Seventeen Days In and I Refuse To Sink

Two days ago I stepped on the scale and the number hadn't changed much. I immediately felt frustrated. I kept within my calorie count. I worked out. So why hadn't it gone down?

I had to take a step back and remind myself that seeing that .2 change was actually a good thing considering I weigh myself every morning. Some of you may not agree with that. The whole weighing in each day thing, I mean. I've heard mixed feelings about it. Some people say you shouldn't do it because it just leads to frustration and tears when you don't see progress. Others say it helps keep you on track. That's the way I'm choosing to look at it. If the number is up, I look at what I ate the day before and how much I worked out. Clearly something didn't work, which forces me to change how I approach that particular day.

This morning I saw a good half-pound loss, which, when added to the .2 from yesterday and the .2 from the day before, means I'm actually down .9 pounds. It's amazing how different that number looks when you do some simple addition.

I'm also walking like an old lady. Two nights ago we did a killer deck of cards workout that almost took my legs out of commission. Last night...Tae Bo. I introduced Glenn Jackson to the boot camp version, which involves a lot of squats, kicking, and quad work. I loved every minute of it. What I didn't love was the fact that it now hurts a lot to sit down and go potty.

I'm on track and feeling fabulous. A month ago I couldn't even imagine myself saying that but something clicked with this workout and weight loss challenge. I can't even tell you what it was that made me get in gear but this time, I'm not giving up.

Repeat After Me: Donuts Do Not Control My Life

I resisted temptation today. If you know me, then you know I'm a fan of sweets. Cake, cookies, anything that involves sugar or frosting...I'm game. This morning I stopped at the gas station to fill up and grab a diet coke and there staring longingly at me were...dum dum dum...donuts.

I may have drooled just a tiny bit but I walked passed them, grabbed a bel-vita breakfast bar, and didn't look back. It doesn't seem like much but the fact that I walked away is huge in my book. THAT is progress.

On the other hand, I'm pretty sure I'm becoming senile. It took until 3 pm to realize that I put my underwear on inside out this morning. They're actually quite comfortable this way. If anyone asks, I'm starting a new trend.

Tonight's workout was killer. Push-ups, lunges, crunches, and jumping jacks. "Let's make the Aces be 14 instead of one", I say. My arms and legs say "Screw you". My butt's not as mad as the rest of my body but it's still pretty pissed. Eventually I will have a great return on investment.

Birthdays and Bachelorettes Are The Bomb

Day 12: workout complete

We did Deck of Cards again tonight. We did a combo of scissor kicks, reverse crunches, squats, and push-ups. I did all of the push-ups. On my knees like a girl. But that's ok because I am a girl. And now my abs are screaming at me "reverse crunches AND scissor kicks tonight? Really?" It felt awesome. I needed to kick my ass after yesterday.

Yesterday was the bachelorette party for an very dear friend of mine. I've known her since we were in preschool and was so excited to be invited to be part of her fun day. We spent the day on a party bus touring wineries in Red Wing and Cannon Falls. I got to hang out with many old friends who I haven't seen in awhile plus meet some great new people. It was an absolute blast!

Oh, and yesterday was also my birthday. The big 35. Based on the math, I am indeed only 5 years away from turning 40. I'm surprisingly ok with that. Everyone says 40 is the new 30 so if that's the case, it's like I'm really only 25. That's chick math in case you couldn't tell.

I was up a couple of pounds this morning but that's ok. I'm back on track today and that's what matters.

I'm Hangry But It's Worth It

Day 4 of my weight loss challenge and I'm officially down 4 pounds. Woot woot! I stepped off my scale this morning feeling like a million bucks. 4 pounds isn't a lot considering how far I have to go and I'm starving all the time (see below) but it's something. I'm seeing progress. I'm seeing the number on the scale move down as opposed to up. It's something!

I'm also one week into my exercise challenge and haven't slipped up once. God, between that and the weight loss, I think I should get a gold star. I haven't been this disciplined in a long time. 6 more pounds and mama gets a new pair of shoes!

And in case you're wondering, the boys started at their new daycare on Monday. The verdict? They absolutely love it. Rowan no longer fights going to bed at night or waking up in the morning because he's so excited to play with his friends. He told me last night that he really likes Lynn, his new daycare mom. Hearing those words come out of his mouth is a huge weight off my shoulders. It makes me feel a little guilty that I didn't step up and make a change sooner. I knew he wasn't happy at his old daycare but I thought it was just a phase he was going through.

Baby Keegs is loving life, too. He gets to play outside, he's got new people to talk to, etc. Glenn picked him up one day and he was hanging outside in an exersaucer eating cheerios and having a blast. I cannot say enough good things about this new daycare!

Five Days Down, 25 More To Go

Five days ago I challenged myself to do 30 days of exercise. So far I've kept up with it. Yesterday's attempt at exercise was lame but it was something. We ended up walking around at least half the day for Goodview Days. I know it was exercise but it didn't feel quite as good consider I ate some pizza halfway through.

For tonight's exercise, Glenn made me do something called the deck of cards. It's exactly what it sounds like. We assigned an exercise to each card type (hearts were push-up's, spades were jumping jacks, etc.) and then went through the deck. Three quarters of the way through the deck, I was struggling to hold myself up with my arms and I wanted to throw up. It was actually a really good workout. And what's nice is you can change up what you do. 

I am also starting a new challenge. My sister-in-law and I are in a biggest loser style weight loss competition. Whoever has the highest percentage of weight loss is declared the winner. Loser has to pay for pedicures. So between now and October 4, I have to get my butt in gear and kick my own ass. I've got a pedicure calling my name!

A Challenge To Myself

They say it takes 30 days to form a habit. That seems like a really long time but in the grand scheme of things, it's really not. I think of how quick it is to put on a few pounds. It certainly doesn't take me a month to do that. It seems like minutes versus days!

I look at myself in the mirror and think, where have the past few months gone? The ones where you said you were going to do something about your weight. Where you were going to commit to run. To become a new person on the outside. Those days are gone, one fading into the next. And I'm still the same as I was before. But that's about to change.

I'm challenging myself to become that person. 30 days of exercise = one step closer to becoming the woman I want to be. It doesn't matter what I do as long as I get some form of exercise in for the day. My reward? Satisfaction in knowing I challenged myself and I survived. And with any luck, a fabulous new pair of shoes! You can't go wrong with shoes...right?

The Day My Baby Got "Fired": A True Story

A few of you have been privy to our recent debacle with daycare but for those of you who haven't heard, we got a two week notice last Friday. Our current provider said that she didn't think Keegan liked going there and would be better suited with a different daycare mom. Plus, he's too fussy for her. WTF! Are you kidding me?!?!

When she handed me the letter saying we had to be gone by August 15, I was completely floored. We got no warning that this was coming. She would ask me questions every few weeks like whether or not he sat and played with toys at home, how well he took naps, or if there was something we do at home to help with crankiness but not once did she say that if it didn't get better, we had to find new daycare.

Keegan is definitely fussy but he's no fussier than any other baby I've been around. He's 8 months old and teething so yeah, he's bound to be cranky. I think he just didn't meet her expectations of what a baby should be like so he got the boot.

Now, if you're like anyone else I've told this story to, you're baffled, annoyed, or Hulk-like angry over this. To be fair, the contract we signed does state that at any point she can give us a two week notice. But to "fire" an infant because he's too "fussy"? That's just cold-hearted and mean.

I spent most of last weekend in about 3 moods: angry because of the whole situation, sad because she thinks so poorly of my son, and panicking because it took me forever to find someone to watch him in the first place. Nobody has infant openings around here. I made several calls to home daycares in our area, to no avail. But then the angels must have heard my plea because we managed to find a new daycare on Monday!

We met our new daycare provider on Wednesday and I instantly felt at ease with her. She's got a kick-ass backyard, is so unbelievably nice, and genuinely appreciates kids for who they are. Plus, my best friend's kids go there (hence, how I found her) so Rowan and Keegan will at least know two of the kids.

What turned into an incredibly crappy situation has since turned around for the better. I don't dislike our current provider but I've never fully felt at ease with her so this has definitely been a blessing in disguise. Thank you to those of you who put the APB out and got us in touch with friends or acquaintances who would have been willing to watch our boys. It's so amazing knowing that I have friends out there who will drop what they're doing to help me out. I hope you know I'd do the same for you in a heartbeat.