Thirteen Thursday

I'm getting calls and texts asking me more about what I've learned in this 30 day challenge I'm doing, so I've compiled some things to share for today's Thirteen Thursday.  {I am by no means an expert...I'm only in the very beginning of this lifestyle change!}

1. Drink a lot of water!  Figure out how many time you'd need to refill your water bottle to get at least 100 oz a day and keep track of it.  For me, I have a dry erase board on my fridge and I keep a tally of how many times I refill it so I make sure to get to five.

2. Adding in weights to my workout routine has made me feel so much stronger in just a few weeks.  Marta (the fitness trainer) wanted us to lift four days a week, so I've used my 10lb weights at home and used the machines at the fitness center for doing things I can't do at home, like my back and legs.

3. Use a program like My Fitness Pal to track your calories.  Realizing portion sizes and exactly how many calories you're taking in is eye opening.

4. You have to think outside the bread :)  I used to eat a lot of wheat apparently.  Now some favorite meals for me are:
Breakfast: Eggs with turkey sausage or Chex cereal (gluten free) with almond milk
Lunch: Nitrate/Nitrite free lunchmeat with hummus rolled up, bell peppers, and fruit or a salad with chicken breast and salsa as my dressing
Snacks: Smoothie with almond milk, a banana, a tbsp of peanut butter and a small handful of spinach (I promise, it doesn't add any taste...just the nutritional value!), carrots with hummus, an apple with peanut butter
Dinner: Turkey burgers (without a bun) and sweet potatoes, chicken fajitas with corn tortillas and rice and beans, or fried rice (using brown rice and lots of veggies)

5. The more you have something, the more likely you are to grow to enjoy it!  We tell the kids that all the time.  The first day I put almond milk in my coffee instead of creamer, I was choking it down.  By the end of the first two weeks, I could easily tolerate it.  I bought peanuts as a snack because it was on her recommended list even though I hate nuts.  I don't love them still, but can get through a small handful to get some good protein and fat in me without making a face now.

6. Find blogs or groups on Facebook that inspire you and educate you.  I really am loving all the sisters at www.fourfitsisters.com.  Marta is the one doing our fitness challenge, but they all do a little variation of it.  Check the blog to find out more about their next ones!  Definitely worth the $30 I paid for this challenge.

7. Drink a large glass of room temperature-warm water with juice from half a lemon as soon as you wake up.  It helps get your metabolism up, as well as gives you a boost of vitamin C and is supposed to help clear your skin, too!

8. Wear a heart rate monitor when you're working out.  I just got a new one and I love wearing it because it is motivating to see the number go up as you're working out.  Sometimes I'll be close to the end of my workout but I'll see I'm at like 268 calories burned and I'll push myself longer so I can get to 300.

9. Skinnytaste.com is one of my favorite websites to get recipes from!

10. Make a Motivation Board.  For me, it's a chalkboard in our bathroom.  I track my weekly weigh-ins, write out what workouts I want to do for the week, have a picture of a bikini I'd love to buy, and add an inspiration quote to it.  I like that Jarrod can see it and can ask me about it - helps keep me accountable when he says, 'How was your ab class today?' etc.

11. Share your goals with someone.  Having a goal buddy is a great way to stay on track.

12. Take measurements and photos of yourself; don't rely on the scale.  Sometimes your body is changing but it isn't reflected on the scale.  Don't get discouraged.

13.  Remember - it's not a diet...it's a lifestyle that will help you get healthier, for yourself and your family!

Taking matters into my own hands

Just before we fell asleep on Friday evening, Jarrod hopped up to check the monitor because he thought he heard one of the kids.  I glanced over, and we quickly realized Gavin was throwing up all over the bed.  Fun stuff.  It was a long night, but by Saturday evening he seemed completely fine!

Sunday comes.  We run some errands and Gavin wants to go out to dinner.  He was obviously feeling better!  Mama Fu's and Yum Yos is always a family favorite here.  Fast forward to after 11pm when we jump out of bed again because Gavin's crying.  This time he has a fever and is coughing like he has croup.  Blah.  I set up camp on the couch and he and I sleep in the living room.  I kept him home from school this morning and while still coughing some, he otherwise seems ok.  Playing with his sister, wanting to eat, etc.  I know he needs to rest, I know he needs to nap!  He looks exhausted and goes in for his nap without arguing.  But, an hour later, he's still awake and wanting to know when he can wake up.  Um, not an option, dear.  You need sleep!  So...I took matters into my own hands.  Literally.  I picked him up and rocked my baby boy to sleep.  Gosh, I love this kid.

Nap {and Mommy!} for the win. 

~I hope he lets me rock him for a long time to come.~

 

Wordless Wednesday

{Taken by Riley}

On Ice!

We had such a great Sunday together as a family.  I just love our weekends...so many great memories made!  This weekend was no different.

First, we hopped in the car after lunch and drove around to look for some open houses.  We love to look at houses, but we don't do it often because it gives Jarrod ideas and all of a sudden he wants to buy a new house.  :)  Usually, we find a house that one of us loves and the other is just so-so about, but on Sunday, we found a house that we both LOVED!  Of course, we can't buy for close to two more years because of the short sale on our Ohio home AND this house was about 75,000 more than we can afford, but you know...we can dream!  It was gorgeous and it was right by Gavin's school.  That's one of my biggest dreams...to be able to walk the kids to school.  I'd LOVE that so much!

Back to the house - it had a gorgeous white kitchen....the more houses I look at the more I fall in love with light, white kitchens.  This house had more than enough room for us.  We most definitely wouldn't outgrow it - four bedrooms AND a gigantic bonus room.  I kept visualizing all the things we could put in that bonus room.  A sleeper sofa for guests with a big TV, all our toys, a sewing/craft station....  The laundry room had built in cubbies with hooks for coats and backpacks, plus a drawer we could use for each person's shoes.  Underneath the stairs was even a little place we could us for a storm shelter. As you can see, I've already moved in inside my head! 

After falling in love with the house, we surprised the kids with their first trip to the ice skating rink.  Unfortunately, the smallest skate size they had was a 9; Riley only wears a 6.  So, they wouldn't let her skate, but she was surprisingly ok with it and Gavin was excited to try it out, so we went!  They were so thoughtful though - they let us pay for one adult and Jarrod and I traded skates so we could each make a couple laps with him while the other entertained Riley. 

He wanted Daddy to go first...
 

 Considering Jarrod and I haven't been on ice skates since we were teenagers, getting back on them ourselves AND trying to help a very wobbly 5 year old was a little challenging.  But, they made a lap around the rink and after a short break, Gavin was ready to go out again!

I honestly thought Gavin would be ready to be done after one lap.  He kept saying it was hurting his hands when Jarrod was trying to hold him up, so he ended up grabbing hold of the side and walking himself around.  The have little walkers for the kids, but they were all being used so we had to make do without.  He really was enjoying it!

 

While Daddy was skating with Gavin, I chased this beauty around while she collected leaves and waved to Gavin through the glass.

Then, instead of saying he was done like I expected, Gavin was ready for me to join him on the ice.  As hard as it was for him, he really seemed to enjoy it!  And, it was nice that a walker got turned in and we were able to try one.  I'm excited for Riley to get bigger so we can go skating as a family (but that probably won't happen for another couple years).

Moving to 'Green'

Gavin ran up to me after school yesterday in the car line, just as he always does, giving me a big hug before hopping up into his seat.  As soon as we started to drive away, he started telling me about his day, how his teacher was gone and they had a new substitute, not his usual one, and she wasn't his 'favorite.'  My mind flashed back to the subs we had in our building - some were amazing, and some you wondered why they even applied to be a sub.  I braced myself, wondering if I was going to hear a story about the latter, but instead he told me that she moved him to green, but he got to go back to the parking lot later.  Of course, he 'couldn't remember' why he had to move to begin with, but I was just proud of him for telling me about it.  The other time he had to move out of the 'parking lot' he never told me; his teacher ended up telling me about it a week later.  So much like me...afraid to tell me because he didn't want to get in trouble or for me to be upset with him!

A few hours later, I got an email from his teacher.  Another teacher had told her he was upset during the day, and she just wanted to check on him.  I told Gavin she was asking about what happened and that I really needed him to remember why he had to move to green so I could tell his teacher what happened.  That's when he shared that he hadn't turned in his morning work on time.  So, I replied to Mrs. R's email and explained what happened, reassuring her that he was fine and no longer upset.  Her response made me smile and I wanted to document it.
"Gavin is such a sweet kid!  He is a clone of a kid I had that is now in 3rd grade.  Super sweet, kind to everyone, super smart, but sometimes takes forever to get work done!"


It's been the only thing we've heard all year that he needs to work on - using his time wisely and finishing tasks.  Our little perfectionist takes forever to do his work!