Advocare 24 day challenge - healthier eating

I have been on the 24 day challenge for 17 days now and Jeremy is one week behind me.  The first 10 days are the cleanse phase and the second 14 are the max phase.  Jeremy is glad to be done with the cleanse fiber drinks as of today!  I have to admit that they weren't great but they weren't that bad either.  

This challenge has been just what I needed.  I have lost 10 pounds so far and plan to continue losing after I am done as well.  It has also changed the way I think about food.  I think more in terms of health rather than just what tastes good.  I am looking at product labels more and finding healthier ways to make things.  I have been sneaking carrots into lots of meals and no one has minded!  And this is big because I really don't like cooked carrots but if I run them through my food processor you cant even notice them!  I made a meat loaf with carrots in it and just organic tomato sauce for the topping and everyone loved it.  I also made sloppy joes for Nile's birthday party with family and everyone ate it, no complaints!  I am super proud of my hubby for joining me on this journey and sticking to it.  I used to put butter and cheese in almost everything but we have survived so far okay without it!  I have been buying lots of fresh fruits and veggies and my fridge is fuller than it typically is, but that is a good thing since we are choosing better options.

We have both also started exercising again.  I got wii fit and wii active for my birthday before we had Aubrey and have started using them again - after several years off!  I am also working out with a group at church once a week along with a Bible study.

Thank goodness for Pintrest so I am able to find lots of recipes and meals to try.  With the challenge we are encouraged to eat 6 times a day so I have not had a problem with feeling hungry all the time.  You also need to drink lots of water and no pop or coffee.  There have been a few days when I really wanted to go to Casey's and get a cappuccino but I resisted the temptation!  Nile had Casey's pizza with his friends party Saturday for lunch and Jeremy and I both have wanted so of that!  Hopefully the leftovers will be gone soon! 

Strawberry short cake muffins - so yummy!

This was an experiment, I had black berries to use up.  Turned out ok but I am not a big fan of the oatmeal texture so next time I would use honey as a sweetener and run the oats through the food processor.

Egg muffins - spinach and mushrooms sauteed in coconut oil and then mixed with eggs and seasonings before baking.  Jeremy really like these.  I used them to make an egg mcmuffin with a whole wheat english muffin toasted.

Nile is 7!!

Our middle child turned 7 last Thursday!!  School was delayed 2 hours so he picked poffertjies for breakfast.  Jeremy, Aubrey and I joined him for lunch at school and he brought m&m cookies to share with his class.  After school he opened presents from us and we headed to Subway, his pick, for supper.  My MIL made his cake, my SIL was under the weather, and it turned out great, of course!  Saturday he had his friends party for lunch and then the family party for supper.  I was able to resist the temptation of birthday cake since I am still on my Advocare 24 day challenge but the Casey's pizza they had for lunch look soooo good!  I enjoyed my shake instead, and my results are worth the sacrifice!  Nile is a lot like me in many ways.  When his friends were singing Happy Birthday to him he was feeling a little shy and hide his face.  Happy 7th birthday to our son who challenges us daily and pushes the limits all too often.  I know God has a great plan for you!!

2014

I don't typically get too excited about the "new year" and all that but this year feels different.  I am very excited to see how God will use me and my family this coming year.  

First thing - I completed reading through the Bible in 2 years with the close of 2013.  Now I am have began a program to read through it again in just one year.  So far the first 6 days have gone smoothly.  I know it will become more of a challenge when I start my classes again on the 21st.

Speaking of classes this will be a big year for me, hopefully, in my classes too.  This spring semester I am taking my final two classes at Iowa and my 3rd Spanish class at a CC.  After that I will only have 1 Spanish class left that I hope to take next fall and graduate in December!  I have really enjoyed most of my classes and will be sad to see this part of my journey come to a close but I am very excited about achieving my goal of a Bachelors degree.  I am leaving it in God's very capable hands as to what I should do after graduation.

I have been babysitting part time for a little while now and one of my good friends who I sit for just had a baby last fall and we get to watch her one day a week now too!!  At times I wish we could have more children but I know that my husband does not want any more and we have been blessed with 3 beautiful children.

I just recently joined Advocare and will be starting the 24 day challenge when it arrives in the mail.  I am looking forward to becoming healthier and having more energy - along with hopefully a little less weight.  I am hoping to completely rid our house of pop this year and transition to Spark instead.  The kids don't like carbonation so just Jeremy and I drink it.  If it is not in the house then I don't miss it.  Jeremy likes to take it to work but I am hoping we can find something else instead.  I joined mostly for myself and the discount but if anyone is interested in ordering this is my website, Allison's Advocare site.   

We are also trying to pay more attention to what we put into our minds as well as our bodies.  I read a really good blog a few days ago that addressed this, Following Jesus - TV and Movies.  We just went through all of our DVDs and picked only a few to keep.  I was so proud of Jeremy for letting go of some I know he has really liked in the past.  If you take the time to read the blog I linked to it pretty much sums up exactly how I have been feeling lately.  

I also want to focus on my marriage this year.  Jeremy and I have a good marriage but I would like for us to allow God to be a bigger part of our marriage and family and take things to "the next level."  Our church is having a marriage event in February that I am hoping will give us more direction here.

We have been in a small group at church for a little over a year now and are really enjoying the closer relationships with those families in our church.  We have studied some challenging material and I am looking forward to our next study together.  We just finished up Follow Me by David Platt and I hope to use more in the new information I have learned through it.  It is a follow up to his book Radical, still need to read this one!  Please check out his website http://www.radical.net/.  

Whew!  Sounds like we will have another busy but hopefully blessed year following our Savior.

I haven't even mentioned the kids' activities, Aubrey is still taking dance lessons through May and then will have the summer off.  Nile hopes to play Rookies baseball in the spring and soccer in the fall, we will see depending on his behavior.  Hayden hopes to play his first year of Minors baseball in the spring and flag football in the fall.  We will probably throw some swimming lessons for Nile and possibly Aubrey in there for the summer as well.  Jeremy and I really enjoy watching the kids in their activities and I hope to be able to contain my competitive side while watching!

Night away - indoor water park fun!

We took advantage of a living social deal a few months back for a discount at the Ramada in Des Moines.  We decided to stay the night the Sunday after Christmas.  It was super busy at the water park but the kids had fun going down the slides and swimming.  If was the first time all three of the kids slept together in the same bed.  The kids slept pretty well after we got them settled down but I didnt sleep well since I was constantly waking up at every sound making sure no one fell out of bed.

Snowy fun

It is super cold here today - like -30 F.  The boys were supposed to start back to school today but that has been postponed for at least one day.  We are hanging out in jammies today drinking hot chocolate and watching movies.  So there has been no playing in the snow since we shoveled the drive way last week.  These pictures are from the day after Christmas when the kiddos burned off a little energy outside for a little while.