Quiet Time Boxes

Well it's been FOREVER since I updated...sorry about that to my family members!  I guess I ran out of things to write about, and decided to take a break.  However, I did this little project, and thought it might be interesting to someone, so here we go!

I saw the idea for quiet time boxes months ago, and bookmarked the page for later.  I thought, "Someday I will do this!" and didn't really think Ellie was old enough at that time.  I was reminded of this fun idea through another blog (if you're interested in getting ideas, click here) about a week ago, and thought maybe Ellie was old enough to give it a try.  Basically, the concept behind the quiet time box is to provide your child with age-appropriate activities that serve three purposes:

1. Challenge/develop your child's skills (motor, reading, linguistic, spatial, etc.)
2. Keep your child quietly occupied during independent play/learning time
3. Give parents a block of time to accomplish tasks (chores, work, relaxation, etc.)

I wasn't quite sure how these would go over with Ellie, since she's only 14 months old and most of the examples I found online were for ages 2-4, but I decided to try it anyway.  My goal through this process was to create 5 quiet time boxes for Ellie (one for each weekday) with at least one of each of the following components:

1. a board book
2. a fine motor skills activity (something requiring her to use her hands and fingers)
3. a fun object (stuffed animal, interesting object, etc.)

My first task was to go through our house and look for toys and objects that I could use.  My first thought was to look in the attic, since I have a lot of teaching supplies up there.  I found A TON of play food (the kind that can be "cut" in half--attached with velcro), as well as a few small stuffed animals she had never seen before.  I also pulled out a few small board books that would fit nicely inside the boxes.


Then, I went out in search of my boxes.  I thought about buying plastic storage boxes, but found the colorful photo boxes (like shoe boxes) at A.C. Moore on sale, so I ended up  buying 5 of those in different colors.


I then went to Walmart in search of a few specific items, like toy blocks, and found a couple of other interesting items there.  After Walmart, I went to the Dollar Store and found everything else I needed.  These were all very inexpensive...I really could have made these boxes out of toys and materials we already had at home, but wanted to give her objects she had never seen before (since she gets kind of burned out on toys after a while).


And then I compiled my boxes!  Of course, I have to include pictures...

Monday's box includes the play food, a board book, and a small stuffed bear that can be pulled out of the trick or treat bag.  (I love that the toy food comes with a small cutting board and plastic knife!)

Tuesday's box includes rubber blocks, another board book (with a finger puppet!), a beanie baby cat, and a plastic elephant that makes a clicking sound when you twist the legs and head.

Wednesday's box includes four mini-maracas, a board book, "I Spy" bottle (visit I Can Teach My Child for directions), and soft spider that screams when you press it.  I never got around to getting an actual photo of the box's contents, but this is a picture of her playing with it during quiet time, so you get the idea.

Thursday's box includes mini gardening tools, a board book, silicone pancake shapers, stuffed squirrel toy, and an empty plastic container.

Friday's box includes a board book, silicone pot gripper (I was thinking this might help her with "pinching" skills), a plastic tambourine, and a basting brush.  This box seems a little empty to me, but I figured I would add and take away objects as we get/find new, interesting things.

I have to say, I think these boxes have been great so far.  The first day I gave her one, she played quietly by herself in her room (with the baby gate up) for 30 minutes.  If I gave it to her first thing in the morning after breakfast, she would probably play for 45 minutes to an hour by herself, but I like to spend time with her in the morning, so we do the quiet time in the late morning or early afternoon.  I'm still working out a set time to have her quiet time.  The point is, she enjoyed it and I was able to get a few things done!

Here are a few more pictures I thought you might enjoy!

 Afternoon quiet time with the Wednesday box...she loves those maracas!

 Ellie's favorite hobby...pulling down all of her board books and "reading" to herself.

 Snack time!  Here, she's wearing her current favorite "accessory"...a lettuce catcher Tupperware bowl.

Until next time!

~Kristen 

Birthday Preparations...

So my sweet little Ellie will be turning one in 3 weeks.  This is so cliche, but it's SO hard to believe that she's been a part of our lives for a whole year.  I can't even remember what it was like to not have a little one in our home.  And by the way....why did I think it was so hard to get things done around the house before she was born?  I can't believe I actually had a hard time getting the chores done...other than school, I didn't have any responsibilities.  I think I was just lazy, because I know plenty of people without kids who are very productive....guess I'm just not in that category. =)

Anyway, so I've been planning and preparing for her birthday.  I'm not really the type of person to get all excited about birthdays, nor do I really enjoy parties.  But for my little girl, I have to give her the opportunity to actually enjoy birthday parties....so I'm sucking it up and throwing her a party.  I sent the invitations out yesterday, and I've already bought a few decorating items.  I'm trying my hand at making the decorations (based on a friend's previous success with it), so we'll see how they turn out.  I'm not very good at crafty things, so we'll just have to wait and see.

I've also already gotten her birthday presents and wrapped them, so that's done.  And I did a trial run of a cupcake recipe last night, which turned out pretty great!  I was initially planning on making chocolate cupcakes, but I saw this recipe for banana cupcakes with chocolate frosting in the August issue of All You magazine and thought they sounded pretty yummy.

The recipe was fairly simple to follow, and they definitely turned out to be very good.  The cupcake was more like a muffin, but I LOVE banana muffins so I wasn't going to complain.  And the frosting was VERY sweet, maybe too sweet for me, but I think with less powdered sugar or more chocolate it would've been better.  Overall, they were a big success (anything that Billy says is "amazing" passes my test) and we may be including them in the birthday festivities.  I still want to try a chocolate cupcake recipe, though.  I've heard that Hershey's has a good one, and I also found this one online that seems easy enough.  If anyone has a suggestion, I'd love to know!

Vacation

Well it's definitely been a while since my last post.  Sometimes I feel like I run out of things to say, so I don't just want to write a blog post for the sake of blogging.  I really like to use this as a way to keep in touch with family and friends, but I don't want to waste anyone's time by talking about the boring day-to-day stuff.  Fortunately, we've been pretty busy recently, so I have lots to talk about!

First, Billy and I took an anniversary vacation to Washington, D.C.  We've been married 4 years...I can't believe how the time has flown!  A lot has changed in just a few years...some of it has been wonderful, and some of it hasn't been so good, but we are so blessed to have each other to lean on.  I really don't deserve Billy...he is so kind-hearted and gentle.  I really couldn't ask for a more respectful and devoted husband.

So anyway, back to our trip...we had a great time.  The weekend flew by, but it was great to get out of town and have some time to ourselves.  We got to sleep in, which was AMAZING, and we also visited some fun places and went to some great restaurants.  We saw the Lincoln Memorial, went to the top of the Washington Monument, visited the National Zoo, and checked out the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum.  We ate out at two VERY fancy restaurants, which was new and different for both of us.  They were the kind of places that offered you options when you order water, like filtered, iced, or sparkling water.  One restaurant served us dessert with gold leafing on top....hilarious.  It was so fun, though.  Here are a few pictures... 

At the National Zoo

Going to our fancy dinner...this was in the hotel before we left

Stopping by the White House...very early in the morning!

Visiting the Lincoln Memorial...I had never been before!

 We also had a great hotel.  We stayed at The Madison, which was within walking distance from the National Mall and the White House.  It was a swanky hotel, with valet parking and all sorts of amenities.  My favorite was the Keurig machine in our room, with complementary tea and coffee!  Because we were in downtown D.C., we literally walked everywhere except to dinner.  I think we walked about 10 miles on our last day there, because of some poor planning on our part.  It's kind of a long story....

Four years ago, we visited D.C. for the day to celebrate Billy's birthday.  We visited the museums and saw some of the sights, and decided to go to the Washington Monument.  By the time we got there, the ticket booth had closed and they had stopped doing tours, and Billy was kinda bummed.  I promised that the next time we were in D.C., we would definitely make it a priority to go up in the monument.  So this trip, we decided to do it.  On Saturday, we walked over to the monument (about a mile from our hotel) but they had already given away all of the tickets for the day.  We were told that they sell out really fast, so we should get there at 8:00 the next morning.  So, Sunday morning, we got up at 6:45 and walked to the monument again.  We got there at about 7:45 (after stopping for coffee on the way), and there were already about 100 people waiting in line for tickets...and the booth didn't open until 8:30.  After waiting in a long line (and the drizzling rain), we finally got our tickets.  They were for the 11:00 tour that morning.  So we killed some time by going to the Lincoln Memorial before heading back to our hotel to shower, pack, and check out.  We checked out of our hotel, got our car from valet parking, and then started driving toward the monument.  That day, D.C. was hosting a triathlon, so they had blocked off all the streets in the National Mall area, so you couldn't get within a mile of the monument.  We drove around in circles forever before finding a parking spot on the street, and ended up walking almost 2 miles to the monument...in less than 15 minutes.  We raced like crazy to get there for our 11:00 tour, only to find out that it doesn't matter what time you show up, as long as you have a ticket.  So we got all out of breath and sweaty for nothing!  But we finally went in the monument.... =)

Because of all the walking in D.C., I got a boost in my weight loss this past week.  Typically, I've been losing about a pound a week on Weight Watchers.  Last week, I lost 3 pounds, which brought me down to my second weight goal of 143...so I've lost 16 pounds in a little less than 2 months!  I'm very happy with where I am right now, but I'm still going to try to lose a little more just to see where I can go with it.  But if I don't lose any more, I'm not going to complain...I'm very happy with where I am because I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight (actually, a little lower than that!).  Anyway, I'm thankful for Weight Watchers and how much it has influenced and changed my eating habits.  

That's all from me for now!

-Kristen

Bikram Yoga

I promised that if I tried it, I would write about Bikram yoga on here, so here it is!  

I tried it for the first time on Monday night.  There were some things that were expected, and others were unexpected.  First, I knew I would encounter a few...um..."unique individuals."  For example, there was one lady who didn't shave her legs...at all.  And the instructor (a guy) was basically wearing a Speedo, and nothing else.  A bit awkward....

I also thought I was prepared for the heat....I was SO wrong.  105 degrees is a lot hotter than you think, and when you factor in the humidity, it was insanely stifling in the room.  When I arrived, the instructor told me (since I was a first timer) that I only had to do two things: breathe and stay in the room.  He said if I needed to throw up, that I should leave the room, but otherwise I should try to stay.  I thought, "Hmm...that's interesting...can't be THAT bad."  Ha!


The lady next to me was so sweet.  She asked if anyone had ever told me about Bikram yoga before, and I told her no, that I had just read about it and decided to try it out.  She gave me "The Warning":  "Your first few times are horrible...you feel like it's the worst thing on Earth...then it gets better!"  I wasn't comforted by that at all, although I prepared myself for the worst, so that I wouldn't be surprised.  In hindsight, I'm really glad she warned me, because it made it so much easier for me to get through the class!


In this class, you practice deep breathing, stretching, and balancing poses for an hour and a half.  Some things were done standing, others sitting, and some lying down.  The instructor gives explicit instructions on how to do everything, and you can always watch the person in front of you if you're unsure.


Even though I had been warned, and the instructor told me not to push myself to do any of the poses, I had to give it a try.  I mean, I came to get a workout, right?


I gave everything a try.  Some things were easy for me, like balancing and stretching, and others were too difficult.  The things that were harder for me were the poses that required you to twist and contort your body and then balance.  I'm not coordinated enough to do that quite yet.  This is an example of one that was too advanced for me:

I am surprised to say that I actually enjoyed it!  I mean, the sweating I can do without....picture jumping into a pool fully dressed, and then trying to workout immediately afterward.  That's how sweaty I was.  It was really fun though, and wonderfully quiet.  After being at home all day with a loud and talkative baby, it was nice to just be in a quiet place without a lot of noise.


I know there are a lot of people out there who believe Christians shouldn't participate in yoga.  And I think that's fine if you believe that, and I'm certainly not out to convert anyone or convince them otherwise.  I think a lot depends on how the class is taught and who you participate with.  I would suggest to any Christians who want to try yoga to pray about it first, and just make sure that they have a discerning heart about it.  


For me, I prayed about it before deciding to try it, to make sure that I wasn't being disobedient to God in any way by going.  I also talked to Billy about it and got his opinion.  While I was in the class, I prayed that God would help me to focus on Him and just use that time to get some exercise and try something new.  And afterward, I praised God that He created my body, and that He made me stronger than I thought I was...that He enabled me to make it through the class without passing out or throwing up!  =)


I have to say that Bikram Yoga of Lynchburg is great!  There were no spiritual implications made at all, and we weren't even told to meditate or center ourselves or any of that weird, mystical stuff we normally associate with yoga.  It was a purely physical exercise class.  Now, of course, people can make yoga into a form of worship (Christian or otherwise), but that can be done with just about anything, I think.


Anyway, I really enjoyed it and I think I'll be going back (this week, anyway).  They offer a new student rate, where you pay $20 and you get a week of unlimited sessions.  After that, it gets a bit pricey, so I'm not sure yet if I'll be continuing with it after my first week or not.  It was a good experience, and I'm glad I did it!

Ready for a New Adventure....

Summer is here, and with it I have a lot of time on my hands.  Granted, I spend most of that time caring for Ellie, and whatever is leftover is used up by reading, surfing the Internet for interesting blogs, and watching my Harry Potter marathon (the library is great for borrowing DVDs for free!).  I'm feeling a little antsy today, so writing will probably help get it out of my system.

Billy just finished a motorcycle class this weekend and got his motorcycle driver's license, so now he's looking to buy a motorcycle.  It will be a good way for us to cut down on the amount of money we're spending on gas (compare 10 mpg in his truck to 40+ mpg on a motorcycle!).  We've discussed it extensively, and we've decided that this would be better for our family.  I'll still have my Jeep, which we drive all the time anyway if we go anywhere as a family, so the motorcycle would be primarily used for going to and from school/work (in the future).  When the weather is bad or too cold, either I can take Billy to school or he can just take my car and I'll be home bound for the day, which isn't a big deal.  There are so many families out there who only have one vehicle, and they do just fine.  It's just another step we're taking to try to streamline our lives and cut down on the amount of money we're spending.

In other news, Ellie started crawling a little over a week ago, and now she's all over the place.  She is such a mischief-maker (I guess most babies are), and she's getting into everything.  I seriously can't take my eyes off her anymore, because I'll turn away for a moment, and she'll be on the opposite side of the room pulling books off the bookcase, or playing with the cords around the computer.  I can't believe how quickly she is growing up...it's hard to imagine that she'll be a year old in about 2 months!

I'm still doing well with Weight Watchers.  I'm losing about a pound a week, which is normal once you get into your stride.  I am looking for ways to boost my weight loss though, through exercise.  I've been walking at the park once or twice a week, but it's not really enough for me.  Plus, I don't like going by myself because I get bored, so there's not much motivation to go.  I've looked into joining the gym at Liberty for the summer (alumni can join during the summer for a decent rate), but I would want to take advantage of an aerobics class of some kind, and they don't have their class schedule posted online, so I'm not sure what they're offering this summer.  I did find that Lynchburg has a Bikram yoga studio (Bikram Yoga of Lynchburg), so I'm thinking about trying that this week.  It's the "heat yoga," so the temperature is set at 105 degrees (extremely hot, in my opinion!), but I'm willing to give it a try.

For me, exercise works best when I'm in a classroom setting.  I need the accountability in order to work harder, and I also feel the need to prove myself.  It's what motivates me.  If I work out at home, or even at the gym by myself, I get bored or I don't push myself to the limit.  I just do what gets me by.  But when I'm in a class, I feel the need to do better.  I guess it's the inner student in me.  I'm a perfectionist, so I try to push myself further and work harder than I would if I were alone.  I guess I'm extrinsically motivated....I'm not one of those good students who works hard just for the joy of working hard!  A classroom gives me purpose, and so I'm hoping I can find something that will work for me.  After I try the Bikram yoga, I'll make sure to write about it on here.

As I mentioned earlier, I've been feeling a little restless today.  We're at the 6 month mark for Billy's schooling, and only 6 more months to go.  It's hard to believe he's halfway done with his aircraft mechanic's license program!  We've started talking about where to go/what to do once he finishes in December, and it's made me anxious to move forward.  It's hard being patient, sometimes, when you feel like you're in this "transition" phase of adulthood.  You're technically an adult, and you live like an adult (pay your own bills, live on your own, etc.), but you don't have a career.  We've been in this phase for 5 years now.  First, I was in college, and Billy worked full time to support me through my education.  We always planned that I would be teaching after graduation, but having a baby changed that (for the better, in my opinion!).  I feel like I'm fulfilling my calling, and Billy is certainly working toward his calling, but we're just not there yet.  

I'm ready to move, both figuratively and literally.  I'm ready to move forward with our lives and get out of this transition phase into adulthood.  Billy is ready to work, and to do what he loves.  And I'm ready to see my husband happy with his work, and to be fulfilled by it.  No one can deny the fact that there is some aspect of work that fulfills us, if it's something we love to do.  I think it's especially the case for men...and definitely true for Billy.  I'm also ready to move...to physically relocate.  It's something we've been thinking about for years, and once he gets his certification, it will be a very real thing.  Aviation mechanics aren't in high demand around here, so we'll be looking elsewhere.  I'm just ready to do this...to take the leap.  

However, I also know that this transition time has a purpose, and we're spending this time preparing, both mentally and physically, for the changes that will happen in the future.  We're slowly condensing our possessions, and trying to get rid of everything that's not absolutely necessary.  We're also trying to prepare our house and finish all of the big projects so we can put it on the market.  Selling our house is my biggest worry, aside from Billy finding a job, and it's something we're in prayer about constantly.  We're just trusting that God's purpose for our family will be fulfilled, meaning that all aspects of it will work out in one way or another.

Well, I feel loads better with that off my chest.  Sorry this post is so long, but it does me good to write a marathon post rather than short little sprints.  Honestly, if no one reads this it wouldn't change anything for me....I just feel better getting words on paper (or on screen, rather...).

-Kristen

Homemade Blueberry Muffins

This week, I tried a new recipe...homemade blueberry muffins.  It's silly, but I've never made muffins from scratch...I've just always bought the prepackaged mix and added milk.  I got a hankering for blueberry muffins the other day, and decided it was time for me to make some from scratch.  Fortunately, I found a Weight Watchers recipe (so I know exactly how many points are in each muffin, making it easier for me to track).  I already had all of the ingredients needed, except for blueberries, so I picked up some frozen blueberries from Walmart and tried the recipe on Tuesday.  They turned out great!

 The recipe actually makes 12 regular sized muffins, but--can you believe it--I only have a muffin pan for 6 regular muffins.  I have three jumbo muffin pans, and two mini muffin pans, and only one regular muffin pan, and it only holds six muffins.  Somehow at my bridal shower I ended up with a lot of large and mini muffin pans, but only one small regular muffin pan.  Anyway, so I made 6 regular muffins, and used the rest of the batter to make 24 mini muffins.  These were very good, and Billy liked them, too!  I will say they were a little dense, so I probably could have added a little more milk or something, but they were still very good.

Here's the recipe for Ultimate Blueberry Muffins (from Weight Watchers):

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour    2/3 cup whole wheat flour    2 tsp baking powder    1/2 tsp table salt    2 Tbsp dark brown sugar, packed    1/2 tsp ground nutmeg    2/3 cup sugar, granulated    1/3 cup light butter, stick    1 large egg    2 egg whites    1/2 tsp vanilla extract    3/4 cup fat-free skim milk    1 and 1/4 cups fresh blueberries
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or foil liners. Combine the flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. To make the topping, combine the brown sugar and nutmeg in a bowl. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in the egg, egg whites, and vanilla until blended. On low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and scraping down the sides of the bowl. Fold in the blueberries. Evenly spoon the batter into the cups. Sprinkle with the topping. Bake until a toothpick inserted in a muffin comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan and cool completely on a rack.
This recipe is definitely a keeper for me.  I also printed another muffin recipe from Weight Watchers for apple cinnamon muffins.  I'm interested to see how those turn out.  I'll probably make them tomorrow, since we're having a very light dinner.  I tend to bake cookies and muffins on the nights when I've got a lot of points left over, since I can't live without yummy things like bread and chocolate.  Tonight, we're having lasagna, so there's no way I'll have any extra points at the end of today =).
That's all from me...almost time to wake the babies for lunch!

Milestones

It's been two weeks since my last post, and not much has happened around here.  I've only got one week left of babysitting, and then it's back to just me and Ellie.  It will seem so weird to be able to leave the house whenever I want--I've really gotten used to staying home all day with the two babies.  But I'm looking forward to having alone time with Ellie again...and going shopping at Target during the day =).  It's our favorite store.  I say "our" because Ellie gets super excited when we go into Target.  It must be all the bright colors.

Also, I'm proud to say that I've stuck with Weight Watchers for two weeks now and lost 9 pounds!  I'm officially at my pre-pregnancy weight, and I'm so excited about it.  I still want to lose a little more, so my new goal is 143 pounds (an additional 7).  At that point, I'll assess where I am and decide if I'm happy there or if I want to keep going.  I'm very happy with Weight Watchers and the type of program they run.  It works great for my lifestyle.

Other than that, not much has been going on here.  I've been cleaning a lot this week (although my house isn't showing it right now!).  I went through some of Ellie's things the other day and have been trying to make a pile of "to put in the attic" stuff.  She's outgrown or overused so many things in her short 9 months...like bibs.  She used to go through 10 bibs a day due to her excessive spit up.  Now, I put one on her out of habit, but she rarely spits up.  I probably threw away 20 bibs that were stained or just worn through.  Another thing we used to use a lot...receiving blankets.  They were our burp cloths, because the little ones weren't cutting it for protecting my clothes when I fed her.  Now, we rarely use them.  She has a ton, so I rallied up most of them to put in the attic.  


I braved going into the attic yesterday to pull a few things down, too.  Ellie is now able to feed herself the bottle, so I pulled out some of her small 4 oz. bottles we used when she was a newborn, since they're easier for her small hands to manage.  The Dr. Brown's bottles are great, but they're just too big for her to hold on to.  She's getting pretty good at feeding herself, but she has to lay on the floor or in my arms in order to get the formula out of the bottle (not sure she understands how to lean back without falling over yet).  I guess I should get the sippy cup out again.  We tried it about a month ago and she wasn't interested, but maybe now that she's feeding herself she'll try it again.  

 (Having her breakfast, all by herself!)

She also fed herself a snack this week, and I was so excited!  We've been trying to encourage her to feed herself the little puff snacks, but she just picks them up and throws them on the floor, or hands them to Shelley.  A few days ago, I gave her a freeze-dried yogurt puff, and she loved it.  I then handed her one, and she used her pincer grip and picked it out of my fingers and stuck it in her mouth!  You have no idea how happy I was to see her doing that!  

(The yogurt puff is in and she's realizing what she just did!)

I know I shouldn't worry, because all babies develop differently, but it has made me so paranoid recently when I compare her to other babies her age.  I worry that she's not pulling up yet, or crawling, or feeding herself.  We went to the doctor on Tuesday for her 9 month checkup (and to check out another ear infection) and the nurse told me not to worry, that she's in a transition stage right now.  She said that Ellie is developmentally fine, and that she'll just do those things when she's ready, and that it has nothing to do with intelligence.  I knew all those things already, but it made me feel better to hear it from a professional.  And now she's doing all these new things, and I'm so proud (and relieved!).



One last random thing...I got this package in the mail a week ago, and Billy asked me, "Did you order something?"  And I didn't, so I was kinda surprised...then I opened the box and found these!

 I entered a giveaway a couple months ago and never heard if I got the Glade scents package or not, but apparently I did!  They gave me 3 room sprays and a Sense and Spray (with a refill).  The Sense and Spray cracks me up, because it randomly sprays room freshener when I walk by.  I like it though...it smells nice.  And it locks itself for 20 minutes after it does an automatic spray, although you can still push the button to make it spray.  Anyway, I love anything that's free, so I was very excited to get some freebies in the mail!

We had a little visitor the other day....

 I found this squirrel in my hanging verbena plant on the porch!  He found something good to eat, because he stayed long enough for me to take a picture...then I ran outside and scared him off.  I'm all for sharing with the animals, but I really like my plants and don't want them destroyed!  Any ideas for preventing squirrels from eating my plants?

That's all for now...we have a big day today.  We're going to the airshow to see the Blue Angels fly this afternoon, and it's going to be super loud and super busy.  Looking forward to some family time, though! 

Weight Watchers

I have officially started Weight Watchers.  It's something I've been thinking about for a few months now, and decided it would be a perfect birthday gift from my Granny.  I signed up for a 3 month membership last night, so today is my first day on the program.  

First, I should explain why I joined.  I've always had body image issues, even when I wasn't overweight, and I've always felt the need to be thinner.  I used to exercise a lot in high school, partly because I wanted to lose weight and also because I had the time and resources to do it.  In my senior year of high school, I danced three days a week for at least an hour and a half every day, plus worked out at the YMCA 3-4 days a week.  I went through a very unhealthy period in my life that same year, where I tried to eat less than 1,000 calories a day and maintain that exercise routine every week.  I eventually got burned out and went back to my old eating habits.  


When I moved to Lynchburg for college, I was still at a healthy, acceptable weight for my age and height.  I maintained that until Billy and I got married, and then I slowly started to gain weight.  With being a full time student, and not working, it was hard for me to eat normal meals at normal times of the day.  In the first semester after we got married, I would go all day at school from 7:30 am - 4:00 pm without eating, then come home and eat a ton because I was starving.  I gained about fifteen pounds in the 2 and a half years of marriage before getting pregnant.

I gained 35 pounds while pregnant with Ellie, and lost 25 in the first few months after her birth, but can't get rid of this last 10 to go back to my pre-pregnancy weight.  I'm not strong or dedicated enough to do it on my own, so I decided to enlist the help of Weight Watchers to get me where I need to be.  I know several people who have done Weight Watchers successfully, so I know it's a safe, healthy program and it's something that will work for me.  I really NEED the accountability in order to reach my goals...doing it on my own isn't enough.  I love that I have to track what I eat every day and that it keeps track of how many points I've used.  It's a huge motivation for me...it's kinda like being in school again, and wanting to get an A on my work, so I'm motivated to do my best and not mess things up. =)


So this will probably be a new addition to my blog...talking about Weight Watchers.  I know not many people read this, but it's the perfect outlet for me to talk about what's going on in my life, and it makes me feel better after I get something off my chest.


My short term weight loss goal is 8 pounds.  My starting weight is 159, and so my first goal is to get to 151.  That will put me 1 pound over my pre-pregnancy weight.  Obviously, I don't want to stop there.  Ideally, I would like to eventually get to 135.  That's what I weighed when Billy and I got married, and I think it's a realistic goal for me.


It's been an interesting first day of my lifestyle change.  I totaled up what I ate yesterday, before I started Weight Watchers, just to see what my normal day of food consumption would add up to.  I consumed 70 points yesterday!  To give you an idea of how outrageous that is, my daily food allotment on the program is 29 points.  So today, I had to cut down by more than half.  It blows my mind to think that 70 points was the norm for me.  I felt fine this morning, but this afternoon I have been starving!  I was so paranoid to go over my points for today that I tried to make sure I left enough for dinner, and now I have 6 points that I haven't even used (plus 3 points I earned for walking today!).  I also tried a Weight Watchers recipe for dinner tonight: Orange Chipotle BBQ Pork Chops with Grilled Onions (minus the chipotle...I just used what we had on hand).  It was very yummy, and only 5 points (one slice of homemade pizza, by comparison, is 9 points).   I know it's going to take some getting used to...it's a drastic change from what I was eating.  But I know this is the best thing for me, and it's going to be a huge motivational tool for me to get where I need to be.


In other news, I turned 23 this week.  I had a great birthday and enjoyed spending time with family and friends.  I got lots of gift cards, which I'm trying to save until I actually NEED clothes (crossing my fingers that I can buy smaller sizes!).  Billy's gift to me is a trip to Busch Gardens on Saturday, which I'm really looking forward to.  Last time I went was two years ago, so I think it's been long enough so that I can enjoy the roller coasters again.  I find that if I go too often, it's not as fun.  Granny and Poppaw are going to babysit Ellie for us (thank you!!!).  It will be so weird for me...a whole day without Ellie!  The longest I've left her is for a few hours at a time.  I know she'll be fine and probably have a blast being spoiled, so I'm not worried about her...I'm worried about me!  In June, we're going to leave her for a whole weekend to celebrate our anniversary...knowing me, I'll probably cry.

So I guess that's it from me today...I need to get to bed so that I can have some energy for the babies tomorrow!  By the way, I took BOTH of them to Kroger today, and it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected.  Both Ellie and Emma were perfect angels.  The hardest part was trying to fit the groceries in the cart, because Emma's car seat was at the front of the cart (where a kid would sit) and Ellie was in the basket of the cart.  I had to stack the groceries around them (I even put a bag of noodles in Ellie's lap and gave Emma my wallet and sunglasses!).  =)

~Kristen