.Really

It's a very Dianne thing to get random injuries that make people go "Really?!" when you tell them what happened. Insert a new one this past week - random arm injury from running.

Let's back it up a bit. In the last month I've been leading an indoor stairs club at work one or two times a week for 35-40 minutes of stairs. It's been very positive, and it's been nice to get back into the groove of working out again. Last weekend I started running again and OH did it ever feel good. I'm very much a seasonal runner as I absolutely love running outside but won't when it's too cold, there's too much snow or it's too icy. I guess that makes me a whimp. But it also makes me incredibly anxious all winter and I look forward to the spring so I can get the legs moving again! That day was this past Sunday.

My pace was slow, even a bit slower than my usual half marathon pace, but I felt really good. Damn did it ever feel good to get back out there! I was feeling really good and woke up the next morning a little sore, but chalked it up to the fact that I haven't run in awhile and was working out some new muscles. When I noticed my shoulders were a little sore, I figured it was because I kept them too tight when I ran. So Monday night, I went for another run. This one I wasn't feeling quite as great and even a bit sluggish but I thought that was probably because it was after work and I'm usually a morning runner. That night though the pain got worse, and as Tuesday went on it got to the point where I was having trouble picking up Kendrick (who's only 24 pounds) so I knew I had to go see the doctor.

My doctor wasn't in so I saw someone else. They had me do some physical testing (seeing how high I could lift my arm, reaching, etc) and said that they didn't think it was anything serious, but they'd set me up for an ultrasound and to take some Advil and the pain should subside in a few days. They thought it likely was the bicep muscle. I went to book the ultrasound and they said only a specialist can do it, there's only one location in the city and the earliest they can get me in is May 5. Seriously. So I went for a second opinion, and they told me that there's a possibility that it could be tendonitis, and if it's happening now it could happen again. He told me to try my best to pinpoint what I did last Sunday that could have caused it and I said honestly all I did was run, and was confused because I used that same motion to run stairs in the month prior. I asked if I should run (since on Friday I was feeling better) and he said yes, and if it hurt again to come back and see him. So I went for a run yesterday.

I went 7.5 KM and even though it was still at a slower than I would like I was feeling absolutely fantastic. So you can imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning and started to feel more pain in my shoulder. Grrr. Back to the doctor I go.

That being said, I will not let this stop me! I've noticed in the past month that the days that I'm physically active for more than 30 minutes, I feel a lot better overall. So I definitely plan to keep this up as often as possible and sign up for the MEC 10KM in May. I still have passes at Blitz that I need to utilize and I'd like to continue doing some yoga at Moksha too! I also signed up for an adult gymnastics class. Gymnastics was my passion almost all of my life, and it's been a long time since I've done any sort of training, so I'm really excited. Work is going to get busy again but I'm determined to keep that work/life balance that I've been keeping for the last few months when it comes to getting fit again. I admit that seeing my posts from last year at this time make me a little jealous and sad, because I'm pretty sure I've gained 10-15 pounds between then. That being said, this month was the year mark of being back to work after maternity leave and I think I'm slowly finally starting to get into a groove. This makes me happy!

Until next time...

xo

-Dianne

PS: As I was listening to my playlist at the end of my run, "Wasted Time" by Keith Urban came over my headphones. I admit I sang along to some parts but had never really listened to the words before. One line caught my eye...

Although I certainly don't consider running "Wasted Time", I do know a lot of people who are not a fan of running at all and may consider it as such. I just loved this line of the song because it reminded me of why I like running so much. I love running outside as it allows me to clear my head, de-stress, and set the tone for a really good day (especially running in the morning). As I was singing along to this song I just had to laugh - my hope for everyone is that they find something in their lives that they can be passionate about!

PPS: I really want to get back to writing once a month! I finish school in a few weeks and don't start up again until September (I'm taking two classes right now while I'm working full time) and I'm hoping that frees up a little more of my time. I also do have a re-brand in the works and am hoping it will be all good to go by the summer. Stay tuned!

.Hello

Oh hey blog, it's me Dianne. Do you remember me?

The last time there was a long pause between blog posts I announced I was pregnant...

I'm not pregnant.

I don't really have any other explanation than life happened. In the last six months I ran a half marathon, moved houses, moved offices, helped open Rogers Place, watched my baby really turn into a toddler, got two viral infections and one bad cold in a 2.5 month span and had a cough that lasted over three months, stopped working out, unpacked a lot of boxes, ramped up my Stella & Dot business, left Kendrick for the very first time for over 24 hours, planned a trip to Vegas with my girlfriends to see the Backstreet Boys in March 2017, had minor surgery, and raised money for the Mazankowski Heart Institute - in no particular order. Needless to say, it's been a little busy.

Let's rewind back to August. I didn't feel as prepared as I wanted to be for the Edmonton Half, however I was feeling pretty good. I ended up investing in some new runners a little over a month before the race (Nike Air Zoom Pegasus), and so far they have been very comfy! While I was at the start line I was still trying to decide whether I use the run/walk method or just run it out, and I ended up deciding to run it out. I was feeling ok for most of the race but started to get tired during the last 5K. At 18.5KM the 2:30 pace bunny ran by me and I decided that that I was way too close to hitting my goal to give up now...so I blew by them and almost sprinted the last 2.5KM. I ended up beating my personal best time and have a new PB of 2:28:33. 

Although I was happy, I KNOW I can do better and look forward to next year! I'm still not 100% sure when I'll be ready for baby #2, but for now I'm going to plan to run the Edmonton Half again, and possibly do some of the MEC races again although I was disappointed with their 15K's (aka they didn't have enough race marshals and I got lost on a couple of the routes) so hopefully they do get better in that department.

September and October were a bit of a blur! It was very busy at work and I admit that I let myself fall off the work out wagon. I ate out more, was lazy at night and didn't cook as often, and didn't have the energy to get up in the mornings to work out. I wanted to get back on track in November however that's when I started to get sick. It was viral infection after viral infection, and many trips to the doctor for them to tell me that there was nothing they could really do and it was very frustrating! Thankfully all that Kendrick ended up with was a runny nose for a few days. I did end up going to see my Naturopath who gave me some tips and now that I'm finished the meds for my cough I look forward to getting back on track and feeling better really soon! I also found out that I have 29 leftover passes at Moksha Yoga! 29!!!! It's been...oh I don't know...four or so years since I've been? I think I'm going to try and go this week and see if I can get it back into my routine again. 

We hosted Christmas dinner for the very first time ever at our new home! We moved at the end of August and I absolutely love it. Better neighbourhood, bigger and better house, and we couldn't be happier. We have an awesome bonus room now that is used as Kendrick's playroom and it's fantastic. Not to mention I swear our bedroom is twice the size and has an ensuite bathroom! It was so nice to be able to host Christmas dinner for our immediate families at our place, and we are pumped that the turkey and stuffing turned out and we didn't have to order pizza! :) 

Saw this quote on Facebook today and felt like it really spoke to me. 

I admit, I've been having a lot more "nothing" days lately simply because I've been so exhausted, mostly I think from being sick. Sometimes this working Mom thing is hard! But now that I'm starting to feel better and have a week off after Christmas to recharge, I'm looking forward to getting back into it and starting my New Year's resolutions early this year! My goal is to tone up and lose a bit around the belly before I head to Vegas in March, and I want to accomplish that by doing Yoga, going back to Blitz HIIT training (which I think is what helped me lose the last bit of baby weight at the beginning of 2016), doing stairs and running on some of my lunch breaks and doing some home work outs as well. I'm feeling good about 2017, are you?

It will not be six months before I write again! I promise!

xo

-Dianne

PS: After taking a bit of a break, I really ramped up my Stella & Dot business in November and it reminded me of how much fun it was (and how easy it was to make a little extra cash on the side!) If you are interested in beating the after Christmas blues and want to earn yourself some free jewelry to start the new year off right, email me at DianneCK39@gmail.com or tweet me @StyleByDianne and we'll set up a date! The new spring collection launches really soon and I'm looking for debut hostesses to show off the new line!

PPS: I went Boxing Day shopping today and it was awesome. I know some people don't understand why - but honestly, if you suck it up and go when the mall first opens first thing in the morning, it's not so bad! Maybe I saw that because all the stores I went to had no crazy lines, and I found a parking spot close to the door so I didn't have to bring in my jacket. All the clothes I bought today were 50-70% off! You can't go wrong with that! :)

.Confusing

Let's talk about bowels.

Yup, it's uncomfortable. Even discussing this in this blog gives me the heebie geebies, but maybe more people should be talking about it because I bet I'm not the only one with issues.

Back on May 21, I blogged about how good I was feeling. I keep thinking about this post because that doesn't seem that long ago yet I felt so different. I was feeling confident with my weight, feeling good about my work out routine, and happy with my training for the Edmonton half. Then, something happened.

Every time I ate I felt gross, I ended up gaining 7-8 pounds and some of my pants started feeling tight. I felt myself getting bloated and crampy a lot. For some reason my training started suffering because I would cramp up and be too fatigued. I was feeling tired (to be clear, I always feel tired but this seemed a little more than normal). I had a serious lack of motivation for everything. Then I would get random symptoms that would resemble a urinary tract infection, or random pains that resembled what you could feel with a kidney stone, that were to the point where we debated getting someone to come over and be with Kendrick so that Brian could take me to the hospital. I saw my doctor a couple of times and in the last couple months I've done two urine tests, two blood tests, two ultrasounds, an x-ray and three pregnancy tests. No urinary tract infection, no kidney stones (which is what they thought the night I almost went to the hospital) and the pregnancy tests were negative. So WHAT was going on?

This started to feel eerily familiar to about four years ago when I went to my doctor with stomach issues. I had been suffering for almost a year and they had done every test they could think of and they all came out negative. I insisted that something was still off, which is when my doctor sent me to a naturopath. After doing an elimination diet (no gluten, dairy, eggs, corn and soy) for a month I slowly added each item back in and found out that it was soy that was the problem. When I didn't eat soy I felt a million times better! It was a long journey because even eliminating all those things I didn't actually start to feel better for about two and a half weeks, but when I did it was amazing how much of a difference it made! I was vigilant for quite awhile when going out to eat but when I got pregnant I fell off the bandwagon. I was already feeling gross so I figured it didn't really matter. My home has been soy-free for quite awhile but I stopped asking at restaurants and when I went out for dinner. I really hate being "that annoying person" at restaurants too that's asking to alter or change certain dishes, so that really bugged me. 

They ended up finding something on the x-ray and told me that it looked like I had a severe case of constipation. I found this very odd because I didn't feel constipated? Turns out my body just isn't processing things properly and it makes me sad because Kendrick goes through major constipation every few weeks and I feel like he may have inherited that from me. I also started to think that maybe the soy was starting to bother me again and it was all just combining to make up one big mess. 

So I made a change. My doctor recommended some stuff that's not a laxative that I can mix with water 1-2 times a day to help things move along. I decided to give up soy completely for a month and completely cleanse my system. So far I'm on day six and although I still feel bloated and gross I'm trying to be patient because I know it will likely take 2-2.5 weeks to get it completely out of my system. My training this week has felt slightly better and I even conquered 19K on Sunday with no cramping! I've started emailing some of my favourite restaurants to find out what items have soy in them, so I can be prepared and know what to order if we end up going out for lunch or dinner.

Only time will tell! I hope that before the half I start to feel a lot better and that I'll run strong. The plan is still to try and get a personal best and beat 2:33. I'm hoping once I completely eliminate soy from my diet again (and actually do my best to stay on track) and continue following the doctor's orders that I'll get back to my May 21 confidence in no time. Those 7-8 pounds can also disappear anytime now!

Wish me luck!

xo

-Dianne

PS: I found an old picture of me in a bikini from 2008. WOW that was 8 years ago! Is it wrong to want to go back to looking like that? 

Yes, I know my body has changed since having Kendrick and I have embraced it BUT I don't think anyone should have to settle if they are not completely satisfied. I proved earlier this year that you can get back to your pre-baby weight with hard work, even if it takes awhile! Once my half is over I'm going to take a bit of time off, then continue running and head back to HIIT training at Blitz so that I can get stronger! I aim to look like this again!

PPS: Random story time. Yesterday while doing the River Valley Stairs I passed by a father and his young old son. His son wanted to go down the stairs and the father was like "no way, I don't want to climb back up". I was really turned off and thought to myself WHY wouldn't he be encouraging his son to do the stairs and get some exercise. I admit, I went through a judgemental moment. Personally, I want to be active and be able to chase after my own son and if he wants to walk up 203 stairs one day then I'm going to let him! One round of stairs later I passed by them again and they were going back up the stairs. The father was urging his son on and telling him what a good job he was doing and encouraging him to keep going. This just goes to show you can't judge a book by it's cover! It was actually really sweet. 

.Assumptions

So a few weeks ago Brian & I took Kendrick swimming at a local pool. I was sitting in the hot tub watching them go down the waterslide and when they were done they came to see me. This man who was sitting in the hot tub next to me and I'd guess was in his 50's looked at us and said "Looks like he's ready for a little brother or sister!"

Excuse me?

I'd never met this guy before and I'd never seen him before in my life. I was not speaking to anyone while I was in the hot tub, and just sitting on my own watching my son and my husband in the water. What would possess a stranger to say that to someone? Now I'm sure he meant no harm but it was such an inappropriate question that I didn't even know how to respond except for nervous laughter and "haha, maybe one day" as we picked up and walked away. I was super uncomfortable. He didn't know our situation. What if we had been trying for a long time and couldn't get pregnant? What if we had fertility issues? What if we just didn't want another baby and thought our family was complete as three?

This being said, it doesn't really bother me when friends or family bring up a second child. I hope for it happen one day and as I discussed a few blogs ago I'm just not sure I'm 100% ready yet. That's nobody's business but I'm ok discussing it. I guess what bugged me about this situation is that this person didn't know me and asked such a personal question.  I admit that I have asked friends if they are having more children, not thinking about how I might be making them feel if they have suffered a loss or a tough time. I can tell you now that I will think twice before I ask that questions again.

Last week I came across a post by Jennifer Aniston who wrote a long letter through the Huffington Post pretty much saying how ridiculous it was that she had to explain to everyone that she was not pregnant. If you haven't read it - you can find it here, and I definitely recommend it as it's a really good read. I remember when the pictures of her first surfaced that showed her stomach a little bloated, and immediately hoping that she actually WAS pregnant after reading all of the headlines. Finding out that she's not breaks my heart a little because I can't imagine how it must feel to be out enjoying your vacation and having people take pictures of you and plaster all over the tabloids that you must be pregnant because you felt a little bloated. I admit, this is a constant worry for myself. I find that since I've gotten back (mostly) to my pre-pregnancy weight if I gain anything back it seems to be all in stomach. And then I get paranoid that people will start thinking I'm pregnant just because my shirt is a little tight, which makes me rethink what I wear almost every day. I can't imagine having cameras following me around while I'm having self confidence issues!

This line in the article really stuck out at me:

"We don't need to be married or mothers to be complete. We get to determine our own 'happily ever after' for ourselves".

Amen, sister. Just my two cents.

PS: I've said it multiple times in the past couple months but starting Monday I truly AM going to try very hard to go soy free for a month. My body is feeling pretty meh and it really shouldn't be because I've been keeping up with my training for the Edmonton Half. My back pain peaked after my last 15K two weeks ago so I took a week off and it's feeling a lot better. My body though still feels off. I got tested for kidney stones and everything under the sun and thankfully those came out negative. So it's time to start eating better and doing things that are still in my control. It's going to be hard considering we are moving in less than a month but I'm going to try and prepare a ton of freezer meals so that we don't have to eat out all the time.

PPS: This blog is going to go through a major makeover in the next few months! Same great content (I hope), but different site host, name, and branding. There will be more sections including a place for all my recipes, and hopefully an easier way to find blog posts that are relevant to what you want to read. It's a work in progress and I can't wait to reveal it all, so stay tuned! :) I don't have a final date yet but will keep you posted as it's coming along.

.Delicious

I felt I needed to blog strictly because I wanted to share an amazing recipe that I tried tonight. Italian sausage stroganoff. OMG. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it was because it wouldn't do it justice. More on that later...

I had to head to physio last week because my back was bothering me. In all honesty it's been bothering me for awhile but it hasn't been bad enough for me to actually stop training - until two weeks ago. I actually had to cut a run short because I was in so much pain, which was incredibly frustrating. After going to physio it seems like I had this same muscle injury last year (which I honestly didn't remember at all - baby brain IS still kicking 16 months later), but this time he decided to treat it a little differently. He actually did some acupuncture which I admit, scared me a little. I'm not a very big fan of needles so I guess it was a good thing that I couldn't see them getting inserted in my back. Turns out the treatment worked pretty well as I felt really good for the next three days! I ran my second 15K last weekend and although my back flared up a little bit I managed to get a new personal best of 1:41:45. The best part is that I know I can do better. I wasn't feeling 100% so the fact that I got a new personal best despite that makes me feel really good. I have one more 15K training run this weekend with MEC so we'll see how it goes. I went back to physio today to get some more acupuncture done, so I'm hoping that I'm in really good shape for the weekend. 

The Edmonton Half is fast approaching and I'm still undecided on how I'm going to run the race. I'm either going to run it like normal and go for a new personal best, or I'm going to try the run/walk method and follow the 2:15 pace bunny. I just don't know what I should do! It also happens that leading up to that day we'll be moving out of our house and into a new house AND moving offices. August is going to be slightly busy! This will make lunch time runs all that more important as I feel like it's going to be hard to get up early and I'm not going to have the energy when I get home from work (not to mention that I really enjoy spending evenings with Kendrick!) Bootcamp runs out in the next two weeks so after that I'm going to try heading back to Blitz for morning HIIT training at least once a week. I'm finding that my extra strength training is helping me feel less sore after races so I definitely want to keep it up. I'm going to continue with running 2-3 times a week with a longer run on Friday or Saturday, and also continue with stairs on Wednesdays. I feel like my training is paying off because I've done a few personal bests already this year so I'm really hoping it continues!

I ordered new SHOES! I also ordered new shoes for Kendrick - but in fairness he's gotten just over seven months out of his last pair of baby Nikes so I'm pretty impressed. I had bought Kendrick baby Nikes in the next size up awhile ago but they have been packed away for a few months as we were anticipating moving sooner, so I ordered him a pair of baby Pumas and a pair of baby Asics. I may have a baby shoe problem. For myself, I decided to go with the Nike Air Zoom Pegasus. After my last 15K it was clear to me that my shoes were close to being done, so it was time to bite the bullet and try something new. I thought I noticed my shin splints creeping back up on me the last few months on occasion, so I'm hoping a change of shoe will do the trick. Nike has a great return policy where you can return them within 30 days for any reason, so if they aren't perfect I'll send them back and try a new pair. I'm hoping they will be great and they arrive soon so I have time to break them in before the big race.

I've lost a couple pounds so I'm starting to feel a little bit better. I'm still struggling a bit with work/life balance and getting organized in the few hours I have before Kendrick goes to bed, but it's going not too badly. I'm very thankful! My baby is also 16 months old in a few days. He got his first hair cut last weekend and is truly starting to really look like a little boy. It's a bittersweet time for this mama.

xo

-Dianne

PS: The more running I do the more I wish there was some sort of app that I could have on my phone to alert someone if I was ever involved in an emergency. Not to say that I'm super paranoid as I usually run in very populated areas but if something did happen and someone tried to grab me or steal from me while I was running, it would be nice to be able to press a button and alert someone of my whereabouts. Or, if I say I'm going to be an hour and it's been an hour and 10 minutes, someone would be able to check the app to find out where I am. Is there such a thing? If not, I feel like someone should invent one! It's better to be safe than sorry.

PPS: Ok, I need to share this amazing recipe I tried tonight. Bonus points that it's a one pot recipe, as that makes clean up oh-so-easy! I love beef stroganoff so when I came across this on Pinterest I knew I had to try it. The original recipe is here, however here my adapted recipe with Italian sausage:

1 teaspoon of olive oil

3 cups of fresh mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup of sliced onion

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 package of ground Italian sausage

1 tablespoon of smoked paprika

4 cups organic mushroom broth

2 cups of rotini pasta

3 pickles, diced

1/2 a cup of low fat sour cream

salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a big pot on medium high heat and cook the mushrooms until soft and tender. Remove and place in a small bowl. Cook the onions and the garlic in the same pot for a few minutes until translucent and fragrant. Add the Italian sausage and cook until tender and browned, breaking up with a wooden spoon. Add the paprika and stir. Then add the mushroom broth and pasta and bring to soft boil. Continue to cook until the pasta is soft. Add in the diced pickles and stir. Remove from heat and add the mushrooms back in along with the sour cream. Serve, and enjoy! Seriously, I feel like I could eat the whole four servings it's THAT good!

.Confident

I'm not sure what it is, but this past little while my body confidence has gone up quite a bit. I think it's a mixture of people being so kind and telling me that I look great and it doesn't look like I had a baby, and that when I look in the mirror I can see sorta my abs again.

It also seems so mind blowing that almost 15 months ago they cut me open to get my baby out...

I think back over the last 15 months and feel good about the fact that I have worked really hard to get where I'm at. Even though my eating habits aren't really where I want them to be, the amount that I'm working out and doing physical activity is definitely paying off. I know I blogged quite a few months back about feeling a little bit jealous of the ladies who were able to lose the weight really fast after birth, however I'm pleased to say that I'm not feeling that way anymore for the most part!

That being said, the question that seems to be on everyone's minds is...when is #2 coming? I have to admit I'm not there yet. Kendrick is such an awesome baby, but now that he's walking he's a lot of work! I can't imagine chasing him around and having a newborn at the same time. Just the thought of it stresses me out a bit. Some of the moms that I have talked to with two have told me that you just do it, and it's not so bad but it still makes me so nervous! The thought of moving Kendrick to a toddler bed also is nerve wracking because right now he's all over the place in his crib. I can't imagine him actually sleeping in a bed and not getting out the second we put him down. On top of all this, the fact that I'm feeling good is also a reason why I'm not quite ready. It took so long to get back to a place where I'm happy and comfortable with my body, so I'm not quite ready to gain 50+ pounds again! Is that selfish? I don't mean to be. But I know the older you get the harder it is to bounce back from pregnancy so it's constantly weighing on my mind.

I've also made the decision that I'm going to start marathon training sometime after baby #2 comes. I don't think there's a point in starting now when my half marathon time is not where I'd like it to be (I'd like to get close to a time of two hours before I start marathon training, and currently my personal best is 2:33). I've still got quite a few races left this year leading up to the big Edmonton Half Marathon in August, and I'm still debating on whether I'm going to attempt to follow the 2:15 pace bunny or not. I've got a 10K in June and 2 15K's in July to start prepping, so I'm excited! My running this week was unfortunately put on a bit of a hold because of the horrible smoke in and around the Edmonton area that blew in, so I look forward to getting back at it next week. The air quality was only a 4/10 last weekend when I ran my first 10K of the season, and I during the race I didn't think it was that bad. However afterward I could feel it in my throat as it was sore, I lost my voice and my asthma started acting up. I'm still feeling the effects a week later!

I am guilty and fell off the meal planning wagon again! I need to make an effort to take the time to plan each week otherwise dinner seems to contain more calories (fast food) or eaten too late. I did however make a killer meatloaf tonight! This recipe was adapted from a recipe I found off pinterest by Inspired Taste, however here is my adapted recipe including hidden veggies for the toddler.

2 packages of lean ground turkey

2 eggs
2 tablespoons of Epicure Paris Spice
1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 cup of breton crackers, crushed

1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce

7 tablespoons of tomato sauce + extra for the top

1 cup of applesauce

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 a cup of flaxseed

1-1 1/2 cups of finely chopped veggies (I used California mix frozen veggies which included carrots, broccoli and cauliflower, steamed them, and put them in the food processor)

1 cup shredded cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Put mixture into a loaf pan, preferably one that drains the fat at the bottom (as there will be excess moisture from the cheese)  and add tomato sauce on top. Bake for about 50 minutes. The internal temperature should be around 160-170 when done. It was delicious!

Enjoy!

xo

-Dianne

PS: I ordered a ton of stuff from Epicure this week! I am so excited to get everything! I will be doing another large order in June, however in the mean time if you want to order something you can do so by clicking here. I recommend the Paris spice and the Pico salsa mix! SO GOOD!

PPS: Although I'm overall feeling good, I still want to get back to the flat stomach I used to have and seem to have hit a bit of a plateau. I'm having trouble losing that last pound or two around my stomach! I'm not sure if that's just exercises or just eating better that will drop the last couple pounds. Does anyone have any suggestions?

.Clarity

So much for wanting to blog three times a month! If there were 26-27 hours in a day, I'm pretty sure I could fill them all!

Ever wake up one day and all of a sudden see clarity? It's amazing how sometimes something unexpected can happen and completely change your perspective on a situation. I know I'm being vague, but I can truly say I woke up yesterday morning feeling refreshed not from a good night's sleep (what's a good night's sleep?), but because I realized that some things are just meant to be.

It's been three and a half weeks since I went back to work and I'm finally starting to get into a bit of a groove. When we get home Kendrick gets a light dinner, and then we play until bed time. The time between us getting home and him going to bed is only between one to two hours on average, which doesn't leave a lot of time for much else! For the first three weeks I can count on one hand how many times I was able to cook dinner, and most of those times we didn't eat until after 7:30-8PM when Kendrick was in bed. Also, forget about making lunches! There was just no time in the morning (and nothing ready in the fridge) so we were eating out at lunch a lot. The last couple days though I'm happy to report that I'm starting to get the hang of it. I've been able to make dinner and prepare lunches the night before so we can just grab them in the morning. It's healthier, it's quick, and I'm feeling really good that I'm starting to find some balance.

The last couple weeks I've also been leading up a group at work to jog and do stairs at lunch time once a week. One of my co-workers had the idea and I've gone twice now and it's been awesome! It's been a little chilly (which is odd, because before that the weather had been gorgeous for a few weeks) and I anticipate there will be more of us when it becomes nicer. I actually love lunch time work outs almost as much as I love my early mornings (and when I say I love early mornings I mean usually after the work out, not so much when I'm attempting to get out of bed). I'm loving that I can be active in the early morning and at lunch and it doesn't take away the time I spend with my little guy in the evenings. When I weighed myself this morning I was two pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight, which means that I'm three pounds away from my original goal. I have to say that I feel great! All the pants I bought for work on Boxing Day are now a little too big!

While jogging up and down the stairs at lunch yesterday, I found myself thinking about my next half marathon in August. At the beginning of my running season, I always can't believe that I can actually run a half marathon because I'm pretty much starting from scratch every spring as I don't run much in the winter. I was telling my co-worker that I wanted to run a marathon one day, but not until I could run a sub two hour half marathon - which right now for me is shaving 33 minutes off my time. That's a lot! However, every year since I started running in 2009 I've been able to shed a few more minutes off of that personal best (with this year shaving 10 minutes off my personal best). My mind started wandering and I thought about following a pace bunny. For those of you who don't know what that is, people train to run a half marathon in a specific time (some using the run/walk method) and run the race carrying a big sign with the estimated finish time. People fall them to pace themselves and finish around that time. My strategy has always been to run until I'm tired, power walk a bit and drink some water, and then keep going. It's worked for me so far, but I still have a lot of time to make up to hit my goal. I've never really done the run 10 minutes walk one minute plan either, but I'm thinking I might try it with the pace bunny next race. We'll see how it goes!

As good as I'm feeling, meal planning has gone out the window this past month. As I'm starting to feel more settled with everything, I'm going to go back and try it again hopefully after Easter this weekend.

xo
-Dianne

PS: Confession: I am addicted to Justin Beiber's new song, "Love Yourself". I don't know why but I could seriously listen to the song on repeat. Side note: I don't usually listen to Beebs so this is really odd for me!

PPS: After a bit of a stressful day this week, I got home and my hubby presented me with a gift. I think every woman needs one of these because we all have these days!

.Productive

Due to the unseasonably warm weather and the snow melting, the spring running bug has caught me a little earlier than normal this year. It's still too icy for my wimpy self to get out there quite yet, but every time I'm driving I think about getting back into it. I need to pick myself up a membership to a gym with an indoor track in the next week so I can start prepping for my first MEC race on March 6th! It's only 5K but it will be nice to get the legs in gear!

Kendrick starts daycare in three weeks and I head back to work! Like I mentioned last blog, I'm feeling very mixed about everything. One thing that I'm trying to figure out is balance. I'm quite enjoying working out twice a week at Blitz Conditioning as a "Morning Warrior," and it allows me to get my work out in before the little dude wakes up. However, when Kendrick starts daycare if I go work out in the morning it means that my hubby will be the one taking him to daycare and I'll miss seeing him in the morning. If I work out after work, there's a chance I may not make it home to see him before I go to bed. This bothers me! But at the same time, since I've started working out regularly I've been feeling really good and don't want to stop. I'm hoping this will get easier once I settle into working 9-5 again and Kendrick has spent some time at daycare. It's just hard for me to imagine going from seeing him pretty much 24/7 to only seeing him for an hour some days!

I'm also quite proud to say I've almost got nap time down to a science! For the first 10 months of Kendrick's life we didn't really have a scheduled nap time. We'd be out and about and he'd nap in the car or sometimes at home and life was good! Then at 10 months I decided to see if I could try and get him down to one nap a day so that he could start to prep for daycare. It took almost the whole month (as he did NOT like going down for naps in the crib), but for the last little while he's been going down like a champ and sleeping for two to three hours! This being said if he has a busy morning and falls asleep in the car at some point, I usually drive around for a bit to let him get at least an hour of steady nap, but for the most part I've just been planning my activities in the morning and late afternoon so we can be home around lunch time and he can go down for his nap. I know this type of thing might not work for everyone, but it's really worked for us! I wouldn't change the first 10 months for the world, as we were able to do a lot of things and I definitely made the most of my maternity leave! I'm very thankful we live in a country that gives us moms a year off after the baby comes!

There's a lot happening this month! In the next 31 days Kendrick turns 11 months, I turn 34, hubby and I celebrate our second wedding anniversary, we're going on a small mini family vacation before I go back to work, and then Kendrick turns 1. ONE! We decided to do a cake smash photo shoot with him in a few weeks and I am uber excited for it! We also decided we didn't want to rent a big space for Kendrick's birthday but had a lot of people special to him we wanted to invite! So he's having 3 three mini parties instead - one for family, one for friends, and one playdate with his baby friends before most of us go back to work. I bought some AMAZING decorations from a shop on Etsy so it just means that I get to use them three times! I know he won't remember his first birthday but we all will, so I'm hoping we can videotape some memories (like Ross & Rachel did on Friends) to show him on his 18th birthday.

xo,

-Dianne

PS: This week I'm going to start prepping for meal planning! I'm going to look at the week ahead, make a grocery list of what we need, and try to go shopping on Sunday. While I'm still home, I'm going to also try utilizing my slow cooker more often so it's less prep work later on in the day. I'm looking forward to this! Hubby and I are both making an effort to work out more so it will be great to compliment that with healthy eating.

PPS: So I'll share with you a little secret... I may be opening up an Etsy shop! I found a decoration I wanted to use for Kendrick's cake smash that was going to cost me $100+ to get it here, so I decided I may try making them myself. I'm going to keep the details sparse for now as I'm not 100% sure how this new adventure is going to go, but I'm excited nonetheless! The picture below is a hint. :)

.Goals

Oh hello, blog.  Nice to see you again!

Let's go back to October. The Vancouver Rock n Roll Half Marathon was a lot of fun! It was a little hilly but it just reminded me that I really have to work on hill training more often. My official time was 2:34:37, which is less than a minute slower than my personal best. Considering the hills and how my training slowed down as I was gearing up for our trip to Australia, I was perfectly satisfied with that! It was also nice to have my husband, Kendrick and my cousin Julia cheering me on at the finish line. The only weird thing is my Nike Running app went a little wonky during the run! I'm not sure if it was because of the sea level changes, but my app's GPS had me running a good 2KM farther than the 21.1KM when I finished. I'd like to think that the 1/2 marathon route was measured properly so I'm not sure why there was this issue. It makes me wonder how accurate the GPS actually is even when I'm running in Edmonton? It was off when I did the Canada Day 15KM race too.

After running the race at 8AM, that night at 11:30PM we left for Australia to visit my sister in law and brother in law! Kendrick did pretty awesome considering it was a 16 hour flight to Sydney. He's now been on 12 planes so far in his almost 10 month life, and for the most part he's been an absolute rock star! I'm so very happy that he seems to love travelling as much as his Mommy. 

Spending a month in another country with an eight month old is definitely an adventure! While we were there he got three more teeth, and learned to army crawl, crawl, pull himself to standing and go from his tummy to sitting up! Although hitting all these milestones was awesome, it made the flight home a little challenging because our little love bug didn't want to sit still! In the future if I was travelling with a baby I would definitely go before they are mobile or when they are old enough to be entertained by a movie or iPad. Overall though the trip was amazing. We got to spend some quality time with family, and Kendrick got to do some amazing things! My highlight was taking a giant boat out for a day trip to the Great Barrier Reef and going snorkelling. I bought medication to help with sea sickness (which I didn't know I had until our trip to Jamaica in 2013) which made the boat ride fantastic! I look forward to going back one day - maybe if/when there is a baby #2!

We've now entered winter (which is my favourite season), but unfortunately winter means I become a little bit of a lazy-bug. Running is my jam, but as soon as the snow and ice come I stop. I don't want to take the chance of falling or injuring myself, and well let's face it: I'm a whimp. I've hit a little bit of a winter rut. I have just over two months left of maternity leave and I'd like to take one more class with Kendrick before I go back to work, so that will be nice. I decided that next week I'm going to try out Blitz Conditioning. They have a 6AM HIIT class (High Intensity Interval Training) that may work perfect as Brian can be home with Kendrick and I'll be home on time for him to get ready for work. The only problem is, 6AM is EARLY! I'm still not sleeping that great (and I still don't have an answer as to why) so I'd have to try my best to go to bed as soon as Kendrick goes to bed to maximize my sleep so I'm not a zombie at the work out. I'm a measly two pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight and seven away from my goal weight so ideally I'd like to hit that goal before I go back to work in March! I still have some passes to Moksha Yoga too that I need to use up. It's been years since I've gone and I miss it!

Speaking of back to work, I'm getting a little anxious when I think about it. I am looking forward to spending time with my co-workers and going back into the work world but it's hard for me to imagine being away from my little dude for 8-9 hours a day, five days a week! I feel like there will be tears. Does it get easier?

Looking ahead, it's hard to believe it will be 2016 by the end of this week! I usually make some sort of resolutions but I find that I don't always keep them. To be honest I don't even remember what mine were from last year! In my blog post from December 28 last year, I talked about planning some vacations and we ended up going on 3/4 I had planned. Likely in 2016 there won't be as much travel as Australia was expensive (but so worth it), but I still have some ideas on how to get out of town for at least a mini get away every once and awhile. I'm going to write my goals for 2016 down so I can hold myself accountable!

2016 Goals

~ Hit my goal weight and maintain it (give or take five pounds)

~ Pay down debt and be in a better position to start 2017

~ Date night once a month where Kendrick goes on a sleepover

~ Save $2000 towards a 2017 vacation

~ Start #365DaysOfGratitude & post at least one thing every day that I'm grateful for

~ Take up a new hobby

~ Blog at least three times a month

~ Run all 7 MEC runs (you can buy the value pack by clicking here) and complete at least one half marathon - obtain a new personal best!

I feel like if I can accomplish all of these I'll be not only a better person, but I'll go into 2017 with a fresh, positive outlook! What are your goals for 2016?

xo

-Dianne

PS: I need to do some baking! We went to State & Main for brunch this past weekend and Brian had banana bread french toast. It was amazing, and definitely do-able. Now I'm inspired and want to try it... Kendrick is starting to eat more finger foods and he already likes bananas so I think this would go well! Now to scour Pinterest for the perfect recipe...

PPS: Stella & Dot is having a fabulous sale! Check it out - www.stelladot.com/DianneCK. If you find you like everything, consider hosting a trunk show in January so you can earn some bling for free. :)

.Faster

2:33:27

That's a full 10 MINUTES FASTER than my last personal best in 2013. 10 MINUTES! I'm sitting here a little over two weeks later and I still am not quite sure how I did it.

The Edmonton Half Marathon went really well. I worked my way up near the front of the pack at the start and slowly made my way to the side and kept up a good pace. My second kilometre was my fastest at 6:16, and my slowest kilometre was at the 19K mark at 7:49. I ran 5K in 33:35 which for me is pretty good! Ideally one day I'd like to get that under 30 minutes and get my 10K time under an hour; I'll get there eventually. The best was seeing Kendrick at the finish line! He did catch my eye for a split second as I ran by him and my friend Krissie who was gracious enough to watch him while I ran since Brian was out of town, and that was the best. I sped up and sprinted across the finish line. I could tell I really pushed it hard because my body felt like it was going to fall apart! I definitely need to do more cross training, especially since the Red Deer Super Spartan Race is coming up this weekend!

I wasn't expecting to beat my personal best by so much time especially 5.5 months after Kendrick, but now that I've done that I think I want to go for another personal best when I run the Vancouver Rock N Roll Half at the end of October. Originally I was thinking of having a goal of 2:20, but the race is less than two months away so I'm thinking a goal of 2:25 or 2:30 might be more realistic. I am so happy that the weather is cooling off, but I have to say I haven't been motivated to run lately. I've been tired and waking up in the morning is hard when the baby sleeps in (I know, I know, I am VERY lucky to have a baby who sleeps!). I'm going to go for a few runs and mix in some strength training this week so I can prepare for Spartan on Saturday, and then I'm going to get back and focus on my running again so I can aim for that personal best!

This also has me thinking about running a full in the next few years. One day there will hopefully be a baby number two, and I've heard that it's harder to lose the weight the second time so I'm thinking of possibly training for one next year. I think Vancouver will be a good pace marker in my decision, as if I can beat my personal best again it will provide me with a little more motivation! Right now when I finish running my lungs go back to normal pretty quick (even with my asthma) which to me means I can keep going. My body however is cramped, sore and I'm in pain. The soreness lasts usually a day or two and this has happened to me the last two times I've beaten my personal best. To me this means that I have to up my fitness level in other areas, such as strength training. When I used to do gymnastics we would do at least an hour of conditioning after every practice, so I'm thinking I'm going to start incorporating some of that in after every run to make my body stronger. I don't think I want to attempt a full marathon until I can get my half time under 2:15, but we'll see how I feel at the end of October.

According to my Nike Running app, my shoes are at 432 KM.

That doesn't include of course a lot of the walking I've done so I'm sure I'm close to 500 which means it's time for new kicks! I love the Nike Outlet because you can get such good deals on last year's shoes! I've been wearing Nike Flex Running 2013's, and I managed to find the same pair today (just different colours) for $49.99. WOO HOO! I tried on some other shoes and didn't like them nearly as much, so I'm sticking with what I know! I also may have bought Kendrick some baby Nike's as they were on sale for $20 and I couldn't resist. They are so darn cute!

xo
-Dianne

PS: Kendrick and I went to cheer Brian on at Tough Mudder this weekend in Drumheller, AB where the weather was absolutely terrible. It was +8 and raining the whole afternoon! I made the last minute decision to throw my Baby Bjorn carrier in the suitcase as I've been meaning to try it out with Kendrick for months. It ended up being one of the best decisions I've made all weekend! We figured out how to use it on Friday night and on Saturday I used it to carry Kendrick around while we waited for Brian to finish. AMAZING! There was so much mud it was disgusting, and seeing people push their strollers caked with mud was even worse. Instead of worrying about the stroller, Kendrick was snug as a bug next to my heart with two layers and a blanket on top with a touque. This also freed up my hands so I could carry an umbrella! He absolutely loved looking at everything and even took a couple of naps. I wish I would have started using it sooner! Does this make me a granola mom? Today we took Thor for a walk and he babbled and kicked the whole time. I also did some squats, and  with Kendrick being about 15lbs now it was a good work out! I never got into the woven wraps but I do really like the Baby Bjorn and will definitely be using it more often!

PPS: Since my banana peach oatmeal (lactation) muffins were such a hit, I did some pinteresting to see if I could come up with a new recipe to try out. I am close to perfecting a maple carrot cake version, so stay tuned! I'm hoping to post it next entry. 

.Booked

After being back the running train for a week now, I'm feeling pretty good. I ran 15.2KM in 1:53 with the help of my bestie & pace car Krissie who runs a lot faster than me and it felt pretty good! Although I do like running on my own, for my long runs it's nice to have company and someone to lead the way to keep my pace up! I think that's why I always run faster during races because it's almost like I'm chasing people!

During my runs I almost find that I've been tuning out my music because I've been listening to the same songs over and over again. I have so many pictures on my phone (mostly of my adorable son) that I don't have space for a lot of music, and haven't made myself a new playlist since I started running again back in June. I'm considering trying out Spotify Premium to try out some new playlists. Right now they have a special where you get three months for 99 cents. This way I'd be able to download playlists to listen to and with the new upgrade it actually hooks up to the Nike Running app as well. An added bonus is that I'll have access to a ton of music for our trip to Australia - which by the way we officially BOOKED this week! I am so excited to see my sister and brother in law and visit a place I've never been, and excited for Kendrick to meet his auntie and uncle! Our first stop is Vancouver where I'll be running the Vancouver Rock N Roll Half Marathon (and hoping to get a personal best wearing my Oilers hat) and that night we'll be taking a direct flight to Sydney! 15 hours on a plane with an eight month old may prove to be a challenge but hopefully he'll be good like he was on the flights to and from Vegas! After three days in Sydney we'll hop on a plane to Adelaide where we'll spend the majority of the next three weeks visiting. So EXCITED! And so much planning yet to do...

During my 8KM run today I had a lot of things going through my mind. I find that I do a lot of reflection and thinking when I run. This is part of the reason why I quite enjoy running outside. It's very much multi-tasking as my brain is going a million miles a minute listening to music, watching where I'm going, planning my route, and brainstorming random things. Today for example as I was running through the river valley, I wondered how I would look if I dyed the tips of my hair blue and turquoise. I'm not usually one to go with fads, but I thought it would be something interesting and while I'm on mat leave is the perfect time to experiment with this kind of thing. Then I thought about how funny it would be to take a picture of Kendrick, Brian and I so you could see the back of our heads; Brian's hair is longer than normal, mine would have funky coloured tips, and Kendrick has a bald spot in the back of his head. Ha! I don't know why this came to mind but these are the random kinds of things I think about during long runs.

I'd like to start doing stairs with November Project on Wednesdays and hills on Fridays! Once I get my sleep figured out I'm going to try and make it out once a week. I'm so terrible at hills that I think this will definitely help my endurance.

Kendrick hit a couple of milestones this week. On Monday he rolled from his back to his front, so now he can roll both ways! Now that he's figured out how to do that he doesn't stay on his back for long. Friday night we put him in the crib for the first time for the night. He's been sleeping in a bassinet in our room and has been sleeping really well so we finally decided to make the move. He's been doing good, however now he moves like crazy during the night and we usually find him facing the opposite direction on his stomach in the morning! He also attended his very first Edmonton Eskimos game on Saturday night. Our little dude is growing up.

xo

-Dianne

PS: I'm also happy to report I'm 20lbs away from my goal weight, 4.5 months postpartum. I still only have a couple pairs of pants that fit besides my running gear, but I'm starting to slowly feel much more comfortable in my own skin. YAY.

PPS: After speaking to the nurse at the health clinic today I was also told to make an appointment with my doctor ASAP in regards to my sleep issues, so I'm heading in on Friday. I'm hoping for some clarity and hopefully some natural remedies to help me sleep and take advantage of the fact that Kendrick sleeps so well at night! I'm tired of being tired all day and not being able to fall asleep at night. I can't wait to get my Fitbit to really track my sleeping patterns and see how much I'm actually sleeping at night. I hope the orange & blue ones come out soon!

.Purge

June flew by! I don't know where the time is going. Kendrick is almost 4 months old. It feels like he's growing up so fast! He's holding his head up really well, he can roll from front to back and he can almost sit up by himself! And he's found his voice, he's constantly babbling!

Oilers Draft Party 2015

I've really started to amp up my running. I ran my first race since having Kendrick on July 1 - the Canada Day Road Race.  This is actually kind of cool because I ran the exact same race last year before I knew I was pregnant!

All things considered, I am pretty impressed that there's only a 10 minute difference between my times. It may even be a little less as either Nike was off or the course was a little off since the first year I tracked 15.2KM and this year it was 15.4KM. In any case, I was satisfied but very sore. I've noticed that since I've been pregnant if I sit for long periods of time my body just hurts. My ankles and legs get sore and my back has been bugging me (I've been going to physio and it's been helping!) - I feel like I'm 80 years old! Hopefully that's just because I'm not quite back in shape and nothing else, but I'll be asking the doc about it just in case. I've had to wear my compression sleeves in the last little while because it seems like my shin splints are acting up, and they are helping immensely! I'm looking forward to completing my first half since the baby in August!

I'm starting to feel a bit better about my body. I started to do a clothing purge yesterday and was able to clear out one giant garbage bag of clothes that will be sent for donation. It's a little hard giving stuff away not knowing exactly what size I'll end up, so I did keep most of my pants so I can see how things go. That being said, I am giving a lot away. I went through all these pieces of clothing that I wasn't even wearing before I got pregnant and not only does my closet look a lot better but I feel a lot better! I can't wait to save my pennies and have a big shopping spree just before I go back to work in March.

Looking forward to enjoying this rest day with family and continuing my running program next week.  Now to decide what to do today! :)

xo

-Dianne

PS: Who knew cravings continued after pregnancy? I guess because I'm still exclusively pumping my hormones are still all over the place. My latest craving is rootbeer. It's not healthy, and it's empty calories I know, but I can't help it. It just means I have to run and do bootcamp more so I can work it off!

PPS: Mommy & baby yoga starts up again next week and I couldn't be more excited. Such an awesome class and Kendrick seems to love the music and the baby massages. We also went swimming for the second time last week and he seems to like the water! As soon as he's old enough I'm going to put him into baby swimming lessons. I also may take a couple strollersize classes. The biggest thing that's happening this month though is that Kendrick will be going on his first airplane ride! We are headed to Vegas in 10 days for Stella & Dot Hoopla - the national sales conference. I'm both nervous and excited as this will be the first big vacation with baby and I'm going on my own. If anyone has any tips on flying with little ones I'd be all ears! My first task is to make a list so I don't forget things to pack, so I'm working on that this week!

.Toughie

Last week I had a bit of a tough week.

Did you ever know that kid in school who never studied for exams but yet still managed to pass them all with flying colours? I knew that kid, and it drove me nuts because I was the type that really had to study hard or things just wouldn't stick in my mind. Even as an adult student I still have to study my butt off for exams, even if I go to every class and take notes.

I feel similar about losing my baby weight. I know some people who were back to normal within a couple months and yet, I'm still 25lbs from where I want to be. It's slightly frustrating, especially because I've been working really hard to get active again! Note that I'm not frustrated at the lucky people who managed to lose weight without doing anything, I'm just more bummed that it's taking so long for me and I feel like I'm working hard! That being said, I try to keep things in perspective as much as possible. I really only got the OK to work out seven weeks ago, and it took nine months for my beautiful baby to be born and for the majority of it I wasn't really able to be active. And if I'm ever sad about it, I just take one look at Kendrick and think WOW - my body truly is amazing! I'm going to treat myself to a new running shirt when it gets closer to race day that flatters the new me!

Last Monday (Exactly 12 weeks postpartum) I started the Nike+ half marathon training program for the second time. The first time I only got a month in before I had to stop because I was pregnant, so this time I'm looking forward to taking it all the way through. The first time I was also doing the intermediate program because I had been running regularly and this time I'm doing beginner. I'm also training in KM's this time instead of miles. I originally trained in miles because the number was smaller (which I know is a mind game, but we runners do that sometimes) but this does get to be confusing when the markers for Canadian races are in KMs. Since my next couple halfs are in Canada I'm going to continue training in KMs I think and see how that goes. It also makes me feel like I'm doing longer distances! :)

Week one went ok but I struggled getting back into things. My times were quite slow, but I completed all of my runs.

I did my long run on Sunday instead of Saturday because we had a busy day on Saturday and I didn't have a chance to run. I find that is usually my biggest struggle, time management and finding the time to run while someone watches Kendrick. It was tough, but I made it through yet I ended the week a little bummed out because I'm so far off my old pace. However, I made up for it yesterday when I did my 8km run so I started the week feeling very positive. 

My back started to act up again so I booked another physio appointment to see if I could get things worked out. In the mornings and if I sit or stand for long periods of time essentially I feel like an old woman until I get moving. Since I can't avoid sleeping I need to find a way to fix my back so I feel better in the mornings, as that is my favourite time to run! Once it hits the +20s in temperature I find that too hot. Keeping my fingers crossed for a cool August day on August 23 for the Edmonton Half! :)

xo,

Dianne

PS: Last week I also accidentally invented a recipe for peach banana oatmeal mini muffins. Accidentally, you say? So those who know me know that I am terrible at following recipes because I like to add my own flare to everything. Sometimes it works and sometimes...not so much. I tried out these apple cinnamon cookies here a few months ago as some of the ingredients were supposed to help with milk production, and they were delicious (I added strawberries too). Since I didn't have any apples but had canned peaches and an overly ripe banana, I thought I would try to experiment. The batter turned out to be not as firm as cookie dough so I put them in mini muffin cups and voila - a new amazing recipe was formed! Thank God these are fairly healthy (they are refined sugar free, soy free & clean eating approved) because I swear I eat 5-6 a day. I am going to double the recipe next time. Perfect for breakfast or a little snack, and even more perfect for those who breastfeed (don't worry men, you can eat these cookies without lactating I promise). 

Recipe:

1 1/2 cups of whole oats

1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour

1 cup palm sugar

3 tbsp Brewer's yeast

3 tbsp flaxmeal

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1/2 a cup of melted butter

3 tbsp water

1 ripe banana

1/3 a can of no syrup added peaches

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients together in one bowl, and mix wet ingredients together in another bowl. Chop the peaches into tiny peaches and smash up the banana in a bowl with the rest of the wet ingredients. Add peaches to wet ingredients, and mix well. Then add slowly to the dry ingredients and mix well until consistent. Put liners into mini muffin tins and fill each one to the top. Bake for 13 minutes or until tops are slightly browned. Makes approximately 36 mini muffins.

PPS: Kendrick turned three months old yesterday! Oh, how the time flies! Here's one of the outtakes from our mini three month photo shoot yesterday. My dog always wants to get in on the pictures!