GaFlygirl's (old) Adventures(archived blog)

feb 10 2011

2011-02-10T08:22:00.000-08:00

today's to do list
breakfast- done
playing in the snow- in progress
lunch
speech therapy at 1 pm
homeschooling, from 2-pm and on
dinner- 5 pm
clean up, bedtime routine
Husband- teaching private Piano lessons tonight- 7:30-8:30

Accomplishments:
breakfast
setting up blogs
outdoor time- snow time

Mamavation Monday feb 7 2011

2011-02-07T17:45:00.000-08:00

So this week was better than it has been in quite a while as far as the workouts go. Began working out again this week and had a really good workout on wednesday, and friday.. atleast for me! I burned 177 calories on Wednesday's workout, and 197 calories on friday's workout. (both days working out 25 minutes on the wii fit!
So I was pretty proud of myself considering I had been inactive with the workouts in well who knows how long!

Goals for the upcoming week:
Monday: wii workout- atleast 10-15 minutesm,Strength training
tuesday: wii fit- 25-60 minutes
wednesday- Strength training
thursday wii fit 25-60 minutes
friday -strength training,
saturday- walk if weather permitting, wii fit,

This week's blogging carnival is hosted by Chef's Requested and the question of the day is:
What are you doing to keep your heart healthy?

well for me, I am trying to up my fruitt and vege's and get active again. get my heart pumping! I have been terrible about both since November. This has been a better week!

as for weight loss this week. Lost about 1 lb last I checked. could've gained it back but lets hope not!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Mamavation Feb 1,2011

2011-02-01T19:35:00.000-08:00

So I guess I have REALLY been M.I.A. as of lately. Been trying to get into the swing of things with this new schedule of homeschooling and been making excuse after excuse of not working out, and I have fallen off the bandwagon. My apologies for not being active in the sistahood, and I am back to recommitting to being more active and more supportive on here, and more active with my posts. I have WANTED to workout and get back to being healthier,tracking my food intake, and everything but by the time the kids are in bed, I am sooo tired. so, I'm back!! Weighed in the other day at 205 lbs, fully dressed weight..

I did take kids on a walk the other day and we did community service around our neigborhood picking up trash, so we got a walk in doing that, but it was slow walking. no heart pumping or anything.

Goals for this week:
Lift weights/Strength training atleast 3x a week for 15-30 minutes per day
100 Jumping jacks- atleast 3 days a week-
cardio 3 x this week for 30 minutes
will try to walk with the kids on the days the weather permits. Our church is having their first 5k walk/jog in May, and I am looking forward to this. This oughta give me some motivation, and our church leader has challenged us as a church to get fit, and eat healthier and take care of our bodies.. so here's to my new goals and a new year!

Wintery Wonderland!

2011-01-09T17:10:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Season this year and a great start to the new year! We already getting our 2nd snow storm of the yr. Usually we don't get more that 1 inch of snow more than once a yr but this Winter it's been different. On Christmas we were hit with 3 inches of snow and that is the first GA has seen snow on Christmas since 1882!!! And now, tonight we are supposed to have a double threat snow storm. (Snow storm, and ice storm!) Kids are excited about the expected snow, but at the same time, we also have the threat of real dangerous roads, and power outages so pray we are all safe and sound. Originally I heard we were expected to get 7 inches. Now the forecast is saying 1-3 inches. 2 yrs ago they said 1-3 inches and we got 6 inches, so with the weather system out here.. ya never know what to expect. LOL It's supposed to go from 7 pm tonight to 7 pm tomorrow night.
Thank goodness I don't have anywhere to go tomorrow. If the roads do ice over, I am praying they let my hubby off work. I REALLY don't want him driving an hr to work in extremely dangerous road conditions. Hope everyone stays safe this weekend/week! Cheers!

Mamavation and homeschooling

2011-01-04T20:04:00.000-08:00

The homeschooling Life!
So who feels like hearing about one of the busy days in the life of this homeschooling mom? Here was my day today. No wonder I am exausted by the end of the day. By 9:30 my eyes burned and I was so tired, that the thought of excercise wore me out.. but be proud of me.. I did it!! Okay now.. don't say I didn't warn you!!

homeschooling: Jan 4,2011
Breakfast, home economics/lifeskills- 45 min- 1 hr- everyone

2. everyone(30 minutes): History/social studies: read about "in-out" Baskets an artifact from the Smithsonian.(took turns reading paragraphs- older 2 kids) a basket made out of grasses,brush and bound with cow ribs,broken off spoons, and flattened nails. Disected article into parts to discuss so they would understand and comprehend the article and how the baskets were made and with what materials. resource: http://historyexplorer.si.edu/artifacts/resource.asp?id=1603
movie- Robin hood- cartoon while mom cooks lunch,Seth-josh- imaginitive/creative play
Lunch, Spiritual studies- family Scripture reading.- 30 minutes
Alphabet organizer- (resource- thinkfinity.org)- 45 min- Anna (wrote 1 word per letter, with a sentence per word)
handwriting skills- lizzie, joshua, Seth, Anna-(resource-: http://handwritinghelpforkids.com/worksheets.html)-

outside time- excercise- everyone- physical education
family walk- physical education- health and fitness- 1 mile- 35 minutes
Anna- 1 hr Ballet class- fitness- (driving back and forth to and from ballet)

Seth- reading and comprehension- story "Ben's loose tooth", and worksheet- questions on the story. (resource: superteacherworksheets.com)

Anna- finish- Alphabet organizer.- 30 minutes
Andrew- Alphabet organizer- (listed 3 words that begin with each letter)- 1.5 hrs
Anna- story comprehension.- "Ben's Loose Tooth", and worksheet with Comprehension questions.
Andrew- read story(on his own, with guidance on a few words)- "That's not all"

Handwriting worksheet- Letter Cc- Josh,Lizzie (age 4,5)
lifskills/homemaking- 30 minutes
dinner- pizza
get ready for bed
kids bed, prayers said, family prayer
mom- excercise- wii fit plus

I weighed myself today. first time in I don't know how long.. I weighed in at 207 eeek.. so a 2- 3 lb gain give or take. Seems I was 205 last I weighed so not too bad considering how long it had been since I had excercised last and how long it had been since I had tracked my food intake, and weighed myself, and also considering the holidays!
But I did it today. I walked 1.13 miles and I did ST on the wii fit. So 2011 here I come! This is going to be a good yr.

Dec, 29,2010

2010-12-29T13:47:00.000-08:00

Sorry ladies. Still not much to report. Just haven't felt good lately and had alot going on so I haven't done much in the way of excercise lately. I haven't eaten as much on certain meals though due to loss of appetite. Also my sister complimented me on Christmas and asked if I had been losing weight. That made me smile. I haven't actually checked my weight or measured in quite a while though. I did do some excercise yesterday on the wii fit cheer to try to figure it out for my daughter who was having trouble getting it to log her total points earned but I didn't do any better but boy was it one heck of a workout! :-) I got new clothes for Christmas in smaller sizes too and they fit. woohoo! So that's my report on my fitness goals.

There has been alot going on in my life lately between homeschooling, doc appts, speech therapy appts, holidays, snow, being sick and all . I have been sick with a horrible cough that felt like the flu. Might have even been bronchitis or Pneumonia. The dry cough is still lingering on. So needless to say, workouts have been last on my list of importance and I feel so gross, but I am hoping to get back into the swing of things this week and with the new yr starting up.

As for Christmas, we had a wonderful Christmas with family! My sisters came in town and it was so wonderful to see them, and their spouses, to see my dad, and step mom, and it even SNOWED on Christmas day! That NEVER happens in Georgia! Supposedly that was the first it has snowed on Christmas since 1882! LOL So yes, it was a wonderful holiday. We opened gifts at home in the morning, Opened more gifts at my dad's home, then had snow, so yes My kids were in Christmas heaven!

As for home organization.. it looks like a tornado blew through.. Christmas deco is staying up till probably New yrs day! But I seriously need to get to the housework RIGHT now! Got back to the homeschooling after the holiday break yesterday.
Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Sicklies are no fun- Dec 15,2010

2010-12-15T18:49:00.001-08:00

So today I have been just FUNCTIONING so to speak as I have been sick with a nasty cough, achy muscles, chills, queasiness that made it hard to function so needless to say I didn't get any workouts in today and yesterday I was way too sore.. Find it funny when a little bit of wii fit kung fu can make my neck so sore! LOL that's sad! But needless to say despite the sicklies, I did get some homeschooling in. Most of it was online learning mind you, but we did get some guided reading in, and some worksheet time, and I assessed some of their skills.. so it wasn't as eventful of a day but good considering how crappy I felt.

Mamavation- fitness- back and on the move!

2010-12-14T08:10:00.000-08:00

found out it was the nunchuk that was already malfunctioning that my son completely broke and not the working one. yay! So I was able to return to my wii fit workouts yesterday! yay! I got 30 minutes in and did 15 minutes of the Kung fu, and 15 minutes of basic run plus and burned 178 calories and boy did it feel great!
So yay I am back on the move again. hoping to fit in atleast 15-30 minutes a day of workouts into my homeschooling schedule each week. and I m setting myself a goal of burning atleast 500 calories a week at minuimum. So who's with me on getting active? I don't have a gym membership so the only workout options I have is walks weights, or using my wii fit, wii eas more workouts or doing aerobics from home.

Homeschooling, Mamavation fitness, and life

2010-12-11T18:24:00.000-08:00

So I have been REALLY bad about getting my workouts for several weeks now and Have put on a couple pounds but considering thanksgiving, my slacking on calculating my intake, AND going from having 5 kids in school to pulling them all out and homeschooling I think, not too bad right? Yes I do need to find a way to fit my workouts in and I have felt all sluggy due to the lack of workouts but I have also been really busy, and truthfully a bit stressed in trying to get a homeschooling routine going, and getting my boys to cooperate, NOT to mention, my house is a whole lot harder to keep organized and under control now, so between housework, home school, and having 6 kids home all day long, I am doing pretty good, and I am always busy.. but my activity is mostly been housework and schooling my kids. I really do love homeschooling them though. I can't imagine going back to the way it was before. I really love teaching them, and being with them. Part of the stress has probably mostly been the fact that is has been either rainy or cold lately so it makes it hard to get the outside time and we have all had cabin fever. Today I had to get outside and go for a short walk. Although it was cold today, atleast it was alot warmer than it has been of late. I did get some wii workouts in one day early in the week but hadn't since then but hoping that will all change.. no more excuses. Soon as kids all fall asleep and I can kick hubby off wii I hope to use it, however our wii nun chuk just broke.. and the extra one hubby got cheap so it doesn't work either.. so that puts a damper on using wii active for now. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and christmas! Lets all stay active, and pray I do better!

Thanksgiving

2010-12-05T17:06:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving
So I am late posting this but better late than never right? We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We spent it at my Uncle and Aunt's home for dinner, in the company of them, my cousins, Granparents who came in town for the occassion, and My wonderful dad, step mom. It was wonderful to be close to so much family this yr and reminded me of my childhood, teenage yrs. After the wonderful dinner, we all went for a walk at the local park then let the kids play on the playground a bit, then went back for dessert. It was a lot of fun.
Sorry, but I have no pictures to share this yr due to us being out a camera right now. Our digital camera has bit the dust, and my cell phone is no more because someone decided to drop it in my sink full of water one day.. so I am out a cell phone as well.. LOL So my journaling about this yr will have to suffice unless someone generously posts pics of us on their facebook pages.. LOL

Local Christmas Parade
Another even I sadly do not have photo's of. My hubby took some with his work cell phone so we pray we can get the photo's uploaded to the computer somehow, but this was Anna's first opportunity to be in a parade, and all of us as a matter of fact! Anna's ballet company was in the parade, so She got to march with her dance class, and since we dropped her off when the parade begun and we too got to be in the parade with her. It was lots of fun and a fun experience, then afterwords we all got to ride in a Parade buggy, back to the ballet studio. :-) Another fun filled day!

Like my two sisters I was inspired by their blogs and I too want to share things I am blessed with this year!

1. Thankful for each new day with my family and that both of my parents are still alive despite their terminal illnesses. Every day is a blessing and although I am far away from my mom and sisters atleast they are a phonecall or e-mail away!
I dream of the day we can live closer again, but that day will come with faith, and not giving up.

2. I am thankful for My husband and beautiful children. Each of them are a blessing and I am thankful that God has blessed me and my husband so abundantly.

3. Thankful for the freedom to homeschool. I recently have started homeschooling my beautiful children and it has been such a blessing. Yes some days can be stressful but it is so very rewarding having them home with me, being more a part of their lives and being the teacher in their lives. I LOVE it! I read stories of parts of the world who do not have the same freedoms we do, and some countries it is a crime, and moms have even gone to jail for trying to home educate their children. It is so sad, and I feel so blessed to live in America where for right now, these freedoms still exist.

4. Thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life and knowing that God exists and truly loves us. Knowing about the Plan of Slavation and that we can be together as a family forever!

5. Thankful for my mom, dad, step mom, brothers, sisters and inlaws. Love you all!

6. Thankful to have the things we need, and a warm home,roof over our heads, and that my husband still has a job

7. Thankful that my dad was re-baptized and to see him happy again. I love you Dad! We have prayed for this day for many yrs and so happy for you!

The list could go on and on...

What are you thankful for this year?!

mamavation monday- slump

2010-11-23T12:45:00.000-08:00

So I really don't have anything to write about as I have not been very physically active the past week or 2. I have been really busy around the house, at the school, and with worrying about getting our van working. It rained alot meaning fewer walks, AND.. I started homeschooling as of yesterday. Kids last day at school was friday so we have REALLY been homeschooling since then, but it became official yesterday since that was the reported day on the records! Saturdays my hubby and kids always hog the wii station, so working out on the wii fit is virtually impossible and I had other things going on to like a baby shower weekend before last. the bullies finally moved away last weekend which made me overjoyous!! LOL As for fast food. a week or so ago I gave in and ate mcdonalds with my son when I took him to get his reward for outstanding achievement coupon from school, and at hardees a few days ago on a therapy day but other than that I haven't had fast food in somewhere around 4-6 weeks.
wasn't sure if the commit2fit challenge was still on or not, but I gave in! sigh.. but good news is another pair of pants are now too loose and I am having a hard time getting them to stay up which is good! :-) yay! need to weigh myself. haven't in a while!

Adventuring into the world of homeschooling!

2010-11-19T14:23:00.000-08:00

So after much thought,research and consideration I have decided to pull my kids out of public school and home school them.. yes ALL OF THEM!
After all the hoop la of public school, and the issues that come with it, my kids difficulties with focus and my oldest who would daydream all day long, not focus and his grades were continuously dropping. The way the world is headed,and where public school is headed with moral issues, and lastly the bullying my kids, and me had to suffer from with some neighbor kids, (and me the mother of them who refused to do anything to teach her kids what was right and put a stop to the bullying but rather, promoted it!!) (who finally moved this weekend.) I started praying about it and felt that it was time! Today was their last day of public school! I went to school and ate lunch with them for the school Thanksgiving feast, and then I had to pay the school for a lost library book that was due yesterday, and got lost this week. (they wouldn't even release my own children to me until I paid it.. I thought well it was only due yesterday but since I was withdrawing the kids I had to pay it or turn it in immediately and it was no where to be found.

After this I checked kids out a few hrs early as many other moms did due to the holiday! The kids were so excited to home school they immediately starting doing it by coloring,art work when they got home, then we made a trip to the library and they played in the children's learning center with trains, computer learning, floor mat letters! Dear daughter age 7 listened to a book on tape which the Learning tree reads and she follows along in the book. It was a lot of fun! Then we came home, tidied, and they are now watching the movies we checked out at the library! (Charlie brown Christmas, Charlie brown and the great pumpkin! As you can tell we are already having a lot of fun. Monday is our first official day of homeschooling and we can't wait! I have always wanted to be a homeschooling mom and now, the dream is finally coming true. Should have done it a long time ago!

mamavation, stress, and life!

2010-11-08T18:22:00.000-08:00

Good evening to all my mamavation sista's and friends who follow my blog! The last two weeks have been mighty stressful due to having to deal with some neigbor problems/bullying. so it has been a high stress, highly intense situation. Until today I hadn't taken walks around neigborhood in days because just passing that woman's house and worrying about another confrontation would only give me horrible knots in my stomach. I finally decided today that I wouldn't let her bully me out of taking a walk around my own neigborhood and fortunately she was gone today, I am guessing at work. But today was a breakthrough and I took a bunch of walks today. 2 one mile walks with my son then another walk around neigborhood before bus came then to my sons friend's house to drop him off to play then home, then back to said friend's house to pick him up then back home so I totaled 4.05 miles today between all the walks! WOOT WOOT! I stepped on scale tonight and it read.... 203.8 woot woot! last measurement was 205.2 so that's 1.5 POUNDs LOST!!!!! yippeeee Still succeeding in my commit2fit goal of no fast food except for subway! yay me! I will admit to being tempted to order chik fila A when I took daughter to the ballet my cousin performed in on saturday but i resisted and took her to subway instead! I did give in and eat the meatball sub.. BUT I ordered it on wheat when I normally order my subs on white.. but all in all I am doing good. no burger king, wendy's, chik fil- A , taco bell or little caesars! WOOT WOOT WOOT!! I have sorta lost count on how long the commit2fit challenge has been going. I might atleast let ds5 get mcdonalds soon only because he was given a free hamburger certificate for mcdonalds for outstanding achievement. But I won't order any.. I WILL resist! Besides.. I hate mcdonalds anyways.. haha..

I worked out on easactive more workout on thursday for 33 minutes, and last few days my neck has been super stiff and arms have been sore but the sore neck I am pretty sure was due to reading my book while lying down.. big mistake.. takes 3 days for me to get rid of stiff neck when I get them!

I got in 2 days of 30 minutes or more of mamaguns in this week but the third day didn't happen due to still being sore from the easactive workout. I should have just worked a different muscle area but I didn't think about it till saturday night and I was super tired and let time pass me by. shame on me!! but i did do some cardio- walking to pick kids up from bus stop a few times but nothing real fast paced in the afternoons a few days, as my hip was still healing up some too. (today was my first faster paced more active walking day. I was pretty stoked about all the activity I got in today!

Congrats to this weeks sista of the week: laila!! can't wait to get to know you and congrats on being sista of the week!

this week's blogging carnival is sponsored by earth footwear and will be doing this weeks give away!

for those of you who don't know what mamavation is...
Mamavation™ is a online docudrama and weight loss support group for moms/ and women in social media. It’s both a campaign and Virtual Sorority™ in one. it's alot of fun and a wonderful support system and we'd love to have you! You don't have to be a mom to join in! go to www.mamavation.com for more information on how to join, and contact @bookieboo on twitter for more information! :-)

Mamavation monday- november,1,2010

2010-11-01T15:23:00.000-07:00

Okay so this week was really not a good week for my challenges or workouts. but on a good note.. I stepped on scale today!!! 205.2 for abt another 1 lb loss!! last weigh in was 206.0
Tuesday I received my #easactive software and was so excited to use it! I went right to work on the 6 week challenge- day 1 and worked out for 32 minutes doing lunges,squats, resistance bands, warm ups, jogging, stretches, and many other excercises (12 excercises total) well the next morning was I SORE!! my thighs hurt mega and I had this pain in thigh, hip that would shoot down my leg off and on.. this went on the REST OF THE WEEK! So I really didn't get any workouts done the rest of the week except slow walks to the bus stop to pick up the kids in the afternoon. I did do some resistance bands after that once but I was so sore, I just cleaned slowly the rest of the week and didn't really think about the fact that I could still do arm strength excercises.. ah well.. well today I am back into the gruve of things. did a 15 min ST with weights, and resistance bands this morning, and a 1.33 mile walk with ds3 this morning, then the 2 afternoon walks to the bus stop (0.59 miles each walk) :-) now my hubby is taking care of me, and finishing up dinner for me! woot woot!
did laundry, and some cleaning today.

Commit2fit challenge:

van still not working so no temptations with fast food and I kept my #commit2fit challenge. wasn't on the road this week with kids so this made it easy. I did give in and eat candy this weekend and today but not a whole lot. Just candy here and there. I eat a few pieces and start to feel icky so I don't eat a lot. helps with the temptations.

Congrats to this weeks sista of the week LORRIE @cuteangel79 you are a wonderful friend, support, and sistah and totally deserve it!

goals this week:
drink more water
workout mamaguns atleast 3 days this week
do 100 minutes of cardio

Fall is here

2010-10-29T07:45:00.000-07:00

I love fall! cooler weather and not so hot. Love the color of the leaves, the crunching of the leaves beneath my feet when I take walks, and walks are much more enjoyable! Hot chocolate, chili, and getting ready for the holidays!
Here in Georgia it has been so warm this past week due to the storms bringing in the warmer weather but this morning the cold weather returned and it's still a bit chilly out but the high today is supposed to be in the 70's. This morning I am so tired. Been watching a movie with Daniel and need to quit being lazy and get busy. Tonight is the church fall festival- trunk or treat so I want to get things done before kids get home and we have to start getting ready for the festival!
today's to do list:
dishes
kitchen, mopping
laundry
hall bathroom
living room
hallway
master bedroom
vacuuming
bake cookies
walk, Strength training

Meal plans:
Lunch- egg salad sandwhiches, soup
dinner- at church party- chili

Mamavation monday or urr tuesday!

2010-10-26T07:12:00.000-07:00

Okay so I just realized I missed mamavation tv yesterday! Sorry ya'll! and out of all weeks it was when I was sista of the week! grr.. thanks for nominating me sista of the week!!! It truly made my week and I am so honored and happy!! Thank's ya'll!

I remembered earlier in the evening about mamavation tv, then got offline to lie down because I wasn't feeling good and because it was family night, and then after kids went to bed hubby had computer, I felt sick and forgot all about it... I really planned on being there too!
Okay so for my weigh in today: 206.8 si I think that is the same as I was last week. Last week it fluctuated between 206- 207.8

for my workouts this week for both the movement challenge and the buff n tuff challenge:
Monday:
100 jumping jacks ( 2 sets of 50) one in afternoon, one in evening- cardio- movement challenge- 4 minutes
Strength training- 30 minutes- buff n tuff challenge: 12 minute spark people pilates ab workout video, 15 minute ab workout video(sparkpeople video), elliptical that works both cardio and resistance(ST) in arms- 3 minutes

tuesday- 2 mile sweaty cardio walk while pushing stroller- speed walking- 40 minutes of sweaty cardio- movement challenge

wed- 50 jumping jacks(cardio- 2 minutes), 2 sets- 12 reps each of crunches(2 min ST) , 3 sets of 12 reverse crunches (2 min ST), 50 more jumping jacks-2 minutes
thur- 2 mile walk/jog at park (cardio) pushing son in stroller. 46 minutes of cardio), Weight training my mamaguns - 33 minutes (18 minutes, then 15 minutes - hammer curls, bicep curls)
fri- walked to bus stop to pick kids up from bus stop and home .59 miles- 20 minutes slow pace.
sat- 1 mile jog around neigborhood. Only stopped half way to stretch my legs. :-) 20 minutes cardio

total minutes at weeks end:
cardio movement challenge- 122 min sweaty cardio, plus 20 minutes slow walking
buff n tuff challenge-2 days 30 minutes each - 63 minutes total Strength training

commit2fit challenge:

fast food- had only subway on tuesday! woohoo I did it! I had no greasy fast food! :-) I ate the tuna fish sub and only had 1 bite of daughter's meatball sub LOL for pizza on friday I had 1 totino's (frozen) pizza from walmart! :-)
fall festival- I ate no candy! woohoo!

goals for this week:
drink more water!
buff n tuff challenge: MAKE ALL 3 DAYS OF 30 MINUTES OR MORE OF MAMAGUNS TRAINING
movement challenge- make goal of 100 minutes or more for the week

Sunday- I took a 1.58 mile fast walk arounnd neigborhood!

monday- sick so only thing I did was walk to bus stop(.59 miles) and home twice.. (afternoon, and to pick up son who tutors from bus stop later.

plans for rest of week:
tuesday - mamaguns training, cardio
wednesday- cardio
thursday- mamaguns training, yoga
friday- cardio
saturday- mamaguns training, yoga, ST, cardio

congrats to mamavation moms! Shelly, and Rachel!!! :-) yay!! you can do it!!

Mamamavation Monday- or SUNDAYreport!

2010-10-17T15:40:00.000-07:00

Hope all is well with everyone!
I began the Movement challenge this week in addition to the buff n tuff challenge!! Technically this was week 1 of the movement challenge for me.
I got my 100 minutes in this week!!
Monday- 0
tuesday- Jumping jacks- 6 minutes
wednesday-jumping jacks (150)- 6 minutes, walk while pushing 3 yr old in stroller- 2 miles- 1 hr( total for day 66 minutes)
thursday- 6 minute jumping jacks, 1 mile walk with kids (not sweaty though- casual walk)
friday-6 minute jumping jacks
saturday- 1 mile walk- 25 minutes. not super sweaty but a cardio walk. I was sick so I took it slow n steady

week total 109 minutes plus 30-35 min walk on thursday with kids- 139 minutes

Saturday and Sunday(today) I have been under the weather. Not sure what's been wrong but I have been queasy and fatigued and not feeling well. Think I just have a bit of a stomach bug. This week the kids were out of school thursday, friday, and will be off monday as well!

As for the buff n tuff challenge this week:
Monday- none
tuesday- 30 minutes of ST/Weight training: crunches, reverse crunches, 2 sets of 20 push ups. arm rowing with hand weights and swiss ball, dumbell sidebends (w/ hand weights) ,hammer curls. attempted the clamshell crunches w/ ball. my ball was too big and this was way too hard. need to get the hang of crunches first!

we were told to up the intensity for the challenge now that it is week 5.. so I upped amount of crunches and tried harder excercises. only have 2 lb weights and my right shoulder is hurting a bit. stomach crunches- couldn't get more than my kneck, head up off the floor.. so out of shape it's not even funny! blame it on the 6 post pregnancy gut and weak core!!! However I did feel it working the abs atleast!

wednesday- cardio- 62 minutes (A.m.) -2.0 mile walk/jog pushing 3 yr old in the stroller (60 min), warmed up with stretches, 50 jumping jacks! ( aprox.2 min) :-)
thursday- 30 minutes lifting handweights- hammer curls, wrist curls, bicep curls, and 1 other
friday- jumping jacks- cardio
saturday- walk n tone with weights (30 minutes total weight training, 25 minutes cardio (1 mile walk)

weight loss... probably none in lbs as i didn't make as good of food choices this weekend.. also friday night I was super stressed out with the kids and got into a bit of emotional eating and we had pizza 2 days in a row. Little caesars thursday for lunch, and frozen pizza friday evening, and tonight for dinner. So ya.. i probably blew it this week. haven't checked my inches, or pounds yet. I will check pounds monday morning. But at the beginning of the week it was fluctiating between 206 and 207.0 which was 8-10 oz some loss but I am guessing I gained it all back this weekend.
However, on October 13th I measured myself and this is what I found:
october 13,2010

1.5 lb weight loss since 9/22/10
measurements (assuming I am measuring correctly)

1 inch loss in waist (1 week)
1.5 inch loss in hips (1 month)
1.5 inch loss in neck (in 1 month)
3 inch loss in thigh in 1 month
0- inch loss in calves
half inch loss in upper arm in 1 month.
pushups increased from 12 per set to 20 per set in 5 weeks
crunches- 0-10 can't really lift self off floor yet.

I was so ecstatic to find this out.. assuming I measured correctly.. I am not coordinated with the measuring tape! LOL and DH measured me last official measuring a month ago.
really happy with these results!
Sure it's nice to see the results we want on the scale, but inches lost are MUCH BETTER!!

Commit2fit -
I did avoid all fast food except for subway and little caesars as planned but I have decided little caesars is too greasy too and did NOT make me feel good so I will be cutting out little caesars for the rest of the commit2fit challenge as well. Not ALL pizza.. (not frozen) but little caesars really is fast, and greasy and I feel much better when I eat frozen pizza than little caesars.. little caesas upsets my stomach! I had just broken down after speech therapy on thursday because kids wanted food, subway was too expensive for the whole family, and I didn't want to get them fast food as part of this challenge. felt if I am avoiding this stuff then I really shouldn't be feeding it to my kids either!
for now on, I will just try to be better about planning ahead, and making lunches or getting something from the store.
:-)

CONGRATS! Mamavation sista of the week!
Angela @ninemoremonths

Happy Sabbath day! October 17,2010

2010-10-17T06:21:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone has a blessed day today! I started feeling a little under the weather a few nights ago and was feeling crummy all day yesterday and still feeling a bit under the weather this morning. SO the others went to church and I stayed home with the litlest one. He turns 3 on halloween. Can hardly believe my littlest one is already 3. Time flies so fast and they sure don't stay little for very long. He is definitely a momma's boy though. Loves to cuddle, giggle, and play! I have started homeschooling him some and it's been fun! This past week we made homemade playdough, played with rice, obtained a sandbox and started playing with that, went to the park, on walks and at the playground, He helped me make peanut butter cookies, and have started learning ABC's, colors, and shapes,coloring, read stories, and played frisbie. It's been an adventure and always exploring for new ideas! Anyone have any ideas for homeschooling activities for 3 yr olds, I am always open for new ideas! Right now He is watching a movie, kids are at church and I am not feeling good but thinking of tackling the kitchen. No one else to do the housework right now and it is desperately calling for help. weekends are crazy and with all 6 of the kids having off school since thursday for fall break and don't go back till Tuesday.. it needs it even more!
So the plan for this morning WAS to rest but instead I am thinking of doing the following:
dishes
clear,wipe table
sweep floor
tidy living rm,hallway
vacuum living rm, hallway wish me luck.. may not get much done till later as I am feeling yuck again!

Commit2Fit Friday: What’s on YOUR playlist? Win an iPod Shuffle!

2010-10-16T22:14:00.000-07:00

Commit2Fit Friday: What’s on YOUR playlist? Win an iPod Shuffle!

Seeing as I don't even have an ipod but am dreaming of one.. maybe if I win an ipod shuffle it will motivate me to get off my franny more and kick it to some music!

If I had one Some of the tunes I would love to have on my playlist for working out would be..

1. girls just wanna have fun! by cindy lauper
2. love shack hahaa
3. any of gloria Estafan's songs.. LOVE HER music! Always makes me wanna get up and dance!
4. footloose- kenny loggins
5. time after time- cindy lauper okay.. all of her songs!! haha
anything that is fast beat and gets me wanting to MOVE!!
WHAT'S ON YOUR playlist?

Mamavation Monday- Oct 11,2010

2010-10-11T12:14:00.000-07:00

Weight Loss:

I have great news to report!!

I stepped on scale yesterday after church and got a big grin on my face! 207.8!! that's 1 pound loss!! the strength training and cardio have finally kicked me out of the plateau I was in I think!
yay!!
I also got my hubby to take a picture of me in that new dress! But I have a whole camera that needs used up before I can develop pictures since my digital bit the dust.
sigh!! I didn't use cell phone because it takes terrible quality photos, but I can try that too. Sunday I had lots of compliments on my new dress which brightened my day of course! This week was a busy week full of speech therapy, van problems, and school, motherhood, housework as always, however I still managed to fit all my #mamaguns workouts in. yay!
my week went like this...

Monday: 15 minutes of strength training with the wii fit this morning. ( torso twists, single leg extensions, rowing squats. ) 85 calories burned.

afternoon workout- 15 minutes- wii fit: tricep extensions, tricep extensions with hand weights, sideways leg lifts

------------------------
tuesday- sore today (legs) did cardio and took a walk with ds2 in stroller in the afternoon- 43 minutes- 1.54 miles pushing stroller.
-------------------
wednesday- 15 minutes- wii fit strength training- single leg lifts- 5 minutes,
torso twists- 5 minutes, jack knife- 4 minutes, single arm stand- 1 minute (attempted)

24 minutes- walk n tone ( walk to bus stop n home with hand weights). Marched in place while waiting for bus.
2nd walk to bus stop to pick son up from bus (that had after school tutoring) and home. (cardio)

thursday- recovery day. Just did cardio ( about .49-.50 walk )

friday- off
saturday- cardio walk n toned (w/ hand weights)- 3.25 miles- (86 min)

Commit2fit Challenge:
I started the commit to fit challenge and have commited myself to no fast food such as burger king, mcdonalds,chik fil a ,etc.. I decided though that Little caesars pizza, and subway do not count. Since subway is pretty healthy for the most part and mamavation approved! :-) I am just trying to get lower calories and get in the habit of avoiding greasy fast foods like hamburgers,french fries which are definitely a weakness of mine. I have to have some fast option especially on errand days, or speech therapy days. today I ate at subway but unfortunately my choice was a really high calorie choice (meatball sub) sigh.. because son wanted that, so I split the footlong with him.. so i will be trying to make healthier choices when visiting subway from here on out. had no idea 1 6 inch meatball could be 580 calories!! wowserz.. that's the beef...

I did order a turkey,ham 6 inch sub that kids shared, and I had eaten some of it too since kids didn't finish sigh..( but 6 inch isn't usually enough since I am used to more :-( but I think for now on I will go either that or a 6 inch tuna sub which is only..245 and even better the BLT is 164 calories for a 6 inch sub. so that is my goal... to eat for wise choices on the subs and I love that they have a nutritional table to help me choose more wisely!

goals this week:
drink atleast 4-6 cups of water.. right now that is hard for me and hope that I can up from there.

no greasy fast food and no meatball subs from subway.. as hard as this may be for me!!

monday- 20-30 cardio and 30 Strength training
tuesday cardio
wed- Strength training
thursday- cardio
friday- off
saturday- 5K walk while toning.

Sista of the Week

I do not know who this weeks sista of the week is yet or this weeks sponsor is yet, so once I know this.. I will add that to this post!

cheers to another wonderful week everyone!

p.s. disclaimer apparently I read the subway nutrition chart wrong regarding their blt sub.. and tuna.. LOL I was looking at serving size.. they are higher in cal than I thought.. but I read the meatball right. sigh.. I bet alot of it is the bread too.. and I didn't add all the condiments figured into the values, but I got white bread, which is worse than wheat... here is the link:
http://www.subway.com/applications/NutritionInfo/Files/NutritionValues.pdf

mamavation Monday- mamaguns challenge week3 report

2010-10-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

Week 3: buff n tuff challenge: report
Monday, September 27, 2010

Monday- Arm has been sore since saturday

monday accomplished: marched in place, around room with weights doing various hand weight/dumbell excercises- 30 minutes
---------------------
tuesday:
only 5 minutes today. I was under the weather.
Did pushups on knees, pushups- bending legs up then down pushups( like squats against wall), reverse crunches- diff variations.
-------------------
wed- skipped
-------------------
thursday- 30 minutes of weights (hammer curls) w/ marching

friday, saturday skipped. I failed this week because I didn't make the 3 days with 30 minutes of working out. :-( friday I was dealing with 2 sick kids, and just simply never got to it, then saturday I fully planned on doing it, but with the LDS general conference broadcast 12-2, shopping between, then another broadcast 2-4 then shopping again for dinner, then Dh gone to his meeting from 6-8 I cooked dinner, watched movie w/ kids and totally spaced it. I could have done weights while watching movie. didn't realize till almost 1 am that I never got the workout in. :-( I was devastated!
hope I don't get kicked out of the challenge... because I simply LOVE this challenge, and how it makes me feel but I just plan on continuing on as if I never failed, posting each week and upping it to 4-5 days next week to make up for my failure this past week.. Please have mercy on me! LOL

so this weeks goals:
Monday workout 30 minutes doing weights, ST excercises
tuesday-30 minutes weights, yoga
wednesday 30 minutes weights, anytime fitness, ball workout
thursday 30 minutes weights
friday- 30 minutes weights, walk
saturday walk and tone w/ weights

no more excuses!!! goal to workout first thing in morning before other things get in the way and it never happens!

size 18/20 shirts are too big now too.. woot woot! a lady who works with my hubby is also trying to lose weight so she is trying to keep a step ahead of me and hand her clothes down to me.. so I got a bunch of clothes in the size 16-20 range and I found the 18/20 size was too baggy and the size 16/18 shirts fit better. WOOT WOOT!!

SISTA OF THE WEEK: A big congratulations to Shelley of @Momma_Oz for being the Sista of the Week!! you definitely deserve it girl! you have always been there with a post and I always felt you truly cared! Luv YA girlie!

BLOGGING CARNIVAL: This week’s blogging carnival is sponsored by SUBWAY. SUBWAY is now the newest official sponsor of the Mamavation campaign. Subway will be giving away a $25 gift certificate to one lucky Mamavation Sista! Have you heard about their new commit2fit campaign? Stay tuned and you will hear more each week!

Commit2fit fridays! Play along!

2010-10-01T18:03:00.000-07:00

Come join us for Commit2fit fridays's and give-away!
It'll be FUN!
http://50in8.com/2010/10/01/introducing-commit2fit-fridays-play-along/comment-page-1/#comment-2221

Flylady,Motherhood and routines

2010-10-01T11:51:00.001-07:00

Okay so I finally established me a routine this morning that I think might actually work and was already thinking of posting it when I saw this blogging flylady routines challenge! What fun!!
I've never been very good at blogging lots of words. So here is my routine! Might need tweaking here and there but this is it for now..
Speech therapy 2 days a week which takes up most of my morning

Morning Routine:
* josh medicine- temporary
6 am- up,dress, kids up, kids dressed,fed,prayer,scriptures, and off to school
Breakfast, brush teeth,hair,make-up, shower.
Workout
unloaded dishwasher,rinse load new load of dishes,start dishwasher
empty trashcans, new liners
thaw food for dinner
Laundry 1 load washed
fold, put away laundry
table,chairs,countertops,floor,stovetop
homestudy

Afternoon Routine:
Josh medicine- ointment
Lunch
Naps
Mop
5-15 min per room (6 rooms)
water,feed kittens,tabby, change litter
Load 2 laundry
Vacuum
make beds
change linens (once weekly)
Homestudy
cook dinner
Load three laundry
evening Routine:
This one can get tricky, with the stress of after school madness! I find homework in itself takes up most of my evening so I have started cooking dinner about 3 or 3:30 so it is ready when the kids walk in the door since they are hungry then and so I am not stressing having to cook AND to homework with the kids. So we eat, clean up from dinner and THEN do homework! This also gives the kids some unwind time from school before starting into the homework. Kids can't play with friends till their homework is done which is starting to work as a good motivator for actually doing it without complaint!
Load 4- laundry
dinner, homework
clean up, dishes,shine sinks
baths, teeth, family prayer, personal prayers, Josh medicine(temporary)- till oct 10th.
lay out clothes for tomorrow
kids bed
pamper time
bed for mom
------------------------
detailed lists:
Kitchen:
counters
table
sweep
mop
appliances
dishes
hotspots
trashcan
window sill
windows
walls

Living room
tidy
vacuum
declutter hotspots
windows, windexing tv, pictures
dust fan
coat closet

Kids rooms:
tidy
declutter hotspots- closet, dressers,
tidy under bed, behind dressers
vacuum
windex window
wipe down walls

Master bedroom
tidy floor
tidy hotspots
make bed
windex window, dust fan,dressers
vacuum
declutter drawers
closet- MAJOR PROJECT

Bathrooms
trashcan
counters
floor,
tub
cat litter box, food
windex window
walls

homeschooling:5 yr old (not official yet)- still in the planning mode..
math- number counting, worksheets, flashcards, computer software,money counting kit
handwriting skills- practice name, letters
Language arts- reading, phonics, sightreading, worksheets, workbooks, computer software
social studies- check out books from library to read, videos,
science- software, science stories, field trips, collecting rocks, scavenger hunts,walks- collecting nature, check out books from library on subjects of animals,nature,science,etc
open for ideas.... needing ideas!

Mamavation Monday- Week 2 of buff n tuff challenge- week 2

2010-09-27T18:53:00.000-07:00

My report for the buff n tuff challenge this week:
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
monday- off
-----------
tuesday- 5 minutes wii fit run w/ hand weights
---------------
wednesday-

cardio glide- elliptical trainer- tones the abs,thighs,and upper arm muscles.- 10 minutes
cardio glide- elliptical trainer- cardio and ST in 1. - 5 more minutes

15 minute sparkpeople ball workout video= today's total- 30 minutes

----------------------------
----------------
thursday- skipped

friday: marching in place with hand weights- 15 minutes(hamnmer curls, bicep curls)
5 minutes: pushups 2 sets of 12, reverse crunches 2 sets of 12

saturday: walk/jog 4.06 miles with handweights (various different excercises: bicep curls, hammer curls, wrist curls, another one name unknown- 1 hr 35 minutes. then did wall pushups against my van, stretches.

WEIGHT LOSS
Not sure if I lost any lbs or inches this week. at one point it looked like I had at 208 but my scale is acting wonky and making a funny noise after ds banged it on computer desk so it may be broken so I don't rely on it anymore.. haven't measured yet. might tonight.. but sunday when I went to try on the dress that has been sitting in my closet since the beginning of this journey in hopes to soon be able to wear it.. much to my astonishment... IT FIT! WOOT WOOT! I have been wearing size 24 dresses and can't even remember the last time I fit into a size 18 dress. this dress is a size 18!!! I was really excited to be able to fit into it, and I got several compliments on the dress at church! WOOOOHOOO!
out with the OLD in with the NEW!! I will have to post a pic of me in the dress as soon as possible!

tinker bell and the great fairy rescue: blog give away!

2010-09-25T15:16:00.000-07:00

ran across this wonderful give away today! we just saw this movie for the first time when renting it from the redbox and my kids absolutely adore it!
go to: http://www.ahappyhippymom.com/2010/09/tinker-bell-and-the-great-fairy-rescue-review-giveaway.html/comment-page-2#comment-45320 to enter!

Mamavation Monday!- Buff n tuff challenge week 1 report!

2010-09-18T19:12:00.001-07:00

I am not sure if I posted about this before but my pant size used to be a 20 or more. It had even in some case gotten as high as 24 I think and I just bought new shorts because my other ones are all too loose! yay! So now I am into a 16/18 WOOHOO!! they are a little snug at the waist and are the danskin stretch type waist, but nevertheless I am able to wear them and ,my old size 20 waist shorts are too big so that in itself is a huge accomplishment if you ask me, and I have lost 3 inches at the waist since beginning this journey. no inches lost this week but 3 inches lost since beginning this journey (checked 3-4 weeks ago) haven't lost any since that I can tell. unless I am measuring poorly.. LOL yay me!!

Buff n Tuff Challenge Week 1

Week 1 of the buff n tuff challenge was a wonderful success for me! it was alot of fun, I had the courage to try out new things (table top pushups, tricep dips), and excercises I hadn't dare try in yrs (pushups) due to how hard they are for me. Still they weren't much easier but atleast I got the courage to do them. :-)
As I told many of you, my scale has been going wonky on me. still is at 209 HOWEVER... I found out the reason my wii fit has been reporting so low a weight for me is my carpet. I have had it sitting on our area rug.. so carpet on top of carpet SO... since someone informed me about how it can report wrong when on plush carpet and such, I decided to try it on my regular more flat carpet.. Now it may still be inaccurate due to it still being on carpet it raised my weight up 36 lbs and was only 10 lbs under my bathroom digital scale! woohoo! So maybe it is accurate and if SOOOO then I have lost 15-18 lbs since starting this journey! (it reported me at 199 last night! woot woot! I should be going into the health dept this next week for my yrly exam and will find out then what their scale is saying, but at any rate! this made me happy at the prospect that I am really 199 and not 209 :-) One can always hope! haha
Strength Training
Monday:

Monday started the challenge! That day I did calve raises, table top pushups, tricep dips, and marching in place w/ weights. it felt great!

wednesday (day 2) I worked out on my wii fit free run for 20 minutes w/ weights and added bicep curls w/ hand weights to the jog! it was great! Then later I did the other 10 minutes doing the wii fit free step w/ balance board and adding weights/ and hammer curls as well to it, and

5 minutes: reverse crunches- 4 sets, and 2 sets reverse crunches w/ 1 leg at a time), 1 minute calve raises

streches after strength training workout, (hamstring toe touch, and lunges 2 sets of 12 each leg)
---------------------------
day3: (thursday)
20 minutes wii fit free step w/ hand weights
forgot to finish off with last 10 minutes so I did not meet goal that day, but I did do some housework. but i am guessing this does not count. LOL I was feeling sick so I think 20 minutes was good for me. also was sore from reverse crunches I did the night before. but had I remembered that night I would have completed those last 10 minutes.
-------------------
day 4: (friday)

sparkpeople 15 min desk workout video (Strength training)
pushups 2 sets of 12 (on knees) can't do real ones yet- 2 minutes
reverse crunches- 2 sets of 12 then 1 more set of 12- rotating legs-2-3 min
wii fit free step(cardio) w/ weights- hammer curls (Weight training-ST)- 10 minutes 29-30 minutes total for today (friday)

saturday- All I did was carry a microwave out to the curb. Ours broke so that was the equivalent of moving a heavy box. My allergies were driving me mad saturday. Got shampoo in my eyes when I showered that morning, and I couldn't get the burn to go away for atleast an hour then it had a minor burn all day, and was watering,itching,blurring, and what looked like either eye mucus or shampoo still trying to find it's way out of my eyes. At first my eyes felt dried up, then it excessively liquidated so at any rate. my saturday night my eyes were pinkish and I thought I had conjunctivitis/pink eye but I think it was just iritated. It is doing better now but this morning it was still discharging a tiny bit, and my nose felt like I had allergies so I think the shampoo experience must have just upset my allergies. My hubby also picked me up some red eye relief drops at walmart last night and I think those helped me a bunch too. Just glad to have my eyes feeling back to normal. I thought i'd die when that shampoo went in my eyes directly and lots of it.
but as for the challenge this week I am really proud of myself. I was afraid I wouldn't manage to get 30 minutes 3-4 times this week in but I did!

woohoo go me! yay for a great week!

RECOGNITIONS!

Congrats to this weeks sister of the week: Pamela M Kramer https://twitter.com/PamelaMKramer Good job! I don't know you too well yet but look forward to getting to know you and everyone from mamavation!

this weeks mamavation blogging carnival is hosted by Subway! I absolutely LOVE subway! good healthy sandwhiches, fast, easy and DELICIOUS!

Congrats to Leah, Lori, Lisa, rachel for getting to run a 3 mile through the park in NYC with Subway's very own, Jared! What an awesome experience this will be for you all! Can't wait to hear all about it on mamavation.com!

September 13- Mamavation monday- BUFF N TUFF challenge!

2010-09-09T10:35:00.000-07:00

Okay ya'll!! I have decided to have courage and give it a go to the buff n tuff challenge. I am very apprehensive about this challenge because weight training is new to me. haven't done weight training since 10 yrs ago when I got married, and before and had a membership at my one and only gym- Bally's total fitness! I haven't been a member of a gym since! I wanted to join one a few months ago, but Dh doesn't want to spend the long term money on it, so.. he bought me a wii fit instead, So here are my goals for the challenge!
1. incorporate weight training/strength training into my daily workouts (30-45 minutes per day) and do this 3-4 times per week for the next 8 weeks as part of the buff n tuff challenge.. sore muscles here I come!
2. post before and after pic

workout plans/ideas:
calf raises- calf muscles
bicep curls
lunges
reverse crunches
yoga with weights- does this count?
tricep dips?? I will need to look for a demo on these
walking jogging while pushing a stroller- does this count?
walking/ jogging with weights (saturday's) can't do this except when hubby is home because I push toddler in stroller when he is gone at work
jump roping/ sp video's- does this count?
wii fit- with weights
yourself fitness computer software (cardio) with weights to add resistance
help! need ideas!
as for the photo... sorry for the cheesy grin.. didn't realize how cheesy I looked and sorry for the bad quality.. my camera pohone is all I had so far since my digital phone bit the dust.

as for my weight loss this week?! I had gone from 208 to 210- 212 last weekend according to the scale somehow.. ( really doubt the scale is accurate or I gained lots of muscle! haha) back down to 209 as of this weekend. which is weird after all the hard work I had been doing to workout. So perhaps I am losing it again..

This weeks blogging carnival is sponsored by : http://www.chefsrequested.com/
They are a sponsor of the Mamavation campaign and sends their perfectly portioned steaks to the Mamavation Moms by sending product coupons for their 100 Calorie Portion Sized Steaks and plenty of discount coupons as well! Woohoo!!! a big thanks to them for sponsoring us!

A big Congratulations to this week's Sista of the week: Stephanie (@fitmomtraining)
You have definitely deserved it and I appreciate the comments and support on mamaguns challenge and getting me from apprehensive to PUMPED UP!

Mamavation Monday- another week come and gone! (9-6-10)

2010-09-05T12:16:00.000-07:00

So here it is, another week come and gone! This week was a very active week for me, with lots of walks for me. Our van was not working since tuesday so I walked kids to the bus stop in the mornings, walked for workouts, and walked to pick them up from the bus stops in the afternoon.. I worked out on elliptical a few times, did strength excercises several times... yet my weight pretty much wouldn't budge! Yesterday I got super stoked when I saw my weight go down from 208.2 TO 207.8 for several minutes BUT THEN I decided to step on the scale a few seconds later to save the number on my scale.. and it had jumped to 209?!! WHAT THE HECK?!!! SO EITHER i REALLY LOST THE WEIGHT AND it was simply water retention or natural changes in this weirdo body of mine, or my scale is a liar! that being SAID!! I don't know what to think. I got my hopes up for nothing I suppose seeing as it hasn't shown me that magical number since... :-( this next week is that wonderful week where my monthly vistor decides to grace me with her presence so I imagine the upcoming week won't be much better. I have decided I am going to throw that ugly old scale in the bathroom cabinet and hide it for atleast a week or 2 so i won't obsess and look at it because frankly I am really hating that thing right now! this week I burned: 3070 calories with my goal burned being 3440 so I almost made my goal! So overall it was a great calorie burning week. I did splurge this weekend on Pizza for dinner on friday, and pizza for lunch on saturday so perhaps that's why my weight hasn't gone back down but pizza once in a while?! come on! LOL I was a good girl I didn't eat out all week. especially with my van not working.. LOL how could I?! the pizza I had over the weekend was frozen pizza's.. not that greasy little ceasars ! LOL so maybe my good girl no eating fast food will pay off next week! :-) HOWEVER I decided it was high time I start eating healthier and actually buying produce more.. it's not the cheapest and normally I can't.. but we got paid so I decided to go buy what I could, when I could so hopefully we will need very few grocery trips this month. I I spent over 200 dollars on this grocery trip! :-( but I got some strawberries,banana's, peaches, lettuce,cucumbers, carrots (fresh produce), and ni the way of canned goods I got lots of beans, canned fruits, corn, and black eyes peas, and anything I thought the kids might eat that was healthy! LOL Have a great week everyone! Planning on using some of those fruits for my planned smoothie from sparkpeople recipes and looking fwd to a much healthier lifestyle. My kids even ate carrots for their snack with lunch today! :-) woohoo go me!

Congrats to greta for being sista of the week!! you definitely deserve it! :-) sorry I still haven't figured out how to link on here.. someone HELP! LOL

this weeks mamavation blogging carnival was hosted by @chefsrequested! make sure and go check out their smaller portioned low calorie gourmet steaks @ : www.chefsrequested.com/

Mamavation Monday- 9-1-10

2010-08-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

Sorry for missing last week! Monday I spaced it with all my running around town, and being at school then tuesday I went on a 3.35 mile walk at the park (while pushing the stroller) yay me! I had gained about 2 lbs last week putting me back up to 212 or it was water weight, then tuesday night after running dd to ballet, then going to a church class on living wills I got sick.. major sinus drainage, sore throat,ear pain, body aches,nausea and all.. so I didn't feel up to the post when I did remember (wednesday I think. ) I did weigh myself though and was so excited! 209.8! whoohoo!
Then thursday I was running around town for speech therapy, school again, despite feeling crappy due to this cold/allergies/sinusitis or whatever it is, so I didn't get anything done.

Stayed home on sunday due to feeling terrible still and ds age 2 stayed home too as he has the runny nose. Other kids have started the head cold but not near as bad. I was going to take a walk at park with the family or my daughters but by the time dinner finished it was too late due to kids having school in the morning, then it got too dark too fast to take a walk solo around the neigborhood. :-( phooey. was really wanting that walk.

this next weeks goals:
Monday- elliptical 10 minutes, wii fit atleast 10 minutes
tuesday- wii fit yoga, wii fit free run, maybe a real morning walk
wednesday- elliptical, walk, wii fit yoga, sparkpeople strength training
thursday- wii fit yoga, elliptical
friday- walk, yourself fitness
saturday- walk or youtself fitness, wii fit
sunday- walk

welcome to mamavation's newest nutritionalist: cynthia pasquella!
http://www.cynthiapasquella.com/

and congrats to this weeks sista of the week! @fitcheerldr sorry.. still trying to figure out how to do links on here..

tuesday- August 17,2010

2010-08-17T06:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my husband's birthday, and the first day of school, it was also speech therapy day for 2 of my boys ages 5,8 so it made for a extremely busy and hectic day and I was gone all day thus... no time for housework or excercise. By the time kids were in bed I had no motivation and was completely exausted. Today will be a better day I hope. Kids off to school.had breakfast and I need to start with my morning workout so I get it done. I am tired.. perhaps this will wake me up and give me the energy needed to have a successful day. I think I will take my son to the park provided my van cooperates and doesn't give me starting issues. Sparkplugs need replaced so it often gives us issues starting which can be really frustrating!!
I will take my cell phone, and a list of contacts provided I can't get it to start up. It was doing okay once we got home and I tested it a few times, but had given me problems in the parking lot of the gas station on the way to school. maybe filling up helped it.. LOL
things to do today:
morning workout: walk at the park with 2 yr old son
come home, cool down, put movie in for him, take a shower
set timer for 15 minutes at a time, and work on each rm for 15 min each.
lunch
nap time- for ds
afternoon workout- either wii fit, or yourself fitness
personal scripture study, prayer
make dinner
3:00 head to school to pick up kids
4:00 homework with kids
5:00 eat dinner, clean up from dinner
family house rescue
kids ready for bed
mom, dad relax time

Mamavation monday: week 3: August 16, 2010

2010-08-16T19:55:00.000-07:00

Not sure what to blog about this week really. I went up 2 lbs then back down 4 lbs (210.0) then today I am back up to 211 due to water weight. I am still working on getting myself to only step on that scale once weekly but I have gone down from checking it daily, and obsessing to relaxing more, and not stressing over it, and just weighing myself every 2-3 days for the most part.. I just check for curiosity but only really take it seriously once a week but that is my goal... to make myself only look once weekly. I had a bad week as far as the eating healthy foods goes. Had a few good days and did pretty good most days in staying within my goals but today was terrible. I was on the go most of the day and got fast food for lunch, junk food for snacks, and pizza for dinner so yeah.. terrible day.. but this morning my weight was down to 211. (beginning of week it was 214, and last weekend 212 so the scale is still mostly going in the right direction which keeps me happy.. pizza or no pizza. Also went out to eat with my mom on friday night since she was in town and it is my hubby's birthday today, and mine on wedesday so we had our celebrating complete with birthday cake on sunday so considering all the unhealthy choices i made this week, I am pretty happy to still see the scale saying I am down to 211. even though it's 1 lb up from 210 2 days before. I am also taking into account water weight.. haven't weighed since the pizza but I don't think I will weigh myself till monday or tuesday which is my real scheduled weigh in days. Just trying to enjoy the journey without stressing over it and beating myself up when i make a mistake or give into an endulgence. Just excercise more and get back on the wagon.

family fun night at the park!

2010-08-11T20:17:00.001-07:00

Tonight we went to the park as a family. Met Mom at the park and started on the 1 mile trail with the kids. Hubby met us there, and caught up to us on the trail and brought with him 2 bags of powerade drinks for us.. those must have been heavy bags and he carried them just over 1/2 a mile.. LOL oh well that shoulda been like lifting weights! haha! then after we finished the trail, the kids played on the playground about 10 minutes then headed home. I drove his van home, and when I got in I discovered he had bought me roses while at the store today.. what a sweetheart!
It was a fun family outing!

Monday Mamavation -August 09,2010

2010-08-09T09:39:00.000-07:00

This week my weight loss has slowed down but My excercise has also slowed down due to getting ready for my mom's arrival in town today. I have focused more on housekeeping and getting ready and I also haven't been as disciplined in the kind of foods I ate. I still stayed around my calorie intake goal but due to not making my goal of 5000 calories burned in a week and only burning 4200 I updated it with sparkpeople last night and it adjusted my calorie intake for me to a lower amount. I have still worked out atleast 10 minutes per day which was anything from a walk at the park or around the neigborhood ,or working out on my elliptical or wii fit. I didn't work out with my yourself fitness software at all this week. I am thinking I better start doing that more, this morning I weighed myself and it was back up to 215 from 213 so I am confused as to whether this is water weight or true weight gain or muscle.. could be muscle.. a few days ago I did lunges that made me super sore and so i haven't done strength excercises since. That might have something to do with it too but I found that when I workout on wiifit burning atleast 200-300 calories a day my weight goes down in the right direction and I majorly slacked on this this week and really slowed down. So I plan on doing better, just now sure how much will happen this week due to mom being in town but she isn't staying with me, but with someone else so I will be trying to do more with my morning workouts before she comes to visit to make sure it happens.. otherwise, it never happens. by the time kids fall asleep I am too exausted to even think about working out.
goals:
1. incorporate morning workouts dedicatingly each day.
2. slow down on the junky, fatty foods and watch the type of foods I eat in addition to making sure I stay within my calories.. still having a hard time giving these things up.
3. do strength excercises atleast 3 x a week no matter what. YOU CAN DO THIS!
4. WORKOUT WHETHER YOU FEEL LIKE IT OR NOT!!

I may be unable to attend Mamavation tv tonight, depending on if my mom has arrived and visiting at this time. if so, I will miss you all!

Mamavation Monday- post #1

2010-07-30T16:47:00.000-07:00

I have recently started my journey into health, fitness, and weight loss! In response to my recent posts on here regarding my journey a dear twitter friend (MMScarlett) approached me and told me about mamavation.com ! That being said, I thought it would be a wonderful experience to be a part of the sistahood and gain and give support to other sista's in our quest toward a healthier lifestyle! I love friends and can use all the motivational support I can get. O also recently got back active with sparkpeople.com and have enjoyed coming up with a plan, and sticking with it.. tracking my calories, and calories burnt each day, making healthier choices as much as possible, and having fun excercising on my wii and feeling more alive than I have in a long time! Look forward to journeying with all of you, and being a part of the sistahood! I promise to try my hardest to obtain a lifestyle change and to be a supportive friend!

My goals:
1. lose weight, feel great!
2. make healthier choices and better meals for both myself and my family
3. Smile more, be more positive, stress less
4. excercise every day even if it's just 10 minutes a day
5. post about my weekly experiences and sucesses
6. improve self esteem
7. support and be a friend to other sista's!

Here is my aweful before photo of me when I started my fitness journey at my aweful 214-217 lbs. (my mom's scale said 214, but when I got home, and got new scale it read 217.) My current weight a week or so into it... 214.8 GASP It's been working though.. I am losing it! woohoo!

excercise, and family fun!

2010-07-27T19:50:00.000-07:00

We went to the park tonight as a family. Dh stayed with the kids so they could romp and play at the playground and I went for a jog/walk. jogged the first mile, then walked the mile back. that is a HUGE accomplishment for me being able to jog 20 minutes straight! only stopped long enough to tie my shoelaces that were loosening! some moments were really tough since it was a up and down hiking type trail.. but I pushed myself to keep going. was jogging abt walking pace but it was jogging.. wow! I am so proud of myself!

Journey toward fitness

2010-07-23T10:41:00.000-07:00

as a mommy of 6 children ages 8and under, my body has been neglected since all those pregnancies. Over the years I haven't had a whole lot of time to workout and get fit, and over the years my energy has depleated.. then one day recently I decided to get on the ball and get my self in shape both physically, and emotionally. Since I have begun my journey I have found, increased energy, self worth, and less stress.. (on the days that I do alot of excercise.. Lately I have been on mommy burnout, and am so ready for school to start back. excercise is the place I go when I need mommy time. So that being said.. I have started taking several workout approaches.. I went to www.sparkpeople.com for my nutritional and fitness needs. It's FREE totally and completely, and has a way for you to track your calories, nutrition, get free healthy recipes, track how many calories you burn, track your excercises, has support systems through a personal spark page, message boards, fitness blog, and more. I LOVE IT. I also started using several excercise programs...
sparkpeople strength program, yourself fitness- computer software DVD with a virtual trainer, which my hubby bought for me.
~ and the recently aquired WII system for playing sports with, and I am waiting the arrival of my Wii fit plus software! :-)
~ I have also started the couch 2 5K program which eases you into training to learn to run a 5K. It's awesome and highly recommend this program as well!

I highly recommend going to sparkpeople.com for all your fitness and health needs! It's free and has the point system and everything weight watchers uses, except the beauty of sparkpeople is it's all FREE!! Have fun!

summer Break Happenin's

2010-05-28T08:13:00.000-07:00

So summer break has arrived again and it is time to get organized so we can have some fun. today is day #1 of the Summer break and all 6 kiddo's are home and I am so stressed out. Hopefully soon we will all be used to this and back into a summer routine and I will hopefully start getting more cooperation on the household chores from the kids. Today we started the day off getting ready for company and cleaning house. I set the timer for 15 minutes in hopes that if we would all work together on the rm then it wouldn't TAKE LONGER than 15 minutes but alas this was not so. sure we did get MOST of the rm tidy within 15 minutes but we also cleaned behind computer desks, and TV so it took longer and I still have clean laundry on the couch waiting to be folded. Boys made a mess in the bathroom (water everywhere) SO... I ushered them in a good cleaning of the bathroom. (they wiped counters, windexed mirror, swept floor, mopped floor, and cleaned urine off the bottom of the toilet and around it! yay!! Looks and smells sooo much better. Now cleaning their rooms is a whole other ball game! I have been trying all morning with no success and since they keep fighting and causing problems and not cleaning their rooms I decided it is already time for quiet time! Now I say already because it is only 11:20 AM however we have been up since the crack of dawn literally so it is TIME!!
as for the rest of my to do list today... brace yourselves!!
1. wiped table- girls did it- done
2. swept kitchen floor- done
3. mop kitchen floor
4. unload/ load dishwasher, start dishwasher
5 laundry
6. tidy master bedroom
7. tidy master bathroom, and clean it
8. tidy in yard
9. clean/organize carport
10. wiped walls through house
11. finish patching up holes in wall put there by boys,door knobs through time..
12. paint walls
13. rent and steam clean carpet in living rm, hallway
14. empty trashcans
15.windex windows
16. tidy, sweep porch, deck

Blueberry/ Cherry cream cheese pie w/ oreo cookie crust

2010-05-13T16:42:00.000-07:00

I just loved this pie and had to share it with you all..
cream 1 8oz package of cream cheese until smooth
slowly add 1 medium can of sweetened condensed milk to cream cheese and blend till smooth
add 1 can of blueberry or cherry pie filling, a tub of whipping cream and gently stir/fold in until blended. Then add nuts and mix.

Pour contents into a oreo cookie pie crust
makes 2 pies or close to. I doubled recipe to make sure it made a full 2 pies, and I did 16 oz of cool whip instead of whipping cream by accident but it still turned out okay. My step mother said she used whipping cream instead. and she used a smaller tub of whipping cream. I used a large tub of cool whip. And it is good in fridge or freezer but she said it tasted much better frozen so I decided to freeze mine. a similar recipe I found is at:
http://www.grouprecipes.com/5984/oreo-cookie-pie.html might want to try it out too and the cool whip had an interesting recipe I will send u later as well.

Confessions of a flybaby

2010-05-13T16:30:00.001-07:00

Okay so I admit, I am TERRIBLE at creating and following routines. I hate them. they make me feel overwhelmed and I have never done well with them but today I started back at the attempt and my house looks wonderful.
so.. here is my routine

NEW MR- up check, dressed check, kids up- check,dressed check, kids off to school- check, home- check, breakfast- check, vitamins-check teeth-check, load of dishes- check, load of laundry(switched over, and new load started)- check, tidy living rm(tidy)-check, hallway(tidy)-check, tidy kitchen -check

afternoon:
vacuuming bedrooms- check
vacuuming living room,hallway
bathrooms
mopping
dishes
laundry
cook dinner- check
clean up from dinner

bedtime routine
teeth/baths,jammies,etc
scripture study/prayer
bed-kids
set out clothes for tomorrow

Tuesday's Challenge

2010-05-11T06:16:00.001-07:00

Sorry I have been away and haven't posted in a while.. been so busy at home I haven't been blogging lately. today's challenge is to donate atleast one bag of clothing to a friend or charity organization. I have been gathering bags of clothes for a few weeks now to give away but haven't donated yet due to vehicle problems. My van worked yesterday but now it is back to not starting again so if I can get my van to start I will be running the clothes to a local charity box at a local gas station. Atleast then i don't have to turn my engine off and risk it not starting back.. otherwise, I will see if hubby can run the clothes to a drop box for me. I am so over loaded with clothing due to friends donating to me that I have too many clothes now so many I put in bags to donate and I have a hard time deciding what to part from since I have 6 children so close in age it makes it hard to know what is safe to get rid of. Some days I am just tempted to get rid of all of it and start over with a weeks worth of clothing.

Spring dress give away:

2010-04-28T08:39:00.000-07:00

Spring Giveaway!!! Just leave a comment....
Windy Day Spring Giveaway!!!
Win any style Flitterbug or Specialty Tee of Your Choice!
Enter up to 5 times...leave a separate comment for each entry!
How to Enter:
*Leave a comment
*Share the link to this giveaway on Facebook
*Share the link to this giveaway on Twitter
*Blog about this giveaway
*Invite you friends to follow Flitterbugs on Facebook (Leave 2 comments if you invite all your friends!)
*Follow this blog or subscribe via email (look on the left sidebar!)
That's up to 7 entries!!! Winner will be chosen via random.org on Friday at noon.
http://flitterbugsblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/spring-giveaway-just-leave-comment.html?showComment=1272468410508_AIe9_BEEFLWLeyHdSiHrxAGahUusiNVcp1pnpF7LclvZQFI1cMEyU-CYdq2fPpj4h7Ng2-9ZGzP5_woYnqSucgjN1PRQ1LHZHoyht64Iog6qWmNnuXk2g54hAsMEcOZx9zDlPB23-Qz-ZASbnu1ZoVcYiULVPUq63VWq4XCiAe2E3PeJLe7u26fSW9tufYYqBLMiwrTvE1Xuevql93X11ntaCVP6cFkr0IldrIszyLCs03pwMobrPwvoQeC1wpUGLacFALVQIPW8#c115396436296476757

R is for relaxing at home.. sort of.. haha

2010-04-27T06:18:00.000-07:00

today is going to be a more relaxing day for me since I am not running all over town today. It may not be total and complete relaxation since I have housework/homemaking to do today, BUT atleast I don't have to run errands today. I just gassed up the van this morning, and took kids to bus stop. I don't have to go back out till this evening when I pick kids up from the bus stop, and take them to the park. I am planning on meeting my visiting teachers at the park for visiting teaching tonight at 5 pm which will make visiting teaching easier for all of us because then our kiddo's will be occupied playing while we talk. :-) I just hope Dh can make it there so he can play with the kids while we talk.. that would make it even easier..

today's to do list for me:
Clean up, declutter in master bedroom
master bathroom, empty bathroom trashcans
hall bathroom
5 minute room rescue of living rm
laundry
dishes
kitchen
hotspots
declutter atleast one closet
mow lawn

Q is for Quest for the cleaner more organized home

2010-04-20T15:28:00.000-07:00

Quest to make my house a home, make it look clean and orderly, make it a haven to be in, with nice painted walls, free of crayola markings and finger prints, Nice photo's in frames, and pleasant. Sigh but I might just be dreaming until my kids get a bit older.. but all I can do is keep trying I suppose.. I added to my home with some cute wall plaques this week I had ordered. One in the Living room above our family photo it says "Love makes our house a home" and the other one in the kitchen says the quote "Come what may and love it" ~Joseph B wirthlin
So much fun!

P is for packrat

2010-04-20T15:16:00.000-07:00

I am such a packrat.. I have the hardest time getting rid of things and although I was bad about it even before I met my husband.. he is even worse of one than me which makes it hard to get rid of things.. he even sees a use of ripped up t-shirts or stained ones saying we can use them for working on the car, or painting, or whatever.. So I have had a hard time declutttering over the yrs but have broken down and chucked stuff anyways, and have been trying to get better about getting rid of old clothes when we are given some from friends but I still have a hard time. I always find some reason not to get rid of it.. (i.e. what if it gets cold outside again, or what if I find we don't have enough winter clothes next winter, or can't get more.. or can't afford more,etc..
always a reason.. so how do you get past this urge to keep what you don't have room for or don't use? I find I have a major over abundance in clothes but I have 4 boys most of which wear around same size so I have a hard time getting rid of clothes, even if there is too much, because we use up 4 shirts in one day so we actually seem to need more than we have storage room. I keep their clothes in drawers only. I could have room to store more if I hung clothes up but then my kids rip them all off the hangers so I kinda gave up on hanging up their clothes.. any suggestions on how you decide what to keep, and how do you organize your children's clothes and KEEP them organized? an interesting site I just ran across is: http://www.declutteryourhouse.com/clean_house/tips-to-become-clutter-free I think I am going to check that site out more closely. :-)

O is for Organizing

2010-04-19T17:25:00.000-07:00

although I am not too good at it most days and am really unorganized to tell you the truth, I do enjoy it when I do find the time to work on it, aside from parenting, and just trying to keep my head above water and keep the main part of the house cleaned. I do have a list of projects to organize and I love the feeling of getting rid of stuff/decluttering when I do. It released the stress that clutter causes me. So for today's challenge.. go find one project from your organize list and go work on it.. whether it be a coat closet, linen closet or bedroom closet. Or a kitchen or bathroom cabinet.. you name it. Recently I organized/decluttered my shed and boy did it feel GREAT! It was kinda fun too. Couldn't believe some of the memories I came across and I have been pretty anal about keeping it organized since too.. after all that hard work I put into it. (it took an entire day to organize that project!) LOL tonight I think I will work on organizing under the bathroom sink. or coat closet

N is for neatness

2010-04-16T18:33:00.000-07:00

Keeping a neat and orderly home is so very important, not only for appearances and for guests but for the feel of the home, and for peace. I find it so hard to feel peace, and the spirit of the lord in my home when it is messy and chaotic.. and when it's clean we are less stressed, the kids fight less and we are happier as a whole. Also a clean and neat home is essential for our health.. Mildew and dust can add to problems if you or a loved one has a problem with Asthma or allergies. If you find it hard to keep up with the housework or catch up.. include your kids in the work.. I often get burned out when I am having to clean up after 8 people all by myself.

M is for make-up- pamper challenge

2010-04-15T13:56:00.000-07:00

So today is the letter M for the A-z challenge. How many of us are good about wearing make- up?? LOL not me.. I do wear it now and again but not often but when I do?? I feel so good about myself all dolled up.. LOL so lets pamper ourselves today with a good shower/ or bubblebath and put on that make-up! :-) I had a shower this morning, but then forgot to turn heater off from the nighttime so as a result it is 75 and hot in here and I could totally use another one. LOL

L is for.... Losing the ideas, and for Love

2010-04-14T19:43:00.000-07:00

Losing ideas for the post challenge. running out of good ideas for posts related to Flying and cleaning.I came up with one for my other blog (L is for love) but not sure if it is okay to post the same post at both blogs so this is going to have to be it.. just using different commentaries on Love..

Love is Kind at all times, Love is unselfish Love is putting the other person above yourself. Love is unconditional Love never fears, Love has charity toward the other person. Love doesn't hurt.

K is for Kitchen challenge!

2010-04-13T16:56:00.001-07:00

go pick any spot in your kitchen and declutter it! whether it be under the sink, a kitchen cabinet full of pots and pans.. and toss anything you don't use anymore and haven't used in the last 6 months atleast.. have fun! take pictures when you are done :-) I need to do this so bad! under my sink especially!

J is for Journaling lifes journey

2010-04-12T15:03:00.000-07:00

So how many of us are good at keeping a journal? I am terrible about it. hopefully blogging will help me with that, but as for my real paper journal in my room? Haven't done it in forever. I always intend on being better... but you know the saying.. the road to hell was built on good intentions.. LOL So this for me is one of my goals.. to be better about not only writing in my blogging journal but my paper journal, even if it is just writing my daily accomplishments or a spiritual enlightenment, goals, or quote I came across that day.

Journaling is important. It helps to look back at our journey and learn from the past. Often it is hard to learn from it as we are going through it.. the obsticles cause grief, distress and we wonder what we could possibly learn from this experience. Looking back on the past helps us to grow, or cry, or even to laugh. I especially find it humerous to look back on my teenage yrs.. or back when I first met my husband and how immature I was in those days.. LOL Who would have thought I would have looked that way.. even to myself.. LOL go get yourself a journal if you haven't already and embark in the journey!

I is for inspirational quotes

2010-04-11T16:44:00.000-07:00

So I am probably out of the challenge now, since I goofed up and forgot to post my challenge post yesterday. I never got online yesterday except for a minute..
but it is fun so I am going to continue anyways.. hopefully since sunday is a day off day anyway from challenge, I can just make it up today (sunday) and it still count. :-) But with today being sunday I thought it would be a good day to post a inspirational quote post..

Act as if what you do makes a difference, it does ~ William James

“To the world you may be one person but to one person you may be the world.”

TAYLOR HANSON

these quotes were found at: http://jugglingmotherhood.com/2009/10/02/the-influence-of-a-parent/

H is for Homemaking

2010-04-09T08:41:00.000-07:00

I was pondering what to do for today's topic and the word homemaking came across my mind. I did a google search and found a really cute website on old fashioned homemaking. It as everything from frugal living, to beauty tips, to recipes.. you name it and so I thought it would be good to pass on this site to all my readers to bookmark.

http://www.oldfashionedhomemaking.com/

another site I found poems and such and it had a poem that was very touching to me and really made me ponder and think about what is really important and that if we don't take the time to spend time with our kids the time will slip away and one day we will wish we had...

My hands were busy throughout the day
I didn't have much time to play
The little games you asked me to.
I didn't have much time for you.
I'd wash your clothes, I'd sew and cook,
But when you'd bring your picture book
And ask me please to share your fun,
I'd say: "A little later, son."
I'd tuck you in all safe an night
And hear your prayers, turn out the light,
Then tiptoe softly to the door...
I wished I'd stayed a minute more.
For time is short, the years rush past...
A little boy grows up so fast.
No longer is he at your side,
His precious secrets to confide.
The picture books are put away,
There are no longer games to play,
No goodnight kiss, no prayers to hear...
That all belongs to yesteryear.
My hands, once busy, now are still.
The days are long and hard to fill.
I wish I could go back and do
The little things you asked me to. ~unknown author
found poem at: http://www.homemaking-cottage.com/index.php/Inspiration/Poems/My-Hands-Were-Busy.html

G is for Gym... / excercise

2010-04-08T14:09:00.000-07:00

Ok it may be a stretch but I had no idea what else to use for the letter G... so that being said.. use today to excercise. Go to the Gym or excercise from home. take a walk,jog, or run around the park or neigborhood if it is nice outside where you live. If not, you can workout on the treadmill, or in my case the cardio glider. Or you can dance with your kids and crank up the music :-) Workout as much as you like and get the blood flowin. Atleast 15 minutes a day blesses your heart though, so atleast make it a goal to do atleast 15 minutes of loving movement. Excercise help relieve the stress levels too and stress is the #1 cause of heart disease, cancer and other diseases found in women. After excercising, drink a glass of water and just RELAX, READ A BOOK!!

Have fun!

F is for Flying with Children

2010-04-07T09:28:00.000-07:00

So today's topic will be on teaching our Children to Fly! There are so many ways to be successful with teaching our children to learn to Fly. Teaching them helps them to be happy and to feel productive and to grow into very responsible, confident, and enthusiastic adults.
At first my children loved to help me clean when they were toddlers and as they got older they started complaining more and avoiding all tasks at hand. Then came the that's not fair complaints, or it will taaaake too long!! But I find when I stick to it, and make sure they do it whether they like it or not, they end up happy in the end, and glad they did. They feel the peace and sense of accomplishment that comes from knowing they did it!! Some things I do that help motivate my kids to cooperate..
1. crank up music. Often they can get sidetracked and start dancing, but teach them to dance, and clean at same time, and do it WITH them and they will join in the fun.

2. set a timer and play "beat the beep", and race to see who can clean up the fastest.. offer a reward if you'd like
3. put slips of paper with numbers on them in a cup or box and draw from it a number. Number selected is the number of items each child needs to pick up from room #x

4. set a timer and help them clean and if they don't help they can't do (whatever it is they enjoy.. can't play games, play outside, play w/ friends or watch movie until they have cleaned it up.

5. if you do this.. you can play a computer game afterwards... (works like a charm)

6. those who do it when you ask without complaint and without a reward as a promise first... gets a reward. those who wait to hear of the reward, don't get one. this will teach them to do it because they have been asked, rather than expecting a reward. and don't offer the reward afterwords every time.. so they don't expect it.

E is for Encouragement

2010-04-06T08:38:00.000-07:00

When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn. ~Harriet Beecher Stowe

found the following quotes, and more encouragement quotes @: http://www.quotegarden.com/hang-in.html

D is for Dust bunnies! April 5th challenge!

2010-04-05T18:44:00.000-07:00

Go find any surface in your house that needs dusting and go dust it off! You might be surprised where that dust accumulates! on the ceiling fans, under the printer, under the books, or the lamps in the house. under the couch cushions... go get rid of those allergy affecting dusties..

C is for Clutter- A-z Challenge/daily challenge April 3

2010-04-03T18:58:00.000-07:00

I know this is super late today. I already almost blew the challenge and forgot to post.. thank goodness I remembered. Hubby has been hording the computer today. haha.
Okay, today's challenge is to remove clutter from your home. Whether it be tackling the paper mountain in the home, decluttering kitchen utencils, a drawer or any clutter in any room. I have been working on decluttering in the master bedroom tonight.
Have fun! Just 15 minutes of decluttering!

Beautiful blogger Award goes to....

2010-04-02T09:05:00.001-07:00

So I was bestowed this award by Milena (thank you so much!!!!) at:

Here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award and insert a link to their blog.

2. Pass on the award to 7 other bloggers who you think have a Beautiful Blog!

3. Say 7 things about yourself.

7 things About ME

1. I love to sing, write music(on the piano)

2. I enjoy scrapbooking,rubber stamping

3. I am currently addicted to twitter and blogging

4. I have 6 beautiful children ages 7 (almost 8),7,6,4,3,2 (4 boys,2 girls)

5. I am Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and enjoy sharing my beliefs with others)

6. I used to be in the Nauvoo pageant formerly known as the City of Joseph Pageant

7. I dream to one day be a music teacher and to sing more.

ok 7 people whom I am awarding for a Beautiful Blog are.. drumroll please...

1.http://myblessedlife.net/
2.http://onthepathtoglory.blogspot.com/
3.http://beyourbestmom.blogspot.com/
4.http://mommyof2-katrina.blogspot.com
5.http://glamazonmormonmom.blogspot.com/
6.http://rickycazierclan.blogspot.com/
7.http://thestricklandbunch.blogspot.com

to do list/accomplsihments- April 2nd,2010

2010-04-02T08:24:00.000-07:00

grocery list
sweep,mop kitchen
do dishes
clean off stovetop, oven door
master bedroom tidy,declutter
make beds
vacuum
start dinner

accomplished:
moved laundry over, started a new load of washed
cleared,wiped countertops in kitchen, wiped table, put table cloth on table to beautify home
tidied,decluttered,swept off front porch

B is for Beautifying your home!- April 2,2010 challenge

2010-03-31T18:59:00.000-07:00

Go beautify your home in any way you please today. Whether it be with a vase full of roses, a new picture on the wall, by lighting a candle, and placing a pretty table cloth on the table. Whatever it is that fits your fancy! :-) So far today I have placed a table cloth on my kitchen table. Still searching for ways I can beautify my home more today. I've been waiting to repaint the living rm, hallway, Master bathroom so perhaps I will do that but then again that is a really huge project and I was hoping for today to be a bit more relaxing.. aside from cleaning.. just not wanting to go lots of places. I was hoping to not have to go anywhere today but alas.. I have to make a trip to the bank.
Get creative!

For more beautifying you can change your curtains out, change blinds out, add a pretty vase of flowers or silk flowers to your table for decoration, add a few pictures to your wall or a wall decoration of some sort. Or simply just decutter those hotspots. I find that decluttering hotspots makes my home feel more peaceful and me for that matter!

Have fun!

GaFlygirl

A is for Air freshners- April 1,2010 challenge

2010-03-31T18:48:00.000-07:00

I decided to participate in the blogging challenge posted at :http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com and come up with a topic each day from A-z on cleaning/ home organization and beautifying challenges..
so here it goes..

A is for Air freshners..
go find, or buy your favorite air freshner and spritz each of your rooms in your home with a pretty smelling air freshner today. I love to pamper myself.. even if it is by simply making my home smell lovely.

Anti-Procrastination wednesday- March 31,2010

2010-03-31T06:23:00.000-07:00

for those who didn't get to participate yesterday, and me who didn't finish.. I still have laundry to catch up, and a house to catch up as well before tomorrow. Tomorrow is therapy day for ds4 so I will not get much done tomorrow.

post your accomplishments in the comment section :-)

anti procrastination goals:
laundry
mop kitchen floor
tidy in master bedroom
play with kids outside/ or take a walk with kids
read my scriptures,pray

my accomplishments for today-
Load of whites folded, put away
decluttered nightstand in master bedroom
made master bed
naps
wiped kitchen table, swept floor
made lunch, ate lunch
mopped kitchen/dining area floor
tidied hallway, hall bathroom
wioed countertop,sink with disinfectant in hall bathroom
tidied living rm with help of kids
made dinner
kids- teeth brushed
kids bed.
shower, ready for bed
off to read scriptures,pray, then off to bed

Anti-Procrastination Tuesday! CHALLENGE

2010-03-30T08:39:00.000-07:00

Okay everyone!! Monday is actually Anti-Procrastination day with THE FLYLADY, but since mondays are a run to speech therapy day thus I am in car most of the day, I have decided to make tuesday my ANTI PROCRASTINATION DAY! so for those who would like to join me on this.. go take today to do atleast one project you have been procrastinating. I will be using today to do lots of things I have been procrastinating, but my main goal is Laundry!! I will post my accomplishments and you can too, by clicking on the COMMENT link...
Have fun! If you need to.. open some doors,windows to let the sunny fresh air in, and crank up the music! :-) and don't forget to set those timers!! timers are another great motivational tool for me :-)
Happy tuesday!!

accomplishments- 3-30-10
breakfast
naps
unloaded dishwasher
rinsed, loaded, started dishwasher
washed, dried a load of whites
washed a load of darks
folded and put away 2 previous loads of laundry
made lunch
kids played outside- BEAUTIFUL DAY!
swept kitchen
emtpied kitchen trash, hall bathroom trash
moved whites out of dryer
swished toilet bowl with toilet bowl cleaner in hall bathroom
p/u kids from school bus, got ready for school music programs for the kindergarten,1st grade)
went to school programs with all 6 kids. DH got there at almost end of it.
p/u dinner from taco bell
came home,ate, had family scriptures,prayer,kids teeth brushed, kids in bed
Dh asleep
time for me to sleep..

pictures : challenge#1: fridgerator cleanout/Pantry

2010-03-27T18:22:00.000-07:00

Organized my pantry and cleaned out my fridge as part of my blog challenge #1...
Here are the photo's as promised...

Aren't you proud of me????? you BETTER be.... :) hehe

this week's Challenge: refridgerator (inside) clean out!

2010-03-26T16:06:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but the refridgerator tends to be my LEAST favorite chore to do and I tend to avoid this one as LONG as possible. Lets work together and tackle this chore this week. You can do it any time this week, just pick a day that best suits your schedule and clean out the inside of your refriderator and toss out that old food.. and when you get it done, post a picture of the finished product @ twitpic.com and share the link with us. :-) We could all use motivation to help us make our homes a little more beautiful and bless our homes and families.

Happy flying! (if you don't know what flying/ or the flylady is... go to http://www.flylady.net for more info)

GaFlygirl

Weekly Cleaning Challenges/blog hopping

2010-03-26T15:29:00.000-07:00

I think I am going to start holding weekly or daily cleaning challenges to help all of us get motivated to declutter things from our lives. I got this idea from a blog I followed today: http://beyourbestmom.blogspot.com/ and thought it was a wonderful idea. Just like flyladykelly does.. Or maybe just post a quick summary of the flylady challenge and once we all complete it we can come post about our success.. Will probably do some other random challenges as well and ideas and tips for home organization so be on the lookout. :-) I am really enjoying follow friday and following other moms and housekeeping blogs.

Come join us on follow friday blog hop!

2010-03-26T09:06:00.000-07:00

Friday Follow: March 26 with ** CASH GIVEAWAY**

fun fun fun!!

Flitterbugs Designs by Julie

2010-03-24T18:54:00.000-07:00

this website has the most adorable kids outfits. I thought some of you might like to buy. the girl who makes them uses the funds she makes on the outfits toward her adoption fund to adopt a child from Africa, so it is for a good cause.

March 24,2010 journal update , and to do list..

2010-03-24T16:51:00.000-07:00

today was early release! Kids parent-teacher conferences scheduled for the next two days. Teacher never called that was scheduled to call, so that must be a good sign. :-)
Haven't been feeling good today again so I didn't get much flying done so far, but plan to make up for it tonight now that I feel a little better. Plan on tackling the kitchen, kids rms,master bedroom, and atleast 1 load of laundry.

to do list:
laundry
kids rms
master bedroom
master bathroom
kids baths
kitchen
shower

delicious desserts

2010-03-24T06:21:00.000-07:00

okay I just had to share this page I found through a follower. these delicious treats are ooh sooo tempting to the eyes..

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/03/a-blast-from-the-past/

you can easily click her link by going to my blog list to the side of my blog and clicking on the blog "pioneer woman"

What's for dinner? March 22,2010

2010-03-22T20:17:00.001-07:00

tonight we had Enchilada's for dinner, and salad, juice. It was delicious!
Made the sauce with a Kroger enchilada's sauce mix, except instead of making beef enchilada's we made chicken enchilada's. Much healthier and probably more delicious too. :-) I still think I prefer my homemade sauce though, and apparently kids do too.. but it was still good. Just a bit too spicy for them I guess. Me, hubby enjoyed it though.

March 22,2010

2010-03-22T12:54:00.000-07:00

So I haven't gotten much done yet today. Speech therapy days tend to go this way for me. Not to mention Ds kept me up most of the night last night. Only one child went to school today due to stomach sickness/ stomach problems so after he left for the bus with daddy this morning, I went back to sleep with the others till 8:30 Am then got up,dressed and kids had breakfast. I completely forgot to eat breakfast, then at 9:45 I called garbage service because they didn't pick everything up like they were supposed to, then went to p/u ds4 for speech therapy which we got to late. *sigh* then we ordered fast food on way home, and took naps when we got home.. so that's been the day so far, and I am back to not feeling good at the moment. We have to pick kids up from bus stop soon and hopefully I can get some more housework done this afternoon/evening.

to do list:
kids baths
clean hall bathroom
dishes
sweeping
countertops
laundry
master bathroom
master bedroom
cook dinner
hotspot surfaces

will it ever end?

2010-03-21T19:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, so there has been this never ending stomach bug going around this family.. or so it seems because the only symptoms it consists of is a stomach ache, nausea and lethargy/loss of appetite. no fever, no vomiting, no diarrea... nothing.. so because of this it lasts forever AND it is intermittent so it fools you into thinking it is over, so there is no telling when you are REALLY REALLY better.. sigh.. DS6 got it first (2 weeks ago, and has FINALLY gained his appetite back and don't complain of a tummy ache as much now so we are sending him back to school tomorrow, and his brother age 4 in hopes he is really REALLY well who has therapy tomorrow and has already missed 2 sessions. But alas... DS7 got sick friday so he is still sick and is staying home missing speech therapy tomorrow and Ds4 will return provided no tummy complaints during the night. generally his complaints fix when he eats now, so I am praying that means he is really well. sigh.. sometimes I wonder... will this ever end? atleast with the full blown flu it is generally over in a day.. I get the stomach ache off and on but I have been trying to kick it and keep movin, cleanin so I don't slip into the lethargy, stomach ache, can't function mode.

Sunday evening: march 21,2010 to do list

2010-03-21T15:57:00.000-07:00

dishes
dinner
tidy kitchen
tidy living rm
tidy hall bathroom
tidy master bedroom
kids baths,teeth brushed
kids bed
shower
visiting teaching letters/cards addressed
read scriptures, prayer

Accomplishments:
1 load of dishes rinsed and in dishwasher. dishwasher started.
dinner started, cleared,wiped table
ate dinner.
scriptures, prayer (family)
kids in bed, teeth
table cleared off
load of laundry in wash, moved prev.load from washer to drier,

Afternoon routine

2010-03-21T15:08:00.000-07:00

12:30 tidy kitchen
1 pm- laundry, kids down for naps
4 pm- pick kids up from bus stop
4:30- homework

Morning Routine

2010-03-21T14:29:00.000-07:00

5:30 am: wake up, shower
6:00 am- scriptures study prayer (personal)
6:20 wake kids up, get kids dressed for school
7:00 scriptures, prayer as a family
7:15 out door to bus stop
7:30 home, breakfast, dishes
8:00 am 1 load of laundry, fold and put away load of laundry
8:30 am- tidy living rm, hallway
8:45 girls rm
9 am- boys rm
9:30 vacuum liv rm, hall, kids rms
** 9:30-9:45(mondays- pick seth,josh up from school for speech therapy)**
** 10-10:30- pick josh up, take to speech therapy**
take break, drink water, computer time
10:30 excercise- 11:30
break- drink water
12:00 lunch, start dinner