I've made some changes to the blog - just in case you didn't see it, ha ha!
I know I've mentioned a few times over the past few months that I was working on the blog layout/design, but it wasn't until I had a 3-hour chunk last night that I actually sat down and made it all come together.  I'm not quite done with what I wanted to do - there are a few little edits I want to make and a couple things that are still to come - but it's mostly there!

I added some tabs on the right, and if you click on them, you'll see that they are not complete yet, so stay tuned for those to be written and put together in the next few weeks.
I was also thinking about writing a post about our story - about how Max & Kaylee came to be - what do you think?

Lately, there have been so many ideas floating around in my head, and although I started this blog as a way to keep family and friends up-to-date on the happenings of our family, and as a way to record my thoughts and feelings regarding my pregnancy with L (over 2 years ago, wow!), I was thinking I would start sharing more of me and what's on my heart.  Maybe a little 'Get to know Kaylee' mini-series sort of thing.  Thoughts?

Sugar-fast update and confession time.  (I started a sugar-fast two weeks ago).  I was doing really well, chugging along, leaving all the sugar behind me these last few weeks.  I was eating a lot of veggies (they make a great vehicle for dipping hummus up with!), fruits (oh man, fresh peaches and blueberries are the BEST!), good proteins (homemade hummus, eggs, almonds, meat -we have been grilling like crazy - chicken, eggplant, ribs, pork loin), a little dairy (cottage cheese, feta cheese, splash of milk in my coffee - have I ever mentioned that I love cheese?  No, really, I LOVE cheese!), and a starches (sweet potatoes and popcorn).  I was cruising along.

Until yesterday.  This is where the confession comes into play.  Max came home after a really tiring day - he had run 12 miles in the morning, then had worked on a project for hours and came home, only to have to work 3-4 more hours on the project last night.  It was hot out - our thermometer (thanks, Papa D!) read well over 100 degrees - and the humidity was brutal (and I made my sweet husband stand over the grill too, ha ha, oops!).  Max was tired, a bit crabby and just wanted some downtime before resuming his project.  He informed me that ice cream would help the situation immensely, and that it would make him feel much better if I had some with him.  How could I resist?!  Yeah, I obviously couldn't.  There's really no justification, especially after going 14 days without sugar.  I just wanted ice cream and I gave in.

I'm only a little disappointed in myself - it was a delicious treat and we had a fun time sitting at the table, enjoying our ice cream and watching L get it ALL over the place - but in a way, I did fail my sugar-fast. I didn't hold out the entire 21 days, like I intended and committed to.  Does this mean I'm giving up completely though?  Nope!  I'm right back at it this morning - no sugar for another week for me.  I want to try to stick with it for another week before I scale back the severity of the foods I cut out.  I have, honestly, been enjoying eating sugar-free, except for the moments of incredible cravings for a piece of chocolate, ha!  I've noticed that I have more energy when I get up in the mornings, that I've been enjoying the flavors and tastes of fresh, raw (but not raw meat, don't worry!) foods more and that I don't crave sugary goodness quite as much as I normally would.  I just feel healthier, knowing that I'm not eating mass amounts of dessert and such.

That's it.  My confession.  My fail, and now, re-commitment to another week of the sugar-fast, to finish off my original 21-day plan.  All I know is that, even though I had a treat yesterday, all I can think about right now is that iced caramel macchiato that will be mine in just over a week - oh man, oh man!