Wednesday Weigh-In

Well, now I can't just post my good weeks now can I? This week I was at +0.7 lbs. Or something like that.  We had a lot of heavy restaurant meals over the weekend and I haven't run or done any exercise at all in several days, so it's no surprise.  I've been feeling pretty good about where I'm at right now weigh-wise so that's part of why I'm starting to putter out, along with life's summer busyness.  But I need to keep with it!  Race on Saturday!

Diet-wise I've still been watching it.  Trying to stay away from Sonic altogether and other greasy fast-food options, choosing low-calorie meals at restaurants if we ARE out.  Having a Carnation drink for breakfast or simple eggs and toast or something.  Also trying to stay away from ice cream treats as tempting as they are this season, and maybe make a fruit smoothie instead. So that's this week's update!

Monday Meanderings - Jun. 13

Summer is busy and flying by and I'm not always on here every week, but I am this week, so here we go...

Bible Study... Genesis-whatever-I'm-at... need to get back to it. Haven't done ANY reading since before our vacations!

Memory Verse... 1 Peter 3:3-4

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight."

Husband Encouragement...

♥ Be on his side.

♥ Communication.

♥ Stay home more.

♥ Make THE pie.

Train Them Up...
* Reading time with Eli
* Keep to morning routine.

* Finish the last activity for our lapbook.

Personal Goals...
* Run every day, day off on Thursday, and include one 4-mile run in sometime.
* Read {at least} one chapter in marriage book.

New Habit of the Month...  {JUNE} Get up before kids.

MUST Do...

* Schedule appointments for Eli.
* See about painting our bedroom before next week??
* Hem curtains so I can get my sewing machine put AWAY!!
* Install curtain hooks for "tie backs".
* Charge camera for photoshoot Tuesday.
* Browse senior pics for photoshoot ideas, although I already have several poses in mind for each of the kids.
* Ask about desk.
* MOW.
* Get 4th of July invites out.
* Get beach pics available on blog.

Zone(s)... dining room. Need to get sewing stuff all put away so it's not on the table anymore! But otherwise, the entire house needs post-vacation work!

Menu - 

M - spinach salad, Italian bread, fresh fruit
T - grilled pork chops with applesauce, green beans
W - spaghetti, garlic bread
Th - chicken, garlic rice, peaches
F - TBD
S - pizza
Su - Father's Day BBQ

FUN THINGS! 

* I'm doing a sort-of big photoshoot on Tuesday.  My friend Nikki is having me photograph three, maybe four if time permits, of her children as well as a group shot of all five of them. I already did Olivea's pictures, you can see them HERE. I'm nervous but pretty excited!! Hopefully the weather will be okay???
* Friday my mom is coming and we're going to spend some time exploring our local sites!
* Saturday morning is my first 5K race!  Nervous but I think it will go just fine! Excited to have it over with so I can stop thinking about it!
* Sunday is our town's big BBQ for Father's Day and my parents are going to come for that since Kevin has to work. Should be a fun time--hopefully it's nice weather this year!

3 things I'm thankful for today...

1. A fun mini-vacation with Kevin's family to Amana Colonies, Iowa.
2. A visit with my old college roomie and still great friend, Gina!!!
3. Some good conversations with my hubby over the weekend.

10 Steps to Being a GREAT MOM!

I feel a little nervous about publishing this post because I don't want it to sound like I know it all or that I'm perfect in any way.  Because I'm NOT.  I struggle in a LOT of ways.  I often feel overwhelmed by all the things I wish I could be doing with our day, with the kids, with the house, ways that I should be responding more calmly and so forth.  But here I'm writing a list of things that make a great mom, a how-to sort of thing, even though when it comes to it, it's a lot more complicated than that.  Anyway, here it is...

1. Do what you say you're going to do. ie, If you tell your kids you're going to the park that day, go to the park. If you say they'll get a time-out or spanking for doing something, then follow through. EVERY TIME. Even in the presence of other people, you can always go to the bathroom or car for discipline.
2. Create a short list of rules and consequences and FOLLOW IT. That means figure out your method of DISCIPLINE. For examples, click HERE or HERE.
3. Set EXPECTATIONS for each situation, tell your kids your expectations, and see to it that your kids meet the standard. If not, deal with it appropriately. We do what my friend Whitney describes HERE.
4. PRAISE your kids whenever possible!! 

5. PLAY with your kids. Be silly, laugh with them, and make memories.

6. Let your kids make safe choices whenever possible. ie Which plate to use for dinner, which chair to sit in, clothes for the day, which movie, or whether they want to paint or do play dough. But NOT whether they stay in bed or not, or whether they obey or not.

7. BE a good example. DON'T use words or behavior you don't want your children doing. (Spanking doesn't count--if done in a controlled manner they know it's discipline, not behavior.) DO have a good attitude and remember to thank your own children.

8. Teach and establish GOOD HABITS early. Even tots can help with chores and responsibilities like putting clothes in the hamper or sippy cup in fridge. {for a list of age-appropriate chores, beginning at 9 months! click HERE.}

9. Remember, we ALL mess up sometimes. We do. Just use it as an opportunity to demonstrate confession and forgiveness.
10. Use the Bible as your main reference. It has all kinds to say about good character, parenting, and encouragement through tough times.

Above all is LOVE. But this list includes the things that will help keep your life from feeling like chaos and is the beginning of training up our little people!

Wednesday Weigh-In

Well, it's been a couple weeks since I've done an official weigh-in because of post-vacation stuff.  Last week I was mostly maintaining and just trying to get back to where I was before vaca.  Now this past week I've really been trying to get back to my workout routine, but it's still been lacking somewhat and I'm just craving FOOD and SWEETS.  BUT, good news...

this morning I was -1.6 lbs from before vacation!

That's almost -9 lbs total so far and a rollover into the next 10 lb weight bracket. (know what I mean? without saying what I actually weigh??) 

I'm pretty excited! And I CAN tell a difference, mostly in my upper body, not so much in my thunder thighs or belly bulge.  But we're getting there!

As for the upcoming 5K race... it's not this Saturday but next Saturday.  (Yikes, it's really coming up soon!!)  I drove through town trying to figure out what the course might be.  It's a tiny tiny town and I wasn't sure HOW they could get 3.1 miles out of it, so I wanted to see if going out on country roads would have to be necessary, and it's not looking like it.  Just one of the gravel roads right close to town perhaps, but we'll see. My mom's coming to watch the kids and I'm excited for them to get to cheer me on.  They love races, so it'll be fun for them to see Mommy participating!

So that's the update!  How are YOU doing???

Photography: Claire, more 6 months

I finally finished going through and editing/sorting allllllll 500+ vacation pics!  And here were some favorites I found in there of Claire. She's such a doll!  BEAUTIFUL eyes and mouth! And just so you can really see those gorgeous eyes, I'll make the pics jumbo size on the blog...  =)  Which one is your favorite??

this one really reminds me of Paul's baby pics

The end of it.

Yesterday I did it.  What I've been wanting to do for a really long time.  I took the big kids' sippy cups away.  I couldn't stand them any longer.  The constant spills on the couches.  Yes, sippy cups still spill.  Every single kind of them.  I had a rule that if they forgot to put their cup away when they were done, then I'd take it away for the rest of the day.  Well, I had to do that just about every day.  But each new day I'd give them a new chance.  I'd remind them when giving them a drink What did they need to do when they were done with their drink? and they'd tell me but they'd still forget when it came time.  And then when the next drink came around and it was only in a regular cup, they'd get upset and fuss about it and get no drink at all until the next meal or whatever.  SO TIRED OF THAT GAME.  And they are more than capable of drinking from a regular cup just fine.  And when we're out or in the car, they're more than capable of drinking from a cup with a straw, a water bottle, or a juice box.  So I decided.  I'm done with the sippy cups. 

We went to the Dollar Store yesterday and got some fun new cups, Tinkerbell and Toy Story, the only choice there was.  Later at lunch when it was time for drink, I said they needed to trade their sippy cup if they wanted their new cup.  I knew they didn't know what they were doing, that the trade was long-term, but I didn't want to mention it or dwell on it because I knew they'd be upset.  Next drink time after nap Eli was upset when he asked for his sippy cup and I told him he traded it in. So he didn't get a drink until a little while later when he asked for a drink again and I asked him if he was going to be big about it.  And he was. He drank from a regular cup.  I don't even know why it's such a big deal really.  They'd drink from a regular cup at meal times. But after nap when they want to lounge on the couch with their drink--no more, has to be in the kitchen or dining room. This morning it was another round of fussing about the sippy cup.  But oh well.  I didn't cave in.  They may hate me for a couple days, but they'll get over it.  And I will be happier for it.

5 Do-To's for Today

Now that we're done with the rigid school schedule and errands on the off days and feeling like we're always on the go, I'm feeling really free!  It's nice!  I've got a morning routine I'm trying to follow with the kids-- wake-up/laundry in, breakfast/morning devotion w kids, get dressed/make beds, chore wheel, play inside or outside 1 hr while Carter naps, ~10a.m. do an activity or school lesson for the remainder of Carter's nap.  Then the rest of the day is free for whatever summertime fun we want to do!  

During that hour of kids playing in the morning I'm trying to hard to get the house CLEANED.  Be more thorough in my tidying and wiping down and putting away!  That's something I know Kevin really appreciates so I'm trying to get better with it!

So for today here are the 5 things I'm going to try to tackle:

1. Clean off living room hutch.

2. Get bathroom travel bag all put away.

3. Dust dressers (Eli's chore is to dust something so I want to get my room ready because it NEEDS it most!!!)

4. Put books packed away into a box (that we're going to bring for Grandma's house because our shelves are FULL).

5. Get Eli's clothes bin out and pack away a stack of his old clothes I've had sitting out.

Maybe I'll post some before and after's.  Or not.  We'll see.  Happy Tuesday, everyone!!

While I was gone...

...I was so busy living life and enjoying our time at the beach and being with family that I didn't even miss being online all the time and blogging and reading blogs.  And it made me think....

How can I live my life so fully in our time at HOME that I don't even miss being online??

Thoughts??

Photography: Claire, 6 months

Since it's my beautiful sister-in-law Holly's birthday today and I just took Claire's 6-month pics yesterday while helping build their picnic table, I thought I'd make it a priority to get through the pictures so she could see them today, before attempting to tackle the hundreds of beach pics!  Claire's a beauty with such a happy and content personality, and I can't believe she's almost 6 months already!!  Seems like just yesterday I was taking her newborn pics! We love you so much, Claire!!

I'm back...

We're back from vacation.  It was a great trip! And now I'm trying to get caught back up.  House tidied up, laundry washed, and food in the fridge.  As well as trying to get back to my workout routine n such.  I'll be back soon with loads of things to share....