Snowy Walk

We are going stir crazy here. Between colds and snow, it seems like forever since we got some fresh air. We went to my parents' house yesterday. The air wasn't freezing and they have sidewalks, so we went for a nice walk.

Caitlin made snow drawings.

Dog.

Despite the garden lion still being mostly covered in snow...

we saw hope for spring.

Next time, we will wear boots though.

Go to Living and Learning for more posts on Nature Connections.

Our Lives in Photos

I love project 365. It really gives you a glimpse into our ordinary daily lives. Here's what we did this week: Davey thought the bookcase and leaning on Maximus was a good place to play his Leapster. Caitlin and I watched Ramona and Beezus. Caitlin overcame her fear of jumping into the foam pit from the big wedge. The kids wore their rain boots to brave the weather. (And yes Davey's are on the wrong feet.) We had a day with blue skies even though it was freezing. Caitlin drew some pictures and had me write some unusual titles like "Rocket Bit Star."

Join NapTime MomTog to view more project 365 posts or to join yourself.

Be sure to check out The Daily Wyatt for more great photos.

Still Sick

When I said last Friday that I would be able to work out again soon, I was being overly optimistic. I got sicker over the weekend. I went to the doctor's on Monday. She gave me lots of drugs and sent me for a chest x-ray. Fortunately, I don't have pneumonia and the medications seem to be working. I'm still wheezing and coughing but things have definitely improved. I hope to be well enough to workout this coming week. I haven't been sick like this in years.

I also discovered that my scale is probably not working well after Dave weighed himself several times in a half hour and got several different weights. According to the scale, I lost a pound this week. I kinda like the scale right now. Anyway, I plan on buying a new scale this weekend and a measuring tape. It is on the list now, so as long as I don't lose the list I should actually purchase them.

So let me live vicariously through you, what workouts did you do this week?

Caitlin and Me

I loved the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary. I remember reading them as a kid. I was so excited to start reading them to Caitlin when she was old enough. We have a read a bunch of them. Caitlin seems to enjoy them as much as I did as a kid (and now.) We rented the movie, Ramona and Beezus this week. It was so nice to cuddle and watch the movie with my little girl.

Join the year long challenge of getting yourself in the photo at Diary of a Church Lady. You won't regret it. This is 49/52 for me.

Go to Simply Modern Mom to share photos of what motherhood is like each week. This is 7/52 for me.

Just Like 1995

Be sure to head over to see what all the other cool kids are wearing at Feet Off the Table. Check out more wordless at 5 Minutes for Mom, Momspective, A Beautiful Mess and Wordless Wednesday for more wordless photos.

Buzz Sleeping and the Sick Date

Sometimes going to infinity and beyond is just too tiring to make it through your snack.

Davey falling asleep on the couch before bedtime makes me happy. It totally stops the nightly requests for another drink and more books.
Be sure to go Leigh vs Laundry to see more photos that are bound to make you happy.

We are both still sick. I look forward to breathing without wheezing. Anyway, Dave and I were not up for very much excitement this week. We watched Beverly Hills Cop. It is part of Dave's Make Vicky More American Initiative. I am American and have lived here my whole life but there are some pop culture things like rated R movies that I just was not exposed to as a kid/teen. Dave laughs when someone asks if I remember a big movie from the late 80s/early 90s. Chances are if it was at all racy or had foul language, I didn't see it. My parents were a bit overprotective. I think I turned out ok despite it.

Anyway the movie was funny. The laughing did cause more coughing. Maybe we should stick with dramas till these coughs clear up.

This is date 45 out of 52 for us. Go to Simply Modern Mom to join in on the fun. Simply Mom is no longer posting weekly dates but I still want to finish the project.

This Week in Photos

We have been pretty sick here this week. That explains the photo of some of our meds and my foot under the down blanket. We did manage to have a little fun though. We had a scavenger hunt, ate cupcakes, wore our pinkest outfit, took a self portrait, and had some serious bedhead.

Join NapTime MomTog to view more project 365 posts or to join yourself.

Be sure to check out The Daily Wyatt for more great photos.

Not Much Fitness This Week

So I lost 2.5 lbs this week. I'm totally not sure how I did that. I only worked out once this week. I have a really bad cold (sinus infection and bad cough). I purr when I breathe. I also didn't eat well this week. I ate junk and too much too. I'm one of those lucky few who never loses their appetite and sleeps less when sick. So this week's lose is weird but welcome.

I'm actually feel better today. I no longer purr when I breathe. I'm not ready to get back to the gym today but I should be able to soon. I definitely will eat better today.

How was your week?

Arm Length Portrait

Another arm length self portrait. I own a tripod. I really should use it sometimes ;)

Join the year long challenge of getting yourself in the photo at Diary of a Church Lady. You won't regret it. This is 48/52 for me.

Scavenger Hunt and The Fighter

Our Valentine's Day scavenger hunt makes me happy.Be sure to go Leigh vs Laundry to see more photos that are bound to make you happy.

What feels more romantic than pink eye, colds, and an allergic reaction to penicillin? Just about anything else. That is what we were dealing with yesterday for Valentine's Day.

Fortunately, we celebrated early on Saturday. The in-laws babysat so went went out to lunch, shopping, and a movie. A simple date is really appreciated when time away from the kids together is sparse. We enjoyed conversation and relaxation. We saw the movie, The Fighter. It is really a great film. The acting is superb. Mark Wahlberg plays Micky Ward, a boxer trying hard to overcome obstacles to rise in the boxing ranks. Christian Bale is almost unrecognizable playing Micky Ward's crack addict brother. You really want Micky to make it. I love watching movies based on true stories.

Seeing Mark Wahlberg without his shirt on is worth the $10 for the ticket alone.

This is date 44 out of 52 for us. Go to Simply Modern Mom to join in on the fun. Simply Mom is no longer posting weekly dates but I still want to finish the project.

My Wacky Family in Photos

This week's photos are mostly of my wacky family. Davey bowled without a ball, served fog at the kids museum, and fell asleep in the middle of blocks. Caitlin posed with her wax lips and went to her first father/daughter dance with Dave. Dave blasted the ice in the gutters with water from the hot water heater. It worked. We also made heart crayons with the old broken crayons for Valentine's Day.

Join NapTime MomTog to view more project 365 posts or to join yourself.

Be sure to check out The Daily Wyatt for more great photos.

Trigger Foods

Still can't figure out why Blogger is turning my photos.

Triggers foods are foods that cause me to binge eat. I made these cute chocolate covered rice Krispy treats for my kids but ended up eating way too many. Sometimes those low fat healthier snacks just taste too good. Not that rice Krispy treats are healthy but the are healthier than eating a Snickers bar. Everything is relative. Totally defeats the purpose of eating a lower fat and calorie food if you can't just eat one portion. Lesson learned no more trigger foods in the house.

I only worked out 4 times this week. This the first week since I started in January that I haven't made my 5 days a week goal. Some times life gets busy and despite good intentions I didn't get a 5th workout in. I could have worked out at 8 pm but I was just too tired on Wednesday.

Here's what I did do:
Friday-rest
Saturday-circuit training 30 minutes and jogging for 15 minutes
Sunday-rest
Monday-elliptical trainer 55 minutes
Tuesday-circuit training 30 minutes and jog for 10 minutes
Wednesday-rest
Thursday-Jogged 5 miles in 52 minutes

I'm pretty happy with my 5 mile treadmill jog on Thursday. I haven't jogged that far in quite a while. I'm so happy that I joined a gym this winter. I definitely wouldn't be running outside in these freezing temperatures and poorly plowed roads. I'm still jogging pretty slowly but I am still moving. I hope to speed things up over the next couple of months.

I ended up with a 3 lbs. gain this week. I think some of it is due to those rice krispy treats and some due to natural fluctuations. I really need to buy that tape measure.

What did you do this week?

Blue Skies

The temperatures are still freezing here but it sure is nice to see the blue sky again. Blogger changed the orientation of this photo. It was horizontal. Anyone know how to fix it?Go to Skywatch Friday to see skies from all around the world.

No Makeup Photo and Bowling Without the Ball

This is from this morning. I realized again that I slacked on getting myself in a photo. Caitlin asked to get in the photo too. This is what we look like first thing in the morning, no makeup or even hair combing. Hope we didn't scare you.
Join the year long challenge of getting yourself in the photo at Diary of a Church Lady. You won't regret it. This is 47/52 for me.

Watching your kids makeup new rules is definitely part of motherhood. We couldn't find the bowling ball but that didn't stop Davey.

Go to Simply Modern Mom to share photos of what motherhood is like each week. This is 6/52 for me.

Why Using Carrots is Wrong

Cute snow man right?

Maximus says, "Delicious snow man."

Maximus is concerned that he missed some of the carrots and starts digging for more.

Then he licks the carrot flavored snow.

Be sure to head over to see what all the other cool kids/snowmen are wearing at Feet Off the Table. Check out more wordless at 5 Minutes for Mom, Momspective, A Beautiful Mess and Wordless Wednesday for more wordless photos.

Building Castles and Dream Invasion

Seeing Caitlin's creativity at work makes me happy.

Be sure to go Leigh vs Laundry to see more photos that are bound to make you happy.

We finally saw the movie Inception this week. It was a great movie. There is so much going on in the movie that we will probably rent it again to see what we missed. I found the movie a little creepy. Basically the technology exsists that allows people to enter into another person's dreams and even plant ideas into their brains. Creepy concept for sure. I just think about how a lot of what was is in sci fi movies has actually occurred years later. I definitely hope dream invasion is not something that scientist are working on.

Dave and I enjoyed cuddling on the couch watching a movie we really wanted to see. We also had a lot of discussion about the movie after too.

This is date 43 out of 52 for us. Go to Simply Modern Mom to join in on the fun. Simply Mom is no longer posting weekly dates but I still want to finish the project.

Trying Project 365 Again!

I'm a little late (5 weeks) joining Naptime MomTog's project 365 but Naptime MomTog is nice enough to let you join anytime. I'm giving 365 another shot. Wish me luck.

As you can see this weeks' photos were mostly snow related or things we did when we couldn't get outside. Is it spring yet?

Join NapTime MomTog to view more project 365 posts or to join yourself.

I'm also linking up to The Daily Wyatt. Be sure to check out The Daily Wyatt for more great photos.

Healthy Eating Time Savers

I'm still working on sticking to my calorie allowance and healthy eating plan. I did pretty well this week. I find making a big salad that will last 2-3 days helps me make good choices. I've had salad with fat free dressing for a snack a couple times this week.

We also had hot spicy chicken salad for dinner once. I absolutely love hot spicy chicken. I buy chicken in bulk when on sale. I then poach it with chicken bullion. After the chicken cools, I shred it and put it in individual serving freezer bags. It makes cooking during the week easier. I often saute the chicken in low fat dressings and/or hot sauce.

I try to buy chips in individual serving bags or bag my own after measuring them. I also make sure to have fruit on hand too. Having easy to grab healthy snack makes eating well easier.

Here are my workouts for the week:

Friday: Jog 20 minutes, weight training circuit 30 minutes, and 10 minutes of walking
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Elliptical trainer 55 minutes
Monday: Elliptical trainer 55 minutes
Tuesday: Shred It With Weights level 1 with 5 lb. kettlebell (25 minutes) and Elliptical trainer 25 minutes. The Shred workout was much easier with the 5 lb. kettlebell versus the 10 lb kettlebell I used last week. I wasn't even sore. I think it is time to try the level 2.
Wednesday: Elliptical trainer 55 minutes
Thursday: Ran 5 k on treadmill in 31 minutes and 26 weight training circuit

My hard work paid off this week. I lost 3 lbs. So far I'm down 7 lbs. I wish it was more but I'm happy that the weight is coming off. I just hope it is not my body's natural fluctuations. I really need to buy a tape measure to take my measurements.

How'd you do this week? If you have a link, leave it in the comments and I'll stop by.

Fuzzy Socks and Painting with Cars

Yesterday I realized I didn't have a single photo of myself this week. We have had two snow days in a row. I was rocking my snow day gear, pjs, big sweatshirt, fuzzy socks and glasses. So this is all you are getting this week. Do you stay in pjs all day on snow days?
Join the year long challenge of getting yourself in the photo at Diary of a Church Lady. You won't regret it. This is 46/52 for me.

Entertaining kids during snow days is a challenge, especially with all the snow days we have had this year. I decided to let them paint with matchbox cars.

Their smiles made all the mess worth it.
Now I just need to figure out activities to occupy them for the rest of the day? When is bedtime?

Go to Simply Modern Mom to share photos of what motherhood is like each week. This is 5/52 for me.