Hey y’all!
So, these crazy ideas only come to me when I happen to roll out of bed before the kiddos, enjoy my coffee and some time with my computer, and think “Huh, I totally have all this free time, I should write even more!” In reality, I’m sure I’ll hear little feet plopping down the stairs in less than 5 minutes, so let’s get to it.
As I was enjoying my coffee this morning and finishing up a few sponsored posts, it hit me that I haven’t had time to really write in a while. I do a lot of product reviews, recipes, and all that good stuff, but I hadn’t really just written about life in quite some time. Mainly because most of my readers also knows me and sees me often in real life (shout out to friends and family! :P) but also because we’ve just been really short on free time lately. But it’s worth the effort, so I’ll update everyone in a few parts and apologize again for my lack of personal-ness lately!
Summer
As a teacher, I relish in my summers off. We enjoyed almost a full month of vacations this summer, between Disney World, a trip to Orlando to watch my sister play volleyball, and 2.5 weeks at the beach with both sides of the family. To say it was an awesome summer would be an understatement. The kids loved every minute of our trips, and we also loved the days we lounged around the house and cuddled. There’s something so special and calming about being home with them.
Work
And with those amazing summer memories came the realization that back-to-school is getting earlier and earlier. I had to be back at work on July 30 this year. JULY 30, people!!!! Just hearing the words “July” and “work” in the same sentence made me cringe all summer long. But this was an exciting year! After 3.5 years of commuting 30-45 minutes each way to my school, I was finally able to transfer closer to home, and by closer to home, I ended up 4 minutes from our house at our home school! Add to that the fact that I got to stay in 2nd grade, and I was actually pretty excited for the year to begin. Now, we’re about to start our 3rd week with kids and I’m loving it. I love how close we are, I love my sweet kiddos, I have a fun team, and it’s all just great! I do miss my old LES friends terribly, but this was definitely a move in the right direction.
I’m also doing some Public Relations on the side, which is keeping me even more busy! A video client of Cele’s reached out to ask if he knew anyone for PR to work social media at an event, so I dusted off my old PR boots and did the job, which turned into a client on a monthly retainer! It’s been so fun getting to get back into that world, even if just a little, and I’m hopeful I can take on another client or two!
And then, of course, I’ve been blessed with this little blog! I love the opportunities I get to try out new products with my family and to share about brands I truly enjoy using. But, between eeeeverything else you’re reading in this post, the blog is probably my most neglected “job”. I’m definitely making it a priority to start focusing more on personal writing, as well as growing my social media followings. I think if I can do those things, I’ll be really really happy with my blog!
School
SAY WHAT?! Yes, we have a kiddo in school now! Anissa started the Georgia Pre-K program this year, which is a full-time pre-k to help get her ready for Kinder next year! She likes school while she’s there, but drop-off has been tough. She gets really sad for me to leave her, and has even learned the art of faking sicknesses in order to get out of school! Every few days on our way in, she’ll start claiming to have a tummy ache or cough and say her asthma is acting up LOL. She is a hoot!
The Kiddos
Ya’ll, my heart can’t take how fast these kids are growing up. It’s become a little joke between me and Tino that I tell him he can’t grow up any more and he says “Yes, mama, me grow biiiiiig” with big exaggerated arms. He knows it’s adorable because he’ll even start it now, teasing me with “Hey mama, me grow big! Me no stay baby fo-evo!” And it’s just the most adorable thing. He has no interest in potty training though, so maybe he will stay my baby forever 😛
Like I said, Anissa’s in Pre-K now and just as smart as they come! We are starting to learn some sight words at home and she’s really into flashcards and practicing writing and all that fun stuff! Of course, she’s still her sassy little self and even moreso now since realizing her true destiny of being Cardi B, Jr. haha!
And then there’s Andrés, my little love nugget. He’s the sweetest, best baby ever, y’all! And I can still say that after he kept me up all night! He loves to cuddle and nurse, so much so that he realizes every time I put him down or stop nursing him. So, we’re working on that. But in the grand scheme of things, he’s 21 pounds of delicious chunk, meeting all of his milestones, and thriving. From my “tiny” preemie to this big, perfect, baby, I couldn’t be more in love with this wet, slobbery baby if I tried!
Healthy Living Changes
Well, I figured since Andrés is getting so close to rounding out his first year, it was time for mama to get in shape. My friends and family teased me that I must be getting ready for another baby because this is my normal rhythm.. have a baby, chill and enjoy said baby, kick my butt into high gear and lose weight, then get pregnant again. Didn’t know I had a thing but I guess they all saw it! HAHA. But no, in reality, I’ve definitely been wanting to get in shape but didn’t want to jeopardize my milk supply. Since Baby Andrés is already 8 months old though and getting so many of his nutrients from food and taking less milk during the day, I figured it was a pretty good time to take care of myself and get in shape- though I did make myself a promise that I’d stop dieting if my milk supply dropped TOO low because I do still want to nurse till at least a year. Luckily, the diet we have been on though is based on fatty foods, so my milk has been ok!
So, what are we doing? Well, we (or should I say I) have finally taken Mr. R and X-Gains (my brother-in-law)’s advice and started the Keto diet. I’m sure I’ll have to write a whole separate blog post about it because I could just go on and on, but basically I have already lost 10 pounds in 3 weeks, and it’s really not even that hard! I’m sure everyone knows what Keto is, but it’s basically a low-carb, high-fat diet. Besides things like pancakes or donuts on the weekends, we’ve never been big carb people anyway, so it really hasn’t been that bad! Before getting pregnant with Tino, I had gotten down to 130… that was the lowest I’d been since college. Then, after Tino, I never got down past 140 again… so when I got pregnant with Andrés, I was the heaviest I had been starting a pregnancy. Because he wasn’t full term, I only got up to 160, but still, losing it was taking forever!!! Up until 3 weeks ago, I was living right at 148 and just couldn’t shake it. Finally, I started working out and counting calories and got to 143, but I still wasn’t happy. Now, on Keto, I’m down to 133 after just 3 weeks… I honestly can’t believe I’m down so close to my lowest low! I’m hopeful I can meet that goal or even beat it once I start going to the gym regularly! And, we are loving Keto so much that Mr. R has even decided to start a food blog! Look out for more about it here soon!
Rheumatoid Arthritis
As part of my healthy living update, I guess I’m not sure if I’ve ever really mentioned it here or not but I have RA. I was diagnosed right before getting pregnant with Andrés, but RA is dormant during pregnancy, so I didn’t have any symptoms while pregnant, thankfully. As soon as I delivered, though, it hit with a vengeance, so I’ve been in and out of my rheumatologist’s office to get the right care plan. Thankfully, Keto helps keep it at bay, along with the right meds. If I miss my meds, though, I feel a flare up coming that day, so I have to be super vigilant about my medications. Otherwise though, this has really become a non-issue, which is a HUGE relief compared to a few months ago where I’d lose to ability to lose a limb every other day, it seemed like. There was even a day I had a flare up in both wrists at the same time and couldn’t use my arms to hold my baby. That was the lowest of lows, but I’m so happy with where I’m at now!
Tired of reading yet? Well, I had a lot to say and am so glad to get a little “personal” update out there! I promise to not let so much time pass before my next one! <3 Love you all, and thanks for being loyal readers!
XO,
Amanda
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