More Life Changes!

I think this is becoming the story of our life!

In the meantime, due to circumstances totally out of my control, I am back to being a stay-at-home mom again.  That part of me is dancing on the inside!  I was just telling Jonathan and my sister the other day that I was really looking forward to the day when I would get to stay home with just Emily, Ethan, and run the nanny agency.  I just was expecting it to start in May or June, not today!

This change, however, I am okay with.  A bit stressed about losing an income, as it is our reliable income that we use to pay the bills every month, but trusting in God to maintain and grow our irregular income from the business.  Plus, I am very excited to do some things for the business that I've not been able to due because I've not had the time.  Almost wishing it wasn't Christmas in two weeks, but it will give me time to plan and launch a new marketing campaign.

Say a prayer for us as we transition into our new roles, especially for Emily, as she will truly miss the three boys that have become her brothers over the past several months.

Waiting, waiting, waiting

I'm so ready for bed.

The day is done.

I'm tired.

A bit frustrated, though... just looked at my www.fitday.com food log for today and I'm short about 400 calories for today.  Grrr...

I could lay down right now and sleep for ages. But Ethan is not yet ready! It is too early for him to eat. Well, I guess I could feed him now, but I'd be up twice tonight and not just once.  I'd rather stay up another hour.

So in the meantime, I've finished creating the new writing blog.  I may still be tweaking the template a bit, but you can visit Just Another 15 Minutes at http://another15minutes.blogspot.com.  Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Changes Coming Soon!

In the very nearby future, I will be launching a new and adjacent blog to this site, focusing more on actually writing and trying to get away from the "140-characters-sums-up-my-life" slump I am in because of Facebook. 

My hope is that I will start blogging (and writing) more regularly again so stay tuned!

I Love Giving Birth!

No, I did not like the six hours of labor.  Or the delivery.  But I love this little guy:

I also like that when you only gain 15 pounds when pregnant and have a nine pound, eleven ounce baby, you go from this:

To this in less than two weeks:

I love how good I feel after having a baby!  It was the same way with Emily; right back up and on my feet.  It is like a total system reboot after a yucky last 4-6 weeks of the pregnancy.  :-)

New Posts

New posts are available at The Journey blog: http://jdrogers.blogspot.com/. Check them out!

A New Month, A New Eating Plan!

Some of you know (and most of you don't) that I've spent the last month weaning of a medication that I cannot take if I am going to nurse when our little guy is born. During this time, I've been researching healthy, natural ways to "make up" for what the medicine was designed for. I've found out some interesting facts, and have a new, healthier eating plan that I started today and am going use for the next couple of weeks to see if I see a difference.

In addition, I'm tracking my food intake/activities at http://www.fitday.com/, a free site I've used in the past as a food and weight journal while I've been losing weight. I wanted to use it again to make sure I'm eating enough calories, which I know I haven't been the past few weeks. Also, it is good accountability to me with my weight management during this pregnancy, which as of last Monday, I'd only gained a bit over 11 pounds, which I (and my OB!) have been very pleased with. We shall see tomorrow how much my weight has changed over the past week.

So how has my diet changed? Well, the most drastic changes are in the morning. Shortly after I get up, I drink an "activated water". Yes, stupid title, but that's what it is called, and used to get the digestive system and metabolism flowing! Basically, eight ounces of water + the juice of half a lemon + 1 teaspoon of honey + 1 ounce pure aloe vera juice. Shake it up really, really, good and drink!

After drinking my water mixture, it is exercise time, though the exercise can take place within the first 2 hours of waking. Why? Well, my body does not produce a certain hormone very well, and normal production time of that hormone is during the first 2 hours a woman is awake. If she is to exercise during that production time (which any exercise during the day boosts the hormone), it quadruples the amount of hormone produced! Cool, huh?

In the meantime, whether it is before or after exercise (I usually like after), the other big change is breakfast. I've always had it preached to me to never drink your calories, but a high recommendation I've found is to do a liquid breakfast, which a small snack a couple hours later if needed. The point of a liquid breakfast is to help ease the strain on the digestive system, which benefits the brain during hormone production.

Most people doing this will drink a smoothie of some sort, using fruit and a whey powder or peanut butter and flax meal or wheat germ for protein. As I'm pregnant, I'm not comfortable using a protein powder, even though I've found a couple all-natural whey powders, so I went the route of peanut butter/flax meal this morning. It was very good, and I wasn't hungry at until lunch time (though being the weekend, I did eat later than I normally do, so I will see how I do tomorrow). .

Want the recipe? Keep reading! .

Peanut Butter Banana Fruit Smoothie

Ingredients:

1/2 cup milk

1/2 banana

1/4 - 1/2 cup fruit of your choice

2 TBSP peanut butter

2 TBSP ground flax meal or wheat germ

1 tsp honey

2-4 ice cubes (optional for thickness. I find freezing the fruit the night before eliminates the need for ice and doesn't water it down).

Steps:

1. Put milk in the blender first to avoid it "freezing" or "sticking" while blending.

2. Add other ingredients (if using frozen fruit, let sit out 15-20 minutes prior to ensure the full blending, unless you like chunks of fruit).

3. Blend for 30 seconds! You can add more/less milk to get to the consistency you want. Some drink half for breakfast, and the other half for a later mid-morning snack; I personally did the whole thing for breakfast today. .

Nutritional information:

Calories: 403 (using 2% milk and 1/4 cup berries), Fat: 23.3 g, Carbohydrates: 40.4 g, Dietary Fiber: 8.3 g, Protein: 16 g

So for Day 1 of this change in the mornings has gone well (and eating smart the rest of the day), and I've actually had a lot of energy today! I plan on trying this for two weeks to see the results (if any). Most of the time, as to not bore you silly, I will be documenting this on our fitness blog, The Journey, at http://jdrogers.blogspot.com/.

Amazing Pumpkin Bread!

Fall is finally arriving in Georgia - praise the Lord! These 90 degree days into late September have been nuts. Don't ask me why I had to be pregnant during one of the hottest and long-lasting summers we've ever had. But anyway, I've been craving fall stuff for awhile, and I finally found a store that was stocked with canned pumpkin, and had to buy a couple of cans. Jonathan has begging for pumpkin bread, so I broke out my recipe and made it today. If you don't mind, I think I'll share:

Amazing Pumpkin Bread
(makes 2 loaves or 3 dozen muffins)

Ingredients:
3 cups bread flour
1 TBSP pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, very soft (not melted!)
3 eggs
1 15 oz can pure canned pumpkin
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease either loaf pans or muffin tins.

2. In medium bowl, mix the flour, spices, salt, baking powder, and baking soda, and set aside.

3. In large bowl, beat together softened butter and sugars. Add the eggs. Beat for two minutes with mixer until fluffy (do not under beat!).

4. Add the pumpkin to butter/sugar/egg bowl and mix by hand until well combined.

5. In three batches, add the dry ingredients and mix gently by hand until each batch is just incorporated (scrape the sides between each batch). If desired, gently stir in nuts. Batter will be thick and fluffy, not liquid. Do not over mix!

6. Fill each loaf pan with half the batter, or fill muffin tins half full. Bake loaves about an hour, muffins about 20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean and tops are golden. Cool in pan for ten minutes, then run a knife around the sides and finish cooling on wire rack.

7. Eat and enjoy!

I'm not always one to separate the dry and wet ingredients when I bake, but it does make a difference with this recipe, and keeps it from being very dense and crumbly. In addition, mixing the dry and wet together gently keeps this light and airy. It is worth it, though, and one of my guilty pleasures in the fall. My favorite way to eat it is with a light layer of cream cheese and a delicious cup of coffee (or apple cider!).

23 Week Pictures (Shh... I'm actually 27 weeks)

So I'm late with sharing pictures again - so sorry! But once again, I'll do a comparision of what I looked like with Emily at that point, and what I look like now:

With Emily, in 2008, at 23 weeks pregnant:

In 2010, with Baby Boy Rogers at 23 Weeks (yes, I wore the same shirt on purpose!):

Today, I hit 27 weeks - my due date is 3 months from today! Woohoo! Home stretch, here I come!

Gourmet Grilled Cheese

So I made a grilled cheese sandwich today for lunch that was soooo good, and way healthier than the regular white-bread-american-cheese version I am used to dipping in tomato soup. In fact, I need to share it with you it was that good! To give kudos where kudos are due, it is a variation of a sandwich I saw in a Family Circle magazine (not sure what edition).

Ingredients (For one sandwich):

2 slices whole wheat bread
2 TBSP honey mustard
2 thin slices cheddar cheese
1/4 granny smith apple, sliced thin (save the rest to munch with your sandwich!)

1. Spread the inside of each slice of bread with honey mustard
2. Layer the filling - cheese, apple, and then cheese again
3. Spray a frying pan with cooking spray and cook sandwich on each side until toasted brown and cheese is melted.
4. Enjoy!

Seriously, try it! Even my husband, who loathes grilled cheese, wanted seconds with this one!

18 Week Pregnancy Pictures

So I'm finally getting around to posting my 18 weeks pregnancy pictures from this pregnancy. However, to compare, here is the same picture from when I was expecting Emily in 2008:





What I looked like 3 weeks ago at 18 weeks with Baby #2:


No, I really haven't started showing much! Some of that is because I haven't gained any weight with the pregnancy (I lost at the beginning, and am just now back up to my pre-pregnancy weight).

Next set of pictures in 2 weeks! :-)

Finally - A Good (And Normal) Visit!

It was such a joy to finally have an OB visit that went off without a single hitch. Yeah!

So after full and partial bedrest from 15 weeks to 20 weeks (it has been a long month), I am offically back on my feet again.

No more bedrest? Check.

Can start exercising again? Check.

Get back to my normal life? Double check!

But it is not all fun and games - I do have a few limitations. Like no hard exercise: just walking, yoga, etc. No heavy lifting. Drink lots and lots of water. And rest when I am tired - that is a big one. We are praying that this past month will have been
our glitch for this pregnancy.

I only had one piece of upcoming anxiety - my sugar levels were high, again (they were at my last visit, too), but he is very pleased with my weight gain - I'm finally back up to my pre-pregnancy weight. So in two weeks I'll do a glucose fasting to check for gestational diabetes. It's 4-6 weeks early than this is usually tested, but he is seeing some early indicators. So bummer on that, but I'll let you know how it goes.

Well, I'm off to go make jello for tonight's dessert (sugar-free, of course!). Have a good day!

Potty Training Week - Day 1

It's potty-training time at the Rogers' house!

It's been awhile in coming; Emily, now 2, has been ready for this for quite awhile. However, Mommy has not! Bedrest put a kink in my potty plans for her, but I decided that this week, it needed to be done.

So last night we prepped: we talked about it a lot, ready potty books before bed, and even picked out which dress and undies she wanted to wear the following day. Needless to say, we were ready to go!

Of course, the little one had to get up at six o'clock. I don't think I hardly noticed her curled up next to me until seven, but when I got up and pulled her into the bathroom, she went! And she continued to go throughout the day, sometimes with undies on and a lot of time going commando. What is it about toddlers liking nakedness?

But how many accidents, you ask? Only 3, but one of those was a near miss - we didn't quite make it and she wet on the rug in front of the potty. I even took the risk of not putting her back in a diaper for her nap (yes, I did put a liner on her bed!), and she stayed dry for her full three hour nap. If I can keep her down to just a diaper at bedtime, I will be thrilled, and so will our checkbook. :-)

Bedrest is Boring

Well, I spoke too soon in my last post. A lot too soon!

What happened, do you ask?

Well, about ten minutes after I posted that last post, I started having some pregnancy-related bleeding. Since my OB's office was closed, my doctor sent me to the emergency room as I started having bad cramping with the bleeding. Our local hospital did an excellent job with me, but besides telling me that the baby was fine and they could find nothing obviously wrong with me via fetal monitoring and an ultrasound, I was sent home on bedrest for the weekend. However, Monday at my doctor's office proved a bit different. An internal ultrasound revealed that a section of the placenta had detached, which was causing the pain and bleeding. So on bedrest I stayed.

And have continued to stay, for the most part.

Can we say boring?

At least I've moved from complete bedrest to partial bedrest in the past week, and am slowly getting back on my feet again. If I do too much, it lands me back into bed with cramping, so I'm trying to take it easy. If you know me, I don't take to not doing much very well, especially when the house needs picked up or laundry needs done. But Jonathan has been an incredible husband! He has cleaned, cooked, done dishes, watched Emily, and so much more. I've been very blessed to have him home during this time! I am one lucky woman! :-)

One good that that has come out of all the monitoring at the doctor's is that we now know that we are having a little boy! Yeah! But the name is a secret until he is born! :-)

Time is Flying!

I remember where I was at this point two years ago. I was as big as a whale and sick as a dog while struggling with preeclampsia at the very end of my pregnancy with Emily. In fact, by now, I was just shy of being admitted into the hospital.

Is it ironic that I'm pregnant while that little bundle of joy turns two?

We aren't planning a huge party for her - just the family and a few friends in Columbia, SC. And no, we don't live there. Emily's grandmother does. We decided to do it at her house because I just can't physically deal with the stress of tons of people coming in and crashing at our house (don't ask me how I'm going to handle 15+ people for the family reunion over the 4th of July). We'll clean it, and do the cooking, and the clean-up. My biggest thing is the cake, which I'm actually very excited about making. But it's a secret for now, but hopefully there will be pictures posted afterwards!

In the meantime, my pregnancy is slowing getting better. I still have bad days, where I'm sick an exhausted, but I'm having more good days than I used to, which is a huge plus. And we're hoping that at my end of the month ultrasound, we will know if we are having a boy or a girl, but that's only if this little one decides to cooperate. We are also praying that the small concern of having placenta previa will have righted itself by this point; my OB isn't too worried about it right now, as it usually takes care of itself.

Emily, on the other hand, has a vocabulary that is growing by leaps and bounds. She is now learning her colors and shapes, but her favorite phrase right now is "I don't want to". Can we say she is are almost two? Potty-training isn't going great, as this incredibly stubborn girl will hold it for hours and hours instead of going on the potty, so we've stopped pushing it for awhile with a fear that she's going to give herself a UTI. After her birthday, though, we hope to start up again, exspecially now that we are often finding her baby doll sitting on her potty with the toilet paper.

But speaking of Emily, she's being needy, so I need to get off the computer. I'll try to post pictures of her party after next weekend.

Updates, but not here!

I don't have time for a full post on this blog today, but you can check out my update on Our Journey blog at jdrogers.blogspot.com.

Have a wonderful and blessed evening!

An Apple A Day

I have a daughter who is love with this delectable fruit. It doesn't matter what kind - red delicious, granny smith, skin on, skin off, she asks for apples almost every hour of every day (almost). In fact, her first complete sentence was said two weeks ago in her highchair in the kitchen while munching on the aforementioned fruit. What was it?

"Mama, I love apples."

:-)

Needless to say, I was a psychotic and crazy mother for NOT buying any apples while we were down at our farm in Georgia this past weekend. Not that she didn't have a wide variety of fruit - she did! Strawberries, bananas, tangerines... she had plenty to eat with her morning cereal and afternoon snacks. But did that satisfy her fruit-love? Nooooo. Of course not!

So guess what this suckered mommy did for her daughter on the way home.

While daddy was getting gas, mommy ran into the McDonalds attached to the gas station and bought a $1 bag of apple-dippers (sans caramel) for her. Her reaction? Well... I'll let you imagine it. ;-)

I'm a hero.

A Few Candid Pictures...

...that turned out to be favorites!

We did Emily's Easter pictures this weekend, and though I won't post any that will be sent to family (you have to wait until it is mailed!), I will post a few of our favorite shots. They are such pictures of Emily's personality!

Legos!

Recipe Monday

Muffin in a Minute

This is one of my favorite low-carb bread substitutes. You can alter the various spices to change the flavor. I like a sweeter one in the morning with cinnamon and vanilla, or a muffin that plays with your taste buds by using garlic and dill (great with cream cheese!). In the fall, I'll even add some pumpkin for a fun festive treat. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup ground flax meal
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 packet sugar substitute
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (or whatever spice you are trying)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon butter

Directions:
1. Stir the dry ingredients together in a mug (some people use a bowl if they want more of a bread or bun shape instead of a muffin)
2. Add the egg and butter.
3. Microwave for one minute
4. Take out, slice, add your toppings, and eat!

I use a lot of different toppings, depending on what mood I'm in - butter, cream cheese, jelly, egg & cheese (if I'm making a breakfast sandwich). Experiment and have fun! :-)

The recipe I based my MIM on is located at: http://www.atkins.com/Recipes/ShowRecipe905/Muffin-in-a-Minute-(MIM).aspx

Recipe Monday

Layered Mexican Salad

(compliments to Betty Crocker)

Jonathan and I love this salad - it's healthy and fresh and the dressing is to die for. I'm making it tomorrow for a staff meeting lunch, so I decided to share it with you!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 - 2 cups shredded lettuce
1 chopped bell pepper
2 cups black bean salsa
3/4 cup whole kernel corn
1 avocado (optional)

Dressing:
3/4 tsp grated lime peel
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, crushed
3/4 cup olive oil

Directions:
1. In medium bowl, layer lettuce, bell pepper, 1 1/4 cups of the salsa, and corn. Top with remaining salsa and garnish with sliced avocado (optional).
2. In food processor or blender, process all dressing ingredients except oil. Gradually pour in oil, processing until thick. Serve on the side with the salad.

Money, Money, Money

Some days, I am utterly sick of money. Sometimes I think that I would love to exist in a world without it! But as you know, that is not the world we live in.

If you've been following this blog since I began it, you would know that Jonathan and I are focused on becoming debt-free. When we got married, we wanted to be debt-free by our fifth wedding anniversary. With that date a year and a half ahead, I don't think we'll quite make that, but it will come.

Jonathan and I have spent this past week crunching numbers; we've been lack with our budget and spending over the holiday season and we're determined to get back on track. We are cutting in a few areas; for example, we are changing our cell carrier this week to save almost $100 a month. I look at where we were two years ago and man, we were struggling to pay off the debt. We just didn't know the best way to go about it. We wanted to, but were not sure how. A pastor introduced us to Dave Ramsey, and My Total Money Makeover changed our life and probably our marriage! There are days I get really tired of cutting back as much as we do, but I am excited about it again. This month is exactly two years since we started doing the steps Dave's way, and I was shocked to see this evening as I plugged in numbers that we've paid off $17,700 in debt over the past two years!!! Woohoo!! If we can pay off that much while being houseparents and then living on one income for a year... well, it is just a testimony of what God can accomplish. I'm rejuvenated to keep on the path... it's not easy, but we look forward to the day when we owe money to no one!

Anywho, that's my post for the day - tootleloo!

Recipe Monday

Santa Fe Black Bean Soup

I made this as a healthy warm "comfy" soup on a rainy day, and it was awesome! Even Jonathan, who doesn't like soup, gave it a thumbs up. Give it a try!


Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 scallions, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, finely choped
- 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon cayene pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- dash of salt
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 2 cans black beans, undrained
- 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1/8 cup fresh chopped cilanto

1. Heat oil in medium saucepan and saute scallions, garlic, celery, cumin, peppers, and salt until vegetables are soft.
2. Add chicken broth, beans, and tomatoes - bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Transfer 2 cups of soup to the blender; blend until smooth and add back to soup. Bring back to a boil and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
4. Add lime and cilanto.
5. Serve and enjoy!

Another Month Has Come and Gone

Okay, so I really need to get back in the habit of posting again! But yes, we are still alive and kicking! We've been struggling with not the best health since Christmas, from a four-day GI/stomach bug to Fifths Disease (Emily) to yucky colds we picked up in Colorado.

Colorado! Now there was the highlight of the last month. Jonathan and I took Emily halfway across of the country to see my family for the first time. In that, all my siblings, with spouses and kids, all overlapped for about 3 days of our week there. It was great for pictures!

In a nutshell, it was a good time and hopefully, we'll take a quick jaunt back to Colorado in May for my sister's highschool graduation. I went to my younger brother's, but missed my dad's and sister-in-law's, so I'm determined to make this one.

I'm going to make this short, but will post more about our trip later. Look for a renewal of blogging soon, including Recipe Mondays!

Another Year Has Come

I updated Jonathan and I's "Biggest Loser Journey" blog with a personal post from me, so I'm going to post on this blog as an update. Can't have you think we dropped off of the face of the earth! We did go to the South of the US into Florida for Christmas, where we all got horrible cases of a stomach bug that we aren't 100% yet, and will be heading to Colorado in about 2 weeks, but we are still live and well!

Here's my latest post:

So we are a few days into our new year - I still can't believe it is 2010. My little girl will be 2, I will have my ten-year high school reunion, and I'll have been married for four years. But I am also praying this year will be a year of healing for me - in relationships with God, my marriage, my family but in addition, a year of healing physically. For me, a lot of that is weight-related. I proactively started living a healthier lifestyle in November and in my weigh-in yesterday, found that I've now lost a total of ten pounds. I've not lost as much over the past three weeks with the kids being out of school; I've not exercised nearly as much as I like to or want.

I know I should be happy about that ten pounds - it's 1/9 of my goal to a healthy weight. However, it makes me a bit nervous and I don't feel like it's a major achievement. I can drop 10 pounds fairly easily and this time, I did it in about a month. But I've been fluxing ten over and under the 225 mark for the last year and a half. In some ways I don't feel like my weight loss journey begins until I get to 200; that is what I had gotten down to before I got pregnant with Emily. But from past experience, when I lose about 25-30 pounds, I then start feeling better about myself and get sloppy. Then the weight will creep back on plus some. I want this to be a lifestyle change for me but I am apprehensive right now and am reluctant to celebrate.

I know that probably felt like a chunk of "What?" right in the middle of this blog, but you can go back and read more at jdrogers.blogspot.com. I'll try to post more on both of them soon.