Sunday, November 24, 2013

It is time...

I have decided that it is time for me to blog about my latest goal. I have not blogged about this in the past because I feel like if I don't put anything out there, it won't matter if it happens or not. But it is time. I have a goal, my goal is to lose twenty-five pounds in the next 10 weeks. I feel in some ways like it is impossible, but I also feel that if I don't try, I will never know! Also, if it ends up being 20 pounds, I will be happy with that, but I thought I would aim high. It will be hard, especially with Christmas around the corner, but I won't know if I don't try, right? :)

So why am I doing this? Well there are several reasons:
1. I want to feel good and be in good shape.
2. I am going to Jamaica in February which I think it's good incentive.
3. I want to wear the summer clothes I wore a couple of years ago, and I would like to get some new clothes for next summer.
4. I am going back to work in February.
5. It will be about 9 months since I had my baby when 10 weeks are up.

How am I going to do this?
1. I am in the process of doing the "Bikini Body Mommy Challenge", and plan to continue for the next 2 months as it is a 90 challenge, and I'm about 3 weeks in. http://bikinibodymommy.com/2013/09/02/bikini-body-mommy-challenge-fittest-workout-day-1/
2. I am going to set weekly goals. I have some people out there keeping me accountable, and couldn't do it without them. I will blog at least once each week, possibly more depending on the day. I hope I can brag about how great things are going, but I might just talk about the challenges I'm having.

One thing I have learned is that losing weight is hard work. All the claims out there about easy and quick weight loss seem pretty far-fetched, and I have learned that even if they do work, they are temporary, at least for me anyway. So here is to hard work and much success in the next 10 weeks....

Goals for this week:
1. 5-7 fruits and veggies each day
2. No post-supper snacking
3. 8 glasses of water each day
4. Exercise each day (Challenge workouts)

Monday, November 4, 2013

Butterscotch Banana Muffins

Today I made Butterscotch Banana Muffins. I found the recipe for these at:

http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2013/10/butterscotch-banana-bread-recipe.html 

I made it as muffins, and I'm sure it be great as bread too!

They smelled wonderful as they baked, they looked wonderful when I took them out of the oven, and they tasted wonderful when I ate them!

Thank you Six Sisters!


Phases

There are so many phases in life, some short, some long, some fun, some hard, some crazy, you get the idea. At this point in my life, I'm working on being content where I'm at, no matter what the phase. I find that when I get into a good groove, something changes and we're on to a new phase with new adjustments. My oldest son has taught me a lot about phases, parenting, teaching, kids, life, and patience. I have heard that about every six months, kids go through a change, and parents can expect things to be a little rocky for a period of time. I think there is some truth to that. I feel like the changes happen a lot and really quickly when they're babies, and then they spread out to this six month to a year mark as they get older, at least, that's how it is with my older kids at this point anyway.

This morning my oldest boy had a rough morning. He had a great night's sleep last night, but when he woke up, he was grouchy, and he did NOT want to go to school. Other days he has felt this way, he usually shakes it off after a bit. This morning, I had to fight to get his clothes on, fight to get him to eat his breakfast (and then he was mad because I was going to "win" at eating our cereal!), fight to get his coat and hat on to get to the bus, and then fight to get him on the bus.

I walked down the driveway with the two of them to make sure things would be okay. Next thing I know, he was walking out into the field, and the bus was approaching. It was about 1-2 km away still, but I could see it was coming. So I pulled out the big guns: "I'm going to get daddy." I asked my daughter to take the boy's backpack on the bus, and I hoped and believed that he would get on the bus without too much trouble. I then started the walk back to the house. I kept looking back, and told him that he would be in big trouble if he did not get on the bus. By the time I got to the house, the bus had arrived at our driveway, and I gave one last yell, "You get on that bus!" I'm pretty sure every hunter in the neighbourhood heard that one.... Then I stood and watched, as he took slow steps, and... got on the bus! Phew! I shook my head, looked up at the sky, and thanked God for our crazy boy who keeps us on our toes! I came inside and told my husband that I had just witnessed the definition of reluctance.

It's all about the little things in the middle of this beautiful mess! Blessings to you today!

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Time change musings

This weekend we had to change our clocks for daylight savings. For some reason, I can't figure out the difference between when it begins or when it ends, so suffice it to say that this weekend we gained an hour. For some, this means that they get an extra hour of sleep. For others, it means that their kids are going to wake up an at even more in-humane hour than they already do. For me, I generally just try to get through both time changes knowing that life with little kids means that I lose an hour of sleep on a regular basis anyway, so gaining an hour is not even an option.

Last night, I asked my husband what he was going to do about the time change. His response, "Nothing. I'm just going to do everything the same in the morning. Then, I'll just get an extra hour at some point in my morning. Genius!" I have to admit that it made sense. The first part for sure, and maybe the genius part a little bit. Actually, I do think my husband is very smart! Anyway, I thought that I would go with him on that. Besides, I could use that extra hour to fold some laundry in the morning.

So that's what I did. I got up on the "old" time, my kids mostly did the same, except for the middle boy who slept in, oddly enough. Then a bit later in the morning, I changed the clocks, and I had an extra hour to get ready for church. Brilliant really! So instead of being bummed that I didn't actually get an extra hour of sleep, I'm kind of pumped that I got an extra hour in my day! Also great was that my three older kids were all asleep by 7:30pm, and baby was not far behind.

Am I super-tired right now, and it's not even 9:30pm? Yes! Will we all have an adjustment getting up in the morning this week? Probably, but that's normal enough on a good week...

That's my little thing for today! Good night!