WEIGHT LOSS UPDATE

Man, I have been bad about updating on my progress! Since January 6th, I have lost 25 lbs. I have at least 5 more to go. Over Spring Break I stayed at 152, but now I am losing again. it might be due to the stress of having to speak on Sunday, plus sing. AHHHHH! Have I ever mentioned how much I hate to speak in front of people?

I just have to say that the Turbo Jam workouts have really shaped my body into something that looks lean and fit. My arms are longer and skinnier, but I actually have muscle there! Woohoo!
My butt is sore thanks to all of the squats and lunges. :0) The thing I LOVE about Turbo Jam is that the workouts are FUN! I actually look forward to working out. The music is awesome and I really let go....Thank goodness it's only my kids that get to watch me dance around like a crazy woman. LOL I HIGHLY recommend Turbo Jam. There is a learning curve involved in becoming familiar with the moves, but once you do it a couple of times you can just rock out without having to listen to the instructor tell you over and over again what to do. With other workouts it's like, "Okay, I got it already, can we move on?" I memorized the Pilates moves and some Betty Crocker workout video (is that an Oxy moron?) so that I could do them when I travel or don't have a lot of time to exercise.
I will post a picture soon!

Spring Break Activities

Prepare to be bombarded with pictures! For Spring break I tried to do something with each one of the children. Jason and I went shopping together for some new pants...that boy needs to stop growing! We had fun. Emi and I attempted to learn how to sew. I found this cute pattern for these bags. I thought they would be easy....HA! But we managed to get it figured out. :0) It was like the blind leading the blind. LOL
I changed a few things. I used ribbon for the handles instead of fabric and I added flowers. I think they turned out pretty cute. We made one for each of the girls and for my niece, Tori, who just turned 8.

This flower is from the pretties kit that Stampin' Up! sells. The button is one of the corduroy buttons that SU! has in the Occasions mini catty that just came out. I LOVE these buttons!

With the leftover fabric we made aprons. I used ribbon again for the straps and PTI buttons. These little aprons are so cute. It is just a square piece of fabric. I made one for each of the girls and Tori.

Josh wanted in on the picture. What a character!

Kenna and I made TONS of cookies. We made Peanut butter chocolate chip, butterscotch chocolate chip, and TWO batches of Snickerdoodles because they are daddy's favorite. I freeze them in a big ziploc bag and then just pull them out as needed.

This is a picture of an accident we had. Josh fell off of our benches onto our dutch oven and tore his ear. They glued it back together. Not pretty, eh?

Of course we have to get a picture of the babies. They are growing so quickly! They are rolling and scooting. They are seriously the BEST babies I have ever had. So happy and they love to hold hands and talk to each other.

We had the Pinewood derby. Here was Bryce's car, Lightening McQueen. Too bad Dad wasn't here to help.

It wasn't very fast, but it was the best looking car there. :0) I found out later we were supposed to graphite the wheels or something?? Oh, well....


Bryce and I also went to see "Race to Witch Mountain". I have seen it twice now. Is it just me or is Dwayne Johnson smokin' HOTT?! :0) That's not why I saw it twice, though....

I hope you enjoyed this little sneak peek into my life!

I was in a "Time Out"

So I got invited to go to a Time Out For Women this last weekend. It was a short notice type of thing, but I think Heavenly father knew what I needed to hear! I have been thinking a lot about my children and if I have taught them what they need to know. Jason is turning twelve and has entered the puberty stage. It has been a struggle as he tries to gain his independence and yet he's not making the wisest choices. Don't get me wrong. He is a great kid, but just really seems to be struggling with anger and aggression (partly due to TESTOSTERONE!)
There was one talk that just slapped me right in the face!!!! It was given by Cheiko Okazaki...I hope I got the name right....
Here is a synopsis of what she said:
"Teach them correct principles and let them govern themselves" a quote by Joseph Smith.
1. What are correct principles?
A correct principle is one that doesn't hinder free-agency and shows an increase in love.
2. How do I teach the correct principle?
We must teach the correct principles by EXAMPLE!
3. How do I let them govern themselves?
If you have taught the princple, you need to let go and trust that they know it and then let them govern themselves. Sometimes we will need to reteach it and sometimes we will need to intervene, but we need to let the children make their mistakes and learn from the consequences. This is the hardest part.

She had some excellent examples. I have just boiled it down to the nitty-gritty of her talk, but how simple and beautiful. This is something I am going to be working on.

There were so many great talks. I wish I had time to share everything! I wish I had taken my journal so I could have written it all down....duh moment for me. :0)

So bad at blogging....

Oh, the wonderful world of blogging....I'm terible at it! I figure no one really cares about what I am up to or what I think. It's like journal writing....when things are going great you never think to put it down. It's only when we need to vent that we let everyone know about it. I want to share the GOOD times with everyone, but it gets lost in the brew-haha of everyday life.
So anywho....Here are some happy times.


Josh keeps me laughing. This is how I found him one morning. So cute.

The twins are four months old now! Can you believe it? They had their check-up today and weighed the same and were the same length. The doctors tell me that rarely happens and we've had it happen twice.

Bryce loves being a big helper. He volunteers to bathe the babies. Isn't that just the sweetest moment? Life is so good. :0)

Here is Bella smiling. She is so laid back and content. She just smiles at everyone and talks to anyone who will listen. Everyone tells me she looks like a little porcelain doll. So sweet.

Here is Ty smiling. He has the biggest grin. He also laughs. It is the BEST sound in the world! He loves to have attention and will often just coo while he looks at the ceiling. It makes you wonder who he is talking to. :0)

They both sleep from 9PM to 7AM. Ty has learned to scoot so we often find him in the oddest places in the crib. But it doesn't bother Bella. He has even tried sucking on her thumb in the middle of the night. He DID learn how to suck his thumb. It keeps him happy.

I have lost 14 lbs. and am looking forward to when I lose ALL of it! It's nice knowing that this time I can KEEP it off as we are DONE having children....and this time I MEAN IT! :0)

Rob is happy at his job and getting the attention he deserves for all his hard work. We are so blessed.

Jason will be turing 12 in May and that means he will be getting the Aaronic Priesthood! Man, I feel old.

We love all of our family and friends and wish we could be closer to you all. God Bless!

Another PTI challenge

This one was more fun. I actually felt like I had an idea this time. I think maybe I don't like sketches because I feel like I can't let the creative juices flow! So here is my "friend" card. I thought these colors were nice and cheery. :0)

Wanted to add....

Now that I'm getting back into this, I wanted to let you know that I also take a multi-vitamin. I'm always on Pre-natals so I don't give much thought to it, but it will help to make sure you're getting the vitamins you need in case you aren't eating a well-balalnced diet. Try to eat a well balanced diet, as well. Fruits, veggies, grains, dairy, protein.
Also, they make little flavored water packets that give you 5 grams of fiber. I like the South Beach living ones... 30calories. You can find them at Walmart. These were really helpful because I didn't like drinking water. The fiber also helps you make it to the next meal if you feel hungry. I would use them between breakfast and lunch.
I also like the Activia yogurt. It helps keep your digestive system working.
Last thing I wanted to add was.... BE KIND TO YOURSELF! Think positive thoughts and look forward to when you will feel better and look great! It takes patience. :) But it WILL happen.
I like thinking of it as a game....I try to see if I can resist the chocolate my hubby leaves on the counter or the bowl of ice-cream sitting in the freezer that he dished up for me. :) I won't even take one lick of the bowl when I make brownies! I've been very good...so far.

OH BOY....Here we go again!

So....now that I have had the babies and I've let myself go over the last nine months....I have decided it's time to lose the weight....AGAIN! I lost 25 lbs. in 3 months last time. I have 30 to lose this time. I will be updating every now and then....not sure if I will post a before picture. You wouldn't believe how much skin around your tummy can stretch! :) I call it my badge of motherhood and yet, I WANT TO GET RID OF IT!!!! From now on I will call my c-section scar my badge of motherhood. :)
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Tell me what your resolutions are going to be!

Edited to add:
For those of you who want to join my "Get your BUTT in shape" cause, here is a run-down of what I did last time:

*Drink lots of water
*Write down everything you eat and try to keep it to 1200 calories a day (this really varies depending on how much you want to weigh-my goal is 140 for my height and build) I counted it as points, though, and not calories, so 50 calories equals 1 point and that gave me 24 points a day. If you work out you can eat more than that. I also gave myself an extra 30 points a week that I could do with as I please. So if I ate out, I would use those extra points. You lose it faster if you don't use them. :)
*Eat a cereal with fiber in it! It keeps you full longer and the fiber is good for you. My favorite was Special K. It was only 3 points for breakfast which gave me more points for later. Or you can have an egg and some hashbrowns for 3 points and a piece of fruit for 1 point. The protien is good for you, too, as it helps build muscle.
* If you get hungry snack on veggies! I liked celery and bell peppers. ZERO points for veggies.
* If you find yourself having a craving, get the 100 calorie snack packs. They measure it for you and it's just enough to satisy the craving.
*EXERCISE! I did toning and aerobic excercise. Pilates is a must in my book. I used TaeBo for the aerobic and it does a good job on your abs. Aerobic helps you burn more fat and toning helps define the muscles once the fat is gone. I also lifted 5 lb weights and did push-ups to define my arm muscles. Basically do what works for you.
* Don't eat past 7PM. There goes my quiet ice-cream time to myself....sigh. However, they do make low cal ice-cream. :)
* You're gonna hate this one, but WEIGH yourself EVERY DAY! Yes, it will fluctuate, but you can see the results if you pig-out or if you have a really good day. PMS will usually put on a couple of pounds of water weight, but DON't get discouraged!!
*One last thing-Eat the suggested serving size on the package. So fishsticks and french fries and chips (or they have 100 calorie packs of chips), even candy. It's ALL about portion control.

Typical day for me:
Weigh in
breakfast
excercise
drink lots of water
lunch
water
snack (100 calorie snack or veggies)
dinner
water
sometimes another snack

I have a weight-loss journal that I write down everything I eat with the points value next to it, and I write down how much excercise I do and what type it is. I write down how much I weigh at the top of every day. I don't really keep track of the water. I just fill a gallon jug and try to finish it off during the day.
REMEMBER the first couple of weeks are the Hardest! Stick to it and you will find you don't crave the fattening stuff anymore. I actually felt sick if I ate pizza and burgers. Weird, I know.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions about anything. GOOD LUCK!