Dieting and Doing OK!

I have been on the sugar free, starch free diet for over a month now and I have almost hit my first goal! I have not seen the number that is on the scale in a VERY long time and it feels fantastic! I really feel like I have a handle on this way of eating and it has not been as difficult as I thought it would be. I may actually be making a lifestyle change! That is something new and different for me!

I have not started an exercise program yet which is a little disappointing, but I am trying to stay active with my kids through the entire day I am with them and when I am at work I have been getting up from desk and walking around as much as I can. It isn't much, but like changing my eating I need to do this in baby steps. I am trying so hard to not put too much pressure on myself. I really think that has been my big mistake in the past.

The recipe I want to share this week is a SUPER simple one, but it is so freakin' delicious! In fact, I have made it 3 times in the past 2 weeks. The name is Cheesy Buffalo Chicken. The recipe can be found at:
http://www.peanutbutterandpeppers.com/2014/03/18/grilled-cheesy-buffalo-chicken/
The recipe recommends grilling it, but I made mine in the oven. I served it with a side salad and mixing it all together was so good! My husband is a big fan of this dinner too, which is always a big plus!

On a separate note--I can't believe my baby girl is going to be 1 in just a couple weeks! Where did the time go! I can't remember what life was like before her (not that I would want to!), but I still can't believe it has been a year since Izzy entered our lives! It has not been easy having 2 little ones only 16 months apart, but everyday I am more and more glad it happened the way it did.  I am sure I will be eating my words when they hit the teenage years, but for right now seeing them grow and learn from each other is pretty fantastic!  Can you tell today was a good day? If my kids were cranky today this would be a completely different paragraph :)

Two Amazing Things

Two amazing things happened today! Now to the naked, untrained eye they may not seem terribly amazing, but trust me, for this household they are pretty damn fantastic.

First, my husband and my bedroom is CLEAN!!! Yup, vacuumed and dusted. It has been a long, long, long time since I have thoroughly cleaned our bedroom. It was so bad that I actually had to vacuum the walls--that's right the walls! There was so much dog fur from my 2 four legged babies that I could have made a couple new dogs!

Since I had kids my priorities on cleanliness have changed. My top priority is to keep the main room that we play in and the kitchen clean. Other than those two--it gets done when it is so bad I can't stand it anymore! Luckily the girls pretty much just sleep in their rooms and the dogs rarely go it them so other than changing a crib sheet, they can go for awhile without a good cleaning (thank goodness!!). Our room on the other hand has two dogs sleeping on the floor (or in the bed) every night---and man do they shed! My excuse is that my husband and  I are the only ones who ever really go in there so if we can handle it we are good to go! Today was the day neither of us could take it anymore. So now our room officially smells like Carpet Fresh and Lemon Pledge! It is glorious!

The second amazing thing that happened today--we spent an entire afternoon with NO TV!! I struggle quite a bit with the thought that my kids watch too much TV. I try to turn it off and play music for a stretch of time everyday, but other than that the TV is on. It isn't always a kid program, sometimes my husband watches sports or The Daily Show, and I have been known to watch Ellen in the afternoons, but it is still on. The kids are pretty active the entire day playing and don't just sit and watch it so I am able to justify it for now, but I do love the days when it is not on at all! It was such a beautiful day today we went to the park (which only lasted about 15 minutes), we went on the swings in our backyard, blew some bubbles, and then took a nice long stroll up and down our street. It was absolutely wonderful and made me so happy.

I don't know how often we are going to have days like this, but I will take them as I get them.  I am pretty sure we will continue to watch TV tomorrow and I will continue to question my parenting, but isn't that pretty much all parenting is anyway? Questioning your decisions and second guessing yourself? I know I do plenty of that. I try to remind myself that the important thing is that my kids are loved and even more importantly that they feel loved.  And I know for sure they are loved and I am pretty sure with all the hugging, kissing, and snuggling that I give them they know they are too.

I wonder...

I wonder if other women feel the way that I do.

Does every woman feel pulled in a million directions at once? Does every woman feel like they are juggling a million things and if they look away for a second things will fall?

How do women do it? How do they work, and be a mother, and a wife, and a friend, and exercise, and eat healthy? I am trying so hard to figure all this shit out! I try everyday to do the best I can in all those areas and it is exhausting. I am I pretty sure I am not even doing that well most days with any of them! Somedays my kids watch too much TV, somedays I forget to ask my husband how his day was, somedays I feel like a selfish ass with my friends, somedays I spend all day shopping online while at work, somedays I eat every single meal at a fast food restaurant, and most days I don't get off my fat ass to exercise.

I want to better myself. I need to better myself.  How will I do it you ask?

#1: Lighten up--this is both literally and figuratively. I need to lose weight, that is a given. I also need to put less pressure on myself. I can only do what I can do, no more, no less.

#2: Stop complaining--for Pete's sake I have it pretty freakin' good! I need to start appreciating all the things I have and shut the hell up about everything else. I can't really promise that I won't EVER complain again, but I can certainly do it less and I can definitely be more positive.

#3: Eat healthy most of the time--I know I am not going to be perfect with this, but I think I can commit to at least 80%. I am not going to life the rest of my live without sugar and starch. Most days I can handle it, but let's be honest when it is my kid's 1st birthday I am going to be shoving cake in my face as fast as she will be shoving it in to hers. I don't have to be perfect (see #1), but I will do what I can whenever I can.

#4: Stop with the laziness--I have a tendency to be a bit lazy. If I can put something off until later (or never) I will. Honestly, I think I would sleep my life away if I could. These are not things I am proud of, but I have to deal with them nonetheless.  I need to stop making excuses not to work out. I need to stop making excuses to run the errands I need to run. I need to stop making excuses not to clean or do laundry. There are about a million other things I could list here...

This is all I got for now. Let's see how it goes!