Radical Acts of Kindness!

22 Feb

I wanted to share something with you all that we have been doing, in the hopes of maybe inspiring you all to start doing the same. We are huge fans of Dayna Martin and her family. She is a radical unschooling advocate and has just inspired our family in so many ways. You can follow their YouTube channel here. She has started a series on her channel called Radical Acts of Kindness, where her and her children do random acts of kindness once a week. I thought this was a great idea and decided to start doing this once a week with my family. We all have busy lives. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up and only think of what’s going on in our own lives. Its nice to get out of our own heads and think of others for once. I find that it gives me gratitude.

It can be as simple as picking up trash we see on the ground, or paying for the order of the person behind you at the Starbucks drive thru (that one is really fun).

This week we did something that really touched my heart. There is a website called More Love Letters where you write letters or words of encouragement to people who are going through difficult times in their lives. I read through some of the stories and the one that really spoke to me was Amanda. I can really relate to what she is going through and I just wanted to let her know that she isn’t alone. I told my oldest (4) about this mommy who was having a difficult time and he wanted to paint her a pretty picture to lift her spirits. You can read more of her story and the stories of others on the website. Take a minute out of your day to let someone know that they are worth it and that they are special and loved.

We haven’t been doing this very long and my son has already started suggesting things on his own. For instance, the other day, we were at the library and he noticed some trash on the floor and offered to pick it up. I don’t know about you but this is exactly the type of human being I want my son to be.

Happy Sunday!

Let me know in the comments if you want to see more posts like this.

✌️

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January in Review

5 Feb

If you follow my Facebook page, you may have noticed my post earlier about changing the direction of this website. Although I still care about Paleo and all things health, my focus has shifted to my boys and their learning process. Health is just a normal part of our every day lives.

I will be unschooling our boys. What does that mean? It means we don’t homeschool, which is doing school at home. I don’t love either term, really. It only talks about what we don’t do instead of what we do. We believe that learning is something that is natural and happens with little to no effort. Curiosity is also natural and, in my opinion, schools kind of kill that. It did for me. I also think it’s a waste of time to spend your time doing something you aren’t interested in or spending time in subjects you aren’t good at.

Anyways, I’m not here to educate you on all there is to know about unschooling because it took me a few years of research to figure it out. Google it if you are interested. You can also follow me on facebook where I will post links about unschooling.

So what does a typical day look like for these unschoolers?

Well here are some of the activities we did in the month of January. These are events that occurred in addition to our weekly gymnastics classes and park visits.

We went to the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI). We are members here so we visit often. Science museums are fantastic places for learning! Memberships are usually under $200 for the year for a family.

We learned about natural disasters, the human body and development, butterflies, and so much more!

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We also went on a muddy adventure at Scout Park with some of our friends. We learned about air potatoes and got to trek through mud and get filthy…so fun!

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One of our favorite days this month was when we visited the Manatee Viewing Center in Apollo Beach. We got to see dozens of manatees in their natural habitat, along with a few different species of fish and birds. This place was so great. The boys spent a while in the little learning and exploration center they had where they got to put together manatee puzzles and race manatees.

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We visited Dinosaur World in Plant City! It was a weekend so daddy got to join us. Learning isn’t limited to Monday thru Friday when you unschool. It can happen anywhere, at any time.

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Another weekend event we attended was Touch-a-Truck in Largo. The kids got to ride and explore huge tractors, a helicopter, bull dozers, fire trucks, ambulances, and more!

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Thanks for reading my first unschooling post! I will try to do these biweekly so they aren’t so long. Hope everyone has an awesome weekend. We will be taking off tomorrow to our favorite place (yes, Disney World) to celebrate birthdays. Disney has become a great place for us to learn how to manage money and practice patience by waiting our turn in line.

✌️

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3/4 months postpartum update…

17 Oct

Hello there!

It’s been a while…

I know.

Forgive me?

A lot has been going on in the last two months and I just haven’t had the energy or time to blog.

Our little family moved cities and we couldn’t be happier where we are now! The hubby was offered an amazing job that he couldn’t refuse and so we packed up our stuff and we were out. To be honest, we were waiting for any excuse to get out of South Florida, and away from all the drama that it comes with.

Dean is 4 months old! Can you believe it? Why must they grow so fast??? Make it stop.

Here’s what he looks like these days…

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As you can see, he’s found his feet!

Stats: At his 4 month checkup, he weighed 16.8lbs and measures 26.5 inches long. This makes him tall and solid! Daddy is proud, naturally. He is rolling over, sitting assisted, laughing at his older brother, and grabbing anything in site!

Breastfeeding: We are still exclusively breastfeeding and it’s going great. He is not the best latcher, or the most efficient, but that won’t stop this mama! I had another plugged duct the other day but, thankfully, it wasn’t mastitis. That was the absolute worst! Although, we are in no rush to start eating food yet, Dean has recently begun to show some interest in the food I’m eating. Once he begins to sit unassisted a little better, I will have him join us at the dinner table and offer him some food. I’m guessing this will be around the 6/7 month mark. I may begin giving him soft boiled egg yolk (pasture raised) with liver before then. If you want to know why click here.

Sleep: On average, he is still waking every 2/3 hours to nurse. He has random nights where he will sleep for a long stretch. I’m not worried since this is normal while cosleeping and nursing.

Updates on mommy….

I’m only SIX pounds away from pre-pregnancy weight at 4 months! This puts me at 153 lbs. I am so proud of this. Last time around, I was nowhere near pre-pregnancy weight this fast. I don’t think I lost the last 10 until after a year. I work damn hard so I’m totes bragging.

Here are some pics of the belly at 4 months postpartum. I’m starting to see some toning but I still feel like the baby pooch hasn’t fully returned to normal. Hoping it does!

Here’s what the tummy looks like at 4 months postpartum.

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Have a great weekend everyone! See you next month. Who knows? Maybe I will get inspired to post a new recipe or something. :)

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2 months postpartum update!

20 Aug

This post is like a hundred weeks late. I’m so sorry! We are moving cities tomorrow and doing so with a toddler and a newborn has not been an easy task.

Having two children is still the hardest job ever. I want to laugh at myself for thinking having 1 was hard. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Let’s start with baby…

Here are some shots of him recently.

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Ugh! He is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen! He is such a joy!

Breastfeeding

We are still (not even close to being done) exclusively breastfeeding. Since breastfeeding is on demand, there really isn’t a set schedule. Sometimes he goes a few hours and sometimes he wants a snack 15 minutes after his last feed. I don’t mind. This is probably the last child I will ever nurse so I’m enjoying every second of it. Big brother has been enjoying some breast milk too!

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Sleep

Little Dean is a much better sleeper than his older brother. He enjoys 3 hour naps sometimes. He’s been having nights where he only wakes up once. I have a feeling that he will sleep through the night very soon. Either way, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t make him a better child in any way. I laugh when people say how “proud” they are because their 1 day old slept through the night. Does this mean I should be un-proud of my first son who didn’t sleep the night until he was almost a year old? The good ol’ Procrustean shoe. Ugh. I digress…

Stats

At his 2 month check up, Dean weighed in at 13.7 lbs and measured 23 inches long. I make big babies and that’s okay! It doesn’t make me #soproud because being bigger or smaller doesn’t friggin matter. Seriously moms, don’t feel bad if other babies are bigger, or sleeping sooner, or busting out teeth at 1 month old. There is nothing wrong with your child and you should still be #proud and feel #blessed.

Anyways, Dean is interacting with us much more these days. Smiles. Air kicks. Gurgles. I love this stage! I can’t get enough.

On to mommy…

Body

If you have been reading my blog, you know that I’ve been on a 6 week nutrition plan. I didn’t cheat for 6 weeks! I didn’t even allow myself my programmed cheats most of the time because the weight was coming off so slowly. Although the scale is somewhat important at reflecting weight loss, you can see from my before/after shots that the scale doesn’t tell the whole story. I must have managed to put on some muscle because the difference is pretty significant. I’ve been doing Crossfit 4-5 times a week.

I started the program at 169lbs and finished at 158lbs. Even though this is only an 11lb difference, I can see the difference in my body. Some of my clothes are finally starting to fit again. Thank goodness!

Here is before (left) and after (right)

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I’m still a good 15lbs from my goal so I’m going to continue on with the nutrition program and follow all the advice that was given to me. I’m so grateful to Trevor for his nutrition advice. I’ve never been able to lose weight in a healthy way. I’ve always just starved myself and then sacrificed strength in the gym. I’ve felt amazing at the gym. I was able to squat 165lbs my first time squatting after baby. I wasn’t even squatting 155lb right before I got pregnant. I was starving those days.

Stop making excuses and get after it! My eyes burn me from exhaustion and I have to take the baby with me most days but it has to be done! My happiness depends on my feeling good about myself.

If you would like a personalized nutrition plan, you can contact Trevor Jaffe. Follow his Instagram @jaffestrength. His email is on his profile. You won’t be sorry!

Hope you enjoyed this post! Let me know in the comments how you lost all your baby weight!

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1 month postpartum!

8 Jul

Is this post a few days late? Yes.

Am I a complete nut who barely has time to shower, let alone blog? Yes.

Am I trying my best? Yes.

Geez, it’s been rough, man.

When do toddlers turn into human beings? I’m really counting on the fact that one day….just one day…my 3 year old wild animal will turn into a civilized human being. I’ve heard this may take another year or two. Two?!!! Help!

In other news, my little señor is a month old! I can’t believe it. It’s depressing how fast they grow!

I had a pretty rough week last week. I came down with mastitis. If anyone has experienced this, they know how awful mastitis is. As if I hadn’t suffered enough through pregnancy, childbirth, and exhaustion…

Mastitis is an infection of the breast usually caused by a plugged duct. It causes unbearable pain in the affected breast, fever, shakes, cold sweats, aches and pains all over your body…you basically feel like you’ve been hit by a truck. Sounds like fun huh? Add a newborn, a wild animal to tame (aka toddler), having to breastfeed more out of the affected breast…a recipe for success! Not. Thankfully, I got me so antibiotics and started feeling better within 48 hours.

Let’s get the the actual update now.

Don’t forget, from now on I will be posting monthly.

Let’s talk about the baby first…because, cute.

Here is what he looks like at 1 month old. He’s changed so much already but still looking a whole lot like big brother

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Just for fun, here’s a pic of my oldest when he was a baby, and his little brother. Can you tell who’s who?

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Breastfeeding

Besides the mastitis, breastfeeding is going well. My supply is starting to establish and level out. We are approaching the 6 week growth spurt and so nursing has been around the clock these days. On July 4th, we spent the entire day nursing, pretty much.

Sleep

He is still waking, on average, every 2-2 1/2 hours. Randomly, he will go 4. We are still co sleeping and loving it. The only problem is having 4 humans on a king size bed. Did you know they don’t make anything bigger than a California King (longer not wider) here in he states? I’m starting to consider importing an emperor size bed from the UK. If not, I’m going to have to start transitioning big brother out on his own. I don’t want him to feel like little brother took his place so I would have to transition both and I’m not ready for the little one to be out of bed yet. It’s so much easier when breastfeeding.

Milestones

They don’t do much at this age but we are doing tummy time and I feel like he almost smiles. I can’t wait to see his cute smile! This usually happens around 2 months.

Now onto mommy…

Body and Diet

I broke through the plateau last week. Thank goodness. Remember that professional I was seeking out? Thanks to him and a personalized diet, I was able to shed 4 lbs in the last week and a half. This makes my current weight 165lbs. It’s been really hard since all I crave are sweets when I’m breastfeeding, and I’m hungry all the time. When I’m home I’m okay. I’m not really hungry, just bored. I don’t care though. Nothing worth having is easy.

It was really annoying and hard to watch people eat cookies and BBQ on the 4th of July but I got through it. I will be staying away from events like this, it’s not worth the misery. Lol.

I also went back to the gym this week. I know I know. I’m supposed to wait 6 weeks. I feel fine. I’m not bleeding anymore and I haven’t done anything crazy. Mostly body weight workouts at the gym. No core or jumping exercises until I get the okay from my doctor next week. I had to do SOMETHING.

Here’s what the belly looks like at 1 month postpartum.

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Thanks for reading!

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3 Weeks Postpartum Update…

26 Jun

Hello!

This image sums up my life right now.

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It’s still hard! My toddler is hard. The threes are so much worse than the twos. Stick a newborn into the equation and…put a fork in me. I’m so exhausted!

Ok, I’ll stop complaining now.

Besides being the hardest darn thing I’ve ever done…

Moments like these…

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…make it all worth it.

Body and Diet

Are you ready for this? I lost ZERO pounds this week. Yai! Not. Whoever thinks breastfeeding makes you lose weight is full of crap. People who lose all the weight right away would have done so whether they were breastfeeding or not. I think breastfeeding definitely helps shrink your uterus back faster which can get you your waistline back. However, lose weight? I don’t think so. Do you know how hungry breastfeeding moms are? Apparently, prolactin is an appetite stimulant. No kidding.

Anyways, you can imagine how annoyed I am at the lack of weight loss and the hole in my stomach every day. But don’t you worry my friends. A professional has already been sought out, and a specialized diet is underway…just for me. I won’t go through the same thing I always go through to lose weight (starving). I’ll keep you updated on progress.

Here is a pic of the belly. I’m still wearing my Belly Bandit during the day.

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Breastfeeding

I’m still having some latching issues. It’s not enough to make me seek help, yet. My little guy has a shallow latch and when he gets a good latch, he will pull back and pinch. I feel like he’s getting better at it every day. My nipples are still a little sore but nothing too bad. He’s still nursing every 2.5-3 hours at night and every 1-2 hrs during the day.

Sleep

We are waking up every 2.5-3 hrs every night to nurse. This doesn’t bother me too much since we are co sleeping. The worst part is changing diapers! I have to physically get up and turn the light on. Ugh. I can’t complain, really. He’s a great sleeper.

Baby Updates

The umbilical cord stump finally fell off! I feel like it took forever this time! Geez. Now I don’t have to worry about it.

Baby won’t be going back to the doc until 2 months so I don’t know how much he’s weighing. He is definitely growing. All the newborn stuff is getting a little tight on him.

I think that about covers it for today! Next week will be my last weekly update and then I will switch to monthly updates.

Hope you all have a great rest of the week and weekend!

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2 weeks postpartum update…

19 Jun

Wow.

Having 2 children is #nojoke. Especially when one is an extremely active 3 year old boy. So friggin hard! I honestly want to run away sometimes. The first week was pretty rough but I think I’m getting the hang of it (kinda). Bottom line…I CANT stay home for 2 months, or 40 days, or whatever any of my Latin people think is appropriate. If I did that, there is a good chance my 3 year old will burn our house to the ground out of boredom. Getting out of the house has helped my tot burn some energy.

Anyways…

Even though it’s difficult, my life feels complete now. I didn’t know how it would be possible to love another child as much as I love my first, but it is. I love them both differently, but no more or less than the other. It’s amazeballs!

Here is what my lil guy looks like at 2 weeks old.

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He’s still looking a whole lot like his big brother! Let’s see what happens in the next few months. He was up to 8lbs and 11oz at his 2 week checkup. Still not as big as his brother was at birth!

Recovery

Recovery has been a breeze this time. I haven’t had any pain down there even though I tore and got a few stitches. Nothing can be worse than my episiotomy experience. I’m feeling pretty good most of the time. I feel like the “baby blues” hit me a little harder this time around 7-10 days postpartum. I was in a bad funk for a few days but I got out of the house for a few days and I felt better. I’m still on the verge of tears most of the time but I’m pretty sure this is normal.

Breastfeeding

Little brother is such a lazy nurser! I’m not used to this! My oldest was very aggressive and latched on perfectly since the moment he came out. Little guy starts to fall asleep and pulls back on the breast which makes him pinch. Ouch! I’m still pretty sore on one side which is not cool 2 weeks pp. I try to unlatch him when he’s latched wrong and make him try again. Other than the latching problem, we are nursing every 2-3 hours. There are times of the day where he has started to cluster feed.

Sleeping

Baby is consistently waking about every 3 hours at night to feed. His diapers also get really full and this is probably the only annoying part of waking because I have to get up and change him. We are still co-sleeping in bed. Not sure when I’ll try to put him in his co-sleeper again. It might sound weird to some people but I actually feel like he’s safer next to me since I can feel his every breathe. Babies naturally sleep longer when they are close to their mother.

Body and Diet

I weighed 169lbs so I lost another 4lbs this week, a total of 14lbs. I gave myself 2 weeks to pig out and eat whatever I wanted since I’m always starving when I breastfeed. Also, it’s fun to pig out and lose weight. It’s the only time in my entire life when this happens. I still have a lot to lose but cleaning up my diet should take care of most of the weight. My body tends to hold on to 5-10lbs until I stop nursing. Let’s see what happens. Getting my diet right has been a challenge. I’m absolutely STARVING all the time. There is no hunger that can compare to breastfeeding hunger. I’m considering seeking a professional to give me a good nutrition plan that will help me lose weight and keep me satiated while I breastfeed. I only know two extremes…starvation and pigging out.

As far as exercise is concerned, I’m dying to get back in the gym! I don’t think I can wait 6 weeks (nor do I think it’s necessary). What are your thoughts? I’m thinking 3-4 weeks is good enough. I don’t plan on going crazy right away. I will hold off on ab exercises and jumping exercises for now. I feel like I’m ready to do some light rowing, or walking. Maybe some body weight squats and lunges…

What do you guys think? When did you start working out again? What exercises did you do?

Here is what my tummy looks like at 2 weeks postpartum. I feel like it looks the same as last week and it’s making me angry but I’m probably being hard on myself.

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Hope you guys enjoyed this post! I’ll check back in a week!

Who knows…maybe I’ll have time to get some recipes posted? Maybe not. Who knows!

Have a great week!

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