Paleo diet

I will try to explain what the diet entails in my own words, it means I don't get to eat delicious nachos, which my mom devoured last night right in front of me while I ate a salad :(

Seriously?!!!

Seriously the whole explanation is here, in a nutshell you eat no grains! no dairy! no legumes and no sugar, also lower your sodium intake. Apparently all the delicious foods contain all this stuff. I am doing this diet for a total of 50 days and I am on day 3. My motivation for doing it is eating healthier and living a better life. Lets get REAL I just want to wear a TWO PIECE again. This picture is my motivation.

I know I will never look exactly like this again, thanks to  my stretch marks. I weighed about 110lbs here! and granted it's not about weight. It's about being healthy and feeling good. This is why I am on this diet. I have read several Paleo blogs and fitness blogs to get ideas on what to cook and how to fool myself into thinking I can have dessert. I chew sugar free gum like crazy I also LOVE coffee and started switching to green tea instead. I still get the caffeine but not in large amounts. I also LOVE drinking 1 or 2 alcoholic drinks every once in a while I will indulge that. I cut out beer, which has a lot of carbs and instead have mixed drinks. In moderation of course because they can have a lot of sugar and I breast feed so I have to tap into my stash of pumped milk as well.

So far  I have almost tackled my 7 year old brother the ground to steal a piece of chocolate :( not my proudest moment and I almost..ALMOST snuck one of those delicious nachos last night. But I didn't! I am staying strong. I will keep updating the blog on my Paloe challenge and of course do some before and after pictures.

By the way...HAPPY HUMP DAY!!!!

Baby's first beach trip and more

I am so exhausted I cannot even believe I am typing right now. This weekend was beyond awesome! 

I have my mom, and two brothers in town, on friday we all took off to the beach for a weekend of 

SMORE makin, beach BUMMIN, burger EATING, beer DRINKIN ...FUN!

Here it is in pictures :)

The first picture is of my little ricky bear dipping those toes in the water for the first time, he loved it! 

My two loves sleeping after a long day

Sunday bummin watching The first Wives Club

Little brother ANGEL eating a smore

All three of my guys, brothers and hubby 

Ricky and me

Beach!

And finally Today I started the 50 day PALEO challenge

I am NOT for eating no bread, I mean come on carbs are delicious! but I have a goal and I need to start eating a little better, especially since I am still breast feeding so tonight's dinner was steak and avocado salad. It was delicious I will give it that, but man I really wanted a TORTILLA! if you have ever had carne ASADA you feel me. Anyway, 50 days :( Lord help me I am weak I love CHoCOLATE and bread way too much! 

One last look before MONDAY :(

My last none Paleo meal for the next 50 days! 

Summer

Summer is almost over :( believe it or not we have seasons in Hawaii (well kind of) it's usually warmest during the summer months just like other parts of the country and then it rains during the winter. We really don't fall, which sucks because I love fall fashion and pumpkin patches and hot chocolate....and on and on but I can't complain because I can sport a swim suit all year long. These are some of my Summer favorites! Im on a budget here, diapers are expensive! So all this stuff is super affordable :)

1. Anchor shirt from here it's for the beach so you can get it wet and throw it over your swimsuit.

2. Lace shorts, they are really breathable and come in cool colors Similar ones

3. These things are awesome they come in different styles and colors, you can pick the fragrance that goes inside it and it looks cute on your car visor car freshener

4. Anchor pattern shorts here

5. Delicious lemonade tea here and military don't forget you get 10% off!

6. Fourth of July :) 

7. Sunflowers! they grow great here in Hawaii weather 

8. Hair ties you can wear as bracelets! here

And of course beach time with my favorite guys, Love them.

Enjoy the rest of your Summer! 

Turning 27

Today I turned 27 and I changed Ricky's onesie 5 times. He had what I call a huge blowout and lets just say another onesie bites the dust. He has very "active" bowel movements. In the process of changing all these diapers and baby spit up I reflected upon my 27 years upon this earth and decided it hasn't been that bad. I don't have a college degree, I don't have a high paying job, I'm not on real housewives of  Orange county( those bitches have it made!) but hey I do have a job where I feel like I can help others and give back, I left my home as a 20 something year old kid and found my own way, got over a lot of fears and made great friends. I also got to meet my husband and we get along most days :) plus I don't mind changing Ricky's diapers all day long because you know what at the end of the day I get to have sushi and ONE wonderful grown up beverage ( because hell yeah!, I pumped today) then I get some fat kid cake and to be with my mommy and brothers and ofcourse my wonderful hubby :) 

Look at that little squish! We got our sushi on

The birthday festivities will continue this weekend and my brother is in town so I am playing tour guide all week. Let's see how being 27 feels starting tomorrow and hopefully tomorrow we wont have any blowouts ;)

Mommy needs a nap

I never realized how compleatly exhausting being a mom is until I lost my phone......everyday for a week straight :/ I was the one with the good memory, that never lost anything. My husband was the one constantly loosing everything, I always tell him if he was going to rob a bank he would forget the gun. Now it's me, everyone says you get "pregnancy brain" what about "tired mommy brain"  There are times when I really think I am just gonna loose it but then I look at this sweet little face and its worth it :) Plus he now goes to bed at 8 every day (praise the lord!) and I can have a glass of wine at the end of the day. Sure I wish it was  beer but you have to take what you can get ;)

The most peaceful moments of my day. and God help you if you wake him up

Newborn sleep AKA the days I use to be able to take baths!

This thing works like a charm :) I can maybe make myself  a sandwich while he is in this magic swing. 

Happy Napping!

Things I LOVE about Hawaii

I have been living on the island of Oahu for almost three years now, which does not make me an expert on the island at ALL. But I have picked up a couple of things from living here and I think it might be useful if you are coming to visit or at some point may be moving here due to a military move. There is basically every branch of service on the island and it is a very sought after duty station for many military members. Let me start off by saying that the beach is NOT the only place to spend your time here.

 This is a picture of Hawaii Kai taken from my car. Sometimes it's just nice to drive by the beach lol

 Same here this is a picture of North Shore

 The Dole plantation offers a tour and not to mention amazing ice cream. Check it out here

 Waikiki offers a fireworks show for 4th of July every year and BONUS every Friday there is show around 7pm. For FREE. The best view in my opinion is from Dukes which you can check out here

 This is the only palace in the United States, you can tour it and it is so beautiful and fun to walk trough. Very educational. Plus you get to wear fun booties while walking around in it. Look here

 Diamond Head! is a very easy hike, and very popular with tourists so get here early! Hike diamond head

 Do not leave the island without trying Hula Pie! it is amazing. Remember to share ;) you can find this amazing dessert at Dukes

Please attend a LUAU while you are visiting.DO not do hotel ones, try this one. It's my personal favorite and I know for a fact the dancers here are actually Hawaiin and the food is great.

 

Here is a list of other places I love on the island

1) Great daytime family activity, skip the Luau no alcohol served :/

2) This hike, includidng a waterfall! here

3)Pizza in HI?

4)Shave Ice is a must

There is soo much more so make sure to wear sunscreen and Enjoy!

 

 

 

First day

The first time I mentioned to my husband that I wanted to start a blog he was 100% behind me (to my surprise) I started reading blogs when I found out I was pregnant with our first baby. I had so many questions and was looking for ideas on how to balance my already busy schedule with a brand new baby. There are so many great blogs out there, so I started thinking about starting my own. This is a blog about my experiences as a mommy/soldier/navy wife/ do it yourself craftmaster more like I am obsessed with HGTV and Pintrest and try DIY projects all the time! In my spare time I am also writing this blog, running an Etsy shop along with my mom, but that's a whole other post. Then of course I also choose to breastfeed my baby so I have A LOT going on. I promise to share as much as possible on the blog, to never be fake and especially not pretend that I have all the answers because I am still figuring it out. I am so blessed to have my little family, my job, and my friends. I hope that at the end of a hard day my posts make you laugh,cry, and ultimately you take away a little something for your own life.

Lots of Love and good wishes to you,

 Gaby Roper