Gained back 12 pounds...

What a downer! It appears much of it is caused by some medication changes--- oh and a monthlong visit home. I applied for a membership to the YMCA Friday so hopefully they'll approve me soon and I can get my fitness level going again== plus they babysit for 2 hours a day!!

Haven't been around a lot...

Life has just gotten the best of me. It's been busy, busy, busy around here and I just haven't been online at all that much. I'm down to 120!!!! I can't believe it. I would still like to lose another 5, maybe 10 pounds, but we will see! I'm pretty proud of myself for hitting my weight loss goal. :)

Whew.

That was a rough one today. I was thinking about taking a rest day. I slightly pulled a muscle last night in my thigh while washing my face! LOL. But it was feeling fine this afternoon so I went for it and did level 2 again today. I took some pics afterward so please excuse my sweaty, messy self. Also, it's laundry day so please don't mind the laundry everywhere! I set up some comparisons but I'm not seeing much difference yet.

Didn't quit and *that's* the goal!

So, I just finished getting my butt kicked by Jillian Michaels. Today is my Day 5 of the shred. I think this is the longest I've gone in years consistently working out on a daily basis. I am feeling great overall, but today was tough. I really, really didn't want to do this workout today. But, I knew I would have more energy after I did it and so I grudgingly put the DVD in. No sooner did it start than I started to hear those negative voices in my head. "You don't need to do this," and "You can quit and do this tomorrow. You're really tired, you deserve a break." etc. Well, in spite of those thoughts I continued to push. And push. "2 more minutes," I kept repeating to myself. "I can quit if I just do 2 more minutes." And yet, as each 2 minute milestone passed, I continued on. Painfully, but I just did. I reached deep inside myself this morning to pull out a workout on ZERO motivation. And it feels so intensely good that I didn't quit. I am absolutely, totally impressed with myself today and that in itself is me reaching a big goal. So, yay me!!

Started the 30-Day Shred today....

And there is no better way to keep myself accountable than embarassing myself in photos. I took pics today on day 1. I've never done this before so I'm hoping it adds a level of accountability to this program for me. This is 12 pounds thinner than a few weeks ago, but I need to kick my weight loss into overdrive! Please excuse our messy bedroom, I was just about to start cleaning when I got the idea to snap pics. YIKES. I cannot believe I'm posting these. Well, I hope it works on my little brain and helps me stay motivated!! I want kick-ass after pics!!


This is the view I DO NOT LIKE!!

Busy, busy, busy!

Life has been quite busy lately, so I haven't had much time to sit on my rear and write. But, I figured I'd pop on for a few minutes while I nuke my dinner. To many people it would seem that is a departure from eating healthfully, but for me to get the protein I need, eating a microwave meal is often the only way I'm going to get it on a regular basis. I try not to eat them too often because of the sodium content but I do find them quite satisfying from time to time, along with easy and relatively nutritious, compared to what I'd eat previously.

I'm continuing to get my exercise in, though today I didn't get much-- I did do a lot of housework so that should count for something! I love walking the boys to the park and playing with them there. It really refreshes me to get that time outside. It's pretty dreary and rainy today so it wasn't an option but I'm hopeful tomorrow will be much nicer.

Well, my meal is not done yet but Luke is throwing a fit so I'd better pop off! I'm loving my new lifestyle, new home and just everything lately.

Had a great mother's day, too!!

Annoying day today...

Ever have one of those days where everything just seems to be turning out wrong? I'm having one today. It's really, really frustrating me. I have been good, got in a good walk and everything but it's like the world decided to open up and crap on me today. ANNOYING!

I know once my boys wake up from their naps they'll make me happy again, though. :)

Hectic days!

Tomorrow is Aiden's birthday and I can't believe he's going to be 2 already. Two years ago today I'd been in labor for like 15 hours already! He wouldn't come until 6:52 am on the 2nd, but boy were we thrilled when he finally graced us with his presence. His arrival was pretty scary but you'd never believe it when you see him today. :)

So, back to the present, I've been diligently cleaning the house in preparation for his birthday. We're not really doing anything major but I wanted things to finally be in order. I'm FINALLY feeling like I'm getting a handle on this apartment and getting things where I want them to be. My mom got me a really nice desk for my birthday and that really helped me too. The desk I was previously using was a free item from Craigslist and when you would lean on it it was pretty hairy-- it would lean about 6 inches in any direction. It served its purpose but I'm glad to have a sturdier, more solid desk.

I've been keeping up with my exercise and eating healthy, as well. I think this is the longest I've ever been consistent about a fitness or health program. I'm really quite proud of myself. This morning I stepped on the scale and I am still below 130!! I am at 128.5 finally!

My pants really are getting a little bit loose! I have lost 2 inches around my waist an inch from my thighs and like 1.75 inches from my hips. What a great feeling that this is finally working for me, and it is totally do-able. I think that's the best part-- I don't feel like I'm on a diet. If I really want a Coke, I have a Coke. I just don't have a Coke every single time I feel like it, or mindlessly anymore.

I got myself the two Sparkpeople DVDs-- "Cardio Blast" and "Fit, Firm and Fired Up" after my last battle with my Wii Active. I really like the workouts on the Wii Active but so many times I just want to throttle the thing when I have to do 25 extra curls because it doesn't read my position correctly. I have really small hands [think Burger King commercial] so it's hard for me to hold the controller the way they want and hold my resistance band. So, when I don't feel like wrestling with that thing, I can do these DVDs instead. Today is heavy cleaning day around the house, though, so I probably won't get to them at all.

To do today: floors, bathroom, lots of laundry folding and dusting!

Motivated moms!

A couple of months ago I purchased my Motivated Moms planner. Well, in our move, I lost everything on my hard drive and it was deleted. I need to print the rest of it out and so I contacted them this morning to see if I could reprint it. Well, I had expected to wait a couple of days for a response at least. Within 2 minutes of sending my email, they responded with my download link so I could re-download the product.

If you don't know about Motivated Moms, it's a great little checklist that you print out and it assigns you specific chores for each day to help keep your home organized. You can check them out at

Motivated Moms

I find it really handy and I love the checklist because, like Sparkpeople, it helps me remember what my mommy brain sometimes forgets.... like whether or not I have taken my vitamins!

On to other things... I haven't gotten my workout in yet today, but I'm determined to use my Wii! I am sore from my session on Saturday, so that makes me want to do it again. I love feeling like something is actually working!

I stayed pretty much on track food-wise this weekend which is good for me. I never went over calories or anything, so that is a positive. I didn't get in my workout yesterday but we did a lot of running around.

Off to get my house in order and my rear in gear! :)

Struggling with motivation today....

I don't know what is up with me today, but I'm really, really struggling to stay motivated. I think that being sick yesterday put me in a bad mood and I'm just still recovering from that. Being sick yesterday means that the house is a disaster today because Aiden ran amok and no one was there to clean up each little mess.

I am also still struggling with my house not being perfectly organized. I know this is a recurrent theme for me, but it's so disheartening to me for not everything to have a place or be in its place. I need to figure out a way to not be so annoyed and disheartened just because things are not perfectly organized in my home.

I made a point to do pushups and crunches first thing when I got out of bed. I did 10 pushups and 100 crunches. I haven't binged on food like I really want to so I guess that's a pretty good thing. I would love to just veg on the couch right now and forget about the mess that is my home.

I really need to find that elusive cleaning fairy.

Housebound today

Aiden is definitely sick, so at least I know that the fall isn't what made him vomit the other night. Unfortunately, that means lots of nastiness needs to be cleaned all day long and that doesn't give me much time to get anything else done. I wanted to pop on here though anyway.

Yesterday we did manage a quick trip to Trader Joe's. I had been planning it for a while and managed to get some yummy staples stocked up. I got Brandon their Cioppino soup which he was obsessed with when we lived in California. He was pretty excited about that.

I managed 15 pushups and 90 crunches the other night so already I'm seeing progress in my fitness level. I've also lost 1.25 inches around my waist. Other measurements seem to be staying the same, but I'm pleased to have any progress at all. I'm down 9.5 pounds from a couple of weeks ago, which excites the heck out of me.

I have so much that I need to get done around this house that I'd better get to it.

...and then a night in the ER

So yesterday was beautiful and I failed to mention that Aiden did a back flip down the half flight of stairs that lead to our apartment. Well, he did. It was pretty scary but he shook it off quickly after a good cry and everything seemed fine. He ran at the riverfront walk and all of that.

In a normal bout of insomnia, I was laying in bed at 3 am, tossing and turning when I heard coughing on the baby monitor. Well, I still check on Aiden about 3-4 times a night (and Luke too, but he's right next to me in the cosleeper). Anyway, I went into his room and found that he was vomiting and choking and gagging on the vomit. :( I got him out of bed, into a bath and cleaned up. Of course he vomited again about 20 minutes later-- all over me. I took a quick shower and that's when I remembered that he had fallen yesterday. I noticed he had a little bruise on his forehead, too. He wasn't running a fever, so I started to worry a bit. I called the doctor's after-hours exchange and sure enough they wanted me to bring him to the ER.

We went to the ER and they checked him out, he has a slight infection in his left ear leading them to believe he may just have had a little virus. But, he still has had absolutely no fever and the vomiting seems to be at bay-- at least with Zofran and Phenergan on board. They sent us home and we got to bed at about 8 this morning. I'm a total zombie today. I put Aiden in his room and inflated the blow up bed and popped Luke in his crib in their room. We were all able to get a couple hours rest that way. I'm hoping Aiden will take a little nap this afternoon and that Luke will cooperate and sleep at the same time so I might get a little rest.

So.... hopefully I'll be able to get some sort of exercise in this evening if I get a chance to rest..... I would like to at least do something. I'm loving that I have sore muscles!

Prettiest day of the year... so far.

We had a WONDERFUL day today! Brandon started his day fishing in the lake that is near our house. He didn't have much success and decided to come back and pick us up and try the river. While he tried some fishing, I took the boys for a walk on the riverfront trail.

Rotary Riverfront Trail

This is by far my favorite place to walk with the boys because it's lovely and shaded, Aiden can run free and fast and I can see him for a long way. There are enough dandelions to keep him occupied, and of course STICKS! He pretty much ran an entire mile today. He was red in the face but had a blast. And he got to see a choo-choo pass by so that really made his day.

We went one mile out on the trail and then turned around. I popped Aiden in the stroller and walked more quickly on the way back. I even jogged a bit which I haven't done in ages. It was FABULOUS! The weather was perfect, I got some exercise and it was just a phenomenal day.

After that, we took Brandon for a quick haircut and I went and GOT A MASSAGE!! It was heavenly. I had two hours all to myself and an hour of that was spent being pampered. The massage therapist said my neck and back were VERY tense. She recommended getting a 90-minute massage next time so she could spend more time on my neck and back. I'm a little sore from the massage, but that's a good thing. I could feel her working the knots out. At first I was a little worried because she was kind of a younger, smaller gal and I usually prefer someone who looks a little bigger and tougher because I like a lot of pressure, but she did a GREAT job! Plenty of pressure. Never judge a book by its cover!

Ok, off to get some shut-eye. I have had a very long day..... plus I need to get some reading in. Reading "The Spark" and "Garden Spells" right now.

Farmer's Market, bell peppers and lovely weather....

So the weather outside is gorgeous! The Farmer's Market opened today for the first time this year. I have to say I was kind of hoping for a little more, but it was still nice to get out in the morning air. There were lots of breads, cookies, homemade canned things (relishes, etc) and plants. They did have some great deals on plants but we're all set for our garden. I am hoping as the summer growing season begins we'll get more fresh produce there.

I picked up a yummy orange bell pepper at the market today and sauteed it in some olive oil with an onion for a tasty lunch over angel hair pasta. I love being able to get decent produce here. New Orleans was the worst place I've ever lived as far as finding fresh produce was concerned. It was so tough to get anything decent, and when you did find something, the prices were crazy.

I did notice they've got a big BBQ festival going on in our little town today. I think Brandon will be off too late for us to check it out, which is unfortunate because he's always saying he wants to "go to one of those" when he sees these competitions on TV. They were getting all set up this morning.

Main Street BBQ & Blues Fest

Well, it looks like it is until 8. If Brandon actually gets off at 5 maybe we'll be able to head down there. :)

Crunches & Pushups

So, fearing that I couldn't do any at all anymore after the joys of 2+ months of bed rest with my this last pregnancy, I had been avoiding a lot of strength training exercises because I was certain that it would be a total failure.

Well, I just did 60 crunches and 10 REGULAR pushups!!! WOOOT!

Healthifying my lifestyle...

So now with two kids in tow, I'm really trying to eat more healthfully and make important changes in my/our lives so that I have more energy to keep up with these little guys. So far it's been a few days and I can definitely feel a difference in my body. I am getting in more protein, which has always been a difficult thing for me to do.

We've got our garden started up over at my grandma's place and I think that will help contribute to these changes we're making. I absolutely love fresh vegetables so I think that will really enhance the efforts I am currently making.

We are moving toward eating more lean proteins, lots of fish, and veggies. As a total carb addict I know I'll never completely eliminate some things, but like they say.... everything in moderation, right?

Yeah... So, I'm back!

Well, I'm finally feeling like I'm getting my life a little bit more in control, one minute at a time, one day at a time. The new apartment is still a mess, but hey, with two under two, at least I worry about keeping it sanitary! I am working through getting this mess straightened. Downsizing to an apartment has been a real reality check on what we can keep in our home. We need to continue to get rid of things and we are, slowly but surely. Craigslist has seen some new postings lately. I did find out a friend of my cousin's is expecting an unexpected baby this coming December so we'll be hanging on to a few baby things to give to them once Luke grows out of them.

Anyway, I've been trying to get more crafty again lately and am slowly but surely getting myself out of the slump I slipped into. It feels good to be more active and also get our life situated. Right now, I'm taking baby steps on getting things organized so I don't get overwhelmed and just give up. Hopefully, this approach works for me!