Summer Wellness Challenge

This past weekend we went to Augusta and Atlanta for a mini trip. I'll post more about that as soon as I get some pictures downloaded.....

I have been doing pretty good. Another 2lbs lost and I am slowly fitting into a few more pieces of clothing. I think another 5 will get me into my 12's. Yeah! Then another 10 will get me into my 10's. So come fall (bummer not the summer), I should be in my 7/8's. I ran a little more last week, and doing better with running. But, I'm kind of tired of it. I'm in a little slump. I'm doing it right now because I have to not as much as I want to. I just need to get pepped up again. Maybe I should buy me new running shoes ....Well, here is this week's challenge. It' pretty easy, except the snack part. I usually use that time to escape my children and read or play on the computer... I'll have to do that some other time.

"ELIMINATE FOOD DISTRACTIONS

How many times have you sat down to watch t.v., read a book or check your emails while munching on chips, popcorn, M&MS or whatever and before you know it they are GONE and you hardly remember consuming them, let alone what they tasted like? Well, that's what we are going to try to avoid this week.

This week we will strive to eliminate ALL food distractions, by putting more focus on what we are eating when we are eating it. I can't possibly list all food distractions, but here's a few good examples: watching t.v., on the computer, reading a book, driving/riding in the car, playing games, standing rather than sitting, preparing food for others, walking to class, working, etc, etc. Try not to just focus on eliminating the distraction, but ENJOYING the food you consume. I believe that well prepared, healthy food can and SHOULD be enjoyable. Try sitting down at the table with your family/friends when eating meals AND snacks!! Yes, snacks. Put your portion on a plate/bowl, take it to the table, sit down and take pleasure in it! Take time to notice the colors, textures, smells and flavors of the food that fuels your body and mind. In this busy world we live in, it won't hurt us to take a few extra moments to savor the things we enjoy." (Summer Wellness Challenge Program, Dianne Nichols)

Girl Scout Camping

Oh, I didn't write about our camping trip. We had a great time a few weeks ago camping with Mollie and the other 2 Juliettes. I'm loving not having a troop because we can do these kinds of things without all the adult trainings needed. The girls have earned 12 badges so far and many of them was from this camp out. They spent weeks planning and learning safety in order for them to go. It pretty much went without a hitch although paddle boating was extremely HOT!!! We didn't plan that one very well. Next time we'll go later or much earlier... not in 90 degree weather. Mollie succeeded in staying up until midnight and I think she was the first one up. Just girls (plus Kamille's brother) got along all right!! Here are some pictures.

Week 4 -Summer Wellness Challenge

Wow! 4 Weeks down and 8 pounds lost. Slowly but surely. I was super proud of myself this week.... I used to be pretty athletic and loved sports, but always hated running long distance. Well, I've been wanting to do a 5K and have been having a hard time even conquering a mile. I started reading a website couch to 5K and I've been doing it wrong. I've been trying to run by distance. This site has you run by time. So, I started this week. Since I've been exercising for 3 weeks, I skipped a few weeks. What I did was run for 7 min. walk for 1 and repeat until I got to 30 min. Amazing!! I did it! And when I went to measure the first night, it was 2.2 miles. To me that was fantastic. Now I just have to work up to doing 3.11 miles in 30 min. This week I up the min running. 8min run 1 min walk. And then I'll up every few times. I am actually enjoying this much more than I was when I was running and wanted to give up after a mile. Anyways.... I ate great this week even when we went to Ryans and I even fit into a skirt that I bought last year when I was 25 lbs lighter. I lost 2 inches in my waist and 2 in my hips, .5 in arms, 1 in thighs and 2.5 in bust. I am very happy. YEAH! It's coming. This week's challenge is:

"1. You must email/blog at least one teammate your "exercise log" each day.
I think people tend to choose more difficult workouts and try harder when they know someone is going to ask what they've done for exercise that day. Seriously, who wants to own up to being a slacker?

2. At least one workout this week must be done with a "workout buddy" (this buddy does NOT need to be a team member)
I believe we work harder, faster, longer and with more enthusiasm when we're next to someone else who is right there encouraging us to finish one more set, who tells us we can do more than we think possible, who won't let us stop when it starts getting difficult, because they know and understand our goals and ambition!" (from the summer wellness website)

Flashback

Flashback: 2am May 2000 in Augusta, GA. Mollie was one week old and was extremely cholicy. We could not get her to go to sleep so Brian took her and I laid back down. I heard him turn on the music and I watched (peeking around the corner) as he danced with her to "Let it Be" by the Beatles. She stayed quiet the whole time he was dancing with her and it was then that I remember thinking how truly grateful I was to have Brian as the father of my children and so thankful to have Mollie in our lives.

Today: Every birthday we play the Beatles Birthday song. We all dance and have a great time. Afterwards Brian turned on "Let it Be" and asked Mollie to dance. I looked over and that old memory flashed into my head. Today she turned 10 years old, but to me she is still my little baby mesmerized by her dad. I had tears running down my eyes and I looked around and saw the others laughing and dancing. I truly am grateful to have them all in my life.

Happy Birthday Mollie! You are an amazing young lady full of life and energy, you are super fun, a great nurturer, and a great daughter. We love you!

Mia

My baby is already growing. It makes me quite sad and I feel like I need to relish every step of her growth. This part of our lives may be over. Sigh.... Anyways, here are some pictures of her.

Cereal

I had to write this down because it makes me smile. One morning my five year old wanted breakfast. He was SOOOOOOOO hungry. I was feeding Mia and told him to try to get it himself. He insisted that he couldn't and was just grumpy that I couldn't help him right away. Well, he left and I heard cereal pouring and thought, "good for him" When I finished with Mia, I entered a kitchen that had cereal everywhere! To my surprise, Amie (2) came up to me to sit down and eat. She had made Jonah cereal (with milk), a bowl for me and a bowl for her. So funny! I just had to enjoy the sweet thoughts and worry about the mess later.

Thank you!

This past week was CRAZY! I had to power wash the whole house, took the girl scouts camping, and painted our house. THank you Bob, Beth, Bobby, Annette, and Brandi for coming here to help us paint. I appreciate it SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much! I would have never survived with out all your help. The house looks fantastic and I feel so blessed to have you all as family. Especially since it was Grandma's Birthday.... she shared it with us to paint. I'll post pictures soon.

Summer Wellness Challenge Week 4

Well, I lost 1 lb last week. Wish it were more, but I'm glad it's something. So far I'm down 6lbs. Yeah! This week the challenge is keeping a food journal. So this is what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast: 4 homemade wholewheat pancakes with blueberries on top
Snack: Handful of Pistachios
Lunch: A super smoothie (fruits and vegis) and a piece of homemade wheat bread with Peanut Butter
Snack: Pistachios and dried Apricots
Dinner: 2 small chicken tacos with a large salad.

Summer Wellness Challenge Week 3

Ok, so I didn't earn all my points this week. I had more than one treat.... Amie shoved a cookie in my mouth and then yesterday I had more than one serving of the beautiful stawberry shortcake trifle I made. I am so weak. URRR... a little frustrating. I did lose 1 pound.... but it's a new week!!! So I'm ready to try harder this week. No smores (it's girl scout camping this week) and no birthday cake (we're celebrating my mother-in-laws birthday and Mollie's on Saturday)! I know I can do it! On a bright note....The challenge this week is not drinking soda. YIPPEE! That's an easy 35 points for me. I don't think I've had a soda in forever!

Go Mommy GO!!!

So I have been having fun exercising! I went with my children running and was amazed that my 7 year old (the one that was least athletic in my eyes) lapped the rest of us. He seemed to really enjoy it and I'm so happy we may have found something he enjoys. (He does like golf as well). Anyways.... this morning I couldn't find my keys to get the stroller out of the van, so I had to run by myself. I run around our block and as I was coming into view of the kids (who was being looked after by the neighbor) they were screaming at me... GO MOMMY GO! GO MOMMY GO! That was great encouragement. I was able to run almost the whole time. I am so thankful for such great children!!