Time for a Break

Four years later and I think I need a break from blogging.  Hence the absence for the past few weeks.  Summer is busy and I'd rather spend my time doing things with the kids, relaxing, and maybe even squeeze in a nap or two.  I don't want blogging to become a chore so maybe if I take a break I'll get back to the point of wanting to write again.  I know a lot of family and friends read and its how you keep up with the kiddos, so I'm sorry.  But I'm still just an email away for all of you!  If I start up again I'll be sure to let people know, until then....later gators!

14 Months

Here's what Lauren is up to at 14 months:

• She is walking/running all over.  More comfortable inside, starting to get better on grassy surfaces.
• She says the following: ut oh, Dada, Mama, ball, ba-ba (bottle), ca (car), hi, yea, and sneaks in some other shockers once in a while.  She signs please and more, waves hello and goodbye, blows kisses, and shakes her head for yes or no.  
• She understands a lot of what you tell her now.
• She loves books - pulling them off the shelf, looking through them herself babbling, bringing them to you to read to her.
• She loves to take anything out - like pulling the books off the shelf, emptying boxes of things in the pantry, pulling all the toys out of her basket toys.  
• She HATES water - the bathtub, the pool, the hose.
• She has turned into an awesome napper - takes a solid 2-3 hour nap each afternoon.  
• She has 2-3 bottles a day.  I'm trying to transition her to soy milk with no luck.  We've tried two different types and frankly, Luke and I love them!  So if we can get her on board we'll be a soy milk house from now on.  
• She's a pretty good eater but is getting a little picky.  I'm working really hard at finding more and more things she can have just like everyone else....or else we'll become a dairy free house for main meals - I feel bad that she's "left out" all the time. 
• She is hilarious - her personality is finally starting to come through and its adorable.
• She will do just about anything Luke does - which has its perks and its downside :) 

Dirty Girl

Dirty Girl Mud Run - complete!

Saturday I ran my second 5K along with my best friend, only this one included mud and obstacles.  I was really excited but also really nervous but it wasn't that bad at all!  I mean yes it was challenging, tiring, dirty, and seemed way longer than 3 miles but it was so much fun!  I did things I've never done before, we pushed each other, and I feel pretty damn proud about it all in the end.  We crawled under things through mud, up and over rope obstacles, jumping through tires, bouncing down an inflatable (it was the dirty GIRL mud run), through creeks, seemed like circles through the woods, and then finished with a nice big slide into another mud pit.  Woohoo!

 Before

After

Yesterday Made Me Happy

So I had a total me day yesterday and it was fabulous!  Some running, some dvr, some shopping, yay!

Highlights:

• I'm two runs away from completing the C25K program.  Some runs I feel like I could puke when I'm done but I'm getting there ;) I think once I'm done I'm going to be more of the 1.5-2 mile runner.  Mud Run countdown - 3 days!
• Officially down 16.5 lb in 5.5 months and still going...
• I bought size 6 shorts!!! (been a LONG time since I could say that and this was definitely the easy winner of the day)
• I found the following dairy-free foods for Lauren:  American cheese slices, 'cream' cheese, blueberry waffles.  This was a close second...cheese alone opens up so many options and she loves it!  Not like the cardboardy shredded mozzarella we tried before. 
• And not yesterday but still exciting - I made homemade dairy-free spaghettios for the kids and they both loved it!  Definitely a keeper in our house. 

My dairy-free love playing outside tonight.

Today Made Me Sad

It's Father's Day and Zach is an awesome father who loves donuts so Luke and I made a special early morning trip to get some.  Before I left I researched to see if there was any type or brand of donut that is dairy free.  I couldn't find anything.  So we went to Turkey Hill to get some Maple Donuts (Zach's favorite) and I read just about every sweet breakfast treat label on the shelf.  Every single one contains milk.  Sigh.

So we paid for our donuts and went home to eat them, all in front of Lauren and couldn't give her a bite.  Now she was happy with her oatmeal but she watches every single thing you eat and signs that she wants some.  And 99% of the time I have to tell her no. It's awful.  I fear it's only going to get worse when she realizes what she's missing.  I know to some people a food allergy might not seem like that big of a deal, but think about holidays, family gatherings, vacations, parties and how they all revolve around food in some way.  Celebrations involve food, that's just how it is and Lauren can't partake in almost any of it. 

I send in daily substitutions to daycare for her because she is able to eat maybe 40-45% of their menu.  We pack all of her food if we leave the house and the more I read the more I'm thinking she can't eat out at all.  I found a few blogs that I follow about other moms with dairy free kiddos and it helps in a way but also stresses me out more when they talk about things I never thought of before. 

So I'm not sure what the point of this all is, just venting my stress lately.  And I don't want any 'woe is me' response either.  I'll figure it out, we'll all be good, but some days it flat out sucks.

Father's Day

Luke was busy at school this week preparing gifts for Daddy.  This one made me laugh out loud.  I love this kid!

Hi, I'm Going to Brag

This is too exciting not to share.  After 13 months I can finally say I am not only at my pre-Lauren weight but under it!  Booyah!  This is big because 18 months after having Luke I wasn't back at my pre-baby weight then I went and got pregnant again.  So I'm only a few pounds away from pre-Luke and my "before I had any kids" weight.  I got this.  No biggie.