Potpourri of the Week #4

Hey summer!  We couldn't wait for you to come, and now that's school's out, it's a pretty mean trick that you haven't come yet.  Please come soon and take away these dreary rainstorms.  We're bored (and driving our mom crazy!)

Yes, it's been one of those weeks.  Little Miss Sprout also thought it would be an opportune week in which to get sick and look extremely pathetic while doing so.  She and I have been embracing the night life, baby! 

So it's time for another Potpourri of the Week post - in which I share my favorite links to blog posts, web articles, books I'm reading, etc.  Let's jump right in!

1.  I love birthdays!  I admit I can get quite carried away when planning a party or family get-together.  But those fun times aren't worth the stress or crazy expenses.  Jessica at Life as Mom shares a great post on 12 Ways to Save on Birthdays.  We have already implemented a lot of these with our kiddos, and I am eager to try some of her other ideas for the multitude of birthdays coming up.

2.  God has really been doing a work in my heart lately.  I feel such a need to study and learn more than ever about the One who created me and sent His Son to die for me.  I am so excited to join in with Mandy at Biblical Homemaking in Walking Through the Gospel: Falling in Love with the One True and Living God series.   As she put it, "we're going to be studying who He is and who we are in relation to Him, and why we need Him so desperately."  So needed.  So desired.

3.  This is a cute tutorial for some adorable wall art.  I think it might be the answer to a sad-looking canvas that's been sitting in my office for the past few months.  I love the words on it, just not the way they look. 

4.  I am hoping that the weather will start admitting that it is indeed summer and warm up so we can hit up the pools and the spray parks!  I was looking at beach towels the other day and was trying to figure out what would work best for my babies' little shivering bodies when they get out of the water. (and then get back in two seconds later!)  Then I saw this tutorial on one of my favorite DIY blogs, Make It and Love It.  Ponchos made out of beach towels?  Yes please!  I'm putting these on my to-do list for the weekend. 

5.  And ahem. . . speaking of summer, this gal's body isn't quite ready.  I could pull out the excuses that "hey, I just had a baby in December" or "I can't find the time to exercise."  Honestly?  I love sweet things and eat them all the time.  I do manage to find time to nap (okay, maybe that one is a myth!), read, blog, facebook, play Words with Friends, watch Netflix, and basically sit around.  A lot.  So this post by Kris at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers was a bit needed.  Motivation, that is. 

And that's it for this week!  Maybe you actually have sunshine where you are - so get out and enjoy it! 

Here's to Your Health

This morning, as I was preparing whole wheat English muffins with peanut butter for breakfast, an unusually alert Drama Queen (not a morning person) came bouncing into the kitchen.
"Whatcha makin', Mom?" she asked.

"English muffins, sweetie," I told her.

"Oh, good, I hope they are whole grain ones!" she replied. "Those are the kind that are healthiest, right?"

"Well, sweetheart, they certainly are good for you," I agreed.

"And we need the peanut butter because it's protein, right?" she pressed on.

"Yes, honey, it's always a good idea to start off your day with some protein."

Since September 1st, conversations like these have become much more frequent. It was in September that we decided as a family to become much healthier both in exercise and in eating habits. The transition has been smoother than I thought, especially with such young ones. It has not always been easy, as I have definitely been tempted to turn to the boxed mac'n'cheese or hot dogs when a quick meal is needed. And a few trips to McDonalds have been made in moments of weakness, but they have been rare. We have been making serious efforts in eating veggies and fruits at every meal and making substitutions in recipes whenever we can to make them healthier. Boxed dinners and packaged meals have disappeared from the pantry shelves. The kids, especially the Drama Queen, have started to pick up on the importance of each thing we eat or decide not to eat.

The changes are definitely showing! I have lost 25 pounds following a special diet which I hope to talk more about later this week, and the Nerd has lost over thirty pounds. We are both at the gym almost every day, and I am daily amazed at how much more I seem to be accomplishing with the extra energy I have.

So, I am off to make some healthy pumpkin muffins (recipe here) that I promised the kids could have tomorrow.

Have a happy and healthy Tuesday everyone!

Week Four Weigh-In

Um yeah. It's been a crazy week.

Well, when I put it that way, it could get rather redundant. I mean, all my weeks are crazy.

So let's just say not much effort was put into the weight-loss plan this past week. Very little exercise was accomplished, healthy eating was thrown out the window, and the burning of the midnight oil continued.

Hmmm. I know, I know, a little self-discipline is in order. So after I finish this Pepsi and eat this ice cream sundae, I'll get right on that.

Just kidding. At least partly. ;)

I did manage to lose another pound however, putting my total weight loss so far to 5.8 pounds.

I always have been more of a tortoise than a hare.

Week Three Weigh-In

Week Three of the big plan to get healthier, lose weight, yell at the trainer, and overall feel good has been completed. I did exercise five of those seven days, although I must admit my nutrition and general diet plan was not great. (read: a couple of Hot Pockets, a moment of ice cream weakness, a pizza party, and the last of the Christmas candy lurking around the house).

However, there was some weight loss - I am now down to 167 pounds (1.6 pounds less than last week). Even more importantly, I noticed an increase in energy. I felt that I accomplished a lot more overall during the week and perhaps did not snap at the kids quite as often. (The trainer, however, was fair game!) Yesterday, I even managed to fit in baking a couple of loaves of bread from scratch. This, I tell you, is quite the feat for Miss Not-So-Domestic!

Of course, then I discovered how wonderful a grilled ham/cheese sandwich on homemade bread was. So yeah. Still have to work on monitoring my food intake.

Besides being my own food police, my other goal is getting to bed at a decent hour so that I get proper sleep. This is ridiculous considering that I am blogging this at 1:00 am! I just need the self-discipline to tell myself, "Go to bed already!"

Hmmmm. . . after stating that, would continuing this blog post be considered a lack of self-discipline? I'm off to ponder that in my warm comfy bed. . . until I have the lovely privilege of waking up early and attempting to make my body do many painful and probably-not-meant-for-humans things.

Week Two Weigh-In -sometimes we fall

I just completed week two of my plan to exercise more, eat better, and ultimately lose weight.

I would rather not go into all the gory details of last week, so here are a few words to give you an overall idea of how the week went: stomach flu, sick family, large box of Ding-Dongs, birthday cake, too much pizza, other family issues, soda, no exercise, ...

Yeah, so it wasn't my best week ever. When I stepped on the scale to weigh myself yesterday, I was pretty surprised to find that I had only gained .6 pounds over the week, making my current weight 168.6 pounds. So certain that it was going to be a lot more weight gain, I was relieved to not totally undo the results of my first week.

So, life is messy. And I am human. Life goes on. Here's to some actual weight loss this week!

By the way, whoever invented push-ups, side planks, and the Superman move ought to be punished. Owww. I am so hurting right now...

Week One Weigh-In - Off to a Great Start!

My muscles are sore. My body craves ice cream. And yet I am pretty happy with how the first week of my new fitness commitments went.

I exercised five days out of the seven, using "Your Shape with Jenny McCarthy" for the Wii. I must say that these workouts kicked my tail! In case you're not familiar with the program, it basically works with a small camera that tracks your movements while Jenny McCarthy's voice corrects you and "encourages" you. (haha) Each day the program monitors your progress and sets up the next day's workout for you based on that progress. It's tough, and not always fun, but I am enjoying the way I feel after each workout.

As for diet and nutrition, I didn't really make any major changes yet. I tried to focus more on getting back into a regular exercise routine, and I hope to work a little harder on controlling my food intake this coming week. I did avoid the extra ice cream and attempted to keep my portion sizes correct.

And (drum roll please) my starting weight for this week is: 168.0 pounds. That means I lost a total of 3.8 pounds this week! Woohoo! It feels like a great way to start, anyway.

Thanks for all the encouraging comments last week, by the way. Knowing that I was going to be reporting my week's exercise and results to my blog was very motivating!

Bye Bye Baby Weight

Well, I suppose it's that time of year in which many people make their New Year's resolutions. I had originally thought that I would skip the whole resolution thing this year - too hard to keep and all. But then a very wise pastor mentioned a quote that I have heard from him several times: "If you aim at nothing, you will surely hit it every time."



And so I wrote down a list of goals for myself this year - specific goals for The Framed Frog and for myself as a wife and mother. I won't bore you with the whole list here.



However, I did make one goal that I know thousands of others make every year - to get healthier and lose weight. I am going to need all the help I can get - so I am mentioning it here to help keep myself accountable. :)



I have always been one of those people that didn't worry much about what I ate in the past. I was always very active; a cheeseburger here or a bowl of ice cream there never really affected my weight. It was bound to catch up with me eventually. Apparently having three babies in three years, eating junk food, and generally being lazy is the perfect equation for gaining weight. Who knew?! haha



I started putting on a few pounds earlier in 2009. I chalked those up to stress and the long hours of sitting and painting. Gradually the pounds added on throughout the year, but I didn't really notice in all my busyness. In December, though, when a former Sunday School student asked me if I was pregnant again, I definitely took notice. I weighed myself at home and was shocked to discover that I had gained ten pounds in the past six weeks!



It's time to stop avoiding it. It's time to face this beast head-on and stop the weight gain.

Here's my plan:

1) Get rid of the temptations. Currently there is a container of to-die-for Udderly Chocolate ice cream in the freezer and piles of Christmas candy on the table. No more!

2) Work out regularly again. With three little ones, there is little hope of getting to the gym, but I got the "Your Shape" for the Wii which is already kicking me hard.

3) Stop eating all the convenience foods that got me in this position in the first place.

4) Drink more water.

5) Once a week, post my current weight and progress (or lack thereof) on my blog.

So (deep breath here) here is my starting weight: 171.8 pounds.

Eek. My goal is to lose 25 pounds by June. I need your encouragement folks! Because that Reese's peanut butter cup is looking mighty good right about now...