I forgot to update my fitness journey on Thursday. Oops.
I was very disappointed with the previous week. I have been doing Turbo jam and walking/jogging daily. I have also been drinking lots of water and trying to eat healthier snacks. I went up 1/2 inch on my chest, but lost 1/2 inch on my waist and 1/4 inch on my hips. My weight is up a pound though. Sigh. So three weeks has me only down 1/2 pound. I could cry.
I am still very exhausted. I napped twice yesterday, although didn't actually sleep much. The kids love to bug me when I lay down.
One plus is that when I measured my muscle gap, it was down to 1-2 fingers wide from 2-3 the previous week! So, that is a plus!
And today I'm hoping to do some actual strength training exercises to, hopefully, help me burn the fat around my midsection.
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
The Daily Dilemma
Sleep... where art thou?
Lately, I'm so tired! I'd love to spend all day sleeping, but I have to be Ok with a few hours a night, and hopefully a nap later in the day. That usually means I don't do much through the day beyond the stuff I need to (like laundry, cooking, baking, diapers, and nursing). I want to work on my old paper scrapbooks, but I get interrupted so often that I don't get anywhere on it. I want to sew a dress, but I feel like laying out the fabric will just mean a two year old in it. I also have no pattern... I kinda want to have some fun with it and just see what I can come up with, but I need to be without my kids, and that doesn't happen often. And when it does, I want sleep, ha ha.
Oh, and sculpting! I want to do some sculpting so badly! And maybe some art... sigh. I need something of a deadline in order to actually do anything. Birthday parties are perfect as I have a deadline to reach, so I need to get the items done by then, and that motivates me to do so. I am exhausted by the end of it all, though.
I've been wanting to prepare for another trip... which doesn't seem to be able to happen. You see, we saved up to go on a vacation in November this year (two years since our last one). I worked hard to save up... however we cannot go on a trip if my husband is needed on the farm. My father in law is due for a surgery in fall, and will not be able to work for over a year. We cannot operate the farm without him and Chuck. That means no weekends off at that point... which means no holidays either. At all. Unless we can somehow spring for robot milkers. Our farm cannot support another hired worker, either. Mainly because dad will continue receiving income when he isn't working as well. Adding another paid employee will strain the farm further. Thankfully, I've been working at reducing debt load on the farm, but it still isn't enough. So, likely no trip for another two years (as dad is scheduled for yet another surgery a year after this one... sigh).
My big motivator for doing some crafting was the promise of a trip come November. I still should do these things... but I'm a bit down about it all. Sigh.
I really need a vacation... but it looks like it won't happen. :( Back to the daily grind of laundry, dishes, cleaning, diapers, food, baking bread, etc etc. At least I am doing stuff... right? I just wish more of it was stuff that lasted longer than a day, ha ha..
Lately, I'm so tired! I'd love to spend all day sleeping, but I have to be Ok with a few hours a night, and hopefully a nap later in the day. That usually means I don't do much through the day beyond the stuff I need to (like laundry, cooking, baking, diapers, and nursing). I want to work on my old paper scrapbooks, but I get interrupted so often that I don't get anywhere on it. I want to sew a dress, but I feel like laying out the fabric will just mean a two year old in it. I also have no pattern... I kinda want to have some fun with it and just see what I can come up with, but I need to be without my kids, and that doesn't happen often. And when it does, I want sleep, ha ha.
Oh, and sculpting! I want to do some sculpting so badly! And maybe some art... sigh. I need something of a deadline in order to actually do anything. Birthday parties are perfect as I have a deadline to reach, so I need to get the items done by then, and that motivates me to do so. I am exhausted by the end of it all, though.
I've been wanting to prepare for another trip... which doesn't seem to be able to happen. You see, we saved up to go on a vacation in November this year (two years since our last one). I worked hard to save up... however we cannot go on a trip if my husband is needed on the farm. My father in law is due for a surgery in fall, and will not be able to work for over a year. We cannot operate the farm without him and Chuck. That means no weekends off at that point... which means no holidays either. At all. Unless we can somehow spring for robot milkers. Our farm cannot support another hired worker, either. Mainly because dad will continue receiving income when he isn't working as well. Adding another paid employee will strain the farm further. Thankfully, I've been working at reducing debt load on the farm, but it still isn't enough. So, likely no trip for another two years (as dad is scheduled for yet another surgery a year after this one... sigh).
My big motivator for doing some crafting was the promise of a trip come November. I still should do these things... but I'm a bit down about it all. Sigh.
I really need a vacation... but it looks like it won't happen. :( Back to the daily grind of laundry, dishes, cleaning, diapers, food, baking bread, etc etc. At least I am doing stuff... right? I just wish more of it was stuff that lasted longer than a day, ha ha..
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Fitness Update
Two weeks ago I mentioned wanting to start a vlog or something on fitness. I haven't done a video, but I have been keeping track of my food, water, vitamins, and exercise, as well as actually measuring and weighing myself each week.
Two weeks ago I started measuring, and I'm happy to say that even without changing my diet too much, just increasing water and exercise, I'm down two inches on my chest (just below the chest, I don't measure the breast itself due to nursing... wouldn't be accurate), and two inches on my waist! I'm really happy about that. I'm down 3/4 inch on my hips as well. Arms and legs have no change, but I wasn't really expecting any there anyway. My weight is down 1 1/4lb. Seriously. That's it. In two weeks.
Only one problem... I always feel exhausted and half starved. It doesn't seem to matter what I do. I could eat all day and nap all day. Today, for example, I made and ate a big breakfast, but only two hours later it was hard for me to not want to eat my kids snack at the preschool... my stomach was rumbling. Once I got home I devoured a hardboiled egg, cheese, crackers, peanuts, and even grabbed a bit of cake (no icing). It is crazy. And then I had to nap today as well... before I ever exercised. I tend to be at my best on Mondays and Tuesdays, but by Thursday I'm so spent! I do not wish to limit my calories (since I have to feed my 3 month old). However, this exhaustion is annoying... and I SO want to fit back into my regular clothes again. Tired of maternity pants.
I did go shopping yesterday and bought myself a few dresses as they will work fine with my belly the way it is now, and when it shrinks back (hopefully) to what it used to be. I still have Diastasis Recti... it is three fingers wide above my belly button to my chest. It isn't really there much below my belly button, strangely. Usually, it works the opposite, at least from what I've seen online. That is one of the reasons I look pregnant (yes... I still get comments). I would be thrilled if I could lose an inch each week from my waist. I've gone back down to my usual on the chest, and my hips are only 3/4 inch from what they used to be as well. My waist needs to lose another 3-4 inches. As for my weight... ugh. I still have 10lbs to lose. Ah well. I'd love to lose a lb a week.
Now if only I could get my energy up enough to exercise the extra weight away and fit into my clothes again.
Two weeks ago I started measuring, and I'm happy to say that even without changing my diet too much, just increasing water and exercise, I'm down two inches on my chest (just below the chest, I don't measure the breast itself due to nursing... wouldn't be accurate), and two inches on my waist! I'm really happy about that. I'm down 3/4 inch on my hips as well. Arms and legs have no change, but I wasn't really expecting any there anyway. My weight is down 1 1/4lb. Seriously. That's it. In two weeks.
Only one problem... I always feel exhausted and half starved. It doesn't seem to matter what I do. I could eat all day and nap all day. Today, for example, I made and ate a big breakfast, but only two hours later it was hard for me to not want to eat my kids snack at the preschool... my stomach was rumbling. Once I got home I devoured a hardboiled egg, cheese, crackers, peanuts, and even grabbed a bit of cake (no icing). It is crazy. And then I had to nap today as well... before I ever exercised. I tend to be at my best on Mondays and Tuesdays, but by Thursday I'm so spent! I do not wish to limit my calories (since I have to feed my 3 month old). However, this exhaustion is annoying... and I SO want to fit back into my regular clothes again. Tired of maternity pants.
I did go shopping yesterday and bought myself a few dresses as they will work fine with my belly the way it is now, and when it shrinks back (hopefully) to what it used to be. I still have Diastasis Recti... it is three fingers wide above my belly button to my chest. It isn't really there much below my belly button, strangely. Usually, it works the opposite, at least from what I've seen online. That is one of the reasons I look pregnant (yes... I still get comments). I would be thrilled if I could lose an inch each week from my waist. I've gone back down to my usual on the chest, and my hips are only 3/4 inch from what they used to be as well. My waist needs to lose another 3-4 inches. As for my weight... ugh. I still have 10lbs to lose. Ah well. I'd love to lose a lb a week.
Now if only I could get my energy up enough to exercise the extra weight away and fit into my clothes again.
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Arrrg, Mateys!
This weekend was my son's 5th birthday party. He wanted a Jake and the Neverland Pirates theme. I came up with too many ideas again, and went into overkill mode. Bram loved it! He told me he wanted a Bucky cake, a treasure hunt, and treasures. So, I made a few things from cardboard (like a chest, swords, etc), and filled goody bags with candy, a ring pop, glow bracelet, party blower, and Jake tattoos, and put them in the chest. Then went to work on the treasure hunt and turning our yard into neverland.
The cake turned out looking 'just like Bucky' to the delight of my five year old. He insisted on there being a slide, and a bell. A tip... let the fondant harden/dry out before adding it to the cake, and you should be good! Took a lot of patience on my part to let the pieces dry before adding them (the back panel and the bell, mostly. I let the slide mostly dry around the handle of a soup ladle before adding it while still a little pliable to get the shape right). The back panel is my favorite! And I love the portholes... even added the little hinges to the top of them (forgot to take a close-up photo of them though... darn).
The party was fantastic! The boys seemed to have a great time, my son loved it, and there was enough food for everyone. I'd call that a success. It didn't rain either! Which was exactly what I was hoping for! :)
Happy Birthday to my little man... how is it that you've grown so big already? I still cannot believe you are 5 years old, and will be off to school this next fall (WHAT?!). You have such a big heart, you are super smart (I think math will be your strong point as you are amazing with patterns and numbers already... counting past 100 with ease, and noticing the pattern of balloons above the window for your party of red yellow blue yellow red yellow....). I look forward to watching you grow. Hugs to my not-so-little-anymore boy.
First, the goody chest.
Here's the map with the instructions on how to find the treasure.
First, we had to dress like pirates at Hangman's tree, then sail three times around skull rock.
Then Captain Hook wanted to be sure they were pirate worthy by having them play Hook Toss on the Jolly Roger. If they lost, they must walk the plank.
They didn't mind losing. ;)
Next we went to Shipwreck cove and shot cannonballs at each other... or, you know, plastic balls.
Then the fairies needed our help blowing bubbles at Pixie Hollow.
Off to Tiki Forest for a game of Musical Tikis. This was fun! Then time for sword practice at Jake's hideout.
Off to Neverland desert to dig for gold doubloons (I hid three per child in the sandbox... er... desert)
Lastly, we had to cross crocodile creek before finding the treasure in Pirate cave (not sure why I have no pics at this point... too busy I suppose).
After all that fun, the kids played while I set up the food. And we had lots of treats.
On the menu were Hooks Pirate ships (pigs in blankets with paper sails), Tick Tock Crock's Swamp Water, Bones Popcorn, Sharky's raisin pearls, Cubbie's fresh veggies, Jake's Sword fruit kebabs (sword toothpicks made this a hit!), Smee's Blue Lagoon Jello cups, and of course, a Bucky cake centerpiece. I decorated with grass skirts as a 'roof', gold doubloons and red rubies scattered for treasure around the trays, and Dollarama came to the rescue with the blue table cover I cut for the cake tray cover.
The boys loved the cake. And I was thrilled with how it turned out as well!! I spent hours on it... no idea actually how long with all the interruptions, but I was super thankful for the purchased fondant, even if I had to color it. Oh, and pretzels make the perfect railing and ladder!
The cake turned out looking 'just like Bucky' to the delight of my five year old. He insisted on there being a slide, and a bell. A tip... let the fondant harden/dry out before adding it to the cake, and you should be good! Took a lot of patience on my part to let the pieces dry before adding them (the back panel and the bell, mostly. I let the slide mostly dry around the handle of a soup ladle before adding it while still a little pliable to get the shape right). The back panel is my favorite! And I love the portholes... even added the little hinges to the top of them (forgot to take a close-up photo of them though... darn).
The party was fantastic! The boys seemed to have a great time, my son loved it, and there was enough food for everyone. I'd call that a success. It didn't rain either! Which was exactly what I was hoping for! :)
Happy Birthday to my little man... how is it that you've grown so big already? I still cannot believe you are 5 years old, and will be off to school this next fall (WHAT?!). You have such a big heart, you are super smart (I think math will be your strong point as you are amazing with patterns and numbers already... counting past 100 with ease, and noticing the pattern of balloons above the window for your party of red yellow blue yellow red yellow....). I look forward to watching you grow. Hugs to my not-so-little-anymore boy.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Recycling Crafty Fun
My son is turning 5 this week... FIVE! For his party, he wants a Jake and the Pirates birthday. With our newest addition, I'm just not wanting to do much in the way of sewing and whatnot... and since we have so much cardboard, I decided to make good use of it.
To start... paper bags make great map invites! I cut open the bag, made the whole thing wet, crumpled and straightened it out, then let it dry before ripping into the size needed for the invites. I printed Jake logos and glued them on, then used Sharpees to write out the info (and make the 'map' portion). The boys loved them!
Bram really wants a scavenger hunt (oops... ahem, a TREASURE hunt) at his birthday, so I'll be making maps of our yard similar to the invites, and the end will lead to the treasure... a chest full of loot bags for each guest. So... to make a treasure chest, I used a box.
Yes... this is kind of a 'before and after' pic, side by side as I had two of the same box. I just turned the one inside out (yes, that is a thing, haha), cut it to make it have a rounded lid, and used extra pieces of cardboard and black duct tape to trim it up. And sharpees make it look like wood. ;)
Since I thought it would be fun to have the boys pretend to be pirates, I wanted them to have swords they could keep. Unfortunately, they no longer had them at the Dollarama. :( But hey, I've got loads of cardboard... I can make them! I cut 12 pieces of 'sword' and glued two together for each sword, then drew on them to make wood grain. Bram loves them! He and A played with them for awhile while wearing the paper 'pirate hats' I made for the party as well. I'm hoping to make a few things so that the boys can 'decorate' their own hats, but we'll see how much more I wish to do. I also bought some cute stick on mustaches from the dollar store... a pack has 6, which is perfect.
Yesturday I pulled out a bunch of cardboard and fashioned two pirate ships from them... the boys will be able to play in the ships (hopefully, weather permitting and all that). I need more duct tape so I can properly assemble them, and I am just going to use sharpees once again to draw on some portholes and planks. I also aim to take a board and make a 'walk the plank' out of it for the boys from our deck (which is going to be the Jolly Roger on our maps, haha). Today I want to make the two large maps (Bram wants there to be two teams of 3 looking for the treasure chest), and maybe the signs for on the yard to help them know what each area is (I'm making a Skull Rock, Pixie Hollow, etc with a sign on something that could kinda sorta be that in our yard). I think decorations will be limited to that and balloons at the end of the driveway and maybe on the ships and by the food and stuff. I'm still not sure how to do his cake. He wants Bucky... but I'm not sure I want to do a complicated cake. I'm so tired lately, and my two youngest girls are so very clingy this week... we'll see what I can get to. Otherwise I was thinking of making cupcakes to look like a treasure map. No cake cutting required.
So much fun stuff you can make out of what is essentially trashed. :) I LOVE it!
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