10 day pledge against processed foods!

Someone at work posted a link to the "10 day pledge" against eating processed foods. This intrigued me and I read this blog that she linked to. I have been interested in eating healthy for the past few years, but this takes it to a whole new level cutting out all the processed and 'fake' foods that are present in the typical American diet. It also places an emphasis on eating more Organic, whole foods and more fruits and vegetables. As soon as I read about the 10 day pledge I knew that I wanted to participate. Of course I had no expectation that Andy would agree to join me, considering his diet consists mostly of processed and fast food. When I told him that I was going to do this, he agreed without me even asking!! So, on Sunday we will officially start the 10 day challenge and won't be eating any processed foods, sugar, fast foods, etc. I have created a 10 day meal plan for dinners and a list of other approved lunch and snack foods. I went through our fridge and cupboards reading labels and throwing out or bagging up many items that contained high-fructose corn syrup and more than 5 ingredients (this generally means the food is highly processed).

Sunday morning I will make a trip to the grocery store to stock up our fridge and cupboards with healthier foods --fresh fruits/veggies, dried fruit, nuts, etc. I can't wait to officially start this challenge and see how much better both Andy and I feel after 10 days of not eating 'crap'. I think the hardest part will be no sugar at all (except natural sugars found in fruits), but luckily I eat generally healthy anyway, this will just force me to branch out and start cooking a lot more!

I just wanted to share our first step to a healthier lifestyle....feel free to take the 10 day pledge yourself, or just make a few changes to your eating habits to make them healthier!! I will be sure to update with the results of our 10 day challenge and how we continue to make healthier choices.

July update-4 months old already!

It's been a busy couple weeks with both Andy and I back to work full-time. We are trying to spend as much time as a family as we can, but it's been hard having opposite shifts and days off. And unfortunately we're going to be doing this until at least next March. I just bid for my new shift at work that starts in September and I will be working the same shift (10pm-8am) but my new days/nights off will be Weds/Thurs/Friday. So at least I will have Friday nights and most of Saturday off before I have to come in to work. And since Christmas Eve and Christmas are on Fri/Sat this year, I will get to spend Hudson's first Christmas with him! So I am very excited about that :)

Lets see...since the last post I had another birthday...the big 27! I feel so old..I can't believe I am already 27..how did this happen?! I got home from work that morning around 8:30, slept for about 4 hours, then got up to enjoy my day. I went and got a pedicure while Hudson was napping, then we headed to Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse where we met Sally, Alysha, Joy and Hayden for dinner. The food was delicious and I think both the boys enjoyed looking at all the decorations inside the restaurant and watching the chef cook for us. Andy and Hudson spoiled me for my birthday buying me a new point and shoot camera (so I don't always have to lug the huge one around!) and a new hair straightener.

Birthday dinner @ Tokyo


Hudson is now 4 months old! We had his 4 month appointment on July 14th (the day before) where he was weighed/measured and also given 2 shots and 1 oral vaccine. He did great and only cried for a minute after the shots. The dr. said everything looks great and gave us the OK to start rice cereal and solids. We have decided to wait a little longer to try them though..maybe when he's closer to 5 months, unless he starts showing more readiness signs soon :) Here's Hudson's 4 month stats:

Weight: 14 lbs 3.5 oz (50th %)

Height/Length: 25 1/2 inches (75th %)

Head Circumference: 17 inches (90th %)

Hudson is becoming such a fun little guy. He is a VERY happy baby, he loves 'talking' to us, giggling/laughing and smiling :) We started putting him in his jumperoo which he is getting the hang of, he still loves batting at his toys in his bouncy chair/activity mat, he loves going on walks and checking out the scenery and his new favorite toy is "Sophie the giraffe" that I just bought him. It's a wonderful teething toy that fits in his little hands perfectly!

Hudson with "Sophie"-his new favorite toy

Hudson is still working on rolling over. He did it twice when he was just over 3 months old (from tummy to back) but has yet to do it since then! Sometimes he rocks back and forth like he's going to do it, but never makes it all the way over! He has been rocking more on his back too, so maybe he will start rolling that direction soon!

We are still working on getting Hudson on a consistent nap schedule. It's been hard to do since each day is different with me working nights and Hudson being with Nancy or my mom watching him on my work days. We're hoping to break him of the habit of sleeping in his swing, which has proven difficult, as he generally doesn't nap very long in his crib. Hopefully this will change soon and we will have a good napper. Luckily his lack of good naps doesn't usually affect his mood, he stays pretty happy and content most days and has been sleeping pretty good at night, usually only waking up once, or not at all until 5 or 6 am.

Well, we don't have too much planned in the upcoming couple months except for a few weddings, but I'm sure Hudson will keep us plenty busy and we will find lots to do with the little guy! I will post pictures soon (although my computer has been having trouble uploading..so not sure when it will work!)

Back to life..back to reality...

Last weekend was our last weekend off as a family. I started off the Fourth of July by running my first 5k!! I ran the "Cityblast 2010" that started at the Puyallup Fairgrounds. As much as I never have enjoyed running, I really had a good time and can't wait to run my next race!! I paced myself pretty good and ended up finishing the race faster than I expected. My official time was: 32:31.4! So my pace was a 10:29 mile and I placed #16 in my age group (females 25-29)...not too shabby for my first race. After the race I headed home to get our house ready for the BBQ.

We had my mom and Dean, Nancy and Kenny and Joy and Hayden over for burgers, salad and lots of other goodies. We mostly just hung out and chatted. Since Hayden and Hudson had to get to bed everyone left before we watched any fireworks. Our neighborhood got pretty into fireworks this year though...it sounded like we were in a war zone! Somehow Hudson slept through it all :)

Monday we attempted to go on our first family hike. We drove up to North Bend and got Hudson all situated in the new backpack we bought for hiking. We barely made it onto the trail before Hudson started fussing. We thought maybe he was still hungry since he didn't eat much before we left the car so we tried to feed him some more of his bottle. He didn't take much and seemed content so we started off on the trail again. After a couple more stops, adjustments to the straps, his blanket, etc. we decided he wasn't going to cooperate and headed back to the car after only making it about a half mile in on the trail! I think he was uncomfortable in the backpack and wanted to sleep...so we will have to take him around the neighborhood a bit until he gets used to it...or use the front carrier for hiking next time :)
Wednesday marked my first night back to work. I spent most of the day an emotional wreck...crying off and on and trying to take naps so I could stay up all night. Once I got to work I felt a little better and it was actually not too bad getting back into the swing of things. The only rough part was trying to sleep when I got home at 8 a.m. I fell asleep just fine but after about 3 hours woke up...went back to sleep for another hour and just couldn't stay asleep. I was really missing my baby boy since I didn't get to see him when I got off in the morning. So I called Nancy and she said he was napping. I cleaned up a bit and ran to the store on my way to pick him up. I was so excited to see the little munchkin..even if he was asleep! He slept most of the afternoon but I was just happy to be able to hold him and kiss him :) I know it's going to be hard being back to work full time, but I also know how lucky I am to have such great child care for him and to get to see him as much as I will (even though it means a lack of sleep for me). I am just finishing up my 2nd night back and can't wait to hop in bed in about 3 more hours...I am exhausted after only getting 4 hours of sleep yesterday :-/!!