Workout update

When I purchased my treadmill from Nordic Track I also purchased the "Loose weight with Jillian" iFit card 3 pack. Each card has 24 programed workouts (8 weeks worth) and Jillian coaches/motivates you during each one (the card is programed to adjust your speed and incline and it works without you doing a single thing besides pushing the start button).


- Jillian Michaels... the mean-as-a-bear trainer on The Biggest Looser (my favorite reality tv series) -

Today I did the last workout from the level 1 card. Level 1 was a good place to start but overall was easier than I expected and I hope to get more of a challenge from level 2. I work out 4-5 times per week switching off between a treadmill workout and weight resistance training with some dvds I have. Here is a list of what I have accomplished over the past 10 weeks;

• I have lost 10 pounds
• I have overcome a weight plataeu
• I can now jog an 11 minute mile (I started out with a 14 minute mile)
  
• I haven't gone down a size yet, but my pants definitely fit me better (and go on much easier, even straight from the dryer)
• I am feeling much improved, physically, from where I used to be.

It is exciting to see my work pay off. I know that if I got my diet under better control I would see results even faster, but I just don't have the self control for that yet. Food is a constant battle for me. I do well getting in my fruits and veggies and I eat healthy snacks and well rounded meals.. it is the sweets that get me! They are my down fall.

I have to give a shout out to my friend Angela (AGshorty). She and I are long-distance workout buddies and it is so wonderful to have someone to go through this with and to check in with every day. It has motivated and strengthened me so much. Thank you, Angela!

We are going to California for the Turner reunion on June 19-20. That is 11 weeks away (80 days to be exact) and I'm using that as a short term goal and hope to loose another 10 pounds by then. I average a 1 pound weight loss every 10 days and I hoping to rev that up to 1 pound per week. When I reach that goal I will be just under what I weighed when I got pregnant with Daniel. Reaching your pre-pregnancy weight is always a BIG milestone so I'm looking forward to that.

8 months old

Daniel is now 8 months old. He is growing and changing quickly and I'm trying hard to enjoy the time I've got with him while he is still a baby. I took these pictures today;


George keeps getting smaller and smaller


Such a cute face!


I got all artsy with this shot. I'm always impressed when I can take a good picture, it happens maybe 1 out of every 100. - awe.. just look at those lips! so precious -

Fun times

I took these on Saturday night. It is so fun to see my boys next to each other and that they are starting to play together (a little bit). I look at the back of Daniel like in these pictures and it reminds me of when Jacob was that small and then I think that it wasn't that long ago and now look at him.. he's a little boy! Sheesh.



These pictures I took on Sunday morning. It is our tradition to make muffins for breakfast and Jacob is a very willing helper, especially when it comes to licking the beater. (These are chocolate chip muffins that I baked in a muffin top pan.. because the muffin top is the best, right? The "naked" looking one on the top right is a muffin without chocolate chips for Brent, who doesn't like chocolate chips).

A blessing

If you know us you know how long we have had a really tiny little table (used to be an office table and is not your standard sized round table, it is small!) and folding chairs to sit on. I have longed for a dining room table since even before moving to Oregon and we have just never been able to afford even a used set in the style we like.

- Here is a picture taken when we were eating MRE's that John sent us for a FHE activity, you can see most of it and how small it is in relation to Brent -


Well, this past Tuesday I was watching the kids of my friend and when she dropped them off at my house (I'm sure seeing my dinky table) she asked if I would be interested in a table and chairs (for free). She said it belong to her husband's grandfather and has been in their attic for years. It is round and seats 4 and then there is a leaf insert to seat 6. I of course got all excited and said yes. Her husband brought it over that night. I was amazed and pleasantly surprised by the condition and quality of the set and that it is almost exactly like what we have wanted. It is all solid wood! Yesterday I spend over an hour cleaning it and only got the table and one chair done (it was really hard work and took 3 separate water buckets just for the table and 2 buckets for one chair). I took pictures even though it isn't completely cleaned up yet because I am just so excited to show all of you. Once I am done scrubbing it down it will need a good polishing (which again will be hard work). I know this set is worth at least $200 and there was no way we could afford a dining set anytime soon, so my labor is a willing price to pay to have this. What a blessing! Check it out;


- Without the leaf. (Jacob is happily showing off his new booster seat we got that day) -


- With the leaf -
(she only had 4 chairs so I will search to get two more, luckily there is a sticker on the bottom of one that gives a model number and the manufacturer info - until then we will continue to use our folding chairs when we have guests over)


- A cute picture of my boy that is just as excited as I am -

It's been a while...

I went and got my stitches out on Tuesday and was informed I had a desmoid tumor which is just a bunch of fibrous tissue that can accumulate when there was trauma to the area like a bug bite or pimple. Since it was on my shin and I've never had a pimple there I think it must have been from a bug bite. I'm glad it wasn't anything worse. I also have a mild case of eczema. Joy.

Tonight I am teaching a mini-class at enrichment on budgeting. I've been working hard on it and I'm excited to see how it goes. Also, I am on a really big food storage kick right now and I'm really having fun with it. I found this blog about food storage and this is what drew me in. Watch the 10 min video she put up on Jan. 25th, I found it helpful and motivating. This is such a fun blog to look at and I was immediately drawn into it, it is so addicting.

I have consistently worked out for 5 days a week since the beginning of the year and my weight is stuck. I was seeing about a 1 pound weight loss every 10 days and now I have reached a plateau. I know we all have several weight plateaus and it means I just have to work extra hard to get over it.. but I'm still bummed out by it. Side note: I'm really enjoying my new treadmill.

Let see.. the kids are both doing well. Except that Jacob keeps hitting his head. He doesn't watch were he is going and will run into walls, car doors, fall down the last few stairs.. you name it. He has had two really bad hits in the last week that gave him big goose eggs on his forehead. They look awful and I have to keep explaining what happened to him, lest I be accused of child abuse or something. So far today he has run into a wall and hit the side of his head, let's see how the day progresses.

Bad news: the medical bills just keep coming and keep piling up. I find it very depressing.

Brent is the same old. He doesn't do much.

The dermatologist

Today all four of us went in to get checked out. It started out as an appointment for Daniel, then I scheduled us all to be seen as each of us had something that needed to be checked or done.

Daniel (our little cheetah) because of all the spots and vacillations on his head, neck, face and back. I was told the large spot on his crown is a port wine stain (type of birth mark) and all the spots are also birth marks. She said most would fade but others would most likely remain.

Jacob was diagnosed with Atopic dermatitis which is a type of eczema, luckily his is a mild case. This is a hereditary hypersensitivity of the skin. My dad and myself have sensitive skin, so it looks like it is being passed on another generation. The good news is that he will most likely grow out of it and simply have sensitive skin as an adult (vs. the rash/bumps/dry patches he has now that need to be treated with special creams).

I was going in to have my skin looked at also. When I was pregnant with Daniel I had a patch of eczema on my right leg flare up and it is back. My prescription cream wasn't working so she gave me a prescription for something stronger. Also, I had a few moles on my right leg I wanted removed because I keep nicking them when I shave. Well, she looked at one and said that it wasn't a mole but a tumor! So right then and there she numbed me up, removed it and stitched the skin closed (3 stitches!). She is sending it in for biopsy and I go back in 12 days to have the stitches removed and find out what it was. YIKES. I'm glad it bothered me enough to have it looked at. I would have never known the difference.

We had to pay $80 in copays to have all of us seen, but I'm really glad we have access to medical care and treatment. And the money to cover the cost. I am overwhelmed by how much medical stuff I have going on continuously, it all just seems a bit too much.

Daniel's 6 month check up

I took him in for his 6 month check up today. He is looking great and exactly right where he should be developmentally. He got 3 vaccinations and is sleeping right now (poor boy).

Body Length: 28.5" (96%)
Weight: 20.5 lbs. (90%)
Head Circumference: 46 cm (95%)

Neither Jacob or Daniel had a head circ. above 70% until now - so I'm kinda excited about that. His weight is down a little, but because he is so large and it wasn't a lot of weights loss she wasn't worried. He still only nurses and I just barely got him started on pears, so maybe that's why. Or maybe it's because he cut his second tooth this past Saturday, who knows. Also a result of his teething, his sleeping is unpredictable and I'm exhausted as a result of it. We are trying to help him get back in a schedule and he is fighting back pretty hard, stubborn boy.

Overall he is doing so well and I am so pleased to have him and to be his mom.