Friday, February 25, 2011

Wish Me Luck!!!

We are leaving on a family trip and I need all the help I can get :) I am currently taking a break from getting everything a 5 and 2 year old and I could want and need on a trip, which is a lot these days. I always forget just how much is needed--clothes, bedtime items, DVD's, the DVD player, snacks, drinks, books, coloring books and crayons, games...and that's just me ;) Just kidding, I can't watch the DVD's. It's simply amazing what you need to pack when you're traveling with children anymore and now that Will is attempting to potty train.....well, that just makes it a bit more of a challenge. It will go fine I am sure, and we are all excited to see everyone, but I just dread the actual trip.
Let me be honest for a second though. I really am not dreading the drive or traveling with kids, but I have been doing so well with my exercise and diet lately and am only 5 lbs from my goal weight. There is absolutely no way on this trip that I will be able to do the exercise I have been doing. Sure, I will be playing with the kids or taking walks, but nothing like the kickboxing, circuit training and running. Then there's the eating out.......I am sure there will be some fast food thrown in. I know there are healthier options, but I am a tad afraid of what will happen after 3 days of totally trashing my routine. I am making every effort to avoid problems as I have loaded up a bag with apples, carrots, whole wheat bagels, grapes, cheerios and other healthy snacks so that I won't get into old habits (you know, the snacking on chips, cookies, candy...), but this is my first real true test of willpower. Over the holidays, I was still home so could continue my exercise program, but being away from home is a whole different ball game. So like I said, wish me luck. I am hoping when we get back, I will pick right back up where I left

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Why Do They Do This?

Okay, so I pretty much know what the dad's are going to say, but I want to know why children REALLY act so differently for dad's than they do for mom's. Yeah yeah, I know you dad's say it's just because they like you better or you have that special touch or that you are a better parent...yada yada yada. But really, why is this the case? Almost every mom I have talked to says that this goes on in their household too. Here are just a few examples:
1) Why does Dad get privacy when he goes to the bathroom and shuts the door? When I go in there and shut the door, I have to spend the entire time asking them to stop trying to get in or holding the door shut. But Daddy goes in, shuts the door and they go on about their business.
2) When I put Will to bed, he talks my ear off, doesn't want me to put him down, pokes me in the eyes, pinches my nose.....BUT when Daddy puts him to bed, they do a story, sit in the chair and Will either falls asleep or just goes to bed when Daddy says it's time.
3) Errands for me just aren't that fun with the kids in tow. The boys act silly, Will runs down the aisle (which is why I always buckle him in to something), grab things off the shelf. When they are with Daddy, they simply walk with him and may get silly, but don't overdo it.
4) If I take the boys out to dinner and it's just me, it's complete insanity and Troy ALWAYS has to go to the bathroom the minute we get settled even if I asked him if he had to go. When they are with both of us, just a little silliness. This is why I always call for backup :) (Thanks Mom)
....I could go on and on with differences. Whenever I bring it up to Jay, I get the grin and he says, "Don't hate. I just have the touch." One day, I am going to wallop him!
And while I am ranting, why do people treat/look at Mom's differently when you are out and about. Here's a perfect example. My sister in law has 4 girls and takes them out regularly. Someone always has to make a comment about how many kids she has or if she was trying for a boy or they make comments about a house full of girls (you can imagine)...She's divorced now, but when her ex husband took them out, the comments were so much more positive. "Oh wow! Your wife is so lucky that you take all of the children out." "What an amazing father you are." "Your children are so well behaved".....Nothing negative or derogatory at all. Why is it different?

But anyway, back to the original question. I pretty much know the answer, but I guess I wonder, is this the case in your house as well? It's pretty much the consensus of my small group of friends.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Success!!!

I am the person who knows exactly what to do to lose weight, build endurance and strength, to basically get in shape. However, I have always had major issues with willpower and self doubt. I have tried the lifestyle changing thing many many many many....times and have never been successful for the long term. Something would happen to make me go back to the way things were--stress, having a bad day and just figuring I should just give up, getting tired of feeling hungry... This time, I was determined to do things the right way and for months I did well with my exercise and better (I thought) with my eating habits, but the weight hit a point and wouldn't budge. I was very frustrated and had thoughts about giving up AGAIN, but went to a weight loss forum on JustMommies where I learned about My Fitness Pal. I have written about it before and mentioned how it helped me realize that my eating habits still were not great and once I started tracking my diet, I started losing again. I am down to 137 lbs and I just dropped a pants size!!! It was the coolest feeling ever to pick up a smaller size and instead of getting upset because I couldn't get them over my hips, I pulled them up and buttoned them without any problems. AAAAHHHHH SUCCESS! Now I truly feel like I can achieve my long term goal and get down to 125 lbs and maybe just maybe a size 8! That is the one downfall of weightloss. Given my struggles, I gave all my clothes away and now will need to spend money I shouldn't be spending on new clothes. However, Jay is being very sweet about it all and even went shopping with me yesterday and encouraged me to buy more ♥ Love that man!
Next weekend, I will meet my first real challenge. The holidays were tough, but the willpower kicked in and I did very well. Next week, we go away for a long weekend and I have to somehow manage to stick to things faced with fast food and no real chance to exercise.....

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Wordless Wednesday

We took Troy on the annual Snowtubing trip this past weekend. I think he enjoyed it!


And here's just a bonus picture I love. My boys in their leather jackets from Granny. I just love how Will is looking at Troy♥






Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Something to be reminded of...

Valentine's Day has come and gone and once again, I heard and read stories about people frantically searching for the right gift to give their loved ones or of those feeling sad because they were "alone" this year. This is one of the main reasons I don't enjoy Valentine's Day. There is so much pressure to give just the right gift or do the right thing and for those who are single, it's even worse because then you get to see all of this happening and feel left out. SIGH Just not a fan of it and never have been. Jay and I don't do gifts so the pressure is off of both of us. What's really ironic is that our anniversary is 2/15 so people used to give me a hard time about making this so tough on him--"a Valentine's Day gift AND anniversary gift, now that's just cruel". News flash--I don't do anniversary gifts either so I think it was perfect timing to get married. We just have a nice evening out when it suits and celebrate making it another year! Having children though does help me enjoy Valentine's Day more because it's fun to watch the boys make gifts for family and friends. They get very excited about doing it and I know that for a few years anyway, this will just get better as we get to try more crafts and fun ideas.
However, I read something today that made me realize something. We often ignore the person we should love the most--ourselves. A friend posted this link on Facebook and it really hit me that maybe Valentine's Day shouldn't be about just our love for others but also our love for ourselves. Rather than worrying so much about the perfect gift for a significant other, maybe it would be better to pledge to do something to show more love for yourself? This way EVERYONE can enjoy the day rather than feeling lonely, sad, pressured....So next year when this time rolls around again, go ahead and find something for others, just don't forget to feed your own heart and soul.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Thinking Warm Thoughts!

So I am a tad tired of this cold Winter we are having so I thought I would go back and look at pictures from the summer to make me warm again. Right now it feels like it will never be warm enough for the pool, but soon enough!







Monday, February 7, 2011

Random thoughts while sick

Over these 3 days with the flu (5 really, but days 4 and 5, I was much more able to do things around the house), I had a lot of time to reflect since I pretty much laid there, watching tv or sleeping. Here are some random thoughts by sick Valerie:
1) I am very lucky. EXTREMELY lucky to have family close by and able to help. I take this for granted way too much.
2) Because of #1, I realize that I can't imagine living anywhere where I don't have family nearby. For my friends and family that don't have this, I just can't imagine how tough things must be in times like this.
3) Also because of #1, I also have more respect (and I had a ton to begin with) for single parents (including military spouses). No, the husband didn't help every day, but when he could, he did and he did everything!
4) I really really hate asking for help, even when I need to.
5) I missed my boys so much. It was so nice having them come home even though I couldn't really do anything with them. I just loved seeing them and having them ask me if I was feeling better.
6) Daytime TV is really not that good. We don't have much on the Dish so I was just watching network, but really? I remember how I used to love morning TV shows??
7) When I am sick, it really takes me back to my crappy eating habits and they are really hard to break.
8) I know for a fact now that I am addicted to exercise. When I couldn't work out, it was killing me and I couldn't wait to get back to my routine.
9) Back to TV, although most TV did stink, I really found that I love The Talk on CBS. I liked it before, but after watching it without being distracted.....I LOVE it!
10) I am the biggest wimp when I am sick and it's rather pathetic
11) Our house is REALLY unorganized and there is just stuff everywhere. There has to be a yard sale to be had or something?
12) Our bed is extremely uncomfortable, but the recliner is very nice indeed.
13) I wish they made (and maybe they do???) a 6 DVD changer so I could have put in a bunch of movies and still kept my lazy sick butt in the recliner.
14) When your head hurts really bad, it feels like it weighs like 100 lbs. I can't even imagine a migraine
15) A nice hot shower is heaven