Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Wordless Wednesday| Saginaw Fair 2013








While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about.

~Angela Schwindt


Friday, July 26, 2013

Fit Friday Ramblings.


i'v always been healthy. i've always been into fitness, but i haven't always been fit. i'm 6 weeks into this new lifestyle i'm trying to create for myself & my family & i'm starting to absolutely love it. at about 8 weeks postpartum of baby number two I decided that to ever lose this baby weight this time around i needed to change my lifestyle. diets are for the birds (do birds diet?!) i've never met a happy person on a diet & i know from experience they are just not for me. so i stepped into the realm of clean eating. each day is a new day. i have really great days & awful days. but the key to changing your lifestyle for good is knowing that its okay to fail. just remember to pick yourself back up. clean eating consists of really focusing on no processed foods, more veggies & fruit,  lots of lean protein & water water water. six smaller meals a day, not three huge ones. since my hubby put in the garden this year i'm really embracing the love of fresh produce. i've been gluten free for years now, so staying away from bad carbs i've got in the bag. luckily for my family, i do not cook with bad carbs or gluten very often. i'm really enjoying finding new "clean" recipes on pinterest to cook each night while incorporating fresh veggies. one of my biggest obstacles is portion control. although its generally healthy and light meals, overeating is still my evil. so far with this lifestyle i feel so much better, less bloated & generally a healthier person. there are days i catch myself in the kitchen eating to many processed foods loaded with sugar & i pay for it the next day. my workouts are slower & my intestines are not my friend. yet, the key to this whole process is jumping back on the band wagon the following day.

another key aspect into this lifestyle change is fitness. i always tell people "i've got fitness in the bag, its just the diet that kills me." that may be half true. working out is my addiction. i love it! i've been committed to working out for years: 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year. its easy for me & it helps me stay sane. i even worked out hard through both pregnancies & after. but changing my body has been almost non existent. after having my first daughter the weight fell off & i kept running and occasionally lifting weights at the gym. i enjoyed it thoroughly and i felt good, i thought! then during my second pregnancy i pushed myself even harder then i did during my first pregnancy. i never took days or weeks off. i just reminded myself how important it is to keep fit to have a healthy baby and quick delivery. (this holds true people) but the weight didn't just fall off this go around. although people seem to think its all gone because i'm "skinny" again, does not mean i'm back to my pre-baby weight, because i'm not. my least favorite thing people say to me "you look good for just having a baby" as if you should look unhealthy & entirely a different person after having kids. i don't give into this stigma. yes, your body has changed entirely after growing a human inside you for 9 months, but it does not mean that because your a mom now, your body is now okay to be defined differently. i think that we are what we want to be. you are what you eat, you are what do. if you don't move & eat processed foods, you will feel & look unhealthy. changing your body, before or after you have kids is totally attainable. the dedication and work you put into yourself is important & its up to you.

so to challenge myself i started insanity 6 weeks ago. although my weight has not changed yet, my numbers are slowly changing. reminding myself that the scale does not define me. this is a hard concept for me, but each day i work towards this goal. the goal of understanding that the scale is not an accurate measure of progress. fueling my body with healthy clean food is my ultimate goal, as well as, creating this lifestyle for my family. all while continuing to challenge my physical limits. this all is really exciting & fun for me. i love being committed to this beachbody program & can't wait to try some of the other ones. Have a happy fit friday friends & remember the weekend can kill all your weeks hard work!

Love,

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Update| Sisters.


It's hard to believe this little cutie is 13 weeks old. You will either catch her snoozing away or all smiles & I mean smiles with a capital S. Shes such a happy baby. She's so polar opposite from her sister, since day one! We thought she was a big time sleeper early on because of her early arrival, but that didn't hold true entirely; she still sleeps a ton still. I'm not gonna lie, I love it & I love her personality. After dealing with her big sister, Elliana is easy breezy. Can all my future kids be this good?  Avery was & still is high maintenance. She puked daily, screamed for hours, took months to sleep through the night, never smiled & is still GO GO GO. She's our spitfire, but a damn beauty queen at that. We love our Avery, but she is work. I'm thankful for such a calm baby this second go around. I think someone was looking down on us when they handed us this gift from God. 


So far I am taking things much slower this time. I am not eager to get Elliana out of her room, I am not excited to start solids & I even get anxiety thinking about boxing her itty bitty baby clothes up. Everyone says you parent so differently the second time around & I understand why. After experiencing first hand how quickly 2 years can fly by, I'm just not ready for this little girl to grow up too fast. I was so excited to see Avery develop & each stage was so exciting. It's not that I rushed her to grow up, but I wasn't savoring the little baby she was at all like I am this time. 

Elliana has really started to make developmental strides in the last week. She was defiantly falling behind on the strength of her neck; I mean who wouldn't be, she has neck rolls for days & her head is super heavy. We can thank her daddy for that big noggin. I've been working on tummy time like its my job for 2 weeks straight & the Bumboo is helping her strengthen up those muscles too. Like I said, Elliana is still in our room sleeping in the Newborn lounger. It just seems totally out of the question to put her in her crib yet, breastfeeding is so convenient when they are right by your side. Most nights she is sleeping through the night, but she still has nights she wakes up, so there's my reason. Not that I needed one! She also isn't in love with sleeping flat on her back yet, maybe once she can figure out rolling over she won't mind & the crib is something we can think about.Feeding is also going great. We still are not on a schedule, but I can see one starting to develop. Yet, I know not to get excited. Babies change oh so quickly at this stage. So I'll take it one day at a time &  really enjoy our bond. 

This girl my friends is a full blown Two year old. She's all girly & tough tough tough! Her personality is so up & down. One second she's so much fun, talking up a storm & loving life. The next shes down on the floor hating life. I know it's hard to be Two, so I give her the benefit of the doubt most times. She is working on developing her vocabulary, which I know causes a lot of the problems. She has always been a big drinker for comfort (that really sounds awful, doesn't it?!). She whines for milk/juice often & is currently going through a phase where she doesn't want to eat, anything, ever... So we have put our foot down, which is creating lots of tears. No drink, except water, until you eat your food & all of it. This is tough for her, but we really need to get her nutrition under control now. It's hard for us too to deal with such an unhappy kid,  but I know this should be a quick learning process if we hold our grounds. 

Avery is really making strides in some areas & others she has no interest in. She will now repeat numbers & letters if we make her say them, but she has no desire in really learning them yet. She has been completely potty trained since 20 months (She is currently 26 months old) & had no regression once her big sister came into the picture. This was a huge success on our part; its awesome only having one in diapers. Avery also naps like an all-star. I have not had nap time issues in months (knock on wood). She really needs her naps & I think she knows it too. A huge change is that Avery now lets her daddy put her to bed. Don't ask me what clicked in her little head, but she really loves her dad & I really love the break. We are alternating bed time routines nightly, its awesome!

Avery really loves her baby sister & not a day goes by that she is jealous of her or upset that she's getting more of momma's attention. She is rough with her & we have to watch her closely, but what toddler would you trust by a baby?! These two kiddos are beyond beautiful & are growing like weeds. It's exciting & scary to be a parent of two girls. There is so much stigma & evil in our society & as a parent all we can do is teach our children good morals & self confidence. I mean after all "women rule the world!"

Much Love & Happy Thursday Friends,

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

I had a fresh, newborn baby 13 weeks ago.

I  haven't blogged since I did my 35 week bump update, over 4 months ago. Sad story right there. I miss writing, editing pictures, sharing stories & the blogging community entirely. Lets play catch up shall we; this is me just a few days before I delivered baby #2. 
We welcomed Elliana Jean Funchion on April 23rd 2013. She came fast and 3 weeks early. I predicted the Sunday before that I wouldn't make it through the week and I was certainly right; the stretching pains were out of this world, unlike anything I've ever felt during pregnancy. I do not plan on telling the entire Labor & delivery story here, but my husband was 2 hours away working & I held this girl in just in time for his arrival. Also, natural labor...NO JOKE! Yet, a beautiful experience looking back. She was 7 pounds 9 ounces and 21 inches long. Pure perfection, just like her big sister!
I had a flawless delivery & healed quickly. Elliana is a rock star when it comes to nursing and has been from the start. She is our little squishy baby and we absolutely love every piece of her, from chubby cheeks to endless neck rolls. Avery adores her little sister and the transition to a family of 4 has went better than expected. I defiantly have more mouths to feed, laundry to fold & more people to please now, but life is pretty darn good in the Funchion household. 
Side note: Shouldn't there be a unspoken rule as to when you can ask a mom if she's going to start trying for another on...She's 3 months old people, NO i'm not ready for another one...YET!



Once again, we are certainly blessed with this beauty!

Love,