Changes this week!

On the self improvement front that is!

I decided to take Ava to the gym! We went twice and she did awesome! I worked out 4 days this week M-Th, and plan to go today too. I was also really conscious about my diet, and ate better than ever.

I managed to actually gain 2 pounds, so that is weird, but I lost a TON of inches!

Weight- 154- gained 2 pounds
Waist- 37 inches- lost FOUR inches
Hips- 39.5 inches- lost TWO inches!
Thigh- 24 inches- Gained 1.5 inches. Weird. Oh well!
Bust- 37.5 inches- lost TWO AND A HALF inches!

Loss- 8.5 inches!

It just goes to show, it is not always about what the scale says! The inches are more important to me anyways, since that means I am losing fat and gaining leaner muscle.

So happy!!

Things I Don't Want to Forget

I always said I would carry around a notebook and write down the funny things my kids said. Alas, that has not happened. So maybe I can remember to jot them here. So from time to time, you may see short little notes for that reason.

Olivia- "This is my sister Ava. She has little tiny arms and poops in her diapers a lot."

Easter- officially

 The bunny came...

 Olivia played with her bubbles in the most adorable pjs ever....
She passed out after church for 4 minutes- that was her nap that day...

And we all looked adorable! Who puts a 2 month old in a tulle dress anyways?! Diaper changes were fun...

We were exhausted by the end of the day. Ava napped from 4-7pm, when I had to wake her up actually. Olivia never napped, so neither did we.

It was a great day!

Easter- the hunts

Somehow, we ended up doing 3 different egg hunts this year! It was so much fun. Olivia is really at the best age for it! She is not yet super excited about eating candy, save for one or two pieces, and is just super into finding eggs.

Hunt 1- Her school/church hunt.

This may have marked one of the last times that Ava took a really long nap in the Moby...

Some friends from school, and adorable Olivia!

When we got home, we tried the Bumbo... may be a litttttle early!

Then there was the "club" egg hunt with Matt's family:

First picture of all 4 granddaughters together!

Probably cute <3

Adorable!

Then there was the egg hunt that I decided we needed to host for our friends! This will be a yearly tradition for sure!

This lasted about 5 minutes!

For serious now

It is time. Time to get back in shape. I pretty much hate looking in the mirror. I know I just had a baby. I know. I know. 3 months ago. So it's time. I am ready to get out, and make some progress. It is super hard with 2 kids, I won't lie. Super hard. But it has to be done. I am not ready to take Ava to the gym daycare yet, and likely won't be til summer. She just doesn't have a ton of awake/happy time, and she won't sleep in her carseat or anything like that. It's just too much trouble at this point. Probably around the 6 month mark we can make it work, when she doesn't nap nearly as much. In the meantime:

My Plan-

30 Day Shred for strength.
Walking/running as much as possible outside.

Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays- walk/run as long as I can with both girls til one loses it. 30 Day Shred
Tuesday/Thursdays- Walk/run as long as Ava will tolerate it (Olivia will be in school), hoping she will nap a little while in there, thus forcing me to go longer. 30 Day Shred
Saturday- Maybe see if I can do a class at the gym. I'll take Olivia so she can play, and daddy can have some Ava time (likely, she will be sleeping anyways!)

I am going to go all out here and post some numbers.... I need to see a change, and to see it "on paper" helps! And it's a good way to keep it all somewhere I won't lose it!

Weight- 152
Goal Weight- 130, really 125, but realistically I would love to get to 130

BMI- based upon height- 26.9, officially "overweight"
Goal- under 24.9

Waist- 41 inches
Hips- 41.5
Thigh- 22.5
Bust (uh, nursing boobs mind you....)- 40

Ew. It's gotta change.

Oh yeah- let's review the challenges of working out while nursing:
1- finding a sports bra that will hold the girls up securely. All the while, praying you don't get a clogged duct or mastitis from having them squeezed so hard for an hour.
2- Drinking tons of water
3- Keeping up your calorie intake so your supply doesn't decrease.
4- Trying to be "empty" before you work out each time.

Fun stuff.

Bye bye pacs!

About 3 weeks ago I told Olivia that one day maybe she could take hers "pacs" to Build a Bear and put them in an animal she could sleep with. "No mommy, they stay in my bed," she told me.

Fast forward to last Wednesday. She woke up from her nap and I told her we were going to the mall, which she always loves. "Mommy!!!!! I need to get my pacs and put them in a bear to sleep with!!! Lemme go get them!" Uhhhhh, heart attack on my part.... calmly I say "OK! That will be so fun!" We talked about how that meant she couldn't put them in her mouth anymore. Apparently, this was ok. Mind you, sha hadn't used one at MDO in 2 weeks, so I had a feeling we were headed this way.

So we went, and she willingly did it! The first night took some tears, some extra stories and songs, but she went to sleep alone, without crying. Second night, no issues! First nap, some extra stories, and then she slept 2 hours!

I am so proud of her. It was waaayyyyy past due, and I'm so glad it went well!

Wordless Wednesday

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful:

That though I have my complaints with Ava's napping skills, she is 100% better than Olivia ever was.

That I have a husband with a great work ethic, who works hard to provide for us, and allow me to stay home with the girls.

For the beautiful view out my back door, and into my back door. Reminds me of that song, "But the view I love the most, is from my front porch looking in."

For the small amounts of time I get alone. They may be rare, but they really do change my outlook on life when they do happen.

Rocking Ava to sleep at night to the same lullaby CD that I rocked Olivia to. Smelling the same nighttime lotion on her skin, and remembering her as a tiny baby.

The view has changed, as it is now minus the playset! See the horses way off in the distance? They are Olivia's favorites!

Olivia- 2 months

Ava- 2 months

2 Month Pediatrician Appointment

Well, it was a ton of fun to take both girls to get shots on one day... that's what I get for delaying Olivia's shots for so long. I now have a 2.5 year old who has to get shots once a month. Yay.

Anywhoooooo. Miss Ava is 10 pounds 10 ounces and 23.75 inches. 90% for height and 50% for weight. She has gained a little over a pound a month since birth. She is a string bean!

She does have reflux and we upped her medication for that. I was originally skeptical of the diagnosis, but now really believe she does have it. She will grow out of it and that is a good thing!

As of last night she is sleeping in her room. This is about the same time as Olivia went to her room. I think it is step 1 in feeling a little more like life is returning to normal. I have to say, the newborn months aren't really my thing.... looooove my baby, but it's a tough time when they are so dependent for each and every little thing, and you don't get a lot in return. But the smiles and babbles are coming on strong now, and that is a lot of fun!

Weathering the storm

For those of you who aren't in this area, you may not know that we had a huge band of storms and tornados come through on Monday. The girls and I were just getting up from naps, and were sitting on our bed changing Ava. I knew it was coming, and could see the black clouds, but thus far it wasn't even raining yet. All of the sudden, the strongest wind I have ever "seen" hit our bay windows. Olivia started screaming, and I grabbed both babies and ran as fast as I could into the interior bathroom. I saw siding flying by the windows as we ran, and saw the above picture as we ran by the back door.

Got into the bathroom and finished fastening the diaper, and tried to convince Olivia this was fun. Without much luck I should say. Nursed the baby in the bathroom and thankfully we had a few books in there for Olivia to read. (Hey, the kid likes to read while she goes to the bathrooom! "Mom, I need a book, I'm poopin!")

Numerous concerned phone calls later and we emerged from our hole. Tried to glance at the damage, but couldn't see much else just by looking out the windows. My heart started to break as I looked at that playset. It was destroyed. Matt and the grandparents built it for Olivia's first birthday, and we play on it every day. The mommy guilt in me came through, as I realized how terrible I feel for not being able to take Olivia to the park (can't handle both kiddos just yet), but she could always play out there. And now it was destroyed. And no way would Matt have time to fix it anytime soon. Between work, keeping up the house, and dealing with the girls, it would be months I was sure.

Filed an insurance claim with little hope that it would be covered. Oh yeah, there is roof and siding damage as well, by the way. Insurance guy calls me back Tuesday morning, and THANK GOD! It's going to be covered!!!! So we are getting the numbers together for the playhouse, and labor, and it will be covered! So hopefully in the next 2 weeks, we will have a brand new playset for them!!!

All that to say, God is good.

Uprighted with the neighbor's tractor. Still destroyed

Olivia playing with two pieces from the set. Cute picture, but really she was screaming mad for her Daddy, who had gone next door to return the tractor :)