So, at 33 weeks pregnant I’m really starting to miss and crave my regular workouts. I especially miss aerobic-type sweat sessions like Zumba and Step and really just anything that gets your heart pumping and lets you get groovin to some fun dance music!! I also miss being able to go for a run whenever and having lots of energy to do squats and lunges. Those types of strength moves are way harder when you are prego. Namely because you are lifting (at this point) a good 20 extra pounds up and down and because the baby is starting to move in on the diaphragm causing major shortness of breath. Bleh. The good news is that Baby Ashton is only a few weeks away and he is obviously worth every moment of pregnancy !!! 

Back to the moment, we had a lovely evening  last night with my cousin Brian, his wife Michelle and their three sweet and spunky girls Katherine, Thea, and Zoe. I love hosting. It’s fun to plan a menu and have motivation to get your place all spiffed up. I fixed grilled chicken; basil, tomato, and fresh mozzarella pasta salad; green salad; buttered french bread; and corn on the cob. For dessert my mom brought her amazing jumbleberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream and flourless chocolate cookies for the kids. It was a nice summer spread and I’m glad everything turned out ! Fun to try a new pasta salad too!! I love the combination of cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, and real mozzarella pearls together, so delicous. I also like to mix up the pasta noodles so there are a couple fun shapes (say gemelli and radiatore) …makes for a more interesting dish.

I think the most important rule to hosting is to spread out your to-do list. As in don’t try to do it all in 1 or 2 days, but spread things out over the week. For instance, if you mop and plan the menu one day, you can clean a couple bathrooms and vacuum another day; plan grocery shopping and food prep for another day; and designate laundry, bed making, and towel and toiletry stocking the next. I feel like I always learn a lot about our hosting capabilities when we have overnight guests. It brings your attention to the things that would be helpful to have on hand. I made a little list this morning of items that would be good to pick up at some point to better host family and friends. These include:

• a couple more ice cube trays (that or get our ice maker working!!)
• A bread basket
• Cake Cutter
• Large Salad Bowl
• 2 extra pillows (steve and I are so bad, we both sleep with two and get sore if we only have one!!)
• a couple of warm blankets to add to guest beds
• a full or queen-sized down insert for our two queen duvets.

I’m not going to go run out and get all of these things in one trip, but being mindful of what we need, I can keep my eye on sales racks and at yard sales to find these items and fill in the gaps.

One of my favorite go-to breakfasts that is quick, healthy and has serious staying power is Kashi GoLean Crunch with fresh blueberries and skim milk. I really do love this combo and eat it pretty darn often. I also love strawberries sliced over the top…fresh fruit just bulks up cereal really nicely so you feel like you get to eat a big bowl full and it lasts a while, but for few calories and with a big nutrient-rich punch! The fiber and protein in the cereal help me make it a lot longer in the morning before I run for a snack. Other favorite cereals include Kashi Heart to Heart, Quaker Oatmeal Squares, Wheat Chex, and Regular Cheerios. All of them have lots of fiber from whole grains, not too much sugar, and a good amount of protein. For a light before brunch or bed snack I love Kix and Crispex!!! Light, airy, sweet, and crunchy!! Perfect for a quick fill of the tummy!

Steve has been really into french toast lately, so we make it somewhat often for dinner. I love to use real grainy, hearty breads, such as the sprouted wheat bread our Costco carries. It is a great toast bread, but can be a little dry for sandwiches, so it makes perfect french toast because it can absorb a lot of good liquid and still hold up. I normally put –> 2 eggs + 1 cup of skim milk + a heaping Tb of Vanilla + a few big dashes of cinnamon –>into an 8×8 pan. I make sure to cook it quite a while so that all that good liquid cooks right into the toast. I have often had a hard time figuring out somewhat healthy sides to go with breakfasts dinners (pancakes, etc…). Scrambled eggs are always good, but with french toast I always add quite a bit of egg to the toast itself, so instead we often serve a little dish of cottage cheese or yogurt drizzled with agave nectar and fresh berries and a side of honey roasted turkey (I brown it in a pan until sizzling). This way you are adding a lean protein plus calcium and antioxidants from the berries. Good stuff .

Speaking of breakfasts, here are pictures from our lovely brunch at The Saratoga Inn.

Soaked Granola with Strawberries + yummy coffee with cream!!

Yesterday was all in all a really great birthday. I woke up in the morning with the sunniest outlook on life. It’s fun on your birthday because it’s the one day all year when it’s all about you. I got to sit and savor the still before Emma woke up just thinking about what I felt like doing today. For once I didn’t jump right into my to-do list or daily chores, but prioritized the *fun* things first. Thankfully I did lots of cleaning, unpacking and laundry on Monday, so I was able to just enjoy the fruits of my labor because everything was pretty well tidied!! Steve had given me a few of his gifties the night before, so I got to enjoy puttering around with them. One of the presents included the 3 trendy patterned binders above!! Gotta love it!! I’m so into organizing and lists and all that good stuff, so this was the PERFECT gift for me. He also got me an espresso thermometer and tamper, a new stainless steel set of measuring cups, a mag subscription, a great pair of Nike headphones designed to stay put while running, and…he chipped in with my mom-in-law to get me the most stylish diaper bag ever !!! Pretty sweet huh!

So here is the little desk I set up in our bedroom during my birthday becasue I have been itching for a work surface upstairs (since my work space moved downstairs to make room for little Ashton) to write cards, do projects, pay bills, blog, etc… Here is what I came up with…I’m loving it.

 More fun gifts from my sis-in-laws, Andrea’s mom, and my girlfriend Sarah…steaming pitcher, gift cards to starbucks, bath and body works, and Target, and this adorable toiletry tote!!!

 The day was so much fun…(more update on that later)…Kinda wish my birthday could keep on going. Darn.

This was quite a weekend!! We got packed up on Wed and Thursday and headed over to Whidbey Island for the 4^th of July weekend. It was sweet to be just the three of us for a night and day. Emma, Steve, and I stayed in an adorable little inn called the Saratoga Inn in Langley on Thursday night. It was a beautiful, cozy little bed and breakfast with a perfect view of the Puget Sound. It really had every kind of accommodation you could hope for—a lovely gourmet breakfast, comfy bed with adorable room decore, fresh ice and cold drinks, friendly staff, and an idealic location…walking distance to the water and all the shops in downtown Langley. I give it a 5 star!!!    

Breakfast was a huge treat!!! The coffee was awesome! Hot and perfectly brewed with fresh cream and sugar. They had tiers of banana chocolate chip muffins, a large fruit platter with pineapple, grapes, melon, cherries…fresh crepes with cold whipped cream and peach, raspberry, toasted almond, and cinnamon filling, and soaked granola with strawberries and raisins. They also had these delicious Mexican poached eggs that were served with a special sauce, homemade guacamole and salsa, and warm corn tortillas. Wow. I could get used to this!! We tried a little of everything and it was ALL very tasty!!! I wish breakfast looked like this every morning…what a treat!! I ate breakfast with my coffee and fresh orange juice at this adorable little pedestal table with a lamp and comfy wicker chairs…I may have to incorporate this idea at home, I loved it so much!! 

  Emma LOVED the beach ! 

Wow, I feel like my life is in a little bit of Baby Mania right now preparing for Ashton’s arrival!! That’s right, we decided on his name–Ashton James Colyar. I’ve been busy looking at crib sets online, making lists of much needed baby items, checking out paint colors for the nursery, and registering at Target of course !! I really feel like we’re making some progress though!! And it feels soooo good. We decided on our crib bedding set yesterday and got it all ordered. We found a beautiful crib skirt and matching fitted sheet from Pottery Barn on a great sale!! And bought a matching Koala Baby Powder Blue Bumper from Baby’s R’ Us to match…it’s really cute and fresh and classy. Can’t wait for it to get here in the mail so I have a little more to work with for coordinating window treatments, rugs, storage baskets, etc…I decided against the classic crib set because the quilts that come with most sets are pretty much unusable. They are stiff and too heavy to cover an infant safely, though great for a play mat…but there are so many great activity mats with hanging toys, that I didn’t really use Emma’s quilt at all!! Also Carrie, Ashton’s Grandma is making him a nice soft, gorgeous quilt that he’ll be able to use…So I figured, why not piece together separates and save like half the price of a crib set?! Well, easier said than done. It took a lot of time to find something that I really liked that was affordable and that matched with the other pieces. But I think I was successful. We’ll see when it gets here!!

It’s been a whirlwind of summer activity around here too! This weekend was the first gorgeous, cloudless, blue sky weather that we’ve had yet and it felt amazing to soak in lots and lots of sun and kick-off the first summer BBQs and days at the park. Saturday we had a BBQ at a friend’s house, who is part of our life group. The BBQ was a blast, great food, lots of volleyball, a chance to catch up with the girls, and lots of play time for the kids. Thank you to Chrissy and Mike for hosting us! Their yard looked beautiful!! I forgot to take pictures at that event, but did bring my camera for a birthday at the park the following day. Emma got to help her little friend Jonah celebrate his second birthday complete with dinosaur cake and good food!! We let the kids play in the water for a while. Emma also got to play with her friend Sophia that weekend in her deluxe kiddy pool while us Moms chatted away. I love summer…and I don’t think it’s even officially begun!!

Here is the hummus recipe I used for my delicious hummus wrap. The recipe is from Real Simple Magazine (May 2010 issue) and is called 5-minute hummus. Try it out for yourself!! It think you’ll be surprisingly impressed by how easy it is!!

Oh my goodness, I am loving the beautiful sunshine today!! Emma and I went to her cousin Olivia’s 3rd birthday in the park this morning and enjoyed sitting in the warmth and chatting with friends. When we got home, both of us were starving, so I whipped us up a couple of turkey pita sandwiches which were scrumptious!! I tried my hand at making homemade hummus yesterday in my cuisinart and OH MY GOODNESS it is so easy and sooooo good. So now I am all about a warmed whole wheat pita spread with hummus, honey roasted turkey, mozzarella cheese, cucumber, tomato, and bell pepper strips. So tasty and nutritious!! The hummus recipe is from a recent edition of Real Simple…I will post soon. After lunch we went next door to my neighbor and friend Becca’s house to play with Sophia in her blow-up water toy…Emma was in heaven! She is snoozing quite happily now .

I have been itching to paint our bedroom and it has finally happened!! Steve and I spent the entire day…9 to 6… prepping, spackling, rolling, and cutting in our bedroom from wall-to-wall. And now, it is complete. We chose a color called Valley Mist, which is kind of a pale greeney-blue. I thought everything would be so easy after all that painting, but it seems that the decorating part is now what is slowing me down!! It’s like I get this whole idea of what I want in my head, from clipping out pictures, etc…but then the reality of money, time, and resources comes crashing down. Now, I am in every way all about being creative and using what you have, but I think I have gotten really attached to my pictures and wanting everything to happen NOW. Ooooo, when it comes to interior design, I simply hate waiting. I’m all about quick gratification–get those pictures hung, headboard painted, etc…part of my frustration I think is that I’ve been getting tired quicker than usual at this point in the pregnancy and am not supposed to move big things. Well, whoever came up with that obviously had a stay-at-home husband and personal bedroom designer. Seeing how I have neither of these things, sometimes you just have to pull out those good ol’ furniture sliders and make it happen.

I am soooo missing my peanut butter!! We are totally out, which never really happens, so I’m seriously going through withdrawals!! I realized yesterday how much protein helps you get from one meal or snack to the next…it does wonders for me!! I could just not fill up yesterday, but when I finally looked at what I was eating, it was pretty much all fruit, grains, and veggies. No staying power. So, I beefed up the protein in my breakfast this morning with 2 eggs and 2 whites scrambled with Italian Seasoning, S&P, and parm. I cut up a bunch of strawberries to go with it. Can I just say that I absolutely adore fresh fruit in the morning and mostly either the tropical kind or the berry kind . For some reason fresh fruit in the morning transports me to Hawaii and feeling like I’m on vacation…a little odd, I know . The best combos for this are pineapple and strawberries or cantaloupe. Yummmmmmm! I’m sipping on a homemade vanilla latte while I write this (can’t wait to go back to fully caffeinated drinks post-pregnancy!!), keeping a close eye on potty training Emma and the tasks that need to get done today…yikes!

Rewind to last night, we made taco salads that were to die for. They just really hit the spot and were so simple to pull together. Over a bed of salad greens we layered seasoned ground beef, black beans, sauteed onions, corn, salsa, and mozzarella cheese. It was just what I needed. I also had a small bowl of honey and almond granola with milk while watching Dancing with the Stars, week 2 online. Heaven. Enjoy the sunshine today!!

Okay, so most of you have guessed my news . But for those who don’t know, I am pregnant!!! I am in my 18th week of pregnancy and Steve and I are expecting a baby brother or sister for Emma around Sept. 1!! Poor little Emma isn’t going to know what hit her!! I’ve been dying to get back to blogging a bit, but I tell you, life has just been in full drive lately!! Between work, house projects, grocery shopping/meal planning, cleaning, outings with friends, bible studies, family gatherings, potty training Emma (now that’s exhausting!!!), and being a good Momma and Wife, as well as growing a baby inside of me, my extra energy has gone to my family. But, nevertheless, I’ve been itching to write and share my love for healthy eating, living, and being…I’ve really appreciated all of your positive feedback about my blogging!! Hope you are loving Spring as much as I am!!