If you're fat and you know it...

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! :) That is what I have doing. Been going at this whole weightloss thing for 5 weeks I think. I have lost 20 lbs! 20 lbs!!!! I have never stuck to a "diet" for this long! Maybe because I am not depriving myself, just watching portions, making healthier choices, oh AND exercising! I exercising almost everyday and that makes me very happy! Justin has lost 24 lbs, but whatever, he is a guy! And he has an "active" job. :-P

I have been doing Leslie Sansone and Taebo:

I really enjoy all of these workouts. I want to get Leslie Sansone's Walking Bootcamp next! I would aslo like to get a Taebo DVD, just not sure which one! My Taebo's are on ahem, VHS!

I still am logging all my foods on www.myfitnesspal.com

I love the support I have from my friends and most importantly from my husband! :)

SPRING!?!?

WOOHOO!! FIRST DAY OF SPRING!! Is it beautiful where you are!? It is here. 70s, blue skies! AWESOME! LOVE LOVE LOVE spring! I hope it is here to stay! Happy first day of spring!

Working/sweating my butt off!

For the past month I have been counting calories and burning calories! Whew! I have about got my daily cals under control which makes me very happy! I CANNOT believe the amount of calories I was eating before I started this. It is really sickening. The cravings are few and far between now, which makes me even happier!

I have been logging all my food in a diary on www.myfitnesspal.com. I love it! I can see what I am eating and it really keeps me accountable. I have friends on there and I have my diary open so they can see what I am eating also, another accountablity. There is so since in lieing, because I would just be hurting myself.

I have also been exercising at least 30 minutes almost everyday. A lot of the time I do more. I really feel so much better and if I skip a day I feel guilty and just blah. I mainly do Leslie Sansone walking videos. I just got the pilates one and WOW, my best sweat yet! I am also able to log my exercise/cals burned on MFP. It tells me how many cals I need to eat etc. I LOVE IT! So far I have lost 18 pounds. I have done it the RIGHT way and I feel that these lbs will stay off. I am excited to lose A LOT more! I am not ready to share my starting weight, but eventually I will, it isn't pretty ;).

Another thing that is really helping me is THE HUBS! He is also dieting so I am kind of accountable to him also. And he to me. He ordered a bag of onion rings at Sonic the other night thinking I would split them with him. When I didn't he just threw them all out the window and said, "thank you, you don't know how helpful it is to have you do this with me. It makes it easier." <3 <3 <3 Isn't that what spouse are for? To support and keep each other going? I think so! :)

Anyway, I have just decided that fat is not an option anymore. It isn't healthy and I don't feel good about myself! The more I lose the better I feel. Shirts are now clinging to my muffin top anymore and my jeans fit comfortable right out of the dryer. This is soooo worth it! I can't wait to start changing sizes, maybe I won't feel sooooo hideous in my swimsuit this summer!? EXCITING!

And my change is also a good example for my kids. They know that you should exercise everyday. I love to just go out and kick a ball around with them or go on a nature walk. I feel like doing it! And their eating habits are slowly changing too. I do still buy them some of their favs like Cap'n crunch berries, but that is about it. No more cookies, no more sugary drinks, etc etc. I don't need the temptation and they aren't good for the kids anyway.

So, I challenge you to get up and get moving. Buy healthy foods and not junk! You WILL feel better, I promise! We are examples for our children and I do not want my children being heavy like I have been my whole life.

Guess I am not good at this! lol

So, I guess I really haven't kept up on blogging again! What's new?

I have been "dieting". I use that word loosely because it is really a lifestyle change. Eating better, eating right, portion control and regular exercise are all things that should be part of my lifestyle, NOT a "diet". I DO NOT plan on stopping any of these once I meet my goals. A. My weight would just climb back up B. They are all good for my overall health!

Kaden is sick with a bit of a cold. Poor kid! I hate it! He is fully potty trained which is AWESOME!

Karson is learning to read. HE loves to learn which is great. He is out fishing with his Daddy today. I LOVE that! Kaden and I would have went also if he wasn't under the weather. Karson loves fishing and is actually casting on his own and catching fish alone. Magnificent!

Kaleb got his ear pierced :-/ NOT happy about that. Just a way for his mom to "look cooler" than us. Whatev. He knows he can't wear it here. It will grow up over the summer ;)

Justin and I celebrated our 10th anniversary last week. Pretty awesome. I can't say that our marriage has been all sunshine and roses, but we have been faced with challenges and passed them I guess. There were a few times I would have liked to give up, but we didn't. Just kept trucking, kept forgiving and still going. Still probably not the PERFECT marriage, but I don't believe there is any such thing. Besides we hopefully have a lot more years to make it more perfect ;). Sometimes it is hard after having kids and you just have to make time for ALONE time. We have learned that this past year and it is really helping. :)

Hmm...been awhile!

Man, it has been a long time since I last blogged. This may be due to the fact that I only had internet on my phone for the last year, until recently.

I am still subbing, I have applied for an online job and I am suppose to start the test tonight. This is exciting! I want this job something fierce, simply for materialistic reasons! lol I like making my own money and spending it on what I please :).

I have been dieting for a week. It is amazing the difference in how I feel after cutting so many calories and nasty things out of my diet! Justin is dieting right along with me, so this helps a lot! I must say though that a Krispy Creme Donut sounds delish!

Kaleb is still in IL, wish he was here. I hate the life he lives up there.

Karson is thriving in preschool. Learning to read amongst many other things! I am so surprised and the things he has learned and retained! :) Hopefully this means a positive school experience for him as opposed to Kaleb's experiences.

Kaden is growing soooooooo fast! He will be 3 in July! He has talked for a long time, but the past couple of months his speech has became so much more clear and understandable! He is so cute and so smart and soooo funny! Lights up my day everyday!

I love staying home so much with him. I am so lucky for all the time I have been allowed to spend with my children as they grow.

Winding down...

Well, the maternity leave I am covering is winding down. I won't lie, I am excited for some time off. Hopefully not too much time though. I hope to get many calls and stay busy, but I also hope to be home with Kaden some. I want to be able to help out in Karson's preschool class too.

I am truly going to miss most of my students. I am sure I will be called back to sub for the MS teachers. Being here this long makes the student seem like they are mine! I don't want to give them back. Well, I might give a couple back.

Also, we bought a fish tank last night! Why you might ask? I don't know! It was Justin's idea. Ofcourse, it sounds like a good idea to him because he won't be the one caring for it, just like the hamster.

Long time no blog...

Yeah, I guess I will admit that I am not a great blogger. WHOOPS!

Kaleb didn't get to go to school here. He wanted to. Stayed committed to it all summer. His mom said he had to go there to discuss it and then could come back the next Sunday. The poor kid got there and she told him she wasn't discussing it and he wasn't going to school here. :( She is so selfish.

Karson has started preschool! OH MY! Can't believe that! He loves it! This is his 4th week. He is learning to play with others and lots of other things. He sings the "counting rock" song as he calls it. Knows left from right. He went to his first school buddy party the other day. It was at a bowling alley and he LOVED it! I just can't believe how big he is getting and how much he learns and wants to learn! He hasn't gotten in trouble at school at all yet. Very surprised there because Kaleb was in trouble most days! He missed 10 min of recess quite frequently.

Kaden, oh my, he is such a joy! So much fun! This age is incredibly fun and rewarding. He talks so much more. Sometimes he is hard to understand like Karson was, but I get it! I love when he hugs me, kisses me, and says "I yove you!" without being asked! He loves Bass Pro toys now too. Oh boy! We are buying duplicates because he thinks he needs his own. Yeah...too many bass pro toys. Why do we keep any of their other toys?

I have my BSED! I am doing a long term sub position until Oct 1. It has been a learning experience. I am in Com Arts in middle school. It is a 6 week maternity leave. I wish I had my own permanent classroom, but let's face it! Education is not the job market to enter right now!!! It is bad!!! So very bad. Education needs more funding! I know many areas need more funding, but education is like the basis of everything, from and educator's view point of course. But I stand by that statement. :)

Thankful Thursday!

As always, I am thankful for the health of my family. I am especially thankful after an update message that I received from www.skylersanders.com Go. Read. It will break your heart! I cry with almost every update. Hug your kids. Their health is not a guarantee.

I am thankful that Karson did well at preschool screening today. He got right up and went with them. I could tell he was a bit nervous to leave me, but he did it without complaint. They said he did fine! :) He told them a lot of stories about hunting and fishing! I can only imagine! :)

I am thankful that today is my last day of student teaching. I will miss the students, but I am ready to have my degree!!

I am thankful that Justin has a good paying job. I am a bit shaken by the fact that they are going off to work for a week next week. They have never done this and I must say I am sure it will be a stressful week for myself. It is my first week being a SAHM again. It is my first time to be away from my husband and my children to be, except for when I was in the hospital. But, I am THANKFUL he has that job!

I am thankful that the school year is winding down and Kaleb will be back home with us soon. We are going to have a terrific summer. I am going to keep praying that he stands by his decision to move here for the school year next year. I would appreciate it if you would do so also.

Weekend happenings....

What happened in our house this weekend you ask?  Well, let me tell you!

Friday:  9:15 a.m. I get a call at school.  Karson is complaining he is sick.  Tummy and ear hurting.  Since that usually is the sign that he is getting an ear infection I leave and take him to Urgent Care.  Fortunately, no infection, but he did have fluid in his ear so he is on zyrtec.  I hope that clears it up!  After our UCC visit we went and ate at Sonic and then went to Wal-Mart.  After that we came home and Kaden napped while I cleaned up the kitchen a bit.  When Justin got home we all went to Mountain Home for chinese food.

As we were eating dinner I got a phone call from my mom.  She asked where we were and told us to stay there.  There was a tornado coming through where we live!!  SO SCARY, the unknown...  Karson was worried about the Easter Bunny and trampoline!  So there was some humor when he asked if the Easter Bunny was ok!  The drive down our road was eery.  Our neighbors yard was demolished!  Our other neighbor's barn was destroyed.  When we topped the hill we saw our trampoline in the field.  We still couldn't see our house and that was a sickening moment!  We rounded our corner and all was well.  There was a ton of limbs in our yard, and if my van would have been there it would be totaled.  

Saturday Justin had to work.  I decided to tackle laundry and housework.  Around 2 p.m. my grandparents showed up to check on us (thank God my house was clean!).

Saturday night I went to mom's night in at my friend Jen's house.  That was fun!  There were about 10 of us.  We laughed A LOT!

Sunday Justin had to go repair a guy's roof that was damaged by the tornado.  If his house was built 50-100 yards over it would have been gone.  The man did not have insurance...so scary!

I took the boys to Wal-Mart and did some shopping.  We got my nephews each a baseball glove and I got Karson and my other nephew a mickey shirt and toy story shirt for $3!!  I also got Karson an awesome book that is a dry erase board book that has capital and lowercase letters, shapes, numbers, etc and he LOVES it!

Justin got home around noon and we cleaned up the yard and spent time as a family.  We finally went over to mom's yesterday evening and got the boys' swingset.  They are IN LOVE!!!!!  It was a great weekend! :)

I especially loved when Karson told me yesterday that, "I love when you are home taking care of me mommy!"   Melts my heart! :)

Not me Monday!

Here we are again!  My last Monday as a student!!

I most certainly did not have several things happen this week and say to myself, "I need to write that down for my blog.  Nah, no way I would forget that!"  And I DID NOT forget them all!  Not ME!

I did not look in my mirror as I was driving down the road and see Karson licking the front of his sunglasses then wiping them clean on his shirt and just chuckle.  NOT ME!

I did not breathe a sigh of relief that Saturday was cleaning day when my grandparents came to check on us after the tornado came through.  I did not have a flashback to two hours prior when my house looked like the tornado had came through it.  NOT ME!

When my grandparents came to visit at 2 p.m. I was not embarrassed because Karson was still in just his underwear running around and playing.  NOT ME, no way am I that mom!

Questions asked by a student

One of my students asked me these questions yesterday because he wanted me to post them on my blog. So...

who is your favorite blogger friend:
Kat

what do you like about blogging
way to keep track of things that I don’t write down

what is your favorite food
Mexican


How old ARE U
29

how long have u been married
9 years

what is ur favorite color
yellow

who is ur favorite husband
Justin

Questions asked by: tHe_hAydEnaTOr

ABCya! Patterns | Pattern Game for Children

ABCya! Patterns | Pattern Game for Children

Thankful Thursday

As usual, I am thankful for my family, our good health, and the love we share.  We have been very fortunate to have no major illnesses.  I know that could easily change, I hope it doesn't.

I am thankful that I have 6 days of school left!

I am thankful for the students that make me laugh each day!  I am also thankful I have students that compliment me and mean it! ;)  I did my hair a new way yesterday and wasn't sure about it.  The kids gave me so many compliments, remember they are middle schoolers they don't lie.  Love these kids.

I am thankful that I have a husband that works so hard and doesn't care if  get a job in August or not.  Yes, we both want me to work, but he will continue to work hard and we will be fine if I don't. 

I am thankful that Justin's motor did not blow up in his truck last week.  I am thankful that is was only a $250 fix.  I am thankful that we had the money to pay to get it fixed.  There were times early in our marriage when we wouldn't have had that money.  I am thankful that we have some awesome friends that loaned us one of their trucks for Justin to drive for the week his was out of commission.  I honestly believe this friend would give Justin or me for that matter the shirt off his back if we needed it.  We truly are thankful for that and hope some day to be able to repay the favor to them.

K2isms--Karsonisms

Karson: Knock, knock

Me: Who's there?

Karson: pop can

Me: pop can who?

Karson: you have a tree on top of your head

Disney...

I feel Disney is consuming my life! HAHA, but that is a good thing! I have ordered to scrapbook kits to start making the boys' autograph books. I talked to Kaleb last night and the two things I "thought" he would want were not what he wanted! lol Kids.... I thought he would not want an autograph book made and would think it was for babies, umm WRONG! He wants one, which is fine. So, I have 3 to make. The second thing is I thought he would want a Pirates of the Carribean lanyard for his pins. NOPE, he wants a Mickey one. Even after I told him his younger cousin has a Pirates one. So, three Mickey lanyards it is.

Lanyards/pins are something we didn't do when I went to Disney as a kid. I must admit that I had no idea what my mom was talking about when she said something about them. So, after some research, I decided it was something my kiddos would enjoy. (No clue what I am talking about? Go here:http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/destinations/downtown-disney/shopping/disneys-pin-traders/ )

I ordered 20 authentic trading pins off of ebay to get the kids started. I figure I will spread them out and make them pick one at a time until they are gone. I didn't get to pick the pins which is fine, it is 20 random pins. This is fine by me since the fun of it will be looking for ones they want to trade for throughout Disney. I think they will love it. The only one that will not be "into" it will be Kaden, but he might surprise us too! HAHA! I look for him to want Mickey ones.

My dad is even more psyched about and wrapped up in all things Disney than I am. He has wrote down all the hotels in Ocala and somewhere else for the night before Disney. He has also wrote down all the extended hours for while we are there. He has mapped out like 3 different routes. It is good for him, keeps him busy. We will be a caravan of 3 vehicles, should be fun. (Hope you get the sarcasm ;) ) Anyway, we are leaving at 3am and want to get to Ocala. That is about 40 min from Disney. My mom thinks we are crazy. She hasn't traveled with us! Justin drives...and we drive hard. We make minimal stops. We drove to California in 2 days when Karson was like 18 mos old. Kaden will be a few weeks shy of 2, so I am not concerned. On the way home that year we drove from California (left at 2:30a.m.) to Lyman, CO in one day. WE TRAVEL! I have no doubts we will make it to Ocala!

Anyway, I think you are going to be sick of Disney talk, but OH WELL! :)

Names

I am sure you have noticed I started using names.

Kaleb is 10--K1

Karson is 4--K2

Kaden is 1--K3

J=Justin

Tuesday!

Tuesday is my least favorite day of the week! I have no idea why really. Maybe because my week creeps along until Wednesday, I guess that is why it is called hump day. Monday isn't my favorite day of the week, but Tuesday I detest! Every Tuesday when I wake up I think it is Wednesday and when I realize it is really Tuesday I say, "I HATE Tuesdays!" I know I am wishing my life away, but I just really could skip Tuesday altogether!

Tuesday will not be the enemy after next Tuesday though. Then it will be summer break and EVERY day will be a glorious one! :) Don't get me wrong, I LOVE teaching, but I LOVE being home with my kids more!

I am so ready to be home with my boys. I am ready for Kaleb to be home with us. I am ready to head to the public pool a couple times a week and to my mom's pool the other days. I am ready to not have an alarm clock, except for Kaden. I am ready to stay in my pjs until 9am, or 10, or 11, or all day! I am ready to have my boys back on their schedules. I am ready to know exactly what is going on each day. I am ready for baseball and tee-ball games. I am ready for Disney World. I am READY for summer. I wish summer never ended! (I am also ready to see if Kaleb does come here for school next year. I am not sure I can handle him talking it up and changing his mind again this year. I know he will be happier here. I know he will have a much better life here. I HOPE he makes the best decision.)

NOT ME Monday!

Time for another NOT ME Monday!  

Let's see, this weekend I most certainly did not once again get sucked into Lifetime Movie Network on Saturday again, NOT ME!  I did not waste four hours of time on Saturday watching LMN, NOT ME!  

Sunday I most certainly did not waste the whole day "playing", NOT ME!  I most certainly cleaned my house and did all my laundry.  I did not once again just do 3 loads of laundry to get us through the next day or two, NOT ME!

Thankful Thursday...on Friday

Yeah, so I was out and about yesterday and couldn't post a thankful Thursday so you are getting it today:

What am I thankful for?  Well of course there is the obvious, my children and husband.  I am thankful that we are all currently in good health.  I am thankful that I have a terrific husband that works so hard to provide for us.

I am also thankful for good friends.  Going to college not only provided me with an education, but also with good friends.  I am thankful that yesterday our meeting lasted 10 minutes and we were able to shop the entire day.  I had strict orders from my husband to shop for me!  I am thankful he is sweet like that, sometimes I don't listen so well.  It is hard for me to shop for myself.  I did come home with a new shirt, flip-flops and a pair of capris.  I also came home with oodles of clothes for my boys.  Yep, spent most of the money on them :).

I am thankful that my semester of student teaching is almost over.  While I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience I am ready to be done.  Even though 3% of graduates in Missouri with an education degree this year will get a job I am still thankful.  I am happy to have my degree and I will get a job, somewhere, I have too.  I am also thankful that if I don't get a job I have been asked to cover my current cooperating teacher's maternity leave the first 6-12 weeks of next school year.

All about K2

K2. What to say about K2? I found out I was pregnant with K2 on mother's day 2005. Wow! What a present that was! We had tried for quite some time to get pregnant and I had pretty much given up all hope. Surprise! :)

K2 was born on December 1, 2005. He was due on November 24 but wanted to wait until December. I went in for an induction on November 30 at 8:00 a.m. Finally at 11 that night my water broke. Karson was born at 9:04 a.m. He was 6 lbs 11.5 oz and 21 inches long.

He was an awesome baby and started sleeping through the night at five weeks old. What a gift that was for mommy. I stayed home with him until he was almost 2 years old. Then I resumed going to classes again, but only two days a week. It was hard leaving him that much.

K1 lived with us at that time and was and still is an awesome big brother. K2 absolutely adored K1 and still does.

K2 is 4 now, yes 4! I am not quite sure where the time has went. It seems like he should still be K3's size.

K2 loves to play with Bass Pro toys. He has pretty much all of them. If he doesn't have one that is because they don't sell it anywhere. I am not sure why he has all the other 500 million other toys in his room. He really enjoys watching Phineas Ferb with K1.

K2 is quite an eater. He like broccoli, yes broccoli, but there are a lot of other foods that he should like that he doesn't.

K2 is one of the most loving children you will ever meet. He is constantly giving hugs and telling me how much he loves me. His newest thing is "I love you all the way to the rainbow and back mommy." Melts my heart. He is going to be quite the charmer when he gets older.

K2 is so smart! With all the problems that K1 has I worry all the time about my other two. I hope school is not a struggle for them like it is for K1. I want them to love school and love learning. I want it to be easy for them like it was for me and my brothers.

K2 does have some fear of going to school. He doesn't know anything besides staying home. Even their babysitter now comes to our house. I hope he does well, adjusts well.

K2 likes to use big words. He loves the word ferocious. He also says many more that for some reason I cannot think of right now, but I am sure I will share them some day soon.