I’ve had so much fun with these Instagram Q&A sessions! You can see part one here and part two here, and today is the third and final post. However, I love doing reader request posts so always feel free to send me questions via comments, emails, facebook, or instagram. David is working on answering all the questions you sent him too (and gaining a new respect for the time it takes to write a blog- wink wink) and I can’t wait to read them and share them with you!

What are your final thoughts of Invisalign?

I underwent a 9-10 month Invisalign treatment last year (you can read more about it here). Though it wasn’t fun having attachments on my teeth and plastic in my mouth, I’m SO glad I did it for a few reasons. 1) The twisted bottom tooth that was driving me crazy is now straight. 2) The nighttime retainer acts like a mouth guard and I haven’t woken up once with a headache from clenching or grinding since having Invisalign. This is a big deal since my dentist told me my teeth were way too worn down for what they should be at my age, so I feel better that I’m preventing further damage.

I was tempted by the braces route (well, not really, I already had 5 years of them and didn’t want them again), because I could have had rubber bands and such to help pull my lower jaw forward and reduce some of the gum line in my smile but you know what, it just wasn’t worth it to me. I like my smile just fine and love not having the jaw pain anymore!

dress (Target- sold out- similar) // shoes

What are your favorite things to do in our area with the girls? Activities or day trips?

If you asked the girls, they’d always answer with Discovery Place Kids. I agree, Discovery Place (all their facilities) are awesome. We love the fountains at Birkdale Village, the local library, the playground at Ramsey Creek Park with the kid zipline feature, Patterson Farms, Lazy 5 Ranch, The White Water Center. Honestly anywhere they can just run around and I don’t have to worry too much about keeping them quiet. I have a list of things we want to do this summer that I’m posting on Thursday, but I can also hope to make it to a zoo and maybe try out Carowind’s splash pad!

Patterson Farms during Strawberry Picking

How do you balance social media and being with the girls? How do you not get sucked down the rabbit hole?

This is an ongoing challenge for me, but really what I focus on the most is not to be on my phone or computer while they are around. Easier said than done. But I do my blog work in the early morning before they are awake or between 1pm-2pm, which is quiet time at our house. I also have a wonderful sitter that watches the girls one full day a week and I do everything I can during that time. Sometime I get it all done and other times I am behind, but I really try to put my priorities into practice and my family comes first. It’s not easy though and is why I am reevaluating what our schedule should look like over the next couple of months. It’s always changing and honestly I just do the best I can.

My biggest tip to myself is to just not check email or social while I am with them, even if I have a down minute, because then I go down the rabbit hole thinking Oh, I’ll just email her back/respond real quick (which never ends up being real quick).

The exception to this is instagram stories because I love showing snaps of our daily life, but it’s why I’m inconsistent with stories. Some days I’m all about it and others I just want to stay unplugged. How is that for the world’s longest inconclusive answer? HA.

How did you approach healthy living when you worked at a desk job?

I drank Diet Coke and ate Lean Cuisines. I’m serious, but it’s also when I gave up Diet Coke cold turkey after the machine was out one day and I found myself really upset about it. It made me feel like I was addicted and it freaked me out so I quite cold turkey. Still, I was health-minded (even though I still had plenty to learn) and I always ate breakfast before work, had healthy snacks at the cubicle, and avoided the break room goodies as much as I could. I learned I didn’t always have to say yes to donut day. Also, I walked to work (back when I lived in Buckhead) which was nice and my cubicle mate (how I miss my friend, Sonya!) and I would take walks at lunch, usually over to stores we could shop at, which wasn’t good for our wallets, but was great for adding activity into our days!

What are yours and David’s love languages? How do you address them in the relationship?

Can you believe I’ve never actually read the book? I would guess based on what I’m heard, that mine is words of affirmation and that his is quality time or physical touch (like every man ever). Communication is my jam, so I’m pretty open about asking for what I need if I’m not getting it (babe, I really need you to see everything I’m doing here — nothing like fishing for compliments right??). It’s kind of a joke, but it really does fill up my love tank (oh Vicki, what a saying) to hear that I am appreciated.

For David, we try to keep date days and nights a regular occurrence, but if things get busy we at least make sure we sit and chat together after the girls go down. No TV, and often on the back porch, sometimes with an adult beverage. It’s just nice to have an hour or two to catch up, connect, and feel involved in what is going on in both our lives.

Dress (sold out- similar)

What are your favorite self-care rituals?

My quiet time in the mornings. Cooking with wine. Getting facial treatments and pedicures. Giving myself a break when I need it. I’m very in tune with my need for sleep and my ability to burn out if I am doing too much, so when I feel that coming on, everything else takes a backseat. It may sound selfish, but it’s true: if mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.

How do you guys budget?

Right now we use Mint.com and I’d say it’s OK. I’m not wild about it but it gets the job done. We also go over our finances (retirement, savings, cash flow, investments, income projections, etc) with a fine tooth comb about every 2-3 months. Having us both fully understand where we are and what are goals are keeps us motivated to stick to our budget and not get too crazy with spending on frivolous things.

What are your 5/10/15 year plans for life and travel?

Oh man, I’d love to dig into this with you guys, but I’m not really at a place I can right now. However, I will say we want to do a lot of travel as a family, which is what keeps us laser focused on our financial goals and is a big factor of why we have completed our family with our two sweet girls.

What kind of eating plan do you follow? Do you eat snacks?

I mostly follow my mom’s lead which has always been everything in moderation. Nothing is off-limits to me, though I limit beans just because they don’t make my stomach feel it’s best. I’d say I mostly focus on a paleo-ish (plus cheese and whole grains) diet because it makes me feel my best. A typical day would be eggs and veggies for breakfast, rice and veggie bowl with protein of some sort for lunch, and a balanced dinner of a protein, vegetables, and potatoes or rice.

I do eat snacks, but not very often. If I do eat snacks, it’s usually popcorn, an apple, or some carrots and hummus.

How often do you workout?

If I hit three days a week I consider it a win! And that’s intentional exercise (Burn Boot Camp). Outside of that though, I am pretty active with laundry, playing outside with the kids, swimming around the pool or lake, doing chores around the house, etc.

Do you have any upcoming travel plans?

I am in a wedding in July in Saratoga Springs, NY. I’ve never been to that part of the country and am SO excited! David and I will get to visit a horse track and celebrate my friend’s fabulous wedding! That’s all that is on the books at the moment, though we hope to fit in a quick family trip to the beach at some point too. Maybe in late August?

Telluride in September

What hobbies do you enjoy?

I think time for hobbies is pretty limited at this stage of life. If I had the time, I’d love to take some cooking classes, learn more about photography, and attempt a real garden. I hope to try paddle boarding this summer and I enjoy kayaking and hiking and would like to do more of those too. I also like putting together our annual family albums, but my goodness I am behind on that right now!

I’d love to hear how you balance eating well (I’m constantly struggling to find balance) and also a healthy fitness lifestyle. I am super good at one and the other drops. I’ve learned not to be so extreme in one or the other, but I like how you eat & it’s not a restrictive style. It helps to motivate me!

Thank you for that compliment! I feel like it took m a lot of years to get where I am right now but feel like I’m in a good spot. I know “intuitive eating” gets thrown around a lot, but I really feel that is where I am. I eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m full. I focus on the foods that make me feel good; sometimes that’s a hearty salad and sometimes it’s a plate of seafood linguine. I now view my health through a wide scope that encompasses physical and mental wellness and that means that another salad or a tough workout isn’t always the “healthiest” choice for me on any given day. Letting go of the all or nothing mind set had been the healthiest thing I’ve ever done for myself. I also always keep Michael Pollen’s words in the back of my mind: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

Thank you all for asking so many wonderful questions. I love the way it makes these posts feel like a conversation.

I’d love for you to answer one of the questions in the comments to let me get to know you a little bit better too!

And if you have any last minute questions to sneak to David, leave them below and I’ll add them to his list 😉