"The Help"

For my mom's 50th birthday (She still doesn't seem 50 to me!) I took her to see "The Help." We both read the book and were very excited to see it portrayed on the big screen. I am always a little skeptical of books turned into movies because let's be real: you can NEVER make the movie as good as the book. It's just a know fact. You can come close, but you will not succeed. And while I again will not say the movie was as good as the book, because it wasn't, it came darn close!

It was so wonderfully done and they really didn't leave out anything too big (they couldn't have added anything else, the movie was over 2 hours). The characters were all cast perfectly, every single one. My favorites were Skeeter and her mother and Minny of course. It was the perfect amount of humor and serious, which the book was too.

I just can't say enough good about the movie. But you need to read the book as well!

Thanks for a fun date mom and happy birthday!

Teething and BBQ's

Afton cut her first tooth a few days ago and I believe she is working on another one, because she has been CRANKY with a capital C! To appease her crankiness even a little bit we have been giving her anything we can think of to chew on (safely).

I remember someone telling me a big thick carrot is a great teething toy. She doesn't care for the frozen ones so we tried this out. And she loved it! She chewed on that thing for a few hours. Then we left that evening (we were being brave, what with the crankiness and all) to go to a BBQ at the Fronk's house.

Then she was so interested in the other little kids that she lost interest of her carrot. And it was getting a little gross anyways... so Toby (the Fronk's dog) snatched it up and finished it off for her. Thanks Toby.

We had yummy chicken kebabs, corn on the cob and watermelon for dinner. Sounds like summer right? I have a feeling I will be more than a little depressed once winter hits and I can't shop at the farmers market anymore for peaches and watermelon.

Summer BBQ's are wonderful (especially when I get a night off of cooking AND the food fits into my new eating habits.) Thanks again to the Fronks and the Adams for a wonderful evening.

Oh and to Oliver and Toby for the entertainment. (They are playing, not fighting. Don't worry. We aren't running a dog fight club or anything.)

Finally

Remember when I posted these recipes to try?

Raw cashew dreamcake
Raw Brownie

Well I sorta needed one of these to complete these and numerous other recipes I have been itching to try.
So when I found a shiny new food processor on Craigslist for $45 I knew it was fate.
So I bought it, or rather Chad bought it for me as a slightly early anniversary gift.
And now I can die happy.
I still don't have my kitchen aid mixer or my Vita Mix. But I think I can wait a while on those.
Didn't you know food processors are very diverse in their abilities?
A dream come true. At last.

What's that?

I swear I have asked "where's this or do you carry this or what is that?" more times than I care to remember in the last few months. But I am slowly learning how to cook with healthier items and smarter choices. I am also learning how to distinguish these healthier options and not just take the "health food stores" word for it. Because even items carried in a health food store can sometimes not be so great.
I am loving a few blog sites I have found lately and am hoping to try out a few new recipes and a few new items each week.
These are the sites I love the most right now:

Mark's Daily Apple
Elanas Pantry- Healthy Gluten Free Recipes
Comfy Belly (so far I have use the most from this one)
My New Roots
The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen

And these are the newest food items I have been trying to cook with lately:
Honey, Agave, Maple Syrup and Dates as natural sweeteners
Coconut and Almond flower for baking
Guar gum as a natural thickening agent
Almond Butter instead of peanut butter
Goat cheese instead of cheddar, etc.

And these are on my list to try:
Coconut oil, grapeseed oil and ghee instead of olive oil for cooking and instead of shortening or butter for baking
flax seeds, hemp seeds and quinoa flakes (I have used regular quinoa and really liked it)
Coconut palm sugar

New recipes I have made this week so far:

Gluten-free strawberry cupcakes
Sweet Potato Fries
Spinach, Bacon and Tomato Salad (I sadly had no Parmesan but I really want to try making these croutons soon.)
I also made what I am calling a healthy grilled cheese...never thought I would see the day when grilled cheese would be healthy.
I used sprouted grain bread which I still love. I don't miss "regular" bread at all. I also used raw cheddar style goat cheese, avocado, tomatoes, and cilantro. It turned out super yummy and satisfied my craving for a grilled cheese.
Watermelon Sorbet
Avocado Fudgesicles -This was the only recipe that turned out badly. I forgot to de-pit the dates before I put them in my blender and I used too much cocoa for my taste. Maybe next time I can perfect it.

Here are some recipes I want to try soon:
Balsamic roasted chicken with figs
Quinoa- salmon burgers
Asparagus Basil salad
"Potato" salad with cauliflower
Parsley Pesto with sun dried tomatoes
Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes
Key-lime Icing
Turkey Bean Chili
Homemade Mayo
Strawberry Sorbet
Zucchini Chocolate Chip Mini-muffins
Blueberry Muffins
Gluten-free Silver Dollar Pancakes
Salt and Vinegar Kale Chips
Creamy Macadamia Shrimp
Raw cashew dreamcake
Raw Brownie

And breathe! That is a lot of recipes to try. But I figure I have a while since this is my new way of life. Something to look forward to right?

25, no wait 26, down

It's funny how when I started eating differently I did it to lose weight. Then once I started studying food a little more and learning more about it, it turned into eating healthy because it's fun, good for you and I like the way it makes me feel. Losing weight was definitely an added benefit, but definitely NOT my biggest priority anymore.
However, I am still proud to say I have lost 26 pounds! I started at 202(somewhere around here, post pregnancy weight) and am now at 176.
I was wearing size 16-18 and now wear 14-15.
But more importantly I feel good. I feel beautiful and I LIKE the way I look. I haven't been able to say that consistently in a long time.
But still more importantly I am building my repertoire of healthy recipes for my family. I really want to teach Afton early on that fruits and veggies taste good and that they are the healthiest for you. I also want to teach her that pizza once and a while is great and don't feel bad for enjoying dessert. I hope she will learn how to cook and eat healthy and that we can have fun doing it together. That is what I look forward to most.

Sitting and Standing

Afton is officially a sitting girl! She hardly ever falls over anymore except when she is mad about being on the floor by herself and does it on purpose, which I don't count.

Here she is playing with dad after work...

and by that I mean she is playing and dad is sleeping because he is tired from his long 10 hour workday in the sun.

She is also starting to experiment with standing. Her legs have always been strong so she doesn't really have any problems if she has something sturdy to lean on...

Such as Aunt Katie's legs...

Here's to another few months of sitting and hopefully she will wait to crawl for a little while. I am enjoying the peaceful playing and not really looking forward to baby proofing quite yet.

Welcome to the Neighborhood

Friday night Chad had to work until about 1 am (poor guy), so Oliver, Afton and I ventured out on a walk around the neighborhood.

We really love the neighborhood we live in and often dream of buying a house there someday....someday.... So needless to say we were so excited to find the townhouse we are now renting. We get all the benefits of living in a nice neighborhood but still have the simpleness of an apartment dwelling.

Oliver and Afton ready for the walk: can you tell they are both excited?

My beautiful baby!

All the houses in our neighborhood are older and unique but wonderfully beautiful. They are tasteful and not too big but big enough. Another thing I LOVE is all the old wonderful trees. They are so big and shady. You simply can't find that in new track home neighborhoods.

I especially love a house with a terrace (is that what you call it?). The white one in the upper right hand corner reminds me of the house on the notebook a little. That house is directly next to us. The one on the bottom left corner is across from us and I am pretty sure is a million dollar home.

Still happy...

I also love that fact that everyone keeps their yards nicely manicured and the homes just look so neat and clean.

We live not too far from Enslen elementary school which I hope is where Afton might go (I just might put her in a Charter school, so we'll see. But we certainly have a few years to figure it out.) It is a beautiful school.

Did you know that they still have ACTUAL sand boxes in elementaries anymore? I didn't...

And finally...Our humble abode.

Upper left: This is our townhouse. There are two in the front. Our's is on the right.

Upper Right: The two in the back.

Bottom Left: A nice little patio area.

Bottom Right: Our car port and laundry room.

We love our new place and neighborhood. Even though we can't buy a house yet this place makes us feel a little less like apartment dwellers and this way we can dream up our future house on our afternoon walks.

Still Happy....

Love him

A few weekends ago Chad took a much needed "guys day" and took the boat out with his friend Jason. The young single adults just happened to be at the same lake that day so they took some of them for rides too.
One of Chad's friends snapped these photos and posted them on facebook and I just couldn't resist sharing them here. I am usually not a gushy-i-love-my-husband kind of person on this blog but can I just say, that these pictures reminded me why I fell in love with this guy.

He is outgoing, confident, handsome and so nice to everyone he meets.

Not to mention a great wake boarder!

So for once I am going to gush and brag a little about my husband because he is amazing and you know what, I just don't say it enough!

Dear Afton, Love Oliver

Dear Afton-

I'll be honest, when they brought you home from the hospital, I thought you might be another stuffed animal for me to rip up. But they got really mad when I tried to get too close so I figured you had to be something else. Then I realized after a week that mom and dad loved you a lot and the only way I was going to get any attention was if I was close to you. So I figured I would see if I liked you and get to know you a little. Then I licked your foot for the first time and you tasted good. That's about all it took to convince me, I like people pretty easy.

I got pretty worried when you cried in your room and it puzzled me why mom and dad let you cry sometimes. But don't worry I had your back. I would sit outside your room and even sneak in it sometimes if they left the door open, until you stopped crying.

And now I think you're pretty cool. So I like to lay by you whenever you are on the floor. You know just to make sure you have something to entertain you so you don't cry.

And okay, I get you're getting older and are moving around a little more so I'm just gonna sit by you on the couch too just so you don't fall off. Don't worry I won't smother you, just keeping an eye on you. Like I said, I have your back. And you know I might even let you pull my ear once and a while or chew on my tail, but just don't do it too often okay? Because it doesn't feel that great.

So anyways I guess it's okay that you're around... just as long as you don't ALWAYS hog mom and dad. Not gonna lie, I do like to cuddle. Maybe when you're older you can convince mom and dad to let me sleep with you? I promise I will take a bath more often and work on not peeing on my stomach. Let me know about that...
I guess you can stick around for another few months if you want to.

Love, Oliver

A few weeks later...

Sometimes life happens. Okay, life happens ALWAYS. In my case, June-July was BUSY. So after quickly losing 25 pounds I have now been at a standstill for about 6 weeks.

I have still been pretty good though but I am now feeling the itch to get back on it FULL throttle. I tried to start on Monday and it just didn't happen.
So this coming Monday it WILL happen. It will! I am motivated. I have been perusing a lot of healthy eating blogs lately and have lots of new ideas so I am pretty excited.
Plus, I have looked everywhere for raw macadamia nuts in Modesto and had pretty much given up hope but alas I found some! Yay! So now I can make the raw "ranch" dressing I have been dying to try. So that will make my salads sing a little next week.

My main goal when going back on is to just make smart choices. Even if I get off the wagon for a day and don't do as well as I hope, I can still chose better options and still feel good.
Like tonight. Chad and Afton are asleep and I am looking at blogs and making Chad egg-salad for lunch tomorrow (I still cook Chad whatever he wants. I WILL not force him to eat what i eat.) and I got the late-night snack craving.
You know... that I want some cookies and milk or a bowl of cereal or something really sugary and bad for me craving.
So I thought of this:
Because that's what was lying on our counter from Chad's earlier pre-bedtime snack.

But then I read a few health blogs and felt guilty and said, "No! Dangit!"

And then I ate this instead and felt much better and not guilty at all.
Sprouted bread with a little butter and honey.
Yay for me!

Kissing

Is it just me or could you kiss your baby a hundred times and day and still want to do it a hundred more? I kid you not I really think that I do kiss Afton a hundred times a day, not exaggerating at all.
How could I not want to kiss those pudgy little cheeks and that little button nose. Don't even get me started about her cute little baby bum! I don't kiss it but I do plenty of squeezing in between the changing table and the bathtub. I also like to exclaim "Naked Baby" about 10 times in a high pitched yell. Afton thinks that's pretty funny.

A little narrative for your reading pleasure:
(top left): Okay, mom once kiss is fine.
(Top middle): Seriously mom enough with the kissing.
(Top right): Okay, one more kiss.
(Bottom): Finally she stopped kissing me and I can breathe. *Sigh*

Sun-shiny day on the lake

We took the boat out for the second time as a family this summer.
This time we invited our new found friends the Fronks.
When we started attending our new ward a few weeks ago Chad ran into one of his mission companions in the hallway between meetings. Turns out he and his wife and daughter are in our ward. Small world! He got a job here in Modesto and they moved here a few months ago. It was very random but turns out to be great because we all get along really well and our girls are only 3 months apart!

Stephanie and Brooke(Fronk)

Mark(Fronk) is on the left.

Our friends Steve and Breanne Bolton also got to come! Chad has been friends with Steve since high school. We haven't had the opportunity to hang out with them much lately so it was a nice chance to catch up.

Afton had a better time the second go around on the boat although she still was not a fan of her life jacket.

Can you tell by her face? She looks pretty miserable but she really did have a better time I promise.

Stephanie and I took the girls on their first inner-tube ride ever and they weren't very impressed. We went about 3 MPH and the ride lasted maybe a minute. Then Afton started screaming because she tired and hungry. So unfortunately our ride came to an early end.

What Afton did love was hanging out on the inner-tune (without her life jacket, that's the important part for her) while we stopped and ate lunch and swam around. Don't worry I was VERY careful with her while she wasn't in the life jacket. I'm a good mom, I promise.

It's pretty hilarious how annoyed Brooke and Afton look in every picture that they have a life jacket on.

Afton is still getting used to Brooke and she likes to just stare at her, but guess how I know she likes her?

...Because she sucks on her toes of course! Believe me she doesn't put anything in her mouth she doesn't like at least a little bit. My daughter has a thing for feet what can I say?

And that was our sunshiny day at the lake! Only one person (cough cough Mark) got burned like a lobster. I'm happy to announce I only got a very mild sunburn on my shoulders and my dear baby was so lathered in sunscreen not even a walk ON the sun would have burned her!

A day in the life

I love my life right now. I really do. I work part time a few days a week but I get to take Afton with me. So it really doesn't seem like work which is my kind of work. But mostly I get to stay home with my baby. And I can't tell you how much our strong bond means to me. You can't know just how much your little bundle of joy means to you until you have had 8 months with her every day and you know each other better than you know the back of your hand.

So for your information (I'm expecting you to take notes by the way) here is a little of what our days look like lately:

During the week days Afton and I will wake up in bed together. Mind you she doesn't sleep all night in our bed- no way Jose. She usually wakes up anywhere from 5:30- 7 am and then sometimes we go back to sleep for an hour or two after I feed her. It's nice because I get to wake up to this...

...or maybe a stretch or two. Love that stretching face...

...and there is usually some eye rubbing going on. She always rubs her eyes when she is tired or just waking up.

Then we get out of bed and Afton will perhaps play in her crib while I get ready for the day.
I have been trying to get her to love this Kitty stuffed animal, conveniently named Kitty by me when I was little. And while she enjoys chewing on kitty's tail she is by no mean infatuated with it...yet. We will keep working on that. I am really hoping to tell her when she is older that she loved that toy the most.

Then Afton will chill on the couch, sometimes in the buff(aka her diaper) and play with whatever I can give her to keep her happy (aka Oliver's leash) while I make our breakfast.

Then she might take a morning nap, thankfully that has been more and more often lately. And when she wakes up VERY refreshed and happy we will play some more.

This is probably one of my all time favorite pictures of her...EVER. This picture portrays her personality perfectly...happy and loving.

On the fun days like last week we will have visitors like my Aunts and Afton gets a break from boring old mom :-)

Then in the afternoon we will usually spend time running errands or working at my dad's office. Afton is always such a trooper on these afternoons. She does amazing in her car seat. As long as she has something to chew on, she's fabulous.
Then daddy finally gets home from work and we have some dinner and playtime. Then it's bath time (and i'll admit this isn't regular every night. Lately she has been getting in the shower with me in the mornings or we skip the bath altogether sometimes. Gasp. Don't worry she's not even crawling so she doesn't get too dirty). And finally bedtime.

The weekend is usually a different story lately we have been gone A LOT. So Afton gets used to napping in her car seat...
or wherever she can really. (This is the floor of my dad's shop.)
Lately we have been spending time seeing family and friends and usually our activities have something to do with water.
We got to meet up with my best friend from high school Blair. Afton was also ALMOST born on Blair's birthday, the day before. So of course Blair always reminds us of that.
Afton stripped down to her diaper and had a little impromptu swim session with Blair.

She loved trying to eat the floaty. What's new?

And of course we spend lots of time at Chad's parents house, usually in the back yard admiring the garden or the chickens. Afton was especially happy when grandpa picked her a special baby carrot from the garden just for her.

And Grandpa Terry is always a favorite for a babysitter. After seeing Harry Potter Chad and I came back to this:

Except just a few moments before this picture grandpa was also sprawled on the floor asleep. I guess the apple never falls far from the tree right?

And Sundays are always my favorite day of the week to spend with this little lady.
We get to:Dress her up in pretty bows/headbands and Sunday dresses.
She gets to: Chew on dad's shoelaces during Church.

We get to: Show her off to everyone at church :-)
She gets to: Chew on her fingers and babble as loudly as she likes during church.

We get to:Cuddle our sleeping baby and listen to the wonderful messages at church.
She gets to: Cuddle with us and have a peaceful nap at church.
Then we go home and...
We get to: go for a lovely walk in our lovely new neighborhood.
She gets to: get pushed around like a princess and eventually fall asleep on our walk.

And that my friends just about sums up our week with the love of our life.
And this picture just about sums up the love our life...

Silly, Silly, Silly! We couldn't love her more!