The Best Gift Ever - The Story of Toby

When Jake and I were engaged we discussed when would be a good time to start a family. We both came to the table thinking two years sounded good. So that was the plan. We were both young, had no major health issues, and we didn't think it would take long to conceive.

Unfortunately we were wrong.

Three years after getting married? Still no baby. A friend of mine shared that a doctor had recommended she go on a gluten free and dairy free diet in order to help conceive. I had no reason to think this would work for me, but I wanted to feel like I was doing something to help the process, so it was worth a shot.

My gluten free/dairy free diet lasted two weeks. lol! It was Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory that did me in. We took a tour with some friends and the free ice cream at the end was too much to resist. Oh well. I figured I'd start the gluten/dairy free diet again the next month. Maybe then we'd get pregnant.

Here we were at the end of September, which is the lead-up to Jake's birthday on October 2. In our family we don't celebrate birthDAYs; we celebrate birthWEEKs! The birthday boy or girl gets a week of special attention—little gifts here and there, fun activities, special meals, and such.

Well, this particular year I FAILED! Like big time. On Monday night of his birthday week I apologized for not planning anything. He was a little disappointed.

So that night as I was praying I could only think of one way to make up for his birthday week. One thing that might put me back into my husband's good graces—if I found out we were expecting. So I prayed that I would be pregnant, and that if I was I would remember to take a pregnancy test in the morning.

Keep in mind I had NO reason to believe I would be. I hadn't had any symptoms or anything, it was more of a wish than a real possibility.

The next morning I remembered to take the test. It had two lines. I had never had two lines before. This must be some mistake. So I took another one. And then another. They all had two lines. According to these tests I was pregnant!

Now to figure out how to tell Jake.

I knew it would be a big surprise after having tried for a year, so I spent two days planning it all while keeping the whole thing a secret. Yikes, how did I even do that?

Since we were planning to move to Maui in just a few months I thought I would take him on a trip down memory lane to special places from when we were dating.

• Our church, where he first asked me out.
• The local pizza place where we used to share a plate of spaghetti almost every week.
• The bench where we had a serious conversation about whether we wanted to "get serious" about our relationship.

Our final stop was at Harvey's Lake in Barnet, VT, the place where we first hung out, where he first told me he loved me, and where he proposed.

It only made sense that this be the place where I told him we were pregnant.

I parked in the lot and had him put my scarf over his eyes. He waited in the car while I went out to the lake shore and set up his camera and tripod, along with the pink and blue balloons I had purchased earlier that day. Then I led him out there and, well... the rest is on camera...

Pumpkin Oatmeal Recipe

I know oatmeal is good for you, especially when you are breastfeeding... But I'll be honest, I don't
care for it very much. However, recently while getting lost on Pinterest I came across a recipe that sounded like it would be yummy! So I tried it out, and this gurl really liked it! So here it is :-)

Pumpkin Oatmeal

Serves 1
Container Equivalents (per serving): 1 Yellow, 1/4 Purple

Ingredients:
1 cup water
½ cup rolled oats
¼ cup pumpkin puree
¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon maple syrup


1. In a small saucepan bring the water to a boil. Add the oats and lower the heat to medium-high, cook covered for about 5-8 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed into the oatmeal.

2. Stir pumpkin into the oatmeal and then add in the maple syrup and spices.

3. Serve immediately

That Stubborn Baby Weight!

Truth is I'm probably just like you. An average new mom that is trying to balance having a baby to
take care of, a house to keep up, a job, and on top of that trying to get my pre-baby body back.

I thought it would be easier! Losing weight has never been easy though, so I'm not sure why I thought this would be any different... but I did.

Truth be told I ate a few too many Ben & Jerry's pints during my pregnancy and ended up gaining about 15 pounds more than I had planned to. Oops!

Yes, I worked out consistently, ate clean 75% of the time (that might be stretching it a bit) and drank Shakeology every single day, but that didn't guaranty a quick bounce back. What it did though was prepare me for 26 hours of labor including 4 hours of pushing my little guy out and feeling every bit of the pain. I don't think I would've been able to handle that if I hadn't kept up on my exercise as much as I did.

But here I am almost 4 months later and I still have inches to lose and about 10 pounds to go before I get to my pre-baby weight. Honestly, it can get discouraging. I hop on Pinterest and see these women who had their pre-baby body back within just a few weeks. Heck they look better 3 weeks postpartum than I did before I got pregnant.

As I took my week 3 measurements this morning it was hard to not be disappointed. I've done all the workouts. I've used heavier weights than I ever have before. I've eaten clean 80% of the time and I have not missed a day of my superfood shake. And yet the scale didn't budge in the last week. I lost inches in some places and gained in others.

I was discouraged.

So what should I do? Should I throw in the towel and decide this program isn't worth doing? (I'm doing Hammer and Chisel, by the way, if you've missed my daily Facebook live post at Dani Grant Maui). Do I go back to my days of eating poorly, as in not enough, in hopes of starving off the last 10 pounds?

Other moms told me this would be easy. Lots of them said if I breastfed it would fall off and I wouldn't even have to try. They looked at me and said it was all baby weight. They thought I was crazy for all the workouts I did.

But the reality is it hasn't fallen off—and yes I do exclusively breastfeed. I have had to work my butt off for every pound and inch lost. I'm not there, but by golly I won't quit! It may take longer than I had planned or wanted. It may be the hardest thing I've physically done. But I will not give up on myself!

In those moments when I want to quit I remind myself of a few things:

• I am more than a number on the scale. The tape measurements don't define me.
• I am stronger than I knew I was. If I can birth a Toby I can do pretty much anything! ;-)
• I feel my best when I fuel my body and exercise it!
• Everyone's body responds differently. Some take longer than others!

This is why I host monthly, and sometimes bimonthly, accountability groups. It's as much to support another woman as it is to keep myself going.

If you are like me and have found that this baby weight isn't falling off, or any other weight you may have gained due to health issues, poor eating habits or a sedentary life, let's join forces! Though the process may take longer for me than for you, or vice versa, I trust in this process. I know that if I never give up I will get to my destination!

Hearty Chicken Rice and Veggie Soup Recipe

It was a chilly day here on Maui, and there haven't been many days I could say that! ;-) Soup just seemed to fit the bill. I haven't had soup in a while so I threw together some ingredients and made us a super yummy lunch!

How do I know it was super yummy? The husband went back for seconds and then two hours later was still talking about how good the soup was!

Win!

Hearty Chicken Rice and Veggie Soup

Ingredients

32 oz. Chicken Stock
Garlic Seasoning
Parsley Flakes
Oregano Seasoning
Salt
Black Pepper
1/2 Cup Brown Rice
1 Small Zucchini
1 Cup Carrots
4 Small Red Skin Potatoes
1 Chicken Breast

Directions

1. Pour chicken stock and rice into a large pot and add seasonings to taste (garlic, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper), set on medium high heat.
2. Chop zucchini, carrots and potatoes into small chunks along with the chicken and add to pot.
3. Cook on medium high heat for approximately 30-45 minutes or until veggies and chicken are cooked through.

I paired mine with some Groaning Muffins I had in the freezer.

Enjoy!