End of Month/Year Recap - December 2010

The end of another month...and the end of the year!  December flew by.  And this year has definitely been a crazy one.  It's hard to believe how much has happened since January.  Back then I was just starting IVF round 2 and had not really started eating Real food yet.  Now I'm 21 weeks pregnant and healthier than I've ever been.  God has done some amazing things this year.  Praise be to our creator and heavenly father!

So, here is how December went:

FOOD

1. Eating for pregnancy, specifically the 2nd trimester. - check.

2. Reduce grains. Keep working on this now that I'm feeling better. - check.

3. New recipes. I tried the following recipes:
toothpaste
soaked whole wheat noodles
beefy enchilada bake
whole wheat Christmas cookies
whole wheat gingerbread cookies
sloppy joes
pudding
peppermint stick ice cream

4. Cooking/baking - try making yogurt, butter, new flavors of ice cream, cheese (stuff I can make with our raw milk.). I also need to do some Christmas baking. Yesterday I made my first batch (ever) of gingerbread men. We still have to decorate them. And I plan to make traditional Christmas cookies. But I want to try making them healthier too. - Well, I didn't have time to do much with dairy products.  I did make a couple batches of peppermint stick ice cream at least.  For Christmas baking I made Christmas sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, scones, banana bread and strawberry bread.  And they were all made with healthy, real ingredients.

5. Christmas parties - serve REAL food for the holidays (I'm hosting 2 out of 3 parties this year). Keep my Christmas baking healthier. - CHECK!!  It was nice to serve such good food for our Christmas guests.

HEALTH

1. Continue my healthy eating/lifestyle series. I wrote about nitrites/nitrates, dental health and simple steps to healthy eating.

2. pregnancy and childcare - learn more about natural care during pregnancy and for raising children (i.e. nutrition, first foods, etc.). - check.

FAMILY/PERSONAL

1. Sewing machine - keep working on this, trying new things. I made 2 more bags for Christmas presents.  Now it's time to start working on pj pants for Rebecca.  Then on to baby stuff.

2. Be creative - this was mostly sewing and baking.  But I did do a few projects with Rebecca and started the planning phase of some upcoming cakes.

3. Activities - check.
a. Kindermusik
b. nursery cmt (meeting Dec. 14, nursery duty Dec. 12 and 25)
c. Little Lambs (helpiong Dec. 5)
d. MOPS (meetings Dec. 3 and 17)
e. Christmas shopping!!!
f. Do some more thorough cleaning.
g. Justin gone the week before Christmas
h. Gymnastics - Rebecca loves it!!

4. Fun stuff - check.
a. Wharton Center kids show - Dec. 5
b. Christmas parties - hosting the party with all of my in-laws (house guests 21sy - 23rd) and the party with my extended family (25th). We will be celebrating with my family in Grand Blanc...date still TBD.
c. OB appts. - Dec. 1 and 20 - u/s!!!

5. Rebecca - some things to do with Rebecca this month:

a. Keep working on potty training - the UTI cleared up.  And after a little break we are doing great!  Rebecca wears underwear most of the time now.  She has finally started pooping on the potty regularly.  And is quite fascinated by it :P  She is starting to tell us if she has to go once in a while.  All in good time :)
b. Keep working on letters, numbers, spelling/sounds, counting, math, etc. - Rebecca's latest discovery is the "L" sound.  We've been working on it for a while now, showing her how to use her tongue to make the sound.  Now she's very good at it and likes to emphasize it in every word that contains an L :)
c. Teach her a little more about babies - Rebecca LOVED getting to see the baby on the u/s.  And hear the heartbeat of course.  She is still convinced it's a girl.  I guess we'll find out in May :)  She also has felt the baby kick.  She thinks it's pretty funny.
d. Keep working on her new room - we got a new space heater.  We still have to look for a dresser.

6. Memorize scripture - I did not keep up with this this month.  I did read my Bible every day (decided to start reading Matthew).  Hopefully next month I will be better about picking a passage right away.

7. Long term goals.

a. Overcome OCD
b. Stop using miralax - I didn't end up doing much research.  But I plan to.

2010

There really is too much that happened in 2010 to review it all here.  I have it all detailed in my end of month recaps.  I do want to mention a couple big things, though.  First, I started my journey towards eating Real Food.  And learning that I need to heal my body.  I don't need some magic pill or to just avoid a couple kinds of food to feel better.  I need to actually heal my body, starting with my gut.  The other major thing was our journey through IVF and finally getting pregnant.  I know that changing our diet/lifestyle had a big impact on the success of this cycle.  God knew what needed to happen and showed me the tools at just the right time.  It's amazing to see God's plans unfold.  I just have to trust that he is in control and that he knows what's best.  I am now happy to be 21 weeks pregnant with my 2nd child.  I feel so blessed.  God has done some amazing things this year.  Some that I have mentioned and some that I haven't.  I have experienced many ups and downs and am thankful for all of them.  God is using the good and bad to mold me and draw me closer to him.  I am anxious to see what's in store for next year.  And thankful that it's all in God's hands.