I had some extra energy (yay for getting 5 straight hours of blissful sleep!) and was jonesing for a barre workout when I got home from work today. SO…I have been wanting to do the beginner version of Cardio Barre: Four Workouts on One DVD, and as I was dragging out my barre (if you’ve never tried to maneuver a Fluidity barre at 6 months pregnant, you should be VERY proud of me!! That thing is AWKWARD and heavy!!) thought that I might share my thoughts (and a giveaway) with you, my loyal readers (you’re still out there, right??) I know that I have been VERY baby-obsessed the last six months, but I can’t really help that. I promise that after Tater gets here, you’ll hear all about me getting back into shape. Scout’s honor. Okay, moving on. So I finally got the barre set up (YAY!) and the DVD put in (note to self: move the DVD player to a higher location!!), and the Intro workout started. I have done the third and forth workouts before, and KNEW that I could not keep up…ummmm…yeah. I did okay. The workout is 144 bpm, which definitely got my heart pumping, and the moves were clearly explained. Some of the twisting I was unable to do for obvious reasons (and nothing on the floor…that heavens for my exercise ball!!), but I thought that it was a nice, short and to-the-point workout.

Now for the giveaway….I have a BRAND-SPANKIN-NEW Cardio Barre: Four Workouts on One DVD to giveaway! How do you enter, you may ask? Well, I’ll tell you. Leave a comment here telling me WHY you want this workout. It doesn’t have to be long, just tell me why you want it. The contest will run until Midnight EST on Sunday, April 11, 2010 (contest now ended).

I haven’t done this before, but I thought that I’d give it a try: EXTRA ENTRIES!!

-Follow me on Twitter, then post here (separate post, please) to tell me you are a follower.

-Fan me on Facebook, then post here (separate post, please) to tell me that you are now a fan.

-TWEET about this contest (one tweet per person, please), and post your tweet.

Good luck all!!

**Thank you for all the entries and follows!! We (Ish and I) drew the winner tonight…and…it’s DANIELLE! Congratulations!! Please email me your mailing address and I’ll get the DVD right out to you!**

Given that I love anything natural, it should come as no surprise that I want a natural birth. Ish wants a hospital birth. BIG difference. I was thinking calming birth center with water…but to make the hubby happy, we’re having Tater in a hospital. SO, to help with my wants of a natural, non-invasive child birth, we found a wonderful Doula to help keep me calm, focused and to help me stick to my birth plan. I suddenly feel SO much more at peace about the impending birth of Tater! I finally feel like I’m ready to be a mommy! I have a wonderful stash of cloth diapers (for more on the benefits of cloth, please read THIS), and cannot wait to experience a calm, natural birth. Yeah, it will be uncomfortable, but aren’t most things? Ish and the Doula made a great comparison to assisted (read: epidural) versus natural birth yesterday. She compared natural birth to climbing Mount Everest, while an assisted birth is still profound, it’s more like flying over. I would prefer to climb. I understand that there are lots of reasons for interventions and assistance, but I really want to avoid using anything but my own body. Afterall, it’s what we amazing women are built for! I am also taking the Hypnobabies Home Study Course for Expectant Mothers Plus 2 Bonus Cds. It teaches relaxation and calming practices to help with a controlled, calm and enjoyable birth experience. Now to find time to do it between work and classes…..

I realize that many of my readers are not pregnant, but some of you might be, or be thinking about it (or have a friend that you want to get a kick-butt gift for?)…and since I’m a little baby-bump obsessed right now, I thought that I’d share my favorite finds:

1. DreamGenii™ Maternity Body Support and Feeding Pillow
This is quite possibly the most genius invention EVER. I looked through tons of reviews about maternity body pillows (because belive me, you WILL need something to support your grown bump so that you can sleep for more than two hours), and this one took the cake. It’s small enough that I can still cuddle with my hubby, and it supports my front AND my back while still allowing me to use my amazing pillow that I absolutely CANNOT live without.

2. Deva Vegan Vitamins Prenatal Multivitamin Again, the BEST vitamins out there. Enough said.

3. Aubrey Organics – Sea Buckthorn Facial Cleansing Cream, 8 fl oz cream Seriously the BEST facial cleanser out there. I don’t know what it is about pregnancy but before I found this amazing cleanser (they also make a kick-butt moisturizer!), I was having flashbacks to someone else’s teenage years (yeah, that bad). This cleanser cleared me up and helped to keep me that way!

4. Earth Mama Angel Baby Natural Stretch Oil, 4-Ounce Bottle My skin is starting to stretch (ALOT) as I get into my sixth month (HOLY COW!) of pregnancy, and this oil is awesome. It helps to calm my itchy skin (even on my elbows and legs!), and I am sure that it’s helping minimize any unsightly stretch marks that might otherwise drive me insane.

5. Seraphine Bump Wrap Top This is the MOST comfortable shirt I own. The best part (even though it’s a little pricey)? I can continue to wear it from day 1 until AFTER the baby gets here. The top is totally adjustable, and SUPER flattering. I bought both the raspberry and black shirts, and wear each AT LEAST once a week. Super soft, very stretchy, and it makes my bump look FANTASTIC!

6. Forty Week Pregnancy Skirt by 2 Chix Quite possibly the MOST comfortable thing I own. AND it looks fab with my wrap shirts!! Again, this is one of those that you can wear before, during and after pregnancy, which completely ROCKS!!

7. Suzanne Bowen’s Long & Lean Prenatal Workout (Ruah) I absolutely LOVE the long, lean feeling that I get (especially as I get more round) after doing this workout. It’s a great alternative to other maternity workouts out there, drawing from barre and pilates styles. I love that I feel refreshed, rather than completely pooped after this workout (which, let’s face it, EVERYTHING takes more energy lately!)

8. Valeo Burst Resistant 65cm Body Ball (Pink) While not a pregnancy item, I have found that my exercise ball is my BEST FRIEND for those days when my hips and back feel tight. Just a few minutes sitting on the ball doing hip circles feels AMAZING. It also makes a nice place to support my top when Ish rubs my back (he’s such a wonderful hubby!)

9. The Belly Book: A Nine-Month Journal for You and Your Growing Belly (Potter Style) I know it’s kinda cheezy, but I wanted a memory of my first pregnancy, and this book ROCKS! I think that my favorite page so far is the one where I had to admit that, YES, I did wear the EXACT same pants to work 5 days in a row because they were stretchy and comfortable (not to mention adorable!). The book has places for photos of my growing belly, the all-important ultrasound pictures and my thoughts (and eating habits). Hopefully Tater will appreciate it when he gets older!

10. A Pea in the Pod: Short Sleeve Deep V-neck Babydoll Nursing Nightgown This nightgown is SO super comfortable, and it made me feel human again (Ish was nice enough to donate his favorite shirt when my nighties stopped fitting around my belly). It’s soft, girlie AND (once again!) does double duty as a nursing nightie. I could actually leave the house (or have visitors) wearing this and NOT be self-concious (I said COULD, not WOULD!).

So there you have it. My 10 favorite things. I’m sure that after Tater gets here I’ll have another list of MUST HAVES, but for now, I’m content with my finds. AND if you aren’t preggo, there’s a great give-away going on until SUNDAY (March 21, 2010) HERE!

I’ve always had a bit of a sweet tooth (thank you Skittles!), but lately I’ve been craving some good homemade chocolate chip cookies….where to turn. Then I remembered that I have the most AMAZING cookbook on the planet: Vegan with a Vengeance : Over 150 Delicious, Cheap, Animal-Free Recipes That Rock. So I started flipping. Isa’s GOT to have some wonderfully delicious cookie recipe, right?? RIGHT! So, I found her chocolate chip recipe (which you can find HERE). Can I say AH-mazing?! And super easy. Yeah, the dough is a bit crumbly at first, but have patience (and KNEAD!), and you WILL be rewarded. Now if I could just stop eating them…. I am trying so very hard to be a good little preggie girl and eat all that is good and healthy for me, but those sweet cravings just seem to be getting worse. So, I have a plan. It looks like this: Kashi Go LEAN Crunch! with 1 cup of chocolate soymilk for breakfast (trying to kill that need for sweet early on!), grapes and celery with pb for snack, veggies and hummus for lunch, soy yogurt with pear or apple for snack, veggie garlic cream pasta over rice noodles with a HUGE green salad for dinner (SUPER YUMMY! Someday I’ll post the recipe), and fruit (LOTS OF FRUIT) for dessert. Sounds good in theory…but what’s a preggie girl to do when Tater REALLY wants Skittles (okay, okay, I’m a little obsessed, and since they’ve stopped using gelatin…EEK!)?? I will admit that on days like today I give in and have a few, but I make sure that I get my fruits and veggies (and legumes!! YAY for hummus!) in, as that is what fuels my body. Besides, I really dislike the annoying sugar crash that inevitably hits me broadside (and granted it’s an easy target lately) about 30 minutes later. I also find that when I stick closer to raw, REAL foods, I have more energy, which means a cleaner house AND more time to blog!! (I still have readers…right??) So, in the grand scheme of things, eating right and exercise need to stay my #1. Everything else just seems to fall into its own neat little place when I do this!

Okay, I know that this blog started out as a fitness blog (and it still is…I am just not able to be as active as I would like), but lately I’ve had baby on the brain. As an update, Tater is a healthy little guy (yup, it’s a BOY!) and we’re quite excited. But now I’m faced with baby madness. Which pacifier, and what diapers (we’re thinking fuzzi bunz)…Oh! And will we actually NEED those teeny-tiny newborn clothes? AND, on top of that, I still need to find time to exercise. I am having better luck exercising (even if it’s only for 10 minutes) at night, but that means that I cannot use my videos. So, starting next week, I’m going to try getting up 40 minutes earlier (EEK!) to get back into my workout routine…so…wish me luck! I’ve also found that I’ve been eating far too many Skittles (yay for vegan junk food)…so I’m resolving to repace them with something healthier and far yummier…fruits and VEGGIES! I really do have the best intentions, but it’s hard wanting to eat ALL the time and being thirsty, oh…and constantly having to take bathroom breaks. I do LOVE being pregnant, but I think that I need to remember that taking care of me is JUST as important. Besides, I sleep WAY better when I eat right and exercise…so why not?

Now the question to you moms…what are some of your MUST HAVE, LOVE IT, CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT IT baby products?

The more pregnant I get, the hungrier I get. I suppose that isn’t a terrible thing, but it means that my normal large (read: HUGE) salad isn’t cutting it for dinner anymore. I’ve found that I have to move my salad to my lunchtime eats, and have something more substantial for dinner, or risk waking up in the middle of the night and raiding the refrigerator. So, I’ve been experimenting with quick and easy meals, especially since I’m usually ravenous by the time I get home from work. My new favorite is veggie “quesadillas”. They’re less than traditional, but WAY more filling and yummy. Did I mention better for you? You will need to find some Daiya Cheese to make them fabulous. If you can’t find Daiya, try Cosmos. They ship quickly, and are great people. Without further ado…

Quesadillas a’la Brea

4 whole wheat tortillas
2/3 cup Daiya vegan cheese (half cheddar, half italian)
1/4 cup red bell pepper
1/2 c mushrooms
1/2 can green chilies
1/4 cup onions
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
3/4 cup black beans, smashed
guacamole & sour cream for garnish
1 clove garlic, crushed (will be removed later)
Coconut oil (for frying)

To make: heat a pan over medium-high heat, add a small amount of oil, and the mushrooms. Cook them until they start to lose their juice, then add the rest of the veggies, except the chilies. Stir constantly until the onions are *almost* translucent. Add the chilies and seasonings, and remove the garlic. To assemble the quesadillas, spread 1/2 the beans on a tortilla, follow with 1/2 the veggies and 1/2 the cheese. Put the quesadilla into a lightly oiled pan, heated over medium-high heat. Cook until the cheese starts to melt, then flip (I suggest 2 spatulas-I have the MIU Flexible Pancake Spatulas, Red (Set of 2), which ROCK for this AND pancakes!) cook for another 3-5 minutes, just enough to finish melting the cheese and brown the tortilla. Remove from pan, and repeat. Allow your quesadillas to cool for about 5 minutes, then slice into wedges. Serve with your favorite toppings. Can serve 2-4 people, but I like 1 with leftovers.

….also, I promise to post a belly pic just as soon as I can get pictures to load on the site!!

Hello to all of you who are still reading my blog! I am sorry that I have not been more diligent in my posts, but life has been absolutely CRAZY! To catch you up, we set up our crib, picked out paint colors, and have been stocking up on good baby deals. (I LOVE Ross and Marshalls for onesies!) I also found a great deal on nursing covers, thanks to a wonderful friend. Have you ever heard of Udder Covers? They’re pretty neat, and although Tater won’t be here until July, this is a deal that I could NOT pass up. If you go the udder covers website and enter the promo code “onefree”, you can get your udder cover for just the price of shipping! I have 2, in the Carson and Jones patterns, and they are really neat! I have to admit that I tried on the Carson, and the covers have this neat neckline that is moldable so that you look at your baby while you are covering up your nursing activities. Beyond that nifty find, I really haven’t had much time beyond trying to workout and eat healthy. I do really enjoy Suzanne Bowen’s Long and Lean Prenatal Workout, which is produced by Ruah, and will be great even after the pregnancy. The workout is very fluid, and I am really enjoying the barre quality (even though it’s probably more pilates-based to be completely fair). I will post a full review soon.