Exercise Enjoyment

Well, I think it is official.  And I never, ever, EVER thought that these words would come out of my mouth!  I think I like running.  Like I look forward to it.  And I like to challenge myself.  And I can run farther than I have since high school I am fairly certain.  Whoa!  So weird.  I think it makes me a better momma.  And I have more energy.  I love being able to throw the earbuds in, crank up one of my favorite, fast playlists, clear my head, and hit the pavement.  I've been running on the treadmill some, but I hate that.  I get so bored!  But when I am outside, I feel like I can just keep going!  On days when the weather is milder, I try to run outside to get sunshine and fresh air.  And when I run in my neighborhood, it is quite the challenge...we have got some major hills.  But I know it is good...even though when those hills are on the return trip home and I feel like I  may not make it :)  But it makes for a good challenge!  Not too long ago, I ran in my mom's neighborhood for 30 minutes.  I don't even know the last time that happened!  And this past weekend, I ran for almost that long (which totaled about 2.4 miles).  Sure, I may not have the fastest pace there is, but I am running and moving for that long without stopping!  And I feel such a sense of accomplishment afterwards!

I also think I have found another new love for working out - Tae Bo.  There is a new studio that opened up here and I had thought about trying it out.  A friend of mine was going and posted on Facebook to see if anybody else was interested, so I thought that'd be perfect!  And your first class is free, so that is definitely an added bonus :)  Last week, Billy Blanks (Mr. Tae Bo for those who don't know - feel free to google!) was in town teaching classes at the studio (the studio's owner happens to be his daughter), so my first class was with Billy Blanks as the instructor.  I was a bit nervous to say the least!  The class was a basic class and ended up being a lot of instruction on form and technique and then putting the moves to work.  At the end, he put on some music and we all danced it out together - SO fun! After class, I saw others taking pictures with him, so I jumped at the opportunity!

 I went to another class on Tuesday and have not sweat that much in a LONG time!  While I do love yoga (for getting a good stretch and peaceful exercise), I much prefer sweating big time!  That's why I usually love things like kickboxing and zumba!  Well, Tae Bo definitely fits this list as well...no one else was registered for this class, so it was just me and the instructor.  It, again, was a basic class, so we worked on technique for a while and then would do the normal routine with music.  I was so hot and sweaty at the end!  And I loved it!  I think I'm going to get a package of passes there so I can go at least twice a week.  It is also nice because they have childcare that actually accepts babies, so Jack can hang out for an hour while I am doing a class and while Katie is at school! 

Thank goodness for technology, too.  When I run outside, I use an app called Digifit to track time, pace, distance, calories burned, etc!  It is free and awesome!  I also, like I've mentioned before, use My Fitness Pal to track calories in/out.  Since I started using MFP, I've lost 32 pounds!  Just from counting calories and exercising!  It definitely helps to know what you're consuming and motivates you to exercise!  I'll do another post on that another time, but I am on my way to fitting in all my pre-Katie clothes (!!!!) - except for the fact that my body is just shaped differently after being pregnant twice!  But I feel awesome and can't wait to continue the downward trend!

*Are you on MyFitnessPal?  Leave a comment with your username and I'll find you! :)  Seeing others' progress is always a good motivator to me!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm back!  It feels like forever since I have done a WILW!  Well, even though there are so many other posts I need to do to catch up, I decided to jump back into this today!  Today I felt like focusing on some good quotes (for the most part), so here we go!

I'm LOVING this quote - and isn't it the truth?!  Each day brings new challenges as a parent and we just do the best we can.  There are definitely times where I feel like I'm screwing things up, but then Katie will walk over and give me a hug or Jack will lean in and hug me and I know I must be doing something right!

 I'm LOVING this quote - there really is always something to be thankful for.  Even if things don't seem to be doing the right way, it is all about perspective!  I may complain about little petty things, but in the whole scheme of things, it really isn't that big of a deal!

 I'm LOVING this quote - I know I have heard it before, but I love that the words are all in the shape of a heart here!

 I'm LOVING this - SUCH a good reminder!  If I remember these little words of advice, life will be good.  My only problem is while dreaming big, I need to be realistic also :)

 I'm LOVING this bag - I laughed out loud when I saw this picture!  While I am not in a book club (I would love to be though!), I have a feeling a lot of times this is what it turns into!  

 I'm LOVING these two cuties.  Aren't they sweet? :)  

I'm LOVING the Red Stamp app - that's how I made that little card!  You can make cards - with pictures, or not - and email them or save them and post to a blog or Facebook or text them...SO fun!  And the designs are excellent!  Best part?  It is free :)

What are you loving today?  Want to link up?  Jump over {here}!

Weekend Recap: Sick One, Bike Time, + Dress Talk

Well, I had all of these ideas about ways we would spend this weekend, but Katie had other plans! She woke up Friday morning and did not feel good!  She actually climbed in bed with me and snuggled and was whiny - never a good sign.  When I got finished feeding Jack his bottle, I found her asleep in her bed - DEFINITELY not like her!  So she slept until about 9:45 and then we had a relaxing morning together while Jack napped.  I thought maybe getting dressed and getting out of the house may help - poor thing...she was so pitiful!  We went to one consignment sale and then came home.  I took her temperature...it was 99.5 - not too bad.  I layed Jack down for a nap and she and I had quiet time...and she fell asleep!  Again, not like Katie!  By that evening, she had a temperature of 101.2 I think, so we have her fever reducer.  All she had during the day was pink gatorade and some goldfish crackers...she acted hungrier that night, so she had kind of a hodge podge of items for dinner.

 When she got up Saturday, I thought she was doing a little better...not so much.  She dozed off and on all day and was living off of pink gatorade.  At one point, her fever got up to 103.1...thank goodness for fever reducer...and thank goodness it did its job!  I headed out that evening to pick up some more pink Gatorade and fever reducer...to say we have a large supply of Gatorade is an understatement.  I went to two Walgreens and ended up with 2 reds, 2 purples, and 4 pinks...plus some Pedialyte! I also picked up a little stuffed dog with bunny ears for to to snuggle with...she named him Snuggle Bunny and he has been by her side ever since Saturday night!  She did eat a few goldfish and few bites of fruit Saturday night...oh, and mini pancakes for breakfast Saturday.

 This is what my Saturday night looked like after the kids went down.  I had to drop all my consignment stuff off Sunday afternoon, so I had some tagging to do!  Brad was nice enough to help me match the item up with the tag, and then I have a tagger (that tags things like in the stores), so that speeds things up ... I hate using safety pins!

Sunday we woke up and Katie was MUCH better - no fever and a normal energy level!  YAY!  We had a low-key day at home to let her rest up...we colored, watched a few shows, and even got outside for some fresh air for a few minutes!  I managed to cook a yummy dinner (coming up on this week's Foodie Friday) and we got both kids bathed and in bed in time for me to watch The Oscars (I DVR'ed it so I could start late and fast forward through commercials)!  I loved Jennifer Lawrence's dress!  Oh, and my DVR only recorded for 3 hours so I missed the end!  I did see the cast of Les Mis perform...and Adele...but I missed all the last awards (and apparently Jennifer Lawrence tripping on her dress)!  Oh well - I was really tired anyway and caught up on the award-winners this morning :)

{Katie was all about drawing some traffic lights!}

 {...and then cutting them out!}

 {And then it was time for some fresh air...cute pic on the bike before taking the bow off and putting the helmet on...safety first!} 

{Love this!}

 {I just love this picture...Katie was going downhill and you can also see Sadie running to keep up in the background!}

 {Nothing better than some Daddy help on the bike!}

 {And this, my friend, is my favorite...talk about an action shot! HA!}

 {And little mister sat in the stroller and watched all the craziness...soon enough he will be right in the middle of it all!}

 {Sweet Sadie...when I see pictures of her, I see that she is getting more and more white around her mouth/nose area (what we refer to as the "snoot")! This is not allowed!}

 {And another action shot...I asked Katie to jump as high as she could ... and I actually caught it!}

By last night, she was pooped...she got on the couch with Brad to snuggle and he was on the iPad and noticed she was awfully still...this was the result!  He told me to come see and she was snoring by the time I got in there!  See Snuggle Bunny?  He is going everywhere with her now!  But we said he was just for when she didn't feel good - we will see how that works :)  I have a feeling we have a new bed buddy on our hands!

And here is Jennifer Lawrence and her dress...

front

back

And here are a few others that I thought looked gorgeous!

Though the weekend didn't go like I thought it would, I'm glad we got some down time!  Now I'm off to get all of us ready and head to dance class!  SO glad Katie is better (and that the rest of us seem to have stayed healthy - knock on wood)!  Happy Monday!

Favorite Family Picture Ideas

So I realize I may have gotten a little carried away with these family picture ideas, but I just can't help myself when it comes to photography and pictures!  I decided to start the collection of pictures with my maternity pictures from when I was pregnant with Katie.  It was so fun to go through all of these pictures! So prepare yourself...

Here are a few pictures from my maternity shoot when I was pregnant with Katie...

 {I can't believe I wanted to do pictures showing my belly!}

And next up?  Early pictures of Katie - I think these were at 5 weeks...

 {This was my bonnett when I was a baby - LOVE this!}

Some pictures taken when we took a Christmas card photo are next - I love the pictures of us with Katie individually...

 Pictures of kids with one of their favorite toys are always fun, I think!

 Such a goofy expression!  I think this would be a cute one to put out at her 16th birthday party :)

And here are a few others from our Christmas card shoot in 2011.  I love the first one - Katie was really the center of it all (until baby brother arrived - ha!)...

 Action shot! Sadie was running around all crazy and Katie thought it was so funny!

And now, a few favorites from the maternity shoot when I was pregnant with Jack!

And the newborn session pictures of Jack....he was 7 days old here!

 And some others from our Christmas card session from last year!

 I've been meaning to get a copy of this one done - LOVE!

 Love this one too! It just makes me smile :)

 And Katie and her buddy....

Now, that's not to say all family pictures have to be in official sessions.  This was us as a family last night - reading a bedtime story and saying prayers!  Love that we all pile into Katie's bed - and she loves it too! Excuse my funny face...Jack was pulling my hair!

\I can't wait to see what ideas other folks have for family pictures.  I am slightly obsessed with pictures (I even took some for friends to use on their Christmas cards last year!) and cannot wait to get more ideas!  Want to visit all the others or link up?  Jump over to Kelly's Korner! I love her Show Us Your Life series every Friday!  I'm also linking up with Follow Friend Friday!