The way she sees it.

You know, I should have been excited that I lost two pounds as of Sunday.  I haven't weighed myself since.  Mostly because I do not have a scale.  I broke mine.  True story.  Turns out, you can only bounce on your digital scale to reset it only so many times before it shatters.  Don't worry, I laughed and laughed and laughed.  I must have burnt hundreds of calories from that.  Anywho.  As I was saying, I should be more excited about those two pounds, but I had a bit of a reality check? setback? Not sure what you'd call it.

Setting the scene: In my huge walk in closet. (It is, it's massive.)  I just finished clothing myself in spandex from knees to shoulders.

Kaija: "Mom!  You don't wook wike a mom!"

Me, heart melting: "I don't look like a mom? Awwwww!" I almost started strutting my stuff like a model on the catwalk just then.  No lie.

Kaija: "No, Mom.  You don't wook wike a mom, you wook wike a dad!"

Me: "GO TO YOUR ROOM AND DON'T COME OUT UNTIL SUPPER!"  Kidding.  Although, I kinda wish I had said that. Kidding.  Sort of.  Hmmmph.  Kids.  They tear down everything good in your life.  Kidding.

I still kinda like her.  Maybe just not as much as before.  KIDDING.  Geez.  You fall for it e.v.e.r.y. time.

But, seriously.  I've been sticking to my reg like glue.  Maybe not super glue.  Maybe more like cheap glue.  It's really hard when you crave chocolate.  One way to solve that?  I look forward to my protein bar snack every day.  Which is partly what keeps me working out.  The thought that I can "help my muscles recover" with that chocolate substitute after the hard work. It's totally worth it. The "chocolate" doesn't even taste that bad when you don't allow yourself the real stuff.  Another bonus?  I'm perpetually sore.  With each movement, I'm reminded of the hard work I've put it.  It's fabulous.  It really is.  So fabulous that I can't wait for it to be done.

Other than that:

We have lots of fun stuff coming up.  We have three vacays booked: Disney World, Chesapeake Bay, and Outerbanks.  I wasn't kidding when I said we are going to take advantage of being out east.  *happy sigh*

And, we are almost in the market for a new vehicle.  Almost. Once we get our cashola saved up.  The green beast? Outsky.  It can't happen soon enough, IMO.

We broke down and bought a Sleep Number bed.  It's better than the hammock we were using, but I'm not completely sold yet.  Only time will tell.

Logan?  Knock on wood, but I think he is settled in.  Makes life more enjoyable.

And that, my friends, is exactly what we are doing right now.  Enjoying this life.  It's a good one. Even if I wook wike a dad.

'Sup?

The reg.

You asked for it, Aimos.  The rundown of the new regimen: 

(But, remember.  It's tailored to me.  For how much fat I want to lose and how much lean muscle I want to build.  My total weight won't change by much.)

Strength training 3X per week.  Different areas of the body each day.  This is different for me, as I've always done a total body workout on strength days.  Muscle confusion, people.  

Cardio 4X per week.  If doing it on the same day as strength, it has to be done after strength training.  This is because cardio will zap your energy supply.  

Nutritionally: it's all about the protein/healthy fats/complex carb ratio.  Basically, for my personal goal that I chose, I need to eat a gram of protein and a carb for every pound of my current body weight.  Divided by five meals.  I always knew five meals was what was recommended.  But, that's a lot of work, peeps!  I mean, seriously, it is.  The lazy part of me just went with three and then a hefty dose of snacking in the evening.  Whatev.  Now I have a plan.  And I know what to do diet-wise.  I never really bought into the whole counting calories thing.  Or was too lazy.  Plus, you can still eat unhealthy things that way, so it can seem sort of... wrong, maybe.  So, we will see if I can pull it off. Of course, there are a lot of vegetables that are "free" and I need to eat at least 4-5 servings of them.  Basically, I'm not going to be hungry or depriving myself and I'll have enough protein to help build lean muscle.  

And, as with many diet plans, a cheat day.  A day that I do not pay attention to the protein and carb content.

Oooh!  Speaking of adding veggies, I've been making Dr. Oz's (revamped) green drink for a couple weeks now.  Everyone loves it.  Even the kids.  I'll have to plug the info into one of the online nutritional tools and figure out the carb info, as there is a lot of fruit (complex carbs) in it.  I highly recommend it, though.  It's a fabulous breakfast drink with some protein in the morning! 

Re-training

Have you ever realized that you aren't as smart as you thought you were?

And that you have been missing out on a key facet to improve one part of your life? 

We joined a gym here.

Finally.  

And when we joined the gym, they offered one free personal training session.  

I've always said no to this.  

Until now. 

Holy wow! 

Do you know that you can have your body analyzed?  

Like, percentage of fat? 

Lower body strength? 

And on and on. 

I did not know.  

How did I not know that personal trainers do this?

Why have I not done this?

Ugh.  

I can't believe I'm this far into my life without such a thing.  

Geez. 

Also, it reaffirms the way I feel.

Turns out, I have a very healthy body image.

I'm pretty close to where I thought I was.

And the place I want to be?

Totally spot on.

No, I'm not crazy.  

I've mentioned it casually here and there, and usually end up with a reaction that makes me 

second guess the way I see my body. 

Ha.  

I'm not nuts.  

Thankyouverymuch. 

So. 

Today, on Valentines Day, I start a new program.
With exercise and meal plans. 

Yes.  

Even though my dear husband is cooking! 

(I love that man.) 

I got a plan.

In writing.  

And here I go! 

Whassup, bro?

I'm telling you, I didn't realize how much I'd enjoy having Izzy home more often.  She goes to school half days, which seems silly after half a year of all day, every day.  Either way, I'll take it.  The kid is hysterical.  In this sequence of pictures, she was telling me a story. It goes like this:

 "Hey, Mom! Is Stormy black and bwown?" (That's the neighbors dog.)
"Ummm, yeah. " (He's not.  He's grey and black.  But, whatev.  I lie when I'm lazy.)
"Oh, because his bwothew just walked by.  And I think Stowmy was looking out his window.  And he's all 'whassup, bwo?' "
And she proceeds to demonstrate, over and over.  Adding the hand motions.
And the best part? She's teaching little sister to be just like her.  Happy sigh.  Even down to her clothes.  If you can't tell, Izzy wears her favorites until they are almost to small.  And little sister just wears any of Izzy's clothes. We don't care.  It's how we roll.  After five kids, some battles are hardly worth it.  She went to the gym today with two different leopard prints together.  And just like Izz, the shirt was smallish.  Who even cares?  Little sister has pizzazz.

AVCD's

 Kaija, Kaija, Kaija.  She is either on or off.  Happy or mad.  Funny & sweet, or really not fun. 

Today she tells me, "Mom!  I know my A-V-C-D's.
A, v, c, d, x, i, a... a, v, c, d, x, i, a!"

Wow, baby girl!  You will blow away the competition in Kindergarten. 

 Not two minutes later, she asked me if I was going to let her use our jacuzzi today or not.  When I told her I didn't know, she told me, "My bum is weally diwty, Mom."  Well... then... who can say no?

Gosh, I love those little paycheck moments.