Doing: A whole lot of sitting/laying around and nursing because well thats what one does at 3.5 days postpartum! If you didn’t already know I gave birth to a nice big baby boy on Friday morning and you can read his birth story here. Besides taking it easy I have also been trying to balance life with a newborn who needs me to feed him and a toddler whose world has just been changed overnight – any transition tips would be great! We or rather Neil is also working on finishing packing because we move in 12 days (!!!!).
Thinking about: Everything we need to do in the next 12 weeks and wondering how E will do with the move. Unfortunately we had little control over the timing of all this and of course it all happens at once.
Watching: We have been watching Cover Affairs which I love but we haven’t really found another show that we are into right now. Neil and I also watched Divergent the other night and it was seriously the first time in months that both of us stayed awake from start to finish … too bad the movie was just okay.
Looking forward to: Being healed! I hate not being able to be up and doing things like playing with Edith or cooking or helping pack but right now I know its best I take it easy so I heal more quickly. Also looking forward to moving and getting settled in to life as a family of 4.
Reading: Nada. Besides children’s books.
Loving: Neil <– seriously amazing husband, father and partner. Also loving our two kids (crazy to type that). And loving all the kind words and support via FB, IG and Twitter regarding Alder’s birth.
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Foodie.com. All opinions are my own.
Lately I have been really into finding quick and easy vegan family friendly recipes so that when baby #2 finally arrives (my due date is today BTW) we have a stock pile of recipes. Neil is going to be doing most of the cooking for the first two weeks so the easier and quicker the recipe the better. Another important factor for me was that not only are the recipes quick and easy and of course healthy but that we also have a good variety of recipes to choose from.
My top five favorites from the collection above are:
Loaded Lentil Sloppy Joes: these bring me back to my childhood although back then they weren’t vegetarian and the sauce came from a can. This is a much healthier version and what’s more fun then a delicious, messy meal?
Super Creamy Vegan Mac & Cheese: honestly I could eat vegan mac and cheese most days of the week and Edith and I usually have it at least once per week for lunch. This recipe is super creamy and you can easily bulk it up with some veggies.
Tempeh Chow Mein: I love Chinese take out but for one we haven’t found any great Chinese take-out in Portland and it’s not always the healthiest option. This however is a great at home option and way healthier!
The Ultimate Veggie Sandwich: Sandwich night is one of my favorite night of the week and this recipe is filled with lots of veggies and can easily be customized to the taste of the each family member.
What are your favorite quick family friendly recipes?
As most of you know a few years ago Neil and I started a family blog to document our journey into parenthood and beyond. Since then I have devoted most of my post on RWT to health, fitness and food and my post on Naturally Family to parenting and glimpses into our family life. For new readers Naturally Family might be a completely new thing and for older readers this may be a reintroduction. Below are a few of the most recent Naturally Family posts for you to enjoy:
I was reminded yesterday that it has been just over three years since I officially started my running journey.
Thank you timehop
For years and years I had wanted to start running but just never fully committed. I picked up running for a short time when I was in college but never fully committed and was over it after a few weeks. It wasn’t until the Spring of 2011 that I bought myself some real running shoes and committed to the Couch to 5k (C25k) program.
Soon after starting the C25k program Neil (who also started it) and I signed up for our very first 5k. We chose to pick a more picturesque 5k in Portland Maine for our first 5k experience. We both signed up for the Old Port 5k (there is also a half marathon) and we recruited my parents to come cheer us on.
While I was by no means the fastest runner (or the slowest) I completed the race and felt such a rush at the end that I wanted to sign up for all the races. After this initial race I kept up with my running until I got pregnant with Edith in the Winter of 2011. I actually figured out I was pregnant after having the worst run of my entire life. I felt terrible, was super slow and just felt off so I went home and took a pregnancy test and at 4 weeks along I found out I was pregnant.
After that extreme morning sickness hit and combine that with frigidly cold, windy and snow conditions l ended up choosing the couch over my running shoes. While I started to feel better around 18 weeks along I just wasn’t prepared to start back running after taking 13 weeks off and instead chose yoga, walks and strength training over running. In the end I did no running at all during my pregnancy (besides the very early weeks).
Once Edith arrived I was thrilled to know that getting back to running was just around the corner…or so I thought. I was convinced that since I had been active during my pregnancy, had no issues during my pregnancy and had an amazing birth experience that I would heal quickly and be back to running at the 6 week postpartum mark. Well the healing process took far longer than I had initial thought, probably closer to 10 weeks before I started to feel “normal”. I started back running and was pretty consistently until Neil got a job in Portland Oregon and we found out we had three weeks to pack up and move.
apparently this is my lucky race top
However when I found out we were moving I immediately looked into races in the area and found a quarter marathon in May to sign up for. As soon as we arrived to PDX in January 2013 I started my training schedule and was fully committed to running. That May or rather last May I ran my first postpartum race and it was exhilarating and then I seemed to just crash. I had gone from little to no running to running four days per week and after the race I felt burned out.
The entire summer I ran around 1-2 times per week and it wasn’t until the Fall that I started up running around 2-3x per week. I needed a break, time to recharge and have that desire to run again. Once that desire to run started again I was ready to sign up for another race until oops I found myself pregnant again. I ran during the early weeks of this pregnancy as well but just like with Edith I experienced intense morning sickness, I’d say even worse this time around and I decided once again to stop running. Just like my pregnancy with Edith I ended up not returning to running after taking 10 weeks off.
Here we are now at 39w1d pregnant and I know that running is in my near future again. This time around I know that healing may take longer and that I need to let myself heal and not rush back into running until my body feels good. My small goal is to start back running in late September/early October. Once of the benefits of living in the PNW is that we have mild winters and I don’t mind running in the rain so I will be able to keep up with running through the winter.
I actually won a race entry via a twitter chat to the same race I ran in May of 2013 and was able to defer the entry to next years race and plan to possibly train for the half this time around (I’ll decide once I see how running goes). I am thrilled to get back to running and knowing that there will be no more pregnancies after this one so I can really get back to making running a big part of my life.
In preparation for running yesterday my husband treated me to two new running tops and some gloves for this winter. It feels so good to know that I have some cute, comfortable and new running gear to get me back into the groove.
Share your running story in the comments!
For that mamas out there what was your experience with running before, during and after pregnancy?
Something exciting happened this past weekend…TOMATOES! Yes finally our local farmers market vendors have tomatoes and I am seriously in heaven. You would have thought the two huge heirloom tomatoes and three pints of heirloom cherry tomatoes would have lasted us all week but since I have been on a crazy tomato kick we are already out of them….four days later.
I am hoping that this baby makes his/her appearance very soon but I am also hoping that we can make it to the market to stock up on super sweet and juicy local tomatoes. I am salivating just thinking about buying more. Lately my favorite way to enjoy them has been on top of toast. Sometimes simply raw and sliced up with a little salt and pepper and other times I like to saute them up with a little onion or shallot and serve warmed.
Toast up your sourdough bread; you can simply do this in a standard toaster, under the broiler in your oven or if you have a grill try grilling up your bread (my favorite method).
Heat a medium saute pan over medium-high heat. Spray to coat the bottom with PAM Organic Olive Oil Spray <– this spray keeps things light and healthy plus clean up is a breeze. Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until onion is soft.
Add in the cherry tomatoes and garlic and cook until the cherry tomatoes start to break down; this should just take a few minutes.
Season with red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.
Top each slice of toasted sourdough with the warm cherry tomato topping.
Leaving up to 99% less residue, PAM is your ally in the kitchen and allows you to save time during prep and clean up.
Disclosure: Compensation was provided by ConAgra via Mode Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of ConAgra.
Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds. As always all opinions are my own.
Neil and I have always enjoyed entertaining whether it’s a pizza party, a potluck or our annual pumpkin beer tasting dinner. My favorite time to entertain however is during the summer when the days are longer, the sun is out and there is little need to do much cooking. I prefer to whip up some salads, grill veggie burgers and of course set out a few snack plates to start off any gathering.
I am particularly partial to antipasto platters because there is little work involved for me and they just look beautiful. I head to the grocery store pick up a few varieties of olives and various other antipasto bar items including peppers (hot and sweet), artichokes, roasted garlic, marinated tomatoes and basically anything else that looks good. I will finish off my platter with toasted bread, pita chips, crackers and hummus. Since I don’t like to do everything store bought I usually add in my own little treat and this time I made almond cheese stuffed peppadew peppers.
