losing it | v.3

This week went better than the past two. I have gotten back to tracking, so that has made a big difference. I went for a run two days in a row, Monday and Tuesday, but yesterday and today it just hasn't worked out. I am hoping to get out again tomorrow. Since Paul is in the field and can't watch him, I have to work around Levi's schedule too.

I woke up this morning and was pleasantly surprised with what I saw on the scale, just hoping I could stay somewhat close to that by later in the day for my weigh-in at WW. Well, it was up a pound, so I'm not complaining! I was expecting at least 2-3 lbs higher. Anyways, I decided to just weigh-in and skip the meeting. Levi's been a bit of a stinker the past couple days, and honestly, I just didn't want to deal with trying to contain him for a half hour.

My active link challenge has also begun. On the days I run, I reach it and then some. But on days like yesterday and today, nada. Yesterday I earned 1 activity point, today I am at 0 so far. So I might just make some laps around the house once I finish this to at least get up to 1, ha. :) I guess that is why they call it a challenge!

Speaking of challenges, I decided to join in a challenge on facebook from October 1st-31st. I am going to be doing Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred every day of this month. So wish me luck! I am the worst at sticking with things, so I hope I can do it. I WILL do it! :)

Thursday, September 27, 2012
Today's weight: 151.6
+/- from last week: -3.4
Total loss: -9.8

What I did well this week
- Got a couple runs in...that's more than last week!
- Started consistently tracking again, so far so good for the past 3-4 days.
- Said "No, thank you" to one of my co-worker's wives when she offered us chocolate mocha chip cake....that was a toughie, but I'm proud of myself for somehow spitting the words out and not giving in like normal. Actually, I said no twice. She left two slices in my co-worker's office, and 5 minutes later she asked me if I got some and wanted that piece. Ughhh...
- Had water when we went out to eat Sunday night instead of the normal pop. Which benefited Levi too since he always wants to drink out of my glass, and he does not need pop.
- Only had half a slice of pizza when we ate at my in-laws the other night, since I had already had a breadstick and Levi's crust. Normally I would have still had a whole slice (or two) for myself.

What I did not do well this week
- I made bars on Saturday to bring to the field for lunch, and I may have had one or two 'halves' than I should have...I would cut one in half to eat, then end up eating the other half too. Naughty, naughty! (But they were soooo good! Chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake bars...yummmm.)
- Still didn't get much for work outs in.
- I don't drink enough water when I am home. I know, opposite of a lot of people, but I drink way more at work. Gotta work on that.

Goals for the coming week
- Keep tracking.
- Get at least 3 runs in.
- Starting Monday, do 30DS every night after Levi goes to bed.
- Drink more water on days that I am home.

17 months

A little late again this month...I've had the pics taken for over a week now but haven't gotten around to getting this post done. About time!

The past month Levi has been saying lots more words, I would guess at least one new a day. I mean, they aren't super clear or anything, but he tries to repeat if I say it to him. If he is in the mood that is. I know I have said this before, but I think we are in for an exhausting few years. Whew. He is just...I don't know how to exactly put it...EXHAUSTING. Oh my Lord. Stubborn. Goofy. Moody. Picky. He is just a handful, plain and simple. BUT, we wouldn't want him any other way. I am so excited to watch him grow up, and it seems like it is happening in front of my eyes.

At 17 months::

 Still in size 5 dipes, and 18-24 month clothing.

Size 5 shoes for the most part, he still has really wide, chubby feet.

Has had 3 haircuts, and has another one scheduled next week.

Still can be a picky eater. I think he eats much better at daycare than at home.

COMPLETELY ignores me when I try to take pictures of him. Like, won't even turn his head. If I get lucky and he looks at me, it's usually just the 'Huh?' look....as evidenced above. I just keep trying though. :)

Words he has said...
tractor (track-uh)
car (cah)
duck (cuck)
Katie (Kah-ki)
Josh (Osh)
Grandma (Meh-ma)
Grandpa (Papa)
Cracker (Cackah)
Paw (as in Graham Paw)
Go
NO (This is the one we hear the most, most of the time NNNNNNOO!)
Shoes
Sock
Boot
Hat
Hot
I know I am forgetting a bunch. One of these days I need to just keep a pen and notepad with me and record what he says during the day.

He breathes really heavy at night. A lot of the time he snores, and will catch his breath. Sometimes I worry he's not getting good quality sleep. I did call the dr. about it, and she gave me some allergy medicine to try, but I don't think it helped. We put his humidifier back in there so hopefully that will help too. I've also been putting baby Vicks on him most nights. (He giggles before I even touch him, it's so funny!)

Not a whole lot new from last month. At 18 months I will have his height/weight again.

Couple more pics, and some outtakes! See what I mean? Exhausting!

High Five for Friday

Friday again! This week was pretty ordinary, but last weekend was fun! Lots of driving involved for mwah. Doesn't bother me, but Levi isn't always a fan. Now that we have our Expedition the gas bills aren't so much fun either :/ Anyhoo, here's my five!

1. Jill, Lynn and I ran/walked a 5K in Alexandria. We ran as much as we could, then walked off and on. It was fun, we are hoping to do more in the future and keep improving! Next one might be October in just under a month!

2. Grandma's birthday party. After our 5K Saturday morning, I went down to Renville to pick up Levi (who stayed at my sister's house Friday night), and to go out for supper that evening for my Grandma's birthday party. We went to a new winery that is down by Belview, in the river bottom. Soooo pretty down there, especially in the fall! I tasted a red wine, but wasn't a fan. I'm not a huge wine drinker. It's not a huge place, so our whole crew took up like a quarter of the tables they had. We ordered a bunch of pizzas then dug in! Yum! After supper everyone came back to my mom and dad's to have cake and ice cream. The top pic is of my beautiful grandma Karen and grandpa Jim, bottom left is the front counter of the winery before it got too busy, and bottom right is Levi and I in front of the vineyards.

3. I ordered Levi's Halloween costume. He's going to be a little monster. I thought it was fitting. (from Old Navy.)

4. Levi is saying so many new words now. Seems like he's says something new every day. Just recently he put 'NO' and 'MAMA' together...add the finger pointing and he is Mr. Attitude. I'll try to list them out when I do his 17 month update, which I hope to get posted this weekend sometime!

5. Just a couple videos! (You'll want the sound on the for these MOM! :)

Losing it | v.2

Ugh. This week was not a whole lot better than last week. I tried to track my points. I really did. I'd be thinking about what I was eating, and enter like half of the day, then just say screw it and not enter the rest. It doesn't help that I haven't exercised since we did the 5K on Saturday. Which, by the way, went really well. It was fun and I hope to do more in the future! Maybe actually run a whole one! :) So, no wonder I have felt like a hunk of lard the last few days. Not eating better+not exercising+gassy/bloated tummy=not feeling skinny. Blah.

After my WW meeting today, I am feeling much more motivated. I had a small gain, so I really want to reverse that. Also, at my last meeting I bought an Active Link...kind of like a FitBit except that it works with the Weight Watchers website. I am still in the evaluation phase, but hopefully once I start the challenge it will help me want to stay active and see my progress.

Thursday, September 20, 2012
Today's weight: 155
+/- from last week: +.4
Total loss: -6.4

What I did well this week
- Tracked my points more than last week.
- Completed a 5K with my friend Jill.
- Got started with the Active Link

What I did not do well this week
- Didn't track every day.
- Didn't work out after Saturday.
- Made a bad decision to have 'only one' piece of pizza at lunch today...after I had finished the nice, healthy lunch I had brought for myself.
- Caught myself finishing what Levi didn't eat from his lunch/snacks.

Goals for the coming week
- Continue tracking my points.
- FIND THE TIME to work out.
- Get my motivation back!

High Five for Friday

On time this week! Woohoo! Let's see if I can finish before Levi wakes up from his nap.

1. My mom and grandma came up to visit on Saturday. They spent the afternoon, and it was fun to have them here. We went to the antique store in Morris and found a few things then just hung out at our house for awhile.

2. Levi likes to 'water' the flowers lately. They are all pretty much dead beyond recovery for this time of year, but it's fun to watch him pretend. He shoves the watering can in the flowers and makes a 'shhhh' noise, like the water coming out. He's a smartie.

3. First combine ride of the season. Paul combined a bit of his corn this weekend, so Levi and I went and rode along for a few rounds. He liked it, but he is such a mover that he had a hard time sitting still. As you can see, both boys were thrilled that I had brought my camera along. I will get better ones next time, it was windy and Levi was ready for a nap. Oh well, I tried.

4. Playing outside and I thought this series of pictures was pretty funny.

5. Goodies! I've gotten a bunch of packages in the mail this week! It's a few things I ordered over the past few weeks and everything just came within a couple days. Fun for me! :) Levi and I also went shopping in New London with my mom, grandma and aunt on Tuesday, and that is where the dress in the first pic is from. The second dress I ordered from Target after seeing it on Elise's blog. It is more of a coral color than it looks in the picture. The necklace I got when it was on Very Jane for a super good price. It's a simpler version of the one that's been all over Pinterest. And the last picture is my Bic Band headband....it doesn't move. At all. Super excited to wear it on Saturday for my 5K!

Losing it | v.1

You might have gathered from me mentioning that I joined Weight Watchers and that I am running (??) a 5K on Saturday, that I am trying to lose a few pounds and get a healthier lifestyle. So far it has been going well up until the past few weeks. I sort fell off the wagon with tracking my points and with running, and I'm having a hard time getting back on. I skipped my WW mtg last week because I was scared of what I would see. I went this week and lucked out, I was down a little over a pound. I think that was enough to finally get some motivation going! And with the 5K on Saturday morning, I am hoping that will get me excited about running again. I will admit that I have been missing it.

Anyways, I thought maybe another good way to keep me motivated was to start posting a weekly update about my progress here. I decided Thursdays would be the best day because that is when my WW mtgs are. So I'll have my correct weight from that, and I am going to post what I think I did and did not do well for the week, and what I want to improve on in the coming week.

My starting weight when I began Weight Watchers was 161.4.

Thursday, September 13, 2012
Today's weight: 154.6
+/- from last week: -1.8
Total loss: -6.8

What I did well this week
- Kept portion size in mind even though I didn't track.

What I did NOT do well this week
- Didn't track my points.
- Only worked out once. (I was sick! Stupid cold!)
- Had more than my allotted one can of pop a week.
- Didn't drink as much water as I should have.
- Dished up a bowl of ice cream 'for Levi' so I could 'share'. What?

Goals for the coming week
- TRACK POINTS!
- Run at least 3 times.
- Plan meals for the week.

Another 2-week edition of High Five for Friday

Possibly 3-week...

We have been busy the past couple weekends, so I haven't been able to get a H54F post up. Better late than never right?!

1. Shopping! Sort of, mostly for Levi. My mom, sister, and I (& Levi obviously :) went to St. Cloud last Friday. I wanted to get a few fall/winter things stocked up for Levi in his size from Once Upon a Child, and Katie needed some things too. She didn't find much of anything, but I have Levi pretty well-covered I think. I didn't think to take any pics until the end of the day, but the bottom two are from a quick stop at Cherry Berry frozen yogurt bar for an on-the-way-home treat. I gave Levi his own and he was pretty happy about that, Mr. Independent! The top one is just a shot from the drive home after we dropped Mom and Katie off.

  

2. Labor Day weekend. We went to my grandparents in Raymond for our family get-together. First pic is my brother-in-law Josh and their dog, Maggie, who made herself comfortable on his lap. Second pic is my cousin Skye with Levi. Third pic is just a random shot of the group. Levi spent most of the afternoon half-nekkid because it was so darn sticky...blech. Pretty sure everyone was jealous.

3. Canning tomatoes....ughhhh. So worth it in the winter, but it has been hard to find time this year. The majority of it is done after Levi goes to bed, or if I go to my mom's so she can help me. This batch was for V8 type juice.

4. Caught! Look closely at what he got into. He thought he was pretty sneaky (and funny). Guess mommy didn't put the box far enough back on the counter.

5. FINALLY got my eyebrows waxed. Yes, that totally made my high five for the week. It was beyond time.

Decided to link up with Lauren at From My Grey Desk blog for the first time in quite awhile!

What? A scrapbook page?

Why yes! I have actually gotten a few pages done in the past several weeks. That is now where near catching up, but it's a step in the right direction. I'm only a year behind. Meh. I'm just scrapping the pics that I want to and not going to try and do every little thing. I am really thinking about starting Project Life next year. It's like a simpler, more streamlined way to scrapbook your daily life, and you can make it as easy or detailed as you want. A lot of bloggers/scrappers that I follow are doing it, and it looks like so much fun! So we'll see what happens. I'm mostly just afraid that I'll get behind during busy times and since I like to order my pictures online instead of print them myself. But, I have awhile to think about it.

Anyhoo! I just felt like sharing this page because I really liked how it turned out! Simple, but I love the colors, and it made me happy because it came together really quick. Seems like those are always the pages that turn out the best for me...when I just sit down and go with the flow.

I don't really know the best way to photograph scrapbook pages, so hopefully this is alright.

Looking at those pictures, two things came to my mind. 1) I was extremely puffy. 2) My peanut was so wittle!! And I miss when he liked to cuddle with me instead of try and wiggle off of my lap. Moving on! :)

Hopefully have another 2-week edition of High Five for Friday up later this week. Or has it been 3 weeks? Well, at any rate, it has just been plain busy around here lately. Sad thing is, I couldn't tell you half of what we are doing to be that busy! Time just flies.

little stinker

Just wanted to share a couple videos I took of Levi this morning...