I feel like I’m finally making some progress on the weight-loss front! While I admit that I’m not doing everything that I can to lose weight, I have made some positive strides over the last month. I’ve been eating out quite a bit because of the move, but I’ve been trying to make healthy choices (though I do break down and have a vanilla shake once in a while!) and to control my portions by planning ahead to eat only half of my sandwich and to take the other half home for another meal.
Over the last two weeks, I’ve felt a difference in my body, and my mom and a gal from church both commented that it looked as though I was losing weight! It feels so good. This week, I haven’t always made good choices, and I can feel it now. I feel bigger and heavier today, and I don’t like it! Now that’s motivation!
Now that I feel I have a handle on eating out, I am ready to move on to preparing healthy meals at home and to beginning to exercise.
My kitchen is almost in working order again after the move, so now I need to set aside time to plan menus and to actually cook the meals I plan. I think this will be challenging at first, because I’ve never really done this before. In the past, I’ve been on my own and haven’t felt the need to cook for only one person. Even though I’ve been married for over 3 years now, I’ve rarely cooked a meal for my husband. I almost feel ashamed, but it worked for us to just put something in the oven or microwave at the last minute when we got home from work. Now that my son is eating table foods, I really want to start cooking meals. I know that it doesn’t work for me to come home from work and put together a meal then, so I have to put my organizational skills to work and plan ahead!
As far as exercise goes, I think my son may actually help me with that. He loves to be outside, and twice this past week, we’ve gone for a walk in our neighborhood after work/daycare! I hope that I can fit regular walks into my schedule…. Correction: I intend to fit regular walks into my schedule as well as to start exercising every morning.
In looking at the weight-loss goals that I set at the beginning of the year, I’m a little behind. I need to lose about a pound a week until Memorial Day to meet my goal. It’s time that I really focus on losing weight so that I can feel confident in my own skin (and less clothing) this summer!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Easter 2009
Easter with Nathaniel was so much fun this year! He became a pro at hunting eggs after five different Easter egg hunts in just over a week.
We kicked off our Easter celebration with an Easter egg hunt in our new neighborhood on Saturday, April 4! The day was cool and windy, but children and parents throughout the neighborhood gathered at the soccer field a block away from our house. This was Nathaniel’s first egg hunt, and he wasn’t sure what was going on. The field was bumpy, so Nathaniel didn’t want to walk around much. In addition, Nathaniel was afraid of the Easter Bunny, clinging onto Daddy’s leg when he came near. Nathaniel did manage to pick up two eggs, though!
At church the next day, the Sunday School teachers held an Easter egg hunt for all of the kids. They separated the youngest ones, so Nathaniel got to hunt for eggs in the preschool room along with his cousin, Alexander. (It’s becoming a tradition to have Sherry, John, and Alexander join us at church for the Easter egg hunt each year.) With more familiar surroundings, Nathaniel seemed to enjoy picking up eggs off of the floor, tables, chairs, and toys. We’re not quite sure if Nathaniel wanted the eggs or if he was just trying to get to the trucks underneath! He had quite a haul of candy, but I’m sure Daddy will be eating most of it.
On Friday, April 10, we went to a birthday party for Evan and Adam Rice (sons of Del’s cousin, Melodie), and with birthdays so close to Easter, an egg hunt was the perfect party game! Nathaniel ventured out onto the grass this time, and he picked up all of the eggs he saw. There were a few pennies in each egg, and Nathaniel liked playing with them as much as the eggs.
On Saturday, April 11, we had Easter with Nathaniel’s Grandpa and Grandma Gust. He got to hunt eggs again, and he was really getting the hang of it by now. He spotted eggs “hidden” on the patio and put them right in his basket. Again, there was money (pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters) inside the eggs, and Nathaniel enjoyed playing with the coins as well as the eggs.
Finally, on Easter Sunday, we celebrated with Nathaniel’s Grandpa and Grandma Schiermeyer and Aunt Kelly. We hid a few eggs for Nathaniel in the basement, but that wasn’t enough for him. When he had collected all of the eggs, he kept looking around for more! It was so cute! So after lunch, we hid more eggs for Nathaniel to find. He was so good that he would have a hand on one egg while scanning the room to locate the next one! Again, he wanted more, so we took him upstairs and re-hid the eggs. After he gathered all of the eggs this time, he started to crawl up the stairs. I started laughing and asked him if he thought that the eggs would be hidden for him again if he went back upstairs. Of course, they were, so he had one final Easter egg hunt! Nathaniel found all of the eggs again, even when we made the hunt more challenging. It was so fun to watch his little mind at work!
We kicked off our Easter celebration with an Easter egg hunt in our new neighborhood on Saturday, April 4! The day was cool and windy, but children and parents throughout the neighborhood gathered at the soccer field a block away from our house. This was Nathaniel’s first egg hunt, and he wasn’t sure what was going on. The field was bumpy, so Nathaniel didn’t want to walk around much. In addition, Nathaniel was afraid of the Easter Bunny, clinging onto Daddy’s leg when he came near. Nathaniel did manage to pick up two eggs, though!
At church the next day, the Sunday School teachers held an Easter egg hunt for all of the kids. They separated the youngest ones, so Nathaniel got to hunt for eggs in the preschool room along with his cousin, Alexander. (It’s becoming a tradition to have Sherry, John, and Alexander join us at church for the Easter egg hunt each year.) With more familiar surroundings, Nathaniel seemed to enjoy picking up eggs off of the floor, tables, chairs, and toys. We’re not quite sure if Nathaniel wanted the eggs or if he was just trying to get to the trucks underneath! He had quite a haul of candy, but I’m sure Daddy will be eating most of it.
On Friday, April 10, we went to a birthday party for Evan and Adam Rice (sons of Del’s cousin, Melodie), and with birthdays so close to Easter, an egg hunt was the perfect party game! Nathaniel ventured out onto the grass this time, and he picked up all of the eggs he saw. There were a few pennies in each egg, and Nathaniel liked playing with them as much as the eggs.
On Saturday, April 11, we had Easter with Nathaniel’s Grandpa and Grandma Gust. He got to hunt eggs again, and he was really getting the hang of it by now. He spotted eggs “hidden” on the patio and put them right in his basket. Again, there was money (pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters) inside the eggs, and Nathaniel enjoyed playing with the coins as well as the eggs.
Finally, on Easter Sunday, we celebrated with Nathaniel’s Grandpa and Grandma Schiermeyer and Aunt Kelly. We hid a few eggs for Nathaniel in the basement, but that wasn’t enough for him. When he had collected all of the eggs, he kept looking around for more! It was so cute! So after lunch, we hid more eggs for Nathaniel to find. He was so good that he would have a hand on one egg while scanning the room to locate the next one! Again, he wanted more, so we took him upstairs and re-hid the eggs. After he gathered all of the eggs this time, he started to crawl up the stairs. I started laughing and asked him if he thought that the eggs would be hidden for him again if he went back upstairs. Of course, they were, so he had one final Easter egg hunt! Nathaniel found all of the eggs again, even when we made the hunt more challenging. It was so fun to watch his little mind at work!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Nathaniel @ 15 months
My baby is 15 months old today! Time goes by way too quickly. Here's a little bit about Nathaniel at 15 months:
Likes to brush his teeth (hooray for edible toothpaste!), and Mommy’s too!
Has started playing with others at daycare (rather than parallel play).
Likes corn dogs, pancakes, chicken nuggets (sometimes), watermelon, applesauce, Cheerios, crackers, cookies, and ice cream.
Points to indicate what he wants or where he wants to go.
Doesn’t say mama or dada much.
Says “uh oh,” “ah gog [all gone],” and “yeah.”
Says many other things in his own babbling language.
Is scared of the Easter Bunny.
Likes playing with balls, blocks, cars, and books.
Still uses his paci, but does well without it if he can’t see it (out of sight, out of mind).
Still drinks a bottle at bedtime and before naps on the weekends.
Likes chasing and “petting” Yoda, his kitty.
Waves bye-bye sometimes, but not consistently.
Likes to take lids/caps off of things and put them back on.
Walks all over the place, and almost runs at times.
Is learning to walk while holding onto someone’s hand.
Likes to go outside from the front door and back inside through the garage so he can put the button to close the garage door.
Likes to “get” Daddy when Daddy’s lying on the floor by hitting and crawling across Daddy’s stomach.
Plays with the phone, pushing buttons and holding it up to his ear, though at an awkward angle.
Sticks his tongue out and giggles like he’s the funniest boy ever (which he is!).
Likes to brush his teeth (hooray for edible toothpaste!), and Mommy’s too!
Has started playing with others at daycare (rather than parallel play).
Likes corn dogs, pancakes, chicken nuggets (sometimes), watermelon, applesauce, Cheerios, crackers, cookies, and ice cream.
Points to indicate what he wants or where he wants to go.
Doesn’t say mama or dada much.
Says “uh oh,” “ah gog [all gone],” and “yeah.”
Says many other things in his own babbling language.
Is scared of the Easter Bunny.
Likes playing with balls, blocks, cars, and books.
Still uses his paci, but does well without it if he can’t see it (out of sight, out of mind).
Still drinks a bottle at bedtime and before naps on the weekends.
Likes chasing and “petting” Yoda, his kitty.
Waves bye-bye sometimes, but not consistently.
Likes to take lids/caps off of things and put them back on.
Walks all over the place, and almost runs at times.
Is learning to walk while holding onto someone’s hand.
Likes to go outside from the front door and back inside through the garage so he can put the button to close the garage door.
Likes to “get” Daddy when Daddy’s lying on the floor by hitting and crawling across Daddy’s stomach.
Plays with the phone, pushing buttons and holding it up to his ear, though at an awkward angle.
Sticks his tongue out and giggles like he’s the funniest boy ever (which he is!).
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Getting Settled In
The last few weeks have been a whirlwind! We’ve been packing, moving, and now unpacking. I’m so excited to be a homeowner and to be in our new house!
Everyone made the transition really well. We shed some tears on our last morning at the duplex because we made a lot of great memories there, but I know that we’ll make even more memories in our new house! I was a little worried about Nathaniel, but he slept through the night on the first night in his new room, and he loves having so much more space to walk around and explore (8 rooms on one floor in the new house versus 2 rooms on one floor at the duplex). Even Yoda (our cat) has been doing well. I think the car ride over was the most difficult for him, and he slunk around the new house for awhile, but now he’s making himself at home.
I was a little worried that we still wouldn’t have enough room for all of our “stuff.” But so far, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how much room we have. I love it! We’re still unpacking, so that could change, but for now, our furniture fits well with room to spare.
While unpacking can be a pain at times, I really enjoy it overall. I like to organize things, so now I get to find a new place for everything in our new house. Packing and unpacking also force me…I mean, allow me…to evaluate what I have and to get rid of things that I no longer need, use, or love.
After we get settled in, I’m going to tacking reorganizing my schedule. I NEED to make time for exercise, reading, and scrapbooking as well as time for working and being a mom. Things feel so unbalanced and chaotic right now, so once I get all of the physical things in their places after moving, then I’m looking forward to getting my priorities in their places as well.
Everyone made the transition really well. We shed some tears on our last morning at the duplex because we made a lot of great memories there, but I know that we’ll make even more memories in our new house! I was a little worried about Nathaniel, but he slept through the night on the first night in his new room, and he loves having so much more space to walk around and explore (8 rooms on one floor in the new house versus 2 rooms on one floor at the duplex). Even Yoda (our cat) has been doing well. I think the car ride over was the most difficult for him, and he slunk around the new house for awhile, but now he’s making himself at home.
I was a little worried that we still wouldn’t have enough room for all of our “stuff.” But so far, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how much room we have. I love it! We’re still unpacking, so that could change, but for now, our furniture fits well with room to spare.
While unpacking can be a pain at times, I really enjoy it overall. I like to organize things, so now I get to find a new place for everything in our new house. Packing and unpacking also force me…I mean, allow me…to evaluate what I have and to get rid of things that I no longer need, use, or love.
After we get settled in, I’m going to tacking reorganizing my schedule. I NEED to make time for exercise, reading, and scrapbooking as well as time for working and being a mom. Things feel so unbalanced and chaotic right now, so once I get all of the physical things in their places after moving, then I’m looking forward to getting my priorities in their places as well.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Inspired
This morning, I was reading the blogs that I check regularly, and I was inspired by Donna Downey, scrapbooker, artist extraordinaire, and creator of the Inspired Artist Workshop. She shared her weight loss story (she has lost almost 50 pounds since January 2008 and has begun running 5k and 10k races) and though I had read pieces of it before, the thing that struck me today was that she said “i like that i only compete with myself and enjoy the time spent challenging my body to perform.”
“I only compete with myself…” That’s what I need to do. I am competing with so many images in my head: actresses, models, coworkers, everyone who is thinner than me. I need to stop thinking about other people and think of myself. Yes, I want to lose weight and be healthy for my husband and my son, for my doctor who said she’d like me to lose 10 pounds, for others who I feel look at me and see me as overweight. But they key is that I need to do it for myself. I need to want to be healthy and to lose weight, or it will never happen.
I am inspired to compete with myself and to see what this body can do. God created this body, so I know that it can do great things!
“I only compete with myself…” That’s what I need to do. I am competing with so many images in my head: actresses, models, coworkers, everyone who is thinner than me. I need to stop thinking about other people and think of myself. Yes, I want to lose weight and be healthy for my husband and my son, for my doctor who said she’d like me to lose 10 pounds, for others who I feel look at me and see me as overweight. But they key is that I need to do it for myself. I need to want to be healthy and to lose weight, or it will never happen.
I am inspired to compete with myself and to see what this body can do. God created this body, so I know that it can do great things!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Why does moving have to be so emotional?
Packing is in full swing, and there are boxes everywhere! There is a lot of work to do, but I have also had some time to think about this move. Moving is exciting and scary at the same time.
It hit me a few days after we signed the purchase agreement that we had legally agreed to buy this house. I felt sick for a minute as I thought of all of the negative things about the house (not that there are many): the small yard, the small master bathroom, the outdated kitchen. Of course, I felt that same way after I had signed the lease for my first apartment, too, and I ended up loving that apartment. I know I'll love our new house, too.
I also got teary eyed when I thought of the duplex being Nathaniel's only home so far. He's just starting to know his room and points to it when he wants to crawl up the stairs to go play with his toys up there. In the new house, there won't be stairs to crawl up to get to his room, and he loves crawling up stairs! There are stairs from the basement to the main floor, but that doesn't seem quite the same to me. I really will miss the duplex. It was our home when Del and I got married and the home we brought our newborn baby to.
I know that we will make this new house ours and that we all will love it! I'm looking foward to having more space, having Nathaniel's room on the main floor so that he can go play whenever he wants, having a dedicated scrapbook space, having a two-car garage.... It will be a great house, and though it will be the first home we will own, the duplex will always be our first home.
It hit me a few days after we signed the purchase agreement that we had legally agreed to buy this house. I felt sick for a minute as I thought of all of the negative things about the house (not that there are many): the small yard, the small master bathroom, the outdated kitchen. Of course, I felt that same way after I had signed the lease for my first apartment, too, and I ended up loving that apartment. I know I'll love our new house, too.
I also got teary eyed when I thought of the duplex being Nathaniel's only home so far. He's just starting to know his room and points to it when he wants to crawl up the stairs to go play with his toys up there. In the new house, there won't be stairs to crawl up to get to his room, and he loves crawling up stairs! There are stairs from the basement to the main floor, but that doesn't seem quite the same to me. I really will miss the duplex. It was our home when Del and I got married and the home we brought our newborn baby to.
I know that we will make this new house ours and that we all will love it! I'm looking foward to having more space, having Nathaniel's room on the main floor so that he can go play whenever he wants, having a dedicated scrapbook space, having a two-car garage.... It will be a great house, and though it will be the first home we will own, the duplex will always be our first home.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Let the Packing Begin!
We just had our inspection and signed the purchase agreement for the house!!! I'm so excited! A part of me won't completely believe it until I have the keys in my hand, but I think it's all going to work out. The inspector identified a few things that need to be fixed, but nothing major.
Now the real work begins. Sorting, packing, sorting, and more packing! I'm looking forward to it, though. I know that I/we have too much "stuff," and I can't wait to go through everything and purge. I've already started a moving/packing to do list, and I think we'll get started on it tonight!
Thank you, Lord, for giving us patience and for helping us through this process! Amen!
Now the real work begins. Sorting, packing, sorting, and more packing! I'm looking forward to it, though. I know that I/we have too much "stuff," and I can't wait to go through everything and purge. I've already started a moving/packing to do list, and I think we'll get started on it tonight!
Thank you, Lord, for giving us patience and for helping us through this process! Amen!
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