WW - Week 1

YOU'VE LOST 5 POUNDS THIS WEEK.

Seeing that makes me feel so good. I know that not every week will be this way, and that the first week is one of the biggest since you make such a drastic change in diet, but this still feels GREAT. I also lost 1.5 inches in both my waist and thighs, which seems impossible. I'm measuring myself so it could be off my a little, but I'm sure there is still some loss.

I love Weight Watchers because I can still eat most of the foods I always ate, I just have to track them now. It is amazing how aware you become of what you are eating once you start Weight Watchers. I have cut out almost all snacking and extra eating.

My favorite foods this week have been...

- Campbell's Healthy Request Chunk Chicken Corn Chowder soup: 3 points per serving. [6 for the whole can]

- 1tbsp. Peanut butter on a wheat English muffin: 6 points

- Eggo Chocolate Chip Waffles plain: 5 points for two

- Weight Watchers ice cream bars: 2-4 points

- Chips and salsa: 15 chips for 3 points and 0 points for salsa

Challenges: Eating late. I work from 5-9 most nights right now [my schedule will slow in the winter] so I basically have to eat when I get home. I find that if I eat before I go, which would be around 4, I am very hungry by the time I get home. And not just hungry where I can eat an apple and go to bed. Hungry to the point where I feel like I'm going to puke if I do not eat. So I have been eating a light snack before I go and then eating something small for dinner when I get home. I don't like eating so late but I have done it every night this week and still lost weight, so I guess as long as I stay in my points I am okay.

Work out: I usually work out 3-4 times a week but we didn't make it to the gym at all this week. I chose to focus mainly on just counting my points and figuring out a routine. Starting Saturday we'll be back in action.

Weekly goals: Start focusing on the "healthy checks". I need to drink more water, make sure I have at least one fruit and veggie each day, and start taking a multi-vitamin.

My plate is full.

But my stomach is not. [more on that in a moment]

To say that I am doing a lot is an understatement. Being home with the girls is a lot on its own. They are at the age where stepping away from them for a minute can mean shampoo on the carpet, hot chocolate mix on the couch, cream of wheat on the dog, and so on. This means that every day chores don't get done like they used to. The girls naps start at different times and I have about an hour from the time Brooke goes down until Molly gets up, which means shower and lunch!

It is fun but busy!

Then we add in the Photography business, which has been great. I love meeting new families and babies and capturing special moments in their life. It has been an awesome experience. Here is a picture from a recent shoot.

Then we add in work. I got a job as a cashier/hostess at a local Amish restaurant. It has been a ton of fun and I really love what I do. I go in around 5pm at night and sometime do not come home until 9:30. I have been working four days a week, plus most of the day Saturday so there goes the rest of my time!

Check out my awesome uniform.

Then we add in my hobbies. I like to read and write and I refuse to give that up! I try to find time for at least one of those each day. It keeps me sane and happy.

So why is my stomach empty? That was a bit of an exaggeration, but I joined Weight Watchers on Friday. I have been in a weight loss slump for the whole year now, and have actually gained some weight. Enough is enough! These 20 pounds are getting kicked out the door. With inspiration from my friend Ashley at The Stauffer Shenanigans and Alyssa at The Heystek Family... I think I can do this!

Carolina Vacation Part 2

The week was perfect weather wise. We had one morning of rain but it cleared by lunch so that we could still have some time on the beach. The girls loved the beach, which I was very thankful for. I have met babies who refuse to touch sand or who are terrified as water, which can be normal, but I just didn't want to deal with that! Getting them ready and down to the beach was a production, and then of course Molly kept getting sand in her eyes and would freak out. They mostly just played in the sand or in the baby pool under the cabana tent. Brooke went into the water with my cousins a few times but we never ventured that far with Molly.

I'm a kid at heart...

Our house was awesome, as usual. We had a pool so we would come back from the beach in the afternoon and soak in the pool for a little. Brooke did really well swimming around in her puddle jumper, but Molly wasn't the biggest fan of the pool. Each family took a night to cook [we did a taco night on our night!] so we didn't eat out or anything. We did go miniature golfing one night and we took Brooke with us. She stayed up a couple hours past her bedtime every night like a champ.

Girl was a natural.

Then it came time to leave and we managed to make it home in seventeen hours this time. :: sigh ::

We'll see you again soon North Carolina. Til 2013...

Carolina Vacation Part 1

I am officially back from my mental/blogging break. Between vacation [which is never vacation with kids], photography, and starting a new job... my mind is fried.

SO several weeks later I am ready to write about vacation. I say the CarolinaS because we started in Myrtle Beach and then moved north from there. Dustin had to work most of the day Thursday so I spent the day juggling the girls and packing the car. Amazingly I was able to get almost everything into the van before he got home, which meant we were able to leave shortly after. It's a good thing I saved us some time because the drive took 18 hours. 18 HOURS. The girls were unhappy for the part where they were awake so we had to stop a few times. Then they were crying off and on all night, which shouldn't have affected our time, but I'll blame that. Then when I was driving, around 5 in the morning, we got stuck in stand still traffic. It was rumored that the road wouldn't be open for another six hours so we turned around on the high way and a cop escorted us off. How many times will that happen again?

We finally got to Myrtle beach to Amy's house at about 11 in the morning. It was so nice to see her again! We all ate lunch together and then Amy and I took the girls shopping while the guys went home to relax. On Saturday Amy and I were able to have a girls lunch with just the two of us which was AWESOME.

Then Saturday afternoon we headed up to Emerald Isle, North Carolina to start our vacation.

We were the last ones to arrive but that meant everyone else was unpacked and ready to hold the girls for us! It was great to see my family. There were 22 of us, and then the 4 babies [my girls and my two nephews].

I'll write more about the week later but until then, enjoy some pictures.

Brooke enjoyed lots of this


We all enjoyed lots of this.



And this...



And this...



And of course THIS.... [the mint colored house was ours]

If I could keep you little...