My Water Baby

Today my mom and I took Ava to the pool since it was another gorgeous day out. 

Days like today make me so grateful that we decided to live super close to my mom. I love sharing all of these memories with her... 

My little water baby. 

Ava loves baths, did great at her first pool party, and did great today at our pool. She loves looking down at the water and never fusses. 

She is a South Florida baby through and through! :) 

This makes me happy.

She wore her polka dot bathing suit given to her by her "aunt" Megan Nolan :) and her sunglasses were a gift from her cousin Zoey.  

All smiles - with pacifier and all. I didn't know how she would react to wearing sunglasses but she didn't even seem to notice they were on her. She left them on the entire time. 

With her nonna {mesmerized by the water}

Well, Ava beans, you are a water baby and thank GOD for that! 

As soon as you can fully support yourself and sit up, you will be going to the beach with mama! Your tailgating high chair (thank you Jared & Jacki Roche) is ready to be put to use! 

How cool is this thing?!   

cup holder and all!  

Until then, the pool will do :) 

Snapshots of Today {Atlantic Avenue - Delray Beach}

Today my mom and I thought it would be nice to drive up to Delray Beach and walk along Atlantic Avenue with Ava. 

It was absolutely beautiful outside! 

We walked around and found some very cute stores. One was this place behind me and now I can't think of the name of it for the life of me... Sequence? Sparkle?  

It was full of fun, colorful jewelry. 

Next, I found Periwinkle. Adorable store that screamed South Florida style! 

Later on we stopped into Sazio's for lunch. 

I secretly love when she is tuckered out and just wants to me to hold and cuddle her. 

My salad was delish! 

Sesame Seared Tuna Salad

with Baby Greens, Tomatoes and Scallions in a Cilantro Vinaigrette

excuse Ava's out of control bangs...

Ava was exhausted after a long day out. A tough life she leads

...Headed back home for a long nap. 

Once we got back home Ava got her second wind and was all smiles before her nap. 

After I put her down for a nap, my mom stayed over and I walked over to the pool for an hour to get some sun before I started the fish tacos for tonight's Taco Tuesday dinner. 

Great day. Happy 5 months, Ava! 

You truly make every day better than the last. 

Easter 2013

Hope that everyone had a very Happy Easter with your friends and family. 

The night before Easter we had dinner at Mark's mom and step dad's house. 

It was a pretty entertaining night considering my mother in law discovered that Ava has a tooth! 

The following morning we went to our church, Shepherd of the Coast Lutheran Church, and attended the family service. We normally attend the 9:30AM  family service because Mark plays the drums for this service and it is held in the school gymnasium  (it is super casual, can you tell?)

 The "super casual" part of it took me a while to get used to once we got married considering I am Catholic and mass is very quiet and traditional. Now that we have a baby it is actually pretty nice to be able to sit back at a table (we get to sit at large round tables with our family and a carafe of hot coffee - score!)  and have plenty of room for the stroller incase she wants to sleep. I also am loving being apart of this church as I really enjoy Pastor Dan's sermons. Pastor Dan married us on the The Floridian Princess and then was at Holy Cross Hospital the following day that Ava was born to meet and bless her. It is such a personal and caring congregation that I am enjoying being apart of it even though I am Catholic. Although there are things that I miss about St. Anthony Catholic Church, it is very important to me that we get to spend every Sunday with our family.

 Also, can you believe it has been a year since we announced that we were having a baby to our family? 

I attached that post below

 click here: We're EGGspecting!!!!    if you want to relive it with me :) 

That was such a fun day...

I regret not taking more pictures of Ava in her Easter dress. (WHAT WAS I THINKING?!) 

It was a beautiful dress that Mark's mom bought her. 

I look forward to next year because Ava will be walking and I get to give her an Easter egg hunt! 

Our 1st Easter as a family is in the books! :) 

{Fitness Friday} Food/ Work Outs/ GMO Overview

Hi! I'm linking up again for the weekly, Fitness Friday, with Mandy at Mommy Musings. 

Since I posted my very first link up topic on Fitness Friday, I have gotten a few friends ask me about what a GMO is...I'll post that at the bottom of this post. 
This week has been good in terms of food & decent in terms of exercise... 
I have been eating what is called the Paleolithic diet.  It seems to be the most natural to me. 

click to enlarge (pinterest)

Cutting out dairy is VERY new to me. I considered it after a friend of mine in medical school sent me this Video that makes complete sense to me. He told me that he feels great after taking it out of his diet and so I have to admit, it made me curious. After all,  I am not a calf! So why am I and other  humans the only species that still drink milk after infancy? And from another animal at that!? If you want to watch the video is attached the article (They say the same thing.)  Click below:  Dairy: 6 Reasons You Should Avoid It at All Costs or Why Following the USDA Food Pyramid Guidelines is Bad for Your Health (VIDEO)
Eggs are a go, but I am now avoiding milk and cheese (this will be tough!) 
Here are some dishes that I made. 

 Eggs with basil, peppers, mushrooms with berries on the side 

My first try at almond milk. not bad.  It had a roasted taste so it was pretty good in my coffee.
I did try my mom's almond&coconut milk and preferred it. I'll get that one next time.
(See my new little basil plant over there? I love my basil!)

Grilled chicken, quinoa w/squash, zucchini, and muushroms, with a
 salad ( mixed greens, cucumber, radishes, beets, green pepper) 

That's the pretty little symbol we need to look for =  REAL FOOD! 

Nothing like fresh coconut

Delish! I want to buy Chia seeds and make my own juice for a less expensive alternative   

made me own dressing for my guinoa salad.  I think it was something like mango, pineapple, lime, olive oil ?

Tuna steak, salad, and guinoa with roasted veggies

Amy's pizza with no cheese. OMG was this delicious. There were onions on here that made it sweet almost. Me and mom threw this baby on a pizza stone and put in on the grill, added mushrooms & basil - out of this world.
A non-gmo pizza treat (Wheat is not considered paleolithic)

I absolutely love taking a million organic fruits blending them up into my own juice.
 (I buy a lot of organic frozen fruits as well so that I don't have to worry about them spoiling if I don't eat them in time (especially mango and pineapple because I cook a lot with these two)  

Work Outs:
Not so good. I have just been doing some exercises around the house. Mark got home late about every night this week so it made it impossible for me to go to the gym. I went on Saturday morning and my mom watched Ava on Wednesday so that I could go over for 30 min. Tonight is the last day of the work month so Mark will be getting home super late as well... never ends!  I do need to utilize the weights we have here in the house more... I'll start that today ;) 
Well those are all the pictures I took...  I am feeling great! 

GMO Info for those interested:  Here is a  YouTube video that I enjoyed and helped me to understand a little better. 
This one is a little under 1 hour but I really encourage you to watch it. Click below:

Genetically Modified Foods in America | Health Documentary

I decided to recap a little bit about what we are trying to eat in our household now and why. 
So rewind back to last September. If you do read my blog, you may remember me ranting a little bit on this post  The New {Improved} McGuire Diet/Food Challenge My mom had starting explaining to me why I needed to know what: GMOs, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Monsanto & Round Up weed killer, and the list goes on....was all about. As I listened and did my own reading, it really started to become very simple to understand. If you do your research, you will easily see that the way food is made now is completely different than the way it was made when our parents were growing up. 
Not only are there more processed foods, but the processed foods and "fresh foods" are now a genetically modified. 

Pinterest

Pinterest

These big companies, who own the smaller companies as well, have millions which as most of us know = lots of political influence on the government's restrictions to our food supply. For example, Kelloggs owns Kashi. (http://www.naturalnews.com/039676_Kashi_GMO_ingredients.html)

Pinterest

I encourage you to learn about what you're eating. There are efforts to put forth legislation that would make food companies label their GMO foods so that we as consumers can make the decision for ourselves whether we want to spend our money on "Franken-food" as I like to call it. Hey, it is fine if you we do buy these foods...but I believe if we're going to eat something that is proving to be very bad for our health - we should know about it. Cigarettes and alcohol do. 
Why should our food be any different? I should have the right to know that the food I am feeding my family has been shown to cause Cancer, Autism, etc.  over years of consumption. I know that about cigarettes, therefore I do not purchase them but people who are willing to risk that do.  It should be a choice!  Isn't that why we live in this country? To make our own, informed decisions...

Well you all should be outraged that we aren't being given these choices. Companies are pouring millions into fighting labeling so that we are kept in the dark about their ingredients and how they create them. fun stuff...
Get informed, friends. No one wants to be terminally ill one day. 

Three Things Thursday! {Link Up}

Today I am linking up with my friend, Kristyn, from college! 

She has a great blog called Carolina Fireflies. Check it out! 

This Week's Topic: 

**3 Things People Would Be Surprised to Know About You**

1.  I have never had a cavity, broken bone, or worn glasses or braces... but I did have 3 surgeries before I was 16. One for a hernia when I was like 4. The second being my TMJ jaw surgery in middle school. And the 3rd being my wisdom teeth being pulled out in the beginning of high school  {is that even considered surgery? I was put under...} 

2. I met my husband when I was in 2nd grade. He's been making me laugh ever since! 

2001 ( I wish we had photos from when we were much younger!) 

2013

3. For the last year or so I have been learning a lot more about the foods we eat and what is in them. I have learned so much and will continue to learn everything I possibly can to properly  nourish myself and my family. For the last month or so have been getting so interested in my findings that I have been eating what I feel is how humans were meant to eat.  About 2 days ago, I found that there is a name for this way of eating. It is the Paleolithic diet .  It is the idea that we eat the way our ancestors ate in the beginning. An organic, omnivore diet. 
A true human diet.  

I will be writing about my eating and learning experiences on my blog -especially on 
"Fitness Friday." 

The First Lady of Paleo :)   ...Halloween costume idea for 2013?? Maybe ! :) Ha 

  

That's it for my 3!

Seminole Service Day 2013 - Broward Noles

Saturday, March 23rd 

Seminole Service Day 2013

"Mark your calendars for March 23, 2013: the second annual Seminole Service Day! Seminole Clubs around the country will wear their FSU colors and uphold the garnet and gold by pitching in on local service projects in their communities. We are asking that you give of your time, not of your treasure - break a sweat, get your fingernails dirty, and represent FSU to the fullest!

The response to the inaugural event was overwhelming, and many of our Seminole Clubs combined their day of service with a social event immediately following their volunteer work: a picnic, a happy hour, you name it.

Seminole Service Day is a great way to represent Florida State University in your area, and to get new Seminoles involved with your clubs. 

 (Florida State Alumni Association website) 

As the Seminole Club of Broward County's

 Community Service Chair, I organized a beach clean up 

through the Parks and Recreation Department of 

Ft. Lauderdale for this fun day. Here are some photos 

below... 

Thank you to those who came out. It was great to meet other 

local alums and especially since Broward is small, I got to 

meet Cardinal Gibbons and St. Thomas Alums as well :) 

Thank you Kathy, our historian,  for the great pictures :)