practical motivation

Here is a quick little bit of practical motivation. Today, I added 8 minutes of the stairmaster to my 45 minute cardio routine. What can 8 minutes do??? Well, in 8 minutes I burn about 100 calories. I know that on my body, burning 800 calories equals about -1lb! SOOOO... by adding only 8 minutes to 4 of my work outs a week (and what's 53 minutes compared to 45??) then every month I will lose and extra 2 lbs! So instead of losing 6 lbs this month I will lose 8! And 8 puts me half way to my remaining goal of 15lbs! 8 minutes guys! : )

Motivation

here is my new motivation...

Update

So, here is a quick update on how I have been doing. I seem to get stuck on certain #s right now I am stuck on 141... My goal was to be 139 by the end of June... Then I stretched it to July, and here it is the middle of August and I am still that same weight. I am ok with it, because at least the # isn't going up. And I know it is totally my fault. The last several weeks I haven't been on any type of schedule. I get to the gym when I can, but I haven't gone out of my way to make time.. And that is what you HAVE to do. I have to make myself go, even when I am busy, even when the kids are grouchy. I HAVE to go. I am pretty surprised at alot of the every day changes I have made that I am completely comfortable with now. I don't even miss my coke anymore. We don't buy regular chips.. only baked or cheerios snack mix. We don't eat a restaurants hardly EVER. Even a restaurants "healthy menu" is FAR from low fat. When I do eat fast food, it is almost always Subway or quiznos (no cheese, and fat free dressing) And I always try to eat a banana before lunch.. That sounds silly, but they are surprisingly filling, and I like em. : ) I have gotten back on track this week, gone every day but Wed, and feel great. I think the last couple of those 140lbs will come off soon and get me to the 130s. That always gives me new motivation. SO be expecting a post soon that I am FINALLY in the 130s. : )

short and to the point! : )

SINGLE DIGIT!!!

The 4th

We always have such a blast on the 4th of July! We have started a new tradition of the kids staying at the Hilton Hotel in Southlake with Grandma. We load everything up to watch the fireworks out there. Then spend the whole afternoon playing in the pool. The kids LOVE the pool. And we don't have one near us where they can wear their floaties, and play with all the water toys. It is nice now, because except for Easton, the kids are pretty self-sufficient in the pool. Thain still wears a life jacket, Ava swims really well with her arm floaties, and Makenzie is a great swimmer. Easton's favorite part of swimming was jumping off the side of the pool and walking on the steps. She is surprisingly brave in the water. We were out at the pool for over FOUR hours! And luckily, not a single sunburn! I think this year the kids might have been more excited about the GIANT bathtub in Grandma's hotel room! When we first went to the room, we told them this was where we were going swimming, and they were actually ok with it! LOL

Here they all are, getting ready to go swimming and playing in the tub!

Grandma really enjoys the new tradition she started!

Me and my girls!

My sweet Thain and pretty Easton!

Thain loves his sister! Ava loves him too, but was very sleepy!

So after the pool we walked around the Town center for a little while, then we were off t our fantastic seats to watch the Works. Ava was a little freaked out, but Easton loved them! She sat in Grandma's lap and pointed at each one. I was too busy trying to get the settings on my camera just right to take pics of the fireworks, to pay attention to the kids. LOL But I got a couple of really good shots, and I was really excited about them! After the fireworks we took the kids up to the room, they all took another "bath" in the bathtub. Then we made a nice big bed on the floor for all of them. They passed out right away! Rick and I left with Easton. It was such a fun night. The kids really look forward to it every year!

With only 2

Sometimes (ok, most of the time) I forget how wonderful it is to slow down and enjoy time with my littles. My days are usually spent fluttering around the house, doing dishes, picking up wet bathing suits, griping because someone left a toy in the living room. When we are home I feel like I don't have fun. I am so stressed day to day about keeping up the house, and making meals, and stopping fights. It really doesn't leave me much time to just chill with the kids. So often I go into my room just to hide from the noise, or to eat without the kids taking my food, or to not have a kid tugging on me for 2 minutes. I feel guilty about all of that. But that is life with 4 kids. It's hard, and it's tiring, and it's tedious. Lately I don't even notice the fun stuff. The oppertunities I do have to jump in and have a giggle with the kids, or laugh at one of Ava's knock knock jokes. But they ARE amazing! And tonight I got a little reminder of that. Thain and Ava both fell asleep around 4pm. Usually disaster! When 7pm rolled around I thought I was going to be lucky enough for them to sleep through the whole night, after such a busy day. But no! At 715 they both woke up. OH NO!!!!! I knew that would mean they would be up ALL night! Makenzie spent the night at a friends, and Soon after they woke up, Easton went to bed. Well, let me tell you... That is when the fun started... seriously. I made the two littles dinner. Since it was so late, I just did simple, and easy, sandwiches, banana, wheat thins and a cheese stick. I let them eat in the living room- a big no-no on our house. And we watched SYTYCD. Ava and Thain copied each of the dances as we watched them. (to the best of their ability, LOL) They gave me commentary on the outfits that they were wearing, "Mommy, you need a dress like that sparkly one" and "Why is that girl have holes in her tights?" When we finished "dinner" we all colored. Thain drew a picture of him and Ava together and Ava helped me color a veggie tales picture. Ava was surprised I was such a good "colorer." When we were all done coloring They picked out a movie and we laid in my bed and watched it. It was an old Baby Einstein. Way to young for Thain, but he remembered watching it when he was a baby. He said, "Remember when we used to watch this, just me and you?" He misses one on one time with me, I know.... But we all three laid and watched it. We talked about all the animals, and Thain asked which ones would eat him if they saw him in the wild; and Ava assured Thain she would "save" him if an animal tried to eat him. They are so sweet together! It was all just so relaxed and wonderful. Reminded me that sometimes I do just need to slow down. No matter how much I clean the house, it will still be messy again tomorrow. But my kids need me with them. Paying attention to them, cuddling with them. And I miss doing that. It was a fun evening with those 2. : )

I give up!!! (at least for this month)

Maybe not the whole month. But at least for this week I have officially given up. My goal was 7 lbs this month and as of right now I am down 2. BOOOOO!!! I totally over scheduled the kids this week and it has left me no time for the gym. Everyday we wake up, go to classes at the rec center, come home so Easton can nap, eat dinner and go to VBS. Now, if the child care at the gym was open at 2 instead of 4 I could totally fit in a work out. But when I have to have them dressed, fed and out the door by 530, getting to the gym at 4 doesn't cut it. So while I have not been able to work out, I decided to go completely AWOL. I have been eating crap, drinking coke, and eating late. I am so disappointed in myself. Hopefully next week I will get back on track and at least get 2 more lbs off by the end of the month.