Sisters . . .

Sierra, Makenna, Kam, and me with my sister, Annie, and her daughter Sonoma

As a gal with two sisters of her own, I know how truly special the relationship can be. That's why I was so happy when we found out, last Fall, that we'd be adding another princess to our family. These days Kam has two older sisters to protect her, whom, someday, she can tell all her secrets to. I can already see those three conspiring against this mama! What a precious gift a sister is.

Extreme Makover: Me edition - week 1

I'm just finishing up Week 1 of Extreme Makeover: Me Edition, courtesy of Amber, and I can honestly say that I think it went pretty well. Sure, I had a few slip-ups (can you say 'fudge stripe cookies'?), and a couple of days that got away from me without any form of exercise, but overall I am making progress, and that's what counts! Not once did I go to the kitchen in the middle of the night for any kind of snack (those days are over!), and while I did indulge in some treats now and then, I'm not sure I want to cut those out entirely. I don't want to deprive myself. So instead, "moderation" is the key word around here.

I did purchase a new scale. It's nothing fancy, but it is digital so that I can keep better track of weight loss (or gain?!). I'm happy to report that I've lost two pounds since last Wednesday. A pound of that came off pretty quickly (like in a day), and the other pound was lost in 2 and 4 oz. incremements over the rest of the days. As I've mentioned before I am nursing my baby daughter, so weight loss is not my number one goal, nor do I plan on losing all of the weight right away (although I did with both of my older daughters simply because, for me, nursing just shed the pounds naturally). And as far as numbers go, I have about 14 pounds to lose in order to get to my pre-pregnancy weight, but would be happy even to lose 10. This is definitely the longest I've held on to that much extra weight after having a baby, but I am a little older now, and there have been other issues that have played a role. Mostly I would like to feel better and be more fit (and it wouldn't hurt to fit nicely into my old clothes ;)

I also wear a pedometer. I've worn one for a long time. I'm a visual gal, ya see, and I like to keep track of how many steps I'm taking/how many miles I'm walking per day. It gives me a goal to work toward. Before I was hospitalized with Kam I was taking around 10,000 steps per day. That was my goal, I guess you'd say. Once Kam came home from the hospital, that number was cut drastically ~ like less than 3,000 steps. I was literally just holding her all day long. These days I rarely take less than 5 or 6 thousand, but am working my way back up toward 10,000, and have been coming closer and closer to that goal.

Alright, down to business, now for Amber's Question of the Week! What are some methods you use to stave off temptation and/or keep from over-eating?

Hmmm, honestly I don't have a lot of willpower, AND I love sweets (not a good combo, I know). But, I used to drink nothing but water ~ no soda, no juice, nothing. That is definitely on my to-do list now. I hate the thought of "wasting" calories on beverages, so I plan on going back to water-only (or at least, water-mostly). I try not to let myself get overly hungry (typically if I'm starving, I'll just reach for whatever is closest). And if I'm craving something sweet, often times I'll give in to the temptation, but only eat 1 chocolate, NOT 10 chocolates. It may seem basic, but know your limits. I know that I'm weak, so I deliberately don't buy certain sweets. Last week, after my 8 week post partum check, my mom, the girls, and I met my dad for lunch at Shari's. When we were getting ready to leave, my dad bought an apple pie to take home (yep, you guessed it, that's where I get my sweet tooth!). Later that day he brought half the pie over for me. Sierra and Makenna aren't big pie eaters, and Jeremy was at work for 48 hours straight . . . this was not good. I *did* have a slice, but I knew that if that pie sat on my counter it would eventually all get eaten . . . by me. So, I packed up the pie and delivered it right back to dear ol' dad.

Take a look at what other moms are doing to get healthier over at Ambers!

Until next week!

All About This Mama

A good friend of mine sent me this questionnaire that is circulating, and I couldn't help but participate. I asked for answers from both Sierra and Makenna ~ some of the answers I expected, others were quite a surprise. Here goes:

1. What is something mommy always says to you?

Makenna: “I love you” Sierra: “I love you”

2. What makes mommy happy?

M: “When we clean our messes” S: “When Kenners and I are nice to each other”

3. What makes mommy sad?

M: “When we don’t obey” S: “When we have to leave Disneyland” (So true!)

4. How does your mommy make you laugh?

M: “Giving Piggy-backs” S: “When you say ‘What in tarnation?!’”

5. What was your mommy like as a child?

M: “Good” S: “Nice to your sisters”

6. How old is your mommy?

M: “22” S: “28”

7. How tall is your mommy?

M: “10 feet” S: “60 inches”

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

M: “to take care of baby Kameryn” S: “To take care of us”

9. What does your mommy do when you're not around?

M: “clean house” S: “clean up the house” (Yep)

10. If your mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?

M: “Being Miss America” S: “Cause you’re pretty” (What kind of values are my children learning?!)

11. What is your mommy really good at?

M: “making dinner” S: “being a mommy”

12. What is your mommy not very good at?

M: “working outside” S:“I don't know"

13. What does your mommy do for a job?

M: “feed Kameryn” S: “Have an Etsy shop”

14.What is your mommy's favorite food?

M: “salad” S:“chicken”

15.What makes your mommy proud of you?

M: “being a good girl” S: “Cleaning up our own messes”

16. If your mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?

M: “ I don’t know” S: “Angel Cake from Strawberry Shortcake”

17. What do you and your mommy do together?

M: “go nigh-night together” S: “Play games”

18. How are you and your mommy the same?

M: “we have blue eyes” S: “We both like to read books”

19. How are you and your mommy different?

M: “we don’t wear the same clothes” S: “I have brown eyes, you have blue”

20. How do you know your mommy loves you?

M: “Because you always say it to me” S:“Because you say it”

21. What does your mommy like most about your daddy?

M: “That he’s nice” S: “That he’s handsome”

22. Where is your mommy's favorite place to go?

M: “Grandma’s house” S: “Disneyland”

Confessions Of A Not-So-Fabulous Mom

Last night I was on the phone to my mom. We were deep in conversation so Sierra, of course, sees this as an opportunity to start asking a million questions. "Who're you talkin' to? What does Nana want? When's Daddy going to be home? Can I paint my fingernails?" Sneaky how she fits that last question in, so nonchalantly. So I nod and wave her off to the bathroom. I mean, she's six years old, surely she can handle such a task without me hovering over her, right? Fifteen minutes later I was in the bathroom running water for Kenners bath, and I notice three bottles of nail polish on the counter. Two of them had their tops on, one did not. The top for the third was nowhere to be found, actually. "Um, Sierra, where's the top to this nail polish bottle?" (Looking down at the floor) "Uh, it fell" (Me searching the floor for splattered nail polish) "Where?" "In the nail polish remover." . . .

Sure enough, floating in the bottle of now-pink nail polish remover was the top to the polish. Well, it could've been worse. Moral of the story: Don't get so lost in a phone conversation that you can't keep an eye on a six year old with nail polish.

Can I Get A Shout-Out For My Girl, Denise?!

No one makes aerobics fun quite like Denise Austin. I love her, I really do. So you can imagine how crushed I was when Lifetime took her Daily Work-Outs off the air. Good thing I recorded two whole VHS tapes worth of Denise ~ score! (And yes, I do still own a VCR).

Let's Get HEALTHY

Okay, after reading my last post (which I've recently deleted), I realized that I came across as more concerned about weight loss vs. actually getting healthy. Since this is not true, I figured it'd be best just to start over, that way there is no confusion. So here it goes . . .

Folks, I want to get healthy. Am I hoping that I lose a few pounds because of it? YES! Am I okay if I don't? YES. I am, of course, nursing my 2 month old, and her health is of utmost importance to me.

My sincerest THANKS! goes out to Amber for initiating the Extreme Makeover: Me Edition, Challenge. No more trips to the kitchen for Oreos in the middle of the night, no more finding excuses for not exercising. Nope, it's time to get healthy and in shape. Won't you join me?

Waaaay Back Wednesday

Okay, so it's not centuries old or anything, but it does seem like an eternity ago. This picture was taken on our trip to Hawaii, October 2006. Sierra was 4 years old, and Makenna was 19 months. Good times, good times.

Life Is A Dance

Last night was the final night of the Oregon High School Dance and Drill State Competition. Having been a member of dance team throughout high school, and having coached after high school, I naturally love to attend each year. But even more important, my sister, Annie, still coaches high school dance team, so we love to go to support her and her girls. Geri and I loaded up the girlies (if you think we're getting Kam started early, you should know that Makenna attended her first competition at the ripe ol' age of 2 weeks!) and headed into Portland.

We all had a fabulous time. Kam slept through the majority of the competition, Sierra and Makenna were content snacking on popcorn and admiring all of the costumes, and I got my dance team "fix" for the year. We also got to visit with old friends, and of course see Annie and her daughter, Sonoma.

I snapped a few pictures, though none are great (I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with my camera ~ any suggestions on a good camera are welcome!).

Sweet Sayings

The other day Makenna and I were on the floor admiring Kam and how she's grown and changed so much in the last few weeks. The following is one of the sweetest conversations I've had with my daughter who is no longer the baby of our little family.

Makenna: She's so tiny, Mama
Me: Yes, she's a tiny little pumpkin, isn't she?
Makenna: Does Kameryn have Jesus in her little heart too?
Me: Yes sweetheart, she does.

Always deep in thought, my sweet Makenna. I could tell she was happy to hear that even tiny little Kam has Jesus in her heart. What a treasured moment for this Mama.

Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder?

So, Miss Kameryn likes to be right next to Mama at all times. We catch our Zzzzs together, we eat together, we clean house together (and I use the words clean and house VERY loosely), etc. If I try to put her down even for a moment, I'll get an earful (thank goodness for my best pal, sling). Anyway, this morning she sacked out on my lap during homeschool with Sierra and Makenna, and she seemed unusually content, so I carefully moved her to our bed so that I could get a quick load of laundry switched over and clean up the breakfast dishes. She wound up sleeping for almost an hour . . . without me . . . and I'll tell ya, I missed her.

Tell me you wouldn't miss this little pumpkin if she weren't permanently attached to you, I dare ya.

Splish Splash!

The sweet smell of a freshly bathed babe is just too much for me!
Kam likes the bath too, though it often results in
Sierra and Makenna joining in on the fun.
4 of us in one bath tub . . . it's a bit snug.
But I love it!

Of course a good, long nap is in order

once the bath festivities have ended.

It's the law.

Headin' Out West

Last week my dear friend and fellow homeschooling mom, Amanda, informed me that the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center was closing this week. Though we had planned on making this field trip a little later in the year, we decided we didn't want to miss the opportunity, so away we went on Friday afternoon. We enjoyed a short film, and the many displays. It was the perfect addition to our pioneer studies.