whole30, day 4

I'm doing it! Today is Day 4 of a Whole30 - I started on Monday. And so far, so good. Granted, it's day 4, so ask me in a week, or tomorrow because I'm just taking it day by day. But really, I was ready to start. I felt gross and bloated and just kept binging on carbs and sugar, carbs and sugar. I was (am) a bit overwhelmed as to what I would eat on this 30-day journey, but so far it's been going well. Day 2 I had a bit of a headache and felt a little foggy, but also... I have a newborn.

These are the Whole30 rules, if you're interested. I highly recommend the books though. I've especially liked their newest book, "The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom." I picked mine up at Costco. Because I live there.

I really think the biggest key to success is meal planning, and I'm not quite there yet. On the Whole30 you can eat A LOT of good WHOLE foods. See graphic above. I've mostly been winging it, but I definitely want to write down some meals for the coming weeks. SO yes, that means I have actually been cooking. Shocker, I know. I feel all domesticated.

I'll break it down just a little more. Breakfast is my favorite, because I can eat ALL THE EGGS. And NO, you do not have to worry about your cholesterol. Promise. My friend that inspired me to do this ate 3-4 eggs per day and her cholesterol dropped 27 points. BOOM. But if you're interested in the science behind it, I recommend reading the books.

This is what my breakfast has looked like the past 4 days:

(There is a bison burger hiding under that egg. Loco Moco, Whole30 style!)

I could eat sweet potatoes 3 meals a day. Lucky for me Costco sells a gigantic bag (naturally) of organic sweet potatoes. So I do basically eat sweet potatoes three meals a day.

So far the breakdown is: breakfast I make, lunch is a giant salad with canned salmon/Whole30 approved chicken sausage, and/or leftovers, and dinner I've made the past 3 nights. Please. Pick yourself up off the floor. YES, I actually made dinner 3 nights in a row. Currently there is a GIANT (again, Costco) pork shoulder in the crockpot for Kalua pork tonight, and I'm going to try my hand at cauliflower rice.

The first night I made Sweet Potato Shephard's Pie; recipe from The Whole30 book, which was BOMB. And leftovers were the next day's lunch, and midday snack.* Day 2 I threw some mahi-mahi in the oven and had a giant (Costco) baked sweet potato. And last night's dinner was bison burgers on sweet potato buns with a side of sautéed green beans.

*Part of Whole30's rules are basically, no snacking. They want you to eat 3 solid meals a day, enough food that would fill you up until the next. (They have a meal template). HOWEVER, their caveat is if you're pregnant or breastfeeding. That rule is out the window. I snack if necessary, and I eat when I'm hungry. Usually my "snacks" could actually qualify as a meal. And no difference in my milk supply, unless you count the 2oz I pumped at record speed.

So this is where I am today. I hope I can continue! I know it'll be hard when Rob is gone, but we are also on a mission to NOT make 2 dinners - meaning, Christian has to eat whatever is being made. Unfortunately, we got into that cycle of making food for him, and food for us. We've been working on this for a few weeks now. Baby steps. I will definitely need to have a plan for when Rob is gone. And yesterday DESERVED a bottle of wine, but I miraculously refrained. A miracle indeed.

Here is a tongue-in-cheek timeline of what it's like to do a Whole30. Thankfully (so far) today I don't want to "kill all the things," but there's always tomorrow!

Happy eating!

happy aloha friday!

Happy Aloha Friday!

This weekend we'll be having a BBQ at the beach (naturally) with friends (and probably the rest of Hawaii). If it's one thing that the folks of Hawaii know how to do better than anyone, it's BBQ, especially on holidays.

However, to be completely serious, even though this day is usually marked as "the beginning of summer" and filled with BBQs and cookouts, Memorial Day is a day to remember the servicemen and servicewomen that have given their LIFE, fighting for our freedoms. Their life. Someone's husband, wife, mom, dad, brother, sister, friend - somebody that was someone special in another person's life that is no longer here because they were serving this country to protect us. Let us celebrate and remember them this weekend.

Yesterday we had a mini family photo shoot. Mini meaning only 20 minutes long, although I think our photographer graciously allotted us a bit more time because screaming baby. (It was postponed from last week since Christian got sick, and then I also got sick.) I'm positive she got some wonderful photos of Christian and Rob. It's possible she got some ok pictures of one tired mama, and it's yet to be seen whether there are any photos of Cora not crying. Stay tuned...

Although, after the paid photographer was finished, I nursed Cora (again...) and was able to capture some moments of peace. Even though this is one of my favorites I took.

But here are some of my (non-crying) favorites I captured. 

Afterward we drove over to Kaimana Beach, one of my favorite beaches that I miss since moving to the west side. It's basically the perfect beach for little ones, snorkeling, and an open water swim. I mean, just look at that water. 

Another exciting event from yesterday involves Christian receiving a 25lbs package from Nannie delivered via FedEx filled with no less than 32,320 cars, 523 dinosaurs, 2 DVDs (one about cars and one about dinosaurs), and many other miscellaneous toys that he has been playing with NON-STOP. She also always throws in some goodies for me! 

Like... 

And this gem. I'll get right to hanging that up. 

I also wanted to share my Mother's Day gift from Rob and Christian! I absolutely love it! If you live on Oahu, I highly recommend visiting The Vintage in Wahiawa. It's a small antique shop, and they always have the coolest things, including these handmade wood block "prints." According to their Facebook page, "The Vintage is a collective of antiques, Hawaiian classics, retro art, and vintage-inspired clothing & accessories. All proceeds are donated to the charity, Surfing The Nations. Utilizing the industry of fashion and retail as a catalyst for change." And here's a little info on Surfing the Nations, a non-profit, humanitarian organization.

Can I talk about Miss Cora for a minute? This girl. What a blessing and a joy. We are all so in love with her. Especially big brother, if you can't tell from the pictures above. She is such an easy baby, minus "the witching hour" that seems to be so common. Starting around 6pm, she cluster feeds for hours. And if she's not nursing, she's probably fussing during that time. Thankfully it only lasts a few hours, and I've only found it difficult (and I use that term loosely) to deal with when Rob was gone because it coincides with Christian's dinner/bath/bedtime. So, thank goodness for baby wearing! LIFE.SAVER. 

Unfortunately, Cora is not a fan of the swaddle or the swing. Everything I know is a lie. Those two things, especially combined, were my saving grace with Christian. My oh-so-smart friend Jen suggested a bouncy seat that vibrates because her son also did not enjoy being swung at a high rate of speed. I was hesitant to spend more money on something I wasn't sure was going to work, but I'm so glad I did! For one, $30 is more than worth the price of sanity and free arms for a few minutes. The baby market has us gooooood. She loves the bouncy vibrating seat. In the swing, she'd be crying in less than 5 minutes. Every. Single. Time. 

As for the swaddling situation, I still do it at night and sometimes naps, except I use the "hands to heart" method (instead of arms down by her side), which she seems to prefer MUCH more. She loves sucking on her fingers, and I am not one to squelch that need to suck that babies use for comfort and self-soothing, especially when the binky falls out, which it always inevitably does. 

Tomorrow she'll be FOUR WEEKS, essentially one month, and I can't believe how much faster it has gone by this time. 

In other news. I'm just going to leave this here. 

Ok, so not yet. But soon. This is my proclamation. My original plan was to start Weight Watchers on Monday, but I was very inspired by a friend that just completed a Whole30. Remember, I started a Whole30 last year, and then continued with a variation of it when I started a Kaia BRIK session? I found that by eating REAL FOOD, my body changed in ways I had never experienced. I decided that instead of doing junk food portion control with Weight Watchers, because I know that's how I would approach it, I should be nourishing my body with real foods, so I can nourish Cora. I fully intend to blog my way through this Whole30 journey to keep myself motivated. Brace yourself. And in case you were wondering, but probably not, Whole30 is 100000% safe for breastfeeding mothers. How could it not be? All it consists of is eating real, whole food. Their only suggestion is to eat more high fat foods, such as avocados and olives. I have zero problems with that suggestion. 

Mopping the floor? LOL. 

Ok, that's enough. 

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend as we remember those that have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. 

Happy Aloha Friday! 

aloha friday: mighty mo and eat the street edition!

Last Friday we decided to attend our first ever "Eat the Street" event. Eat the Street is a wildly popular event here on Oahu that according to their website, happens every last Friday of the month. However, they must have special venues that happen randomly because last week was not the last Friday of the month. Honestly I'm not sure how it works; I've only been to it once. But I do know it's where food trucks rally up and serve yummy things. I think their "home base"/usual spot is somewhere in Kaka'ako. There's also always food trucks at the Honolulu Night Market, which I think is part of Eat the Street. So there's basically food trucks out somewhere every day of the week.  Another cool thing, is each event has a "theme" that each food truck has to follow i.e. Summer theme, BBQ theme, local food theme, etc.

I've always wanted to go to Eat the Street, but knowing there would be a gaggle of people + long lines for food has always stopped me.

See, again. Gaggle of people. Also, this was only half of the event. 

HOWEVER, last Friday's Eat the Street was held at the USS Battleship Missouri Memorial (also known as "Mighty Mo"), which was just too cool to pass up. The battleship has a fascinating history! "The USS Missouri was the last battleship commissioned by the United States and was the site of the surrender of the Empire of Japan which ended World War II." It's parked next to the resting place of the USS Arizona.

AND the event was free... and you know what free sounds like to a pilot's ears. We basically had to go on principle, because the usual cost of a tour of the Mighty Mo is about $25. Although I'm not sure if that's a guided tour or not. We just walked around the battleship, and there were people standing around that would answer questions about it's history, etc.

I would also like to add that I sat down on the floor up against some sort of wall to nurse Cora, on the battleship. I was asked by no less than 3 people working there if I was comfortable enough, if they could bring me a chair to sit in so I would be more comfortable, and if they could help in anyway, I could find them around the corner. I was blown away! So nice!!

Here are LOTS of photos! You're so welcome.

And as always, thank you to our servicemen/women, past and present, and their families, for the sacrifices they make to serve our country and protect our freedoms. 

Have a wonderful weekend! Happy Aloha Friday!

life lately and coming out of the fog...

And today, I mind dump.

It's been somewhere around two-and-a-half weeks since Cora came into this world, and I am s-l-o-w-l-y coming out of the fog. Postpartum recovery is NO JOKE. Not only are you completely sustaining a human being, but you're also trying to recover from bringing said human being into this world. So two weeks later, I'm finally feeling a bit more like myself. A sleep-deprived half-functioning version of myself, but you know what I mean. And that is not a complaint. There has never been any single event in my life more worth it than the birth of my children.

Some days I feel like I'm finally ready to start (very light, very minimal) exercising. And by exercising I mean, 15 minute walks around the neighborhood. Currently: searching for my fitbit. Oh, I haven't actually done anything yet. Just currently thinking about it... half the battle, right?

Pretty much.

I don't know how I would have survived these two weeks if it wasn't for our little "village." Rob's parents have been great (duh) - letting Christian have sleepovers (like last night and tonight), Rob's mom has been over cooking us meals, and just general tending to our needs in anyway they can help. We've had a few other friends bring food (lamb and bison Shepherd's Pie = YUM YUM YUM) and other gifts to make life easier for all of us. We're so grateful for our village of family and friends.

And Rob. Oh my. Not only has he been basically taking 100% care of Christian and entertaining him ALL DAY (God bless), he comes in my cave every morning and sweeps Cora away so I can get the best 2-3 hours of sleep I get all day. Then when I wake up, he brings me coffee and breakfast. Lately it's been fresh papaya and bacon, as an appetizer. Hungry girl is hungry. Or I like to think of it as "establishing my milk supply." In the evening, after he puts Christian to bed, he takes Cora for another few hours so I can sleep before I'm up at night nursing every few hours. I am so so so so so thankful that Cora sleeps pretty soundly in her bassinet at night after I feed her. I pray that continues because it means I am actually able to get "solid sleep" in 2-hour increments. So yeah, I'm spoiled and blessed and lucky and all those many great things.

I will say, a lot of people have wanted to come over and we would LOVE to see everyone. Mama needs some social time too! But we've really limited the amount of visitors and hands on Cora. I hate telling people "no," and it seems everyone has been understanding. I am not usually germaphobe, except the few times I've caught Christian licking the bottom of his shoes. That freaked me out. However, the first month of life is so delicate and any sort of sickness that causes a fever is an automatic hospitalization for baby girl, even if it's caused by just a cold. I just want lower the risk of that happening as much as possible.

Onward and upward!

This Thursday we're having a mini family photo session, which was basically a last minute decision. I had hoped beyond all hope I could do "newborn photos" by myself, but #nope. We ventured to the beach one day and Cora was having none of the sun, the wind, and Christian kicking sand, and I truly don't have the patience to make it work. So we're using a gal that did family photos for us way back in 2012! We loved her and the pictures, so we're doing a short 20-minute session at Kapiolani Park.

Awww little Christian. July 2012.

The unfortunate thing is that I decided on a whim (never ever a good idea) to get my hair cut and colored. WHAT IS IT ABOUT HAVING A BABY THAT MAKES WOMEN INSTANTLY WANT A NEW HAIRCUT/COLOR? I went to a salon on our side of the island instead of my regular place out in Kailua for the sake of time and getting back to nurse Cora. The color is fine, but the cut... sigh. I think I can curl it enough to hide the copious amounts of layers I did not ask for.

Other exciting things... we've finally pinned down the general dates of when we'll be on the east coast this summer. Basically most of August. Hurrah!

Ok, here's a few photos from my iPhone/camera from the past week or so.

This picture makes me laugh. I was trying to snap some pictures of Cora and Christian wanted to be part of the fun. My loves. 

That is one very tired, so in love, Mama, and one very proud Big Brother. 

I tried it, and it's nasty. 

This past Friday was Eat the Street, a weekly food truck event here on Oahu. It was held at the USS Missouri Battleship Memorial aka the Mighty Mo. We couldn't pass up such a fun opportunity to see this iconic battleship + a free tour! Christian was in heaven! The food lines were looooong, so we only stood in line once for Christian to get a shave ice, and proceeded to pickup Thai takeout for dinner. (More on this event later!)

Auntie Brandi with baby Cora! Brandi is about to start her next grand adventure leaving Hawaii for San Diego. One great place for another! Lucky her! Brandi has been my best friend for a long long time, and I'm happy she got to live here and experience Hawaii. I will miss her lots!! But I am already looking forward to the inevitable girls' weekends in San Diego.

When Auntie Brandi came over, she also brought Christian a dinosaur book. He's been decorating us and himself with stickers for days now. 

Like I mentioned upward, Christian is having a sleepover with Mimi and Papa. Yesterday I asked if Mimi would take Christian to get a haircut for the upcoming family photos. She happily obliged (thank you Mimi!!) and sent me this picture along with the disclaimer not to worry, that it looks good without the gel and Christian wanted it like this. Haha! I love it! I think we'll have to start styling his hair this way!!

Well friends, that brings me to the end of this novel. If you read to the end, gold star for you! I have no idea what day it is, but I hope you have a wonderful week!