The Apple Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree

Last year, I dressed up as Minnie.

This year is Minnie 2.0.

Yep, that happened.

No time for a full post today.  See ya tomorrow with an exciting announcement!

 

Kicked Off My Super Woman Pedestal

Yesterday morning I was feeling like Super Woman.  Ina was down for her nap.  I had lunch and dinner ready to go in the crockpot.  

So, I thought I would risk it and make a stovetop breakfast.  Halfway through my oatmeal overflowed and Ina started crying and I came back down to my real-life mom status.  Ha!  Despite the overflow, my oatmeal was still good.  

Blueberry -banana with almond butter.

Lunch was crockpot Indian spiced lentil stew following *this recipe*  If you like Indian food, you will like this.  If you don't like Indian food, don't even look at the recipe.  

Dinner was crockpot Asian pork with mushrooms and spinach following *this recipe* Although I love spinach and am always a fan of adding nutrition to any dish, next time I plan to leave it out.  

Other exciting events from yesterday:

- I watched Downton Abbey and cried all over Ina's head.  

- Ina *almost* smiled for the camera

- I completed Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred without having to skip the cool - down or sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star while doing lunges and bicep curls at the same time.

- I made pudding (I know - it doesn't take much to be put in the "exciting" category around here)

Thought for the day

(from my wine bottle)

Mystery Presents

Ina and I have recently each received a mystery present.  

Someone sent Ina this beautiful Pottery Barn blanket with her name embroidered on it.

It is so soft that I want to build myself a cocoon with it and never come out.  Thank you to the kind soul who sent it.  Any takers?

Someone also gave me a subscription to Good Housekeeping.  

I was pretty excited when I pulled those out of the mailbox last night.  However, I was telling Dan about the gift and he laughed.  He thought someone was trying to give me a hint and that I should be offended.  I am choosing to believe that the gifter wanted me to hone in my already wonderful skills.  Welcome to fantasy land.  It is great here, you should join me.  

Both gifts were mysterious, I have no idea who sent them.  If you did, thank you!

Yesterday, right after I posted my blog, my dad stopped by with my neice and nephew and whisked Ina and me to my sister's house.  

I babysat while he worked.  We survived a blow-out, multiple coffee spills, Kauffman accidentally stepping on Ina's head, her screaming blood murder during my dad's conference call, lunch, and many outfit changes. It was great.  

Hallaway and Kauffman are so sweet to Ina. They both kiss her and want to touch her all the time.  I can't wait until she can return the love.  

Eats

Breakfast - my last blueberry walnut muffins, a two egg scramble with peppers and onions and a grapefruit.

Lunch - a salad from McDonalds.  

Dinner - leftover quinoa mango salad following *this recipe* - this was good.  A repeat for sure.  

Run

3 miles while watching TBL.  I am almost to the end of Season 11.  It is bittersweet.  

Thought for the day

Ina Must Have Known...

Ina must have known that I wrote a post about being really tired and not being able to sleep because the past two nights have been glorious!  

Saturday night she only woke up once and Sunday night she woke up twice, but I still was able to sleep.  It also might have something to do with the conversation I had with my neighbor Kim while we went on our Saturday morning run.  She told me that I need to wait until Ina lets me know she is hungry by a pretty real cry - as opposed to me getting up the first time she makes  a tiny peep.  What a difference in makes! Thanks Kim!  We are working on her transitioning from our room to her nursery. 

Ina must have known that we were going to church on Sunday morning because all day Saturday she was an angel - we went to Buy Buy Baby and Yogurtini and she slept through most of it.  

When she was awake she was as content as ever.  The trend continued at the wedding we went to Saturday night.  The worst thing she did was suck loudly on her paci during the vows, and then had a major blowout on her fancy dress.  She rocked out the reception in her stylish zebra pj's where she happily went from person to person, not letting the loud music or strangers bother her a bit.  

 She also loved church.  She sat and listened to the music in her car seat, then during the sermon Dan held her while looked around in awe.  

After church we went out to breakfast with our friends Brandy and Trevor (who are going to have a baby in March!)

and spent the rest of the day planted on the couch watching golf and football eat eating comfort food (Dan's chicken and noodles to the rescue!).  

Ina must have known that she is growing out of her newborn diapers and we need to use the ones we have because we are currently trying to break the record of how many diapers she can go through in one morning.  We are already on diaper 5.  I think we have a fighting chance.  

No Sleep

Good morning!

Sorry to be MIA around here, but to tell the truth, I haven't been getting a lot of sleep, so the blog has fallen to the bottom of my list of priorities.  

The problem isn't Ina.  She wakes up around 1ish and 4ish, eats for 20 minutes, and then goes back to sleep.  However, once I am awake I have a very hard time turning my mind off.  I just lay there, wide awake, thinking about everything, but nothing really important at the same time.

I think the first few weeks of Ina's life I was riding the high of her birth and I could survive on little sleep.  Now it is catching up with me and I feel drained.  A few nights ago I was near-tears tired, begging Dan to go to bed at 7:30.  

I also can't "sleep when the baby sleeps" because I can't take naps.  I don't know how - I remember even in kindergarden being tortured through the boringness of nap time.

I am going to have to learn to count sheep.  

Last night we went to some friends' house for dinner - ate some amazing food - Hungarian stew and the best tiramisu I have tasted in my life.  I also left my camera there - fail.  

Welcome to Running with Racheal without pictures.  Sorry.  

It was my first night away from the house in quite a few nights and I really enjoyed the conversation (and great news!) with my friends.  However, that meant that we didn't get home until midnight.  So my 5 hours of sleep a night turned into 3 - broken up.  

Pray for me today.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Excuses

Before I had a baby, I could think of lots of excuses to skip a run.  Now that I have a sidekick whose needs are my highest priority, although I want to run, sometimes she doesn't want me to.  

Yesterday Ina found her limit to her treadmill trance.  It involved lots of screaming and a diaper filled to the brim.  After stopping twice and trying to console her, I called 2 miles "good enough" and trekked back upstairs. 

Food 

Breakfast - blueberry walnut muffins with Greek yogurt while watching my new favorite show

Lunch - asian chicken, brown rice, roasted broccoli

Snack - breakfast cookies and roasted butternut squash with ketchup

Dinner - meatloaf following *this  recipe* with pureed cauliflower (boil, drain, then mash with garlic, milk, and a little butter) and roasted green beans.

Dessert - Blue Bell - duh

Thought for the day

Rach is Back

When I was in pharmacy school I worked at a grocery store pharmacy for 4 years.  I worked with the same wonderful people day in and day out, and of course, after 4 years, we became pretty close.

Anytime I would leave for a few days, because of vacation, or a test, when I returned, as soon as I walked into the pharmacy a few of the guys would start singing, "Duh, duh-na-na, duh-nana duh-nana-nana-na, duh, duh-na-na, duh-nana duh-nana-nana-na RACH is BACK...."   to the tune of ACDC's "Back in Black."  

Talk about a welcoming committee. 

I never realized how much running was part of me, part of my identity, until I had to take 5 months off.  Of course, I loved being pregnant and the time off from running was completely worth it, but I didn't feel fully "me" without hitting the pavement / treadmill every morning.

However, yesterday as I hopped off the treadmill after running 3 miles in 31 minutes minutes, the tune of Back in Black starting playing in my head and I thought, "I am back."  

Rach is back. 

Eats

Breakfast - more breakfast cookies - my breakfast for the next 10 years

Lunch - quinoa cups, a nuked sweet potato and roasted green beans

Snack - greek yogurt with strawberry jam and kiwi

Dinner - another crockpot wonder - Asian glazed chicken following *this recipe* with brown rice and roasted broccoli.  Dan and I were both fans.

Dessert- a new Blue Bell flavor - Mocha Almond Fudge. 

Look at my serving compared to Dan's.  Life isn't fair.  

Thought for the day

(Thank God for my iPad and The Biggest Loser)

Snip Snip

So, it turns out that my wonderful neighbor who brings me butter and goes on long runs with me, can also cut hair.  She read my post about how it has been over a year and a half since my locks have seen a pair of scissors, so she volunteered to make an at-home visit.

I assumed I was just going to get a trim, then a few minutes before she came over I Googled Locks of Love.  

Then, 10 minutes later, this happened.

That could make a lot of hair brownies.  Or, better yet, a wig.  

Ina is working on growing out her first mohawk donation. 

Eats

Yesterday was one of those days that I couldn't get full.

Lots of food from that I prepped the day before.  

Breakfast: Blueberry -Walnut muffins following *this recipe*

Morning snack: Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal protein breakfast cookies following *this recipe* (I plan to repeat these over and over again - a must try!)

Lunch - chicken goat cheese pizza and roasted green beans

Afternoon snack #1 Quinoa cheddar ham cups following *this recipe*.  

Afternoon snack #2 - Greek yogurt with blueberries and strawberry jam

Then, for dinner, I made crock pot Santa Fe Chicken following *this recipe*

I accidentally forgot to put the leftovers away last night, so the dogs got a pretty good breakfast this morning. 

Workout

I completed another workout from Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30.

Ouch.  Every time I hit the staircase I curse that woman.  

Thought for the day

Food Prep Day

Yesterday, in between football, cleaning, and baby snuggles, I spent the day prepping some food for the week. 

I made some stuff for breakfast - sampled some and stuck the rest in the freezer.

Blueberry -Walnut muffins following *this recipe* 

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal protein breakfast cookies following *this recipe* 

Is it bad that I kind of don't want Ina to learn to roll over? Right now I love having her hang out with me on the kitchen counter.  

I kept the muffin tins out for some quinoa cheddar ham cups following *this recipe*.  

I also prepped all the veggies.  I turned this

into this.

Not only will I have veggies all chopped and ready to go, but I also only had to clean up once, use one cutting board, and make only one trip to the compost pile.  Win.

I tried a new to me salad for lunch - kale - lemon - jalapeño - goat cheese.  Next time I will remember to de-seed the jalapeño.   

I am not woman enough to enjoy eating fresh jalapeños.  

I snacked on some popcorn and then made a chicken pizza for dinner.  The sauce was sriracha mixed with tahini sauce.  Topped with goat cheese and green onions.   

Perfection.  Blue Bell for dessert.  Extreme perfection. 

Run

Yesterday was one of those "should I or shouldn't I?" days, but I finally snuck downstairs to the treadmill and ran 2.8 miles in 30 minutes while watching Biggest Loser - Season 11. Thanks Amanda for the suggestion, although I hate that I already know who wins!

Thought for the day