Evening walks

I'm so glad the weather is fairing up enough to get outside and enjoy nature. Ava & I took a walk this evening and I thought I'd share some pictures...

 We're blessed with the perfect lane for me to walk and for Ava to ride her bike.

 You can hardly see it here, but the dock at this pond is where Chad & I probably fell in love. Ahhh, to be young again =)

My little cutie, dirty face & all!

Tulips are about to bloom!

Help!

An evil villain (PB bunny) found his way into my buggy at the local Rite Aid... And I fell victim to his beautiful chocolatey goodness.

All is well though. I threw him out of my car window as I drove away, furiously... After I bit his head off.

Darn that Easter candy.

Homework

Do this:

Go to Pinterest & type in motivation.

Pretty cool, huh? Its really not all of those pictures of hawt bods with ripped abs that motivate me, its the words. All of those words are so true. Here are a few good ones that meant something to me.

Little changes...

Note to self: STOP eating JUNK. Food doesn't have to be a negative thing.

Food. Food. Food.

It's always been so important to me, I guess. It comforts, it relaxes, it doesn't talk back... Okay just kidding with that last one. 

You get together with friends or family - food is involved.

Date night - gotta eat somewhere!

Special occasion - food in your face!

I know that the way I look at food is my underlying problem. 

It's easy for me to admit to this right now because I haven't stuck to much of any diet for the last week. I've had a crazy busy week/weekend and good food choices have been the last thing on my mind. The quickest & easiest things have been what I've resorted too - mainly McD's McGriddles, numerous Redbulls & Starbucks Caramel Macchiato... and maybe a cake pop or three.

BUT these moments when I'm rushed and on the go is when I should really try to have a level head about what I'm choosing to put into my body.

So tomorrow isn't Monday, but it's Wednesday (don't expect a weigh in wednesday post from me!) and I'm getting things back in order first thing in the morning. BIG thanks to {{Lori}} for my boost of motivation tonight =)

Did I mention I'm an Aunt now?! He's so perfect.

Happy Sunday!

Here is your

Daily Dose of Baby Jace

He gets to come home today & I'm so excited to go give him lots of snuggles & kisses!

Call me Auntie Taryn!

I'm an aunt, finally!

My sister gave birth to the most beautiful baby boy yesterday... she was in labor for about 13.5 hours, I believe, and she handled it like a champ. I woke up at 6:45 Thursday morning and didn't go to sleep (unless you count the 45 minutes I listened to my mom snore, while trying to rest) until about 2pm on Friday. I'm not sure I've ever gone that long without rest but it was completely worth it! 

The amount of caffeine I consumed was unreal.

 

Mr. Johnathan Jace was born March 22 (on my Dad's birthday) at 11:23 pm, weighing in at 7lbs. 6 oz. & 19 1/2 inches long!

This was almost immediately after he was born... he couldn't keep his tongue in his mouth because he was wanting to nurse so bad!

Look at those bright eyes, wide awake =)

Ohh, I could just kiss these cheeks off his face!

He is the most perfect little thing. I'm so proud of my little sister for doing so good with all of the pain and emotions!

Jace is such a blessing to our family & we are already saying that we don't know what we ever did without him in our lives!

Today is the day!

Ahhh, I've waited for this day for months! My nephew will hopefully make his entrance into to world today.

The little sister went into labor around 10:30pm last night when her water broke. She has carried super low for the last month so we assumed she would have a fairly quick delivery.

Nope.

Here we sit - about 9 hours later with very little progress. She has dilated up to about 4 cm... She hasn't been about to rest because she's been so nauseous and has a migraine.

Please say a quick prayer that she will start feeling better and get some rest before delivery - and of course, for a quick & easy delivery!

More favorite grocery items!

Just got home from the grocery store & after spending a small fortune, I thought I'd share more of my favorite grocery items. 

First off, lunch is typically my biggest meal of the day so most of these items are used for lunch. I get a full hour for my lunch break and I live 5 minutes away from work so I go home everyday and fix something rather than ordering out 

(most of the time).

I seriously could not have fit another thing in this buggy!

Whole Wheat Tortillas - I use these to make wraps with some chicken or tuna salad, or some lunchmeat & veggies, or quick quesadillas!

I WISH I had bought an extra package of these because they're not going to last me very long. Especially if the hubby get a taste of them. These are so good. You can stuff whatever you want inside of them and have lunch in the car without everything falling out of the bottom.

And just check out how yummy this looks...

Mmmmm!

This chicken is good, guys! Throw it in a tortilla wrap, in a salad, in a quick quesadilla, or by itself.

Spaghetti squash... okay I'm still a little clueless about this one and it's probably rotted by now. (It's been in my fridge for 2 weeks) I just keep looking at it in my fridge and getting overwhelmed at the thought  of trying to fix it. Google this... it looks pretty cool.

Lunch meat isn't just for sandwiches although I DO love them. This is my favorite brand and the packaging keeps it fresh until its gone. I throw these into salads, wraps, sandwiches, etc.

Spinach keeps so much longer if its in a container compared to a bag so I try to always keep this on hand. Again, I throw it onto everything but my most recent favorite is in with my egg whites. Flavor & nutrients!

Call me lazy, I don't care. 

I always buy onions already diced. It's so much easier & less time consuming.

My dad grills with this every summer so I decided to get some today and try. Can't wait to throw some chicken in this!

Soo I love my sugary cereal but decided to try something healthier this time. It's actually good AND good for you! Win/Win.

LOVE these... and so do most of my coworkers =)

These are the easiest snack for me keep at work for those days when I get the ridiculous lunch hour.

Also, I've tried all of the generic brands of these honey wheat pretzels and they're all equally as good as the Rold Gold brand. Save some cash & get generic!

One last picture of my little mini me catching up on the gossip magazines in the checkout lane =)

Wonderful Weigh In Wednesday!

That title has got to mean this weeks weigh in is better than lasts weeks... Right?

Yeeeeep!

I've lost a total of 15 pounds now! That means I'm down 4 pounds since last weeks weigh in. =)

All the hard work is starting to pay off and I love seeing the number on the scales go down!!

That Feeling!

You know that feeling you get when your body is cooling down and beginning to relax after a good workout? I'm feeling that right this moment and just had to blog about it.

It's probably been well over a year since I've had THIS feeling and I had forgotten how empowering it feels. I just finished walking 2 miles. Maybe that's nothing extreme but for this big body, its an accomplishment, let me tell ya!

 I'm in love =)

I spent the evening having dinner after work with my girlfriends... listening to them talk about going to Zumba later. I just don't think I'm ready to be in public in my stretchy pants and over sized t-shirt so I refused to go but their conversation motivated me, none the less!

 Pretty sure that (womp, womp) negativity is gone too!

Now I've promised a certain 6 year old that we can spend the next hour coloring... and then I think I just might walk one more mile!

Yaaaaahoooooo.

The Story of Us.

I haven't mentioned my husband on here very much but I thought maybe it's about time I did! He is such a big part of my life, and pretty much ALWAYS has been for as long as I can remember.

We started dating waaaaay back in 2001. Whoa!

We fell in love really fast. He was my first boyfriend ever and I was his first serious girlfriend. I was in 8th grade at the time and he was a Junior in high school. What was my mother thinking?! haha 

Anyways, we were in love and had our entire lives planned together. Chad was going to go to college and pursue whatever career he had in mind in that moment (I can't even remember lol) and I was going to finish high school and then we would get married just after I graduated.

We went to prom together...

A few proms actually... =)

We both grew up A LOT during the first 3 years we dated but when Chad started college and I was a Junior in high school, we both realized we both had much more growing up to do. 

We needed to mature separately... so that's what we did. We dated other people and found out who we both were as individuals during that year and a half - and I'm so glad we did. We didn't even stay in contact at all during the time we weren't together and I definitely never thought we would cross paths again.

Fast forward to February of 2006. I had just gotten out of a relationship and Chad had just gotten into a new relationship. What timing we had! BUT you can't stop fate (lol how corny!).

We had been apart for so long and we had both completely changed since we had seen each other last. Sparks flew, angels sang, and blah blah blah. 

We were Taryn & Chad again!

I was getting ready to graduate high school at the time so we had one last prom to attend =)

Long story short, we fell in love all over again in the following months... I found out I was pregnant, graduated high school and started planning our wedding.

In most cases, this wouldn't be an ideal situation but we had a long history together. We both believe that everything happens for a reason. 

 We went to the Bahamas in June, right before our wedding in July.

We obviously like to do things backwards so this was our pre-honeymoon!

So young & cute ;)

We heard our baby's heartbeat for the first time that July...

He's such a slouch and always makes me look like even more of a giant than I already am. Ugh.

On July 1, 2006 we got married. It was such a happy (&hot) day!

How could I leave this picture out??

We dressed up for Halloween the year I was pregnant. He was Flav A Flav... and I was obviously a Nun. Pregnant gals just don't have a lot of options =)

This is us a few years back on a weekend getaway in Tennessee. Looking at this picture makes me smile because I remember how happy we were just spending time together. I also smile because I can't wait for my face to be this skinny again =))))

Sweaty & cute, right?! We were grilling out and it was mid-summer so it was HAWT!

I love this fella so much.

We've had such a bumpy ride getting to where we are today but I wouldn't change a single thing... and I know that he wouldn't either. Everything we have faced, we've done so together - through thick (literally) and thin (hopefully, in the near future! haha). The things we have gone through at such young ages have made us who we are now and I'm so proud of how far we've come.

Womp, womp.

Has anyone else noticed that I'm in a little slump right now?! Well, I am.

The motivation is still there but the drive to get off my butt and exercise... ehh, not so much. I'm still eating good and that makes me feel better but I KNOW I won't see the results I want unless I put in the work!

Did I mention that someone asked me if I were pregnant this weekend? It's true. Her exact words "Oh! Is there a little one in there?" 

Nope.

It really does help to get these constant texts from Ashley though... 

This girl is on fire (just like the Alicia Keys song ;))

So today is Monday & a fresh start! Hope everyone has a great week =)