Welcoming Baby BOY Newman

Drumroll please.....

This week at our 17 week appointment, Mike and I found out that we are having a baby boy!  We could not be more excited to welcome Michael Ander to the world.  The doctors appointment went well-we have an amazing team at the women's clinic.  We could see all of Little Mike's anatomy during the ultrasound, and are so thankful that everything looks healthy and normal:-)

Here's the highlight reel:

This is a side profile-Mikey's head is on the right.  We think he looks like Big Mike.

Hi world!!

The day after our doctor's appointment, my best friend and mom threw a gender reveal party.  Mike and I already knew, but we wanted to do something special to let our families know.  With Mike's parents living in Florida, we had to FaceTime them and his sister-they were elated.  We left boxes with yellow and green bows on them, that had little boy and little girl slippers in them.  

For my family, we bought a gender reveal cake, and had a small get together. Here are some of our favorites from the party:

This was the gender reveal cake-it read, "Twinkle, twinkle little star; How we wonder what you are?"

This was the spread that my parents and friend put together.  It looked amazing!

Cutting the cake...

It's a boy!!!

Followed up with some staged photos:-)

This is my favorite:-)

I'm going to count this as my 17 week bump photo.

Now that we know the gender, we are totally ready to plan the nursery.  Let's do this!

Surprise!

Well bloggers, it's been a year!  In the past year, I have graduated with my MSA, completed a year long administrative internship, run a half marathon, and......found out I am having a baby!  Yay!  My husband and I are ecstatic to welcome Baby Newman to the world in December:-)

ECU Principal Fellows Class 20

Heart and Sole Half Marathon 2-7-2015

Zoey and Jax are excited too!

A few highlights of the changing bump:

5 weeks pregnant

13 weeks pregnant

Crazy Eats

Little Newman has grown so much already! I have definitely been through some body changes.  I started with crazy food aversions.  I could not eat any meat or have any coffee.  Just the idea of anything that was not a crunchy or cheesy carb was repulsive to me.  I am still not totally over the aversions, but it has gotten better.  I am typically a very healthy eater! so it has been really hard to not want healthy food.  Late in the first trimester, I started having cravings-mainly for slushies and pimento cheese?!?!?!  Healthy, right?  I also had slight naseau (which I understand could have been so much worse), and serious fatigue.  Today marks my move to the second trimester, so I am hoping that the fatigue will fade, and I'll be able to enjoy some healthy food again!

Workouts

Since I found out I was pregnant, working out has been challenging.  For a majority of weeks 6-10 I did little more than go for walks.  I have always been a runner, but it is a struggle now to run even 2 miles, but I am still trying.  The biggest challenge has been a constant need to pee:-). It results in frequent walk breaks.  I really had no idea that pregnancy would affect my exercise the way that it has.  Here's to hoping the second trimester will be a little easier!

Highlights

My favorite pregnancy moments so far have been telling our family and friends, hearing the heartbeat, and seeing our baby moving during ultrasounds.  It is crazy how active our little one is in there!

Spreading the News

I told Mike (the hubs) using the cinnamon roll pictured above.  We were ecstatic, and so thankful for a "quick" pregnancy.  The blessing of becoming pregnant is not lost on me.  We told my parents using the scrabble board pictured above, since we spend a lot of time playing scrabble with my parents.  We made coffee mugs for mikes parents, and served his mom coffee in the mug when she came to visit-and forgot to take pictures.  Typical.

Until next time...

Running with Furry Friends

How many of you have dogs that join you on your run?  I really enjoy taking my two dogs for a run, especially since I don't have a running partner.  I appreciate that they benefit from the experience too.  I find that it can be hard to take them along though, and often choose to jog alone because of the issues that sometimes arise.  For a long time, I was taking one of my dogs who has a LOT of energy on all of my runs.  It was so good for him, and we were logging 3-6 miles per run!  But one of the last times I took him on a run like that, we got chased down the street by **2** dogs.  Eeek!  My nerves just couldn't handle it!  I was so fearful that he (or I) was going to get bit or otherwise injured, and be a long way from home.

Pros of dogs joining on the run:

1.  Dogs get much needed exercise. (I live in a townhouse with no yard)

2.  I run faster.

3.  The dogs and I bond:-)

Cons of dogs joining on the run:

1.  Other dogs barking, chasing, etc.

2.  No music. *sigh*  I feel that I need to be extra attentive when I take along a pup.

3.  I can only take one dog at a time, in order to make sure that I maintain control of the dog at all time.

 What insights do you have about running with dogs?  Do you find that the pros outweigh the cons, or that the cons keep your pups homebound?

I found this resource from Runner's World that you may also enjoy-it has lots of information and thoughts on running with your furry canine:  http://www.runnersworld.com/motivation/running-with-dogs

Zoey, ready for a jog!

Jax postrun....maybe more tired than me? maybe not.

                                                                                                             

hike, hike, baby

It's Friday bloggers!

Sometimes, especially as summer gets closer, it can be really fun to make your workout a little less official, and get outdoors.  In th past few years, I have really been trying to take advantage of the opportunity to get out of the gym and breathe in some fresh air.  My hubby and I took a trip to Asheville , NC recently, and there is no shortage of beautiful hikes, scenery, and outdoor fitness opportunities!  

While I love the scenery, and "flora" portion of the outdoors experience, the "fauna" still basically creeps me out.  I don't want to be terrified of wildlife, but the SECOND I see a snake while hiking....that's it.  Fun over-for me and everyone else that has to deal with me.  I am talking TOTAL meltdown.  Tears, jumpiness, and general paranoia will ensue.  Ugh.  That being said, I want to share with you my most recent snake calamity (and maybe share some positive points of the hike too!) HA!

Our hike "looker-upper" who researches all of the trails that we hike found the Panthertown Valley Trail in Western NC, and pieced together an 8 mile loop for us to explore.  There were going to be approximately 5 waterfalls, and difficulty would be fairly easy to moderate for most of the hike.  The first 3 stops that we made on the route were amazing, and after passing them, we were probably 4 miles into the route.  All of a sudden, my nemesis made it's slithery appearance-day ruined.  For the remaining 4 miles of the hike, I was on pins and needles, and making major efforts not to bring the whole group down.  All that being said, the hike had some BEAUTIFUL features, and we will continue to explore the area.  To find out more about the hikes and other outdoor adventures in the western part of NC, visit hikewnc.info.

highlights:

What kinds of outdoor summer activities do you enjoy?  Any favorite hikes you have taken? What suggestions do you have to work past irrational fears?

Have a blessed weekend!

It's been a while....

Blog World!!

I am embarrassed to report that it has been a full YEAR since I have last posted!! Sheesh.  Maybe I should just hit the highlights??!!

I am still holding strong in my graduate program, and currently am out for summer break.  I know what you are thinking.....summer break? from college classes?  While that sounds amazing to some, I am SO ready to head back to work, and am eagerly waiting to find out where I will be placed for my internship!   Here is a picture of me with my fellow Principal Fellows:

Such a fun bunch!!  

In addition to school, there have been lots of races and places since my last posting.  I set a goal for 2014 to race at least once a month.  So far, I have hit every month with the exception of March, due to a family emergency.  

Highlight Reel:

January:  Run for Young 5K-Raleigh, NC

February:  Cupid Crawl 5K-Greenville, NC

April:  ECU Pirate Alumni 5K-Greenville, NC

May:  Elmhurst 5K-Greenville, NC

June:  Asheville Half Marathon-Asheville, NC

Don't ask me why I waited to run the longest distance in the mountains....I am such a flat land runner!!!  Needless to say, that was one of hardest races I have ever completed, and I felt amazing after finishing.    I owe a huge thanks to my trainer, who coached me through hills training on the *dreadmill*. 

Now, I am looking for races to finish out the year!!  I am needing a little bit of a break after training for and running a half in the mountains!  

Any suggestions for fun races to try?  

How have you pushed yourself to run farther, faster, or stronger than you have run before?

Healthy Green Smoothie

Ahhh Summer!  Time for trips to the beach, lounging by the pool, and....

A view of Hammocks Beach, NC from the end of Emerald Isles, NC.  Oh summer, I hate to see you go!

*drum roll please*......green smoothies!


I do love to have a healthy and refreshing green smoothie on a hot summer day!  Or on a fall, winter, or spring day...

My green smoothie is full of nutritional foods, but doesn't have as many calories as some others I have tried.  That being said, you can add ingredients like ground flax seed, celery, apples, kale, etc. to up the calorie count or nutritional value if you would like!

I always keep 3 or 4 bananas chopped and in baggies in the freezer so that if I get a craving for a smoothie they are ready to go.  The bananas chops much easier in my blender if they are already chopped.  I start by putting 1 frozen chopped banana in the blender, then I add 1/2 cup of light soy milk, and sprinkle in some cinnamon.  If you need to measure the cinnamon, I would say about a teaspoon should do it!  Once those ingredients are all added to the blender, I blend them until they are smooth and creamy.  Next, I add the spinach.  I CANNOT even taste the spinach in this smoothie.  Once all of the spinach is blended in to the banana mixture, I add a few ice cubes for volume.  YUMMY!!  One variation that I often use is to substitute Just Great Stuff Peanut Butter Powder for the cinnamon, which gives this smoothie a peanut butter banana taste.  I find the peanut butter powder at our local Fresh Market or Vitamin Shoppe.

The ingredients:  Up front you can see the bagged frozen bananas!

This picture makes me think of the word "groovy"!  This is a view of the inside of the blender before blending your banana, milk, and cinnamon.



You can see that this shake takes a lot of spinach-This is a post-banana blending, pre-spinach blending picture:)

Yummy Green Smoothie!

Recipe for Healthy Green Smoothie:

1 frozen chopped banana
1/2 cup light soy milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2-3 cups of spinach leaves
5-6 ice cubes

1.  Blend banana, soy milk, and cinnamon in a blender until smooth,
2.  Add spinach to the blender, and blend until completely mixed in with the banana smoothie mixture.
3.  Add ice cubes and blend to increase volume of the smoothie.
4.  Enjoy!!

Total Calories:  165

The Sunshine State

I am officially back in the Old North State after a fabulous 4 days of Florida sunshine!  My husband's family live in Florida, and we cherish every sunshiny moment when we get the opportunity to go visit them!  Unfortunately, we do not get to visit NEARLY as often as we would like:/

While visiting, we partook in the annual family football draft, and also ate our body weight in foods that normally don't make an appearance in our house!  Needless to say, I have got some work to do now that we are home!  My yummy green smoothies are on the "detox" menu for this week, and I am super excited to share that recipe with you tomorrow! 

Other food items on the "Clean Up my Act" Menu are:

 

Rice Cakes with Peanut Butter

Celery and Carrot Sticks with Hummus

Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps

Egg Whites, Turkey Bacon, and Toast

Peaches

Blueberries

Fiber Bars

Green Smoothie



 

FOOTBALL SEASON IS FINALLY ALMOST HERE!!

2012 ECU Football Season-Arrrggh!!

At the Newman's, we love football!  We have our ECU season tickets lined up, and are so ready for NFL football to get going.  At the family draft, I grabbed up the Packers and Falcons.  Finger's crossed!

Pics from the family draft night:

Draft Time!  Mike and I <3

Gathering around the table-Family

My teams!

And as wonderful as it is to get away and see family, it is also wonderful to come back home to our own little family-this morning I woke up to see sweet Jax asleep on my robe:)  I love this dog!!  We also have had two showings on our house since I last blogged, and we are feeling hopeful!  I would love to be able to blog about finally moving after having the house on the market for so long.