March 2009 | Crazy Adventures in Parenting

March 31, 2009

Busy Mom Fitness - Eating Right, Special K & Recipes - Day 5

Baby Weight Be Gone - A Busy Mom's Guide to Fitness

I promised Sunday to share with you what I'm eating while dieting. This isn't something too complicated, or too hard to make. In fact, the thing I like about the diet I'm on is, I can prepare everything all at once, one day a week, if I wanted to, to have it ready, reach for it, heat it up, and eat right alongside my family, without difficulty or holding me or anyone else up.

First up, breakfast. Usually it's coffee, followed by a Special K bar, eggs over easy with Mrs Dash Table Blend, and/or a piece of fruit. I eat a little bit here, a little bit there throughout the morning, while drinking water. The Special K Bars are great, by the way, only 90 calories, not a lot of sugar or sodium and are good for 'tiding you over'. I like the multi-pack with different flavors. Mrs. Dash is a great substitute for salt, or in conjunction with salt, too. It has lots of great seasonings in there. It adds flavor to what otherwise would be pretty bland, you know?

Next up, lunch. Yeah, buddy! Here we have two nice thick cuts of lean, low-sodium turkey, or chicken breast, along with vegetables, and a nice leafy salad with a little low-fat french dressing on it (the best, tastiest, low-fat dressing I could find so far), along with a baked potato, with a smidgeon of butter (to make it not so plain) and some Mrs Dash again. This looks like a lot of food, I know. It doesn't all get eaten in one sitting. I prepare it all for lunch, ahead of time, and eat some, and stop when I begin to feel full. Eat some later, and stop again. I prepare it as I'm preparing everyone else's lunch, so this way, when I get hungry after lunch, there it is, ready for me to keep going back to it as I'm hungry, and it's healthy. A good, no-excuse way to eat healthy.

For snacking purposes, it's another Special K bar, piece of fruit, perhaps some more vegetables, or a salad, or some of these bad boys - Special K Italian Tomato and Herb crackers. I hardly ever eat all 17 crackers they say are only 90 calories. I find these pretty filling, especially at that late night semi-rumble, when I'm looking for something "snacky", I grab about 5 or 6 and am fine, and don't feel like I need a whole box. Just that amount calms my urge, which is nice.

Dinner is where I like to get a little creative. Chicken breasts and turkey are what's on the menu (since I can't get good fresh fish like I'd like it here), so I get a couple packages of boneless chicken breasts and have them bagged up, marinating in something tasty, and pulled out the afternoon I want them for dinner that night. My dinner consists of a chicken breast, or turkey breast or slices, with a baked potato or whole wheat pasta, and vegetables and another salad. And again, it doesn't all get eaten, and if I feel like eating again (because I eat a little here, a little there, all day long), I go back to it, too, just like lunch.

I find many ways to keep it interesting and would love to share some secrets here with you. Shown above is Lemon Chicken (on the far left). To make, season the chicken with a little Mrs. Dash and garlic powder, and pour into a sandwich baggy some lemon juice, seal it, and refrigerate it for a day. The next day, after flipping it (so the lemon gets both sides), freeze it until use. To cook, you can bake it, steam it, or, as I like to do it - saute it. I cook it whole on both sides, adding a top to the pan to steam and saute at the same time, and once it's been slightly browned, I add a little more lemon juice while I cut it up into bite size pieces to ensure it gets cooked thoroughly and quicker. Keep it on medium to medium-high, and if the lemon juice reduces too quickly, be sure to add a little more. So flavorful!

Another quick and great way to flavor chicken is to use salsa. But keep an eye on the label to be sure they didn't spike it with a ton of salt, or anything. Why not make a Mexican Chicken dish using whole grain rice and some great beans? Just cut up the chicken, saute it with some salsa (enough to coat it) and serve over rice. Super easy, super flavorful, super yum.

The best advice I have for you is to try to keep it simple, the less you use the better, the less complicated it is, and the less you have to worry about the gazillion ingredients you've got going on, if they're all okay for you, etc. We are busy moms, after all, and easier is indeed better, especially since we're so busy we fall into the pre-packaged trap quickly. But, I encourage you, if you need a little 'sumthin sumthin' to allow you to feel like you're splurging, when you're not, try this homemade ranch dressing on for size!

Low-Fat Homemade Ranch Dressing

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
1/2 cup low-fat or canola mayonnaise
1.5 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated (the "shakey cheese" kind, as we call it)
1 tsp dill
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp butter
a splash of milk (Depending upon how thick you want is, you use the desired amount of milk to get the desired amount of consistency)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together with a fork or a whisk until well combined. Use sparingly, but enjoy :)

Here is what I use to make the above:

See? You can have your cake and eat it too! I don't use too much when I do decide I need a lil ranch (after all, I am an addict!) but I find little to no difference than regular ranch, and it tastes better than those low-fat ones on the market!

What's your favorite way to cheat without cheating?

Never miss a post! Subscribe here for all kinds of crazy parenting fun!

What Are Your Favorite Posts of Mine?

(Oh my word, am I ever tired. Did you see the first title of this post? It originally read "What's Your Favorite Post of Mine?" I then changed it, so you could vote for more than one, to supposedly read "What Are..." but instead? My non-sleeping self wrote "What's Are..." Big DUH. Wow. I need a nap. STAT!)

Today I want to tackle a favorite posts section on my blog. Everyone out there recommends that you should have a "recommended posts" widget, or area on your sidebar, for new readers to get caught up on 'oldies but goodies'. Or if you're creative, or you don't want to clog up your sidebar further, you can go bigger and better with a button and create a page of your "greatest hits" of all time.

But how do you choose? Is it your favorite posts, or your readers favorite posts?

So, I decided to do both. I'm picking my favorite posts, and I'll pick yours, too. What else is really cool about doing this? If you haven't read back into some of your favorite blogs' archives, now you can, and help them as well! It also gives you the opportunity to get to know your favorite bloggers a bit better, unless you read them from the start.

Now.. what are favorite posts of mine? :) Give me 3, 5, however many you consider your favorites. Just comment below with which you liked the best. They could be ones you thought were funny, or ones you thought were cute, or ones you thought you could relate to most, or moved you, or ones that are just plain silly.

Or, if you're a new reader, or it's your first time, would you mind navigating through my archive section for a few minutes today, and see what pops out to you, and read a few? If my posts interest you, awesome, read on if you'd like! If not, no harm, thank you for your time anyway! :)

Whatever your reason for choosing, I don't want to base it solely on posts with the highest number of comments, or then all my contest posts would win, haha!

I think this might be fun! Want to join me? If you decide to do this on your blog, too, please let me know in the comments - I'll hop over there and vote for my faves of yours too!

For more tackles, visit 5M4M! (Don't forget to vote in m sidebar for how you prefer to respond to comments in blogs!)

Oh, and more Busy Mom Fitness in a few!

Never miss a post! Subscribe here for all kinds of crazy parenting fun!

To Do Tuesday - Week 8

If this is your first time reading and you're wondering what To-Do Tuesday is all about, click to check out the first post to find out more.

So, here's the scoop. I apparently suck at getting my list completed. {blush} I'm just putting on too much that I can't possibly accomplish, the over-achiever that I am. I just can't do it, despite me liking to think that I can. I can't. I just can't. And the fact that there are things on this list week after week unchecked ticks me off, to be honest.

I really can't seem to move on over to do some of these things, because I have eleventy-billion other things happening. Soccer just ended, thankfully, freeing up some extra time, now, but my husband just began rotation, which is his busiest time at work, leaving me to wrangle the kids alone a lot of times. Just me.

And the thing that kills me is, I've been working out, and getting fitness really in there. I've been spending some A-MA-ZING time with my children, too. Pretty soon I'm going to have to work gardening and watering plants on into this equation.

I am just doing too much.

So, in an effort to cut myself some slack, and in an effort to appear like I can actually complete a list once in a while, as opposed to never, I'm keepin' mine manageable this week.

Must Do
(This is the important stuff, or stuff on every week)
Finish letter for housing w/ pictures
Grocery shop
Work Out at least 30-60 minutes a day
Weekly cleaning
Tuesday - BathroomsOut front
Wednesday - BedroomsOut back
Thursday - KitchenClean out van
Friday - Living room/side room
Saturday - Dining Room
Sunday, Monday off
Blogging:
Respond to emails every other day 1,3,5,7
Respond to comments every other day 2,4,6
Check reader, attempt to clean out, perhaps clean it up a bit
Write posts:
Busy Mom Fitness Series posts
post about frames project
indent tutorial
tagline contest
this weeks post for H2B@H
this week's post for TypeAMom
post new contests
Vlog for NewBaby.com
start posting queued reviews here
Tackle It Tuesday/Blissfully Domestic
Wordless/Wordful Wednesday
Thankful Thursday Thirteen, A Thousand Words Thursday
other posts in queue
If I can manage to complete the above, then and only then am I allowed to even consider doing anything else ever previously listed. Ever.

So... I think I can do that. I want to do that. I think every other day on comments and emails will help, and if there's time I can get it done and save myself the next day's work, you know?

These lists have truly helped me, in so many ways, get my head back on straight. Housework gets done in a way I can get it done. Blogging and emailing and all of that, it's straight. What I'm having the most trouble with is uninterrupted time. I go to bed at a normal time again, instead of up all night, so my late night uninterrupted time is no more.

You see my dilemma now, don't you?

Would you like to join us this week for To-Do Tuesday? I promise this isn't anywhere near as hard as I'm making it on myself. Making these lists isn't difficult (unless you're me and trying too hard to do too much like me)! Start with a few things. Don't over-do it. Look at me, see me as your example there.

Just so you know, you can join us at anytime, it doesn't have to be on Tuesdays - the list will go up every Tuesday for you to link to, but you can make your list and link to us at any point in the week!

Remember, with "To-Do Tuesday", we're attacking our to-do lists each week, blogging about our lists and what we've got going on, and sharing it with each other to help keep each other accountable. Everyone should come back here to link up in the Mister Linky as the central "To-Do Tuesday Hub" so we can visit who's participating and offer encouragement to each other throughout the week. Don't forget to add the "To-Do Tuesday" button to your post, linking back to this post!

Let's continue to cross items off our list as we go and help support each other in completing our lists! Don't forget my useful HTML tutorial on how to effectively "~~cross-out~~" or "check off" your items on your to-do list!

Never miss a post! Subscribe here for all kinds of crazy parenting fun!

March 30, 2009

Soccer Mom

Saturday was the end of season soccer "tournament" which was played on squishy grass and mud, in bone-chilling temps, with take-your-breath-away wind. As if that wasn't enough, the "tournament" rules itself didn't make much sense to me. It was double elimination, which means, it took two losses to be eliminated, except, there weren't that many teams playing. So our girls played a team, beat them, but faced them again in the championship game, because they won their next match, and in the end, lost. This is a team that hadn't lost all season. I guess 3 games in one day will do that to you.

The boys team, however, took their championship. They were in the championship because of forfeits, though, as their 2 previous teams bailed on them. My son was not pleased at all, to not play soccer all day, and to be advanced to the championship by default. The win, though, was still sweet.

In the end, after all the cold, the mix-ups, the crap we'd endured all season by this town, these teams, the refs, and everything, we were excited to see a medal draped around our kids' necks, hopefully ending the season on a right note. Only that didn't happen. As if to issue the final blow against us, after being told all that participate get a medal, when we went up to get our teams medals, we were told medals were only for their kids (the town we played in and against all season) and not for our children.

That made me one pissed off momma.
I mean, how do you buy medals for only YOUR children, when you HOST the tournament!?! Even if you didn't want to buy for OUR kids, can't you at least let us freakin' know so we can do the same as you?

Needless to say, our children are getting trophies made as we speak, at a local trophy shop, and ALL of them, EVERY ONE OF THEM are going to get a medal.

As if I needed more reasons to dislike this area as much as I do.

Nonetheless, Sunday turned the sourness of Saturday around with a parents vs. kids game. In the bright sunshine - not too hot, not too cold. It was beautiful. And perfect. And we all had fun, even mom, running up and showin' the young whipper-snappers a thing or two. Scoring too (on another parent who volunteered to goalie for them). They still kicked our butts, though, like 13-6. But that's ok, because we had fun, we got some color on our skin, some fire in our hearts, some exercise in our rickety old-parental bones, and some great bonding made-of -awesome memories to look back on someday.

And a bruised boob.

Yup. Leave it to this breastfeeding momma to trip on a divot and fall on her left side, landing square on her almost-full boob. Ouchies.

Hey, at least I looked good. Haha.
See that shirt and jacket? They have a story to tell. More on that soon.

Never miss a post! Subscribe here for all kinds of crazy parenting fun!

March 29, 2009

Infant Beethoven

Ya think?? :)

Never miss a post! Subscribe here for all kinds of crazy parenting fun!

Busy Mom Fitness - Eating Right and the 6 Week Body Makeover - Day 4

Baby Weight Be Gone - A Busy Mom's Guide to Fitness

It was after my nine-year-old that I realized I wasn't going to shed the baby weight so easily. I was put on bed rest for the first trimester, after I bled a lot with him, and even though he was alright during those scary times (thank goodness), they asked me to quit my high stress job, park my pregnant butt on the couch for the rest of the trimester, and, if I was okay after that, find a low-stress desk job from there.

The problem then became my weight gain - 40 lbs worth, from the combination of bed rest and desk job during my pregnancy. Suddenly I had weight I didn't know what to do with, a newborn who needed me, and a body I no longer recognized.

Around that time I saw a new infomercial for 6 Week Body Makeover and took the plunge. I'm happy to report, it worked, and I lost almost all of it, and got down to this:

After that, though, my weight came back after a car accident. A car accident which injured my back and neck and prevented me from remaining active like I had been, and it's been a battle with my weight since, especially after children. I'm limited by what I can and can't do, because of the location of the injury and my upper body's range of motion. However, despite that, I've been able to learn a great deal about not only what is healthy for my body to do, to lose weight by working out, but also what I can and can't eat to help me. Thankfully, the 6 Week Body Makeover was gentle enough on my injured body, with my injuries, so that, after a baby, I was still able to lose weight.

You see, part of the 6 Week Body Makeover isn't just about working out, and appropriate exercises, but also very much about what you should eat. It's the whole package. The 6 Week Body Makeover believes that you should actually eat more often (something I had always believed to begin with, before the program).

When I was in high school, I learned this from a very wise, very knowledgeable health teacher, whose opinion I valued immensely. She told me there are two things that raise your metabolism - activity, such as walking, and eating. If you eat several small meals a day, as opposed to three big meals a day, you'll encourage your metabolism to go and keep going throughout the day. If you combine eating with a metabolism-raising activity, such as walking, one after the next, you could even further raise your metabolism that much quicker.

So, for instance, if you eat a small meal, and then walk after you eat, you'll be keeping your metabolism up, helping burn fat and calories, eventually losing weight. Then an hour or so later, eat again, then dance with your kids while cleaning house, again you'd be raising and keeping raised your metabolism, roasting calories.

Coupled with this knowledge already in hand, the 6 Week Body Makeover encourages this same line of thinking, eating several small meals a day, and then further taught me what foods I should eat during those meals. It wasn't about the typical "No no, fat is bad." It was "No, no, you're too muscular already, so red meat is bad, as it will bulk you up further in areas where you're already bulky."

Red meat? Bad for me? Really?!

And they were right. I was muscular in certain areas, and I wasn't looking to bulk up further. I was looking to tone and shapen while losing weight. And by listening to their advice, I've been able to do that. I did it then. I did it again. And again. I'm factoring that knowledge in now. (Recall, I've had a few babies, *ahem* hence my need to keep doing it over and over).

So I did as it told me to. I ate chicken. I ate turkey. And everything else it told me to eat. And I steered clear of what it told me I should avoid - red meat, salt, milk (and other things). It also said that, if I felt like cheating, or had to cheat (impromptu eating out, or banquet, etc), then to do it, to cheat, it is okay, just get back on the diet for your next meal/snack. I also did the exercises they said I should do, which involved stretching, strength, aerobics like walking, and using their purple variable resistance band.

And I lost the weight, just as they said I would. Why? Because they knew my body type. I knew what I should be eating, and what I should be doing to help my body. My body type? I'm a B.

(FYI - This is strictly my experience. This isn't an "infomercial" or anything, I promise. I'm not telling you this because this is a paid endorsement, or I'm earning a commission. Not in the least. In fact, I haven't spoken to them to tell them about this post whatsoever. In fact, I'm really disappointed to read that a few people who had the same desire as me to lose weight, ended up with problems with charges to their cards and such. My advice, with this and all products and programs you see on TV, read for yourself, on this and others. Knowledge is power, after all.)

I told you in the beginning that I was going to pass along my experiences with some of the popular weight loss solutions out there, so that you can use my experiences to help you choose what is best. This worked for me, however, it may not work for you.

What I am saying is, armed with the appropriate knowledge of what you should and shouldn't eat will only help you be more successful.

6 Week Body Makeover calls it "Body Blueprinting", in which they ask you a series of questions, and designate your body type for you, based upon your answers, as to how to proceed with your weight loss. Pretty comprehensive, if you ask me.

Did you know the guy, the mastermind behind the diet is the guy who trains all the people on Extreme Body Makeover - Michael Thurmond? And to think, I bought this way before those "makeover" shows. Cool, huh?

So, even if you don't want to do the diet, at least for the sake of it, take their "Body Blueprinting" quiz. It'll give you a body type breakdown of what they suggest you should eat, and what you should stay away from. And it will help guide you to the foods you should be looking out for, and hopefully, better assist you, as it did for me, in helping you eat the right way.

Keeping what I learned in mind, every time I diet, I immediately go to this program. I don't do this program on it's own, mind you. I like doing other things, and changing it up often to keep my body from hitting that diet-stopping, depressing plateau most of you are probably familiar with - when you get a good weight loss regimen going, and weight starts coming off, you're doing well, and then all of a sudden, nothing. No weight loss. No change whatsover. Isn't it so disheartening, especially when you're working so hard?

To prevent that plateau, I change it up as much as I can, and keep it going.

My recommendations to you, busy moms, are - don't cram a meal all at once. Eat a little here and there throughout the day. Help fire that metabolism up, keep it going. You may feel hungry a lot, but hunger is good, it means it's working, and your metabolism is burning what you've eaten quickly. Do something aerobic after you eat. Keep that metabolism pumping. Take a walk with your kids, dance while you sweep, vacuum vigorously, something to get your heart pumping. And if you haven't done it already, take the test and find out what foods you should be eating. It will help, and every little bit helps, right?

I bet you're wondering, just what have I been eating on this diet? That's for the next post, along with some recipes and recommendations on some tasty dieting products. Stay tuned!

Never miss a post! Subscribe here for all kinds of crazy parenting fun!

March 28, 2009

Busy Mom Fitness - Sweeten Your Disposition - Day 3

Baby Weight Be Gone - A Busy Mom's Guide to Fitness

How do treat sweets? Are you a sweet-a-holic, or do you rarely eat them? Are you a carb-fiend? Sweets and carbs can slow, stall, if not slam shut your ability to lose weight. Measurements need to be taken to limit your sugar and sweets intake, as well as cutting back carbs to a respectable level. I'll talk more about simple and complex carbs another time. Right now, I want to discuss sugar and sugar substitutes (something you might know I'm currently struggling with.)

As you may recall, I went through a sweetener crisis about a month ago, when I was asking "Is Splenda a problem?" because of symptoms I was experiencing. You may recall, I was experiencing the following:

headaches, horribly, debilitating headaches and migraines.
aching all the time
getting weaker and weaker
feeling "not ok" all the time
overwhelming tiredness, yet I hardly sleep
back pain
inexplicable stomach pain we thought was onion-related but appears after I ate, we just can't nail down what it is or why
Wrist pain and numbness
leg aches (restless leg syndrome)
inability to concentrate

I had previously discussed that I wasn't exactly certain whether Splenda was the culprit, as each of those symptoms could easily be explained by other factors, such as recently giving birth, having a gazillion kids *ahem*, change in climate, water (our water is horribly chlorinated), and much more. I decided to experiment and stop using Splenda, to see if Splenda did indeed cause any of these, or if I noticed any change. I wanted to also wait on making any other changes, such as dieting, fitness, weight loss, to indeed "test" and see if it was Splenda.

Well, it's been well over a month since I quit Splenda, and I wanted to give an update as to what I've experienced being off of it, and what I've used as a sweetener since, how my body has reacted, and an update as to those symptoms I was experiencing and what, if anything, has changed. (This is meant to give you my experiences, to give you information first hand, so you can choose for yourself which is best for your diet.)

Tiredness - still exists, but no where near as bad, but to be honest I think it's because of my feeling overall healthier with dieting, change in sleep schedule, working out, etc. But there are points in which I could fall asleep right there. I think tiredness is just a given. I'm a parent. It happens.
Hardly sleeping - my sleeping habits have improved, but I doubt Splenda had anything to do with my issues in the first place. In fact, I noticed no change until I began forcing myself recently to go to sleep at a decent hour, now my body is getting used to that, and so, more sleep, thankfully.
Aching constantly - definitely not the case still. I didn't notice much of a change after quitting Splenda, but I'm unclear when that stopped, so Splenda could very well have been the culprit. My only aches lately have been muscle soreness from working out and a pulled neck muscle giving me trouble.
Back pain - as I mentioned, I was in a car accident, suffered whiplash, and so, back pain is my middle name, but with working out and such, it hasn't been nearly as bad
Stomach pain - while I've always had it, it has subsided somewhat. Could be Splenda.
Headaches/Migraines - this has died down, actually, by a great deal. The only times I get these now is when I've done something to aggravate my neck, because of my back injury. The pain in my back/neck will trigger a migraine. Or allergies, as opposed to everyday. This very well could have been because of Splenda.
Wrist pain and numbness - The numbness is gone. The strength is coming back the more I work out, could have been Splenda, or just lack of use in doing anything other than cooking, breastfeeding, holding kids and blogging *cough* ;)
Leg aches/Restless leg syndrome - I still have this, and still take Hylands Restful Legs. I think it's just remnants of this pregnancy.
Inability to concentrate - I have six kids. It's still called mommy brain times six ;)

So, Splenda seems to be the culprit for some while it may or may not have been the reason for the rest. But.. what did going off Splenda do for me!?

Acne - I've broken out on my chin and cheek. Weird, since I rarely ever. All in the same spot. Related? Possibly detoxing off of it? Not sure, but I'm just reportin' it here, folks.

Weight gain. Hello TEN POUNDS! I weighed in a month ago at 163. Last night I was 169! And I know, I reported on Tuesday that I was 168 - amazingly enough, in one day I gained four-and-a-half pounds! Up to 173! I completely spazzed! I went and saw a "doctor" only to be told that I didn't have enough info, and to chart my weight for 2 weeks and call them with the results, that they would not do any blood tests. Say wha? You know? I don't think I have to tell you how much this concerns me.

Since then I've dropped down to 169, but still, that's a lot, considering. It is more than likely the sudden sugar intake and salt, so I cut them both out, practically. Sodium is unfortunately in some products, so I'm doing my best to eliminate it.

I know, I reported that I only gained four pounds the other day. And then I got on the Wii Fit and found I'd gained again! So apparently, what I was using is NOT helping aid weight loss, in fact, it's causing weight gain!

At first, when I quit Splenda, I used plain sugar. BIG mistake! I felt truly jittery and spazzy on it, and I crashed a lot. I was recommended stevia, an herb sweet enough to mimic sugar, with 0 calories. Here they are, the two stevia products I've been using -Sun Crystals and Truvia.

Truvia is pure stevia, and comes in packets (hope they choose to change this option later on). Truvia took a little getting used to at first, as it tastes nothing like anything I've ever tasted and isn't as 'strong' as they claim it is (one packet is supposedly comparable to 2 tsp of sugar). In fact, at first, for each Truvia I used, I used a tsp of sugar, too, needing to combine the two. Not good. Wasn't enough for me at first (but that's changed, read on).

One day, when Truvia wasn't available, I saw Sun Crystals, which contains half stevia half cane sugar, so I purchased it, as it came in a bigger box and was seemingly a cheaper stevia option.

Sun Crystals tasted marginally better, with the sugar already in it, and all, but after using it a bit, that's when that out-of-thin-air weight gain appeared. Not sure what happened, or what the difference is between the two products, considering Sun Crystals just a combo of what I was using before, Truvia with sugar, but in an effort to find out if it is indeed the issue, I've stopped using Sun Crystals, too.

So, right now I'm back to Truvia once again, and, as I said, I'm back down to 169 - 4 lbs down since Wednesday night (I can't believe I'm saying that - gained 4lbs in a day, only to lose 4 in 2 days. Say wha!?). But, I've also begun my dieting extravaganza, on top of stopping Sun Crystals, so I'm not 100% sure which did it. But my concern was to halt the rapid weight gain, pronto, and begin losing, as that is, after all, the goal, you know? (update at bottom)

So for now, Truvia, so we'll see how this goes. So far so good, I enjoy it much more now than I did in the beginning I sure wish they would make a bag, or at least an option without all the individual papers, right now. Perhaps the weight gain is my body saying it doesn't like stevia. Or perhaps this was just a fluke weight gain in a day kind of thing. Or maybe it's sugar-related, because I didn't completely eliminate sugar when I first started using it. Or something.

If you're looking for a recommendation, definitely get off the sugar, but if you do use it, use it very briefly and only organic raw or natural (unbleached - it will be brown-looking). In the sugar substitute department, stay clear of aspartame/nutrisweet, with all of its crazy reports of how toxic it is for you, definitely research and try and go with what you can live with, for you and your needs. You've seen what I've written here about Splenda, and my experiences with stevia thus far. I know there are others, too. Try them for yourself and see what works for you.

What about you? What sweetener do you use? What works for you?

(Update: I only ever use Truvia anymore. So much so, I bring it with me to be sure I only use it. Because of Truvia's help in eliminating sugar and Splenda, I am down almost forty-pounds. See my weight loss posts for more details.)

sugar cubes on pink creative commons picture by klevo! via flickr

Never miss a post! Subscribe here for all kinds of crazy parenting fun!

March 27, 2009

I Break Walmart, Heads and Cause the Sky to Fall, No Joke

My husband is never going to take me anywhere again.

He was off today, and so our plan to was to venture to Walmart to see about some spring/summery tops for me and Lowes for a Dremel tool so he could finish his Pinewood Derby car with our son.

We got there, and things were getting accomplished in great time (I'm actually ecstatic as my husband single-handedly found every awesome shirt for me to wear, while I was bringing up the big fat 0 unable to find a single thing). Appropriate sizes were found. Shirts got tried on and fit well. We were about to leave, as I was literally putting my shirt back on, when it happened.

The lights went out.

Now, I've been through the lights going out in a big store before, they typically have a generator that lasts a half-hour or so, in an effort to finish checking out all patrons, or until they get the power back on, etc.

That didn't happen. In fact, associates barracaded us to the front of the store, forbidding us to go anywhere. This one lady ran around like life was ending and the sky was falling. After 20 minutes of nothing but many ticked off customers leaving, abandoning their carts in disgust, the Walmart associates announced they were sending everyone home. Baskets were left full. No one ever paid. Everyone had to leave.

My husband acted quickly, and asked the lady who was at the fitting room if she'd be so kind to keep our things with our name and phone number on it, to come back and get it later, so I was lucky enough to not lose those things. Others with groceries and perishables didn't have that luxury, sorry to say.

My husband at this point is pinging well above highly-irritated, after all that time to not even be able to purchase what we were there to get, and wonders if Lowes even had power, since it's directly next door to Walmart, as we were told by the Walmart associate filing people out the door that apparently the power outage was on *our* side of town.

Lovely.

Lucky enough for us, Lowes was indeed open. So my husband went in alone, instead of dragging our three littles inside with me inside for one tool, which was located at the front of the store.

Two minutes went by and I hear shouting- loud, fierce shouting from a man.

I immediately start looking quickly around to see where the yelling is coming from, as I was afraid it was a fight between two men or something, and my children were in the car.

It was only a Lowes associate, by himself, walking out of the store, screaming at the top of his lungs obscenities directed at all customers within ear shot.

"@#*$ customers shopping on an@#*$ friday.. go home mother @#*$!" (use your imagination to which four-letter words he used, there).

*ahem*

Naturally, the protective mother in me jumps into the drivers seat to wield the car around to the front so I could accost one of the associates to get me a manager pronto so I could tell him about the incident that just transpired in front of my children, who repeat everything like a parrot and were hopefully not going to mimic the vile man. My husband saw me, as he'd already finished shopping, hopped in and I didn't even get to tell him before I'm at the front, hopping out, talking to a manager. Needless to say, after I was one of three complainants about his actions, I'm sure "Carlos" was fired.

Guess he didn't really want to work there tonight, anyway.

At that point we needed to get our elementary school kids, as it's 2:40pm. We're on our way, traffic lights were out at the intersection (yet stores were fine.. it was weird that Walmart lost power), and drive home. We note the suspicious clouds forming and wonder if we'll have the starts of this weekend's soccer tournament tonight. We approached the school five minutes later, and the itty-bitty, little-to-no line formed in the parent pick up area. We thought we had enough time to swing by the nearby Shoppette to get a couple drinks before getting the kids.

After what had happened already, I should've known not to do that.

I hopped out at the Shoppette, searched for the least sweetened/healthy-for-you beverage option, while grabbing hubby something, when, as I approached the register, a guy hecticly runs around, asks for some towels to put under "her head" as he scurries across the floor, looking around the registers and aisles nearby. I look around.. what was he talking about?

A woman fell and apparently hurt her head badly, and was lying on the floor.

At the moment I realized what the commotion was, police screeched in at the doors and run in looking at me and others for direction. I point to the back where I saw the hurried guy lingering, figuring that's where she was, but I wasn't exactly certain myself.

Moments later, two firetrucks arrive, lights, sirens blaring, muscular specimens of firemen come screaming out of their trucks with bags and supplies and whooziwhatzits galore, collecting stuff when the ambulance pulls up, lights illuminating the darkening skies as me and others are aghast at the fuss going on around us. I remarked under my breath "Is the sky falling or something?"

I should've shut my mouth.

I collected my receipt and walked back to my van where my husband, shocked, said "All that for drinks, huh?"

I began to tell him about what must've happened as we're on our way, down the street to the school. A lightning bolt struck above us, and thunder can be heard roaring in the distance, waiting to visit. We'd just arrived in front of the school about to turn when I ask him for my drink.

"What drink?"

In all of the commotion, I left the drinks in the store, and we would have to go back. Wonderful.

It's at that point my husband points out, among the fiercely forming clouds and ominous looking sky that soccer would inevitably be canceled. And we fetch our children. The kids hopped in, happily asking what we did today, in which my husband replied "Oh nothing, your mother just broke Walmart, got a guy fired, busted a lady's head open, and will probably get soccer canceled."

Yeah, thanks for that, hon.

And we get the drinks that I stupidly left at the store, and drive home, we arrived just in time for the sky to indeed open up on us, and rivers form our front yard and in back.

And soccer? It did get cancelled tonight.

And Walmart? They called twice, their power is back on. I can get my stuff now if I want.

Me? I think the smart choice is to never, ever, leave the house again. Or something. Apparently, I have skills in the "Sky is Falling" department.

Never miss a post! Subscribe here for all kinds of crazy parenting fun!

Dance Baby Dance

What do you get when you combine music, your 6-month-old, and a little help from hubby?

You get dancing, smiles, giggling and memories made of awesome, that's what.

Never miss a post! Subscribe here for all kinds of crazy parenting fun!

March 26, 2009

Kids Cute and Strange Sleeping Positions

I've talked about this before. My children have talent. And for you regular readers, some will look familiar.

My two boys takin' a nap on our old couch back in 2005

Must've been a comfy couch. Why'd we get rid of it again? Oh yeah, I hated those pillows and it was ugly. Got it.

On my computer chair (yes, this is the same child) 2005

Fell asleep taking off his shoes and coat, destroying as he goes. Wow.

Can I tell you how scared I was when I couldn't find him? Feet didn't touch the floor, the table cloth covered him. Panicked was an understatement.

I swear, it was instant, brand new chair for her birthday and out she went, remote and all. (Just like daddy)

No kidding. While writing. Guess the exertion of pushing the pen was too much for her little body?

Just like that. No doubt he's ours lol

This one is infamous now, isn't it *cough look at my header cough* ;)

This is exactly how she fell asleep - holding onto his little playmat.

This one is a not-so-oldy but goody.

How is this comfortable?

This definitely can't be comfortable. She sat up and went back to sleep, by the way.

Thirteen ways my kids have fallen asleep. I am so thankful to be able to capture them, to look back and laugh and share it with each and every one of them.

Psst, did you take my poll yet? In the sidebar? :)

Never miss a post! Subscribe here for all kinds of crazy parenting fun!

Busy Mom Fitness - Kill Two Birds With One Stone - Day 2

Baby Weight Be Gone - A Busy Mom's Guide to Fitness

Whether you may know it or not, you're working out without even knowing it. Did you do the dishes today? Walk up and down the stairs? Pick up your child? Do the laundry? Vacuum? Sweep? All of those burn calories and can be equated to exercise, just not traditional exercise.

In doing everyday housework, you're effectively killing two birds with one stone if you use that housework time to really focus on your activity and make the most of it.

Don't just shuffle clothes from the washer to the dryer - do squats, bending at the knees. Reach as far in as you can to get the clothes, standing on your toes, elongating your back, then picking up a small amount of wet clothes and squatting to a sit, then reach over to your dryer, slowly coming up, leaning to the side to place the items in. Do it again for each grab, and you'll begin to feel the burn. Suddenly you're working out AND getting housework done! Sweet!

How about putting on some music and dancing about while vacuuming and sweeping? You've seen it in movies, people using the broom as a microphone, singing while they clean. It doesn't have to be just in the movies, plus how fun do you think it would be for your children to see you singing and dancing wildly while doing chores? (Perhaps they might not think it's so horrible after all!? Killing three birds with one stone? Maybe?)

Or what about jogging in place while doing dishes, or walking in place if jogging is too jostling for you?

Or, how about a good old fashioned dancing good time with your kids by blaring some music and shaking your butt with them for a bit? It might not get the housework done, but it will help not only in you fitness goal but help wear them out for naptime, and it's a lot of fun. Whether young or old, the kids love it when you include them, it'll make them feel like they're helping you, so let them help!

Find interesting ways to incorporate exercise into your daily chores and I guarantee you, not only will you become healthier, housework will become more fun, your kids are going to have a blast.

Never miss a post! Subscribe here for all kinds of crazy parenting fun!

March 25, 2009

Pride Swallowing Time - My Before Pictures - Day 1

Baby Weight Be Gone - A Busy Mom's Guide to Fitness

Part 1 of my Weight Loss Saga - The dreaded "Before" pictures

This post was not an easy one to write and get ready for, but necessary. These are hard pictures to post, to share with you, but I hope that'll motivate me even further.

It's never easy to get a good look at yourself and realize how unhealthy you are, is it? Whether you see yourself in a picture someone took of you, or if you took the picture yourself, it's hard to look at it and realize that's how you are seen.

Taking a picture of yourself "before" you begin losing weight and dieting is good for documenting your progress, as it allows you to see the changes once you've begun your weight loss journey, much more so than seeing your shrinking reflection in the mirror (even though, that feels pretty good, too). The pictures give you a better view of certain areas you might not be able to see on your own body with your own eyes (I mean, really, can you get down and see every inch of your butt? Your thighs? How you really look from behind?) But is it ever hard to step in front of that camera and snap those shots, isn't it? Let alone showing them to others.

Below you're going to find not just my recent "before" pictures (those are at the bottom), but other "before" pictures, too, from times when I was losing weight or made the decision to lose weight. I wasn't "posing" for some of these "before"pictures, for a weight loss reason or anything, in order to inspect every inch. They were just random pictures I had found. Pictures that depict what I looked like then, or, pictures that, when I saw them, caused me to contemplate weight loss, as they made me say to myself "Do I really look like that!?!"

I've lost weight successfully before, after having babies, I know I can do it again. These pictures serve as reminders of that. I have done it before, I can do it again.

Onto the hard part. Pictures. Oy. *deep breath*

These first "before" pictures were "the ones" that drove me to diet after having my now-four-year-old. These were taken while I was tickling his little baby body, snapped by my husband. The first time I saw these, I stared, unable to believe they were me, and I said to myself, "Whoa, Momma!" and the dieting started. Right then. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. This was my heaviest non-pregnancy weight ever. Approximate weight here - 180+

Oh, sorry about that. Don't mind the chest action. Nothin' to see here, folks.

This next "before" picture was from around the same time, as this was a picture taken at his first birthday. Same weight. And still hard to look at, even though I know I don't look like that anymore. I never knew I was this big while this was happening.

Considering what I was used to being, and how slowly it really creeps up on you while having babies and such, it was easy to overlook until you get slapped in the face with pictures like these. This was a lot of weight for me, my body, my athleticism. Being on bedrest during one of my pregnancies killed my metabolism, and so, this weight you've seen is a result, it's always been an issue, I can never seem to get my metabolism to stay where it should be, still.

You see, in the next three pictures, this is how I was all my life. I was that person who never tried on jeans, or worried about what I ate. And, in a lot of ways, I keep thinking that this is how I still look, sometimes. I was naturally active, loved running and working out for the sake of running and working out. I loved being active. Period. After 24 years of being this way, it was a hard habit to break, realizing I couldn't do what I once did, not just because I had children, but because I wasn't in the same body as before.

After having breastfed so long, I can't believe I had small boobs haha

This was a picture of me as I began losing weight, of my shrinking belly from the side in the first picture, and of my shrinking waistline in the second picture. This was to document my successes thus far, at that point, to motivate me further, because I was doing it!!! I was succeeding!

Now that you've seen the "before" pictures up there, along with a "during" picture, now here's the "after" - after my 4-year-old, that is (can't seem to find any other "after" pictures at the moment, this whole, computer switching thing and all). About this next picture *ahem* I know, racy costume (blame hubby *giggle*) but, quite frankly, I was so darn pleased with myself and my weight loss and how hard I worked that I did get it, wanting to be "hot" for him one Halloween. And so I was *ahem* This was me at about 150 or something, I think? Hmm, I don't know, it wasn't so much the weight at this point, as it was the fitness level and clothes fitting, feeling healthy feeling I had.

I did not remain the above weight permanently, I was about 160 when I got pregnant with my now two-year-old. After gaining about 23 lbs with her pregnancy, I lost most of it afterwards. So for this next picture, this is me about 7 months after giving birth to her, during our vacation to Orlando. I'd have to say I weight about 165ish or so, (almost what I am now).

And now for today. After gaining 27 or so pounds during my most recent pregnancy, and losing most if not all of it from this pregnancy, I've begun to regain weight, because I stopped using Splenda and because I'm no where near as active anymore. Today, this is how I look. And, according to the Wii Fit, wearing this outfit, I weigh 168. Not good.

And while I'd be delusional to think I could get down to this again..

I think I could, if I worked hard, and dieted hard, get down to maybe this again...

*whew*

That was harder than I thought. But worth it. It's going to be worth it. I am going to do this.

So, now what, you ask?

Well, the first part is accepting your challenge. And for some of you, you've already done that. You've decided it's time, and you're ready to move ahead. Now, you've got to outline what the problems are, and what you're going to change to fix them and get you to the weight you want to be.

For me? I want to lose 20+ pounds. To do it, I'm going to eat better - no late night snacking. I'm going to exercise more, and get help on the Great Sweetener Debate (another post forthcoming) so I don't gain more weight using sugar for my beautimous, much-needed coffee. I'm going to post what I'm doing and how I'm doing it, along with some tips and tricks along the way that helps benefit us busy moms. I hope you decide to join me. I'm going to show you that working out doesn't have to be boring, and I'm going to show you interesting ways to involve your kids. More on how I'm going to do it was mentioned here and more will be forthcoming, too.

If you're joining me in Losing the Baby Weight (whether it's really baby weight or not) - your task, should you choose to accept it -

Make a plan. Write it out, in a post like me, just what you want to accomplish. You can't achieve your goal without a goal. And specify how you're going to do it, and what you're going to use to get you there.

My suggestion - take some "before" pictures. It's good to have those to refer to once you're on your way, working out, and making changes, to document how far you've come. You don't have to post them if you're not comfortable posting them, but my suggestion is to at least take them for your reference. Give yourself that bird's eye view to yourself. (My most recent aren't the best, I'm going to have hubby take better ones soon.)

Once you've done what you feel comfortable with above, link up in the Mr. Linky at the bottom of this post.

And if you're not sure if you want to join us yet, that's okay, too. No rush. You can't do it if you aren't able to commit to it. So, take your time, and one day you'll be ready, too. And when you're ready, I'll be here. {hugs}

Never miss a post! Subscribe here for all kinds of crazy parenting fun!