Thanksgiving festivities, footloose, rolls, and pigtails

mackenzie rolled over on saturday!!! i put her on her tummy for tummy time, and she started leaning further and further until she rolled over! i thought it might just be random, so i put her back on her tummy and she did it 2 more times. so proud of u little gal!

her first pigtails!!!! : ) i love her hair

tucker is our special child : ) we got these footie pajamas from my aunt. they are more cole's size, but tucker has a new obsession with them. and as you can tell, he feels quite funny when he wears them.



turkeys we made : ) this is the best picture i could get of the two of them. i swear, cole is human. really. the other pictures, well, we just wont go there. lets just say you could really tell tucker had to go number 1.

our 2011 family "thankful" tree

we did this for family home evening the monday before thanksgiving. once a week (usually monday) we have a family night called family home evening. our church leaders have asked us to do this, and who wouldn't want to? hang out with ur family and teach your kids the gospel? FAAABuLOUS! so we did a lesson on being thankful. : )

i totally could have added way more volume to that tree. i wanted to put like 30 more leaves on, but ryan said that that was enough. : ) it was soo cute to hear the things that the boys wanted to put on their leaves.

weekly fitness recap 6

what i did this week:

• monday-5 miles run, 3 miles spin


• tuesday-rest


• wednesday-denise austin indoor walk video- 3 mile equivalent


• thursday-rest


• friday-rest


• saturday-walk 1 mile, run 3.27 miles


• sunday-rest

pounds lost-1

pounds to go till prepregancy weight-6

i didn't do weights very much this week, so i need to definately include some more this week. there was a little bit of weight work included in part of the denise austin video, so im happy i got a little in. my goal is to do weights at least 2 times this coming week. **if you do toning exercises at least once a week for all major muscle groups, you can prevent muscle atrophy.

i felt good this week on the running! my right knee was a little sore after running, so i spaced out my next one. it has bugged me off and on since since middle school. my knee really hurts if my legs are weak and im running too much. so, i know how to ease my pain. i did a pretty good job at keeping up with my leg strengthening exercises while pregnant with mackenzie, but i still did lose some muscle. so ive got to keep building up my leg strength again.

my saturday run was supposed to be a long one. i was actually really excited for it! ryan came with me to the gym (for the second time this year), so i was even more pumped up! i warmed up with walking almost a half mile, then started running. after 2 miles, i walked another half mile, then finished running the rest until they paged me to the kids zone. mackenzie was screaming her little guts out. so, we left. my workout didnt go as planned, but that makes me even more excited for a long run this coming week.

i really want to go to a class at the gym on thursday at 905, but thats a lofty goal. one that ive had for like the last 2 months and i can't ever get there on time. my kids wake up at 7 and it takes all three of the kids and me almost 3 hours to get fed and ready in the morning. sooo.. im really going to try for this thursday. we will see.

im feeling a little better now that i finally lost a pound. i know its going to take a while for the scale to budge some more. i feel like im looking a little more toned, so its alright- ill take a pound. my official goal (weight-wise) is to be my prepregancy weight by the time mackenzie is 5 months old.

until next time, what is a fitness goal you are trying to reach?

*later this week im going to post on how i got into fitness

humility

as i sat in the chair in the locker room nursing mackenzie at the ymca, i was reminded again to be grateful. now, with this story, i am not asking for sympathy, i am just simply telling the tale.

there is a girl i see at the gym all the time who is probably 19 or so, super tan, bright blonde hair, always in short spandex shorts and workout tank tops, toned BEYOND belief. whenever she walks by, i usually feel a LITTLE on the "poor me" side. poor me that even though ryan loves me blonde (but says he thinks im pretty either way) i am too cheap to dye my hair blonde every 2 months because my hair grows too fast. poor me that i dont want to go tanning because i dont want to pay for cancer, even though sometimes i JUST REALLY WANT A TAN. poor me because i dont have super awesome workout clothes. poor me that she looks like she just walked off the cover of fitness magazine. poor me. but then after like 20 seconds i get over it. and im content and so SO happy with my life.

when we first got to the gym, mackenzie was hungry so i went to the locker room to feed her. today, i was in my baggy OLD byu phys ed shirt and some knee length old workout shorts. however, i strangely felt kind of cute because i had my make up somewhat done, and i actually styled my hair in an up-do sort of thing instead of just throwing it up in a ponytail. as i sat there nursing her, blondie mcbronzen came out in her victoria secret PINK zebra workout pants and a sports bra. it was like she was compeletely rubbing in all of her tan, toned, blondeness in my face all at once. note- i dont know her, and im not saying i dont like her, im sure she is super nice. anyway, i sat there starting to get down on myself thinking, why can't you control urself and stop eating pumpkin brownies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. maybe then you will get in better shape. you look so bad with ur frumpy, old clothes, ect. ect. ect. i was really starting to get down on myself. but then, i looked down. i saw my sweet mackenzie. i saw her incredibly precious little face looking up at me. when she was finished eating, and i picked her up, she smiled SO big and it melted my heart. and then i was reminded...who cares that i dont have the hippest workout clothes. at least i have clothes. who cares that ive got naturally ashy, dishwater blonde hair. at least i have hair. who cares that im pale as all get out. at least i have healthy skin that is disease free. who cares that she is so stinkin ripped and im not. get over your pride and be THANKFUL for a healthy body that God has given you. the healthy body that moves freely, hears, sees, and is able to help make and deliver the precious little babies He has entrusted to you. be thankful for arms that can physically HOLD these sweet little bodies.

i thank my Heavenly Father for the gift he has given me- MY body. i know that i-like many women- can get caught up in comparing myself to others. but that is not what life is about! so as i sit here with my muffin top and bags under my eyes, i am SO thankful. thankful for a healthy body and for the healthy bodies of my children and my hubby (and my extended family, friends, ect). i couldn't be more blessed. although they have changed my body over the years, my kids are my world. not my skinny jeans.

weekly fitness recap 5

******edited***** while in the shower after originally posting this, i realized i used the wrong term. a tempo run is a run at a pace that is faster than a jog, but not a full out sprint. it is a hard run, runners world calls it "comfortably hard". a fartlek run is when you alternate your pace from anywhere to a walk to a sprint throughout the entire run.***** just fyi
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since i already know tomorrow is going to be crazy, and sundays are always my rest days, i thought i would post my workouts for this past week early.

what i did this week:

• monday-rest


• tuesday-4 miles run


• wednesday-rest


• thursday-pintrest workouts* for 1 hour (it took me longer than it should because i was watching a show : )


• friday-2 miles walk, 2.5 miles run


• saturday-3 miles run, 2 miles fartlek run


• sunday-rest

*the pintrest workouts are found on my pintrest board titled "for me." if you look at my fitness post for last week, i put a pintrest workout that i did. this week, i did that one again, 3 or 4 times through (i should have recorded better, i cant remember. it was late at night), and then i did a workout where you start off doing 10 squats, jumping jacks, crunches, and pushups. after you do 10 reps for each exercise, then you do 9 of each, then 8, and continue to go all the way down to doing one of each. you could really do any 4 or 5 exercises that target some of the major muscle groups. that way, you could make up your own routine and possibly focus on other muscle groups that you want to target.

for my fartlek run- i ran on the track at the gym, slowly jogging the curves, and almost sprinting the straights.

let me tell you about this run i did today. seriously, one of my more awkward moments in my life in a public place. thankfully i didn't notice until i was home. i had already jogged the 3 miles on the treadmill and wanted to challenge myself a little more. i get uncomfortable on the track at the gym because it makes you run in front of a lot of people, and i just DONT like attention on me. but, i knew i would enjoy a fartlek run more on the track than on the treadmill. so, i just went for it and kept myself distracted of all the people and just focused on my running. it was a great workout! so much so that when i got home and got out of the car, i realized it completely looks like i peed my pants. or maybe i did and just didn't feel it. but im pretty sure its just sweat, and i almost died/dry heaved when i saw that. just fyi, fartlek runs are fun AND challenging AND will make you sweat more than you would like to admit. especially in places that you would like to remain dry and free of attention. : )

key words-

• repetitions (reps)- how many times you do the the exercise, for example, 8 crunches or 10 bicep curls.
  


• fartlek run- a fun run where you continue to alternate the speed in which you are running. running faster at times to gain improvements, while running slower at times to regain normal breathing and to recover slightly.

have a fun weekend! i know i am! im going to a church primary leadership meeting tonight, hanging with the hubs and kiddos after, going to church tomorrow, then a big family dinner afterwards with some of ryans extended family. do u know that he has 79 first cousins on just one side of his family? AWESOME!!

what was your favorite workout this week or what are some goals you are trying to reach?

while ryan goes hunting

ya know how i mentioned i wanted to learn how to sew? well, ryans fabulous cousin terriann has been giving me sewing lessons! im so thankful for her PATIENCE and kindness of sharing her knowledge. one of her blogs is found here- http://terriannhart.blogspot.com/. she has given 2 group lessons where we learned how to do a simple skirt and pajama pants. i made the simple skirt size 3/4T just because mackenzie was sleeping and i hadn't measured her beforehand. plus, they already had those measurements easily accessible on the website we were using. i haven't taken a picture of it, but someday you will see it, with mackenzie in it. its white with colorful polka dots : )

in a private lesson she gave me, i made this play wallet for the boys.

***please excuse my pale hands, i could totally be a hand model for twilight. im not really into those movies, but i do know they have really white people in it.

sew, i mean so, when ryan has gone hunting the last 2 weekends... this is what ive done. ive looked at blogs, watched the news/leno, tapped into my "creativity" via pintrest : ), and ive made these little diddies...

i made this skirt using the same directions for the simple skirt, just mackenzie's size now. then i just wanted to play around and i added flowers (from a headband my sister in law made for mackenzie but doesnt fit), the faux drawstring, and then i did a decorative stitch at the bottom- just to play around with the different stitches on my machine. it is definately not perfect, but it was fun, and i think its kinda cute : )

for christmas, i want to think that ill start the tradition of making the kids festive pajama pants. we will see how long that lasts though. i started tucker's pants at the group lesson, and i just have to hem the bottom to finish them. i haven't taken a picture of those yet, and im honestly too lazy to go try to find them to take one right now. these are coles pants i made tonight. i added the tag in the back from scrap fabric from tucker's pants to know front from back. buuuuut also to cover up a spot that i TOTALLY butchered. i think these turned out pretty cute too! dont look too close though... seriously.

ive got to teach myself to go to bed earlier when ryan's gone. i honestly told myself that i was going to go to bed at 10 at the latest. that goal went down in flames.

Santa! he's real! and at bass pro!

i love this picture! so sweet

the other day, we took the kiddos to bass pro to see santa. tucker had a hard time believing that santa would be there, but once we got to the winter wonderland, he was so excited!!! ive never been there with all of the christmas activities, so it was so fun to see a few(it was later at night) other excited kids, the carousel, games, candies, toys, all of the "elves," and santa, spreading the christmas cheer!

the boys were a little shy to talk to santa, but they ended up sitting on his lap and telling him what they want. so far, tucker wants a rope, a saw, and knee/elbow pads. and according to tucker, cole wants the same exact things... it kills me with how cute cole is! he is always trying to be like tucker, even with "wanting" the same random things for christmas : )

and here are a few pictures of my sweet girl in her sunday dress. i love the dress! it is do dainty and feminine. its from her great aunt debbie. i couldn't resist a photo session after church. she is beautiful!

***ryan is hunting at his grandpa's tonight and tomorrow, so wish me luck he won't bring home another deer for me to help "process" ; )

im late... surprise surprise!

well, maybe u should just expect a weekly fitness routine update, but not always on sunday. : ) ryan got home late saturday night, after a weekend of deer hunting at his grandpas. he didn't shoot a deer, but his grandpa did and let him bring it home. oh joy. (enter sarcasm there) so, short story long, yesterday was great- i woke up to ryan skinning and cutting the meat off a deer outside while the boys ran in their pjs around him (ew), we went to church, played with mackenzie for hours on end while the boys napped and ryan cut up and ground some of the meat, fell asleep in coles bed by accident (and the boys actually let me sleep, hallelujah!), played candyland with the boys, then read some from a book im reading right now. its called running for women, by kara goucher. shes an olympic distance runner and her book is so fun. im debating on returning it to the library today since it is a few days late, but i want to finish it. so, i might just buy it on amazon. : ) anyway, last night after the kids went to sleep, ryan watched the debates from last week on our computer, so i just read a few chapters in that book, and then went to bed. SO, here we are, on monday morning, doing my SUNDAY weekly fitness update : )

what i did last week:

• monday-rest


• tuesday-1 mile walk, 3 miles run, 20 minutes weights


• wednesday-rest


• thursday-denise austin core complete video (68 min)


• friday-pintrest workout*


• saturday-3 miles run, 3 miles spinning


• sunday-rest
  

weight lost- sadly, 0

pounds to go till prepregancy weight-7.5

i was a little bummed to weigh myself this morning. i feel like i have been controlling my portions better this past week, and i didnt eat as much sweets. AND i feel like my workouts were hard, so im a little disappointed i didnt lose any. but, whatevs! i just have to work a little harder. i know that when you are nursing, your body can hold on to a few pounds until you are done breastfeeding your baby, as to make sure you make an adequate amount of milk. so, im going to tell myself its 50% breastfeedings fault that ive been stuck right here for a few weeks ; )

*the pintrest workout was one i pinned on one of my boards. it caught my eye several weeks ago, seeing as it didn't use any weights, just your body weight, and alternated between upper and lower body exercises. when you alternate between doing upper and lower body exercises, you are not only strengthening the targeted muscles, but you are also getting a cardio workout. so, i finally got around to trying this workout on friday, and boy, am i sore! it was great! i loved it, and i will probably do that circuit at least once a week from now on. so here's the workout, it is awesome! i totally recommend it if you are trying to just lose weight, or even if u are training for a race.

*image from pintrest

smile big!

if these pictures dont make u smile... i dont know if u are human or not.

these were a few more pictures of yesterday after i cut the boys hair. i just love the look of a fresh haircut!

tucker wanted to make that face... for whatever reason : )

and then do some fly hand gestures, in which cole was mocking right behind him. whatever floats ur boats dudes

aaaaaaaaaaaand these are the faces i got when i said smile big : ) coles face is priceless. you all know what he looks like now when hes pooping.

"uh see!! uh see!!" he wanted to see the picture after i took it : ) he's getting so big!!

random thoughts

i just have a few thoughts/pictures i want to remember... so indulge me, k? : )

this was today, the boys just HAD to play outside, even though it was quite chilly! im glad i let them. it gets some of their energy out so they aren't bouncing off our walls... literally. i love seeing their tiny little bodies running around, jumping, pedaling, smiling...im sure going to miss these little bodies when they get big!

his ears totally glow in the sunlight : )

i cut their hair today, without any real battles! thank goodness for halloween candy.

every night before i go to bed, i go in the boys room to check on them and make sure they are tucked in. i just can't sleep without doing that. anyway, one night i went in last week, and this is how i found cole. the nightlight has become a new necessity in their room lately. tucker throws a huge fit if i take it out. so, cole just indulges himself and starts doing what he wants. which that night, just so happened to be gathering most of their books and getting them in bed with him. he sure does love reading! : )

so, ive always wanted to know how to sew. but, when it comes to trying something new, im pretty bashful. im a perfectionist- if i cant do something good from the beginning, i will avoid it like the plague. so, last christmas, my mother in law gave me a sewing machine! i was pretty excited, but felt a little overwhelmed. i have no idea what im doing. short story long, i went to go to a sewing tutorial ryans cousin (terriann) did, and i didnt have the power cord for my machine! i couldnt find it for a couple of weeks. i kind of just pushed it out of my mind. his cousin was having a private lesson for me the other day, and i just had to find the power cord! i finally decided it was time to say a prayer. i had tucker and cole come by me and i explained i wanted to say a prayer to ask Heavenly Father to help me find the cord. tucker wanted to say it. he asked Heavenly Father to help me find it. I looked some more, still no luck. i decided it was time to move on and do some laundry. as i was organizing mackenzies clothes, packing away ones that dont fit anymore (sad day), i found a target bag. ive looked in their several times over the past couple months, but i couldnt remember what was in it. so i indulged my curiousity, and there she blow! my power cord was in the bag with my baby monitor? rannndommm! i was sooo happy and excited and i showed the boys! and i helped them understand that God hears our prayers, and he heard that prayer tucker said, and he helped me find it! then we said another quick prayer of thanks. it was such a neat experience to have a prayer be answered so quickly over something simple. it made me so happy that the boys could experience that. if you can't tell, tucker is joyously holding the power cord : )

i think this is the first picture since the hospital of all 3 kiddos together. dont mind my nappy hair. i dont know how to do it anymore : )

just a little moment i wanted to capture. ryan helping the boys get their shoes on to go out to dinner. doesn't ryan look hot? i got him that sweater last summer on sale at target... i envisioned him looking studly, but when he came out wearing it that night, i was like, WOooooaAH NELLY! ow ow! ; )

me and miss mackenzie. : ) i feel so silly having my picture taken, even more so taking my OWN picture. but sometimes i just have to do it to prove that i was actually there with my babies since im usually the one behind the camera.

the other day tucker got mad at me for some reason, probably for putting him in time out for something, or i wouldnt let him watch a movie. something like that. anyway, he got mad and said he "hated this place" and that he was leaving. i told him ok, go pack ur bag, ur leaving now, and i stood with the back door open waiting for him. he shockingly said ok, and went to his room. he came back with a mcdonalds halloween basket with an outfit in it. i was trying so hard to not laugh. while biting my lip, i asked him if i could take ONE LAST picture before he left. and this is what he gave me : ) all smiles. i love this kid.

and then he decided he changed his mind and wanted to stay. : ) im happy he did.

sunday(late) fitness recap

my fitness routine this week:

• monday-2 miles walk, 2 miles run


• tuesday-20 min. elliptical, 6 miles bike, 25 minutes weights


• wednesday-rest


• thursday-1 mile walk, 4 miles run


• friday-the firm workout dvd, 2 minutes denise austin core workout dvd


• saturday-rest


• sunday-rest

i felt pretty good about this week's workouts. i would have liked to work out one more day, but i am satisfied with 4 because i worked HARD on those other days. i dont think i lost any weight since my last weigh in. i dont remember what the last number was, but i know i have 7 pounds to go till prepregnancy weight. i am breastfeeding mackenzie still (which i am so happy about) and i have to make sure i dont have a dramatic weight loss and lose my milk because she will NOT have anything to do with a bottle. with tucker i nursed for 2 months and lost my milk. i think it was because i was working out hard but then not eating enough to keep my milk supply up. with cole i nursed 4 months, trying harder to drink enough and eat enough while still losing weight. i still lost my milk supply though. my mom had a hard time producing milk, so i think it might be genetic. but i am hoping i can get at least 6 months for mackenzie. she is a good eater and so far she just does not like drinking from a bottle, so i gotta take it slow on the weigt loss. im fine with weighing more, as long as my workouts and diet are helping my body transform into a more toned physique. which brings me to my next topic...

i still feel pretty unhappy with how i look in my birthday suit AND in clothes, because im just not fitting in my (cute) old clothes the same... yet. im not going to let my frustration stop me. one of my things is i am not going to buy bigger clothes just because i can't fit into hardly anything nice yet. i just wear my older clothes that aren't so hot that are from when i was bigger in high school or a few of my maternity shirts that aren't super maternity-ish. it just makes me want to work that much harder to fit into my cuter clothes. i never have had a muffin top, but with mackenzie i got one! and its lingering... and im not diggin' it. but it pushes me! i think if we gain weight-from pregnancy or just life- and we buy the bigger clothes to fit us, it just makes us get complacent. i understand you want to look nice at any size, and i have been SEVERELY tempted to go shopping cause i feel frumpy, but then i wont try AS hard to get back into my prepregnancy shape/weight.

there were a couple days this week that i felt pretty depressed seeing how my body had changed. but then as i stared, i kept getting the thought that i needed to be grateful for a healthy body! i was humbled. so, if you are struggling with me on this weightloss journey, just remember to be thankful for a body that is able to move and function! even if it isn't exactly how you want it to look, remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. look yourself and tell yourself you are beautiful! seriously, ive done it a couple times, and im trying to do that more. as soon as you wake up and go to the bathroom, look at yourself and say, "i am a gorgeous daughter of God. i am beautiful!" i can only imagine how much better you will start to feel, and how proud Heavenly Father would be to hear you loving YOU, one of his perfect creations. : )

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one of my nephews came to play with the boys one morning. they wanted to be airplanes with FIRE on their wings? what the? i dont want to be on that flight! and then they wanted parachutes. it is seriously so fun to see the kids have fun with just simple things like streamers and bags!

pretty in pink : )

caught a smile!! sooo sweet

they constantly fight over holding her! i dont mind that kind of fighting : ) such sweet big brothers

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time out for women!

we went to time out for women in kansas city! i went with my friend carolee and mackenzie, and we met up with our other friend rachel who is moving there. it was so great to hear uplifting talks and music, as well as just having some girl talk and laughter! it was so invigorating to be surrounded by women with such strong faith in our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. a fun weekend with some great memories! and contrary to the picture, mackenzie was FABULOUS the entire time! she seriously did not cry except in the car and like, right when we took that picture. she was a trooper, and im so glad i took her with me! : ) but, if i go again, i probably wont take a baby. she was great, but i couldn't really take notes, so i already forget a lot of the insight i gained. oh well, i remembered a few things and they have already changed me for the better! thanks girls!!!