day 2-ripped in 30

Last night, the stars aligned and by 9pm I was able to do day 2 of my workout.  It was easier than day 1, for sure.  I still felt that I might pass out, but the need to vomit had passed.  I still dripped with sweat. Gotta love it.  Chris asked if it is a workout just for women, which I assured him it was not.  I told him to grab some weights next time and join me.  I'm only using 3 pound weights at the moment, because I'm weaksauce!  I'll work my way up to 5s and then 8s.  I figure I'll do this round with 3. and the next 30 days move up etc.  I took a side view shot, because this isn't about losing numbers on the scale.  This is about losing inches. Ok ok, so I'd be excited if the scale read 20 pounds lost ...but really, it would be great not to look pregnant anymore.  Ava said last nigh "Wow mom, you're doing great. Your tummy isn't as fat and looks more like mine." Thanks kid ;) then she prayed that I'd exercise in her bed time prayers. Love her!

I have to say, that Chris Powell, from Extreme Makeover-weightloss and his clients are so inspiring.  I love to watch it.  It's amazing to watch these people change so much in a year.  I mean in 3 months, most of these people are dropping 80-100 pounds.  They are over coming food addictions, physcological triggers that lead to unhealthy habits, and working out multiple hours a day.  When I'm 10 minutes into my dvd and feel like I don't have enough to finish, I think of these amazing people, and Chris Powell's encouraging words to them about believing in onesself and I'm able to finish it out strong.  The script on Ripped in 30 -at least week 1-is pretty hilarious.  Sometimes Jillian even has a hard time getting through it, however, in her cool down I find some wisdom.  "Most people don't show up in their own lives.  Transformation isn't a future destination."  If I want to change, it takes daily effort.  Not every day is going to be perfect.  Not every week is going to be a 6 workout week.  But everyday that I choose to continue, and not give up...is a success.

Awaken The Extraordinary Within You!

Princess Bakery

Ava has been BEGGING me to bake with her.  We used to bake all the time when I was pregnant with Simon. I craved them constantly.  I haven't made them in ages though.  So, we invited her girls over and opened our Princess Bakery.  Maybe it's the sugar high, but I think we should do it once a week.  It was pretty fun!

day 1 week 1.

I decided yesterday, that the perfect night of sleep is not in my near future.  I decided yesterday, that having 4 more months of nursing doesn't mean I can't work out intentionally.  I decided yesterday, that if I could complete the workout circuit with 2 hours of sleep, a swollen knee, and very sun burned thighs....that I have no reason not to complete it every day for the next month. And the month after that. And so on.

And so I began.  Starting weight is 170.  Starting measurements...40. everywhere. I am a tube.  It's very odd to know that my waist is bigger than my husbands. 

I slept like a rock last night!  Sure I had little ones waking me, as I have for the last year.  But, I didn't struggle to find sleep at all.  I dripped sweat last night. It was pretty gross.  I was also 99% sure that I was going to pass out at any moment.  I wasn't able to squat as far as I could a year ago, but this body isn't the body it was then.  I'm not seeking perfection.  I'm seeking healthy.  I want to be able to run with my kids in the park for more than 10 seconds. My twins will be running this winter...and I'd better be ready for it.  My goal is to work out 5 days a week with this program.  I will measure every week and update here.  I'm not able to do the nutrition plan for this program, because I'm nursing two babies, and therefore need to consume a crazy amount of calories, but I will be breaking up with soda and adding more fresh produce to the mix. 

Now, if someone could carry me down the stairs...I'd really appreciate it ;)

declaration

blogging from the ipad....not my favorite thing, but at this hour i really cant be picky. so i think the time has come for me to start working out again. im scared, admittedly. i am sure that im probably in the worst physical shape of my life. having twins does a real number on the body. pair that with a sugar love affair ive been indulging the past 8 months and its no wonder that all of my measurments down the front of me are the same. i should feel stronger than i did a few months ago. after all im carrying two babies at once, and piggy-backing a 3 year old. but honestly, i feel run down and breathless. i have no energy to speak of. true the sleep issues in this house are a factor of my fatigue, but i know its also because i eat a lot of garbage and my veins bleed 85% dr pepper. i bought a jillian michaels dvd. even though her script is rediculous, i love her workouts, because i know its only 2 minutes of cardio at a time. the whole routine is only about 20 minutes and its super effective training for my body. id love to go to a class, but the truth is ill be lucky to find the 25 minutes everyday to do this. so my goals....i dont expect to "be ripped in 30 days." i do hope and aim to stop being horrified by my reflection. to climb the stairs without getting light-headed. to focus on inches lost rather than weight. to go through a 24 hour period without daydreaming of my next sugar fix. i know i cam do this. i have done it before-two years ago. the strength, will power, drive and commitment are all in me somewhere. its time to take back my body!

cabin

 

I have to admit, it's taken me 6 years to fall in love with the Heiner Cabin.  Everyone always talks about how much they love it there, and the wonderful adventures they have.  However, for me, it always meant screaming babies-who refused to sleep in an odd enviornment. Swelling eyes from some random Ava allergy.  Coming home with allergy coughs which turned into colds.  I almost dreaded the cabin.  That is, until last fall.  Maybe it's that my kids were finally old enough to go on walks and explore the child magic found in the woods of the cabin.  Maybe it's that after 3 years I know to start allergy meds 48 hours before we even leave, and administer them religiously while there, sleep in warm clothes and far from windows, or Nat.  Last fall we had a magical cabin weekend. I didn't want to leave.  It was full of moments that I love like Simon and Melyn wandering off hand in hand down dirt trails, family walks to the water to throw rocks, feeding horses ...

This weekend is the summer cabin weekend.  I'm both excited and admittedly scared. How can this weekend possibly measure up to the magic of last year?  I have two new babies to introduce to the cabin.  Will they sleep?  Will they love it?  Will Ava's allergies be calm like last year, or freak out and cause us some medical journeying into the next down?  I hope it is amazing. I hope to discover the diner. The zip line. The creek. You see, there is so much about the cabin I haven't explored.  And this weekend....the adventures continue.

 

uniform debate

I understand the pros of uniforms. Really, I  do.  As a kid that grew up in hand me downs not only from my sister, but from the snobby family, who shall remain nameless, and whos daughter openly mocked me for wearing said hand me downs, I would have loved everyone wearing the same thing. That way, spotting me wearing your old clothes would have been harder.  However, I can't help thinking...as I've spent the past two months looking at different suppliers of uniforms...of how DORKY they can be.  I'm sure there are people that pull them off, hello most teenage boys day dream of a chick in uniform, but I've never really had the flair of effortless fashion.  Effortless weirdo, dork, etc is more my forte.  I may or may not have actually watched some youtubes with titles resembling "how to look cool in a uniform". So much shame.
Chris has always told me that it's all in how a person carries themselves.  Confidence. etc. and if that's true then Ava will be awesome in anything.  I just ........ gah I feel the angst for her.  And as her mom I feel like I'm supposed to guide her but I have such a slight grasp of the world of accessorizing and fashion and feel so entirely not up to the task. So I am making this plea.  It takes a village to raise a child, so I'm calling you out village folk.   If you find a sweater, belt, head band, pants or top that fit in these guidelines and would be awesome...please PLEASE send it to me.  Ava is really excited, but anxious about starting big school.  I want her to feel confident about her style, albeit uniform based, so that she can go in there and shine like the star we all know her to be.

4th of July

This was the first year of many that we did not spend the 4th camping in my parents backyard.  My folks went up to MT this year to celebrate my grandparents 60th anniversary. We will head up there in 2 weeks for a few days.

This was also the first year we have gone to a parade.  Rachel invited us to join them at the Kaysville parade this year.  We met up about 10, and headed over to the sweat fest.  I'm so grateful that I bought the shade tent at costco this year.  I take that thing EVERY WHERE, and once again, it saved the day.  The babies loved hanging out in the shade, watching all the commotion.  Ava and Simon had a blast squirting each other, yelling and waving for candy, and diving for gallons of salt water taffy.  Ava totally scored and ended up with about 20 necklaces compliments of Taco Time.  Even though I was covered in sweat by the end, it was a lot of fun, and I'm so glad we went.

Waiting for the parade to start

After the festivites on Main Street, we headed out to Hooper for a familiy BBQ.  The Godfrey clan was there, as well as Bec and Trav with Bryant.  Later, Annette's family and all her daughters families came out as well.  We had a blast.  Ava was in the pool for 6 hours!  We insisted on a dinner break from 5:30-6, so she could eat and dry out a bit.  As soon as that clock hit 6:00 though, she dove right back in. She cannot get enough of the pool.  Despite layers of sunscreen, she ended up with a pretty bright sun burn on her cheek bones. Thank goodness for sun shirt! I don't even want to THINK about what her back would look like if she'd have been in just a regular suit. (shudder)

Catching some serious AIR!

My new favorite photo of Simon

Oh man...so so red!

truth

Last week, I think my kids and I were only home during the late pm to early am hours.  I purposely had us running around from place to place.  My google calendar was even exhausted.  I've heard several times " I don't know how you do it.  You're always here and there and going from fun thing to fun thing." 

Here's the truth.  As exhausting as it may be to have multiple outings and be gone all day...it's so much less so than being home most of the time.

Why? How?

Well, when I'm home, I'm surrounded by all the things that need done.

1. Toilets. Seriously, the hard water here is creating some nasty rings that only a pair of gloves and a pumice stone will remedy.  This requires at least 5-10 minutes per toilet of no "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM".   And I know the moment I shove my hand into that toilet, at least one-if not two boys will need me immediately, and someone will end up slathered in toilet water. gross.
2. Laundry.  My garage is full of it. Why?  Because, the kids have potty accidents, and then their clothes are in the car. Then the car gets cleaned out into the garage, and the next thing I know, my garage could pass as a laundry room.  I'm excited to say that this morning, I rummaged through the "clean out the car" piles and located said laundry and it's currently in a load of warm water with extra soap and some vinegar.  
3. Dishes. To look at my counter and sink you'd think "eh, that's not so bad." The problem isn't in the kitchen. It's that they are in every OTHER room of the house.  Not to mention, I have no idea whats in the dishwasher or if it's been run lately. 
4. Over all clutter. You know, those happy meal toys that my kids swear they can't live without. $200 of Thomas trains. A colossal amount of crayons. And for some reason about 3 bags of random wrappers and empty boxes Ava couldn't part with that are technically garbage. 
5. The piles of clothes that need to be put into boxes or bags for the DI and then actually transported to the DI.  I think every neighborhood should have a giant dumpster that a DI truck could just come empty every week.  This would really result in me actually donating more items on a regular basis, and really help the laundry situation, as most of the DI pile ends up back in the laundry somehow - washed, folded, and never worn, only to be placed back in the washer. Hate it. HATE IT. 

I could go on, but you see where I'm going with this.  So why sit and blog about it instead of doing something about it? Oh there's the phenomenon.  1st of all, writing it out is cathartic.  It helps me to deal with this, accept that there is indeed a problem, and hopefully let someone else out there know that insanity is all around.  Secondly, the kids don't seem to all need me at once until I'm actually attempting to accomplish something.  We all know how that is.

baptism day

Yesterday morning, my niece was baptized.  It was a great day! We all gathered together for a family picture.  Hopefully with Pams photoshop skills, we can piece together one with everyone looking...until then...here's the best I've found of the bunch.