Monday, April 30, 2007

Monday

Today was a good day. I felt somewhat productive (I didn't get as much done as I liked, but there's always tomorrow). I got my stuff done at church after getting Stephanie off to school. I actually made storytime at the library with Kacie and ran into an old friend. Then I had lunch with another friend. I really had a good time today. I know the nice weather helped too.

Food
1 c. Crispix, 1c. milk (4pts)
Large Chef's salad (5 pts.)
Oreo 100 Calorie pack (2 pts)
Hb Helper Cheesy Hashbrowns, greenbeans (10 pts)
Banana Smoothie (4 pts)
Water -- Not enough....why do I have such a hard time with this?????

Exercise
I started Week 2 of the UWC over this week. I was supposed to make 1/2 mile in 12 minutes. Well I did that in 9 minutes so I thought I would push myself for the 3/4 mile and the 1 mile. Well I did the 3/4 mile in 15.5 minutes and the 1 mile in 20 minutes. I'm going to have to work on the 1 mile, but I think it was because of all the singing I was doing while walking. Stephanie insisted on singing EVERY song she knew while we were walking. Boy was I out of breath and songs by the end of our walk.

Cooking
I didn't get to cook for Charlie tonight, but I did cook for us girls. He'll get left overs tomorrow night. It wasn't anything exciting: Hamburger Helper and green beans.

House
Well after this weekend's cleaning I really didn't want to do anything with house cleaning today. However, I did work on finishing last weeks chores that I didn't get done. Luckily since this weeks chores focus on the living room, it will be a light week for house work.

Devotional
I haven't done one in a while, so I'm looking forward to getting back into the groove of things tonight. It's amazing to me how easily I let this slip from my daily routine. I'll post 2 of them tomorrow night (or I might just start posting the one from the night before each day).

Throughout these last few weeks I have been learning about myself and how easily I get distracted from my goals by life. I'm trying to use this knowledge each day to make better choices for tomorrow.

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Starting Again

Last week was a crazy week. My grandmother came in on Wednesday, so I spent the rest of the week enjoying family time. My walking seemed to suffer since I didn't want to leave her here by herself (just an excuse, not a reason), so I'm going to repeat last weeks UWC schedule. I just don't feel ready to move on yet. I weighed this morning and I'm happy to say while I didn't lose any weight this week, I didn't gain any either.

I've really slacked in all my resolutions this past week, except for cleaning (I did it all in one day instead of spreading it out. Hopefully won't do that again!). I am looking forward to getting back on track.

Look for my regular blogs starting tomorrow.

Thanks to all of you for your constant support and prayers.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Update

Some of my accountability partners have been on me today to post since I haven't since last Thursday. This will be short as the weather is getting bad here.

Things have been going well. I have been sticking to my diet. I have been walking every day. Steph even wants me to walk on my 1 day off. I got me a better scale so I can weigh more accurately.

I weighed yesterday and I had lost almost 6 pounds since April 12th. I'm so excited.

I'll talk to everyone soon.

Thanks Sarah and Jenn for the reminders and for caring enough to check on me.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Not a Good Day

Yesterday was a difficult day, but today was even worse. Yesterday I had to constantly tell myself I wasn't hungry so I wouldn't eat anything extra. Today I totally got off my goal. Thank goodness there's always tomorrow. Back to the grindstone.

Food
I really don't want to talk about it.
4/18
2 slices cinnamon raisin bread, 1 c. milk (6pts)
1 cheese enchilada, 1 bean tostada, rice, beans, tea (15 pts)
Cheese burger deluxe casserole w/ground turkey (7pts)
100 calorie pack chips ahoy cookies (2 pts)

4/19
Frosted mini wheats, 1 c. milk (5 pts)
Turkey sandwich on wheat, broccoli cheese soup, tea (stopped counting here)
2 1/2 slices pizza
3/4 dreamcicle ice cream bar


Exercise
4/18--Charlie, the girls and I did UWC 3/4 mile in 15 minutes. TWT--23 minutes. I also never stopped moving while cleaning around the house all day.

4/19--Well I never stopped moving today, but only because the wheels on my car were moving. We are going to do today's walk early in the morning.

House
Well yesterday's housework was bittersweet. We took alot of things to the Crisis Pregnancy Center. It was so nice to get the baby things out of Kacie's room, but so sad to think how fast she's growing up. We also took some other things to the Battered Women's Thrift Shop. Clutter is moving away!!!! I spent the afternoon cleaning, vacuuming, and dusting both girls' rooms. They sure look good now. I can't wait until they do this on their own.

Today, I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, but wasn't home the rest of the day to work on the house. I'm going to finish "Flying" tomorrow. I just have the girls' bathroom to clean and I'll be done for the week.

Cooking
4/18--Cheeseburger Deluxe Casserole
4/19--Pizza thanks to the in-laws

Devotional
It's too ironic that I did so much house cleaning yesterday because the devotional last night was about "bringing in the recruits"--making your children responsible for chores around the house. Steph helps out with the dishes (plastics and silverware) and sometimes helps with the laundry. I really liked her ideas/strategies for getting children to do chores. I think this summer I'm going to work on teaching Stephanie to be more responsible for her things and start working on chores. Boy, won't THAT be FUN!!!

I sure am glad that each day is a new day. I need a new, refreshing start tomorrow!

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Better Late than Never

My posting is late today, because I was so tired after trying to get Stephanie to bed, I just couldn't sit down and type.

Food
1 1/2 c. Golden Grahams, 1 c. milk (5 pts)
WW Roasted Turkey breast dinner, Quaker Mini Delights (6 pts)
Turkey Combo w/ salad from Chilis, corn on the cob, french fries (20 pts)
1 c. grapes (1 pt)

I had to dip into the extra points for the week today. Thank goodness they are there.

House
I put away most of the clothes I folded last night and worked on the dishes. I really didn't follow Fly Lady today. I just couldn't get into it.

Cooking
As you can tell, I didn't cook today. At least my kitchen was clean after dinner!!!!

Devotional
Today was NO MORE MOMMY GUILT! Lysa's beginning quote today was "Pease is not the absence of conflict but the persence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict." by Dorothy Thompson. How very true. We all need to be creative coming up with conflict resolution since no two situations are the same, and no two children are the same. But the real lesson I learned was in Lysa's rules for "No More Mommy Guilt!"

1. I will no longer be fooled into thinking that my kids came to me good and anything bad they do is a reflection of my poor mothering. My children are going to do things that make us cringe, but that does not make me a bad mother. They are not perfect and neither am I.

2. I will have the courage to let them live with the consequences of thier bad choices. This one is so hard. We want to do everything we can to make their life wonderful, but sometimes we have to let them learn. They can't always learn from our mistakes; sometimes they have to make their own, as hard as that is on us. I sure would rather my girls learn from my mistakes than to live with the hurt making those mistakes will cause them.

3. I'm going to stop feeling guilty over telling my kids no. And for me I'm going to stop letting others get me to that point. I see other mom's letting their kids do what I've told my kids no, and think to myself my poor kids are missing out! I get upset when others say that I should let them do something after I've already told them no. Or better yet, they let them do it after I've said no. Lord, please help me here.

4. I will not compare myself to the seemingly perfect moms I know. Help me to remember that none of us are perfect, just being perfected through You!

Satan, you are not going to cripple me with guilt any longer! NO MORE MOMMY GUILT!!!!!!

Monday, April 16, 2007

Flying High

Today started off so wonderful. I was able to go eat breakfast with some of my mommy friends. It was so nice to be able to visit with other mommies. Then I came home and had some "me" time, went to pick up Steph and we had some family time, then after Charlie went to work, I had some girl time. I got a little bit of everything good today. I also added 2 new components to my program: cooking dinner for my family (if you know me, you know this will be VERY difficult at first) and working on the house daily (again, if you know me........).

Food
3 pancakes, 1 egg, 1 bacon, iced tea (8pts)
Quaker Mini Delights, 1 c. milk (4 pts)
Beans and rice (10 pts)
Ceral & Milk (6 pts)

Exercise
UWC--Week 1, Day 1: 1/2 mi in 10 min. I actually walked it in 9 minutes, but I could tell that I had pushed myself too hard in the beginning. I'm going to try harder to pace myself better tomorrow. The girls went with me again. I'm really enjoying this time with Stephanie. She loves being outside.

Cooking
I did cook dinner tonight. We had red beans and rice with some leftover ham in it.

House
I know God gave me this house, and just like I need to take care of my body, I also know that I need to take better care of my house. I want everyone to be comfortable here, most of all my family. I also want to know that I can have company over at the last minute without feeling rushed to get it presentable. This is where the Fly Lady comes in. I've done this program before, but got out of the habit of doing it after I had Kacie. Well, I'm going to start "flying" again.

Tonight I washed 4 loads of laundry and folded even more ( I don't even want to think about how many loads, they've been sitting in the basket for a few days). I also cleaned the kitchen after dinner. Then I moved to the hallway coming from the garage (the catch-all area) and straightened it up; put extra shoes away. Now Charlie just has to move his stuff, but that's another day.

Devotional
Boy this was totally for me today. It was on boundaries. This has always been difficult for me, but I'm still working at it. It was talking about what children need to become emotionally stable: love, acceptance, and stabilty, not a friend or slave. It was talking about how important it is to set boundaries for yourself and for your kids, and enforce those boundaries. They will help build strong and successful children. Isn't that what we all want?

I really can't wait for tomorrow's: NO MORE MOMMY GUILT!!!!!!

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Day of Rest

The sermon today was about dealing with Sensory Overload in our lives. Pastor talked about how resting was important to God for our rejuvenation. So that's what our family did today: came home and rested. Then tonight we took the girls to the church for babysitting while Charlie and I went out to dinner and bowling with our friends from Sunday School. It was so nice to be out with friends with no girls. I love the girls, but I sure love "Grown Up" time. It was very restful.

Tomorrow is my official start day for the UWC. For the next 8 weeks, I'll be walking Monday through Saturday with Sunday for a day of rest for my body. I'm so excited about this because I have such a WONDERFUL support system of family and friends behind me. Thanks so much.

Food
1 c. Total Raisin Bran, 1c. milk (5 pts)
1 Sausage Kolache (5 pts)
1 c sugar free/fat free jello (0 pts.)
Chicken Fajitas (18 pts)

Exercise
Today was my day off from walking, but I did go bowling tonight.

Devotional
Again, I haven't done it before typing this, but the one thing that stuck out for me today was James 1:19--Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. How important this is to remember with everyone, but especially our children. Even our spouses. How often do we jump to conclusions without all the information or begin formulating a response while they are still talking. We need to be sure we are truly listening and not just hearing. I pray that this verse gets deep in my soul and that it comes to mind in difficult situations.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Mommy Insights

Today wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. The weather was cold and dreary to start off and I didn't get much sleep due to the weather last night. But once I finally got up and got moving, I did pretty well. I'm going to have to work on getting up and getting motivated earlier so I can get more done in a day (or maybe have more "ME" time).

Food
Blueberry Bagel, 8 oz milk (8pts)
Hot dog w/mustard, diet dr. pepper (6 pts)
Spaghetti w/ meatsauce, bread (14 pts)
1 c Grapes (1 pt)

Exercise
Well the weather here was not really good for walking outdoors, so I thought I was going to get out of walking today. However, my good friend suggested walking at the mall. We walked 2 laps around the mall, dodging every teenager in Baytown while pushing my girls in the double stroller. Let's just say "Obstacle Course".

Devotional
I was able to do my devotional for last night and the one for today before posting tonight, so I'm writing about both.

Yesterday: "I Love Smelly Shoes"--Thankfulness. I have worked so hard with Stephanie teaching her to say thank you to others, but sometimes I forget how much I have to be thankful for that never gets recognized. Lysa says in this chapter that she often becomes distracted by her blessings and forgets to thank God for each of them. "Do I see the loving husband I've been blessed with, or do I just grumble about his faults?" How often do I do that???? "Do I see the home I am blessed with, or do I just grumble about the constant chores to keep it clean?" Lord, please forgive me! The best part of this was when she says to "pull back the veil and peek behind the messes, chores and faults of others" and "see the treasure of what these things represent. I'm a wife! I'm a mom! I have the privilege to fulfills these eternally significant roles for some pretty amazing people.....my family!" I pray that I can be truly thankful for each of the blessings in my life, and pray for all the smelly shoes I come in contact with, trip over, pick up throughout the day and the blessings they represent to me.

Today: Super Mom vs. Slacker Mom. Two things really stuck out to me today: "a hat should fully express who I am, not just what role I am playing at the time" and "Children cannot believe in themselves if the most important people in their lives don't believe in them." This devotional really got me to thinking about my role as Mom. Do I want to be the overbearing Mom who has their child doing things for their "experiences" (or maybe mine), or the Mom who doesn't put them in anything so we can just stay home. I pray that I will be able to find the happy medium. I feel right now I'm a little too close to the Super Mom side of things. I try so hard to do all the right things, that I miss out on all the joys of the girls

Friday, April 13, 2007

Day One

Well, I started parts of my new routine today. I am going to use Weight Watchers (WW) as a food guide and the WW Ultimate Walking Challenge (WW UWC) as my exercise guide.

Stephanie and I talked about how I was going to get rid of my tummy to which she responded "Then where's your food going to go?" She also MADE me go for my walk today. I had tons of excuses for not going: the stroller was dirty, the weather was nasty, we had a playdate scheduled. I asked her if she was ready to go to the park to play with her friends, but she told me, "No. We haven't gone for your walk yet." So needless to say, we got ready and went for our walk.

Food
2 Eggo Multigrain waffles w/butter and syrup, 1 c. milk (5 pts)
Ham, turkey, cheese sandwich on wheat, 1 c. grapes, 1/2 c. baked beans, water (7 pts)
Gravy steak, mashed potatoes, corn, dreamcicle bar, diet dr. pepper (probably way more points than I had left, but it sure was good)
Water--8 glasses

Exercise
WW UWC--Week 1 Day 1: 1/2 mile in 10 min. I actually walked about 1.25 miles because once I walked my 1/2 mile I had to turn around and come home. I took the girls with me so I was pushing an extra 45 pounds for resistance. Total Walking Time: 25minutes

Devotion Time
Well I haven't done mine yet today. I usually do it before I go to bed each night, but my goal is to try and do it earlier in the day. Maybe I'll do better tomorrow.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

The beginning!

Well everyone went to the dr. today for a check up. The girls are doing great; it's really hard to believe it's been over a year since I had Kacie. I also got a good report except the dr. was very unhappy with my weight. Well DUH!!!! So am I. After I left the drs. office I decided I had to do something for myself. I'm going to start the Weight Watchers Ultimate Walking Challenge officially on Monday (but I'm going to walk some tomorrow and Sat). You will probably be seeing a LOT of posts on here about my progress. Mostly they will be for journaling, but please hold me accountable to this. I am not a strong person when it comes to taking care of myself, but I know I need to be if I want to be around for my girls. I am also doing some of my blogging at www.myspace.com/debbiereynolds. These may be less detailed, but will help me stay focused on my goal.