failing is learning, yea?

Food affects your skin - I've been lamenting over the last year or so that the dark circles and bags under my eyes are worsening. I can get very upset about this if I'm in a particularly vain mood and I picture myself in ten years with sagging, drooping skin pockets under my eyeballs. But I actually noticed a big difference in the way they looked this month! I wasn't even thinking about the benefits my skin could see! I don't know if its the sugar or the dairy or what, but it definitely motivates me to be more conscious of what I'm eating.

Sugar is an addiction - on a spiritual note, I realized I am way too judge-mental towards those who can't break a serious addiction like smoking or alcohol. I struggled to give up sugar for 26 days - just SUGAR, and the day after I decided the fast was over, I had ice cream. Just like an addict who is sober for a few weeks but goes right back to whatever his vice is even though he was doing so well without it. This whole experience has changed the way I look at people that I see smoking. (I'm just using that as an example because I admit, I hate smelling the cigarette smoke). Whenever I go out for a run early in the morning, there is always a lady who sits out on her front porch and smoke a cigarette. On Saturday it was 39 degrees out while I was running and sure enough, there she was all bundled up and sitting on her little bench with a cigarette. I'm a little ashamed to admit, but after 2-3 years of seeing this lady off an on when I go running, I prayed for her for the first time. A prayer that she would allow God to loose the chains of her addiction. Not that I know now what its like to be addicted, I'm not trying to make that claim, but I think a log has been removed from my eye.


So there you have it. 10 main things I learned. My overall Whole30 Whole26 experience was challenging, expensive and despite only losing 5 pounds, it really was rewarding.

I do feel motivated to eat healthy through out the week, I'm still staying away from soda at least until after my 1/2 marathon, and I'm settling into a nice pattern of working out during the week. After 4 weeks of consistent exercising I am starting to see more definition in my legs and arms and that is motivating me to continue!

I think doing a cleanse or restricting yourself to a "clean" diet for a specific amount of time is beneficial as it helps refocus your mind and body. You have to be careful not to binge after coming off of something like this and look at it as kickstart to healthier eating overall. There's no way I could stick to the Whole30 every day of my life - but it's helped me take a step back, shake out some of the junk that my body was craving and say going forward we're going to allow some not so good stuff back in but only in moderation. Eventually I would like to get to the point where we're eating clean 75-80% of the time and allowing the other 20-25% to be room for convenience and treats. Healthy living is a lifelong process and I think you need to give yourself grace but also give yourself goals. I don't want to look back at my life and remember how I was always on a dieting/binging cycle trying to achieve unrealistic goals, but I also want to look back and know that I didn't waste a perfectly healthy body by feeding it junk and not taking care of it.



What about you? Have you stuck to your New Years goals of getting healthier? What have you learned along the way? 

I'm going to come right out and say it. I cheated this week. Actually, I cheated a lot. I had a chic fil a grilled chicken sandwich on Friday and then today we were invited to lunch with my family and dinner with Mark's family so I had spaghetti for lunch and a hot dog for dinner. And cookie dough. And also a brownie. Ha. Soooo.... What now?

Well first, I'm going to give reasons excuses for my cheats.

We've had a very depressing, stressful week. Reaghan had a fever and an ear infection that is still on going which means I'm getting next to no sleep and she is not the happiest tiny person to be around during the day. Mark and I also caught her cold so that has been adding to the general crankiness in the house right now. We spent $$$ at the vet on our dog who has a "suspicious" lump on her leg so she was put on medicine that is making her have to pee every 15 minutes and have accidents if left alone too long and has to go back to the vet in 2 weeks for a re-check. And worst of all my sister received the worstt news possible for her right now - that her baby had stopped growing and they couldn't find a heartbeat.

Why am I sharing? Honestly... it makes me feel better about cheating. I'm not really proud of my decision but when I think back on my week... well, I'm not holding myself to too high of a standard. I was stressed and sad and exhausted and didn't want to think about new recipes or cooking.

Soooo... What now?

I learned that I absolutely use food as a comforter; a way to check out of reality for a second or too and make me feel better for the few minutes that I consume delicious food. One of the things Whole30 is supposed to do is break you of these unhealthy relationships we have with food, so by giving in to the cravings for comfort food, I sort of defeated the purpose of the whole process.

I guess I have 2 options - just end the Whole30 now and be happy with the 20 days that I did complete, or jump back in and finish my LAST week strong. I'm going to go with the latter. I honestly just want to quit, but I don't want to let lousy decisions send me on a downward spiral.

Okay - with that out of the way - I did make it 5/7 days this week without cheating so here were some of my favorite meals of the week:

In my New Years post I shared that my sister Erin and her husband Adam were finally pregnant after 4 years of infertility struggles.

It was the very best news to start of the New Year and we were so excited to dream of all this year would bring - growing belly, gender reveals, baby showers, and a fresh new squishy baby to cuddle at the end of the summer.

I had been giving her progesterone shots every other day since they found out to help sustain the pregnancy. My poor sisters hips were tender and bruised from the multiple injections. But it was all going to be more than worth it. We just knew it.

It's with a severely broken heart that I share that they were unable to hear a heart beat at her last appointment and the ultrasound didn't show any growth of the gestational sack. They've instructed her to stop all medicine and return for another appointment on Thursday, as well as to prepare for her body to realize there is no longer a baby there.

Week 2 came and went and I'm still pressing on. There were a few days this week where I was extremely aware of all of the things I'm choosing not to eat right now... Like on Friday night when my grandma was in town and we all went shopping and out to dinner. *sigh* I ended up having a salad at Panera with just some lemon juice squeezed on it. Surprisingly, it didn't taste bad with just the lemon juice so I'm tucking that little trick in the back of my mind. But I may have been drooling a bit watching everyone else eat their baguettes and scrumptious soups and sandwiches! I will always love bread. The end.

I only lost 1/2 a pound this week too! I weighed in at the end of the second week at 148. That was a bit discouraging. But they say on their website that the second week you might feel some bloating and other intestinal discomforts due to your gut healing... so if your jeans are feeling tighter not to be discouraged! Here's hoping Week 3 I start seeing a bit more magic.

I worked out 5 of 7 days this week too! Yay me! I did P90x workouts 3 days and then went on 2 runs, including a 7 miler at the end of the week. I ate a Lara Bar before my run and I felt much better this week than last. I'll test it out again this weekend for another long run.

Here are some of my favorite meals from the week:




So that was week 2! I'm already 2 days into a week 3 and doing okay. Pretty excited that after this week I can start a count down to the finish line!!

I made it through my first week of this Whole30 thing! It wasn't too bad, but then, I've done a week of clean eating before so I was never too worried about the first week, its the 3 weeks thereafter that concerns me. Haha But I'm feeling good and committed to finishing this so I'm just taking it one week at a time and not thinking about how many more days I have left. (*cough*23*cough*)

My family even came over to watch the Redskins lose the playoff game and Mark made everyone homemade pizza and I even whipped up some brownies for them and didn't have a bite of any of it! I just ate a sweet potato. Talk about self control.



At the close of the first week I weighed 148.5 - 4 pounds down! I can already tell a difference in the way my jeans are fitting and my stomach feels a bit flatter. Technically I'm not supposed to be weighing myself because this Whole30 thing isn't about weight loss as much as it is changing your eating habits, but lets me honest...Weight loss is good motivation! So I'm keeping track! I've also been being super consistent with a workout routine. I did 3 p90x workouts and ended the week with a 6 mile run on Saturday. Which is also the official kick off of my 2016 Shamrock 1/2 Marathon training.

The first couple of days I got a bad headache in the evenings, not sure if I just wasn't drinking enough water or if it was a side affect of not having any caffeine, but those have faded away now! I've had pretty good energy over all, my only other issue has been feeling a little blah during my run. I've got to find some good whole foods to fuel my body for long runs because I'm totally used to having a few slices of pizza the night before a run to "Carb load."

Here were some of my favorite meals of the week:




We also had taco salad, spaghetti squash and baked chicken for dinner that I forgot to take pictures of.

I already have my menu planned for this week and did my grocery shopping this morning to replenish the produce drawers in my fridge. Hoping for another solid week!

We spent this New Years Eve at my parents house having a family and friends game night that involved a new game called "Things..." and a dance off with the Wii Just Dance 2016. And of course when midnight hit I was right where I always want to be getting a kiss from this handsome guy.


...But sharing this picture isn't really why I'm writing a late blog post about New Years...

Some blog post themes I don't really care if I ever get back around to, but then there are some posts that I really do want to keep up on - like annual new year posts! In the midst of busy schedules and life I'm always like "ehhh... I don't really need to write one this year" but then when I actually do have a chance to sit and blog and I look back on last years post I'm all "Ahh! I need to write one. Why didn't I sit and do it sooner?!" Because its fun to document things and be able to go back and remember!!!

So without any more procrastination, and fingers crossed I finish this quickly as we're nearing the end of the afternoon nap time, here's a look back at our 2015!

Travels - We did a lot this past year, actually it was really just over the summer! We went to the OBX in May with Mark's family, flew to Texas in June for my cousins wedding, drove to Ohio in July with my family for a family reunion, drove to Blacksburg, VA in August for my best friends wedding in which Reaghan was a flower girl, and finished off the summer with quick trip to Charlottesville for a Labor Day canoe trip. :) This fall we also went to Massanutten with Mark's family for a long weekend and apple picking.

New Accomplishments - Keeping a tiny human alive for a full year! *high fives all around*. Also losing my baby weight and getting back in to semi regular running and workouts was a big deal for me! But its always a work in progress. ; )

Milestones Reached - We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary! I got a special plaque for being at my job for 5 years this past July!

New House Updates - Mark tore down our old shed and built a new one. He re-stained our back deck and built a small arbor for our hammock swing and baby swing. We also finally tore out the overgrown bushes in our front flower bed!

New Things Tried - Mark is taking college classes again! He already holds a B.S. in business with an IT specialty but will have more opportunity for growth where he works if he obtains a certain number of credits in accounting classes. His work is actually partnering with the community college here to offer these classes so its been a great opportunity! He's finished one class and has a few more to go to reach the right hours and may have enough to get him an Associates Degree in accounting.

Races Run - Shamrock 1/2 marathon in March - my first big post baby race! The Step Up for the Up Center event where I climbed the tallest building in VA 3x, a doggy dash 5k, and a Surfin Santa 5 miler. Its harder to find time/money to run races these days.

New Scary Moments - One evening while I was on my way home from work, Mark called and said Reaghan was in such a crying fit that she was gasping for air and wouldn't settle down. When I got home I couldn't console her for a while either and when trying to feed her she couldn't catch her breath. She was only about 4 months old. I called my mom and then because of the way she was gasping I called the pediatrician... turns out she really had just worked herself up over something that we'll never know... Looking back I can definitely see a small over reaction on my part haha but I'll always remember it being the first moment that I was truly scared as a new mom that something might not be right. Another scary parenthood moment? Reaghan fell backwards on a patio at 10 months when trying to cruise along a table and hit the back of her head on the concrete. My stomach turns at the thought of hearing that "thud" sound. She was fine, but you guys... being a parent is hard in all sorts of little ways that you don't even realize. Like hurting when your baby hurts. So for new scary moments??? Yea, being a parent in and of itself is pretty scary.

Prayers Answered - Aside from the minor incidents above, Reaghan has had a healthy year! Only minor colds and rashes and no emergency situations! Thank you Lord! We are praying the same for 2016!

Also... *drum roll* My sister and her husband announced their pregnancy just shortly before the New Year! After 4 years of struggling through infertility God has answered their prayers! We are ecstatic!! I can't wait to watch her belly grow and I'm so excited about all of the goodness this year will bring because of this new life!


We are ready for you 2016!!!

I started a Whole30 today! Yikes! It was my New Years Resolution. I'm a little nervous about it. Remember when we did the 14 Day Clean Eating Challenge? I decided after that was over that I would do a full 30 days after New Years. I was totally on board and ready to go in the few months leading up to New Years, but now that it's here I'm not as excited about it. 

When we got home Christmas Eve night we set up all of Reaghan's "stocking" gifts for her to walk out to and see first thing in the morning! This was so much more fun than last year! Who knew one of the best parts of Christmas would be setting gifts out for your kids? : )