Life Archives - Simply Bao

A Fresh Start in the New Year!

January 4, 2018

I love the idea of being able to have fresh start in the new year. I believe that we are constantly growing and learning. It’s also important to take the time to reflect and change the things that we want differently in our lives. It has taken me a while to learn that but we must change the things in our lives that are simply not working out for us. Otherwise, how are we suppose to grow and change?

While I love that part of being an introvert allows me to be reflective and introspective, it can be paralyzing. I am going to write a different story in 2018 and I plan on sharing it…even if it makes me vulnerable.

My number one promise to myself this year is to do what’s right for me. I’ve have always been the type of person to make my decisions based on whether someone else would approve or not. I am a people pleaser! I want people to be happy so I am willing to do things to make them happy even if I am sacrificing my own happiness. I am not saying that I no longer want to make people happy…I’m simply saying that it’s okay if I can’t make everyone happy.

My second promise is to myself is to define my own success. Someone else’s dreams for themselves is not necessarily mine. Not everyone is meant to be a doctor, nurse, or teacher…everyone has their own path and that’s okay. I am finding my path and trying to stay on course. I am ready for this journey…I’ve spent too much time trying to stay safe and not take any risks. I need a little more risk and adventure in my life.

My goal is to put in work on myself. There are so many goals that I want to achieve and myself is just one of them. I am ready to do the work!

A New Tradition?

November 14, 2017

Happy Tuesday! I am going to be breaking one of my biggest rules that I have during the holidays! Deep breath…I’m going to decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving (gasps)! I mean, the weekend before Thanksgiving is not too bad, right? I have seen people decorate right after Halloween! For years, I have refused to decorate until after Thanksgiving because let’s be honest it is becoming like the forgotten holiday that almost everyone rushes through so that we can get to Christmas. I mean I love Christmas just like everyone else but Thanksgiving has a special place in my heart.

There is no pressure to give the best presents but most importantly because it is a time of reflection for me. I get the opportunity to be thankful for all of life’s blessing with the people I love the most while stuffing my face! Haha. However, I think with us moving into the townhouse, having a fireplace (first time ever for the kids) and me just being overly excited for this new adventure that I’m willing to break my own rule. I feel horrible but I am just so excited! The kids are excited, well..mostly Dylan because Keira doesn’t even know what’s going on.

Here we are at Costco while searching for our tree. I made him take a picture because he’s getting too cool for pictures.

Trying on new things at Target!

We have searched far and wide and found our perfect tree which we plan on getting tonight! I can’t wait to share in future posts about how I am decorating our home for Christmas. Stay tuned!

A Little Update!

November 6, 2017

It’s November and yes, I’ve been failing on my goals for 2017. I have been struggling. I have written so many posts but have chosen to not publicly share because I was afraid. It’s very hard to put yourself out there on a daily basis in “real life” and yet to do it with blogging is even more terrifying. I get it, it’s not like I get thousands of hits on this little blog of mine but it’s hard to be vulnerable. Being judged is one of my greatest fear. However, I am learning to let go. Let go of the things that I can’t control. I can’t control what someone says or thinks about me. I can only control me and know that I have the best intentions with all that I do.

The last few months has consisted of me doing a lot of thinking. Which cannot be so great at times to be honest. I have been trying to look for answers and for meaning to things in my life that I would like to understand better. One of those searches led me to listening to podcasts on my morning walks with Keira. One of those podcasts was Oprah’s Super Soul Conversations with Brene Brown. Brene gives the reason for the title of her book and quotes Theodore Roosevelt. He said:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause;who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”

Hearing it and now having read the quote gave me a push to do something because I want to be in the arena! I don’t want to look back years from now and regret the things I wish I would’ve said or done. I want to be unafraid of failure. To know that it is ok to fail because that’s how we succeed…well, at least that’s what they say :). I don’t know because I have been to afraid to try anything because I have been afraid of failing.

To feel as though my opinions, whether you agree with them or not, matters! I haven’t figured everything out but I’m looking forward to moving on and learning to love myself along the way. I am ready for this journey!

How To Limit Weight Gain During Pregnancy

January 9, 2017

Pregnancy is a beautiful thing. I am by no means fitness goals but I wanted to share a few things that helped me not gain an excessive amount of weight while I was pregnant with Keira. With my second pregnancy, I knew that I couldn’t do the same things that I did with my first pregnancy, like eating for two or in my case for three ;). I gained fifty pounds with my pregnancy with Dylan and opted for a c-section because he was measuring big. I think being a bit older and a little bit wiser since my first definitely helped me make smarter decisions the second time around.

You don’t need to eat for two! I followed a pretty strict diet that my doctor put me on because I am a diabetic. It’s a diet that pretty much all gestational diabetics are given when they develop diabetes during pregnancy. I’m not saying that you should follow the same diet but if you eat a nutritious diet and are not literally eating for two you should be able to stay within the recommended guidelines for the amount of safe weight gain for your body type.

Don’t give in to cravings. Ice cream, pickles, pizza…I get it. We finally have an excuse to eat whatever we want to eat because it is a lot of work that our bodies go through to create a baby. However, if we really think about it, how much of these craving is our own needs and not necessarily the baby’s? And does the baby really want half a gallon of ice cream or another slice of pizza? Probably not. I will say I ate pickles because they are really low in carbs!! If you’re a diabetic what matters most is the amount of carbs you consume.

Be active! This is so important! I had to stay as active as I could during the pregnancy. It helped lower my blood sugar and it really made me feel so much better. I was exercising before I got pregnant so it was not as hard for me during the pregnancy. I mean don’t go out and run a marathon but something as simple as walking can make a difference.

A good diet and being physically active during pregnancy can not only help you during but after pregnancy as well. My goal for my second pregnancy was a vbac and I was able to achieve that because I think I had a healthy pregnancy. I did not gain an excessive amount of weight and Keira was not huge like Dylan. I really really do believe that when you want something bad enough you’re more than willing to do whatever it takes to get it. For me that was a healthy baby and a vbac. My recovery was so much faster! I had such a great pregnancy that I really wouldn’t mind having another one but no, it’s not going to happen!

Whatever your goal is, work for it and be willing to make the necessary sacrifices for it. You are for the most part going to gain weight. The weight of the baby is going to add weight to your scale…enjoy the process as much as possible because if you’re like me, you’ll miss being pregnant. Keeping my blood sugar under control after every meal and going for walks even when I didn’t want to were the things that I had to do to make sure I could achieve my goals. I noticed such a huge difference with my first and second pregnancy just by really doing these few simple things that I’ve shared. I really hope they help you too. Again, I’m just sharing what worked for me. Every body is different. Please listen to your doctor regarding what you should do.

2017 Goals

January 3, 2017

Happy New Year!! I’m not really into New Year’s resolutions only for the simple fact that I’ve failed at so many of them that now I like to focus on small but achievable goals. I have quite a few this year, both personally and for this blog. I also thought I would start something new this year and have my word of the the year (see I’m challenging and trying something new already! ;)). My hope is that I will achieve more than I ever thought I would. So here are my goals for 2017!

1. The one thing I would like to do more of is put myself first. I think a lot of times with the many different hats that I wear I tend to put my role as a mom first. Often I am so busy trying to do everything for everyone else that I forget I need to take care of myself so that I can be present in the moment. I want to be a better mom, wife, daughter, sister and aunt.

2. Stop procrastinating. Ugh! I know I know…I’m really going to utilize my planner this year. It does help me a lot to have a To-Do List and check things off. It’s really the only way that I have found to help me work through things. I’m not going to lie and pretend that I have everything together because I don’t. I get easily overwhelmed especially when everything needs to be completed at once but organizing my thoughts do work! So yes, more of this please!

3. To challenge myself. I want to challenge myself to do new things and to put myself out of my comfort zone. Sometimes I’m so afraid of failing that I don’t even try. In a way this is for me but also for my kids. I want them to do things that scare them. I’m not saying to go jump off a bridge but to take chances and go after their dreams even if it’s out of the norm. To realize that they have more power over themselves than what other people’s opinions are. I’m going to try to lead by example is what I’m saying.

4. Create more blog posts. I know…I only did three in 2016! My goal is to do at least two posts a week. I’ve put this off long enough because I was doing other doing other things and trying to accomplish a goal that was not my own. I am excited for what’s ahead.

After reading of few of my favorite bloggers, I thought I too would start a new tradition and share a word of the year. My word of the year is, BRAVE. I’m going to be brave this year…whatever or wherever it may bring me.

Baby Keira is Here!

September 30, 2016

Wow! A lot has happened since my last post. I want to use this post as an announcement since we didn’t do official birth announcements. We welcomed baby Keira on May 6, 2016. She weighed 8 pounds 7 ounces and 21.25 inches. I am a type 2 diabetic and this pregnancy was so different from my pregnancy with Dylan. I plan on writing more about what helped me and my pregnancy experience with type 2 diabetes in a future post but I just wanted to check in and post this quick update now that Keira is almost FIVE months ;)!

I know it’s so cliche but it’s like she has always been a part of our family and we couldn’t imagine our lives without her.

I love these two so much! Dylan is such a great big brother. I hope to foster a loving relationship with these two. He has the most loving and kindest heart…and no, I’m not just saying that because I’m his mom. My heart just wants to burst from the love that these two have allowed me to experience.

Summer at Disneyland

August 4, 2015

It has been a whole week since we have been home from our first of many trips to Disneyland as Annual Passport holders. This trip was so exhausting because the weather really took a toll on me. It was hot and humid! I literally needed the last few days of being home to recuperate. I am just not a hot weather person. I dread the hot summer sun and count the days until Fall and Winter comes knocking! Lol.

My husband decided to get us the Premium Annual Pass to Disneyland because he knew how much I wanted to go to see the decorations at Disneyland during Christmas time. We went on this trip with some of the Grogan crew and knew that the pass would work for us since we were planning on going in December too. With the Premium Annual Pass, you receive a bigger discount for merchandise and dining, free parking and no block out dates! We spent four days at Disneyland and California Adventure which would have cost us about $300 per ticket if we went the other route so the Annual Pass worked out for us. Definitely consider the pass if you are planning on making multiple trips out to Disneyland even if you decide to go withe the Deluxe! Since we had the pass and couldn’t check in to the hotel until 3 p.m. we couldn’t pass up on not going to Disneyland! Getting our official cards did not take long at all and I have to admit, I felt pretty special being a Disneyland AP ;)!

Here we are on the tram to Disneyland!

These words could not be truer!

Can’t go to Disneyland without saying “hi” to Mickey!

Taking a rest from the hot sun!

Did I mention that one of my favorite princesses, is Belle?

Dylan’s favorite thing to do at Disneyland is watch the parades! We were able to catch the new parade at Disneyland, Paint the Night, right on Main Street thanks to a tip from a cast member. I think one of the things I love most is watching how happy he is. He gets so enamored with it all and he’s just the sweetest. I mean he worries about how hard Mickey has to work and hopes that Mickey get his breaks! I mean, come on, what seven year old worries about things like work breaks? It’s just so beautiful, watching and taking it all in. It makes everything worth it!

Another great moment that had me all teary-eyed was the fireworks show. While we didn’t get to see the whole show because it was crazy crowded we were able to get glimpse of it while we were staking out our seats for the 10:45 showing of Paint the Night, “oh my god”, is all I can say! The projection on the buildings on Main Street, the music, and the snow…yes, the snow, had my heart pitter patter. Did I mention how much I love Disneyland? Wow, is all I can say.

We had such a great time and made many special memories. I’m already dreaming and planning our next trip to Disneyland even if it’s just for the weekend. We want to pass on the tradition and love of Disneyland to Dylan. If I haven’t mentioned it before, Disneyland is a very special place to John’s family…many many great memories were made in that park and we want to be able to do the same for Dylan.