Weekly Update #4

I lost 1lb this week. That is a total of 7lbs in 4 weeks, bringing me down to 218lbs. I was really hoping to lose 2lbs this week, but 1lb is better than nothing, so I will take it! lol!

I am also happy to say that I am at my lowest weight in over a year - sad I know, but a victory nonetheless! I know this because I am one of those weird people that keeps track of my weight. No, I mean I really keep track of my weight. As in, I weigh myself EVERY Monday, and I write it down in a little book. Why? I don't know, it's just a quirk I guess! I could tell you my weight at any given week dating all the way back to August 2006, when I got pregnant with the triplets. Yes, I know I'm weird.

ANYWAYS, I have continued to step up the intensity on the treadmill, and today I ran 15 straight minutes, with a 2 min warm up, and a 3 min cool down, for a total of 20 minutes! It has been YEARS since I have run for 15 minutes, and I am very proud that I can finally do it again! I really do enjoy running. The rush of endorphins makes me feel strong and powerful - and I like it!! :)

On Thursday, the kids and I will be heading up to my parents cabin, with my mom. We are hoping to be up there for a week, then have Gairod join us for another week or two. So we will potentially be up there for 3 weeks. We don't have a computer or internet up there, so I won't be able to blog, but I will be continuing my running and my dieting. This is going to be a real test of my strength and will-power. There are so many tempting treats at the lake - an awesome bakery, ice cream, a candy store - so I will have to work really hard to stay on track with my Weight Watchers. Exercising will also be harder. I will be running outside, which is a lot harder than running on a treadmill. But I am determined to continue losing weight, and becoming a healthier person. I am hoping to come back in 3 weeks down at least a few more pounds! :)

6 Years.

Yesterday was our 6th wedding anniversary.

Like every married couple, we have had our ups and downs over the past 6 years. I am happy to say that we are in a very good place right now.

Every couple needs to work at their marriage, some more than others. Statistically speaking, we are at a disadvantage. We are young, and we have lots of kids - including a set of higher order multiples. I have read that more than 50% of higher order multiple parent marriages fail. That is a scary statistic, but I can understand why.

Raising kids is hard on a marriage, especially lots of little kids at once! Both parents are tired, and struggling to keep up with everything that needs to be done. It's easy for the spousal relationship to fall by the wayside, and for a couple to drift apart.

I think that that is one thing that we have been very good with. We have always made a point to take time as a couple, to get away from the kids, and to reconnect. We manage to get away for a date night usually about once a month. Even if all we do is go out for dinner, or go to a movie, it's nice to have one-on-one time, to focus on each other, instead of the kids.

This year we weren't able to spend our anniversary together, as Gairod is still up in Fort McMurray. But we talked to each other throughout the day, and he sent me flowers! ♥

It has been a busy yet fun 6 years, and I am looking forward to many more! :)

Weekly Update #3

I had another successful week, despite not eating as well as I should have on the weekend!

I had no problems with my exercising, again stepping up the intensity a bit. I did good all week with my eating, but then had a few bad meals over the weekend. Weekends are the hardest time for me. Things are off schedule, and it's more tempting to eat bad! I still managed to do well, losing 2 pounds this week! That's a total of 6 lbs down, and I am out of the 220's at 219lbs :)

Homeschool Wrap up and Prep for next year!! :)

We mainly finished up our first year of homeschooling at the end of April, except for Math, which Jade finished up about a week ago! For May to August, we are doing some light work - Grammar worksheets, Math workbooks, an English workbook, and a Science workbook.

All in all, I think our first year of homeschooling was a success. Everything didn't always go as planned, but I got my feet wet, I feel more confident, and I have decided on some changes for next year!

For grade 3, and our first year of homeschooling, I wanted to keep things low key, and not make too much work for myself or Jade. For grade 3 we did:

-Horizon Math 3

-A Reason for Spelling C
-A Reason for Cursive Writing C
-Read all the books in the Little House series and did
comprehension questions
-Lapbooks (Giraffes, Deer, Mexico, World Geography) for Social Studies and Science
-Swimming lessons, Curling, and Baseball for Gym
-Piano lessons for music
-Art class for Art

I was quite happy with our Math program, but the spelling and cursive writing seemed like a bit of a waste of time. Jade picked up on the cursive right away, and really didn't need to practise it every day. Same with the spelling. Most weeks she got all or almost all of the words right on her pre-test, and didn't need to do all of the practise activities everyday until the test. I had her do it all anyways, but we will not be continuing on with those programs next year. I don't feel like she did enough writing or grammar. We are doing grammar worksheets over the summer, and I have picked a more complete Language Arts curriculum for the fall. I also feel like we didn't do as much Social Studies and Science as I had originally planned. So I have more planned for next year!

I had originally planned to do Preschool with the triplets. I didn't end up doing nearly as much as I wanted to, but I figure they were only 3, so it really doesn't matter. In September, I am going to start more of a daily routine of preschool learning activities with them. :)

I bought most of Jade's Grade 4 curriculum a couple of months ago. Seeing as it is now half way through June, I figured I better start getting stuff prepped for September! She is going to have a bit more work this year, but she is a very independent learner, and I don't think she will have any problem with it! For Grade 4 we are doing:

-Horizon Math 4
-Learning Language Arts Through Literature (Orange Book)
-Daily Science 4
-Dear Canada books (from the 1900's) for Social Studies
-Canadian Character Education 3-4 for Health
-Artistic Pursuits and possibly a ceramics class
-Swimming lessons, Curling, and possibly another sport
-Piano Lessons

I am quite excited, and a little nervous for next year! Like I said, Jade is going to have more work to do, and I am determined to work with the triplets each day - so things are going to be busy!

Better This Time.

Gairod got a call on Friday, from a company that he sometimes does work for. They asked if he could go up to Fort McMurray on Tuesday, for 7-10 days.

Despite how much I HATED him going away in Jan/Feb, I was surprisingly okay with it this time. I'm not sure if it's because it's shorter this time, or because it's spring, so the weather is nicer, and I don't feel so trapped in the house, or what! But whatever the reason, I am feeling good - and I intend to continue feeling that way!!

I feel like I am at a good place right now. I am happy with how much house work and organizing is getting done, I am happy with how homeschooling is going, I am happy with how my exercising and dieting is going. I am feeling hopeful and happy - and I like it! :)

Weekly Update #2

I am very happy to say that I had a very successful week!!

I did great with my exercising again, running 3 days, and doing the 30 Day Shred DVD for 2 days. I even stepped up the intensity this week! I changed my ratio of walking to running, to include more running, less walking. My goal is to eventually get to 20 straight minutes of running, with a couple extra minutes added on for walking cool down. I forgot how much I enjoyed running. When I was in high school, I used to run quite a bit. I love the endorphins and energy I get from it! :) I also stepped up to level 2 of the 30 Day Shred.

I finally turned a corner with my eating!! I started doing Weight Watchers on Tuesday, and I am thrilled that it payed off!! I lost 3.5 pounds this week!! That brings me down to 221lbs, with a two week total of 4lbs lost. :) If I can keep it up, I will hopefully be out of the 220's next week!!! :)

Master Bedroom De-cluttering!

I have been very successful with de-cluttering the past few days, and it feels great!! :)

A while back, I said I was going to start working on our master bedroom, but then I never did! lol! Well, I have finally started!! I still need to do the insides of the dressers, and the bedside tables, but at least now the surfaces are clear!!

Closet "Before"

Closet "After"Dressers "Before"
Dressers "After"

In the past few days, I have also done the cupboard above the stove, the bottom of the linen closet, and the cupboard under the bathroom sink! Go me! :)

Weekly Update

As promised, here is my weekly diet and exercise update :)

I did great with my exercising this week, accomplishing exactly what I wanted to!! I exercised 5 out of 7 days, Monday to Friday. I walked/ran on the treadmill for 20 minutes, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I did level one of my 30 Day Shred video on Tuesday and Thursday. I am very happy that I was able to hop right back onto the exercise wagon! :)

My eating was okay. It wasn't as good as I would have liked it to be, but it wasn't terrible either. I lost half a pound this week.

Since I am still struggling so much with my eating, I think I am going to try doing Weight Watchers for a while. When Jade was around 18 months old, I went to Weight Watchers meetings for a couple of months, and lost a decent amount of weight. Since I have the Points materials, I have done Weight Watchers for a few weeks at a time, on my own at home, sporadically over the last several years. If I am in the right mindset, it can help me to drop weight quickly. I would REALLY like to start dropping some weight over summer, so I think I am going to give it a try! :)

Organized Simplicity

While looking at books on Amazon recently, I came across this one - "Organized Simplicity - The clutter-free approach to intentional living" - and I decided to order it! I am only a few chapters into it, but I already LOVE it!!

As you know, I am always trying to clear out the clutter, and live a more simple, organized life. This book talks about how to "remove the things that don't matter to you, (so that) you are free to focus on only the things that are meaningful to you."

I like this book, because it's realistic. The author, Tsh Oxenreider, doesn't expect you to quit your job, sell your house and all of your possessions, get rid of your vehicle, move out into the woods, and live solely off the land. She realizes that that is not a realistic approach to "simple" living.

She talks about the definition of "simple living" - "Living holistically with your life's purpose". She talks about not only de-cluttering your material things, but your whole life. Where are you wasting time? Where are you wasting money?

I am looking forward to finishing this book, and continuing my journey to "organized simplicity"! :)

I'm Back!

After taking almost 2 weeks off, I am going to get back to eating healthy and exercising! I weighed myself this morning, and I am happy to say that I only gained half a pound over the last two weeks! So I am right back where I started, at 225lbs. I ate crappy while we were away, but we DID do TONS of exercising with all of the walks and hikes we went on! :)

So I am going to start on the treadmill this morning. I am going to aim for 5 days a week - Monday to Friday, taking the weekends off. As you know, the biggest thing is my eating, so I am going to focus really hard on it! My goal is to be 10lbs lighter by the end of June! :)