.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!

Struggle

Happy New Year!

Do you remember the last time you felt completely relieved of stress? A time where there was absolutely nothing weighing you down? No matter what life threw at you, you felt fantastic and ready to tackle the world?

I do. It was in February & March of 2014. We went on our honeymoon for two weeks of wedded bliss on the beautiful island of St. Maarten. We got a free trip courtesy of Westjet when I won a raffle at a Mother's Day fundraiser for Wings of Providence which offers help & shelter to women who have suffered from family violence. I literally picked one of the farthest places that Westjet traveled at the time. We didn't really have a budget after the wedding for a honeymoon, so this was definitely an unexpected bonus trip. I hadn't really heard much about the island so going there was a surprise for both of us, and it was nothing short of amazing. Clear white sand, crystal clear blue water, two different countries on one little island, a spot to watch planes literally fly right over your head, and two weeks of pure relaxation. Although we booked some excursions, we had a lot of days where we flew by the seat of our pants and spent the day on the beach or in the pool. We didn't party like crazy and got a good night's sleep every night and besides excursion days we slept in every morning. I came back to work after two and a half weeks off feeling refreshed, clear headed and ready to tackle anything.

As you can see by that date, that was almost three years ago. This isn't to say I've been a stress case for almost three years, but I certainly haven't felt that that feeling of complete freedom and clearheadedness in a very long time.

I knew being a working Mom would be tough. But I guess I never realized how tough! I give props to all of the Moms in my life who've been doing this for years and to those I've met since I've had Kendrick! I always appreciated that it was a challenge but I definitely have a new found respect.

I was scrolling through Facebook yesterday and came across an article called "This is What Every Working Mom Needs To Hear From Her Partner". I admit I was intrigued, so I clicked on it and read the article. Although I get a ton of support from my husband and didn't agree with the entire article, there were a few sentences that really stood out at me.

"I have too much on my plate and feel like a failure. Every area of my life gets 60% of my best. That's a D. I'm failing. Wouldn't you look ragged and old if you were coasting through life with a D?"

"That's all I can muster and I know it sucks, but I will gregariously tackle tomorrow and shoot for an A. Maybe I'll fall short (again), but could you please tell me I'm doing a good job?" 

- Melanie Okana, "This Is What Every Working Mom Needs To Hear From Her Partner"

Bingo.

This pretty much nailed exactly how I was feeling for especially the last few months, but I was unable to put it into words. I've known myself for almost 35 years now and have a pretty good idea of what makes me tick, how I work, and what I can handle. I suffer from major Mommy Guilt - which is essentially every time I miss out on a moment with my son or feel like I need a little time to myself, I feel guilty. I've been a multi-tasker all my life and never had an issue juggling my schedule until I had my son. Neither my husband or I work 9-5 jobs and although we like that type of atmosphere it certainly got a little more complicated to organize when Kendrick came into the world.

Don't get me wrong, having Kendrick was one of the best things that ever happened to me! And I am so, so happy that I became a Mom. But I'm starting to realize that having a family, a full time job, a part time side gig, completing my degree, running, working out, blogging and organizing multiple events can be a little much for one person. I'm a terrible delegator. I like to do everything myself because I have an expectation on how I want things done. I have a prioritizing problem. I like to make To Do lists but never know where to start! I'm one of those people who doesn't like the little number bubbles beside apps on her iPhone, so I'm sure you can imagine how I feel when I look at my iPhone looking like this:

This number was at 0 before I went on maternity leave. Because I wasn't on my computer as often once I had my little guy, I started getting behind on reading my personal inboxes. Note that 95% of these emails are likely from companies that I've signed up for their mailing lists, but this little red number bubble bugs me EVERY DAY! It's just another box on my never ending To Do list that I need to check off. Because of this, I also have problems sleeping and staying asleep at night which leads to being very tired during the day.

One of my goals for 2017 is to simplify my life. I'm still the same sparkly, bubbly, positive person I've always been, but unfortunately it's only about 60-70% of the time. I'm looking to improve that number to about 80%. I am very lucky I have a great husband, a great family, great friends and an overall great support system so I know I can get through this! I started to use some of my Moksha Yoga passes on my week off at Christmas, and felt amazing afterward! I need to get back to going in the mornings and starting the day off right. I still have some time before my girls trip to Vegas, so I want to get back on track and start eating better, doing yoga & maybe even doing some treadmill running to get back into shape and improve my well being.

Do me a favour, will you? If you see another Mom that looks flustered, whether she's with her kids her or not, tell her she's doing a good job. I am 100% sure she'll appreciate it. I know, I would! We'll never get tired of hearing it and you just never know - at that moment she may be suffering from mom guilt, been a victim of mom shaming or may be having an "I'm a terrible Mom" moment. Something small like that could make her day!

xo
-Dianne

PS: I didn't write this post to get pity and I certainly have no regrets. I thought it was good timing to be real about my feelings as it coincides with #BellLetsTalk day. Our mental health is important, and talking about it is the first step!

PPS: Winter is my favourite season. I have an amazing spot in my new office where my desk is right beside floor to ceiling windows that overlook downtown and I love all the sunshine that beams down on my desk. As much as I love the winter and the snow, my workouts also tend to slow down. I love running but I hate the treadmill and I'm too much of a wimp to run in the cold (not to mention I'm worried about injuring my klutzy self by tripping on the ice & snow). It's about this time of year that I start to get antsy and want to start running again. I came across the Jasper Canadian Rockies Half Marathon which takes place on April 8th & I think I might sign up.  This leaves me with just over two months to get training (usually I start three months prior, give or take a few days) and to be quite honest I haven't run since September. But maybe it's time to take a plunge and have something to look forward to! I plan to make the decision in the next couple weeks, so 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. 

.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?

.Commitment

Hey blog? Did ya miss me?

It's been awhile since I've blogged and really my only excuse is that life happened. My little dude turned 14 months old today. Every day I take a moment to sit and just stare at him and thank God for all of my blessings. I am truly blessed and so lucky!

After a bit of a lull in workouts due to some after hours work commitments (and me just having a hard time waking up in the morning), I've gotten back on track. I've continued to lead a group every week to do stairs for an hour at lunch time once a week, and I'm starting to notice results! My goal is to make it all the way up the 202 stairs without walking and after the last time I made it up 3/4 of the way almost every time! Even doing this once a week has made a difference and it's definitely inspired me to continue to lead this project every week!

I also joined our company running club last week, and wow was I in for a run for my money! I already knew that some of the people running were faster than me (as they mentioned the last time they ran they ran about 10.5K in an hour), but it ended being a great learning experience. I ended up running 7.26K at a 6:12/K pace - which is quite a bit faster than my average running speed. I actually ran 5K in 30:29 - which makes that my fastest 5K...EVER! It made me get to thinking that maybe I'm not pushing myself quite hard enough when I go for runs on my own. If that pace is do-able for 7.26K, maybe it could be do-able for 10! My goal eventually is to get my 10K time under an hour and as luck would have it, I actually have a 10K run booked for this weekend! I plan to do a couple more runs before the big race so we'll see if I can push myself a little harder during training and really kill it this weekend.

On top of running and stairs, I also joined the Blitz Conditioning's outdoor bootcamp! I absolutely love bootcamp, and working out outdoors (despite the fact that all the fluff in the air is making my allergies crazy) is one of my favourite things to do! Unfortunately our first class happened to fall on I'm pretty sure the hottest day of the year which made it a little bit tough, but we powered through and I drank a lot of water! Props to my cousin Adriana for signing up with me so I always have a work out buddy!

Now that our house is on the market, we've been doing some extra budgeting and I started meal planning again! Confession: I hadn't meal planned since my blog post back in March!! Here is myplan for the week:

Monday: Dill Pickle Soup - this actually turned out delicious and was even a big hit for my son!

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken - substituting pineapple sauce because I could not find any teriyaki sauce that didn't have soy in it.

Wednesday: Cheeseburger Gnocchi - we had this last week and it was so delicious I'm making it again!

Thursday: Cabbage Roll Soup - this sounds amazing!

Friday: Leftovers or take out

I find that when I meal plan I spend less on groceries as I only buy what I need for the week! I also find it's a lot easier to follow my plan if I prep the night before. Last night I cut up the potatoes, carrots and pickles and through them in a giant freezer bag with the chicken stock and spices. Then when I got home from work today I took it out of the fridge and threw it straight in the pot - which was very helpful and made things easy while I was dealing with a baby toddling around and wanting attention. What are your favourite recipes? If you are looking for some new ones, check out my Pinterest page - I have a section specifically for recipes I've tried and loved!

That's all for now! I've been going to bed late for almost two weeks now so I don't know what's wrong with my body clock. I need more sleep!

xo

-Dianne

PS: I've been thinking more and more about following a pace bunny for the Edmonton 1/2 Marathon and the more I think about it, the more I'm going to do it. I think my problem is I usually start out faster in races because I'm feeling really good, but as I keep going I start to taper off. Maybe this will teach me some planning and have me run a more consistent pace throughout. I officially registered for the race (along with the Canada Day Road Race which is one of my favourites to run every year), so I'm getting really pumped for this summer!

PPS: I started selling Epicure! Don't worry, Stella & Dot is still my main squeeze, but I decided to take the plunge as I absolutely LOVE their products! Feel free to check out the product here - I have an online party open right now until May 21! Happy shopping!

.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!

.Guilty

2. More. Weeks.

I'm finding that the closer I get to going back to work, the more my "mommy guilt" is starting to set in because I'm looking forward to it. I still very much feel mixed emotions as maternity leave has been a blast, but I'm finding myself really starting to get excited about going back to the office and seeing my co-workers again. As much as I love flying by the seat of my pants during maternity leave, we are still fairly structured as I have things planned almost every day this week! I'm having so much fun but I'm definitely feeling guilty about going back to work and leaving him at daycare. This is normal, right?

Even though I'm looking forward to going back, I will miss all of Kendrick's play dates! I never really visualized myself being a "mom's group" type of person, but I am so thankful for the group I found and the people I've met over the past year! For someone who never really had a lot of close female friends, I am so grateful for this network of new moms to be able to bounce ideas off of, vent to, and learn together as our little ones grow up. Although I have found some great friends that I've become close with, I've also found that I don't agree with some people's parenting styles. There are lots of memes and blogs about how we shouldn't be judge-y of other mom's choices as we are all doing what's best for our children and I think that's absolutely true! However...sometimes it's very difficult NOT to judge when someone talks about something that you feel is very wrong or unsafe.  However, I keep it to myself. I've learned to start to take things with a grain of salt and just go with the flow. I felt very judged a few weeks ago when I felt like a woman at Sobey's was judging me for buying Kendrick organic milk. I didn't like that feeling and because I'm not usually very confrontational I chose not to make a big deal of the situation, but I thought it was slightly rude and my reasons for choosing organic milk for my son is none of her business.

On another note, I finally took some time during nap time yesterday to plan my dinners for the rest of the week. Here's what I have planned:

Yesterday: Pasta with tomato sauce and turkey & apple meatballs - a WIN!

Today: Tacos with lean ground beef

Tomorrow: We're eating out so no dinner planned

Thursday: Coconut chicken salad

Friday: Slo-cooker mongolian beef over coconut rice

Saturday: Chicken fingers & fries

I've included links to the recipes that I plan to try. I'm also trying to incorporate some meals that I can share with Kendrick! He's starting to eat more finger foods and less purees, so I've been trying to brainstorm some meals that he can easily eat that can double as dinner for us. The turkey & apple meatballs turned out fantastic and Kendrick loved them! If you haven't already, check out my board on Pinterest specifically for recipes that I've tried and that have worked really well! I usually put in the comments if I've changed anything in the recipe - which is almost all the time because one of my quirks is not being able to follow a recipe. I always have to add something of my own! I also started a board for kids food recipes that Kendrick & I have tried and loved which will hopefully get bigger as the weeks go on!

I've been continuing to work out at Blitz Conditioning twice a week for the past month. I'm feeling pretty good! I'm hoping to continue when I go back to work, I'm just debating on whether I go super early or go right after work. "Mommy guilt" creeps in again here because if I go I won't see Kendrick either in the morning or much before he goes to bed, but I know that I'll schedule to make sure that I won't be missing him for an entire day. I'm going to also take the plunge and buy the monthly pass instead of the 10 pass punch card, which means I'll have to go at least nine times to make it worthwhile so that will help me keep motivated!

xo
-Dianne

PS: I also found a recipe for no bake banana bread bites that I'm attempting to alter a bit to become little pieces of heaven. They are also pretty healthy, and don't take long to prepare which is even better! As soon as I figure out the perfect blend, I'll post it!

PPS: I gave up pop for lent (four days late because I missed the start date). For some reason since I was pregnant with Kendrick I've been craving it and drinking it way more often, and it didn't stop when I had him! I felt like something sweet so I picked up some banana milk instead. I knew it had some sugar in it, but it turns out it actually has a very similar amount of sugar to pop (although some pop has slightly more). How depressing! Oh well. Time to go to Planet Organic and pick up some sugar-free sparkling juice! 

.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. :)

.Lessons

Lesson learned this week: Running with a stroller is HARD!

Obviously baby brain is still affecting me considering I thought pushing a 53.5lb stroller with an almost 15lb baby in it while running and keeping up my pace would be a walk in the park. NOPE! 

We decided to go swimming on Thursday so I thought it would be good to get a run in and run to the pool. I tried putting Kendrick in just the stroller portion without the carseat, but he's still too small and the straps didn't keep him from moving. The time of day also meant the sun was right in his eyes, so I opted to keep him in the car seat so I could provide adequate shade and he'd be nicely tucked in. He's 5.5 months old now and can hold his head up very well so I wasn't concerned, plus the route I had in mind was mostly smooth gravel and wasn't too bumpy. 

When I started to run I realized that it was a lot tougher that I expected! Any small incline seemed like a hill! I managed to keep my pace up however I took many walk breaks. It took a lot more out of me than I thought! I got a thumbs up from a senior on a bike, and a high five from some teenagers on the way. I arrived at the pool covered in sweat even though it wasn't that hot out. Kendrick I assume enjoyed himself because he slept through pretty much the whole thing. I'm impressed with the work out and after I finish the half marathon on Sunday I'm definitely going to be running with the stroller more often, especially now that it's getting cooler! I went for another run today when it was nice and cool outside and my little buddy was pretty pumped to wear his Snoopy toque!

My pace was slower today (also because of the race tomorrow I didn't want to push it) but I took less walk breaks so I was pretty satisfied! The weather was at about +11 when I left and for me it was perfect. 

It's been hard to run four or five times a week as my Nike running plan suggests, but I still have been going 2-3 times a week. My pace for July averaged 7:28 and for August 7:31 and although I still feel a little slow it's not too bad. I just keep reminding myself that I had a baby five and a half months ago, so let's be realistic. The peak of my training happened on August 8th where I ran 19 KM. My recovery was fantastic and I actually wasn't that sore the next day, so I consider that a really big win. I'm also going to download Spotify Premium so that I can start looking for some fun playlists to run to. It also times out perfectly so that it will expire the day we get back from Australia, so I'll have unlimited music to listen to not only prepping for my next half, but also on all the long plane rides!

Last week I was really nervous for the Edmonton Half but now I'm starting to feel more confident. It still flip flops from time to time but I'm starting to visualize finishing and it's making me feel a bit better. Also knowing that I will have a few people cheering me on from the sidelines makes a world of difference! I packed my bag for tomorrow, picked my outfit, and really am as ready as I can be.  I felt this shirt was best suited for tomorrow!

My goal is to finish before 2:58 (which was the time of my very first half in Vegas in which I trained way less). I have a tiny little bag of cherry blasters that I plan to eat as my reward when I finish!

xo

-Dianne

PS: I did go see the doctor about my sleep issues. Essentially he asked me a whole bunch of questions and doesn't think I have postpartum depression which is a good thing. He suggested taking some natural sleep aids on occasion, and also to move the baby monitor to the other side of the room (or out of the room completely) so that I wasn't compulsively checking it. Moving the monitor was tough, but it's now in a place where I can't reach it and that has helped a little bit. My sleep is still not the greatest but it's definitely better than it was. My brain just doesn't want to shut off! 

PPS: I've got a pretty bruise on my leg from a wipe out two weeks ago. I was running through a crosswalk during rush hour traffic, tripped over an invisible line and wiped out. I landed mostly on my hands (of course I wasn't wearing pants with any pockets so my phone went down first and I cracked the screen) and on my left knee. My right ankle was slightly twisted as well, but I didn't feel that until the next day. When I fell I was so embarrassed that I jumped up and kept running for another 1/4 kilometre so I was alone again, then walked the rest of the way home. I was so mad and upset I didn't even post the run to Facebook like I usually do. Usually when I get outside I feel better even if I'm a little tired, but my body was just not feeling it and I pushed myself to get out there anyway. Lesson learned. :)

.Yawn

I realized that it's been a lot longer than I thought since I ran last; nine days ago yesterday to be exact. Oopsie. I didn't mean to take a nine day break but between being busy, preparing for our trip, and being flat out tired it just didn't happen. I'm still learning to juggle life with a baby!

We just got back from Vegas on Saturday from Stella & Dot's national conference (Hoopla) and it went really well. Not only was the conference really good and very informative, but Kendrick was an absolute rock star. On the flight there I took people's advice and had his soother in for landing and take off and he didn't fuss at all. He just sat in my lap and stared at me! :) On the way home he was a little fussier as the flight was during his bed time (will try not to make that mistake again), but when he went to asleep he stayed asleep and we managed to get him home and in bed without him fully waking up! During the sessions he either slept or played with his toys, and when he got fussy and I picked him up, the people behind me made faces at him and he giggled and smiled. I couldn't have asked for a more well-behaved baby and now it's given me a lot of food for thought for when we travel to Australia in the fall!

So after doing a bunch of research I have decided that I'm going to purchase a Fitbit. I had one of the very first ones that clipped onto your pants and to be honest I didn't like it. But that was quite a few years ago and I think I'm ready to give it another chance. That being said, I'm not sure which one to buy! I thought I was pretty set on the Fitbit Charge HR however now I'm considering the Fitbit Surge. I really wanted something that has a heart rate monitor built right in, but that also tracks my sleep (for the past year or so, even before I got pregnant, I have been having problems sleeping for long periods of time). The big differences between the two are that you can get text messages on the Surge (doesn't really matter to me), change a song on your music (good, but really not a big deal to me), track multiple sports and the big one: GPS. As much as I love my Nike running app, it's not really meant for walking so when I use it for walks it brings down my average pace. It's not the end of the world, but I use that pace to figure out approximate KMs when I'm on a time limit. It would also be beneficial when I'm on vacation or running outside of Canada. The Nike app would cost me a lot to use data and I wouldn't be using it on hikes or other walks. Of course, there's also the $120 price difference ($179.99 VS $299.99). So many decisions! I still have some time to think about it as in either case I would want the blue or tangerine colors (basic black is way too boring) which haven't been released yet. Feel free to comment below if you have a preference one way or another, I'd love to hear feedback!

Speaking of sleeping terribly, I think it's time to make a trip to the doctor and the naturopath. I am a terrible sleeper. I am tired all day but when night time comes I find it really difficult to fall asleep and I wake up multiple times a night. These are the nights I should be sleeping because Kendrick has been sleeping through the night for about two months now! It's starting to really affect me so I'm going to see if I can figure out something. What are your tips for falling asleep at night?

xo

-Dianne

PS: Product Review: Yurbuds - $27 - Sport Chek

I have been looking for new ear buds as I find regular ones don't stay in my ears and I'm constantly re-adjusting them. I had ones that went around my ears but mid-run they would start to hurt so I was in the market for some new ones. I went to Sport Chek on the weekend and was looking at some $80 fancy ear buds when one of the workers came over and told me about Yurbuds and said one of his coworkers swore by them. It says "Guaranteed to Never Fall Out" right on the box, so I thought I'd give them a shot. 

As it turns out, they are awesome! I ran with them for the first time today and they were super comfortable and honestly didn't move, even though it was quite windy. I didn't have to re-adjust them once! I am very impressed and at a $29.99 price point they were worth every penny. They also sell sets for $40 and $50 but I couldn't see much of a difference other than the accessories so I decided on these ones. They also say they are specially made for women and have two sizes. Two thumbs up!

PPS: I know a few new mommies so I wanted to post some of my tips for air travel with a baby! I was very lucky that Kendrick was so good, but there were a few things that really helped me!

- Pay extra for the "plus" seats. On Westjet they are $50 and you get extra legroom, your first & second bag checked in free, and free food and drinks. Since you'd be paying $25 anyways for your bag, this is a no-brainer. If possible, also book seats A&C or D&F so there's a chance that no one will sit in between you! That extra seat is a bonus.

- You're probably going to bring more than you need. I packed way too many diapers, outfits and formula. But you just never know and it's better to be safe than sorry!

- Feed or give baby a soother during landing and take off. It helps pop their little ears!

- If you can help it, don't fly in the evening. I had to wash bottles and pump in the airport because we checked out of our hotel at 10:30AM and didn't leave until 8:30PM! If given the choice I would fly in the morning or afternoon

- Check with your airline but you should be allowed to take a diaper bag along with your own carry on and personal item. I kept all baby stuff in the diaper bag along with extra outfits, food and diapers. You never know when there will be a delay! You are allowed to take formula and breast milk through customs, just take it out for security so they can scan it.

- I found people around me were really helpful! If he started getting fussy the people behind me or beside me would make faces at him and he'd smile and giggle. It was a big help!

- Don't be afraid to ask for help. I find that hard sometimes but people (especially the flight attendants) will be happy to hold your baby for a moment while you get organized!

.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!