Saturday Night Baking

Tonight I am baking some cookies for our church luncheon tomorrow.  White Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Cookies.  Yum!  Super long name, super good cookies.  If you are interested in the recipe, you can find it HERE.  The only thing I changed was the amount of salt.  The recipe called for 1/2 tsp of salt, but I gave it 1 tsp instead.  I love salt in cookies!  So good!  I only have one good baking pan (my other one is dark and tends to burn cookies), so I have ten minutes to spare every five minutes.  This will have to be broken up into at least 3 or 4 batches.

Image borrowed from recipe website

August loves pumpkin.  I think this face says it all.

"Mommy's little pumpkin" onesie

"Ohhh let's see here, you got any pumpkin on this grocery list?"

Well, I have been 3 days without Facebook now.  I must say, it's weird.  And hard.  I think in my last post I sounded a bit facebook crazed, and that's honestly not true.  Facebook is cool, yes.  But it wasn't anything I thought about all the time or checked because it was a hobby of mine, it was just a bad habit that took up a huge amount of time.  I dunno what it is about checking it.  Maybe I'm afraid I'm going to miss something?  I have no idea.  But I do have to say, it has been SO nice to not have everyone's opinions in my head.  I will just say that.  My brain is A LOT less cluttered.  I have caught myself typing in "face.." in the address bar.  Such a hard habit to break.  Oh, and also, have you ever tried to cancel your facebook?  They make it really hard to do that.  You get asked a million times if you are sure you want to cancel it.  They show you profile pics of your friends with a caption below saying, "These people will miss you!"  Some of those people I haven't spoken to in years.  I think they'll be ok. :)  The worst part about cancelling it is that they actually save your information and tell you that you can come back at anytime.  All you have to do is type in your e-mail address and password.  That's ridiculous.  What is the point of "cancelling" it if you can just sign back in?  So I guess it's going to take more willpower than I thought.

On another note, my house hasn't been this clean in a while.  I deep cleaned both bathrooms today, swept the house (we don't have carpet, just laminate hardwood), did a few loads of laundry (by did, I mean washed and dried...not folded yet....), and still had time to take the dog to the vet, drop off a prescription at Walmart, play with August, do some Insanity, cook a healthy supper (roasted asparagus, roasted red dill potatoes, and steamed corn on the cob), bake some cookies, and relax a little bit with Adam.  Not bad for a Saturday.

God has been doing HUGE things in the Hare house lately.  (Not that He isn't always doing huge things.)  But we have recently stepped out in faith, and He has been faithful to His Word.  We knew He would, but it was the first time we have lived what we believe.  It has been AWESOME.  God is so amazing.  I can't fathom His love for me; I am so undeserving.  I will give a proper post to the happenings very soon, hopefully.

I am seeing results with Insanity.  I have hit a number I haven't seen since I started trying to lose the baby weight.  I have been on a plateau for a while, but I think I am finally starting to come off of it.  I have increased my water intake, and I have actually started eating more calories.  I haven't been counting calories at all, but I have just started eating more during the day.  I guess my body was just holding onto everything because it wasn't getting enough.  I wasn't having any snacks during the day (an almost-6 month-old, housework, errands, and a crazy schedule will do that to you), so I added those in and it has worked.  Bonus, the snacks haven't even been super healthy.  (Cookies!) I know that's bad, but my body is just happy with the extra calories for now.  I have also seen an increase in my milk production from drinking more water and eating more.  Woo hoo!

Oh, and shout out to one of my best friends, Becky, for having her baby!!!  All natural people....no drugs!!!!  In the hospital!!!!  With a regular OBGYN!  (See you doubters and crunchy people, it's totally possible!)  Sooo proud of you girl!  Your little Liam is so precious, and I am just over the moon excited for you.  Love you!

I better get in the bed.  Adam is passed out on the couch, and I need to clean up my baking mess.  I am a messy baker for sure.  To the two of you, including my mom, who are still reading the blog now that I'm off facebook, I appreciate you so much!  I hope the pair of you have a wonderful night! :)

Deleting my Facebook

As of today, I will be deleting my facebook.  Unfortunately facebook has become somewhat of an idol to me.  I can't seem to go long without "checking" it, and when I do, I end up spending way more time on it than I should.  My house is often neglected because of it, and as hard as this is to admit, my son probably is neglected because of it too.

I don't want to set this kind of example for my son.  I also don't want to look back on my life and wonder how I spent it.  This is an idol that needs to be crushed.

I believe anything that takes up your time that keeps you from the things God called you to do is an idol.  You don't have to bow before a statue to worship an idol.  Think about it, if someone from a tribe in a faraway country came to my house and watched me for a day, they would probably think, "Oh, that thing must be her god because that's how she spends her time.  She stares at that little black flat thing that opens up and has letters on it for hours."  I may not spend hours on my computer straight, or I might, but if you added up all of the minutes in the day I spend checking my facebook or various things on the internet, it's no wonder I can't stay on top of things in my "real" life.

This is definitely not something that is easy to do.  I have my flesh saying things like, "You are a stay at home mom, you need interaction from the outside world in order to not feel so trapped."  My flesh will also say, "You can use facebook as a ministry tool.  It's also how people find your blog.  So you need to keep it."

However, I'm not using my facebook as a ministry tool.  Sometimes I do, but the impact facebook has on myself is not worth the times I do post Bible verses or stories.  And let's be honest, who doesn't post Bible verses to their facebook?  The Bible says that we should flee from temptation (1 Corinthians 10:14).  We should not be strong.  So I am fleeing.

I will still be posting on this blog, so if you would like to keep up with me, August, and Adam, you can find us here.  The blog is not an idol to me, and I believe God is going to use it to tell our story, as I have time and have taken care of my other tasks.  You can subscribe to the blog via e-mail, there is a box on the right hand side of the blog to type in your e-mail address, or I think the little "Friend Connect" button on the right might still work if you are a follower of blogs or have your own blog.  This way, you will know when I post something new and you won't have to just check it at random.  You can also leave a comment on this blog anytime you like, and I will answer you as soon as I get the time.

I just want to make it clear, that I do not look down on anyone who has a facebook, and I don't think facebook is evil.  It is just causing me to stumble, and I am not using my time wisely throughout my day because of it.  The Lord has been calling me to delete it for a while, I have just been avoiding it because I love it so much.  But that's the problem.  I love it too much.

At this point, I will continue on Pinterest, because that is where I get most of my recipes, organizational ideas, activities for August, etc.  But if it replaces facebook in becoming a time waster, then I will delete that too.

I think this is a great song for this post.  Listen to it and see if you can relate.  Thanks for reading. :)

Insanity- 2 weeks in

Well Adam and I completed our fit test this morning.  During Insanity, you take a fit test about every 2 weeks to check your progress.  Basically, you do specific exercises for 1 minute per exercise and see if you got more reps than the last time.  Some exercises I didn't get as many reps on as my first go-round, and I think that's for two reasons.  1) My form is better now, so I'm probably doing the exercises more correctly, which is a lot harder than doing them incorrectly and 2) The first few exercises, I didn't look at how many reps I did last time.  So I didn't have a number in my head to beat.  Apparently I needed to know that number so I would have something to aim past.  On the last few exercises, I looked at my reps for last time, and then I started beating them.  I will know better for next time.

In the Insanity program, you work out 6 days a week.  Adam and I have only been working out 5 days a week.  Not on purpose, but we usually oversleep one morning (read: we hit snooze a billion times and neither one tells the other to get up) and can't make it up that night because of church, hockey, or Bible class.  So we usually skip a workout that's called "cardio recovery."  I'm sure that workout is still really hard, but we figure it's the best one to skip since it's supposed to be a recovery workout, and a day off definitely counts as recovery. :)

I lost just over 2 pounds in 2 weeks, which is not much at all, but my body composition is definitely changing.  I think I am just gaining muscle, and that's the reason for the low weight loss.  I have read online that a lot of people don't actually lose weight according to the scale in the first two weeks.  Of course, I really want to see a certain number on that scale since I'm trying to hit my pre-pregnancy weight.  But, for now, my goal is to just fit into a normal pair of jeans.  My maternity jeans fall down with every step I take, but my pre-pregnancy jeans won't zip/button.  So I'm in this weird stage.

My diet over the past couple weeks hasn't been perfect.  I would definitely say I'm eating better than I was before I started Insanity, but I know I can do a lot better.  So I'm really going to try to step it up with healthy eating in the next couple weeks.  I want those numbers to go down!  Yesterday, our bananas had gone bad, so I made a banana bread...and Adam and I have almost eaten the entire thing.  Gah.  It was good stuff too. Seriously, the best banana bread I've ever made.  That's why I can't bake.  Cause I will eat. it. all.  I actually baked some white chocolate chip pumpkin muffins last week, and I gave away a few of them, and then I sent  one with Adam for a treat for his lunch.  I wasn't as good this time.

I also need to do better on my water intake.  I am still nursing August, and I can tell my milk supply has dropped because I'm not drinking enough.  I think it's also hard to lose weight if you're dehydrated because your body needs water to flush everything out.  So I'm going to start carrying around my giant hospital cup again to get my water intake up.

I'm probably not going to give you specific inches/weight measurements, although I don't think they're that bad, I guess most people just don't share stuff like that. I'll just let you know if I've gained/lost.

Measurement gains/losses:
Waist (smallest part): -1/2"
Hips (around the booty): -1/2"
Stomach (around my baby belly pooch): -2 and 3/4"....awesome!
Left bicep: + 1/2"
Right bicep: +1".....welcome to the gun show. ;)
Chest: -1/2"
Neck: same
Left calf: same
Right calf: +1/2"
Weight: -2.2 lbs

So that's progress! :)  We didn't take pictures today, but we will take them in 2 weeks, after month 1.  (There are 2 months in the Insanity program.)  So we will be halfway.  I dunno if I will share those pictures or not.  Haha.  They are those embarrassing pictures where you turn to the side and just let it all hang out.  Yeah.  Not cute.  Alright, I need to fix Adam's lunch and get in the bed!  That debate craziness kept me up late last night.  Talk to y'all later! :)


Edit: By the way, I wanted to add this in.  Adam doesn't actually watch the Insanity DVD.  Nope, he watches me.  Lucky him. :)  Some of the Insanity girls aren't dressed appropriately, so he has chosen not to watch the workout.  That puts extra pressure on me to keep going because he is depending on me!  I just wanted to mention that because I didn't want you to get the DVDs and be shocked that Adam would watch that.  When we workout, I point the computer screen toward me (we workout in the garage).  So that's how we do it. It's nothing I have asked Adam to do, but he told me that's how he wanted to do it, and I was happy to oblige.  :)

Chilly Tuesday Morning

I woke up in a bloggy mood this morning, so here I am.  This morning we woke up to a cold house, so I turned the heat on and fixed a pot of coffee.  We usually get up early and do Insanity in the morning, but we didn't make it out of bed.  This isn't the first time this has happened.  Sometimes we are able to make up for it when Adam gets home from work, but some nights we have church or Bible study, so that just isn't possible.  Tonight is probably one of those nights.  I kind of had a feeling we would miss this morning though.  I have been having pain the past few days deep inside my knee.  It was worse after yesterday morning's workout.  I'm going to go buy a knee brace today and see if that helps.  I was so mad about it.  I have been trying so hard to lose weight, and I actually enjoy Insanity. Figures. It's super intense, and it's non-stop, you are dripping with sweat when you are finished, but the workout doesn't seem to take very long.  The longest workout in the first month's workouts is like 40 minutes.  That includes a warm-up, stretching, and a cool-down too, so it isn't too bad.  Plus you can go at your own pace.  I highly recommend it.  It's pricey if you order from the website, but like I said in my last post, you can get it cheaper off of Ebay.  I have been doing Insanity for about 2 weeks now, and I have only dropped about 2-3 pounds (same 2-3 pounds I always fluctuate between), but I can tell that my body composition is changing.  The whole muscle weighs more than fat thing I guess.  We took our measurements when we first started, so we need to take them again to see if anything has changed.  I just want to fit back into my old jeans!

My friend Rachel is being induced tonight.  We are preggo/blog/high school band nerd buddies.  I'm sooooo excited for her!!  She is having a sweet little girl named Haddie.  That takes me back to when August was born.  Such a scary/special/exciting time.  I reread August's birth story the other day.  I still cried. :)  If you didn't get a chance to read it or would like to relive the moment with me, you can find it HERE.  If you want to check out Rachel's blog, she gives regular updates.  You can find it HERE.

I haven't specifically mentioned this, but I am staying home with August.  I gave up teaching to be a stay-at-home-mommy (SAHM for you bloggers).  It has been well worth the sacrifice.  I will do a more proper post on that later.  It's not something I was "lucky" to be able to do.  Luck had nothing to do with it.  It was a step of faith in following the Lord, and He has been faithful.

I am finally starting to like the decor in my home.  I love decorating.  Since we have been married and lived in the house, I have never been happy with the decor.  As much as I try, it just hasn't been a reflection of me.  You would think it would be since I'm the one that decorated it.  I love neutral decor.  I wish I could be a bright color person, I really do.  I do decorate with a little more color for summer, but in general I like neutral things.  I like calm, cozy, subdued tones.  I like vintage/antique things.  But when I try to decorate that way, it just looks like beige.  The whole house.  Beige.  So I started looking at things on Pinterest and different websites to figure out what it is about the rooms that I like so much.  How do they pull off that look without just looking beige?  I'm starting to notice that they use a lot of different things like layering of fabrics, different textures and patterns, natural materials like wicker, cotton, linen, collected items not matchy items, different finishes, etc.  I think if you do it right, it doesn't just look beige.  So I'm working on that.  I'm not trying to make my house look like Pottery Barn by any means (although, that would look pretty nice), I just want to like my home and feel comfortable in it.

The laundry has gotten out of control over the past few days.  We have been so busy.  I have been making more of an effort to get out of the house with August.  The first few months of his life, it was just not possible to get out with him due to our rocky breastfeeding start.  Then, he got on a great schedule, and I did not want to mess that up.  Finally, we are at a great place with nursing (he is super fast at it now), and he is very predictable, so I have been able to venture out into the world on a more regular basis.  It's so nice for both of us to get out of the house during the week.  We really enjoy it, especially with this nice fall weather!  So with us being gone more, I need to figure out a better way to get this laundry taken care of.  Adam goes through 3 outfits a day: workout clothes, work clothes, and lounge clothes.  I go through 2 outfits a day: workout clothes and whatever I'm wearing that day.  August goes through 2 outfits: pajamas and his outfit for the day.  So we have at least a load a day.  Usually on the weekends I don't get around to doing the laundry because we are so busy.  So I play catch-up at the beginning of the week.

Thank you to everyone who left me advice, either on the blog, on facebook, or in person, about my last blog post.  I read everyone's suggestions, and they were much appreciated!  I have switched August from rice cereal to oatmeal cereal, and I put a little apple or prune juice in the cereal along with some water.  I also give him a little bit of watered down apple juice each day.  So we will see if that helps.

Well, I need to get some cleaning done.  I hope y'all have a wonderful Tuesday.  Enjoy this beautiful fall weather!

Nap Time Ramble...advice needed. :)

Today is a rambling post.  I need to ramble.  My mind is totally scatter brained today, so this is what y'all get.  I apologize in advance.  Unless you are just super bored, you could probably skip this one. If you're a mom, don't skip this one though.  I need your advice!

August has not been sleeping the past several nights.  He literally cries all. night. long.  I am exhausted.  This is soooo unlike him.  Last night I brought him to bed with us just so I could have some sleep.  As I have told ya'll before, he is a great sleeper, and loves his schedule!  I'm not sure if he is teething or what.  I feel like he has been teething forever, but he hasn't had any teeth come through.  Another issue he is having is irregularity.  He will kill me one day for writing about this.  August goes about a week and a half between BMs.  I know this is not normal.  I have talked to his doctor about it before, but the doctor just told me that each child is different, and that this might be August's normal.  I know he is constipated though, because he has been grunting trying to go for a couple days now.  He eats rice cereal once a day, and I haven't cut out any nursing sessions.  Last night we tried 100% prune juice diluted with water, and he HATED it.  He wouldn't drink it.  Today I am just going to try regular water and see if he will take it. I also read something somewhere.....this is gonna be gross....get ready.....that if you take a bath with them, let the warm water get as high as their chest, and then rub their belly, that all of the BM should come out...in the tub.  I know that's disgusting.  Don't worry, I'll clean the tub really well afterward.  But seriously, I'm desperate so that is worth a shot.  Was your child ever constipated?  What did you do for them?  Help!  (Other things we have tried: gripe water, nursing during the night for extra hydration.) Sorry for the graphic nature of this post.  Tis the life of a mommy.  Nothing really phases me anymore.  I have a stomach of steel.

I need to get some bumper pads for his crib.  He is old enough now that he has plenty of head control, so smothering I don't think is an issue anymore.  But he has been rolling over, bonking his head on the rails.  Also, his feet and arms get stuck in between the slats, so I need to get the pads.  I really want something neutral, maybe with a check print or stripes or just plain.  I don't really want any cartoon character ones or anything.  Not that I'm opposed to that, but it just wouldn't go with his nursery.  So I'm on the lookout for some (inexpensive) ones.

I would love to have a video monitor.  With all of this chaos going on at night, it would be nice if I could see what August is doing, but not have to go in there a million times to see if he is ok.  I have been cleaning my grandmother's house on Fridays and answering my FIL's phone for his guttering business during the week (he just forwarded the company phone calls to my cell phone), so I have been making some extra money trying to save up  for one.  But, things come up, and I end up spending the money on something else.

Charter increased our internet bill for $29.99/month....to $63.00/month....without letting us know.  Peace out, Charter!  It's been real.

Adam and I have been doing Insanity for a week now....at 6:30 in the morning.  Yes, we are crazy.... or insane.  Adam is busy almost every single night, so the morning is the only time we have to workout together...or at all for him.  I am sooooo desperate to get back into my old jeans.  I have been wearing maternity jeans since August was born because I have refused to buy a bigger size in pants.  I am SO over maternity pants.  I HATE them. I can finally get my old jeans on and all the way up.  (2 weeks after I had August, I could only get my jeans up to my knees, literally.)  I can wear them with the Be Band....but that's kind of uncomfortable and weird since the pants won't zip all the way up.  We took before pictures the day we started Insanity as well as our measurements (and I have been taking pictures each month postpartum), but I dunno if y'all will ever see those.  Haha.  We missed working out one day last week, and then we missed this morning because we barely slept last night.  I'm not sure what's going on with my weight.  I eat healthy 80% of the time.  The 20% is at other people's houses, church events, the occasional (very occasional) meal out, etc.  I have been exercising since August was 8 weeks old, and it was slowly coming off.  I am (as of last week) within 12-14 pounds of my pre pregnancy weight.  I have been in this range for a while now.  It's just not budging.  So I thought maybe if I revved things up with some Insanity, the weight might come off.  Insanity is expensive by the way.  But I bought mine (new) off of Ebay for $35.  It was supposed to come from California.  Well, it took it so long to get here, that I thought I had been robbed, especially when the seller got kicked off of Ebay.  So I got a refund from Pay Pal.  Well, the DVD showed up about 4 weeks later....with packaging from China.  Who knows.  Maybe that's why it was so cheap.  Surprisingly, it works, and everything with the actual DVD set is in English.  Haha.  I dunno.  So I need to call Pay Pal and repay them.

I was excited when we got this colder weather a few days ago.  I couldn't wait to dress August in warm, fall clothes.  Well, I didn't realize what a hassle it is to dress a 5 month old in layers.  They just don't have the patience for it.  Summer is easy.  Just a diaper and maybe a onesie and you're good to go.  Turns out a diaper, onesie, pants, socks, and a sweater is more than August has time for.  Goodness.  At least he is cute and gets over it once I pick him up.  This is a picture of him yesterday in his fall attire.  We went out with my cousin Sarah to run errands.  His pants aren't really high-waters, he just has a stroller wedgie. :)

So cute.  I love this boy more than I could ever put into words.

I need to make some more laundry detergent.  I'm almost out.

Coffee creamer is my treat these days.  I enjoy coffee, especially on these colder days.  I like to try a new one each time I run out.  So far, this kind is my favorite.  I have only tried the Caramel, and it is so good.

I need to make Adam's lunch in a few minutes.  I usually do it each night while he spends time with August.  But last night was crazy with August, so I planned to do it this morning after our workout...but we didn't workout.  So Adam is going to stop by at noon to pick it up.  I need to get on it.  My mom is fixing to come by with a hot water bottle thing (she is picking one up at CVS) so I can roll it on August's stomach to see if it helps his tummy.  August has been asleep for an hour and a half now.  Lately, I call that a success.

I need to update y'all with some August pictures.  Maybe I'll do that later today, if August cooperates.  I need to get some prints of his pictures from Walmart or something.  Right now they are all stored on my computer and cell phone...and BOTH are about to quit.  Gah, technology.

I apologize for the ramble. Thank you for listening to the thoughts of a sleep-deprived mommy! Haha.  I hope y'all have a great Tuesday!  Leave me some advice for baby constipation. :)  Thanks y'all. :)