Extreme Makeover: Me Edition, Week Seven

Is it Wednesday already? My how the weeks are flying by! I guess it's time for Extreme Makeover: Me Edition, once again! The fabulous, Amber, has gotten us gals together for support and encouragement while we try to better ourselves and get healthy! Join us, post about it, and link up, why don'tcha?


So . . . I knew this week would bring set-backs. I spent three days on vacation with my family, throwing caution to the wind, and not watching what I ate. At all. I had a big serving of my mom's lasagne (with super yummy garlic bread, thankyouverymuch) the first night, delicious fajitas (courtesy of my brother and brother-in-law) the second, and, oh yeah, many slices of pizza on the third. No, in case you're wondering, this wasn't followed by lots of exercise. I'm not gonna lie to ya, I didn't even think about exercise once. And if that wasn't enough, my beautiful, sweet, thoughtful daughters know exactly what I love . . . chocolate. And they got me plenty of it for Mother's Day. Like, two gigantic bars and three bags, to be exact. And it was the good kind {as if there's a bad kind of chocolate}. And yes, I had a lot of it. Okay, there, confession over. It wasn't a great week for weight loss, but it was a great week for family and fun. I think that should win out every once in awhile, anyway.


Before I jump to the results (I'm not really looking forward to posting them, so I'll stall as long as I can), it's time for the question of the week:

Show us your inspiration picture. Of yourself skinny, of yourself fat, of a celebrity that inspires you to keep going.

I don't really have an inspiration picture. I did recently come across some pictures taken in 2003. That was a year after I had Sierra. I was in really good shape at that point in my life, probably my thinnest at about 103 pounds, but also pretty toned as I exercised to Denise Austin every.single.day. This picture was taken in August of 2003. My mom, Sierra, and I had taken a trip to Michigan to visit my roommate from Miss USA. We spent a week back there just visiting, and it was so much fun. I look at the picture now and aspire to get my body back in that kind of shape. I felt good.

August 2003

And also the fall of 2006. We went to Hawaii in October, so I had been pretty good about exercising, and I just felt good about my body.

Okay, the results:
I stayed exactly the same. No gain, no loss. To the ounce, the same. I'm actually not altogether disappointed since I did not make the best choices health-wise last week. I'm going to get my bum in gear for next week, though. I still have a few pounds to go, and LOTS to tone!

Until next week, ladies!

It's Good to be Home . . .

But it was great to get away!

We had a wonderful mini vacation with the family.

The girls got to play, play, and play some more with cousins.

(*Warning ~ many pictures to follow)

My sister's son, Jaymes, followed Makenna EVERYWHERE.

(Is he a cutie, or what?)

And take a look at this little muffin. My niece, Sonoma.

Kam caught up on some much-needed sleep ;)

{notice the drool in picture 1}

And the girls were sooooo excited to present me with my Mother's Day Gift,

which happened to be my favorite thing in the whole world . . .

Chocolate!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama You can head over to http://www.mycharmingkids.net her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

The girls and I were not in a commercial last week. If we had been in a commercial, we would not have had the time of our lives. That would be so shallow of us. And while we were not shooting a commercial, I wasn't the least embarassed that Sierra was explaining (in detail) to everyone involved that our beloved cat is now outdoors because she coughed up a hair ball that resembled the remains of a mouse. Not at all. Hair balls are a perfectly acceptable topic of conversation, as far as I'm concerned.

We did not go on vacation with my family last weekend. While not on vacation, Makenna certainly wouldn't have had 462 accidents in three days, including one black eye. What kind of mother would I be if I weren't watching my child every single second to make sure she wasn't running into closed doors?

I did not tear up while reading a Junie B. Jones book to my six year old daughter, because I found the ending to be touching. I am not overly hormonal right now resulting in tears almost every day for no particular reason. Tears? Over a children's book? That's just silly.

Wanna join in? C'mon be brutally honest. Write your own post about everything you did not do last week, and link up at My Charming Kids.

Blessed

Could I be more blessed?

No, I don't think so.

These three little girls make me one very happy Mama!

Happy Mother's Day to all you other blessed Mamas out there!

It's Almost Embarassing . . .

Just how much "stuff" we bring when we go on vacation for four days.

Extreme Makeover: Me Edition, Week Six

It's about that time again! Time to get your bum in gear, exercise like mad, and eat healthy. What's that? I should take my own advice? Yeah, you're right. But that's another story. Go visit Amber, she's the fabulous gal who dreamed up this great idea to get us ladies together to help motivate one another for a complete makeover! Join us, post about it, and link up. It's lots-o-fun!

It's more of the same around here. My new music is still motivating me to move more. Sometimes (Do.Not.Laugh.) I will throw on the iPod and shake my groove thing while making myself beautamous in the morning or while making dinner in the evening. Overall more movement, and less eating. Though I'm finding that as I'm losing weight, I am more hungry due to nursing Kam. A few weeks ago I was thinking back to when I nursed my older daughters, and I was ravenous all.the.time. I was wondering why that wasn't necessarily the case this time around, and I think I've found my answer. The closer I get to my pre-pregnancy weight (now only 4-5 pounds away) the less fat stores I obviously have, and therefore I am getting hungrier again. So . . . this means I will probably need to step up the exercise routine, as I'm going to be eating more again.

And now, for the question of the week, courtesy of Amber and Xazmin from This is the Year:

We're all here at EM:ME because we're unhappy with our bodies, or our health; there are things that we are trying to change.But today you must share one thing with everybody that you absolutely love about yourself

I'm not sure I can think of anything that I "absolutely LOVE" about myself. But I will say that I almost always give 100% (though I've found the exception to be exercise!) I try to be the very best I can be, especially at the two things that are most important to me, being a good wife and a good mama.

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for (what? You're not on the edge of your seat? Oh.)

I have lost 1.6 pounds this week, for a grand total of exactly 8 pounds altogether. (And, in case you are wondering, yes, I had lost a total of 2 pounds on Monday, but, in grand tradition, the darn .4 pounds crept back in. What is that all about?!) Plus, (I just have to share!) we went shopping last week and I bought a pair of size 4 capris hoping that I'd be able to fit into them by the time we get some sunshine. And guess what, they totally fit. And I'm not even having to squeeze into them. Yay!

Until next week, ladies! Oh, and I'm planning already for a gain next week. We're leaving Friday for the Sunriver Resort for 4 days with my whole family (except not Jeremy, {sad face}). My mom has lasagna planned for Friday night (um, yum), and I'm sure we'll have big breakfasts every morning and quite a bit of eating out. Just thought I should warn ya'all! :)

Lights, Camera, Action!

A little sisterly lovin' before the cameras started rollin'

Quiet on the set!

Sierra in the spotlight

The girls and I were asked to do a commercial for our local telephone company. Today was spent filming, and we had FUN. Especially Sierra, she's a natural in front of the camera, it seems. She's already asking when we do our next commercial :)

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama You can head over to http://www.mycharmingkids.net her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

This is my very first Not Me! Monday post. Ever. So be kind ;)

Alrighty . . . last week I did not create a Wordless Wednesday post on Thursday. And then actually post it. And then leave it there for over an hour until it finally dawned on me that it might not be Wednesday. I am so together and on top of everything around here. I always know exactly what day it is. I mean, my goodness, how could anyone ever get their days mixed up so horribly? Not me!

While Jeremy was playing in Vegas last week, I did not fix big pretzels, carrot sticks, and apple slices for dinner. What kind of dinner is a big pretzel, anyway? I always fix gourmet meals for my family.

I definitely have not spent more hours than I can count online, drooling over cloth diapers. As well, I have not done everything I can think to do to get my husband to let me cloth diaper our newest babe. How on earth could a person actually be in LOVE with all those beautiful cloth diapers out there? I'm sure not.

I did not contemplate how much easier it would be to just move, vs. actually cleaning house (and I especially did not do this on more than one occasion). I mean, that's just silly. My house is immaculate at all times!

That's it, folks! My first Not Me! Monday post.

Wanna join in? C'mon be brutally honest. Write your own post about everything you did not do last week, and link up at My Charming Kids. Go on, shoo!

Friend Makin' Mondays

The ever-so-fabulous, Amber, is guest-hosting Friend Makin' Mondays today. (Typically Kasey at All That Is Good hosts). This is the first time I've participated, and it looks like so much fun! Who couldn't use an extra friend or two, is what I'm askin'! And the name of the game is:

Name 5 toys that remind you of your childhood:

Barbie Dream House

Cabbage Patch Kids

Pound Puppies

Get in Shape, Girl!

Sweet Secrets

This was a fun flashback! I'm sure we all remember the Barbie Dream House (I never owned one but wanted one so badly!), as well as the Cabbage Patch Kids. I love to see that these toys are still alive and kickin' today. Barbie will never go out of style! Does anyone remember Pound Puppies? Oh how I loved them (see, I was drivin' my mom nuts with stuffed animals back then, just as my girls do to me today!) And I loved my "Get in Shape, Girl" workout system. It was a cassette tape directing your exercises with weights, jump rope, the super-hip wrist bands and leg warmers ~ Oh YEAH! The Sweet Secrets . . . I think they may have been the one-hit-wonder of the 8o's toy!

Clean.Your.Room!

I haven't been real diligent about cleaning house lately. Actually ~ it's more like I've given up. I mean, really, the second that I pick something up it gets taken out again. Why bother? Well, because I like a clean house, that's why. After a couple of weeks of toys getting stuffed under beds, baby dolls spilling out of cribs, books piled to the ceiling, it was time for a good cleaning.

The "Before" Picture

Do we really need all these stuffed animals?

Kenners admiring herself in the mirror

Ahhhh, that's better

Now, if I could get a handle on the rest of the house . . .

While They Sleep

Do you see how beautifully they get along?

Sleep, babies, sleep.

You Make A Girl Feel So Special

Wow, I am feeling all sorts of special these days as I have been given a second award in just one week! Honestly, I'm shocked that anyone even reads my ramblings (especially after yesterday's Wordless Wednesday mishap!). But I am so honored to receive this Splash award from Jen at Harried Mom of Four. "Alluring, amusing, bewitching, impressive and inspiring". What?! You've obviously got the wrong girl, sister-friend!

I so enjoy the visits and comments that ya'all leave for me. They truly give me warm-fuzzies and just make my day (especially on a particularly exhausting one). Thanks again, Jen, you are a kick in the pants, and I love following all your adventures!

Without further ado, I pass this award on to:

Colleen

Sue

Staci

Mel

Amber