Something had to give

Whoa!  Where did I go?  Sunday night I told Dale we were getting up and doing P90X together and that he needed to be up at 5am.  We saw, we did, we spent the morning together working out and having breakfast together before he went off to work and the kids got up.  It was great!  Since then Jack has caught on to us having fun together in the morning and has attempted to put a stop to it.  Tuesday he woke up early and watched us while eating some fruit, no big deal.  Wednesday night he decided to get up before we even went to bed and then got up later in the night to come to bed.  Dale didn't get his work out in, he didn't get home until 10pm from a work conference.  We were exhausted last night but determined to get up and do Yoga at 5am.  I woke up at 4am to Jack snuggling me and after putting him back in bed he got up 15 minutes later and went to Dale's side, who put him back down.  4:45 and it's not only Jack but Ellie up as well.  She was complaining of her toe itching so much she couldn't sleep.  Dale caved and put Jack in the middle of us.  I put cream on Ellie's toe and re-set my alarm to 5:30.  Let me tell you at 5:30 I said to hell with it, Yoga can happen during nap time. Right now I am balancing working out, really playing and engaging my kids and keeping the house clean but throwing the blog in throws me for a loop.  Something had to give and it was my blog.  I'm still figuring out the balance of working out, keeping my house clean and my kids engaged and blogging.  I will never be one of those blogs that you wonder how she does it all, because I will be the first to admit that I don't do it all.  I remember reading a few weeks ago a blog about unplugging and how your kids will remember you.  It hit home.  I don't want to spend my days glued to the computer and just plop them in front of the TV.  I refuse to be that mom. So if I seem absent just know that I'm either working out (for real P90X'ing it), playing with my kids or running around frantically to clean up after them :).

In the next two weeks I'll be posting about:  Upcycled rain boot planters, backyard bliss and a the tree house, P90X, our toy and bed room makeovers and our family vacation.  So while I'll still be here it may not be as hard core as I've been before.

The Super Diet- How to Lose 5lbs in 24 hours

It's all the rage among Mom's today and I bet if you're a Mom you've totally done it.  I'm talking about The Super Diet, where you can lose up to 5lbs in 24 hours by simply catching the stomach bug your kids have.  It's awesome!  I did it this week and I look fabulous even with the pale and sickly look, which I can totally cover up with makeup.  If your kid isn't sick just go to the park or a public bathroom or better yet the sick kid waiting room at any doctors office.  I bet you could catch it even if you didn't try.

How it works:

You catch a nasty stomach bug from one of your adorable children, or worse someone else's.
You writhe in agony as you attempt to get your children showered and in bed before you have to use the bathroom again for the tenth time.
You survive the night after adorable children #'s 3 and 4 join you in your bed in the middle of the night, #3 decides to sleep with her feet on your pillow and you wake up via foot to the face.
You don't eat breakfast for fear that you will defecate all over yourself while dropping them off at school.
You eat an oreo for snack time and send the little one's outside with 3 each so you can at least load the dishwasher.  Hey that oreo will just make it's way out soon anyways right?  All part of the diet.
You skip lunch for the same reason you skipped breakfast, wouldn't want to ruin all of this dieting by having to do more of your own laundry, it would also make for a really long car rider line at school.
Your husband calls and offers to bring home pizza for dinner.  You gladly accept and eat a slice out of shear starvation and well its pizza.  You skip the beer because that might be pushing it.
You wake up the next day and you've miraculously lost 5lbs.
Easy peasy, right?

Here is my Super Diet secret, I'll be happy to let her breath on you ;)

You might also enjoy:  Cart Karma

I'm gonna party like its my birthday, because it is!

It's Friday!  But even better its my birthday!  A lot of people don't make a big deal about their birthday the older they get but I keep making a bigger deal out of it every year.  I'm entering the last year of my 20's.  If you're in your 30's or whatever don't hate, I'll be there soon enough.  I spent my 20's having babies, 4 babies.  That means 3 whole years of my 20's were spent pregnant.  You're not jealous anymore are you?  Pregnant, nursing and fat is how I spent the majority of them.  At 29 I am the skinniest I have been in my 20's and I'm going to crush this last year.  I lost a lot of weight in the last year and being so close to my goal and close to hitting the big 30 has me more motivated than ever.  Bring it 29.

So I bet you're wondering how I'm going to spend my fabulous day, right?  Well first I'm dropping the kids off at school and getting my birthday coffee from Starbucks.  I'm getting the biggest and most caloric thing I can with a shot of espresso.  Then I'm going to Walgreen's to pick up some prescriptions for the littles.  Brace yourself for these awesome things: laundry, dishes, mopping the kitchen (its only been 2 days but for real its gross), calling the dentist to set up my x-ray, calling and setting up my hair appt (mama's getting her hair did) and taking a nap with the little ones.  I know, pure awesomeness.  We're having grilled cheese for dinner outside because its my birthday and that's what and where I want to eat.  Remember I'm going to hard core mop the floor so I'll be damned if it gets some crazy amount of dinner on it, just give me a few hours of clean okay kids?  I'm making Dale take a walk with me 29 times for my present starting with tonight. I want him to live forever (or just The Notebook style and as long as I do) and secretly I know he will become addicted to it especially if he does it 29 times.  I have walking withdrawals from not going yesterday.  We are going to sing happy birthday (for the umpteenth time) and eat ice cream and maybe a spoon of Nutella and have extra snuggles and extra stories because its my birthday and I get to spend it with the people I hold most dear in the world.

Perhaps the best present I got this year was from my Mom's surgeon who called her with her pathology report saying they did indeed get all of her cancer.  She doesn't have to have anymore surgeries (the next one would have been really, really risky) and no chemo.  She is a survivor for the second time in my life.  Best present ever because I know it could have just as easily been the hardest birthday I've ever had full of uncertainty and sadness.  Best present ever.  I'm going to rock 29.

Ellie in her new glasses, I love her.

My favorite swing buddies.

My favorite Thunder player, number 10.

This guy who happens to be the love of my life.  Who told me to hurry up and finish blogging because I only had a  little bit of young left in me :) and I should spend it with him!

Friday Randomness

It has really been the craziest week and a half ever so here we go...

My mom found out she has Rectal Cancer.  They caught it early and it hasn't spread.  She still has to have surgery to remove an area but its pre-Stage 1.  Hallelujah.  This was her second cancer.  She had and beat non-Hodgkins Lymphoma when I was three.  I cried like a baby when she found out.  I mean she has cancer for the second time!  She was as cool as a cucumber.  I can't begin to tell you how happy I am that her ass cancer isn't going to kick her ass.  I love my mommy.

I was four days late and my IUD fell out.  Another Hallelujah that my "friend" came.  I was slightly  completely freaking out at the possibility of having five kids.  Thankfully my doctor is really fabulous and fit me in really early this morning and all should be good.  I love my Vagina Doctor.

Last Friday we had a vasectomy.  It went great by the way, Dale is a trooper.  It looked extremely painful.  He is my hero for taking a needle and stitches in the bollocks.  And I totally muahaha'd when I did the first cut.  He didn't care because he had a Valium before it started.  Yay for drugs and yay for the best husband EVER!

Jack has decided that sleeping through the night is stupid so he quit doing it.  I am really tired.  Regan has been getting up nearly every morning around 4:30 and getting dressed.  Thankfully she goes back to bed but it still wakes me up.  When do they start sleeping in?  I won't miss being woken up multiple times in the night.  In fact when they start sleeping in on the weekends I'm going to join them.  It's going to be great.  Ellie is the only one who sleeps in right now, she scores some major mom points with that one.

I signed Dale and I up for two 5K's.  First one up is the Rooster Day Run in May and the second one is The Color Run in June.  It's going to be awesome.  If you are in the Broken Arrow/ Tulsa area you should sign up too.  I like this whole running and getting skinnier thing.  I also love it that my husband wanted to join me and even cooler that my older kids wanted to run with me.  Look out world here we come!

Spring Break starts in less than two hours.  It's going to be the best Spring Break ever.  Mostly because I totally rock.  We are going to attempt homemade Nutella.  We are also going to build our garden and compost area.  I can't believe how excited they are.  Ethan is going to a basketball clinic and Ellie is going to art classes at the Community Center.  Ethan's Star Wars birthday slumber party is next Friday and I'm pretty sure its going to be the coolest birthday party ever.  And I get to be Princess Leia again, word.  He still doesn't know we're going to a Thunder game on his birthday.  Dale and I are going to be the best parents ever!

And that just about sums it up.  I would love to have that Tutu Tutorial up but its just not ready yet and I don't want to give you a half ass tutorial, especially for something that should cover a butt. And because I think you deserve to laugh, here is what happens when Jack discovers his sisters are taking a bubble bath without him...

Yes those are his pajamas.  I guess he wasn't clean enough the first time.

He was rather proud of himself for beating me to the bathroom and getting in the tub with his sisters.

Hitting the Pavement Again

Where did the time go?  How did I fall out of habit?  I kind of quit walking and jogging.  I was aware that I had stopped but then I got an email about an annual 5K coming up, one that I had done last year and that negative self talk came up.  It's not like I have been slacking in the exercise department, I've just been doing things other like Netflix workouts or clean-up dance parties with the kids while blaring Pandora, usually the Justin Bieber station.  For example, yesterday I did cart wheels in the living room with Ellie. I'm just amazed I didn't hurt myself (or anyone else) and that I was actually perpendicular to the floor.  

So I'm hitting the pavement again.  The 5K isn't until May and I hope to be down another 10lbs by then.  Which will make me over 30 lbs lighter than last years run, so theoretically I should have a better time!  The hardest thing to do is admit that you haven't followed through with something and then positively encourage yourself to start doing it again.  Here I go.  It's time to put the kids in the jogging stroller and move. 

Five Easy Things to do to Lose Weight

I still have about 25-30lbs left to lose before I hit my goal weight but I've lost over that amount in the last year.  I bet you are wondering how I did that.  So here are 5 things that have helped me get this far.  I'm sure you've heard them before, but I am proof that they work!  If I can do it you can do it!

Drink water.  I hate drinking water.  I've tried drink mixes and things but that never did it.  What finally worked was putting it on my to do list dry erase board on the refrigerator.  Every morning I write out 5 things I need to do and then I write in "Drink Your Water."  Every time I drink a glass I erase one.  It not only makes me feel good that I'm doing something great for my body, it also feels good to mark something off of my list.  I also drink a small glass every time I go to the bathroom.  You've washed your hands and you are right there, just down a cup.

Stop finishing the kids leftovers and make your plate how you would make theirs.  If you have kids you know how hard it can be to "waste" that little bit (or a lot) of food that they might leave.  Quit doing it!  It is just causing body waste that you will have to work off later.  If its big enough, wrap it up and give it to them later.  Usually I give the little leftovers to my dog.  I know some people will say its not okay to feed dogs table food, but I've seen her eat poop so I think she'll be okay.  I also make my portions as though I was making the plate for my toddler.  It gives me wiggle room for later.  If I eat a cookie or have a snack its okay because I never have a huge meal.

Sweep and run the vacuum everyday.  If I don't sweep and mop my floors and vacuum every day I can feel such a difference in my activity level.  It's an added bonus of walking.  It may not feel like you are doing a whole lot, but you are taking extra steps and its something you can do when you have little ones.  You can add some squats or lunges in while you're doing it if you feel so inclined.  I tell myself that my chores are my workout.  Because I can turn any chore into a workout.  Oh and your house will thank you for it as well.

Eat Chocolate.  I don't believe in denying myself or extreme dieting.  I eat chocolate and dessert.  Do I sometimes have to do a little extra working out? Yes. It's worth it.  Food is good.  Once a month I would probably steal chocolate from the hands of my children and growl if they attempted to get it back.

Do crunches while you watch T.V.  Once the kids are all in bed I love to surf the DVR for my favorite shows that are not always kid appropriate.  Instead of just being a couch potato I lay in the floor and do crunches and leg lifts.  Of course it doesn't happen every night, but I'd say 4 out of 7.  Its like a bonus workout.

That's it.  If its gross outside and I can't go for a walk or run, or I just didn't get to it that day, I can always turn on some good music and have a dance party with the kids. I quit beating myself up about missing a workout, I quit defining what working out was (even 5 minutes is better than 0) and I've put my health and happiness first.   Less stress less weight?  I think so.

Rooster Run

So this year was the inagural year for the Rooster Run 5K and Fun Run and I decided to enter.  I have to say I was really nervous about my run time.  My last practice time was 50 minutes and I was not happy with that to say the least.  So I was happily surprised when I rounded the corner and I was in the 37minute mark.  Such an improvement!  Dale and I have decided to make our next 5K a family event and let the older kids run as well.  If I can make running and exercising a normal and integral part of their childhood hopefully it will stick for them. 

I also ran into some old drama friends, not the kind that create drama but the kind that act it out.  It got me really looking forward to my upcoming reunion.  I can't wait to see everyone and their kiddos.

After the run it was parade time.  We always enjoy the parade.  Regan was really into it this year, Ellie waved at all the pretty girls, Ethan showed compassion by giving his candy to his sister and Jack fell asleep halfway thru!  It was a good day.