D-Day

So today is the first day of my challenge... It's 11 weeks long and I have to weigh in every Wednesday. 11 weeks is a long time in terms of eating right, exercise and losing weight, especially with a 3 year old and a 7 week old! I am pretty nervous, but I am going to use this time to eat better, add some kind of exercise to my daily regiment and feel good about myself.

My problem areas are:
My tummy...hence having a baby 7 weeks ago.
My butt
My thighs
My flabby arms

I guess it's safe to say...It ALL needs help! Here are some before pics I took this morning:

6/15/2011 - 176.0lbs
Cardio -Bike Trainer, 30 minutes
Weights - Arms, Ball Squats


Gross! But I guess that is why I'm doing his challenge...
*Yes the naked little girl had to jump in! Ironically, I did not tell her to cover herself ;-)

It's that time again!

Time to get my booty back in shape! You know the drill, every year or so I get really involved and my blog turns into my workout accomplishments, blah blah blah... Well it's that time again! Here I am almost 7 weeks after the birth of my amazingly handsome son --

And I'm ready to get this extra baggage off once and for all! I was doing wonderfully with my running and eating, until I came home to be with my precious little girl. I never had any time to get outside, then as you remember, I got pregnant...God had bigger plans for that sweet baby, but I never seemed to lose extra weight I put on. Then in August of last year I became pregnant again and that puts me where I'm at today! With two beautiful children and about 20 to 30 pounds over weight, but it is all so worth it!!! Now I am only about 4 pounds from my "pre-pregnancy" weight, but I want to go further than that, physically and athletically. This is my time, if I can find that precious time to actually do it ;-)

I have many challenges ahead of me:
First and foremost is Breastfeeding! I do not want to jeopardize this.
Next is time, I will have to be dedicated to in-home workouts. I have my bike on a trainer and videos to do the rest...however I have to do them for it to actually work!

So in order to get me started and all gun-ho about exercise again...I decided to sign up for a weight loss challenge; Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans Burst into Summer Challenge!

I am placed on a team with complete strangers who are all working towards the same goal...To shrink their jeans. In the end the team with the most weight loss percentage wins, not sure what they win, but they win! I feel this will really help me to be accountable to myself because I hate to let people down. My girlfriend Mae Anne is the one who found this challenge and is doing it as well! I am excited to be able to share my progress with her and all of you, if I still have readers ;-) My goal is to record my days and weekly weigh-ins here as well. It could get ugly, folks! I may even post some really awful pictures...YIKES! Some posts may be really long and some really short, but it helps me to write it all down.

So please encourage me and I hope to encourage you as well! BTW, this starts tomorrow ;-)

Few and Far Between...

I just don't feel like I have a lot to say these days... But I for some reason I feel like I need to do a blog post today, so here we go!

Life has been pretty busy lately, which is a great thing because I'm almost 39 weeks pregnant and in total shock that I'm still carrying this little bundle. My sweet little ball of fire was born at 37 weeks with a perfect and easy delivery, so as my husband would say I have been living in a dream world thinking this little guy would show up the same way. Not. So. Much. I started dilating at 35 weeks or so, that is when I had my first exam. Almost four weeks later I am just at 3cm. Knowing that this process is timely, I just take a deep breath and keep moving on. There have been ups and there have been downs, I have had some wild dreams and lots of sleepless nights. Legs cramps, nausea, bathroom issues are just some of the daily things I have become accustomed to. With my due date just a week away, I'm starting to think he is just going stay put. FOREVER! (ha!)



Ella has been so sweet, asking daily when baby Ethan will be here. I'm going to start telling her when she becomes a better listener, he will come ;-) God love an independent child! She is so fun and so full of imagination, but she is also very strong willed and when she doesn't think there is a need for her to do what I'm telling her she just flat out ignores me! We are working on this and I have decided it is mostly a "sleep" issue. (which is my fault and failure) No matter her nap schedule, bed time is always 10pm or later, even if the process begins at 8:30pm. So hard and I just can't even begin to think of the struggles we will have with our schedule in about a week or so... she is a wonderful little girl though and I love watching her grow into such a fun personality!
I am excited to see what role she will take when her little brother comes home. I know she is going to be a big helper, whether the help is needed or not, that is just how she is...She loves to be involved with Jeramy and I. :-)

Here's to a new journey for our family and prayers that God will continue to bless each and every one of us as he leads us...

It's the Final Countdown...

I had my 34 week check up today and little Ethan is growing just perfectly! His heart is strong, he is measuring exactly on 34 weeks and I have only gained 20 pounds thus far... I say that with pride and a big exhale! I will return to the Doctor on the 30th, then it's every week with an examination, from there. I have been so blessed with this pregnancy! A boy, he's healthy, he's beautiful (from what I can tell). With a difficult first trimester, I am so thankful that the rest of this pregnancy has been a breeze!

We are so ready to begin this next chapter in our lives, God has a lot in store for us and I can't wait to sing his praises!

(34 wks. No lipstick and just woke up from a nap!)

Remember when I showed you a little piece of something I've been working on? Well here it is! My Mother and I made a clock for Ethan's room. Since I don't have any artistic bones in my body, Mom painted his monogram on there for me. I love it!

When I nursed Ella, I had always said I needed a clock in her room. I had seen some homemade ones out there and always thought "Now that is something I can do!" So I did it. It's not perfect, but I think it is a great compliment to his room.

Birthday Bonanza!

Our beautiful little girl is 3 years old now! She celebrated her big day with lots of special occasions. These pictures are backwards, due to the fact it's been a while since I've blogged and forgot that uploading pictures is such a pain...

Birthday Morning!
Breakfast celebration with some gifts and cupcakes.



Birthday Evening!
Bonfire Celebration with Mom, Dad, Ella and Danner (Our Dog)Ella learning how to cook a hot dog on a stick!

And it wouldn't be a bonfire without SMORES!!!The weekend before her 3rd Birthday!

Family Night at Papa Ron's turned into BIG Birthday Celebration for Ella!!! We planned to just eat pizza and cupcakes and play with cousins, but Nana T and Papa had other plans :-) They had a whole celebration set up for their special little Ella!
Ice Cream Cake!
Cousins! Noelle and Ashlyn, Owen was off playing....
Ella received a 12 gallon fish tank from Nana T and Papa along with 6 little fish! We are sad to report that there are only two remaining....
Mini Celebration with Ella and her Besties....Henry and Grady!

They gave Ella these awesome sandals and some lip gloss that we wear everyday!!!
Everybody wanted some chap stick!
Hugging her Boys and telling them thank you!

She also had 2 more celebrations, one with Nanna and Poppie and one with her cousins on my side, in which we shared an Ice Cream Sundae Party with Dylan who turned 5 that same week...

We are not big Birthday party parents, but Ella sure did have a lot of celebrations from those who love her! Thank you everyone who made Ella's day Super Special!

I can't really explain where I have been or what I've been doing....

We have definitely been busy, but it's not the "Oh I can't wait to BLOG about this!" type of busy. It's like most every day of the week is filled with good stuff like play dates and Dr's appointments, so I can't complain...I just feel kinda lame!

Ella:
Well she is doing great! She loves that she has had lots of play time this week. She has been tired and sleeping good, but doesn't go to bed early! We have had a great week though, she has been helpful and happy and is she is so excited about her 3rd Birthday coming up! She probably talks about it everyday. We aren't planning a big party, but we are having a joint celebration with my nephew Dylan and our family!


She loves dancing and Barbies and anything girlie! Despite her efforts to do everything by herself...She is such a sweet and loving little girl!

Ethan:
He is doing good! Really starting to make some big movement and he has started getting the hiccups almost daily, usually in the morning. I am 29 weeks and will be going to the Dr. every two weeks until I reach 36 weeks. My weight gain is about 18 lbs, I'm not sure why I just put that out there but oh well! I feel large some days and not so big on others. I have had a lot of sciatic pain, but other than that everything is going great.


I have not done a whole lot to his room. I did get all of the baby necessities from Heather this past week and Ella has had more fun with that stuff... I don't feel rushed to have every little thing right away because I have the basics, but my wonderful group of friends in Manchester threw me and another one of our friends, that is due right after me, a surprise shower last night! It was so much fun and I got some really great things! Cute outfits, diapers, monogrammed bibs, burp clothes and a diaper cover, medicine, wash clothes....I feel so blessed!



The next week is suppose to be really nice outside so I'm hoping we can get out a little and knock some of this dust off of us... In the mean time, I'll try to think of some interesting posts to write about!

Ticking Time Bomb

The past two days have been um, different. My little love bug is being a little terror! So it's about 3 weeks until her 3rd Birthday and I'm totally convinced it's not the Terrible Twos, it's most definitely the Terrible Threes! She is not being bad, per say...but crazy, sneaky, silly, rowdy, argumentative; I could go on.

Let me give you a couple of examples:

Yesterday, as I was blow drying my hair, I opened the bathroom door to find her slathered in Vick's Vapor Rub! "Look Mommy, lotion!" Oh boy...even though we bathed she looked like a grease monkey for the rest of the day.

As we are standing in the check out at the store, she had her back to me...As I peeked around her I found her opening a pack of Mentos! So of course I had to buy them, but she did not have one. ;-) I decided to share them with my bible study!

My phone rings, this monkey goes wild. Screaming, jumping, climbing all over me! What in the world...

I could go on with examples as well, but I won't. I know my nerves are a little short these days, so maybe it's just me. With all of this craziness she still looks at me with a smile on her face and says "Mommy....I love you!" Brings it all back together.

Speaking of Time...

I have a new little project! Let's just call it wall decor for Ethan's room. I will reveal the whole thing soon, but for now here is a couple of sneak peaks:

Goodwill find for .49 cents

A little paint...

The first coat!