My Journey Towards HEALTH

I was originally going to title this post "My weight loss journey".  But I don't think that title is that appropriate.  My main goal is to be healthy and fit, to be active, and to enjoy life.  Weight loss is just an added bonus.

Motherhood has really changed the way I view my health.  Before I got pregnant I lived for myself.  That was OK.  But now I have a whole new set of standards for myself and my family.  Not only am I providing for me, but also my two boys.  My health reflects onto them.  So in order for them to grow up healthy and strong, I needed to make some major adjustments.

My first big step was to cut out *most* processed food and fast food.  I'll admit I still have a hot dog from time to time, and I love McDonald's.  But now it is only on occasions instead of my lifestyle.  Then, I cut out the pop.  Again, I drink it only in moderation.  Last, I tackled the carbs and my milk choice.  I buy everything 100% whole wheat, and actually prefer the taste over white breads.  Milk is now skim.  Every day, all the time.  Trust me, I can drink a lot of milk.

But I think the biggest change was when I started exercising on a regular basis.  The pounds started shedding off as easy as I had put them on during my pregnancies.  I now look forward to exercising.  My body starts to feel off if I don't do some sort of physical activity during the day.  Even a 10 minute brisk walk makes a world of difference.

My body went through a heck of a lot in the past 3 yrs and 2 back to back pregnancies.  So here is the journey I traveled:

Early 2008:  1st trimester with Caleb:  164 lbs

Sept. 2008:  9 months pregnant:  187 lbs    weight gain: 23 lbs

Oct. 2008:  After giving birth:  172 lbs  weight loss:  15 lbs

January 2009:  1st trimester with Kaysen:  172 lbs

Oct. 2009:  9 months pregnant:  185 lbs  weight gain:  13lbs

::::And one year later::::

I'm now sitting very comfortably at 138 lbs, somewhere around 5'7" and 5'8".  I have a BMI of 21.0.  I feel amazing!  I have energy and I can multi-task so much easier now.  Sometimes my mind has a hard time keeping up with my body.   Total weight loss since my heaviest:  49 lbs 

I know that deep down I would never feel comfortable going back to where I was.  Not that there was anything wrong with my weight, but I did not feel healthy.  Now I do, and that is the important part.  No matter how much weight I have lost.  What matters is how I feel mentally.  And I feel good.

Staying Organized

I am not the most organized person in the world.  Although I try to be.  I've been busy putting everything together for the boys' birthdays that are coming up.  Which makes me think about all the new toys they will be receiving for both birthdays and Christmas.  I need a place to put it all. 

I feel settled with my organization.  I have a pretty good system that works for us and I guess that's all that matters.  There are two big things that take up so much storage space in our home.  Toys and my stockpile.  I hate getting rid of toys but a month or so ago I finally packed up the 'baby' toys and stuck them in the attic.  I can't believe both my boys have outgrown rattles and shakers, colorful noise makers and little soft singing toys that hang from the car seat handle.  Now they are into books and reading, cars and trucks, balls and banging on things.  They are true boys.
I have all our smaller toys organized and labeled by type.  I bought a whole bunch of plastic shoe boxes and they seem to do the trick.  The bigger toys are in bigger plastic bins.  The boys are allowed to have 2-3 bins out at a time and that's it.  When they want something new, they have to clean up.  Caleb knows this routine really well and Kaysen is starting to get the hang of it too.  It keeps my house somewhat sane during the day.

My pantry stockpile was getting out of control!  So much that now I limit myself on the amount of things I buy.  For most products, if I'm not getting it for free or less than .25 then I have to pass up the deal.  I chose the same system for my stockpile as the toys.  They are in large bins on our metal shelves out in the garage.  I stockpile everything from diapers/wipes and paper towels, to shampoo and deodorant, to printer paper and post it notes.  I feel very lucky to be able to provide for my family by getting our household and beauty products for free.

And remember those pine cones that Caleb and I found?  I decided to put some in the bathroom and they look pretty good.  Everything has a purpose around this frugal household.

A busy couple of days

It has been CRAZY around here.  It is always crazy when Steve has to work a bunch of closing shifts.  He leaves shortly after noon, and the rest of the day is just me and the boys.  Wait...the rest of the day is me chasing after the boys and trying to keep my house under control.

So this morning Steve made homemade cinnamon muffins.  They were really good.  I don't even know if he followed a recipe or just put them together really quickly.  But the boys loved them!

We had a couple "firsts" with Kaysen today.  He has been practicing with a spoon and yogurt for about 2 months now.  Today I thought he was ready for the next step, so I introduced a fork!  He did pretty well.  I was showing him how to stab, scoop, and eat.  He kept getting frustrated with me because he wanted to do the whole thing all by himself.  So I finally gave in and just let him do it.  He made it through the whole meal with the fork in his hand, but I'm not sure how much food he actually ate with it compared to his fingers.

He also had another tooth break through today.  This time a top one.  The other one on the top right is still bothering him.  Poor baby has a runny nose and he woke up from nap all hot with a fever.  I really hope this teething thing gets over quickly.


Caleb and I had a pretty good afternoon while his brother was napping.  We decided to go on a nature hunt.  We walked around the yard finding things that were unique and putting them in our learning basket.  Then he brought everything inside to play.  He had a really good time hunting for things. 

 

And here's what our finished basket looked like.  We really found a lot of things (the pine cones we found earlier this morning while we were at the bank)

While we were outside we also saw 2 school buses, the mail man, a few delivery trucks, and a few pick up trucks.  As you can imagine, Caleb was thrilled!!

Night time Potty Training

Caleb has made up his mind to be night time potty trained.  He has been out of diapers since December (15 months old), but has always wore one for sleeping.  Over the past month he has gradually trained himself during naps.  He would take off his own diaper when we left the room and then would stay dry until he woke up.  Well now he has decided that he wants nothing more to do with diapers!!  He has been fussing when we put them on before bed, taking them off, throwing dry ones in the trash, and refusing to sleep in them.  So I went with it.  We are now on day 3 of night time potty training and I'm happy to say that Caleb made it through the WHOLE NIGHT without one accident!!  He woke up twice to go potty on his own, and once again when he got up this morning.  I am so proud of my little guy.  The first night we had one accident, and the second night we had 2.  But I still think that's wonderful for someone who is not even 2 yrs old yet!

Speaking of potties, guess who I caught splashing in the toilet yesterday?!?  Little Kaysen thought the potty was a swimming pool.  YUCK!