Our GIFT to YOU!

As a natural born "giver," I absolutely love this time of year and find myself thinking up the "perfect" gift for ANYONE and EVERYONE.  I pride myself in being a "thoughtful" giver, coming up with unique gifts for each individual on our list (and usually add too many people to the list!)

I became a Beachbody coach in an effort to give back and pay-forward the gift of health Matt and I received from our BB coaches starting in June, and I've had privilege of helping several family and friends reach goals they've been working at for months, even years, and some goals they didn't even think were possible. Their lives are changing and many of them are changing the lives of their families. And I want this list to grow, Grow, GROW!

So this Christmas...starting TODAY, I'm giving you MY TIME and THE GIFT OF HEALTH through Monday, January 5th!

I'm going to open up a challenge group to anyone and everyone who is wanting to get a jump start on some New Year's resolutions, or finish the year out strong to hit the goals you set for yourself 11-12 months ago at the start of this year.

This challenge group is OPEN TO EVERYONE; no matter your age, fitness level, fitness preference, nutrition habits. It'll be a positive outlet for you to get daily support and have a place to post with others just like you. The rate of success is greater when you are surrounded with others who are taking this journey too!

WAIT, THERE'S MORE....the sooner you join the better, because there will be drawings based on daily participation!!!

GRAND PRIZE DRAWING
(to take place Wednesday, January 7, 2015)

• 1 entry for each challenge you complete
• 1 entry if you record a loss
• 1 additional entry if you lose 1% or more of your body weight on weigh in day

WEEKLY DRAWINGS
(to take place every Monday morning starting December 15 through January 5)

• 1 entry for each challenge you complete

There will be no purchase of Beachbody products necessary, but as my sister shared this morning in her support group,

"You are going to love the convenience of having an at-home workout! I think you will also really like the way the program is designed. There is something about Beachbody programs that really sets them apart from other workout dvd's."

(This coming from a gal who successfully lost 60 lbs of baby weight "on her own" prior to starting Beachbody and Shakeology. And lost 11lbs in her first challenge group!! I can't say enough how proud of her I am!!)

I didn't become a coach to "sell products." I became a coach because I truly, honestly, with all my being, believe in the power and effectiveness of these products and programs want to help change lives!  I highly recommend them if you're ready to invest in your health and see and feel some amazing results!

COMMENT HERE, MESSAGE ME ON FACEBOOK, OR TEXT/CALL ME
IF YOU WANT TO BE ADDED TO THIS EXCLUSIVE GROUP!

Food On My Mind

I’ve been blessed with relatively decent health the first quarter century of my life, I came out a little “crooked,” but a couple surgeries and loving parents who kept me anyway got me through those little setbacks [for the most part]. I had a normal childhood filled with self-directed adventure as a country girl, a sister to blame everything on, sports to allow me to showcase my natural athleticism (my natural ability is about all the further I took my sports career), 4-H, horseshoe, roller skating at the Youth Center, late nights watching TV, a couple mission trips, sleepovers with friends, so on and so forth.

A sport every season, a youthful metabolism, and good genes held off any need to focus on my diet until college when I was given my first attempt at that whole surviving by myself thing. And I was so excited to not have to worry about what crazy food mom was going to make me try; I could finally eat “real food” for every meal (fast food, fried deli take-out, pizza).

A brief story about the quotes around real food: Back in the day on a family vacation, we stopped at a whole bunch of funky little diners and mom-n-pop restaurants to eat on our way out to Montana, none of which had chicken tenders, or at least not the ones that tasted exactly like the ones they served at Burger King, which pretty much left me zero options! If you’ve ever traveled from Minnesota to Montana off the beaten path (heck, even on the beaten path), you know there’s a decent stretch of highly unpopulated territory. We finally made it to a town of decent size, and as we were pulling up to a Burger King for our next meal, in a giant sigh of relief, I exclaimed, “FINALLY, REAL food!”

That story, and mindset of food, stuck with me for years to follow.

With that being said, I clearly didn’t have a great grasp on what constituted good nutrition, or even decent nutrition for that matter. The stereotype that “if it doesn’t taste good, it’s probably healthy” held true in my mind.

I spent the first part of my 20’s convinced daily/regular exercise was all I needed, and how much of it and the intensity level just depended on how much I wanted to eat. This did usually produce some results…it sure required a lot of work though. BUT it didn’t require me to give up the foods I had learned to love, so all that work was totally worth it.

I gradually opened up to the idea of making healthier food choices. I started counting calories. I bought fruits, vegetables, and other healthy choices, not really knowing how to incorporate them into my ten or less monthly meals that I prepared at home, most of which didn’t include much more than throwing a frozen disc of sauce, cheese and meat into the oven for a few minutes. The life-cycle of fresh produce in our home… grocery sack —> refrigerator —> trash can. Trust me when I say, “It wasn’t pretty,” when it came to my/our nutrition.

I love food. I hate change. I get impatient with “the process” of learning new things.

But thankfully God is still in the business of miracles, which is the only way I can explain how I made the decision to pretty much go “cold turkey” by emptying our pantry and join a Facebook “acquaintance” and her group to learn about clean eating.

As one of the challengers just posted today in our most recent group:

“Clean eating is a deceptively simple concept. Rather than revolving around the idea of
ingesting more or less of specific things (for instance, fewer calories or more protein), the idea is more about being mindful of the food’s pathway between its origin and your plate. At its simplest, clean eating is about eating whole food, or “real” foods – those that are un- or minimally – processed, refined, and handled, making them as close to their natural form as possible. Don’t eat anything your great-great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as a food.”

As I read that with what I know now, I am thinking back to how it would’ve sounded to me six months ago. There are just so many things that are nearly impossible to explain without experiencing it (kind of like telling a toddler not to touch something that is hot, or sharing with an expectant mother what they’ll experience during childbirth).

• You’ll find new “staple” meals.
• You’ll get familiar with the perimeter of the grocery store.
• What begins as a challenge to avoid caving in to “convenience” food, you might actually find to enjoy the “challenge” of finding clean, healthy, nourishing options on-the-go.
• You’ll understand the importance of a good cooler.
• Your tastebuds will change.
• You’ll discover it’s still possible to eat too much even if it’s clean.

It’s been 6 months of learning, which I’ve actually found kind of fun (more so because of the results from the learning). It’s required change. And best of all, I STILL love food (that actually ends up not panning out all that well!)  =)

I understand how intimidating and daunting of a task making a change in nutrition can be. I understand the feeling of not knowing… not knowing where to start, not knowing what to buy, not knowing what to cook/eat.

So while you may get tired of seeing my fitness and health posts - someone out there may benefit from it the way I did. Seeing it may inspire someone to change their life as well. I watched my coach for over half a year prior to changing my life. I am grateful every day for taking that leap and for everyone who has taken it with me!

A "public" apology

I can't even focus on anything else right now, I need to get this off my heart, my mind and my chest.

I need to apologize to some of you–no–all of you.

When I signed up to be a Beachbody coach, my "why" was to keep Matt and I motivated. And then the more I looked into the opportunity and started looking at the potential of building a business, I got really excited about "helping others." And I put that in quotes because with a day full of clarity, what I was doing was anything BUT helping others.

I want to help you, but truth of it is, I got the cart before the horse. I got wrapped up in building a business of helping others, rather than building a business BY helping others!

Sure I've had some early success as a coach because I've had the right tools to help people help themselves.

But the ugly truth – I don't even want to type this – is that if you weren't going to help me move my business forward, I wasn't going to help you. (Typing that literally makes me tear up, makes me sick to my stomach!! I want to delete it...I did actually delete it once...I cannot believe I'm having to admit that! Worse yet, is knowing some of you realized this before I did!)

IT'S TIME TO CHANGE THIS!!

I have set up a group on Facebook that is going to be open to ANYONE. It'll be a place for us to motivate, encourage, and share tips with each other whenever we feel led. I PROMISE I will be there to help you, NO PURCHASE NECESSARY, NO STRINGS ATTACHED!!!

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY...to those of you who have already reached out to me wanting help, please forgive me and give me another shot at this. You were ready, but I wasn't....I am now!! Let's do this together!!

In love and health,
Kayla

Going Forward

I can't thank you guys enough for the comments you've left on my previous post! I realize I don't blog much, but I was excited to see the post [Transformation Tuesday: 2 Months] is now my second, and only a few views shy of being my #1, most viewed post. :)

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IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THAT POST, YOU SHOULD BEFORE CONTINUING!

Click here to read

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"Keep tabs on here and my Facebook page for updates on how I plan to continue this new lifestyle!"

Heck yeah! I'm going to make it possible for you to join me and help keep me accountable (just like Leanne made it possible for me!) starting NEXT MONTH already!

I am committing to this new lifestyle. I've started my second challenge group (as a challenger) just this week, and I am still connected with all of the great ladies who were in my first challenge group via a "graduates" group on Facebook. I know in my last post I put below my photo: [Nutrition+Exercise=Results]. But the real equation that has made the difference for me (and thousands of other Beachbody members) is:

Fitness Program + Nutrition Plan + Accountability = SUCCESS

I'm not sure if you guys can really fully understand my excitement for this via this blog, or Facebook, or maybe even in person, because my introverted tendencies keep me kind of "reserved" in social settings. But I have become SUPER passionate about not only mine and my immediate family's health, but just helping ANYONE needing that extra nudge, or little encouragement, or maybe it's a big push into a healthier and happier lifestyle, however I can do that!

So if that's you, let's talk!

Kayla Kvacik, Independent Team Beachbody Coach
(Don't let the coach part fool you, I'm still just the same Kayla you've always known, just maybe with a little more passion to help you succeed with my new found confidence gained from my Beachbody journey!)

Transformation Tuesday: 2 Months

When I started this blog, I was pregnant.

If you've read the About Me page on my blog, you know one of the subjects this blog covers is:
"• Health & Fitness (if that exists post-pregnancy)."

If you continued reading my blogs you read things like...

"I've been excited about getting back in to shape again since about the second month of pregnancy. We've been going on several family walks, which have been great, and it feels great to be out moving around. I really enjoy taking Hayden with and being able to watch him as I walk. It sure makes the time seem to go by much quicker.
So the other night while I was over at the track, my legs, my brain and my heart said, "let's try running." Yeah......my boobs said, "there's no bra that will support these milk jugs, try again in six months." Kind of a sad moment, and I'd like to think I won't have to wait six months, but I'm afraid the boobs don't lie. Wish me luck, I guess; and until then, we'll keep walking." -From The First Month

"3) Easy calories. Let's be serious, producing milk is an "easy" workout (20-30 calories per ounce of milk, you can do the math). My plan is to get back to doing my at-home DVD workouts once I quit pumping. I'm going to have to do some kind of workout and start watching what I eat again. BOOO!!! -From To Wean or Not to Wean

You can read Spring Splendor, Booby Blunders for a long list of thoughts on running, momemtum, clothes shopping, and more. It most certainly needs(ed) it's own post!

So back on April 18, 2014, was when I first "declared" I was going to get back in to shape.

Now when I said it then, I was referring to the state of health I was in and familiar with prior to getting pregnant. Which, wasn't too bad, I could do some form of fairly vigorous exercise if I wanted to, could go out and play a game of softball without too much worry of how my body would respond the next day, and never felt terribly overweight, bigger than I was in high school, and bigger than I would've liked to be, but that was just the "cycle of life" setting in (so I told myself).

Before I continue, I want to jump back a few years: Two summers ago (June 2012), Matt and I spent our 5-year wedding anniversary in Colorado Springs, CO. While we were out there, we hired a photographer to take our pictures to capture the milestone and memories of our trip. This is how Leanne (the photographer) enters my life story.

Not quite a month after my final pump, I reached out to Leanne again on May 21, 2014.

But not for her photography skills this time. I had been watching her, and her husband's, transformations via Facebook. They were absolutely amazing! And the best part...they were inviting all of their friends to join them so they could help them get similar results. After 6-7 months of following their journey, the timing was right, and my mindset was right, to commit to their next Challenge group (you can read a little more about that in my post, Friday the 13th. Pah!)

Wowzers, right?!?! Who doesn't want results like that?
I mean, that might be a little more than I'm capable of, but why not try!
GREAT JOB, LEANNE!
Thanks for being a huge part of my motivation!

"We base our groups 70% on nutrition & 30% on exercise."

Okay, maybe I don't want to join your group...

But I knew I wanted to be a part of this challenge group, and I knew the group really had the possibility to get me where I wanted to be based off of Leanne's results, so if nutrition was what it was going to take, I was going to do it.

And I’ve always known my poor nutrition has been holding me back from getting the results I wanted, and even worked hard for with little to no gain, making me discouraged and ultimately causing me to give up or tell myself my goals were unrealistic. Sure, I would count calories and watch what I was eating when I decided it was time to "get fit," but I had never made the commitment to actually make a permanent lifestyle change. Nor did I take the time to really understand proper nutrition. Yes, weight loss occurs when you take in less calories than you burn, but where you get the calories from...that's what I have been missing, and that's what Leanne (and Corey, and the accountability group) are teaching me.

 

This has completely transformed my life – and my body.

[Nutrition+Exercise=Results]

In just the past two months, I've gotten better results than I ever actually imagined in my head were possible. I am literally in the best overall shape I've ever been my entire life, and I've just gotten started.

Keep tabs on here and my Facebook page for updates on how I plan to continue this new lifestyle! Because believe me, the rewards of feeling healthy and strong are worth the effort and changes!

Thanks for stopping by!

Friday the 13th. Pah!

Just wanted to drop a quick note about my new journey. Last Monday I started a Team Beachbody Challenge. I stuck to eating healthy 100% all week, and continued my morning runs, as well as adding in Beachbody's TurboFire workout. Today was "reward" day:

Today was weigh in day for my challenge group. You get 2 points if you lose 1% or more of your body weight, 1 point for any loss under 1%, or no points if you don't lose.

I've told myself not to weigh except for on weigh in day. If I really focus on eating healthy and getting my workouts in, and give it all I have, then it doesn't matter what the scale says. It made my day this morning when I stepped on the scale and was down..............7.2 lbs!!!.............since last Friday.

To join the challenge group, I had to buy a "Challenge Pack" which included a workout and Shakeology. I am loving my Shakeology (which from the little I know, is quite similar to Advocare's Spark)...it would take you like 3 days to eat the amount of vegetables that are in it, right?!?!?! It's a protein drink that actually tastes good (you gotta find the right recipe/blend) and I've had plenty of energy all week, so I'm all for it. :)

Wednesday's Challenge was to do a 10 second wall sit after every bathroom break. It was a reminder to be drinking our water, and building our leg muscles! To get the point for the day we had to take a picture of ourselves doing a wall sit.

And last but not least, I've ran (and a few walks in the beginning)....50 TIMES....since March 18. Whoop Whoop! Wasn't it sweet of MapMyFitness to email me a congrats on this accomplishment?!?!

Any and all encouragement and motivation during my challenge (and beyond) is much appreciated! The challenge runs from June 9 to July 9.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sleep Training

Bragging has bit me in the a** again! My son who started out as a great sleeper, putting himself to bed, now screams for HOURS when put in his crib. There are certain actions that can be taken to be nearly sure bets for getting him to calm down and fall asleep, but they're all on his terms, and in my mind there are certain things that Matt and I get to be in charge of, and sleeping is one of them. And as I said, he WAS a very good sleeper, so I know he's capable of it!

(This is our story, and I am in no way trying to step on any toes or place judgement on how other households handle similar situations. This is something I didn't learn until I was actually a parent. Once I hit parenthood, I understood you do whatever you have to do to make it through the day with your ever-changing baby/child.)

So it was time to take back control, but how?

Upon searching the internet for answers, I ran across a page which suggested The Sleep Sense Program. I went to their website, read through the sales pitch, and thought it sounded legit enough to try. In just two minutes and a minor bank withdrawal, I was all signed up for transforming my sons sleep schedule, hopefully for the long haul.

How we got to this point (IMO): Willing to do anything to get Squeak to sleep without worrying about long-term effects.
 
1. When he wasn't feeling good, I cuddled the crap out of him. What mom wouldn't?!?! And what parent doesn't like watching their baby drift off in to dreamland while lying peacefully in their arms. I just fear it won't be quite as cute after doing so everyday for the next 4 years.

2. I wasn't ready to get up when he woke up, so I would bring him to our bed and let him crawl around until he was ready to take another nap, and then enjoy the snuggle time! Again, nothing like a snuggle bug in bed with ya, but over time he decided that's what he preferred, and each night it seemed to get earlier and earlier that he wound up in our bed.

"Short-term work for a lifetime of great sleeping skills"

"Two weeks of work to get 10 years of great sleep for a child is really just a blink of an eye"

Now, if I would have finished this on Day 2 of Sleep Training when I started it, I would say, "easier said than done lady" about the above quotes from Dana Obleman, founder of The Sleep Sense Program.

90% of babies have a harder time with naps than they do through the night

This is certainly a relief to know, since naps was/is by far our biggest struggle.

It has been a lot of work and has taken a LOT of patience (and volume on the TV) and we're still not done, but now that we're on Day 10 of the program I'm starting to feel pretty confident about Squeak's ability to put himself to sleep, and our schedule. It's actually been a bit of a "sleep training" for both of us, as the program suggests a bedtime between 6:30-7:30pm, as she suggested that most babies/children are going to wake up at the same time every morning regardless of what time they go to bed. We had been consistently putting Squeak to bed at 8:00pm (up until he started to refuse to go to bed and I felt like I was doing him a disservice allowing him to cry in his crib). I decided we would try a 7pm bedtime instead, which got me pretty excited about more "alone" time in the evening, but quickly realized it didn't gain us much, as Squeak didn't necessarily follow the rule, and just started waking up an hour earlier. However, this has been an alright schedule to get used to so I can get a run in before it gets too hot/windy. It's been quite the adjustment going from a 9am-Midnight routine to a 6:30am-10pm routine. I feel Squeak and I are both making pretty good progress though.

And as far as my running is going...I'm really beginning to love it! I always wondered what would possess people to run "for fun." Now I'm one of those people. And I'm honestly not sure I could tell you what "possesses" me to do it.

I'm not sure I'm trying to accomplish any kind of dream, but everyday when I'm out running and thinking of all the other things I could be doing, I realize the run is probably more productive than the alternative (Facebook or some other kind of time suck).

 

 

Dear Sports Bra, thank you for all your support, but your recent poking
is taking the "support" a little too far. Love, Kayla.P.S. I will see what I can do as far as a little surgery for you so we can meet again.
P.S.S. As you can see below, your replacement isn't doing too great either.

 

Between crawling and walking along furniture, he's getting around pretty good these days.

Might as well get all four top ones out of the way at once. (Yes, he's hanging upside down, it was the only way to get him to open his mouth enough for a picture.) Lol.

 Thanks for stopping by and checking in on us!
We appreciate all the love and support we get from family & friends!

Spring Splendor, Booby Blunders

This spring has been amazing with the exception of the handful of 90 degree days we've had. I've really enjoyed getting outside and probably more so, getting Squeak outside. That kid is ALL boy and LOVES being outside!

I have been doing a great job of using Squeak wanting to be outside to motivate me to run, or walk on the days I feel lazy but know I need to get the Squeak Monster outside. And by the way, since I assume you found your way to this blog post via the link on Facebook, thanks for not blocking or deleting me due to all my annoying MapMyRun posts. And an even bigger thanks to all who have "liked" any or all of my posts because believe it or not it's encouraging. We went up to Minnesota for half of last week and the weekend and I didn't get any workouts in which made me worried my workout success was going to be short-lived, but I've grudgingly jumped back on the workout wagon this week now that we're back home. I don't know about all of you, but I HAVE to push myself to do something nearly every day until I get some momentum, which for me, is probably a good month of daily (or at least 5 days weekly) exercise of some kind. The hubby has been very good about encouraging me this week, and I know if it wasn't for him, this week would have been bad bad bad (it hasn't been stellar by any means the way it is).

 I enjoy running. I enjoy the feeling after a good run (not always during). I enjoy seeing how my clothes start to fit better. I enjoy seeing some muscle tone (which I lost a lot of during pregnancy, so it's been really nice seeing it reappear). What I don't enjoy.....

[Men (I don't think there's any that actually read my blog out there, but): You might want to skip this paragraph]

My boobs. They have a momentum all of their own. And trying to match my stride with their momentum isn't always easy. I am soooo envious of girls/women who can buy cute workout clothes. You know, the matching sports bras, tanks, and shorts or running pants. The clothes you can go to a store and buy. And for the record, I hate bra shopping and I hate shopping for clothes online, so having to find a bra online usually results in a couple hundred dollars worth of bras being purchased, and all but MAYBE one or two bras that fall into the category they're-not-perfect-but-I-need-something-so-I'll keep-them, and the rest get returned. I probably haven't owned a bra that fit well/right since the eighth grade. Large cups paired with average sized shoulders/chest equals no such bra designed. I know I know, the female who is happy with all aspects of her body doesn't exist, and I've probably made it plenty clear to all of blogland (and pretty much anyone I've ever talked to more than a handful of times) my least favorite anatomical feature. So much so, I've actually thought I maybe should've named my blog "Booby Blunders" or "The Troubles with Boobs".

[Men rejoin here, and please take note]
So naturally when I run I am super self-conscience of my boobs' "momentum." The first day I ran, I ran on a gravel road just a block from our house that went out of town. Why? Minimal traffic. I hate the thought of people seeing me run, especially males. I am well aware of male eyes wondering, I didn't just grow these things yesterday! This is going to sound ridiculous to some based on the topic of discussion, but I once read or heard, can't remember for sure which, something along the lines of, "Don't be the reason for the fall of another woman's husband." I'll admit to being naive about a lot of things, but I'm not naive enough to think that a little jog is going to make another man leave his wife. I'd like to think you can understand the connection here, though. With that said, I have started running through town, and for the first few runs I was still pretty apprehensive. However, I keep telling myself I can't let my worries keep me from being healthy. I feel I support myself and cover myself the best I can the majority of the time, and the lookers are going to look regardless. But at least I've done what I can to control the situation. Besides, I also realize that runners in general draw people's attention for a number of different reasons. The more I write, the more I feel like I make a bigger deal out of it than it really is. Just because they're slapping me in the face with every stride doesn't mean that's what's on everyone else's mind. People probably don't even notice me on my way by. Ego deflated.

One last brief note while we're on the topic....I haven't pumped since Sunday. Wah-whooooo!!!  I do miss it a little.

Thanks for checking in!

To Wean or Not to Wean

For the past 7+ months I've been dreaming of the day I could quit pumping. I started with the goal of making it 6 months, hoping I would be able to produce enough to establish a good freezer stash that could get us close to the year mark. I have been blessed with an oversupply and for the first 5-6 months my daily output was twice what Squeak was eating, and the freezer quickly started filling up. So much so, we had to go out and buy a chest freezer. So now hundreds of freezer bags later, is it enough to justify starting the weaning process?

Blessed to have enough to freeze at the end of each day!!

Despite reading from several sources that it takes 12 weeks to "establish" a supply and you should pump 8-10 times a day until the 12 week mark, I dropped to 4 pumps per day (ppd) probably around four weeks, as I noticed it seemed at the end of the day, my output was the same whether I pumped eight times or four times. I think it's also worth mentioning that I was never too worried about my supply (a pumping mom who NEVER worries even a little about her supply simply doesn't exist). I didn't/don't have anything against formula and if for whatever reason my supply tanked, there was always formula. And trust me, there have been several times I wished something WOULD happen to my supply so I could get out of having to pump. Also being able to provide [more than enough] food for my son finally made carrying these things around on my chest for 28+ years worth it!! But I digress. My average daily output was about 50 ounces, which I maintained pretty much through the six month goal. Between some hectic days around this time and feeling a little lax since I had made my goal, I dropped to 3ppd and was still producing 40-45 ounces per day. Just in the past few weeks I've dropped to 2ppd producing about 30 ounces a day, which is just about exactly what Squeak eats daily (28 ounces).

So I've been more seriously toying with the idea of weaning now in the past week or so. They (the mom's in an "exclusively expressing/pumping" group I'm part of on Facebook) always tell mom's who share with the group that they are struggling, "don't quit on a bad day," but it's so much easier to quit when it's not going well, when it feels like you're constantly having to schedule a day around the pump, when the sound of the pump is on your very last nerve, when all you want to do is go to bed but you need to pump...you get the point. I'm finding it much harder to make the decision to quit and set a date to be done. I think there's several reasons for this:

1) Feeling selfish. There are several mom's who choose to pump and desperately want to provide what is "best" for their child, but for whatever reason they can't. I know everyone has to do what works for them and for their life/circumstances, so if I feel like now is the time to be done and to ride it out to the year mark on our freezer stash, then I shouldn't feel guilty. But what makes me feel guilty/selfish is that there really isn't anything that has changed in my life to make me unable to continue to pump, I just simply want to be done.

2) Fear. Fear of the freezer stash not being as much as I think it is and running out (I should really count it). Fear of Squeak refusing the frozen milk. I've thawed about two months of the frozen and given it to him, but it's always been mixed with fresh. Fear of improperly going about the weaning process and ending up in pain (mastitis). Maybe even a bit of fear of change, a change in a routine that has worked and I've become comfortable with for the past 6 months.

3) Easy calories. Let's be serious, producing milk is an "easy" workout (20-30 calories per ounce of milk, you can do the math). My plan is to get back to doing my at-home DVD workouts once I quit pumping. I'm going to have to do some kind of workout and start watching what I eat again. BOOO!!!

With all that said, my proposed date to quit is SUNDAY, Squeak's 8 month birthday. I was good with this decision until about Wednesday. Goodness, I never ever would have imagined in a million years how hard this decision would be!!!

Squeak enjoying him some "boob juice"

More Than a Thought

I had a friend ask me the other day if I still blog, to which I replied, "Does 'thinking' about blogging count?" I guess since you all aren't mind readers, me just thinking about blogging isn't going to be very informational or entertaining.

I'm not going to be able to catch you up on all my "thoughts" in the past 4+ months, but I'll try to highlight some of them.

• Christmas in Kansas - It was our year to host, which is something we LOVE to do. Having a full, loud house is what the holidays are all about! Trenton spent several days with us, playing games and keeping Al (my dad) on his toes.

•  Helping the In-Laws Move - This actually covers the majority of the time span since my last post. They lived across the street from an elementary school, and the school decided they needed more parking and bought the three houses across the street, one of them belonging to my in-laws. Although caught off guard by the news at first, they were able to find a place in the country allowing for some down-sizing in living space and acquiring some land. It's a neat place, but it needed some updating. Between helping with the quick "flip" and moving 33+ years worth of belongings, Christmas to March was pretty much LOST in the shuffle. Hayden got his first taste of daycare and his first overnight stay during this adventure. Let's just say we have some GREAT friends. Thank you to all of our friends and family who played any role in helping take care of Hayden during this time frame! And possibly the sweetest, most memorable thing to come out of the situation was a note in my Valentine's Day card from the hubby saying his favorite thing to do is "anything beside me." I love that guy so much!!!

• Race Season 2014 - We kicked off race season March 14-15 in Beatrice, NE. The second night of racing got snowed out. I just can't understand why we have to gamble with mother nature with such early attempts at starting the season. Nebraska is just far enough north (and racecar drivers/fans are just impatient enough) that it draws several cars from Iowa, Minnesota, and the Dakotas, and it's always easy to pick out who's from where when it gets chilly and the coats come out...turns out snowmobile jackets are fairly endemic. We were home for three days before heading out to Hays for the Sunflower Classic the following Friday-Saturday, and the Spring Fling in WaKeeney on Sunday. The motorhome was our home there for about a week, and honestly, it went really well. I am so glad we have it so we can take Squeak with us on our adventures! Both of these weekends were part of the IMCA Stock Car series that Matt promotes.

• Squeak Highlights - He's getting more and more mobile each day. He's trying so hard to crawl, but just not quite there yet. He's starting to figure out that he can continually roll and cover quite a bit of space. And just in the last week he's experimented with going from a sitting position to a "crawling" position, which currently just results in an awkward, uncoordinated transition to tummy time. He's standing beside furniture and toys now too, but I wouldn't trust him to do so without close supervision, he's pretty wobbly. I know all of this is leading to independent mobility, which is going to take mothering to a whole different level...oh boy! Just a week or so before turning 6 months old we introduced some solids << if you've seen baby food, you know that word needs to be used lightly. He LOVES him some spoon-fed meals and it's made a lot of grandparents happy to see him putting on some weight finally. He was in the two percentile (yes, two) for both height and weight at our 6 month apppointment. A week and a half ago he had his first tooth pop through his gums (bottom left), with the bottom right popping through about a week later. I'm not sure if his first ear infection a few days before the tooth coming in was related, or just coincident. Either way, neither ear infections or teething would be on the top of my list of motherhood favorites. He's quite the trooper even through all the growing pains. I love that kid so much!!!

There's some other [mostly boring] junk that has happened in the past four months, but I'll spare you the details.

Sorry for the long wait between posts, but as always, thanks for checking in on us! :)