So far, in Jax

So far we've been catching up with family & friends, but also laying low. Everytime we come to Jax we think we can visit with everyone, but there is never enough time, but we try.

Thursday through Saturday were days of laying low. We really didn't do much of anything, Sunday was our first day of scheduled plans. Andrew was excited to come the Jax the weekend before Thanksgiving because he would be here for the Jags vs. Bills game. We have a few friends, that are also Bills fans who also get excited for this game. Me, on the other hand, was excited, but not for that reason. I was excited to spend more time with my family. Andrew had bought two tickets so I had every intention of going to the game, but with tailgating and the game, that would have been too long to be away from Libbie, since she is only breastfeeding. Also, I'm not really a Bills fan and more over a football fan (except when it comes to the Gators!). Andrew searched for someone to go with and was able to catch up with his friend Brent. I think he had more fun with Brent than we would have had with me.

Monday, we went to the zoo with Sean, KC, Kinley and Chance. It has been years since I had been to the Jacksonville Zoo. I think the last time I was there was in high school. We had a great time.

Landon really enjoyed feeding the giraffe...we had to do it twice!
He posed with the Jaguar. He called it Diego's Jaguar.
We rode the train, which all the kids enjoyed, even Libbie!

Before we left we stopped by to say "hi" to the monkeys. We were there for quite a bit and the three toddlers were having fun watching the monkeys below. We were high above the monkeys and their land enclosure was surrounded by water. Landon was pushing his Percy train along the edge and all I could imagine was it falling over into the enclosure, so I quickly took it away. Well, Kinley came up to check out the monkeys with her, really Chance's, sippy cup. In the midst of all the comotion, the sippy cup went falling over into the enclosure. The monkeys heard the splash and ran right over to the cup. One found it and began drinking the juice and carrying the cup around. He was so proud of the cup and wouldn't share it with the others. Chance, on the other hand, was not so happy about this. He was calling out to the monkey "share with me", "my juice". Poor guy!

Motivational Monday

I'm a little late in posting my update, but better late than never. I've decided to post pics with the updates only because a post with no picture isn't very fun!

When last week started I weighed myself as usual, but I knew when we got to Florida I would have to weigh myself again because not every scale is created equal. The scale here said I weighed 2 pounds more than my scale at home. This didn't bother me much, I was pretty sure I didn't gain 2 pounds in 2 days. I was really just concerned at maintaining the weight & if I lost weight, it would show on the scale.

{at Daddy's work}

This week I received a message from a good friend for which I am so thankful. She reminded me that though I might not lose any weight while away in Florida, I needed to find success in the small things! So that's what I did. Like the last week, I did not lose weight but I did make great strides in my physical activity. The food was going to be tough to control because there are so many places here that we enjoy that we don't get in Virginia.

Throughout the week I ran a total of 10 miles and walked a total of 7. The only day I didn't do some sort of physical activity was Wednesday, which was our travel day! My best workout was on Tuesday. I decided to see what I could actually do on the treadmill. I decided to walk 1/2 mile then run 2 miles. I thought at the end I felt better than expected so I decided to walk another 1/2 and run another 2 miles...I made it ! I was really impressed and it gave me the confidence I needed.

I decided to keep the same goal for this current week: Success in the Small Things!!! I'm going to keep running and I think I might try to throw in some 3 mile runs. As for the food, there are a few more places we would like to go to, but we've covered most of our usual places already. However, there is Thanksgiving. I'll be sure to run that morning for sure!

I am so thankful to have friends and family supporting me on this journey. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving week!

Motivational Monday

I decided to call my journey updates, Motivational Mondays, since I'm making the posts on Mondays and Motivation is the key to completing this journey.

No matter how the week went, motivation is needed to keep going. If the week went well, that would be motivation enough, to keep going. If the week poorly, I need to be motivated to get back on track . If there was no change, then I need to stay motivated to reach my goal!

{my biggest motivations}

So now onto how my week went. Well, there was no weight loss, but I wasn't expecting anything great. I haven't totally jumped on board but I am making strides. I started back at the gym and kept up with my walking in the neighborhood. I only walked/ran 7 mi but did make it three times last week. I went to my first class, body combat on tuesday. Wednesday was a day off, needless to say! I made it back another day to walk/run on the treadmill. Saturday I did two classes, one right after the other, body pump (lifting) and body combat. I'm still paying for that.

As for eating, I'm doing ok but am contemplating starting weight watchers, after the comments on the last post. I have actually considered it in the past, but I think now I need to do something besides trying it by myself. Andrew is also interested in starting but he would like to do the in person sessions. He thinks it would be good to be held accountable but the computer is much more convenient. I think I might get going with that upon our return from Jacksonville.

This brings me to my next challenge. We are heading to Jacksonville this week for Thanksgiving and Libbie's baptism. This will be tough since we are heading back to lots of comfort food. There is always a list of restaurants we like to visit while we there and they aren't known for healthy, nutritious food. I'll really have to be careful not to splurge too much and to keep walking/running.

Baltimore Aquarium

On Wednesday, Veterans Day, we decided to spend the day out as a family since Andrew was home with us. We had full intentions of going to the Reston Zoo, a smaller zoo in the area. The National Zoo is amazing but the animals are farther away. We've heard that the Reston Zoo is great for children. Well, those plans went out when the weather decided to be rainy & cold.

We almost didn't do anything but thought it might be a good day to go to the Baltimore Aquarium. So we packed up and headed out. It was actually a good time to go. There were plenty of people but not too crowded. I don't think I would ever go during the summertime. We arrived at the inner harbor just in time to have lunch then headed to the aquarium.

Landon was in heaven! We recently checked out some Signing Time DVDs (dvd's that teach sign language to children)from the library. One of which had sea animals. Landon has been watching it and learning the sign for starfish, shrimp, fish, dolphin, etc. and this was the perfect time to use it.

Landon & Andrew were at this window looking at the fish and then all of a sudden, a shark swam by!!! They were both taken aback by it. I'm not sure if you can see the shark in the picture but it's there.
Landon loved looking at the turtles.
And every kid HAD to see Nemo! All the parents took turns taking pictures of their children with Nemo.
You have the option of watching the dolphin show, but we opted not too, so we went downstairs to look at them. The dolphins are actually in the background. I have no idea what Landon is so excited about. I think he was being silly and making faces.

I really like the jellyfish, Landon thought they were octopuses.
Before we left we had to get some family shots. So, here's Andrew with the kids.
And me with the kids. I love this picture because it looks like Libbie is trying to bite the back of Landon's head!

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Hold on to your seats this is going to be a long! And it won't be filled with pictures...it's about me & frankly I'm not too keen on taking pictures of me right now.

Here we go...

The Good:

I've lost 30 pounds in the 6 weeks after Libbie's birth.

The Bad:

Those 30 pounds aren't the only pounds I have to lose. I have about 13 more to go to get to pre-Libbie weight.

The Ugly:

I have another 10 to lose to get to pre-Landon and I'ld like to lose another 7!

So, though I've lost 30 pounds. I have another 30 still to lose! Yikes! I know you, mostly the women, reading think are asking themselves, "why is Kelley making this public?" Well, I figure that if I tell people about my quest to lose 30, I might actually get on board & go for the ride!

I figure I might as well be completely honest in this post. I definitely gained more weight with Libbie than I did with Landon. I told myself during my pregnancy that I was going to get on a major weight loss plan once I had Libbie and I thought, why not make it public??? My mother thought I was crazy, and frankly I think I am a bit, too. My goal isn't to get model ready but to get to a place where I'm content with my body and if I don't lose the full 30, I just want to get close and re-dedicate myself to being healthy and happy. So, how do I plan to do it???? I'm not quite sure, probably the only way I know how...RUN and eat healthy!!!!!

THE PLAN:

I started working on my plan two weeks ago, with the help of Andrew. Technically, I wasn't supposed to start until last Monday because that would be exactly 6 weeks since I delivered Libbie, but I need to get going. We started walking about 2 miles at night, after dinner. Not only are we exercising but it gives us time to catch up on our days with no chores or screaming children getting in the way. We were pushing Landon in our single jogger and Andrew would carry Libbie in the chest carrier. We new this would only work for so long so a week ago we purchased a double jogger, which has worked out wonderfully.

I spent all summer debating on a new stroller to get, mostly due to the fact that all summer long, Landon fought me (my mom can vouch for this) everytime I needed him in the stroller. I wasnted a BOB stroller but couldn't fathom spending the money (~$600) if Landon was still going to fight me. I researched and asked for suggestions from friends and decided to go with a less expensive double jogger, Baby Trend's Expedition (~$200). I was still hesitant with this purchase but Landon has been great and I love the stroller! We haven't been jogging with it but that is soon to come.

With this task out of the way, I knew I could really get started with the fitness part of the plan. We are on a plan of getting back into running condition. We are currently searching for a 5k to run in Dec. Then we'll continue running and finding races. I have figured out that in order for me to stay focused with running, I need a goal. What's better than having a race to train for as my goal. My major goal with running is to be 1/2 marathon ready this spring!

Now that I have been given the "go ahead" by my doctor, my Golds Gym membership will be getting some good use, especially with the winter months ahead. While I'm on maternity leave, my plan is to go to at least 2 classes during the week (days Landon is at daycare) and 1 class on the weekend. If you are Golds member and don't take the classes, you should! I love body pump, a lifting class and body combat, an aerobics with mixed martial arts class. the body combat is great when you have lots of aggression & stress to relieve. This will come in handy when I'm back at school!

So there's the fitness plan...get back into running condition in order to complete a 1/2 marathon this spring and get back going to Golds.

Now the eating plan. This is the tougher one for me. My major goal with this is to TRY and eat better. I know I'm going to have to work harder at my fitness plan because this one will suffer. I know extreme diets don't work for me for a couple of reasons: 1. they are too hard to maintain after the weight loss 2. I usually drop it soon after starting because I'm eating nothing or very restricted. So, no extreme diet. Also, I can't completely cut out sweets (mostly chocolate), fried foods, or any other yummy foods that are not the best for you. If I cut them out completely I know I'll eventually give in and binge! So, no giving up the "yummy" foods. This leaves me to TRY and eat better. I need to be conscious in my efforts in making healthy choices. Just my luck to be doing this during the holiday season, especially with a trip to Florida with all our favorite eating spots just around the corner! All I can do is try and if I slip up, I'll just have to run that much more!!!

To help me on this quest, I am getting support from Andrew (he's on his own journey, he just doesn't have as much to lose.). I'm keeping a written log of my weekly weight and daily activities so I can see the progress I am making. I probably should log what I'm eating but I have decided to hold off on that. The other part of this is to keep a weekly blog journal, probably every monday (I'll have to come up with a catchy title for those posts). In the posts, I'll let you know (the two people who read this) how the last week went in general, how much activity (classes & walk/run) was accomplished, how did I felt and, of course, the amount of weight lost.

I am trying to be realistic about all this and don't expect there to major pounds lost each week, though I wouldn't have a problem with it. I'm hoping for about 8-10 pounds loss by the time I'm back at school (Dec 17), but not bound by it. I know some weeks there will be great loss, some there will be no loss, and there will be other with the dreaded gain! I just have to keep telling myself to keep going and encouragement form all of you would be greatly appreciated!

Wish me luck as I being my journey!

Happy Girl

Enough said!

Happy Halloween

Yesterday we went to a co-workers house for a "boo party" and some trick-or-treating. In the midst of packing, we forgot our camera and Landon's backpack for his Diego costume. We had a great time visiting with friends, showing off Libbie and watching the kids have a fun playing all the games. Landon was not one of those kids participating, he would much rather play with the cars...so he did.

Landon would have been just fine last night without the trick-or-treating, but becasue all the "big" kids were doing it, he did. Also, once he figured out that all you had to say was "trick or treat" and you got candy, he was all for it!

This is the only picture I got last night. We finally came home, ready for bed, and Landon wanted to check out his loot! I was quite surprised at how much candy he received.

Since I didn't get pictures yesterday, I needed to get them today. We dressed back up in our Halloween day attire & costumes. This is what the kids wore in preparation for halloween night.

Libbie received another halloween outfit (from Sean, KC, & kids)that I had to make sure I dressed her in. The shirt says ghouls just wanna have fun...so cute!

She then had to suffer through another wardrobe change, her halloween costume. We decided to have her wear the pumpkin costume Landon wore 2 years ago. I think it fits her better than it did him. We were thinking of dressing her up as "baby jaguar" who is the sidekick to Diego which was...
Landon's costume! I searched and searched but couldn't find one. I'm sure I could have made one but wasn't up for the task. Landon refused to wear the backpack, this was the best I could get.
Here's the two of them. Separately they picture well, but once I get them together there's never a shot that's great. I guess I should get used to it.
The past 2 years we've done Halloween at our friend's house, but next year we'll probably stick to our neighborhood, for a few reasons:

1. I won't be able to forget the camera or part of a costume

2. we'll have two moving children to escort around

3. there are no stairs to carry children up (I had to carry Landon up loads of stairs last night)

4. Andrew wants to come up with a family theme for all of us. I better get working on this now!

We hope you all had a Happy Halloween!