Halloween Cookies

On Friday, my friend Christina invited us over to decorate some cookies for Halloween. Will was a bit hesitant at first, but he ended up decorating a few cookies before dashing off to play with the trains. He sure did enjoy eating the cookies after lunch, though!!

Consistency

I found this quote on Pinterest this morning and it really resonated with me. Consistency has been the key to my weight loss/health journey. Consistency even when I'm not seeing results. Consistently going to the gym, even on the days where I feel like sleeping in. Consistently putting the right foods in my body. And consistently getting back on track when I slip up. To reach the next set of goals that I have for myself, I feel like I have to become even more consistent and intentional with the things I do each day...so to do that, I've decided to commit the next 100 days (until February 7, 2012, if I did the math right!) to consistently...

• Eating my planned meals every single day
• Eating one (planned!) cheat meal every week
• Getting to the gym 6 days a week - lifting for 5 of those days
• Cutting out all artificial sweeteners, even at cheat meals
• Cooking all my food for the week on Sundays
• Getting at least 8 hours of sleep each night 

To be honest, most of those things I do pretty consistently. Except for the last one - I suck at making myself get to bed in time. But writing them down and committing myself to them as goals for the next 100 days helps me for some reason. Because I'm human - there are days where I just don't feel like eating chicken and broccoli at 10:00 in the morning and there are days where I don't feel like turning off the tv or getting off the computer at 8:00 at night so I can be asleep by 8:30pm...in fact on the days where I do get myself in bed at that time (which is roughly the same time Will goes to bed) I feel pretty lame.

But I realize that in order to do what I've decided I want to do, I must do these things and I must do them consistently. Every single day, whether I want to or not. Wish me luck!

(for those of you who only come here for the cute pictures, don't worry, I've got a ton from this week and they're coming to a blog near you later today!)

Halloween Jammies

Every year since Will was little, we've gotten him a pair of Halloween jammies that he wears throughout September and October (and if I'm being honest, through the rest of the year as well!) I love his Halloween jammies and looking back at the pictures of him in them over the years...

2009

 

2010

 

and this years jammy pictures- 2011

Pumpkins

Yesterday the whole family headed out to Elgin Christmas Tree Farm for some fall fun...we really did have a great time (despite an epic meltdown in the middle by the littlest Johnson) and enjoyed some delicious Meyer's Elgin Smokehouse BBQ afterwards. That cheat meal was delicious!!

Will was *so* not thrilled with the idea of posing in the pumpkins for mom to take a picture. *sigh* This age is so much fun, but it's a little tough too. We're hitting up a local pumpkin patch later this week and I'm going to get a picture of him smiling in the pumpkins if it kills me...power of positive thinking, right? RIGHT?! Well, I hope so ;)

Will absolutely loved the petting zoo at the pumpkin patch. He probably would have spent the entire day feeding the llama if we'd have let him! They had giant hay bales behind us and as soon as he'd finished feeding the llama one handful of hay, he'd say, "Oh, need more hay!" and run to get some more. It was pretty adorable! He also called everything that the animals lived in a house...so instead of a barn, it was a horse house. And instead of a chicken coop, it was a chicken house....you get the idea. No matter how hard we try to correct him, he insists that horses do not live in barns, they live in horse houses! :)

They had a hay ride set up, pulled by a tractor that Will was even more crazy about than the animals. We spent a good chunk of time riding that around their farm. He kept exclaiming, "OH look mommy! It's a GREEN tractor!" He's gotten very good with his colors lately (well, except for purple - he always confuses that one with orange!). He tells us what the color is and then what train it's like from Thomas the Train...for example, "it's green, like Percy!" or "it's red, like James!"

There was the corn maze. And we're just going to skip right over that damn corn maze because we all three just about left the farm in tears at that point ;) I did mention we have a TWO-year-old, right? That should be explanation in itself.

And finally, there was the crazy maze. Will was really good at and he loved it too! Once he figured out that you go one way and have to turn around because it's a "dead end," he started racing down all the paths and made it through the maze really quickly! He ran through that thing at least 5 times and was more than ready for lunch when we left :) All in all, it was a really great day and I'm so happy we drove out there to do the pumpkin patch thing!

Off

I started eating "normal" food again on Monday after eating next to nothing on Saturday & Sunday because I felt so sick. Ever since then, my eating has been so off...so much for 4 solid weeks of eating on plan. :/ And for the record, "off" does not mean binging on sweets, eating out, or anything like that. I've actually eaten very clean, but I have no appetite and eating veggies does not sound like fun...my plan calls for 6 oz of veggies at each meal and that certainly hasn't been happening!

In hopes of getting myself back on track, here's what I'm planning to eat for the rest of the week. I'll be going out with my family sometime this weekend, which will be my cheat meal, but I'm going to keep it as cheat-free as possible. No sweets, and a salad or chicken/fish and veggies.

M1 - 2 egg, 2 egg white omelet with 6 oz. of zucchini, yellow squash, & green onions; topped with 1/2 small avocado
M2 (post-workout) - 4 oz. chicken, 6 oz. green beans, banana
M3 - Protein pancakes (1/4 c. oatmeal, 1 scoop vanilla protein powder & vanilla almond milk blended until smooth; cook over medium heat on the stove) & 6 oz. roasted broccoli
M4 - 4 oz. ground turkey, 6 oz. roasted cauliflower, 1/8 c. brown rice, apple
M5 - 4 oz. chicken, 6 oz. roasted mushrooms, yellow squash, & bell peppers
M6 - 4 oz. fish (tilapia or salmon), 4 oz. baby spinach, 2 oz. cucumbers, 2 T. balsamic vinaigrette, pear

I'm into roasted veggies right now...can you tell? ;)

Slime

It's been a long weekend...we've passed a tummy bug around and it has NOT been fun! Will and I caught it Saturday, Greg caught it Monday, and now it seems like Will might have it again. Boo!! Of course, this all happens on my busiest weekend of the year...because that is the way the universe works. Luckily my clients were all awesome and completely understanding and I have now rescheduled all of my sessions...I'm most definitely booked through November now! :)

Yesterday, Will seemed to be feeling well, so we stopped at Dunkin Donuts for a chocolate frosted donut before heading to HEB to do our grocery shopping, came home and ate some Bob the Builder shaped spaghetti for lunch, and then made slime in the afternoon.

I forgot to take into consideration the fact that my two-year-old HATES to be dirty. He hates having anything messy on his hands and wouldn't touch the slime at all. *sigh* I tried bribery to get him to at least touch it, thinking that once he realized it wasn't going to eat him, he'd like it.

He refused. So then I put a little glob of it on his shoulder...again thinking that once he touched it, he'd realize how neat it was to play with...

He was not amused ;) So, finally, I did what any normal mom would do, I plopped a big chunk of it on his head!

 

That one at least got a smile :)  oh, and a trip to the bathtub!

The slime is super easy to make - 2 parts cornstarch to one part water and a few drops of food coloring. It made a pretty good mess, but it was really fun (well, for me anyway) to play with! Maybe we'll try again in a few years :)

Hope you guys are all healthy and doing well! We will hopefully be rejoining civilization tomorrow...as long as this bug doesn't decide to stick around for Round 2, that is.

Random

Things on my mind tonight...

- I have 14 sessions this weekend. FOURTEEN. Who does that to themselves? Me, that's who. I swore to Greg tonight in the car that I'd never, ever, ever book 14 sessions again in a weekend. Who cares if 10 of them are mini sessions...that's still a whole lotta sessions!

- Cardio on no carbs at 10:00 in the morning when you need to eat again at 11:00 SUCKS. Oh my gosh, does it suck so much. I thought I was going to have to crawl out to my car!

- PCS is no joke. I took Will to a Halloween Party/fundraiser where an awesome local photog was taking pictures of all the kiddos in their costumes. I told her Will had a serious case of Photographer's Child Syndrome. She said she was up for the challenge...I think we got a good crying picture ;) At least he had fun with the party activities and the playscape!

- Stinker loves him some Dinosaur Train. I love me some PBS for 30 minutes to clean the kitchen, answer emails, and what have you!

 - I'm not sure having a cheat meal is worth it. We went out for Mexican tonight and I ate a ton of chips and salsa and about 1/2 of the chicken and guacamole from my fajitas. And I feel miserable now. Like I wish I could rewind time and not eat the chips and salsa and have my fish and spinach instead. I think from here on out, my cheat meal each week is going to be more of a small treat - a cookie or a piece of pumpkin bread...my body just can't handle it!

- Speaking of diet, this week was a lot easier on me mentally. Maybe I'm getting used to it? Or maybe it's going to be horrible again next week. Who knows! I've also been TIRED lately. Like right now...it's 9pm. I slept until 8am this morning and went to bed at 9pm last night. And I feel like I could sleep for hours. Ashley says the fatigue is normal. Normal or not, it sucks almost as much as my cardio did this morning!

- Matt comes home tonight! Actually, he's probably already here!! I can't tell you how excited I am to see my brother, hopefully workout with him once or twice, and hear all his stories first-hand. You don't realize just how much you love your family until they move across the country (*ahem* and never return your calls *ahem*) ;)

- We still haven't made it to a pumpkin patch, but I'm bound and determined to by the end of next weekend. We can't miss it again this year! We attempted to go with friends on Thursday, but we'll just leave it at that didn't work out so well...instead, we hit up the bouncy house in Cedar Park. And hammed it up for the camera (gasp!) just a tiny bit...

(sorry for the horrid white balance on these. taking photos in a neon colored tunnel with flash is not friendly!)



I'll be back to update in, oh, 5 years. You know, when I crawl out from under the pile of editing that is to be done ;) Kidding...kind of!

Trick-or-Treat!

I've been talking with Will a lot about Halloween lately. This is the first year I feel like he's really capable of "getting it," so I really want him to! I *love* Halloween. Not the demonic, scary stuff but the cute costumes, candy, cute fall decor, and most importantly, cool(er) temperatures! We've been reading lots of Halloween books, specifically The Hallo-weiner, which is a favorite! We've been talking about dressing up in a costume, knocking on the door, and saying "trick-or-treat!"

Today at Sam's I found an adorable Fireman costume that I knew Will would love. He of course wanted to try it on when we got home and he loves it...even the hat, which was a huge surprise! I took him outside to get some quick pictures of him in it and he started ringing our doorbell and saying, "Twick tweat!" ♥ He's too cute for words!

Flashback Friday

My sweet 17-month-old baby in his Daddy's shoes. My goodness does the time fly by so fast...the days feel so long (especially ones like yesterday), but then I look back and I'm not sure where the past year has gone. It certainly makes me re-think how I'm spending my time during these precious, fleeting little years...because I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be looking back on these photos some day all too soon wondering how my 17-month-old baby who was swimming in Daddy's shoes turned into a 17-year-old young man who fits into Daddy's shoes (and probably "borrows" things from him from time to time too!)

Sometimes I wish I had a pause button so I could soak in chubby cheeks, soft skin, belly laughs, and yes, even the the trying moments. They all go by in the blink of an eye.

Meal Planning...Wednesday?

I was told recently that my weekly meal plans were missed...well, there's a reason I haven't been posting them. They haven't been all that interesting and are pretty much the same thing day in and day out...and will be for quite a while! I'm training for something that requires me to eat pretty perfectly, except for one cheat meal a week. I got pretty hardcore about it this past week and am already seeing the type of results I want, even if I am dreaming about food nightly and had to force myself to choke down cauliflower and chicken at 9am this morning ;) It will SO be worth it in the end; I just have to make it through to that point first!

That being said, here's what I'm eating this week...

5:00am - 2 eggs, 2 egg whites, zucchini, 1 oz. almonds
7:30ish (post-workout) - 4 oz. chicken, 6 oz. green beans, banana
9:30am - 4 oz. ground turkey, 6 oz. cauliflower, 1/4 c. couscous
12:30pm - 4 oz. chicken, 6 oz. broccoli, small sweet potato, apple
3:30pm - 4 oz. ground turkey, 6 oz. asparagus, 1/4 c. bulgur wheat
6:30pm - 4 oz. salmon, 4 oz. baby spinach, 2 T. balsamic vinaigrette, grapefruit

I've been getting crazy hungry before bed, so I've been having another serving of protein and veggies...I probably going to start subbing that with a chocolate protein shake because there's only so many times one can eat chicken in a day ;) The times of my meals vary a little bit depending on what time I wake up in the morning, sometimes I'll switch my veggies around, and this morning I was craving almond butter, so I had that instead of almonds. But this is it pretty much.

Exciting, right? ;)

Catching Up

Sometimes I get so behind on blogging that thinking about updating is a daunting task, so I just don't...and then the cycle perpetuates until I haven't updated in like 3 weeks. Being a work at home mom is rough sometimes - I usually feel like I should be doing something I'm not. When I'm playing with Will, I feel like I should be working. When I'm working, I feel like I should be spending time with Will or Greg. I'm really trying to be intentional about scheduling my time this fall, but it's just not working out the way I'd hoped...I way overbooked myself (and if we're being honest, I'm continuing to overbook myself), so my editing is a lot more time consuming than I planned. I'll crawl out of this crazy-hole come December and hopefully have learned my lesson for next fall...which I think I've said for three years in a row now ;)

Anyways, here's what we've been up to in pictures...

We've been doing lots of bouncing! We have two indoor inflatable bounce houses that are pretty close to my house and we frequent them during the week. Now that school is back in session, they're usually pretty empty, so I don't have to worry too much about Will getting crushed by big kids. He absolutely *loves* climbing up the stairs and sliding down the slides at these places by himself. He thoroughly enjoys the time we spend here and at only $5 a visit, it's a great way for him to burn off some energy!

 We took Greg to one in Cedar Park this morning and Will thought that was just the coolest thing ever :) He even got to enjoy his first push-pop! He loved it...as if there was any question he would! He is my child after all ;)

 

 Now that it's finally not 150° outside (what, I'm not exaggerating that much!), we've been spending lots of time out at parks on playdates. Will has a severe case of PCS. What's PCS, you ask? Well, it's short for Photographer's Child Syndrome. And it means that if anyone in the vicinity is wielding a camera, even if it's just a simple point 'n shoot, Will refuses to look. Pretty much EVER. See photo above...Kate, one of his buddies, smiles sweetly for the camera. And my boy? He refuses. *sigh*

 

And finally, we've been visiting the Children's Museum quite a bit! And yes, we do spend the entire 3-4 hours we're there playing with the train table, watching the electric train, or talking about trains. My child is absolutely obsessed with trains...and that's perfectly okay with me!

We have done other things...like visit the gym, refuse to eat anything but pizza, hamburger, french fries, and ice cream (the boy), read lots of stories, snuggle while watching Dinosaur Train, Thomas the Train & Super Why (our current favorites), make muffins, and play with the dogs...but unfortunately I have been slacking majorly in the picture-taking department and I have no documentation of those things. I have plans to take him out for some "Yay, it's fall!" pictures soon and hopefully can find time in my crazy busy schedule to edit them and share them :)

...and hopefully that's not 3 weeks from now!