At the beginning of this month, while we were visiting Clark's family, we took a day trip to the beach. It was impossible to be that close to the ocean (1.5 to 2 hour drive compared to 7 to 8 from home) and not go.

I was nervous. I was afraid we were going to get there and Michael wouldn't like the sane. Or the water. Or he'd get too hot. Or I'd forget to reapply his sunscreen. Or we wouldn't have enough food/liquids for him.

The list goes on.

Still, after doing some search through the blogosphere and google-ing the subject as much as possible, I came up with the Top Five things (in my opinion) to have for a baby beach trip.

1. Lots of Water
I know this may seem a bit redundant, but it is just as important to keep the little one hydrated as it is yourself. While Michael wasn't too keen on his water bottle, for whatever reason, he was very content to drink from one of our nice and cold ones. Perhaps bring a bottle with a sports top (or whatever you like to call it) so it's easy for the baby to drink from it.

2. Apply, Reapply, and Keep Track of Sunscreen
I will admit that one of Michael's legs got a little pink. And when I say a little, I do mean a little. He fell asleep under our cabana and the sun moved while he was sleeping and his leg that was in the sunlight got a tiny bit too much sun. KEEP TRACK OF WHEN YOU NEED TO REAPPLY! Since the baby's skin is so delicate, it's super important to make sure you apply whenever the sunscreen says to.

3. Hat
As mentioned in #2, the baby's skin is delicate. This being said, you should cover their delicate heads/faces. A hat is a perfect solution, especially if you have one that wants to go splash in the tiniest of waves (with you holding/sitting/standing close by, of course).

4. A Cabana, Sun Tent, or Umbrella
While Clark thought I was being a little dramatic when I said we had to have one of these things, I was persistent. Luckily his family had a cabana so we didn't have to go buy our own (yet). Just like #2 and #3, keeping the baby shaded is vital. If you plan on being out on the beach through his/her nap time, make sure you have a way to cover him. Sunscreen won't do the job completely... plus you want to keep him/her as cool as you can.

5. Snacks
For yourself and baby! We brought a cooler full of drinks, fruit, and more. We wanted Michael to feel as "at home" as possible at the beach. After all, if you enjoy something tasty, so will the baby. If he/she is under six months, just make sure your BM or bottle is readily available!

The last one that didn't make the top 5, but I thought I'd throw in as a suggestion, is a little baby pool. While Michael preferred to play in the "big bathtub", he did love that we had a little pool underneath the cabana. It was another way for him to cool down. Just bring a bucket to fill it up with water, and you've got another way of keeping baby happy close to you (in case you don't want to venture out in the sun for an endless amount of time as well)!

As a child, I never liked green beans. Perhaps it was because I rarely remember having fresh green beans... or it was just because they were green and therefore inedible in my book.

But things have changed.

Once we moved to the South, it was pretty easy to add a few things to my palate. Sweet Tea. Hush Puppies. Friend Green Tomatoes.

All of which clearly aren't that good for you.

These green beans, however, truly aren't that bad for you. And they're positively delicious (even, I think, for the green-bean-haters).

Ingredients:

- 1 lb fresh, snapped green beans
- 1/2 C finely chopped onion

- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 C of chicken broth (or 2 C water mixed with 2 tsp chicken bouillon)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
- 3 to 7 strips of bacon, crumbled (make sure to use low sodium or center cut!)

Directions:

- In a medium pot, melt the butter over low heat.
- Add the onion, garlic, bacon, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat.
- Add in green beans, salt, and pepper.
- Let simmer (covered) for at least one hour. If you like them super mushy, let them cook for around 1.5 hours.

- Serve warm and enjoy!

If you like, you can always eat them with the fabulous and easy homemade sloppy joes recipe of mine!


Inspiration for this recipe came from: Divas Can Cook.

This is my attempt to still keep myself accountable to my previous blog, Power-Push #1. We'll see how this goes.

So, it probably wasn't a fabulous idea to start my Power Push when we were headed off to visit Clark's family. My family it probably wouldn't be such a problem with. However... Clark's family doesn't exactly eat healthily, nor are they influenced to do so, either. It also didn't help that there were "two" holidays (Fourth of July, and Pop's Birthday) within our vacation. And a trip to the beach.

Ugh.

The good news is I haven't gained weight at all this month.

The bad news is I haven't lost any, either.

This month, though, is not just about losing weight. It's about changing our lifestyle. Clark and I started out rough, got better, and then got worse when I was pregnant.

Note to those who are pregnant: don't use it as an excuse to eat anything.

That's what I did. I know that's why I gained so much weight. All of a sudden it seemed like an easy way to do what I want. I kept telling myself, "I've lost a lot of weight before, I can do it again."

Within that reminder I forgot to tell myself that previously it had taken me all four years of high school to successfully get where I wanted to be.

Oops.

I have successfully managed to be more active. One thing our vacation did do is get me up and moving about more, since it wasn't like Michael and I just had the house to ourselves. Excessive alcohol hasn't been difficult to give up, either.

More exercise hasn't quite panned out the way I wanted... but, hey, everything takes time, right? The fact that the weather has been working against me and my back has been hurting for whatever reasons seem like viable excuses. For now, at least.

I guess I won't go into detail about all of my giving-ups and focusing-ons... but I actually have been doing rather well for the past 15 days.

I wish I had pictures for today, but Clark had to get up early and leave for work. So I'll post pictures from our beach trip for now and post again in a few days with current pictures.




I'm planning to do better. As long as I can get my butt in gear by the end of this month, I'll be a happy camper. And when I say that, I mean get into a better routine of healthier foods and a good amount of exercise. While having a baby makes things harder, it's definitely not an excuse... that's something else I have to keep reminding myself of.

Suggestions? Books? Blogs? Websites? Hit me with what you got! I'm definitely open to anything you can offer me.

Clark does not like sloppy joes. At all. Something about a weird memory from a camp he used to work out.

Regardless, he still managed to eat one of these... so that means they have to be good, doesn't it?

I'd like to think so!

Ingredients:

- 1 lb hamburger (lean)
- 1/2 C finely chopped onion
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 to 3/4 C tomato sauce
- 1/4 C tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp liquid Hickory Smoke
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp soy sauce (light)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp tabasco sauce

Directions:

- Brown the hamburger with your 1/2 onion and 2 cloves of minced garlic.

- Add the rest of the "fix in's".

- Cover and let simmer for 15 to 25 minutes.
- Serve on a bun or however you like it.

*Pictured on a Nature's Own 100 calorie deli flat*

TA-DAH!

Make it extra delicious and serve with homemade Zucchini Chips!

Inspiration for this recipe came from: Trick's Chef.

Craving zucchini is pretty normal in our household. Clark grew up with fried zucchini. I grew up with... well.. no zucchini, really, until my senior year of high school. Still, we both love it. Therefore, I thought it only right that I find a healthier way of making zucchini since fried truly is not an option. Ergo: Zucchini chips.

By the way, does anyone besides me always want to spell "zuchinni" instead of "zucchini"?

Not to mention my friend Beth over at Post Graduation Studies has been going on and on about her love for zucchini (meant in a positive respect... I see how "on and on" could come across as negative), and therefore I thought I'd post something for her to try!

Ingredients:

- 1 thinly sliced zucchini
- 1/4 C bread crumbs (Italian flavored would go excellently)
- 1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 C Milk (I used skim)
- 1/4 C (heaping) of Whole Wheat Flour

Directions:

- Preheat your oven to 425.
- Spray your cookie sheet or line it with nonstick aluminum foil.
- Mix together your milk and flour.
*Pictured is one cup of milk and 1/2 C flour, but I learned that I definitely didn't need that much so I halved it for the post!*

- Mix together your bread crumbs, cheese, black and cayenne pepper.

- Dip your zucchini slices first in the milk mixture (drenching/drowning them, really) and then coat them (generously) in the bread crumbs mix. Place on your prepared cookie sheet.
*My fingers looked like they were ready to be cooked as well by the time I was finished with this process!*


- Bake the chips for 30 minutes, flipping half way through (so 15 minutes on each side). Make sure to check on them because a couple of mine did get overdone (aka burned to a crisp), but for the most part they were positively scrumptious!


Serve warm and ENJOY!


This recipe was adapted from: The Naked Kitchen

It's amazing how traveling can leave you feeling "hung over" for a few days. We've been home since Sunday evening and I still can't seem to shake the feeling of laziness from the car trip.

It's true we did plenty while visiting Clark's family. That, however, does not excuse the fact that our suitcase has yet to be unpacked, or that our house is filthy and desperately needs to be vacuumed, or that we've been slow on catching up on washing the dishes. For whatever reason, this trip left us all feeling incredibly jet lagged-- even mores than mine and Michael's trip to Kansas.

So, here's what went down in Fayetteville, NC.

We arrived and Michael was a little afraid of his grandparents.

We played the piano.

We had the Fourth of July.



Michael successfully wiggled out of his Snug-a-Bunny seat, flipped over Luna's water bowl, and made a wet mess.

We went out for Pop's Birthday.

We went to the beach.

I made a fabulous looking Fruit Pizza.

Now if I could just recover and get things done!

(July 4, 2012)

With all the traveling, family escapades, and so forth I completely forgot to post on July 7th. At least we had Swing on a Star as an interlude so you didn't feel like I had forgotten to let you know about the baby boy!

So, Michael is Ten Months Old!

We're guessing he's over 20 pounds, and I would imagine close to 30 inches long. We had to finally give in and get him a new carseat that was bigger than his infant carrier; since he kept kicking the seat so much we imagined he was too long (or close to it) for his old seat. He's getting heavier to tote around, and my back has definitely started to notice. Trying to find ways to remind myself to switch sides and use the sling less and less.

(July 6, 2012)

We celebrated Michael's new check point by taking him on his first beach trip. It was most convenient to be visiting Clark's family and only have to drive around two hours, rather than drive anywhere from five to eight from our current location. Needless to say, Michael had more than enough fun. He loved the fact that the waves would go away and come back. He also loved the sand (note it flying around in the picture above). I was afraid taking him to the beach would be difficult, but we went more than prepared and it went as smoothly as could be imagined (post to come about it).


Visiting family also gave Michael opportunities to try new things. He is positively in love with strawberries still. Nothing compares. He is also in love with cheese and gold fish... which I suppose makes perfect sense. I think, too, that Michael's Great-Papa may have slipped him some ice cream... it would explain why he was up until 11pm that night.

We have hit a glorious point in Michael's development where he takes long naps. Yesterday he slept for 2.5 hours in one setting and then was up until around 8:45pm. I probably should be pressing for him to go to bed earlier, but then he also slept until 8:30am this morning... so I'm not complaining at the moment.

(This lasted for just under two hours.)

Michael is more than comfortable at this point pulling himself up to sit up, pulling up on furniture, cruising furniture, and so forth. Yesterday he even pulled himself up on his bouncer (no picture, sorry) and commenced to play with it outside of the seat. He seemed to enjoy that more since there was more freedom to it. He also made it up a few stairs yesterday... even if they were concrete and made me incredibly nervous, he handled it with ease. I can't believe how big he's getting! Next on the list is definitely walking.

His two new favorite games are playing with light switches and doors. He'll push the door closed and look at us to say, "Closed!" Then he'll crawl forward, struggle a bit, and open the door and look at us to say, "Open!"

With the light switch it's the same thing. "On," or "Off!" He absolutely loves it.


If you couldn't tell, he tolerated me more than long enough for us to have an excellent Fourth of July photo-shoot. He was excited about the few fireworks Clark shot off at his parents' house until there was one that had multiple ones in a row... that officially brought on tears and we therefore retreated inside and successfully went to sleep immediately after that.

Note: Late night company + strawberries + (I'm guessing) ice cream = grumpy baby until fireworks go off and he's truly had enough to pass out for the night.