Tricky Treating

What I consider to be first of the triple-threat holiday season (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas) has come and gone!  Halloween was somewhat eventful, as for the first time in my life (to my recollection, anyway) trick-or-treating was postponed here in Central Indiana.

All week, they had been discussing the possibility of strong storms on Thursday night with very high winds.  I kept an eye on the forecast and came up with two "back up" plans.  The first was to take the kids to trick or treat at the local mall. That would involve leaving work early, as the hours were from 4-6.  We also would only attend that event if it was raining, but not REALLY storming (not dangerous to be out in the weather).  The second was Halloween cookie baking and "mini trick or treating" to my mom and sister for Tyler.

After some initial hesitation, the city officials did postpone trick or treating to Friday and so we stayed home and did option 2 (good thing too, they postponed the mall trick or treat as well).  Tyler didn't seem to phased by the whole thing and I was very glad we were able to stay in.  The wind was CRAZY!  My little guys would have blown away out there! 

PICTURES!!

At our local orchard/pumpkin patch-My two little pumpkins and their pumpkins!

 My mom snagged these awesome (and EASY) pumpkin decorations!  No carving required!

Side 1-SCARY!

Side 2-Silly!

Fat Bat!

And finally, my adorable little Treats!

Silly and Sweet Spongebob!

My little Monster!

AJ loved bopping along in his stroller!  Bonus-a place to dump Tyler's extra loot!

Tyler had a BLAST and was a HUGE hit! 

 Everyone loved Tyler as Spongebob and he was on cloud nine, losing his mind over getting Smarties and pointing out the costumes of all the other kids.  "Mommy, there's a BANANA!"  He didn't want to stop!  Finally after about an hour and half he was tired and we'd just about hit every house with their lights on in the neighborhood, so we headed home to give out candy for a little while. 

I have done a fairly decent job at resisting the Halloween candy, sticking to just a piece or so here and there.  The last week or so I slacked a little bit on food choices and tracking, but I still hit my workouts pretty well. I am back on tracking now and stepped up my elliptical workouts to include hand weights, so that's been a new challenge.  Although I didn't post a loss from last week, we did have first weight in for the weight loss challenge at work (not sure if I mentioned this or not) and I am in SECOND PLACE!  I posted a 7% loss.  The guy in first is at 9% and we are followed by a three way tie at 5%.  I was really surprised and happy to see that result, maybe I do have a shot at a little monetary kickback!  We'll see! 

Where'd he go?

You guys, where did this little baby go?

I swear, he was just here.  But it seems as though this big guy has taken his place. 

Don't mind the drool

He's ONE, already!  I can't even believe it, it doesn't seem possible.  I still haven't turned my mind completely off from all those months of trying to conceive him, and yet here he is, a babbling, toddling little (big) guy.

I'm a little late on this post, delayed by the remembrance day post and, well LIFE in general being super busy.  AJ turned one on October 12th.  On his birthday, my sisters came over and we did a small dinner with cake and presents.  Little man was having way too much fun and went to bed quite late!  He enjoyed smashing some chocolate cake, and let us give him a few bites as well.

Sunday afternoon, we lucked out with amazing weather.  We invited over our immediate family and had a barbeque with hamburgers, hot dogs, salad, au gratin potatoes, and pasta, plus cupcakes for dessert.  Everyone hung out on our patio and in the yard and we put out our corn hole set (you might have to be from the midwest to know what that is!) and some balls and frisbees.  I think everyone had a good time and AJ seemed to enjoy himself in the playyard and being passed around, despite his cold.

Presents?!  My smiley boy

Going for the covert nose-wipe. He hates it.

It all went off without a hitch. The food was good, everyone made it and we celebrated my little booger turning one, amazing!

He also had his check up last week.  My "little" guy is 23 lbs 13 oz and 32 1/2 inches long! That puts him in the 85% for weight and the 95% for height!  We're having some struggles with solids (non-baby foods) because his gag reflex seems a little strong.  He's doing okay with some new stuff, but so far he absolutely does NOT get the idea that he can pick up food and feed himself.  He won't do it!  I'm hoping he gets the idea soon.  Couple that with no more formula (YAY!  Saves $45 per week!) and starting the transition to a sippy cup, plus working through sleep training issues and there are a lot of changes going on in the life of AJ!  But he's doing great and we love him!

Aside from that, we're dealing with some car drama I'm not really feeling like getting into just now (except to say I do NOT recommend Ray Skillman's auto group anymore).  Tyler is doing pretty well, recovering from his own cold and maybe a tummy bug as well.  I have finally succumbed to the cold myself, after fighting not to come down with it for over a week (everyone else had it).

Still doing pretty well on the fitness front.  Today's weight it officially placed me at 24 lbs lost, which is over 10% of my body weight!  WOOT WOOT!  I realized tonight that I have lost an AJ!!  He weighs right at 24 lbs, the amount I have LOST! For some reason, that really blew my mind!  Pretty soon NONE of my clothes are going to fit!  In a GOOD way! :)  Not sure what I'll do about that though!  I finished the Shred and having been doing my elliptical, but I bought a new DVD, Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 that I will try soon (after this blasted cold buggers off).

That's it!  We'll let AJ wrap things up.

LOVE HIM! :)

Seeing Results

I went ahead and tried level 3 of the 30 Day Shred on Friday.  WHOO It is pretty brutal!  I could definitely tell I was working muscles I haven't been working too much thus far.  I am still pretty darn sore, especially in the backs of my legs and my gluts.  I kept watching her demonstrate the moves and I would think to myself, "No way can I do that!"  Then I'd try it and I could!  There was only one move I just can't do successfully--RockStar jumps.  Basically, you jump straight up and kick your feet back behind you.  For some reason, that just KILLS my knees.  So I modify it, still doing a jump, but small keeping my feet under me.

Sunday my mom remarked that you could really tell that I'm trimming down, especially in my upper tummy.  It made me so happy to hear that! Then Monday at work, a coworker of mine that doesn't come into the office very often also remarked that I was "looking great" and he could tell I was losing weight!  SQUEE!! LOL  Monday's weight in has me down 19.2 lbs--SOOOO close to 20 now and really close to my next big weight goal!

Weekends can be a real challenge for me food wise, since we tend to eat out a time or two and I sometimes don't get a chance to track my intake until later.  Saturday I did well, get a burger at lunch, but only eating half of it and having a salad on the side.  My sister was with me and we did get some frozen yogurt later, but I kept my portion pretty small and it was easy to track the calories since you pay by weight.  We ran errands and I picked up a few things for AJ's birthday party (my baby will be 1 in less than TWO WEEKS!?).

When we got home, I was getting the kids out of the car when a pretty, reddish golden retriever walked up to us.  Luckily, she was wearing a collar with tags.  I put her in the backyard so she wouldn't wander away and once we got the kids settled, I got the phone number off the tags and called it. The number was for a service that helps reunite pet owners with their pets.  I gave the lady the ID number and name on the tags--Molly.  She tried to call the owners, but got no answer, so she gave me the owner's name, phone number, and address.  I immediately recognized the street name, she hadn't wandered far!  I called and spoke to her owner, an older lady and offered to walk Molly home.  She was grateful--she hadn't realized Molly was gone! Apparently they had some workers at the house, so things were loud and chaotic and she'd thought the dog was downstairs with her son.  Also, apparently this sort of thing was Molly's "one fault"--I guess she's done this before!  Tyler thought the whole thing was a great adventure, although I think he would have liked Molly to have stayed a while longer to play!

Pretty Molly and silly Tyler-Man

Sunday I made a diet boo boo.  We went to a picnic my dad's work was holding and we stopped to get Tyler a Happy Meal on the way, knowing he wouldn't eat there.  Adam got a cheeseburger and asked if I wanted one.  Thinking I might not eat much at the picnic and that a single cheeseburger wasn't too high in calories, I said yes.  I didn't immediately plug it into MFP and later I forgot all about it!  It wasn't until I was adding up my calories before dinner that Adam reminded me.  OOPS!  Well, luckily this was before dinner, so I was able to adjust a little bit, but I still went into my exercise calories more than I would have liked.  Lessons learned:  EVERYTHING at McDonald's is high in calories and track them when you eat them! 

The picnic was at a park, and it was drizzling all day.  We'd thought they would move it to an indoor location, but the joke was on us!  (Another lesson learned--bring extra clothes just in case!  I had to run across the street to Kmart to get the kids sweats so they wouldn't freeze!)  The owner of the string of dealerships my dad works for throws quite an event, giving away gifts to all the employees and all the children who come. Tyler was thrilled to chose a motorized Thomas the Train set and we chose a ball-launching toy that unfortunately seems to scare AJ.  He likes the balls, batting them around on the floor like a cat, but he doesn't care for the noise and the launching.

I did not work out Monday.  I was kind of bummed about it, and it makes me nervous in a weird way, like worried I won't get back into it.  We had to drop the van off at the dealership and by the time we got home it was after nine and I was supremely cranky.  Ah well, no rule says the 30 Day Shred can't be completed in 31 Days!  9 more days and I will have completed it!  I really think I'm going to make it this time!

OH!  One more thing to add!  AJ took his first steps on Monday!  GO AJ!!

And away he goes!!!

Yep, he is pulling up and standing. And stepping around things.  I think it's a pretty safe bet that we'll have first steps soon, maybe even in days. Yikes!

 

I hope everyone had a great long weekend!  I did!  Friday, I had a girls night with my high school friends Gabby, Mandy and Pam. We had dinner, did some shopping and got frozen yogurt (how did I not know about Orange Leaf???).  I love spending time with them!  

Saturday I had lunch with my BFF from college, Kelly.  We went to Cheesecake factory for some yummy pizza and AMAZING Smore cheesecake.  OMG it was so good!  We laughed sooooo much, she is hilarious!  AND we set a "date" for our next lunch so as to squeeze it into busy schedules in the upcoming months!  YAY!

Sunday was groceries and cleaning and organizing toys.  Monday we did some shopping and had lunch at Fazolis.  Did you know they have DOUGHNUTS?  OMG amazing!

So I splurged a little bit on food this past week, but I was on point with exercising 6 days out of the week.  I was happy with that and I lost .4 lbs.  I think I know why it wasn't more too...a certain monthly visitor showed her face today :-P  But I'm feeling good!  The workouts are going well, I'm pushing myself in new little ways and it's really a routine for me now, I rarely struggle with sitting around saying oh I don't want to do my workout.  12.8 lbs down!

And just a reminder, I have a new blog!  Ask An Infertile already has 5 contributors!  It's already a great team!  But we're always looking for more involvement and we are definitely look for readers and feedback!  Stop by and tell us what YOU want to read about!!

Staycation struggles

Hubby and I took a few days off work last week. We did a LOT of running around!  Here's a rundown, bullet-style:

• Saturday was errands: Running to the Comcast Xfinity store for a new remote.  Our old one took a dip in Tyler's potty one day, thanks to Gracie knocking it off the couch one day when we hadn't gotten around to emptying it's contents.  Icky.  Then it was off to grab some lunch, then we stopped at the second hand kids clothing store (Once Upon a Child) for some great deals on shorts for both boys and a couple of onesies for AJ and a couple of DVDs for Tyler.  Then we did our usual shopping at Walmart.
• Sunday was grocery shopping and then my mom and Tyler and I went out looking for shoes for my mom.  She didn't find any that day, but I'm still tempted to go back for a pair of feather light super comfy sketchers I saw at shoe carnival!  

 

Mom and I loved these!  They were actually really comfy. Anyone know of a pair sans glitz?

• Sunday afternoon Adam, the boys and I went to Adam's sister's house for her middle's son's 11th birthday party.  He was born just a few months after Adam and I met.  Happy birthday Dagyn!  Tyler had a ton of fun playing with his cousins!
• Monday, we visited one of Adam's favorites, the Goodwill outlet!  He likes to rummage in the bins and find things to resell on Ebay. And of course Tyler likes to find little odds and ends, especially hot wheels!  Then we went to Walmart and my mom found some shoes and we purchased a much needed swiffer wet jet and a mini vacuum.  Crawling baby means vacuuming much more often!  We had lunch at a buffet and even AJ enjoyed it, eating quite a large portion of mashed up potatoes and carrots and some applesauce!
• Tuesday we did a little more Goodwill shopping where Adam found some great deals on software and I scored a 4x6 photo printer!  Then we stopped at the cemetary where my sister is buried and put out new flowers (we'd been meaning to do it for months!  We bought everything ages ago, but the weather was bad and then we just kept forgetting!).  Then we took a little picnic lunch to the park and had lunch and let Tyler run and play!

 

Tyler at the park.  He's not very sure of climbing still.

LOVE this kid!

AJ at the park.  It's a bit sunny for him!

• Tuesday night my mom watched the boys so Adam and I could go out for a little date night!  We had dinner at our favorite, Texas Roadhouse and then went to see Star Trek: Into Darkness.  BONUS, it was playing at the $1.50 theater!  It was a really good movie, I always like them a lot more than I think I will!  It was nice to have time with my hubby!
• Wednesday the weather was just perfect, sunny but cooler. We'd reserved it specifically to go to the State Fair.  We had a great time, ate all the great foods, browsed the shops, rode a few rides with Tyler, and my mom and I even got to take a turn in the Lottery's bonus booth, gathering up as many points as possible via flying papers to earn prizes!  It was crazy!  Tyler had a blast and AJ was good too, only really fussing when he was hungry. Love the fair!!!  I can't remember a year when we haven't gone!

 

You can't really tell, but that's Tyler in there.

• Thursday-Friday was back to work, where our brand new air conditioner had ceased to work. Again.  Good times.  It's not quite so horrible this time, it seems to be pretending to work just a little bit.
• Saturday and Sunday were various errands and general cold-induced lying around.

 

Bathtime for AJ!  Don't mind the mohawk

I was challenged with my calories while I was off. I knew I would be.  The fair day was an official "freebie" day where I didn't really worry about calories at all.  I splurged on date night as well, but I was fairly good the rest of the week, staying in my calorie goal.  I only got in a few workouts because my back was acting up again.  It's finally feeling normal again HUZZAH!  But now, I have the cold of DEATH.  BOO.  My weight in today showed that I was able to maintain my weight exactly, which I'm taking as a win this week.  So for now, I'm down 8.8 lbs.  I will be to the ten pound mark by this time next week, I am determined.  So determined, I allowed myself my 10 pound reward of a little shopping trip on Saturday, since I knew Adam will be working this weekend, so I wouldn't be able to get away.  My favorite clothing store yielded two cute tops, two pairs of earrings, and a necklace :) 

AJ is suddenly a master at crawling and sitting up.  He had us a little worried with his lack of sitting up unassisted and now he does it and is like, "What?  I knew I could do it." 

Forgive me, I'm trying to finish this up on my phone on the way to work
(
Adam is driving of course
) but
I am feeling distinctly fuzzy-brained. Blah summer colds

Pep in my step!

Time for a progress report!  I have actually managed to stay on a diet and exercise plan for an extended period of time!  Yes, I have not-so-good weeks, but I always manage to get back on track.  I haven't lost a huge amount of weight (I'm actually not sure exactly how much I have lost, owing the fact that I purchased a new scale shortly after starting this and so I don't have a good starting weight on that scale) but it's around 10 lbs.  That's not amazing, considering how long I've been doing this, but when you couple that with working full time and being a mom, I think it's pretty good!  I use my elliptical, walk or ride my bike at least 3 times per week. I'm drinking TONS of water, eating better than I have in ages, and I'm getting a ton of great support from my workout buddy, facebook group, and my Baby Gaga forum.

I can seem some results in how my clothes fit as well as on the scale.  I had to buy a belt this weekend for the first time in at least 10 years!  I don't like belts, as a rule, as they tend to dig into my tummy and be uncomfortable when sitting.  But my jeans are annoyingly loose (YAY!) so I needed a belt AND I found a cute one!  It's black with an embossed floral vine and silver studs. And it was $10, bonus!  My waist is more trim.  It makes me feel good to see it making a difference.

Thanks to my lovely smartphone (Which I hold with a deathgrip whenever it leaves the safety of my pocket or purse...for backstory, click here) I have apps to help me keep track of calories, exercise, and how far I have walked/ridden.  Love that!

I feel physically better already and it can only get even better, right?!

Healthy me?

So I have joined the ranks of the countless people that are (DUN-DAH-DUH!) dieting.  I've decided to give it (another) shot for a couple of reasons.  First of all, I am overweight.  Second of all I am unhappy with the way that makes me look and feel.  Third, I am hoping that losing some weight might help me on my TTC journey.

You see, I've never been skinny.  Even growing up I had that little pooch in my lower tummy.  I didn't love that, but it wasn't so bad.  I have a round face and I've just never been small boned.  In high school, I wasn't big, I was figuring skating back then and was in decent shape.  In college, I gained the freshman 15...well I was actually probably a sophomore. It was the year I met my hubby and we were happy and went out to eat a lot, plus it was the same year I started taking BC pills for the first time.

Then, of course, I had my son 2 years ago.  Hello stretch marks and upper tummy.  So now, here I am, wishing I could at least feel better about how I look.  So I'm trying to eat better and I am trying to get some exercise.  Of course, there isn't much time for these things, so I am doing the little things I can.  I bought some good groceries.  I took a walk, pushing Tyler in a stroller.  In the last two days I have had four good, healthy meals, one so-so meal and one not so good meal.  Breakfast has been easy.  Lunch is fine unless I go out.  I have a hard time resisting the fast food...I'm trying to order smaller portions and sometimes trading fries for a salad.  Baby steps lol.  Dinner is pretty good, as long as I make sure to get a veggie in there and watch the portions.  Tonight I caved and at 2 hot dogs instead of 1.  I've been snacking on good stuff two, yogurt with granola, fruit, raw veggies, 100 calorie packs, lots of water.  I haven't had a soda this week, not even diet.

I'm hoping that by writing and posting this, I might be more likely to hold to it.  And it's totally reminded me that I need to exercise tonight.  Unfortunatly, that comes after the two year old is in bed, which isn't the best time of day to do it, but it'll have to do!  I want to spend time with Tyler in the evening, and since we don't get home until almost 6 and he goes to bed at 8, it's the only time that works, unless I walk at lunch at work (which I will when I can, weather permitting) or get up earlier (not likely!).

So there we are, my quest to a healthier me!  We'll see how it goes!