Competition: Week 2

Wow, what a difference a week makes!

Last week I was struggling to stick to my diet, and struggling to fit exercise in to my schedule. But this week...I was in The Zone! Katie and I often talk about "The Zone." It's the feeling you have when both mental and physical efforts work together flawlessly to produce weight loss. Some days (and weeks) it is hard to not eat 1200 calories...before lunch! And other days (and weeks)...when you are in "The Zone" it is hard to make yourself eat 1200 calories in your entire day!

This was definitely a week when I was gifted The Zone! Eating healthy came naturally. Avoiding destructive foods was EASY! (WHAT!?) I journaled everything I ate and the calorie count in my notebook, every day. I planned out my exercise for the week...and I stuck to it! I worked out 6 days this week, and I was perfect on my diet every day! I hope "The Zone" sticks around...instead of the rolls on my belly!

One interesting fact for the week...

This week marked the 1 year anniversary of my YMCA membership. I have never regretted purchasing this membership, and I am so glad that I have put it to good use! There are so many things that we buy...play with for a little while...and then forget about. This was not one of those things. This gym membership was the single most important tool to my marathon training...this gym membership introduced me to my old love, "Zumba," and my new love, "Spin." This gym membership provided an opportunity for me to grow closer to 2-B by working out together on a regular basis...and meet up with other friends at the gym as well (shout-out to Katie & Kathy!) I feel good about the fact that I have been serious about my physical activity for a year. :0)

I was reminded about how much I love my gym membership this week, when I had to workout at home one day because Wyatt had gotten sick. I brought out my exercise ball, and I popped in my workout DVD. Everything went South after that. :0( I was interrupted every 5 minutes...because someone wanted a piece of paper to draw on...someone needed me to wipe them...someone was hungry...someone was thirsty...someone was in someone elses room..."someone" was fighting with "someone" else...it was AWFUL! It was SO distracting! This was a DVD that came with the exercise ball, and I had never opened it...for over 2 years...until then. It is hard enough to try something new even when you aren't distracted! I was miserable! Sooooo, when you are completely frustrated...and overwhelmed...and you have only had three and a half hours of sleep from the night before...AND when you are working out and your resistance band that you were stretching across your back, slips up and catches your hair into a PAINFUL knot, that WILL NOT COME OUT...



...you cry.

But then...you take a deep breath...patiently work your hair out from around the band (for over 15 minutes!!!)...and GET BACK TO WORK!

Total weight loss after week 2: 7 pounds. :0)

Eh, Whatcha gonna do???

This was a week of mostly ups...and then one down(er).

Friday was just an AWFUL day. :0( I couldn't sleep the night before, and so after finally falling asleep at 1am, I was woken up by Wyatt screaming from the bathroom at 4:30am...I went in there to find him up throwing up. Such a bummer! After manning that situation, I went back to sleep only have Beatrice wake up 15 min later and say she was up for the day. We then found a leak under our kitchen sink that had made a huge mess of the stuff that was stored under there...since Wyatt was sick, I opted for an at-home workout, to which I was reminded why my gym membership is PRICELESS (childcare!)...I drove all the way to the store, only to find out that I had left my list and coupons back at the house...the kids and I laid down to take a nap, and wouldn't you know it, just as I was drifting off, the plumber showed up to fix the leak...and after driving to Sea World on Friday night for the much anticipated members-only premiere of their holiday festivities, we found that everyone else in San Diego County was looking forward to doing the same thing (both the I-8 freeway and the I-5 freeway was STACKED!) so we decided to scrap that plan, turn around, and we ended our day with a 2nd (pancake) dinner at IHOP with Grammy...





Pretty much the only thing I found funny about Friday was at 4:35am...after Wyatt had just thrown up, he asked, "Mommy, does this mean I don't have to do my math book today?" Being the mean mom that I am, I wouldn't let him off of the hook just yet. I replied, "Let's just wait and see." An hour an a half later, he threw up again...and afterwards he asked, "NOW, do I get to not do math?" HAHAHAHA! "Yeah buddy, I think you get to not do math today." (However, I did still make him take his spelling test.) But wouldn't you know it, he never threw up again for the rest of the day!

Alright, now that the negative is out of the way, lets talk fun stuff!

We had a last minute playdate with some of our favorite people this week. My sister and her kiddos came to our house, and we played at the park in our complex...





All of the boys' faces in this picture CRACKS ME UP!...



Beatrice found some discoveries...



And captured a few of those "discoveries" in her bug catcher...



Grammy showed up too!...



And Jenni hopped on Brady's bike...



Only to immediately fall off of it...hahahahaha!!!...



But then she figured it out! :0)....



In the kitchen this week, Beatrice helped me every (EVERY) morning with my breakfast (whether I wanted her help or not)...



And Wyatt helped me get started on making the turkey cookie favors for the kids at our Thanksgiving...





We played LOTS of games...







And on Thursday...one week before Thanksgiving...we had family movie night! My pick was A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and Rick's pick was the Thanksgiving episode of the Brady Bunch. There was watching...



And then there was cuddling. :0)...



And as always, Wyatt was busy drawing. It looks like he is expanding his horizons on "Creative Lettering"...



And finally, we went to my friend Katie's Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser...



In school this week, we had lots of fun with our new science kit that was gifted to us. We made and then combined colored water...





And then we found, observed, and discussed...a bug...



This kit is really neat, and has MANY more experiment ideas for us to try. This is a great kit for Beatrice's age...however, I have had my eyes on an AWESOME science kit for Wyatt! I have a feeling Wyatt might be getting it for Christmas this year. ;0)

In addition, this week, Beatrice focused on the shape of an oval...



She found some in my bag of treasure...





And she learned about the letter "O"...



It's a rather tasty letter to learn about...



Our craft involved both the shape of an oval, and the letter "O"...an Octopus!...



That looked like jelly fish!...Eh, whatcha gonna do??? Oh well....



And finally, in our study of the United States, we learned about the 9th state of our Union...New Hampshire!



We read about the factories that were built in the state...and that even children had to work long hours in them. We learned all about a religious group, "The Shakers"...they were a fascinating people! We also learned that New Hampshire is called "the Granite State"...they have huge deposits of this stone...and their state capitol building is made of none-other than...granite! :0)

We also learned that New Hampshire holds a Moose festival every year. You can eat a moose burger...or moose stew...neither sounded appetizing to us! But we did research "moose calling"...



And then tried it out for our self...





In learning about each of these states, the history is obviously RICH in focus of Native Americans. Seeming as though Thanksgiving is fast approaching, we decided to put more of our attention on the Native Americans this week, than in prior weeks. We first worked with clay...





And attempted to make things that the indians would have made...







I had hoped to go to the grocery store to find a large box for the kids to construct into a canoe...but would you believe...one was delivered to our house! Bea's new bookcase for her room arrived, and this box provided MUCH entertainment!





...but was never used as a canoe, HAHAHAHA!...eh, whatcha gonna do...oh well.

Biggest Winner...Naaaah, Loser

These days, things have been pretty bleak when it comes to "Elizabeth" and "weight loss." In fact, I don't think I can even use those two terms together in the same sentence, lol!

Here's an update on this aspect of my life...

I didn't make the time to blog about it, but about a month ago, my sister Jenni had given me their extra supplies of "Medi-Fast" that her and her husband weren't going to be using. I had never done a meal-supplement diet before, and since they were just giving me the stuff, I thought I would give it a whirl. The first few days were pretty easy. You are always excited about being on a new diet...you are hopeful. But by day 4, I was CRABBY-Crabberson, by day 5 I was making a delicious state dinner that I had no part in enjoying, and by day 7 I was at a birthday party with tempting food, and an AMAZING cake that I was not able to eat. It was a bummer.

But in those 7 days, I did manage to lose 11 pounds...so that was pretty cool. But like a LOSER, on day 8, I had a weak moment, and decided to eat something NOT on the diet (for the life of me, I can't remember what that was now), which then resulted in me deciding to take the rest of the day off of the diet.

On that day, someone who was quite familiar with the diet, had told me, "Oh no! You shouldn't have gone off of it! You will never be able to go back on it!"

I thought she was full of beans. I mean, does she know who I am!? (Yes, she literally does.) I have will power! I can do ANYTHING I put my mind to!

Except...she was right.

Monday, I tried to get back on it...I failed by 10am.

Tuesday, I tried to get back on it...I failed by 10am.

Wednesday...I knew I had MOPS (and the MOPS breakfast buffet)...I didn't even try, lol!

It was so frustrating. She was so right. In the week of doing the diet, all of the Medi-Fast food tasted totally edible and satisfying. But after I had tasted my temptations, I wasn't able to hack the Medi-Fast food again. :0(

I wasn't totally broken up about the Medi-Fast thing not working out though...I have never been a fan of meal-replacement diets. I don't think it's real life. And therefore, I don't think they are helpful in the long run (and apparently for me, even in the short term, lol).

But what I WAS bummed about, is that I had gained back those 11 pounds in the next 2 weeks! :0(

Prior to me even starting the Medi-Fast diet, I had signed up for a Biggest Loser weight loss competition that a friend of mine was hosting on facebook. The competition wasn't going to be starting for another month, but it was always looming in my mind. It was only $10 to participate, and since no one else I knew was participating in this competition, I figured, who cares if I lose...the only thing I'm out, is my $10.

But unfortunately, I made the mistake in telling my friend Katie about this competition, lol. Once I casually mentioned to her what I was going to be doing, she immediately wanted in! And not only did she want in, but she advertised it on her facebook, to which multiple mutual friends became interested in the competition as well. Oh goodness, the pressure, lol. There was more than just my $10 at stake now...there was also my pride, HAHAHAHA!

We all weighed-in last weekend, and the competition goes for 8 weeks...our final weigh-in is January 8th.

I think this is the best and the worst time of year for a weight loss competition. On one hand, I already have 8 parties/special-events to go to in December, how am I NOT going to indulge at those parties!? But on the other hand, I have 8 parties to go to in December...do I really want to be fatter than I am right now come January!?

So we'll see how this all works out.

This past week was the first week of the competition. I was sometimes "bad"...but mostly good (in comparison to what I have been in recent months), but there is definitely room for improvement. At the end of this first week, I am down 3 pounds.

Starting tomorrow (because all serious diets start on a Monday, haha!) I HOPE to be hardcore! I hope to stick to my allotted calories, and make it to the gym 5-6 days this week.

With 22 people in this competition...and namely Katie (the weight loss competition QUEEN!!!) I honestly don't think I will win. HOWEVER, I REALLY don't like the direction my scale has been going in these days, and I REALLY REALLY REALLY would like to be successful in my weight loss endeavors again.

The training for the Tinkerbell Half Marathon also started this past week, and I would love it if I were much fitter on race day!!!

I'll keep you posted. :0)

Mischief, Marvels, and Miracles

What a fun week we had (I feel like I start off every blog post with that, lol)!

The week kicked off with the kids and I heading up to Escondido, where I watched my 2 nephews, and my niece while my sister and her hunny were off celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary. The kids and I always enjoy it when we get to baby sit their cousins for an extended period of time. The kids love it because their "playdate" is pretty much never ending...and I love it, because my sister has a wonderfully large home. :0) Now, don't get me wrong....I LOVE our little condo that we live in...especially on cleaning day (little space = smaller amount to maintain)! But occasionally, it's fun to be in a great big house, where everyone can spread out...and with 5 kids, it's nice for the noise (giggles and laughter only, OF COURSE...NOT!) to be dispersed amongst multiple rooms. PLUS they have a backyard...a backyard with grass and a play-structure...KEY component to not losing your mind with that many littles in one house! :0)

Unfortunately though, there was quite a bit of rain on the night we arrived, and the backyard was a mud pit! :0( I had to get creative...what was I going to do with no backyard...and with 5 kids!?

On the first day, we went to The Wild Animal Park...ahem, OK, now it's called, The Safari Park...







And after a LOT of walking, I thought it was GENIUS to take the kids on the 35 minute tram ride...you know!?...they would all be contained! But, my best idea was probably the worst idea! The kids wanted nothing to do with sitting still! The baby was adamant about not sitting still, and the rest of the "monkeys" were whining and wiggling also. I felt so bad for the passengers that were actually WANTING to enjoy the tram ride! If we hadn't been taken out into the middle of AFRICA, I would have totally scrapped the idea...admitted that I made a bad decision, and moved on. But nooooo...I was trapped...WE were trapped!...I had to OWN my decision for thir.ty.five. minutes. Sigh.



After we got off of the tram we headed straight for the play structure...and lunch! You can't go wrong with that combination! We stayed there for the next hour, lol...and then went home.

On the 2nd day...we stayed home. Lol. But, "Fun Auntie" did pack a bag of crafts with her. After I read the kids 2 of the Thanksgiving books I brought, we got BUSY! :0)

We made "What we are thankful for" collages...





And, decorated some Indian...ahem, Native American...head gear...





In addition, we ate meals together (of course!)...



("I can cut my own pancakes Auntie Cheech"...with his fork...)



I discovered my kiddos sleeping together, not once...



But TWICE!...



Some of us still had school to do...



Some of us HAD to be put in timeout...



And ALL of us went out for ice cream!...





Even without the use of the backyard, we managed to have a WONDERFUL (and exhausting) time together! :0)

Because of our time with extended family, we did "required" school work only this week...which meant, no study of the United States, and no organized school for Bea. However, Bea did get put to work! ;0)

She did lots of cooking...



She was Director of "Operation: feed the birds"...





And we had an intense game of "Hello Kitty Memory" (that consisted of mostly crying...on her part, not mine...although, listening to her keep crying over a game that she REFUSED to walk away from, almost brought me to tears also, lol)...



Wyatt was also busy "working" this week. He had chores...





He had his weekly piano lesson...



Puzzles to put together...



And self-portraits to take...



But in all seriousness, he did actually do some "paid" work this week. My previous bosses had asked me if I would package their ornaments that they mail out at Christmas time, and I agreed to do this. While I was working, Wyatt asked if he could help. After thinking about it for a half-second, I said, "Sure!" I wish I would have thought about him helping me a lot sooner! There were about 500 mailers, and he helped me with the last 75. He did an excellent job! I plan to pay him a few dollars once I get paid. :0)



Some highlights for me...

In my MOPS group this week, in honor of Veteran's Day, we all contributed items to box up and mail to our deployed troops. I was astounded by the generosity of our group! We had only planned to mail out 5 boxes, but we collected enough product to double that!





I started and finished one book...



And I am 4 chapters in to a second book!...



In "together time"...we went to church (serious pictures are so hard to come by these days!)...





We planted MINI pots...





We survived 11-11-11 @ 11:11am...and 11:11pm...





And, we witnessed a miracle in our home...a REAL miracle!...at least Rick and I think it was! While it was raining last Sunday, we all kept smelling something burning in our house. We canvased the house a few times, and found nothing out of the ordinary, and so we decided it must be the neighbors having fires in their firplaces or something. But after smelling the smell for over six hours, SIX HOURS I TELL YOU, I went to turn off the light in Beatrice's room, and I found her puppy laying on top of her lamp/light bulb! :-0 I am SHOCKED that this puppy did not catch flame! I am GRATEFUL that this puppy did not catch flame!!! OH MY WORD! The only casualty suffered, was the puppy itself. The kids thought it looked "SCARY!" and it had to be thrown out. :0(



Thank you Lord for the laughter in our hearts...your provision for my family...and your protection for our home.