Baby's First "Glamping" Trip

As I have mentioned before one of mine and Josh's favorite hobbies is backpacking. We try to go out west every August and backpack anywhere from 40-50 miles through the backcountry of a national park. When we aren't out west we like to find short 12-14 mile weekend hikes around GA, TN, and the Carolinas. When you are carrying everything you need for 3-5 days on your back you tend to travel with as little as possible. You ration your food,  you bring only enough water to get you to the first river so you can pump more, and you certainly don't have room to bring any games or activities to keep you occupied.

Well our idea of backpacking/camping is a little different from our friend's. They enjoy what we like to call "Glamping" or glamorous camping. This past weekend we had a wonderful glamping experience with about 15 our closest friends; it was GLAMOUROUS!

We had about 9 tents, a "kitchen" tent with an endless supply of our favorite camp foods ( most were not nutritionist friendly, but you have to splurge every once in a while!) a charcoal grill, two 50 cc motor bikes, corn hole, BB guns, glow sticks, an endless campfire, and of course A LOT of laughs! We "glamped" at a trail head up in Clayton,GA  right on the river. It was the perfect spot because we were close to water for the dogs to play and swim and right on the trail head so we could pick up and do some easy day hiking.

Friend montage!

What? You've never brought photo booth props on a camping trip??

What about sparklers and glow sticks??

Baby Thomas even got in on the photo fun!

Beautiful day for hiking!

Pregnant lady on a motor bike!

AMAZING weekend! Makes you want to go glamping this weekend doesn't it :)

I made a great lowfat Turkey chili before we left. It was the perfect healthy, hearty, warm dinner for a cold night outdoors. You don't normally see zucchini and carrots in chili but they blend in really well and add some great extra vitamins and minerals to what is often a high fat, mostly protein based meal.

Spicy Turkey Chili (courtesy of myrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS:

-1 1/4 cups green bell pepper strips

-1 cup sliced onion

-1/2 cup sliced carrot                

-1/2 cup  sliced zucchini                

-1 pound ground turkey                

-1/4 cup chili powder                

-1 1/2 teaspoons sugar                               

-3/4 teaspoon dried oregano                

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-1/4 teaspoon black pepper

-2 (14.5-ounce) cans no-salt-added stewed tomatoes, undrained 

-1 (16-ounce) can kidney beans, drained

-1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained

-1 (8-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce

-1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese                

PREPARATION:

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add first 5 ingredients; cook 5 minutes or until turkey is browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in chili powder and the next 8 ingredients (chili powder through tomato sauce), and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with cheese.

IT'S GOING TO BE ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL WEEKEND! GET OUTDOORS AND GET MOVING! 

                           

Embracing the Bump

Get comfortable because this post isn't full of pretty pictures of my dog, or delicious food. I'm going to get real for a minute. I may sound selfish, or foolish, but I want to share these crazy feelings I'm having because I'm sure many pregnant women feel the same way.

November 1, 2013, the first day my stomach got in the way on the hamstring curl machine. HAHAHA. It seems silly, I know, but this was a big day for me. I'm 18 weeks so naturally I have a small bump now. My friends laugh at me and tell me I'm ridiculous; they say it’s adorable and I look great; to me it looks like I have a giant basketball in my stomach.

However, I am proud to say I am embracing this little bump more than I thought I would. Now, I'm not going to completely down play it. I definitely had a melt down about a week ago. I had just gotten out of the shower and was standing in front of the mirror and just started to cry. It sounds vein and selfish; but, I've spent my entire life working on keeping a toned, healthy figure. It's hard to see my body changing. I jumped in the bed quickly, trying to hide my tears from Josh. He usually gets aggravated when I complain about my body; he says I must see a completely different image in the mirror than what he sees, and that is probably true. But instead of getting annoyed,  he just came over,  kissed me, and very sweetly, told me to get use to it because it was going to get bigger; but, the end result is going to be something pretty amazing! It was the best thing he could have said. I didn't want him to coddle me and tell me that I still looked the same, because that's just not true. But he helped me realize that's OK.

 
 I have feared this stage in my pregnancy since day one. I had this image in my head of myself going from a size 4 to a size 16, with a big, round, puffy face, waddling around like a penguin. So, when my mom asked if she could take me maternity shopping last weekend, I had very mixed feelings. I was looking forward to buying pants that gave me room to breathe, and shirts that's actually fit around my ever- growing bust; but, I was NOT looking forward to admitting that I don't comfortably fit into all of my normal clothes.

 
Quickly, I learned that maternity clothes are AWESOME and now I can't wait to get a little bigger so I can wear them! I also learned that having a baby belly doesn't mean you have to wear a size 16 pants- HAHAHA. I was very happy to learn that you buy the same size clothes; they are just made to fit the new shape of your body.

 So for all you expecting mom's out there, I now have a small amount of shopping experience that may help in your search for maternity clothes.  Motherhood Maternity recently got a new brand in their store called Bumpstart. The great part about the Bumpstart brand is most of their stuff comes in packs of 2 and is priced between $20-$25. I got a bunch of tank tops, t-shirts, and leggings in a variety of colors for a great price!! They also have a lot of cute spring/summer shirts on clearance right now. I went ahead a stocked up on some cute tunic type shirts they had being that it will be spring during the end of my pregnancy.

 I got my pregnancy pants from Old Navy. Old Navy jeans have always fit me really well. I am a mere 5'1" and their pants fit my short body. Old Navy didn't have a large maternity section, but they have a lot of really cute stuff online. And  I LOVE the way the pants fit me! We also went to Target to stock up on some long sleeve shirts. They have a great variety of colors and their maternity long sleeve shirts are SO soft. I also bought some adorable open front winter sweaters. I have a feeling this winter is going to be leggings with big sweaters! Target has a TON of great open- front sweaters. Since it doesn’t need to be buttoned or zipped, it doesn’t have to be a maternity sweater.

 Over the past 4 months, people have constantly asked me, "Are you excited"? Of course, my answer is,” yes”, and trust me, I have been. But, it hasn't really felt "real", you know? I've had very few pregnancy symptoms, I haven't felt the baby move yet, and up until the of last couple weeks, I haven't looked pregnant. But now, as this little bump gets bigger, I am starting to get more and more excited. It is finally starting to feel real. So, I am going to embrace this little bump as it grows because I know inside is something very real and very special!  I will outgrow clothes, and I'm sure I will have to start altering my workouts, but, that's OK because I know in a few short months, I will be a “workout mom”!  I will soon be back into my regular workouts, wearing my regular clothes, with my beautiful child in tow!!

 

Hope you had a wonderful weekend! Here's to embracing the changes!!!!

All About Abs!!

I think a lot of women who get pregnant see that positive sign and immediately stop all exercise in fear that they will hurt their baby. The first type of exercise they stop is usually abs. Well ladies I have great news for you; keeping your abs and core in shape is one of the most important things you can do for your body while you are pregnant! Having a toned tummy and core will help your body support the weight of your baby and relieve pressure from your back and pelvis as well. Now, obviously as your belly grows you will have to alter your ab workouts. I am just now starting to get a small bump so I haven't had to change my routine too much, but as I get bigger I will be sharing new exercises to accommodate my larger stomach. Here are a few of my favorite ab exercises. I recommend doing 3 sets of 15-20 of each exercise.

Ball Sit-Ups:
These are great for people with lower back issues and women who are in their second and third trimester of pregnancy. My OB advised me to avoid ab exercises that require me to lay flat on my back after 14 weeks so I altered my normal sit-ups to ball sit-ups.

Start with your lower back stabilized on the ball, feet planted firmly on the ground and knees at a 90 degree table top position. Tighten your stomach and bring your shoulders off the ball then return to starting position.

Plank:
The plank is one of my favorite ab exercises! It works your entire core and there are SO many various plank positions for people who like a challenge.

In the top picture I have my knees on the ground to show you the modified version; the bottom picture shows the regular version. Notice in both versions my back is flat and my arms and shoulders are in a straight line. Once in the proper position, tighten your entire core and hold. I like to hold my plank for a minimum of 1 minute. If you are new to this exercise start slowly. Try holding for 20 seconds and work your way up.

If you like a challenge try one of many plank versions. In the version pictured below I lift my opposite leg and arm. This challenges your core and balance.

Cherry Picker or Russian Twist:
This exercise focuses on the obliques. I have posted two pictures here. For those of you that want a challenge you can hold a 5 or 10 lb weight while you twist.

Position yourself balanced on your tailbone. With your feet in the air, or on the floor if you need the modified version,  twist your torso to the left and then the right. Keep your lower body squared. If you allow your hips to move with your torso you will not get the full benefit of the exercise.

Crunches:
These are another favorite of mine; they work the entire stomach. I have shown the regular version  and the modified version for when you belly starts to get bigger.

For the modified version place your hands behind your butt and legs extended in front at a 45 degree angle. Bring your knees into your chest and extended back out.

For the regular version you will do the same thing but your hands will remain in front of you and you will extend your entire body. But, keep your shoulders off the ground at all times.

Excuse Chance for sneaking into these pictures hehehe.

Hope you started out your Monday the right way, Motivated and Moving!!



Relaxation

Anyone who knows Josh and I knows that the word "relax" is not used regularly in our vocabulary. We are ALWAYS on the go. Now I can't complain, the majority of our outings are social ventures. When we don't have an event planned we usually find something to do that gets us out of the house. We like to seize the day and try to cram as much into our lives as possible . However, since I've been pregnant that strange word "relax" is starting to sound more familiar. So this weekend we actually took it easy and did a lot of relaxing!

We slept in, drank coffee, made breakfast


2 scrambled egg whites, whole wheat toast with pimento cheese, sliced avocado, and grapes. Healthy foods for a growing baby!

Took Chance on a 3.5 mile walk { Side note: I threw my back out on Saturday putting my pants on hahaha. Not sure how that happens, but walking was the only thing that didn't hurt; so we did A LOT of walking this weekend.}



We LOVE living near the lake!!

The air is crisp and the leaves are so vibrant, there is no reason to be inside on days like these!

Chance never noticed but we had a little visitor on our walk. Sweet little deer.

Went to a Halloween Party

Juno and Bleeker. And in case you are wondering, that is not my real belly! I'm only 16 weeks!



 Made AMAZING Brunswick stew

Recipe is at the bottom of this post

And ended our Sunday night relaxing by our first fire of the season.

 

Monday and Tuesday started out with an hour long cardio workout and today started with an arm circuit and is ending with an hour of power yoga. Did you get your workout in today?????

Brunswick Stew

Ingredients

-1 Tbsp olive oil

- 1 cup chopped onion

- 2 stalks celery, chopped

1 1/2 lbs ground pork ( I use ground turkey instead, it is EXTREMELY lower in calories and fat!!!!)

1 1/2 lbs ground beef ( I use the 90% 10% or 80% 20 %)

3 (14.5 oz ) cans whole peeled tomatoes with liquid, chopped

1 whole chicken, shredded ( I picked up a BBQ rotisserie chicken from Publix and removed the skin)

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup hickory flavored bbq sauce

salt and pepper to taste

hot sauce to taste  (optional)

1 green bell pepper

3 (14.75 oz) cans of cream style corn ( I only used 2- just a preference of mine)

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in large skillet, and saute the onions and celery until soft. Mix in the pork (or turkey) and ground beef, and cook until evenly browned. Drain fat.

2. Transfer meat mixture into a large stock pot over low heat. Stir in the shredded chicken, tomatoes with juice, ketchup, bbq sauce, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Place the whole green pepper in the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, 2 hours, until thickend.

3. Stir in cream style corn. Continue cooking for 1 hour or until desired consistency has been reached. Remove the green pepper; chop and return to the stew.

ENJOY!