3-3-2016

It's been a whole 'nother month since I completed my challenge!  It was a GREAT month.  I did not stick to Whole 30 100%, but I did stick to it a large majority of the time.  I mostly stuck to the Whole 30 during the week, and on the weekends allowed myself to go out to eat, or eat a meal that isn't Whole 30 approved.  I allowed myself treats, to see how much it affected me.  I learned this:  I sleep better on nights I don't have sugar before bed.  AND, eating more than one brownie, makes me feel nauseous.  Eating one is plenty and enjoying less sugar is okay.  I don't feel the need to inhale food like I did before.  There are many times, I have eaten like it was my last supper, thinking "I better get it all in before I start my diet on monday."  Now, my thinking is this, "well, if I don't get a chance to have a treat or a meal that I love this weekend, I can certainly have it next weekend."  I have maintained my weightloss.  I fit much better in my clothes.  I still have super soft skin.  And this is something totally doable.  I have noticed that as I have eased up on eating perfect, I haven't been as on top of my food prep and that resulted in a couple meals eating food I would rather have not had (ie, del taco for dinner during the week).  My mindset is that I only want it, if I absolutely LOVE it (a pan of enchiladas, beans and rice), otherwise I want to eat Whole 30 cause it's pretty dang yummy.  I also learned that if I eat too far off track on the weekend, I feel the sluggish detox feeling Monday and Tuesday.  But the weekends, I still eat fairly clean, I feel great on Monday.  This past weekend, I ate fairly good.  Good breakfasts and lunches, with dinner being not too bad.  But Sunday, after getting together with mom and my sisters to plan our Senior/40th bday trip and eating strawberry shortcake AND a piece of chocolate cake, I felt SICK!  My stomach ached before bed and it wasn't worth it.  Next time, picking one or the other will certainly be best!  I really love this new way of eating for me!  It's something that will work for me for life!  It's easy to maintain.  I feel major benefits from it.  I love it! 

My plan for this month... it's a tough one!  My 40th is at the end of the month!  I want to look my absolute best, of course, which leaves me ideally wanting to do a strict Whole 30 diet until then and working out as much as possible.  That's ideally.  Reality is that Thursday is Cinco de Mayo (my favorite kind of food), Friday is a celebration for Sky winning the Arbor Day poster contest, with a BBQ and treats, Saturday night is a ward party where there will only be treats served and that's week one.  Week two is a weekend trip to Park City with my sisters in law.  All 9 of us will be there.  And not having a donut, may be hard to do.  The third week is my sweet Brookie's 9th birthday, which I would assume means a dinner out to all you can eat pizza at Rock Creek.  So that leaves me with this... I have decided to eat absolutely Whole 30 as MUCH AS POSSIBLE!  Meaning, if there isn't a way to do it, that's okay.  I will work out extra hard and the end goal is to maintain and if I could MAYBE lose a whole pound, that would be fantastic.  I have a trip coming up with my mom and sisters.  That will be the hardest week to stay on track.  I know that come mid June, I will be back to a full 30 days, detoxing and getting myself back.  But it's doable and I know I will do it.  I have a plan, I'm being realistic and I'm not ever going to get so far off track that this is hard to keep coming back to Whole 30.  It will be a constant lifestyle. 

3-30-2016

I just completed my WHOLE 30 CHALLENGE!  Whoo-hoo!  WOWSERS!  Unbelievable!  Those are all words I would use to describe the last month!  I am astonished that ME, totally addicted to sugar, who can't even go a week without some sort of treat before bed, just completed a whole 30 days without it.  Not only did I go without sugar, but I went without dairy, grains, beans, and anything artificial.  I still can't believe I did it.

I have some amazing results that make me cheer for myself inside.  In the weight department,  I lost 7 lbs.  That's a good decent amount for me to lose in a month.  The kicker is that I really did eat PLENTY!  I was never hungry.  And even more importantly, is that I didn't go to bed one single night, hungry.  Why is that such a big deal?  Because, in the past, any diet or program I tried, there was always several nights I battled myself with "do I eat something so I can sleep or go without so I can lose weight."  I never wanted to eat afraid of what the scale would reflect as a result of me giving in to my growling stomach.

Another result is that my skin is incredibly soft.  It feels silky in the shower.  It feels like I constantly have moisturizer on my face.  My husband even noticed and commented before I had even mentioned it out loud.  I've even backed off the amount of moisturizer I use and make up I wear, cause it feels that nice.

I did this challenge for a number of reasons.  One, was to see if I could really do it.  Could I really go without stuffing my face with a handful of packaged mini cookies after a stressful bout with the kids? I wasn't sure.  Could I sit down on the couch at night with my hubby after putting the kids to bed and not get out a yummy treat to enjoy with him?  I wasn't sure.  Could I be around my family at a dinner and resist the dessert?  I wasn't sure.  I did have my younger sister who started the challenge just before me show me that it was in fact possible.  I trusted her.  I decided if she could do it, I could too.

Another reason, I wanted to clean out my system and see if that helped me in any way lose weight.  Approaching 40 in a couple of months is motivation to try something more extreme.  So, the motivation was certainly there.  And as a result, I really did lose weight without counting a single calorie, without worrying how much fry sauce I was eating, and without going hungry.  Pretty awesome!  As much as my brain was screaming at me that I needed to eat less to lose weight, I promised myself I would go the whole 30 days without counting, skimping or worrying about that.  There was a phrase I read in my whole 30 book that said, my job was just to find a way to make it possible to eat whole 30 in every situation for a whole 30 days.  That is what I did.

I didn't go out to eat.  I ate breakfast, lunch and dinner at home.  Eating out seemed to pose too big of a challenge to me right now.  Maybe in the next 30 challenge, I will trust myself enough to order what is whole 30 and not go off track.  Eating at home so much forced me to try new recipes so I didn't get bored of the same things.  I crock potted a pork shoulder for the first time and followed the "carnitas" recipe for it in the whole 30 book.  I put it over a baked sweet potato and it was divine!   I also made a breakfast casserole to take to a family brunch that was whole 30 approved and yummy as any other breakfast casserole I've had.  Family parties were a little hard, but I managed.  Another situation I was afraid of was eating at my mom and dads house.  My mom was so supportive of it, that she made something whole 30 approved for the main dish and made me my own side of steamed veggies.  It was awesome.  I tried to keep myself out of hard situations until I feel strong enough.  I think it worked great!

Lastly, I do not want to end up with the health problems my parents both deal with daily.  It's a struggle for them and I can see how frustrating it is.  I don't want to have to worry about that.  I want to know I can eat healthy and keep my body in the best condition possible.  It may not prevent me entirely, but it sure as heck will help fend off many possibilities.

My only regret, I wish I had before and after pictures.  I can definitely see a difference in how I feel, how I act and how I view food.  My motto is to eat to live, not live to eat.  I'm a foodie and I literally think about what I get to eat next.  I can't wait to eat.  It's a little different now.  I still love to eat cause the things I eat are delicious!  Fruit, sweet potatoes and bacon are at the top of my list now.

I do miss a few things... my Mexican food (enchiladas, beans and rice, chips and salsa) and eating pizza.  Those can't really be replaced by anything for me.  So, now that this challenge is over, it's time to indulge in a couple of dinners I've really missed, a donut and a home made brownie.  Then it's back to another strict 30 days.

April 4th to May 4th I will commit to another Whole 30 Challenge.  I have a few goals already set out for the next round.  I plan to try a couple other dishes, to use coconut milk in something (lots of whole 30 recipes call for it), to make gravy with arrowroot, and to eat BBQ'd chicken cause it's warm enough to grill outside.  I have exactly two months until my 40th birthday and I want to see how great I can look on that day.

My plan after I turn 40, is to keep up this same style of eating 90% of the time.  The other 10% will be to have an occasional home made brownie, to eat ONE slice of pizza and a plate of veggies with it, to lick around the edges of my kids ice cream cones this summer, to go out to dinner with my husband and order tacos in corn tortillas rather than eat another lettuce wrapped something.  My ultimate goal... to get to my desired weight range and maintain.  As soon as it starts to slip, switch to a completely clean whole 30 diet until I'm back.

Year after year, I have lost 10-15 and then by January, I've gained it all back.  My goal this year, is the ultimate goal of getting there and MAINTAINING!  It's possible.  I can do it.  This is my year!  

3-27-2016

EASTER SUNDAY!  It was a beautiful day!  Sixty something degrees outside.  We had dinner at our house and my parents, sisters and kids came over.  It was a little hard being at the end of my first round of Whole 30, but I succeeded in not eating a home made brownie or a single piece of candy.  YAY me!  It was hard for sure.  My brain kept saying, "you're only a couple days away, just eat a brownie and enjoy it.  You're practically there."  I made it through the day without it though and I'm proud of myself.  Probably the hardest day to date!

My cute family!

 

3-21-2016

 Life Changing...

I haven't even blogged since this time last year.  UGH!  I need to desperately move this into my schedule.  Right now, my life is pretty routine.  I have my schedule that I follow pretty regularly.  I need to find a way to include this in my day.  I will never regret having a journal of this part of my crazy life.  So, that's my goal... to be more consistent this year with posts about life.

I must begin with this... Whole 30.

So apparently my life focuses a lot on weight and eating and trying to be healthy, based on what I've posted on this blog.  I have to write this down.  It's a large part of me.  I obsess a little over being in shape and feeling good about myself.  Whenever I get to that, plus 15lbs or more, I struggle with myself, my self esteem and how I treat my husband even.  It's awful.  I'm always trying to stay right around 140 cause I know I feel good about myself there.  I am a big January joiner cause it's almost always that come January, I'm up those 15lbs again and I'm in search of finding a way to get back down.  I obviously went the route of 21 day fix with Shakeolgy again.  It had worked before.  It worked last year.  But after a good six weeks, it wasn't paying off as well.  I wasn't able to stick to the small portions and still feel okay.  I was angry and mad at the world because if this wasn't working, what would?  What was I going to do this time?  I was totally freaking out.  So let me begin at the beginning...  My sister Wendy, posted early in February that she would be starting this challenge and asked if any of our family wanted to join her.  I laughed out loud.  Yea, right!  Like I could go without sugar for 30 days.  But I was intrigued.  I have my 40th birthday right around the corner and I either needed to buckle down and make 21 day fix work again, or find another way.  But there is the fact that I can hardly go a day without sugar.  That should have been my first clue that I should try it.  I didn't think it was possible for me.  I basically said, "NO WAY! and good luck with that."  Well, then she did it, and after two weeks she starting posting the results.  WHAT?  It's doable?  It's easier than you thought?  Wait what?!  Okay, what did I need to do to get started?  She sent me to the link online, whole30.com and I read about the program.  She gave me her list of must haves to help me survive and I went shopping.  I'm on day 22!  TWENTY TWO days without sugar, grains, dairy, or anything artificial.  No honey, agave, stevia, no sweeteners of any kind!  No peanuts, or beans.  Its been fruit, veggies, healthy fats, and meat for 22 days.  It's been breakfast, lunch and dinner.  It's been a full plate of food that fills me up for hours.  Let me say that again, I get FULL!  So many times, I've tried a new program, weight watchers, 21 day fix containers, and even just counting calories.  BLEH!  NO THANKS!  Never again.  Each time I've done those, at some point during the day I was hungry cause I'd only had a small portion of food, calories cut, and enough to sustain me for 20 minutes or so.  I fought through those moments convincing myself that was the only way to lose weight.  I now know that the food I'm eating is processed by my body differently and I can eat more food, feel much fuller and not even want to put a cookie in my mouth!  I do not have to worry about eating 6 small meals a day.  It's seriously heaven.  Better than the weight loss, I have the softest skin.  Even my husband noticed before I even said a word about it.  I look younger, I think, and wear way less make up and it's amazing.  The next best thing is that my energy isn't as much through the roof as it is consistent all day long.  I don't ever drag.  At 8:00pm, I feel I have as much energy as I did at 8:00am when I woke up.  There's no afternoon drag.  It's great!  So there it is.  I recommend this to everyone! 

         

3-17-2016

I didn't get around to taking pictures of all 4 of my kids in green today, even though they all looked adorable.  I did though take some of my handsome little fella, Radd after preschool today.  He's was so excited to tell me about leprechauns and how he got a gold coin at school.  Here he is after school as cute as can be.

It almost always starts with a silly face, or there's no way he'll let me take his picture!

 He can wink with both eyes!

"I'm not Irish, but kiss me anyway," was the cutest shirt and I couldn't resist getting it for him.  It's all I do is kiss his face!

 He's so funny, he likes to put his thumbs through those holes in button up shirts.  Silly kid!

My favorite, genuine happy face!  He's my sweet sidekick and I love him to pieces!  I am one LUCKY mama!

4-25-2015

Soccer Saturday

This is one of the games that goes down in the record books!  Besides the 2014 Fall Finals for Jett's team, this one is another one that I never want to forget!  

To set the stage, it was already a busy, chaotic Saturday.  Sky and Brooke had already played in soccer games.  We had a guy come out and walk our yard to start the yard estimate, landscaping ordeal.  I had also ran to the store with Brooke to start the Baptism dress hunting.  I was really squeezing that in just before needing to take Jett to his game.  I got back in time to take him, only to find him sitting at the table playing Risk with dad.  He hadn't had a good lunch and so I scrambled to put a PB&J together along with a sliced apple.  We hurried to get his cleats on and ran out the door, without his backpack I might add.  (We always need his backpack cause it has his other jersey, just in case.)   In auto pilot, I drove to McMillan his home field.  When we pulled up already a few minutes late, the parking lot was empty.  My heart sank.  Who knew where it was let alone how far away it was.  I informed Jett, we might not make it in time for his game to even start and to prepare to sit the bench. I was not in a positive mental state by any means of the word!  Lucky for me, Jett is an upbeat kid and doesn't get down quickly!  

I called home asking for the location on the calendar.  This game was originally going to be played at 10:00am but after two reschedules, we were now stuck playing at 4:00pm.  A late afternoon game is never a good thing.  In the past, the boys seem run down by the end of the day.  I found out the game was at Copperview and so I raced like a mad lady to the field hoping and praying that he didn't need to switch into his orange jersey.  

We got there about ten minutes to 4:00pm.  Jett raced over.  Coach had already warmed them up and had the pregame talk.  Shoot!  At least they were in their white jerseys, WHEW!  And then, lucky for me, I found out the game before us got started late and we were just waiting for them to finish.  The threat of rain was there, so we were anxious to get on the field.  We waited, and waited.  4:30pm and we finally were ready to start the game.  Inside, I was happy.  Jett's PB&J and apples had time to digest.  The concern of a mom, right?  He was ready to play!

Jett's team moved up a bracket for Spring after taking first place in the Fall.  We were now in the same division as our Black team.  We have been struggling against these tougher teams.  We tied the first game, and lost the next three.  But those losses could have been ties or wins, easily.  Last week, we played the last place team and was able to pull out a win.  We were hoping to use that as momentum to take on this tough #2 team.  Game time.  The boys took the field and we as parents huddled up in our blankets and thick coats.  It was freezing.  The dark clouds lingered.  We could feel the rain about to pour at any second!  

Kick off, the other team took the ball down and scored in a matter of thirty seconds!  WOW!  It was quite the play... pass, pass, shoot basically.  Then in another thirty seconds, on a corner kick, they pulled off a second goal.  It was going to be a long game.  I said to myself, "I just hope we don't lose by ten and we can get a goal or two."  I decided to pull out my positive attitude and be ready to console Jett with happy, upbeat words after his game.

Then, some how the intensity grew.  Our boys were attacking the ball, running faster and looked like they were ready to take on these boys.  I could see Jett was putting in his own 110%, and I was so proud.  The whole team, worked hard to keep them from scoring any more goals.  They took several shots on us and our goalie, was great at holding them off.  Then, in a break away we got the ball down the field.  Their goalie had come really far out of the box and we were able to shoot past him and score.  It was exciting!  2-1.  Then, with another break away we did it again.  Same thing, the goalie was out of the box and it was an open shot.  We were looking great!  We had other shots at the goal.  We were keeping up with them!  It was insanely exciting!  2-2, there it was!  We were more than willing to take a tie against these guys!  

Then halftime!  The wind blew more and drops began to fall on our faces!  I looked over to see Jett putting on the goalie jersey!  My heart sank.  I had just watched our other goalie fight off shot after shot.  I worried that the rain would make shots slip past him, with a wet slippery ball.  With my heart beating out of my chest, I yelled out onto the field "Jett, get a shut out and I'll pay you TEN BUCKS!"  I was a little irrational, and the parents joked about how I had just raised the stakes.  But I know my boy and if he was going to stay focused, bribing him with money is the best bet!  

Jett was doing great, keeping them in the game, not letting anything past him.  THEN, my worst nightmare... PK in the box!  WHAT?!  NOOOO!  I teared up.  The idea of Jett getting scored on because of a PK, was devastating.  A dad close by said, "Hey you can't hold this against him for a shut out.  It's not his fault!"  I watched this tall, tough kid from the other team step up to shoot.  It was him against Jett and tears began to fall.  This was my boy!  He faced him with confidence, smiling even.  Then, he kicked the ball and Jett BLOCKED HIS SHOT!  I jumped out of my chair with excitement, screaming at the top of my lungs!  WHOOO-HOOO!  He had done it!  

The rain was falling.  Our boys were cold.  My heart pounded the rest of the game as shots were taken against Jett.  A couple of CLOSE calls, where I felt my heart drop thinking it had gone in.  He held on and we as a team looked great getting some of our own ALMOST goals.  We did it, we tied the #2 team 2-2!  What an exciting game.  Well, worth every cent of those ten bucks!   

 

3-02-2015

Well, that was absolutely fabulous.  Week one down and I feel great!  It's actually fun to get up and do the 30 min work outs and eat healthy.  I'm enjoying myself.  I am happy, giddy almost because I'm getting results.  Not just on the scale but in inches as well.  In one week, my least favorite part of my body (my arms) shrunk a whole 1/2 inch.  Shirts and sweatshirts that were tight on my arms actually have some breathing room.  I need to do some descent before/after pictures so you can all see my journey play out.  My stomach is firmer, my legs and butt are too.  My jeans feel baggy now in the butt area and before this I was uncomfortable wearing them even a half day and unbuttoning them when I'd sit down.  Guys, this meal plan and work out absolutely works!!!  Never thought I'd be one to proclaim it so much.  But because, I am on the complete other side of being down and depressed and stuck in the snowball of eating because I was depressed, I want to jump up and down.  Those people that would talk about feeling so much better and having energy and not forgetting so much, used to just drive me nuts.  I didn't believe them.  I had never felt that and I felt like I had eaten healthy and worked out enough in my life that I should feel that.  So I thought it was a hoax.  Now, it's me saying those things.  I have energy, I feel amazing, I sleep great, I have more confidence, I am kinder to my kids even cause I feel better about myself.  I won't go on and on like I could, but wanted to write this down, cause I want to remember this, just in case I get stuck or fall down again in life as far as health and fitness wise.  This will be my pick me up.  It will remind me that I've done it and felt amazing.  I hope that never happens.  I want to keep going and look and feel fabulous at 40.  It's only a year away!!!! 

  

02-23-2015

Here is a bit of a journal entry cause I really, really want to document this.  So here it is, MY STORY!

It started in June of 2013.  I was at a point in my life where I just wasn't feeling like my efforts of working out in the gym and eating what I called at the time "healthy" was working anymore.  We were in a great place financially and I spent a descent amount of money hiring a trainer and going to Lifetime Fitness all summer.  I was happy to have a place to take all 4 of my kids and they have some fun while I worked out.  Lifetime Fitness has a fabulous play area with a basketball court, outside and inside jungle gym and slides, along with a craft area and computer area.  It was great.  Mindy my trainer taught me a lot about what eating healthy really meant and the importance of healthy fat.  Her words were, "you can't lose fat unless you eat healthy fat."  I did great, working out with her and eating a new way.  I got down a few more pounds and was losing descent inches.  I was wearing sizes I hadn't worn since High School.  I felt so great about myself.

After the summer was over, and my older kids were back in school, my paid workouts with Mindy ran out.  I kept going trying to do what I had been taught.  I took Radd who did not like being left alone in the play area.  He cried each time.  It wore on me.  It made it so difficult for me to go to the gym.  I lost a lot of motivation and I could see I wasn't keeping up with where I was in the summer.  One particular day in October, I took Radd.  He cried all the way there saying, "No gym, CHURCH!"  I remember thinking, "gosh he wants to go to church over the gym, he really hates the gym."  Cause at the time, church was hard for him to sit through.  He was only two years old.  That day, I was on the treadmill and got a call from the play area over the loud speaker.  I was bummed.  That meant I had to go change a poopy diaper, at least in past experiences of being called down.  But this time was different.  This time, his finger had been severed in the play area door.  It changed my life.  I spent the next several months sitting and holding my baby who had been hurt.  I did nothing but sit on the couch and watch shows or read books to him, cuddling him for hours on end.  I didn't go to the gym.  I gained weight.  I didn't care so much about anything.  I was depressed for a good 6 to 8 months.

As I slowly pulled out of being down, I tried here and there to get up early and go to a gym close by before the kids had to go to school.  Not being a morning person, I would make it once or twice in a week, but never enough for it to become a routine.  I believed this was my only option for getting a workout in.  Not willing to take Radd to be watched while I worked out eliminated that option and the fact that my husband works til 7:30pm-8:00pm every night eliminated the evening workout option.  So although I gave it a shot here and there, I wasn't really all in.  I slowly kept gaining weight for the next 6 months.

Thanksgiving and Christmas hit.  Being down about my weight because at this point I had gained ten pounds and was totally out of shape, I didn't go light on eating during the holidays.  I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.  I chowed.  It's the snowball affect.  Being down about my weight caused me to eat and that just made it worse.

January 1, 2015... The start of a new year.  The start of a whole new me!

I decided it was time.  I was in a place mentally to make the change completely!  I committed to losing the 18lbs (and 6 inches around my waist) I had gained since October 2013.  I had a calender ready to journal with, jotting down what I ate, keeping track of my work outs etc.  I did it.  I got to the gym early, before kids went to school, 5 days a week.  I started eating much better, not perfect, but better.  I felt my body getting stronger cause I was SO weak.  Then the third week of January, my Smart family jumped on the get fit bandwagon.  We all signed up for a 12 week challenge online and took our before pictures.  I was happy to have more support in this.  It helped.  Then after six weeks of working out and eating now pretty close to perfect, I was deflated.  My weight for 6 weeks had remained pretty much the same.  I knew I had gained a descent amount of muscle, but that only goes so far.  Yes my jeans fit better, but to have given it THAT MUCH EFFORT and to only be down a pound or two was so discouraging.  What was wrong with me?  It was then that I decided to ask my lifelong friend Lindsey Johnson to help me.

Her story... I've known her my whole life and have known her to be a fitness queen.  She works out 6 days a week for an hour and looks incredible.  She runs marathons and is in incredible shape.  I followed her recent posts about becoming a Beach Body coach and that in six weeks she lost 8.5lbs.  Not only had she lost weight but she went from 1 hour work outs to 30 minute work outs.  My thoughts were, "WHAT THE HECK!  In my six weeks, I lost maybe a pound and I'm fat compared to her."  She wrote things about being in the best shape of her life and feeling amazing.

We are close friends, enough that I felt comfortable asking her for help.  That's half the battle.  I have two other friends who I have watched post things on Facebook about being Beach Body coaches, but I've never had any inkling to talk to them about it.  I just don't know them well enough to get that personal with them about my weight and struggles.  So, I went over to her house a couple weeks ago to get the low down on this program.  I wanted to find out if it was doable.  I know my limits and I know what I can handle.  I wanted to see if this was something I could do.

Talk about perfect timing and the perfect fit.  My gym membership at Crossroads Fitness was coming to an end.  I didn't want to have to pay to enroll again and pay a bunch of money.  So instead, I jumped on the bandwagon.  I signed up.  I'm a Beach Body Coach!  I am doing this and have never felt so great!  I am happy.  I feel great.  I do a 30 minute work out at home.  I drink Shakeology shakes which is my healthiest meal of the day.  I get my vitamins and probiotics in one drink.  I started with a 7 day detox (I lost three pounds) and today I started my 21 day fix program.  I am down a total of 8lbs since Jan 1 and have 10 to go to get to where I was working out with Mindy my trainer.  My clothes are starting to fit again.  I feel amazing and I can't wait to see where I'm at in 21 days.  One of my main questions was, "I LOVE pounding it out at the gym, can I really do the at home work outs?"  The answer is YES and it's amazing.  For example, this morning I slept in.  I didn't make it up early enough to do the work out before my kids went to school.  Normally, this would be a lost opportunity to get a work out in for the day.  After they went to school, I got Radd busy with something that I knew would occupy him for 30 minutes, went and set up my video in the other room and got my work out in.  I am thrilled to have gotten it in.

I wanted to post my story so that anyone that is interested can see where I come from.  I was an elite gymnast.  I like working out.  I like being in shape.  I went back to my 20 year high school reunion last summer and hooked up with old team mates.  Team mates that are in ridiculous shape and made me feel so chubby.  I look forward to the day I can hook up with them again and not feel this way.  I know that I can get in the best shape of my life and be looking fabulous at 40!  Today is day 1 of my 21 day fix and I can't wait to post my results.  Stay tuned!

    

1-6-2015

This kid LOVES Skylanders!  It was the incentive needed to get him potty-trained.  It only took being strong and consistent with our words when saying he could play Skylanders after he went pee-pee in the toilet.  We've mastered day time, and we're about half way there staying dry at night.  Can't believe my baby is getting so big!

11-14-2014

It just felt like the right thing to do today!  I love to bake!  When the weather turns gloomy and cold something whispers to me that it's time to break out the recipes and go to town.  Thank you Pinterest!  Right?  Although, sometimes Pinterest overwhelms me with SO many great recipes to try.  Which one should I start with?  Today, after seeing my mound of Costco Honeycrisp apples, I decided to start here...  And since Jett has been home all week coughing his lungs out, I decided one of his favorites might help him feel better, spirit wise anyway...

Apple Crisp!

My house already smells amazing.  Hope it tastes just as great!

11-13-2014

Potty training... not my favorite thing in the world.  I've been avoiding it (kinda) and secretly hoping he'd just train himself.  I think I'm going to have to put SOME effort into this.  With the weather gloomy (not wanting to go outside anyway), I might as well stay in and advance the process a little.  He's been telling me when he goes in his diaper, we've gone several times in the toilet so it's basically time to tie it all together.  The main reason for avoiding this is the fact that he hasn't wanted to put on "big boy underpants."  Today, after changing him, I just slipped them on.  Yes, there was a fight and he got mad, but with a little distraction and convincing him to wear them for "just 5 more minutes," we've gone hours with them on and we've already made one successful trip to the bathroom.  I think this calls for a picture.

11-12-2014

Three out of four got strep last weekend.  As a result of strep, the ends of Radds fingers began to peel.  He noticed and did not like it.  He didn't like using his hands.  Every time he looked at them, he would exclaim, "my fingers are falling off."

10-31-2014

This years October/Halloween was on the low end of effort for me.  We didn't make it to a pumpkin patch, dress up and go to Gardner Village like in years past, nor did I do anything special with Halloween costume pictures.  The kids picked their own costumes and even those required very little effort on my part.  I was hoping to get Radd in his Race Car driver hat, racing around in his car, but even that didn't happen in the way that I had hoped.  Sometimes, it's about just getting through the month and not over doing it.  As for the evening of Trick or Treating, we went to Darin and Jill's and because the weather was unseasonably warm we were able to trick or treat for hours!  The kids had a great time!  That's all that really matters in the end.  That THEY enjoyed it!

 

10-25-2014

Murray Max U9 Boys Orange Team takes first place in their division!!!  It was quite the season!  It being Jett's first year of club soccer, the expectation was low.  So with each win after win, it was incredibly exciting.  As the season got closer to the end, we realized there was a chance to take first or second place, meaning we would move up a division.  That suddenly became the goal and it was within reach.  It came down to a few nail biters.  We pulled it off and the last game of the season was against the #2 team.  If we won or tied, we kept our first place position.  If we lost, we took 2nd place.  It started out looking like we were bound for 2nd place.  They came out intense and scored two goals right away.  Then a third and I quietly told myself to not show any sense of sadness, cause this was still amazing to be a brand new team and make it to the #2 spot.  Then with a bit of luck, on a corner kick, the other team, scrambling to avoid us scoring, kicked it in for us.  It was then 3-1.  I felt like maybe that would rattle them a little and we could play off of that.  The kids kept their heads up and played hard.  Their team, or should I say #99 was starting to walk, and looked tired.  I could see he put all his energy into the first 10 minutes but now was dead.  Hope started creeping back into my head.  And suddenly we scored!  It was now within reach... a tie kept us in first place!  One goal, it's all we needed.  Jett had an amazing kick at the goal and it hit the post.  Dang it.  A couple other close ones and then BAM, we did it... we scored and tied the game.  Then it was a matter of holding on for a few long minutes and that was it!  FIRST PLACE!

I being the party girl that I am, put together some "Sweet Success" treat bags, Orange Crush and ORANGE donuts!

  

9-14-2014

Radd is THREE!  Without any planning, I decided I needed to take some pictures of him now that he's THREE!  I asked Neils if he'd go with me to help me get a few.  We threw on some clothes and ran around the corner to Home Again near Gardner Village.  Dad posed him and told him what to do.  Picture perfect!

9-2-2014

The boys are a year older!  It was Jett's birthday yesterday and it's Radd's birthday today. 

After school and before running out the door for soccer practice, I insisted Jett go throw on a different shirt and meet me out back so I could take a few pictures of the boys together.  It makes for one crazy busy weekend, Labor Day and both their birthdays, but crazy is fun for me!  These boys really do LOVE each other!  It's sweet!