Tuesday Through Friday

Tuesday I had kids until late and then we had T-ball practice for Kindergartner. I wanted to run down then and have Hubby take the kids and I'd meet them but the kids didn't even get picked up with enough time for me to do that. So, no exercise Tuesday.

Wednesday, Thursday and Today it's been raining. This not having a treadmill thing is killing me. Having to rely on the weather kinda sucks. But I may use it as an excuse. I could totally go down and lift weights or put on a workout video. Why is it that I don't? I'm hoping that tomorrow is nice so I can get some working out done.

Day 4

I was going to run while Preschooler was at school but I was really enjoying the silence at home so I didn't go. I did walk the kids to school and walked down to pick up Preschooler. When we got home I put him on his little 4 wheeler and we went out. Me to run, him to ride. We went down the golf cart path which is a half a mile down and half a mile back. I ran the whole thing, except for his occasional stop to check things out.

Day 3

So I was exhausted today because I've been up with Preschooler all night the last two nights. Unable to let another day go by with no exercise though, I went out while my pizza dough was rising and ran a lap around my neighborhood. I have a nice circle to run that is 3/4 a mile. I walked a little while to get warmed up but then ran the rest of it without stopping. I was pretty proud of myself. The most I've really run in a stretch before has been 1/4 mile at a time.

I only did the one lap and I had to get back to my pizza but at least I did something right? I'm hoping that I can make this night running a habit since no other time seems to work for me now that I can't do it in my basement. I really need a treadmill!

Wednesday and Thursday

I didn't get a chance to work out either of these days because I had 3 extra kids each day from first thing in the morning until 7 at night. After 7 hasn't been an option yet either so here's to hoping for tomorrow. I will just have 1 extra tomorrow.

Day 2

So I was SUPER sore today from my exercises yesterday. Oh well, life goes on!

I did a ton of arm weight/strength exercises on the bowflex, the weight machine and free weights as well as pushups and tricep dips.

I didn't get a chance to get outside to run and I tried the treadmill but it's too bad to use. I did use our stationary bike for almost 10 minutes on one of its programs. It killed my already sore legs.

Legs tomorrow and hopefully I'll get a chance to get outside to run. At this point I'm kind of trying to focus on strength right now anyway but the cardio is an important part of any exercise routine.

I'm also hoping to get to my green drinks tomorrow. I need some good fruit but I'll make do with apples and bananas and grapes. We'll see how tasty it is!

How Many Times Do You Think I'll Start Over?

I'm hoping this is the last time. I'm getting going yet again. Today I decided to run outside. I had hoped t do around my neighborhood twice but ended up seeing a new neighbor and introducing myself and talking for a while. So I had to hurry down to pick up my preschooler. Then we walked back. I mapped it on Sparkpeople.com and it was a 1 mile rout but I probably walked half of it home. Good news is that I ran the entire way down there.

After I got home I went downstairs and did some exercises. My husband has been doing a Men's Health workout for about a year now and so I tried that. There was an exercise I couldn't do on the ball because my balance sucks but other than that I did it. (Oh and it wants you to do pull ups and we don't have a pull up bar so I didn't do those either.) Then I did wall sits, jumping jacks, knee raises, butt kickers, calf raises and some Pilate's moves. I mostly worked out my legs.

I'm going to try to do a lot of weight lifting/strength training exercises every day - switching off from legs to arms every other day and I'd like to run/jog every day as well. Our treadmill is pretty much dead though so it will kind of depend on when I can get outside to run. I'm going to try to get up early in the morning to do my weights and then try to run just after dinner. We'll see how it goes. I may need to make adjustments.

I'm also going to start walking my kids to school and back as much as possible. It's a mile round trip.

So, where in the heck have I been you may ask? I've recently acquired 4 additional kids to watch during the days. Add to that my own two kids, trying to keep the house clean, arranging play dates as well as cooking and caring for a husband and all my time seems to have vanished. Problem is that I didn't make it a priority. I'm doing it now. I CAN get up early. I WILL!

So, in addition to tracking my exercise progress again I'd like to start tracking my house cleaning time as well as other goals.

I loved General Conference and it talked a lot about families and being a good mother. A lot of stuff I needed to hear and about a ton of things I need to work on to be the mom I know I can be. Part of that (or most of it) is going to be kicking my lazy butt to the curb and finding the motivation that has got to be hiding somewhere inside me. DEEP inside! I'll find it though. I just have to get started. Self motivation is key and that is where this blog comes in. I'll find it again.

I'm also going to start tracking my calories again on Sparkpeople.com and going to go to the store today to get ingredients for green drinks again. I'm less than a month away from my birthday and 10 pounds from my pre-kid weight so I'm hoping to get to that number by my birthday. I hope!

Oh, and a goal I'm hoping to get on here soon is starting to read my scriptures again. And sharing what I learn or a favorite verse or something.

Once Again...

I'm starting everything over on... MONDAY!

My 21 Day Challenge

Exercising

All of it!

TOP TO BOTTOM IN 21 - Day 4?

Okay so I know I started this whole thing and the kids got sick and I've never really made it back to it. So... here I go!

I still haven't finished my master bedroom but I wanted to get going again so when preschooler decided he HAD to take a bath I figured it was a great time to start again. I did the kids bathroom.

I know you can't tell in this picture but the mirror was covered in fingerprints and the counter was a little dirty. Overall though not a bad room - clean wise.
After: you can tell better that the mirror is clean.

WARNING! This picture is pretty gross. My boys dirty toilet. This is the one they run to in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning. For some reason, this is the toilet that they ALWAYS forget to flush so it sits and gets yucky until I smell it and try not to vomit when I go in to flush.

Before: dirty toilet and trash full of garbage.

After: my clean toilet

Before: I'm not really sure why I took a picture of the closet because I didn't do much in here. Basically just straightened the towels and wiped up the dusty floor.

After: This shot is showing the fewer towels because my kiddo dumped a boat full of water on the floor and I had to clean it up. Got me a head start on my mopping.

I have green marble floors in the bathroom and it always gets really dusty for some reason. It's like a magnet.

It felt good to get going again with my project. I'm hoping that I can keep up the momentum and finish this time.

Exercise Day 1... Again!

Okay, so I didn't officially get in my workout clothes or go downstairs to the treadmill. I didn't lift any weights or do any sit ups. But I did get a workout. I shoveled snow for about an hour and a half. According to sparkpeople.com I burned about 647 calories. Now, how accurate that is I don't know but I'm counting it is working up a sweat and burning my calories for the day.

ARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!

Okay, so since the kids and husband were all sick with the... dun, dun, dun... dreaded flu I haven't made it back into normal life yet. We've been fighting off secondary infections and being part of other craziness that just makes life so fun. (read that last part with just a touch of sarcasm)

I am going to get my house resurrected and start again on Monday with finishing up my last project - my bedroom. I also haven't been working out either so I'll get back to that then too. Monday's are such a good day to start things. I feel like it's a new start every week - a chance to start again.



My good friend Julia awarded me with an award for my blog.

With this award I am supposed to say 6 things about myself.

1- I love blogging. I love keeping a record for my family and challenging myself to be better. But, more than anything I love keeping up on my family and friends via their blogs. I am a bone-a-fied blog stalker - if that scares you I'm sorry! I swear that I do it out of love not creepiness!

2- I am a recovering Facebook addict. I still get on once or twice a day to check on things and read people's updates but I am to the point now where I'm bored with all the games and refuse to start playing any new ones.

3- I was extremely shy in Jr. High and High school. I had very few friends and am still friends with even less of them (pretty much Julia) but have made friends with quite a few people from high school since becoming a wife and mom. I sometimes try to think that I'm still a shy person but am reminded quite often that I'm really not any more and love getting to know people. I always try really hard to welcome new people to our area because I know how hard it is being new and not having any friends. I believe that it is impossible to have too many friends.

4- I love to help people whenever I can. Whether it's watching their kids or making them something or just calling to say hi and check on people I feel like I am always trying to do something for someone. I learned this from my parents who are wonderful people and are always giving of their time and things. I remember every time it snowed we would go shovel our driveway but also knew that we weren't done with ours and would go and do some of the older people in our area who couldn't. I still feel like I need to do that and help our neighbors do their driveways all the time.

5- I am a lazy person by nature and have been fighting it off for the last few years. My house isn't nearly as clean as it should be and there are so many things I would like to do but usually don't. I have dreams and aspirations to be one of those super moms who always has a clean home as well as home makes everything for all the birthday parties and comes up with cute and fun things to do all the time. I really have to fight my inner mediocrity to become a better person. That is partially why I came up with this blog. If I don't have a way of recording things and holding myself accountable to myself (and anyone who reads this blog) then I generally won't do it.

6- As part of this laziness, up until recently we would eat out for all of our meals. Oh, sure. Occasionally we'd eat some cold cereal for breakfast or I'd make dinner but for the most part we ate out 3 meals a day 6 days a week. Not only was it very costly but it was very bad for our health. When we gained weight and couldn't get it to come off and also got to a point where we couldn't afford it any more I decided that it was time to start getting off the lazy train and cooking and grocery shopping. Because of this I've discovered a great love for couponing. It's like a game for me! We've now gone from spending $800 to $1000 a month on groceries to spending around $250 a month on groceries. I've also lost 20+ pounds with intentions on losing about 30 more. I also feel like a better mother because I'm not cramming my kids full of crap all day long.

Okay, so now it's my turn to pass along the love to 6 people.

1- My friend Emilee who also has a passion for couponing and saving her family money. She's been a good friend for a few years now and I love her!!

2- My friend Ginger who is one of those ones who I wasn't necessarily friends with in high school but have become friends with since. Her two oldest boys were both born within days of my boys.

3- Another friend I've made from high school is Kim. She is so much fun to have over to play and her kids are absolutely adorable!

4- My friend Kari from the singles ward. She is as cute as a button with kids even cuter. She reminds me of me when I was younger with 2 little boys like mine.

5- Cynthia has been my friend since second grade. I have always loved having her for a friend. She is really funny and has a great outlook on life.

6- Sheena is probably my newest friend and the mother to Preschooler's future wife! At least I think they should get married when they get older, much older. Too bad they don't do arranged marriages any more...

Okay, girls... pass the love on!!!

TOP TO BOTTOM IN 21 - Slight Bump

Okay, so last week we all ended up sick and nothing was done around here. Well, I guess I should rephrase that by saying my entire family actually got sick and I did everything I could not to get it. I was really tired and it was all I could do to take care of my sick family. It didn't help that I'd been up with sick kids either. So... things are starting to get better around here and I'm trying to recuperate my house a little bit on the "normal" every day items that need to be done - picking up, dishes, laundry, sweeping, vacuuming, etc. Then I'll get back on track with my project. I'm hoping by Wednesday.

TOP TO BOTTOM IN 21 - Progress

Today I got a little bit done on my bedroom. I cleaned out both dressers and organized the drawers. I'm hoping that I can get more done tomorrow. I've decided that, for now, I need to slow down a little bit so that I don't get sick. I've been up all night for 4 nights now and it's really starting to take it's toll. My preschooler has started feeling better today though so I'm hoping that I'll start getting more sleep and being able to function better.

I'm not stopping, just slowing down. It may take me a little longer to complete my projects but I'll keep going until I'm done - and I'll go full blast when I can!

Also, I've been keeping up on the rest of the house. I need to sweep and mop and vacuum but other than that I'm pretty clean.

Exercise Day... Whatever

I finally made it down to exercise today. I burned 291 calories, with 91 of them being fat calories, in 36.18 minutes. I went 2.25 miles. I started out walking 1/8 mile at a 4 mph then jogged at 4 mph for 1/2 mile. Then I went 1/8 mile at a time and went 3 mph, 3.5 mph, 4 mph, and 4.5 mph - walking everything but the 4.5 mph, which I jogged.

I feel like I get a better workout walking fast than I do jogging. But I still think it's good to build my body up to being able to run/jog a mile or even more.

Some day soon I'll do a 5k which is 3 miles. And some day I want to do the Wasatch Back - which would be a killer. Maybe I'll try for a 10k or a half marathon first. Some day though...

Tuesday Yucky

I was so physically and mentally exhausted yesterday from taking care of preschooler that I didn't do my exercise or cleaning. I did however go to bed at 8:30 and feel like a new woman today! I'm headed down right now to exercise and then I'll go get my kindergartner from school and then work on my cleaning challenge. Hopefully I'll get two items done today to make up for yesterday, as well as my splitting Friday's project into two and working on it Monday.

Monday's Exercise

I didn't get much time in for exercise between my 21 day cleaning project and a sick little boy but I did do my sparkpeople.com weight training exercises and walked down to pick up my Kindergartner from school. Not enough but some is better than none. It's now been two weeks since I've exercised and I'm really missing it. I need to get it in but having a sick kid isn't going to get me down to the cold basement. Maybe my husband will watch my boys tonight for a bit so I can go do a little something. Ahhhh, the life of a mom!

Plus I haven't slept the last three nights so I am needing something to pick-me-up. Exercise, here I come!