My BBM Journey: Day 26

I am so sorry about the lack of posts, it’s been busy-busy here and writing a post each day just wasn’t in the cards for this week. However, I’m happy to report that I’m still on the wagon and have done each day’s exercise, even doing some doubled up days, adding a previous BBM workout to that day’s routine. Exercise is addictive, and I’m really starting to feel great. I feel like I had a break through this week, so if that stupid scale says I’m the same or have gained weight on the 30 day weigh in, I really might just toss it into the lake. I notice there’s a difference in my upper thighs and torso this week. No matter what the scale says, I’ll just keep going because I really do feel the best I have in quite a few years. My summer tee shirts are fitting better than they did before my pregnancy with my 3rd baby, I had gotten as close as I’ve been in a long time to my initial goal of 190 lbs. I was about 198 at that time. So even though I weigh more now, I feel much more toned.

My exercise partners are still sweating it out with me each morning, and these 2 especially keep me going strong and pushing hard.

My little man usually sits on my sister’s shoulders during the warm up each morning. How cute are these faces??

And the garden is growing. I found some snow peas that were ready to harvest this morning, the first of our little summer bounty.

I also have some  plum tomatoes coming along nicely.

And the zuccini plant is growing pretty big with the rain we have been getting.

June is almost upon us and I am itching to visit the farmer’s market and get hold of some sweet corn and other home grown goodies. Kentucky has the perfect soil pH for tomatoes and no matter where you’ve eaten a home grown tomato, you have probably not had the best you’ve ever tasted until you taste a sun ripened heirloom variety tomato grown in Kentucky. They are the best!! The corn is pretty delicious too. Farmer’s Market selection should ramp up in our area by the end of June, so bring on the Summer!

 

___________________________________________________________________________________

What is BBM?

Bikini Body Mommy, a movement led by Briana Christine, and you can find out more at http://www.bikinibodymommy.com

Did you miss my first post outlining my goals? Find it here.

My Newest Project: An Overview

Looking to find some inspiration on Pinterest? You can follow me there too.

To get my daily posts through the  90 day challenge in your inbox, hit the subscribe button at the top left of this page, right under my profile picture.

And finally, has this post delighted, inspired, or amused you? Feel free to share it with your friends.

My BBM Journey: Day 23

So, how many of you were able to outwit the Holiday yesterday? Well, NOT ME. My mom-in-law had a little get together yesterday for Memorial Day, and oh the delicious family of southern comfort food cooks I have married into, let me tell you, they aren’t the best diet support team. I totally indulged, lemon pound cake and homemade ice cream and all, AND missed my exercise. So we doubled up this morning and got back on track. It felt so good to sweat out all that guilt.

My house also suffered since Monday is my day to get some extra house work done after Sunday’s day off. In short, I have been busy today making my to do list and checking things off. Moms are busy, even the ones who “don’t work”, we are pretty dang busy for people who stay at home and “don’t work”.

So today for lunch I made soup. The special part about this is I’ll let you in on a little secret. No time? Make soup. Down to odds and ends? Make soup. Have a bunch of left overs? Make soup. Today I had all 3 of those things going on and still made a delicious pot of beef vegetable soup, from scratch, and served it with salad for lunch. Bonus, we have enough left over for dinner or lunch tomorrow.

This is another post that won’t be a recipe per say. Why? Because the left overs in your pantry and fridge may be completely different than mine, but I’ll walk you through mine to give you a little idea. Keep in mind you can do this with your own odds and ends as long as you have a few basics down.

Odds and Ends Beef Vegetable Soup

My mom in law sent me home with some left overs from the grill out yesterday and after eating on them for dinner last night, I found myself with 2 grilled burger patties. Not enough to feed me and the kids. But I looked in my cabinet and saw a can of Progresso Tomato with parmesan soup and a quart of beef broth that had been in there a while and I knew I had frozen veggies in the freezer. I always have onions on hand, but I had also been sent home with onion and tomato slices that were left over burger fixings. I also always have several cans of diced tomatoes on hand.

I started by dicing an onion and a few baby portobellos and sweating the water out of them in a little olive oil on medium heat. Once they were cooked down and the onions had just started to carmelize, I added the beef broth making sure to scrape the flavorful browning off the bottom of the pot. From there I added some frozen corn, a 1/4 of a bag of frozen cube cut hash brown potatoes, (it had been in there all alone for about a month, not enough to make for breakfast even) the can of tomato soup, a can of diced tomatoes, the rest of the fresh tomato slices that I had diced up, some frozen broccoli florets, and the hamburger patties which I had cut into small cubes. I seasoned everything with salt, pepper, onion powder, italian seasoning, minced garlic, a little chili powder, and some paprika. I let it all simmer together for about 20 minutes while I made a salad and whalah! A healthy, delicious and filling lunch made from left overs and odds and ends.

 

The grilled burgers gave it a really great, slow cooked flavor, you would never have guessed I threw it together in less than 30 minutes.

So, there you have it. Just because you’re busy and don’t have much in the cabinets doesn’t mean you can’t eat smart and healthy. This meal is really great for the clean eater on a budget too. I’d love to hear your go-to quick and easy meal ideas.

 

___________________________________________________________________________________

What is BBM?

Bikini Body Mommy, a movement led by Briana Christine, and you can find out more at http://www.bikinibodymommy.com

Did you miss my first post outlining my goals? Find it here.

My Newest Project: An Overview

Looking to find some inspiration on Pinterest? You can follow me there too.

To get my daily posts through the  90 day challenge in your inbox, hit the subscribe button at the top left of this page, right under my profile picture.

And finally, has this post delighted, inspired, or amused you? Feel free to share it with your friends.

My BBM Journey: Day 20

Another week in the books! I am super proud to have gotten every day in this week too! Yesterday I almost talked myself into not doing it, but got it in after lunch anyway. It really is true, you never regret getting a workout done, but you can sure regret missing them.

Today’s inspirational photo is actually a short video of the first minute of today’s workout. I know many of us are reluctant to show our bodies on camera, especially publically to the world on something like this blog, but if I waited til I got to my perfect goal body, it would literally be years of missing out on capturing great little memories like this. YEARS. And you know what? This is me today. When I walk out of my house, everyone is publically going to see me anyway, so why is a camera different? (Besides the fact that it really does seem to add 5-10 lbs.)

I want to encourage you to embrace your beauty today. You are a magnificent, unique person. You are working to change the flaws and be the best you that you can be, but you will never completely get rid of every little flaw. And you know what? Most people don’t see them when they look at you anyway. In fact, I want to encourage you to see yourself today the way your small children do. My daughter walks up to me, and I’m covered in sweat, my hair is a mess, no make up, with all my mommy pooches hanging everywhere, and she says, “Mommy, you,re so beautiful.” And she pushes the hair out of my face mid plank and asks for a kiss. THAT, my friends, is who you are to the ones who love you. Don’t let the mirror lie to you. Today, with your flaws and your imperfect body and your hard work to be a better you, you are beautiful.

So, with that said I’m sharing this video of my little guy working out with me. And even though a part of me cringes at myself on camera, I am choosing to see instead the positive influence I’m having in my kids life, I see the changes my body has made thus far, the progress, I see the hard work, and I see a mom who has been to Hell and back for her kids and bears the “war wounds” of being a mom. That’s all the stretch marks, mommy pooch, extra weight, etc. are, just the war wounds of being a mom. Wounds heal. Just keep being a fantastic mom to your kids. They think you are beautiful.

 

 

___________________________________________________________________________________

What is BBM?

Bikini Body Mommy, a movement led by Briana Christine, and you can find out more at http://www.bikinibodymommy.com

Did you miss my first post outlining my goals? Find it here.

My Newest Project: An Overview

Looking to find some inspiration on Pinterest? You can follow me there too.

To get my daily posts through the  90 day challenge in your inbox, hit the subscribe button at the top left of this page, right under my profile picture.

And finally, has this post delighted, inspired, or amused you? Feel free to share it with your friends.

My BBM Journey: Day 18

I have been so busy, I just haven’t been super creative in the kitchen. Today for lunch I sauteed some fresh veggies, added a handful of whole wheat pasta and sprinkled some shredded cheese on top. Simple, delicious, economical. I try to stay away from pasta, but when I do use it I make sure it is mixed with a lot of fresh veggies and that it is whole wheat. I find that whole wheat pasta fills me up more too, all the extra fiber I’m guessing.

Anyway, I will try to get some more meal posts and recipes in soon. In the mean time, today I will be sharing last night’s beautiful evening for inspirational photos. Now that my sister is back, we have a baby sitter to watch the kids while we take our short evening motorcycle rides.  I can’t emphasize enough how awesome she is to let us slip away for 45 minutes or an hour to get some time to ourselves, even if we don’t talk much, it is nice to be together without work or kids or other distractions. These evening rides have helped off set the fact that he works 70 hours a week and I’m a 24/7 mom. Little man still bed shares, so we don’t even get night time to ourselves. Most nights hubs falls asleep on the couch and wakes up at 4:30 am for work still in the living room. So yeah, the motorcycle is really becoming a great asset to our marriage. 🙂

Last night we rode through “down town” Cadiz to get to Barkley Lake State Resort Park to scope out possible camping options for this summer.

 

 

We saw this guy doing some evening fishing on Barkley Lake.

 

And then we crossed the bridge just in time to catch a fantastic sunset.

 

What do you guys do to get away with your significant other?

 

___________________________________________________________________________________

What is BBM?

Bikini Body Mommy, a movement led by Briana Christine, and you can find out more at http://www.bikinibodymommy.com

Did you miss my first post outlining my goals? Find it here.

My Newest Project: An Overview

Looking to find some inspiration on Pinterest? You can follow me there too.

To get my daily posts through the  90 day challenge in your inbox, hit the subscribe button at the top left of this page, right under my profile picture.

And finally, has this post delighted, inspired, or amused you? Feel free to share it with your friends.

My BBM Journey: Day 17

Oh my aching love handles! This week’s workouts have been just killer on the obliques. I’ m feeling it in my lower body, but mostly in those side areas and the lower back/upper hips. Those happen to be my problem areas so it’s all good, but man, I haven’t gotten up in the morning feeling sore since the middle of the first challenge this year.

Last week we came to the bottom of the barrel on our groceries and so my clean eating suffered, but payday arrived and my fridge is full of fresh veggies and fruit and I am back on track with the meals so that’s encouraging. I also have my workout buddy back, I picked up my sister yesterday (hence the missing post) and we are resuming our celebration of sweat fest 2014.

Other than that I don’t really have anything new to post about, we are just anticipating the garden veggies coming in and watching things grow. Oh, but hey, take a look at my peas, they are wild!

The peas are by far doing the best of everything I’ve planted. They should bloom any time now, I can’t wait to pick our first pod off the vine.

How about you guys? Ready for Summer’s bounty of fresh produce?

___________________________________________________________________________________

What is BBM?

Bikini Body Mommy, a movement led by Briana Christine, and you can find out more at http://www.bikinibodymommy.com

Did you miss my first post outlining my goals? Find it here.

My Newest Project: An Overview

Looking to find some inspiration on Pinterest? You can follow me there too.

To get my daily posts through the  90 day challenge in your inbox, hit the subscribe button at the top left of this page, right under my profile picture.

And finally, has this post delighted, inspired, or amused you? Feel free to share it with your friends.

My BBM Journey: Day 15

Day 15, the much anticipated/dreaded weigh in and remeasure day.

I woke up optimistic this morning. My clothes have been fitting better and I thought surely I had lost a pound or 2 at the least. No such luck. In fact, I had gained a pound and a half. I know we aren’t supposed to get hung up on the scale, but I have been busting my butt and some day, some sweet day I would like to see my self edging toward under 200lbs. It has been a long stinkin’ time. I know it’s possible, I have been there before, I can get there again, I know I can, but it seems no matter how hard I work I stay stalled between 209 and 212. Very frustrating.

I was so discouraged in fact that I almost didn’t take the measurements, but I rallied and thought that maybe if I saw even half an inch or an inch lost, maybe that would help. So I measured with greatly lowered expectations and when I compared them to day 1 I was floored to see I had lost a total of 9 INCHES! I did a happy dance. I don’t think I lost a total of 9 inches the whole first 90 day challenge at the beginning of this year, let alone by day 15.

So here’s to all the mommies who, like me, are not seeing a change on the scale. Just keep going. Keep doing the work outs, keep eating right, keep hydrating, because something is changing, if not the scale then your measurements, or your strength, or your energy level, or your mood, but SOMETHING is changing. You are changing. And it isn’t an over night thing. It is a long, hard, powerful journey, but you have to enjoy the dance and just keep going. Don’t stop, don’t get discouraged. Don’t let the scale trick you. You are beautiful and the fact that you are working to improve in any capacity is something remarkable to be proud of.

 

___________________________________________________________________________________

What is BBM?

Bikini Body Mommy, a movement led by Briana Christine, and you can find out more at http://www.bikinibodymommy.com

Did you miss my first post outlining my goals? Find it here.

My Newest Project: An Overview

Looking to find some inspiration on Pinterest? You can follow me there too.

To get my daily posts through the  90 day challenge in your inbox, hit the subscribe button at the top left of this page, right under my profile picture.

And finally, has this post delighted, inspired, or amused you? Feel free to share it with your friends.

 

 

My BBM Journey: Day 14

Today is Sunday and so it’s a rest day. I am so proud to have reached a personal goal this week. I completed every day of exercise in the challenge this week, and so I am now enjoying a very guilt free day to rest my aching upper body. I started by trying to sleep in a little, but who am I kidding with a toddler a preschooler? If I’m not up and getting breakfast by 8 am sharp, the house begins to get torn apart piece by piece in retaliation.

It’s a beautiful sunny day outside, so maybe we’ll take a walk later or lay out in the sun or go to the lake. I am still lazing about for now and enjoying my coffee, so I thought I’d take time to post a recipe for today’s post. Again, thanks to Pinterest for the inspiration on this dish. If you want to follow me on Pinterest and see the things that have been inspiring me, make sure to scroll down to the bottom of the page and find the link to my boards.

Summer Squash Pasta with Tomatoes and Herbs

2 medium yellow summer squash

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes

1 small onion

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 TBL. finely chopped fresh basil

1 TBL. finely chopped fresh parsley

salt and pepper

fresh grated parmesan cheese

Wash the squash and then use a vegetable peeler to make “noodles”, holding each one at the fat end and running the peeler down the body lengthwise, rotating the squash evenly and stopping  just shy of the seeds.

Set the “noodles” aside. In a medium sautee pan over medium high heat, heat the olive oil and add the onions. Sautee for a minute or two, then add the garlic. Just begin to let the garlic brown (careful not to let it burn) and then add the diced tomatoes. Let them simmer for about 5 minutes to reduce some of the liquid. Add the herbs and the squash noodles and gently toss until everything is mixed in evenly. Remove from heat after a minute or two. The noodles are very thin and won’t take long to cook. Be careful not to over cook them, they should retain a slight crispness and remain intact. Season with salt and pepper to taste and grate a little parmesan cheese over the top if you like.

Serves: 2

Calories per serving: approx. 172

Prep time: Approx. 10 minutes

Cook time: Approx. 10 minutes

Recipe cost: Approx. $2.50

NOTES:

My kids love veggies, but they also love pasta. This looked so much like the real thing that I think they were expecting traditional pasta and the difference in taste and texture took them off guard. So it wasn’t as big a hit with them as I had thought it would be, but they did eat some of it and I thought it was delicious. Very light and tasty. You could serve this with shrimp skewers, or grilled chicken breast, it’s so light on the calories it could be paired with a protein to make a meal, but I fixed it for lunch as it’s own main course. I cut costs by using my own herbs from the garden. (Have you seen grocery store prices for fresh herbs? Seriously, if you are not growing your own, you should be.) Later in the year when the zuccini comes in I will use that as the “noodles” and using fresh tomatoes from my garden will pretty much bring the cost on this dish to pennies.

If you have a farmer’s market in your area, definitely utilize it for your fresh produce if possible and stay tuned later in the year for a post or two from me on the farmer’s market. We have one just down the street in our little town and I’m hoping to score some delicious produce later in the season. There will be pictures too, of course. So, let me know how you liked this! Enjoy your Sunday, friends.

___________________________________________________________________________________

What is BBM?

Bikini Body Mommy, a movement led by Briana Christine, and you can find out more at http://www.bikinibodymommy.com

Did you miss my first post outlining my goals? Find it here.

My Newest Project: An Overview

Looking to find some inspiration on Pinterest? You can follow me there too.

To get my daily posts through the  90 day challenge in your inbox, hit the subscribe button at the top left of this page, right under my profile picture.

And finally, has this post delighted, inspired, or amused you? Feel free to share it with your friends.

 

My BBM Journey: Day 13

I wasn’t able to post yesterday, I was just too busy to squeeze it in. As soon as Hubs got off work we took the car to get 2 new back tires which was much needed, and then it was grocery shopping and a new phone for me since little man sucked on my old one and ruined it. I mean it was just a cheap, aggravating pre-paid but it always sucks to have to spend money unexpectedly. At least I got an upgrade. I refuse to drink the “smart phone” koolaid at this point, but since the world doesn’t seem to be growing out of this texting fad, I got a phone with a full keyboard so I could at least return a text if needed without spending an hour typing with 26 letters condensed into 9 numbers.

I did fit in my workout yesterday and my shoulders are so sore, I really pushed it into hyper gear and now my upper body is aching. Upper body strength has never been my forte, but I do believe I am as strong as I’ve ever been in that department. My obliques are also feeling it, those side plank things, a.k.a. self torture moves are just brutal. Then, after that, I had to pump up the back tire on the car – with a bicycle pump – to get it down the road to the gas station to air it up the rest of the way. (Hence the need for a new tire.) THEN! While we waited for the tires to be put on, we decided to walk down the street to eat dinner. Hubby didn’t want to cross three lanes of busy traffic with the babies so we walked to the nearest place on our side that would accommodate our needs and budget, which turned out to be about 3/4 of a mile down the road. That’s a long ways when your sore arms and shoulders are carrying a 24 lb. toddler and a purse that contains everything but the kitchen sink and you’re wearing wedge sandals. So any way, I think it’s safe to say I got it done yesterday.

So, before I get today’s workout done and put week 2 in the books, I thought I’d write today’s post and do a recipe. I’m going to share with you what little man and I eat every morning for breakfast. Yup, every morning. It’s quick, filling, and delicious.

 

Apple Pie Oatmeal with Cranberries

1/2 cup Old Fashioned oats

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 TBL. agave nectar

1 tsp. butter or coconut oil

dash of ground ginger

a couple dashes cinnamon

 

Put the oats and cranberries into a small sauce pan and just cover them with water. Bring to a simmer and cook until all standing water is absorbed(4-7 minutes) and the oats are at your preferred level of done. A little more water will make them very thoroughly cooked, and a little less water will leave them a bit chewy. While the oats are cooking, add all the other ingredients to a bowl. Add cooked oats and stir everything up together. 

Serves: 2

Prep time: 0

Cook time: approx. 5 minutes

Calories per serving: approx. 193

Recipe cost: approx. $0.75

NOTES:

This recipe cuts back on sugar by letting the fruit do the heavy lifting with the sweetening. Adding the butter or coconut oil gives it a little richness, but you could totally cut out the fat and added sweetener to cut calories. I make this big bowl and feed little man and myself, it’s always more than enough to fill us both and I feel it has really fueled our morning workouts. I only just discovered agave nectar this very morning. I have been wanting to try a more natural sweetener than refined sugar and just don’t care for honey at all. I saw this bottle at Aldi and picked it up for about $2.50. I have no idea if that is an exceptionally good deal but it seemed like a fair price to me. I tasted it and found it quite yummy.

My Aldi also has 100% maple syrup and a small organic produce section. I know not every Aldi has this kind of selection, but a lot of them do. So definitely check them out if you’re working on a tight budget. For the .25 cart rental and bagging your own groceries, it is so very worth the savings.

Alrighty then, let me know what you guys think of this recipe and share your favorite breakfast with me, you know, in case I get tired of this one, which doesn’t seem to be happening any time soon. 🙂

___________________________________________________________________________________

What is BBM?

Bikini Body Mommy, a movement led by Briana Christine, and you can find out more at http://www.bikinibodymommy.com

Did you miss my first post outlining my goals? Find it here.

My Newest Project: An Overview

Looking to find some inspiration on Pinterest? You can follow me there too.

To get my daily posts through the  90 day challenge in your inbox, hit the subscribe button at the top left of this page, right under my profile picture.

And finally, has this post delighted, inspired, or amused you? Feel free to share it with your friends.

My BBM Journey: Day 11

Day 11. I was busy early yesterday with an appointment and then I had company, and by the time the afternoon rolled around, I just couldn’t find the pep to get my workout in. I could have done it in the evening, but since our computer doubles as our TV and the hubs was home from a long day at work, I couldn’t take his relaxation time away, so I doubled up this morning and did yesterday and today’s workouts all in one shot. Man! Kicked my butt too, but I felt good to be staying as honest and true to the challenge as I could.

 

My sister is back home for a week, so I missed my sweat partner, but I get her back next week, so I’m looking forward to that and keeping it in high gear.

My hubby recently got a motorcycle and this one happens to be wife friendly, in that the passenger seat is very comfortable and designed for longer trips. I have never been a motorcycle enthusiast, I certainly can’t drive one, and I don’t even have a tattoo (yet) but I have been LOVING the little evening rides I’ve been able to take with him. Maybe it is the fresh air, maybe it’s the fact that I can hug him for more than two seconds before a little body pushes in between us and jealously yells, “He’s MY Daddy!!” At any rate, it’s been great.

 

Kentucky has some really beautiful scenery, just about anywhere you go there is something interesting or quaint or lovely to see. The back seat of the motorcycle is a great place to see the sights and I usually take my camera with me when we ride.

We live within minutes of Land Between the Lakes and often find ourselves driving near or over the water of Barkley or Kentucky lake. On this particular ride we didn’t get far before realizing I had brought my expensive DSLR but not the camera bag and a thunderstorm was heading right for us. I still got a shot or two of one of Barkley Lake’s many coves.

So get out and get some fresh air, friends, however that may be, with  the kids, or with your  significant other, or even just by yourself. Have your morning coffee on the back porch and watch the sun come up, or take a walk and watch the sun set, or lay out under the full moon and count stars. Don’t underestimate the power of the outdoors, the calming effect of nature when you take time to observe. It’s ok to waste 5 minutes watching that bird looking for a worm from your kitchen window, or watching that squirrel try to find that nut he hid last fall. Take time to watch the sun glinting off the lake water, or count all the rustic old barns you see on a stretch of highway, and just enjoy the every day little things we tend to take for granted in our busy world. I promise, it will do your soul good, it will make you smile, and you know what they say, laughter is the best medicine, so I’m pretty sure smiling is a close second.

___________________________________________________________________________________

What is BBM?

Bikini Body Mommy, a movement led by Briana Christine, and you can find out more at http://www.bikinibodymommy.com

Did you miss my first post outlining my goals? Find it here.

My Newest Project: An Overview

Looking to find some inspiration on Pinterest? You can follow me there too.

To get my daily posts through the  90 day challenge in your inbox, hit the subscribe button at the top left of this page, right under my profile picture.

And finally, has this post delighted, inspired, or amused you? Feel free to share it with your friends.

 

My BBM Journey: Day 9

Day 9’s workout is in the books. At the end of each workout I typically do a little something extra. Today I did some modified planks and wall sits, but for these, since I’m trying to go as long as I can and they are tedious as all get out, I put a favorite song on Youtube and sing at the top of my lungs while holding these rigid positions. I’m happy to report that I’m up to 3-4 minutes or more for each pose and especially the wall sits have gotten easier – well, a better way of putting it would be it is possible to hold them longer and I feel my legs are much stronger, nothing is really easy. I still drip sweat as if someone turned a hose on me.

Usually it’s my little guy who is all about doing the exercises with me, but my daughter can’t resist anything that has to do with music or singing and today she was by my side while I sang and sweat my way to a stronger me.

My sister captured that one and posted it to Instagram. Super cute! I’m so lucky to have this little ball of sunshine energy. She is definitely the chocolate syrup to my sundae. She’s constantly moving and singing and dancing and smiling. She’s the life of the party.

And my little guy is my strong and steady, my calm and cuddly.

I am just so blessed to be mommy to these great kids. They make me want to be the best mom I can be. And that’s what this whole thing is about, being the best version of me for my kids.

And there’s another little girl I do this for. I’ve been thinking about it a lot this morning after finding out about the passing of an old friend yesterday. You see, he lost someone dear to him several years back and he was never the same. He had always been a heavy drinker, but after he lost his best friend it was like he kind of gave up on life. I’m not here to judge anyone’s grief journey, that’s not what I’m about, grief is very personal and it should be.

But for those of you who don’t know, I lost my first baby girl when she was only 17 days old. It rearranged my life and remade me into the person I am today. That little girl forever changed me. She made me want to live better and bigger and follow my dreams like I never had before, because that opportunity to live fully here on earth, that was taken from her. That was taken from me, the day she died, seeing her live her dreams and grow up. And as a mother, you never recover from that. Ever. But she inspired me, and inspires many others through me, as I’m left to tell her story. And I do, every chance I get. I tell the world, anybody willing to listen, about my amazing little girl.

When I wake up each morning and get hugs and kisses from my son and daughter, there is always a little girl’s kisses that are missing, and I could let that destroy me, but I know that’s not what she would want. She would want me to smile and laugh and enjoy life and play with her brother and sister and be healthy and happy. And so I do. And I am so lucky and blessed beyond measure to be mom to these 3 amazing kids. They each have something to offer me as inspiration and I pray that I will be a source of inspiration and strength down the road for them. Every day is a gift, friends. Every single day. Don’t waste a single one in regret.

My first little girl Skye. She would have been 6 this September. This is the very first picture ever taken of her, minutes old.

Note: if you haven’t read Skye’s story, it can be found here.

Skye’s Story

 

___________________________________________________________________________________

What is BBM?

Bikini Body Mommy, a movement led by Briana Christine, and you can find out more at http://www.bikinibodymommy.com

Did you miss my first post outlining my goals? Find it here.

My Newest Project: An Overview

Looking to find some inspiration on Pinterest? You can follow me there too.

To get my daily posts through the  90 day challenge in your inbox, hit the subscribe button at the top left of this page, right under my profile picture.

And finally, has this post delighted, inspired, or amused you? Feel free to share it with your friends.