Body for Life

About a week and a half ago Mike and I decided to start eating better. This is not a new thing for us. We are typically mindful of how we eat. But now that I have the all clear to exercise again AND Levi is sleeping more (so I am sleeping more) Mike and I both want to get back into shape. Oh yeah, and we want to get in shape because it is bathing suit season too.

Body for Life is a book full of recipes that are healthy. The concept for this recipe book is that you should always have a protein with a complex carb. There are no off limits foods on this regiment (this isn't a diet because it is supposed to be a way to change how you eat without limiting what or how much you eat). Basically, the book touts moderation and combining the right amount of fat, carbs, and protein at each meal. The book also calls for eating 6 meals a day.

So far Mike and I have lost 3 lbs. I have been walking/running 2.5 miles about 3 times a week since we started eating better. I am really pleased that I have already lost 3 lbs. I really want to get back in shape and lose the baby weight and fit into my clothes again.

One fantastic side effect of this eating better is that I am cooking a lot more and trying out new recipes. I am not known for my cooking and this experience is helping me to build some confidence in the kitchen. Of course having a lot of free time makes all this possible.

It takes a lot of preparation to eat healthy. First I had to figure out what is healthy. That seems like a no brainer but in fact it is harder than it seems. Basically with this way of eating we are eating fresh foods most of the time. It is great to cut out the processed crap that we'd been eating non-stop before. Now we aren't going raw or anything over here. We still eat processed foods such as cheese, bread, etc. But no more chips, granola bars, prepackaged peanut butter crackers, etc.

So back to preparation. Once I figured out what was healthy then I had to find out where to buy it, again not so easy. I had to go to 3 different stores to get everything I needed to eat healthy non processed foods. Costco for meats, Kroger for produce, and Walmart for everything else. Yeah, see why having a lot of free time is necessary? Once I got all the healthy stuff home I wasn't done. Then I had to wash and cut all the produce and cut and bag the meats into the correct portions. Whew. And I haven't even started cooking yet!

So some of my prouder recipes include: healthy turkey burgers (and they taste really good!), turkey bacon and broccoli quiche (again very tasty and healthy, score!), healthy chicken parmesan, and healthy tuna noodle casserole. It is wonderful to eat our favorite foods guilt free! All the above recipes make large portion sizes and are 500 calories or less per portion.

The other great thing about this way of eating is that I get to eat all day (which I have to do or I am crazy mean from low blood sugar). And again the snacks are all things I like eating; fruits, cheeses, lunch meats, protein shakes, peanut butter, veggies, etc. 

So with any luck I will look like this again very very soon...

Currently Reading: My Booky Wook

This is actually more depressing than funny, at least so far. Review coming soon.

Levi Smiling and Laughing!

My Two Dads: Steve

Get it? Any real child of the 80's should remember that gem of a show with Paul Reiser and whoever that other dude was.

Anyway, in honor of Father's Day I want to write about my 2 Dads; Steve, my dad, and Marshall my father in law.

My Dad: Steve

Dad and Evie

My Dad, Me and my twin brother Stan in Korea

My Dad is really the only father I've ever had. After my parents divorced when I was 4/5 yrs old my mother never remarried. She never even really dated. I never had another male father figure in my life except for my big brother Paul. I'll talk about him more later. So back to my Dad. I have noticed that in the South a lot of grown women still refer to their fathers as their "Daddy". I never have called my Dad that, well maybe as a small child but certainly not since I hit puberty have I called my Dad, Daddy. I think it has to do with where my Dad is from, he's from Connecticut. Northerners just don't speak that way about their parents. At least that is my experience.  As a young kid I didn't live with my Dad so he would come visit us and one of those visits he took us to the Riverwalk in Savannah and to the beach.

My Dad and I at the beach and on the Savannah Riverwalk

We moved in with my Dad and Mom-Michelle when I was going into 3rd grade. And it was amazing to live with them. Living with my Dad we had two stable parents that were home every night. It was great, oh and we all had our own bedrooms, no more sharing a room with my twin brother, and we lived in a house, not an apartment. And we did things together as a family on weekends. Some of those things included going hiking and going camping.

Top Pic: Dad, Mom, and me.

Bottom Pic: Dad and me when I had strep throat.

The one thing that he and I shared that I still cherish to this day is Swim Team. He took me to my swim practices and swim meets as a kid. He always supported me in that sport. In 5th grade my Mom-Michelle was deployed to Korea for the year so my Dad had to take care of all three of us by himself and work full time (and he got his Masters degree at the same time!). And he still found time to take me to my practices and meets. My practices were once a week at 530AM! So our little tradition was to go to practice and then go to Burger King for breakfast afterwards. To this day I can't have french toast sticks and round hashbrowns without thinking about my Dad. It was our special time together, just the two of us and it meant the world to me.

Me up bright and early for swim practice

When I was in 8th grade our family hit a rough patch and I decided I wanted to live with my Mom-Sally.  My senior year I started doing therapy and I asked my Dad to come from out of state to do therapy with me so he and I could work through our issues and start to build a relationship again. He did. That was huge to me. And because he came out and we worked really hard together through really hard emotional stuff he and I did start to build a new relationship. And because of that I decided to go to college in Indiana where he was living so I could be closer to him and continue to build our new relationship. And I cherished my budding relationship with my Dad. I wanted so badly to impress him and make him proud. And I think I did.

My Dad and Mom and Grandma at his house in Indiana

I moved to Augusta, GA after college to be with my exhusband. When I became pregnant my Dad and Mom-Michelle decided to move to Augusta too so that they could help me with the baby and be close to their only grandchild at the time. He was at Evelyn's birth and that meant so much to me. I continued to get close with my Dad and I also continued to try to impress him and make him proud.

Me, Dad, and Evie in Augusta

When my marriage fell apart so did my relationship with my Dad. It was a very difficult time in my life. And then I asked him to walk me down the proverbial aisle (Mike and I got married on the beach so there wasn't really an aisle per se) and he agreed. And that meant more to me than anything had meant up to that point in my life. I didn't have a real wedding the first time around so him walking me down the aisle wasn't even a possibility. And like all little girls (or most I imagine) I dreamed of having my Dad walk me down the aisle my whole life. For him to walk me down the aisle also meant that he supported me in my new life. A new life that he hadn't wanted for me initially. And now we are so good.

He has embraced me and my life and this time when I gave birth to Levi I waited for my Dad to be with me. I couldn't imagine giving birth without my Dad there to support me.

My Dad at Levi's birth

Our relationship is no longer me trying to impress him or make him proud. It is now me trying to know him and him trying to know me. And both of us having mutual respect and admiration for each other. And lots of love. I feel closer to my Dad today than I ever have before. And I cherish him now more than I ever have. So it's been a rocky road but it's all brought us here. And I love my Dad for all of it. As I am getting older I realize that I am a lot more like my Dad than I thought. I used to think I was more like my Mom-Sally but in fact I am more like my Dad (and my Mom-Michelle). I even look like him which I didn't realize until this year.

Some of the cool stuff that I got from my Dad:
- my love of Rock N Roll and Blues
- my appreciation for intellectualism
- my knowledge of chess (he is an amazing chess player, like award winning even today)
- my competitive nature (and a little bit of a sore loser streak)
- my perfectionist streak (my Dad hates to be subpar and so do I, if I am going to do something I am
    going to do it right and succeed.)
- my love of the beach (my Dad grew up on the beach and always took us to the beach as kids)
- my ability to tune out everything and focus on the task at hand. This trait drives Mike crazy, and my Mom-    Michelle too. We Boshears have this ability to really zero in on something and ignore everything around us.
- my sense of humor, it can be dark and twisted and I get that from my Dad and I love it!
- my love of the arts including drama, music, art. My Dad used to be an actor and he did musical theatre.
- my stubbornness, my Dad is not overtly stubborn but he definitely sticks to his guns on things he believes in
    and I am like that.

What makes me proud of my Dad:
- his 20+ years service to the United States Army. He retired as a full bird Colonel.
- his education level. He has 2 masters degrees, he's a really smart guy.
- his dedication to my Mom-Michelle. He has been married to my Mom for over 20 yrs and I admire that
    and appreciate it greatly.
- his love for his grandkids. I have seen a whole new side of my Dad now that he is a Gramper.

Happy Father's Day Dad! I love you!

My Two Dads: Marshall

My Dad: Marshall

Dad and Levi

Marshall is Mike's Dad. I've only known him for 3 short years but I love him. I call him Dad. He is a very interesting guy and a lot of fun. Every time I see Marshall I laugh and I think.

Dad and I cracking up in the backseat of the car

Dad's classic face

Marshall is so smart and so well read there is no topic that he can't talk about. And he likes to talk, love you Dad! And the man has unending energy. He only gets maybe 7 hours of sleep a night and never naps. But he also doesn't sit still, at least not for long. He walks to the grocery store, the park, the pool. He stays active and because of it I forget that he is almost 70. In fact I never think of him as old, he embodies the idea that age is just a number. He swims in the ocean with the kids, plays at the park with them. He never stops going and he is always up for going anywhere the kids want to go, as long as it's not too expensive, again, I love you Dad!

Dad on the playset with the girls

He is really a fascinating guy. He grew up in Detroit and worked for the city until he retired. He is Jewish and has a deep wealth of knowledge about his ethnicity. And he is a very sensitive person. He loves old movies and he cries freely at them. And he is a very loyal and respectful person. He always stands by his family, he doesn't take someone hurting his kids or his wife lightly nor does he let go of it easily. And he always makes me smile when he refuses to eat dinner until Mike gets home from work or is done working in the yard. He really respects his son. I see admiration in his eyes and he always voices his amazement at how we raise our kids and run our household. He's just a really appreciative and heartfelt man.

Dad and I dancing on the pier

And he loves his grandkids. He is always happy to spend time with them and never passes up an opportunity to be with them. He has embraced Evie as one of his own and just recently he and Evelyn spent a lot of cute quality time together at the beach. And he embraced me into his family too. And I really enjoy his company and respect him for the life he has built and the amazing wife and kids he has supported throughout his life. He's a great man, Dad, and Grandpa.

I love you Dad, Happy Father's Day!

Ready

I am ready to get back to blogging, and life for that matter. Levi is consistently sleeping for 7 hours a night and only getting up once to eat in the middle of the night. It's kind of amazing. I never had this experience with Evelyn.

So back to blogging and life.

Our Beach Trip:
We went to the beach recently and it was awesome! A few things that I was really worried about were the ride to the beach with Levi. It's a 6/7 hour drive and we had all 3 kids. And it went great. Levi slept almost the entire drive and didn't cry at all. Score! And my other concern was that he wouldn't sleep well while we were there because it's a new place, etc. And again he did great, he slept just fine, in fact he started sleeping longer when we were at the beach and that trend has continued. Yay! And to be honest having 3 extra adults to help with the kids was such a treat. When I woke up one morning and Levi wanted to eat and I wanted to sleep I just plopped him in Grandma's lap and went back to bed. How spoiled was I?! And the actual beach trip with Levi was so cute! Just look at the top of the page. He slept like that for 2 hours, just enjoying the sounds of the ocean and the cool breeze through the tent. Mike was really in heaven watching his son at the beach. Mike grew up on the beach and it is really special for him to share that with Levi. The two big girls had a blast too. Our family friends were at the beach too so Bailey and Evie got to hang with a 7 yr old and a 9 yr old girl for most of the trip. Bailey especially enjoyed the other girls and got to tag along with them almost every night we were there. Evelyn really connected with Grandpa and they went off just the two of them to the park and the pool multiple times. It was really cute =) And I got to catch up with our family friends, Mike's sister, and Mike's beloved cousin. Overall the trip was a huge hit and all my concerns and worries were for naught.

The Saltzman/Johnson/Miller women beaching it up!

Grandpa and Evie, dynamic duo!

Bailey, Evie, and the 2 girls all doting over Levi. Levi's Harem as my Dad said ;)

The Kids:

Since Monday I have been home with just Levi. The big girls have a week on/week off schedule in the summer with their other parents so this week they are both with their other parents. It is really neat and strange to go from a household of all 3 kids to just Levi. It's like I get to live in both worlds at the same time. It reminds me of when I just had Evelyn, except this time I am not a first time Mom so I am much MUCH more calm and relaxed. Like I can actually enjoy this time with Levi instead of being all crazy postpartum. And then next week I get to have all my babies again which is really great too. Having the big girls is a huge help to me, they can hold him, grab stuff for me, watch him for me so I can do other things, etc. And when the big girls are here I am forced to have a very definite schedule to my day and that is good for me and for Levi. I feel like I am really getting the best of both worlds.

He looks so little here, aww!

Me:
Being home by myself with Levi this week AND getting regular sleep every night means that I have a lot more energy. And with that energy comes a little bit of stir craziness and boredom. Levi is amazing but anyone that has been a stay at home mom to a newborn knows that there is only so much that they do in a day and it is really repetitive. I don't love him any less but I am definitely starting to yearn for more stimulation in my day to day life. So now I am trying to figure out ways to get that stimulation. And it's not easy. Most of my friends work full time. I have a few that don't but even still it's hard to plan around Levi, he is pretty flexible and quite adaptable but it is still a bit exhausting to get out of the house with him and all his gear. What I really want to do is start going to the gym again. But they won't let him in the nursery until he is 3 months old. I am literally counting the days. He will be 3 months on Sunday August 7th. The big girls start school again August 8th. My butt will be in a zumba class as soon as those girls are on the bus! I am so excited! In the mean time I am going to start running again after Mike gets home from work. And I am going to start walking with my BFF in the evenings as well. I am really excited. I pretty much go all day without talking to another adult in person. Now I can look forward to talking (and exercising at the same time win/win) to my BFF at least a few nights a week :) I also reserved a ton of books at the library yesterday and I am really looking forward to reading again. I love to read. LOVE. But when I am working it is really hard to find the time to read. Now I have plenty of time and truthfully I want to fit in as much reading for fun as I can because I am going back to school in January and I know I won't have time to read for fun when that happens. I am kicking off my reading with easy and fun books, celebrity memoirs. Yes, it is my guilty pleasure and I can't wait!! I am starting with Brooke Burke's Naked Mom. I'll try to post a review of each book I read. I am really exited about this because maybe some of you secret readers out there will read along with me and leave comments or email me and we can have a little book club perhaps?

This book just isn't holding my attention...

Mike:
Umm, yeah, he is still the love of my life, that's not changing :) He has been putting in long hours at work, especially the weeks we don't have the big girls. And all his hard work is starting to pay off. It looks like good things are coming his way at work, I can't say more now but I'll elaborate soon. I am very proud of him. Very. You might be aware that this Sunday is Father's Day. And in my previous post I put a link to his gift from me and the kids. I made a book for him that documents the kids and his journey as a father. He's just incredible. And the sacrifices he makes to be the family man and father that he is are amazing and so appreciated by me. Because of his hard work and determination I get to stay home with the kids. I get to go back to school. Having this opportunity to do whatever I want because he is supporting our family completely is such a gift. A huge wonderful gift. And I plan to make the most of it. His hard work and sacrifice is not going to be for nothing. I am going to nursing school to become an RN. And once I am an RN I will make enough money to support our family by myself if, god forbid, he were ever unable to work or lost his job. And I will work part time as an RN so that we can have savings for retirement, college, and vacations. I am really excited. So is Mike. :)

How adorable is Mike?! We were going for our nightly walk with Levi.

Nursing:

I am really excited about this new chapter in my life. I have tried 2 other careers up to this point in my life. I was an Art History/Museum Studies major in college and I worked in museums for a couple of years. And after that experience I made some amazing life long friends but realized that the museum world was not for me. I love it, but it is very high brow/snobby/political. Now I love being snobby, I do, and I really enjoy high brow/intellectual stimulation. But I couldn't see myself being like that all the time, it is only one aspect of my personality and I couldn't live and beathe it everyday. So went back to school to become a teacher. I wanted to work with kids, I wanted to make a difference, I wanted summers off ;) And again, after actually doing it I realized that it wasn't for me. I love kids. But I don't love everybody's kids. And I don't have the patience to be there for everyone else's kids and mine. And unfortunately my own kids were suffering because by the time I got home I had nothing left to give to them. Plus the public education system is really broken and it was incredibly frustrating to deal with that everyday. So now I am on career number 3. And I really see this as THE ONE. Third time is a charm right? I have never worked in healthcare. In fact until I met Mike I never even considered it for myself as a career. Mostly because I am so math/science challenged I assumed I couldn't do it so I never even entertained the idea. But after my most recent experiences in hospitals I really can see myself in that role. And it is not so different from teaching, especially preschool teaching. I dealt with bodily fluids of all kinds when I taught 2 yr olds. At least this time I can have an intellectual conversation with the people who's blood/pee/poop I am dealing with. But really, I have a very caring side to me, a nurturing side and I think nursing will really suit me. I also have a bossy, controlling side to me and that too will lend itself to nursing. And though I am afraid of the science and math required to get my nursing degree I look around me and I can't help but think, if all these people can do it then why can't I do it? I love a challenge and this certainly will be stimulating for me. So I am really excited to start this new chapter in my life. And I LOVE being a student, it's my favorite job in the whole world. I have ALWAYS loved school. In a school setting everything is so clear. What is expected, how I will be assessed, and what the outcomes will be. I know if I do the work I will get the grades, period. It is so simple and almost instantly gratifying because I can see my grades within days of taking exams. And the classes are so short that I don't get bored, by the time a class is getting boring to me it is ending. And then I get to start something new. I've never had a job that was that quick paced and diverse and instantly gratifying. If I could rationalize it to myself I would just be a full time student. I would take photography classes, guitar lessons, dance classes, art history classes, just everything, I would just study anything that peaked my interest. What a luxury. Maybe when we are retired :)

As you can see I am ready. Let's go!

Fathers Day Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger