Diet Bet & Training by Corey ;)

I signed up for a diet bet and I just finished week 1. I lost 2 lbs. I would say that's pretty good since for the first time ever, I'm doing it the healthy way. No fad diet, no eliminating all carbs, no super low calorie counting... Just clean eating and working my booty off! I already feel so much better. I also survived week 1 of training with Corey. He's is rough, whew! I've had quite a few people ask me what he has me do each day since I'm not having to go to a gym.... so I'll kind of share what a day looks like of "training by Corey"... lol

Basically, I work out every day... but different muscle groups each day. There aren't any "rest" days unless I feel like I need one. However, one of the days each week is just cardio. I do T-25, which is a Beachbody program, 6 days a week so that is part of this plan also... It only takes 25 minutes each day. I highly recommend it!!

Sunday: T-25 Cardio & cardio with Corey.... which I feel like is probably what he remembers from out on the football field and it just about kills me.
Monday: T-25 Speed & back and chest with Corey... mostly with free weights and a couple of things using body weight.
Tuesday: T-25 Total Body Circuit & arms with Corey... I think this is where he kills me the most. His arm work outs are hard and I want to die halfway through them. I scream, throw minor childlike fits, and my arms shake like crazy, but I always get through it and feel majorly accomplished afterwards. I just can't blow dry my hair the next day.....
Wednesday: T-25 Ab Intervals (killer) & more abs with Corey.... Ugh, I hate this day.
Thursday: T-25 Lower Focus & arms with Corey... Pretty much the same as Tuesday but we focus more on triceps than anything else this day.
Friday: T-25 Cardio & legs with Corey... My legs are sooo sore from doing T-25 all week because you do hundreds of squats and lunges, that I'm actually kind of dreading this day.
Saturday: T-25 STRETCH :) and I guess this would be my "rest" day but I still have to get my cardio in.
*I have to get 5-10 miles of running in a week... doesn't matter what days.*

As far as eating goes.......
Breakfast - 8 oz of Naked juice every morning
Snack - apple/banana/strawberries/blueberries (one of these sliced up)
Lunch - Usually salad but some days whatever is left over from the previous night's dinner. As far as salad dressing goes, I don't go all crazy... It has to taste good or I'm not going to eat it every day. My favorites right now are Olive Garden's Italian dressing (light version), Catalina fat free, and light thousand island.
Snack - carrots/cucumber/celery and I try to eat whichever one I have that day without dipping, which is a challenge with celery.. haha If I'm having celery I usually use a tiny bit of ranch dressing.
Dinner - Different versions of chicken and fish with veggies/salad. I also found a lot of great recipes on Pinterest recently that I've loved. I just try to stay away from carbs as much as possible at dinner but I'm not super strict either. I eat what I want at dinner, while trying to be mindful of how healthy it is.
Snack - I usually don't eat after dinner unless I'm super hungry. If so, greek yogurt, fruit, or a couple of peanut butter crackers.

I also TRY my best to drink one gallon of water a day. This has been the biggest challenge for me.
So there it is... Hope this helps those of you that wanted to know what each day looked like. If you want more details of the work outs, I don't mind at all to help ya out there. :) This is all about encouragement and getting through one day at a time! I am definitely NO expert but this just happens to be what works best for me.

 *As of right now, I'm trying not to have cheat meals until I reach 10 lbs. At that point, I'll ease up a little but still try to stay as healthy as possible for the most part. Honestly, this has been much more about the health aspect than the weight-loss for me. I want the boys to have a good example in me.. not just their dad. And I want to be around as long as possible to enjoy this amazing life God has blessed me with.

**Highlight of my week: I am FINALLY off of caffeine. It took 5 days of drinking half a coke a day to get through the awful headaches, but I'm on day 2 of nothing and NO headache. Praise the Lord, He has been my strength!

NYE 2014

"I'm going to take a picture so you can see the sass you are giving me right now."

So, for New Year's Eve I got a personal trainer. I've wanted one since I had the boys and I've begged my husband to just do it. He is amazingly smart when it comes to anything health/fitness but he has always said nooooo way. He's afraid to hurt my feelings or make me mad.... and most of all, he knows how easily I say, "I don't want to do it anymore" and throw a big hissy fit when it gets too hard. He also says how perfect my body is already and I don't need it.... WHATEV. That's why I love the man so much, but this body needs some bootcamp. So, knowing how much of a tight wad he is.... I strategically told him the other day that I'm getting a personal trainer and what did he say.... "I'LL DO IT!" Win. Worked like a charm. I've already had training sesh #1 and I think he's trying to kill me. I brought out my cute little weights and he laughed and traded me out. This is not going to be fun by any means.

I know, I know.... EVERYONE and their dog makes the resolution to lose weight. It's true... and it's also true that I may fail. But I'm not trying to "get skinny." I want to be fit and most of all, healthy. I want to be a role model for my boys and I would like to not feel like a fatty next to my stud of a husband. haha! I think this is my year... We are taking an anniversary trip to somewhere tropical in July (6 months) and I WILL wear whatever swimsuit and cute summery clothes I want, confidently by gosh! I also turn the big 3-0 next year and I would really like to be living a healthier life style by then. I think I'll try to blog more, maybe to keep me on track.. but let's be honest, that might not happen. I always have great intentions on keeping the blog up to date and it gets worse and worse by the year.

Most importantly......... 

I can say one thing I accomplished in 2014 was building a better relationship with the Lord. I feel much closer to Him now than I did at the beginning of the year, or ever, and I'll continue to work on myself daily to serve Him better. Corey has become such an amazing God-fearing man that leads our little family with such grace. Our boys are absolutely precious and Christian already has so many great questions and comments about Jesus and heaven. I have an amazing best friend that always points me in the right direction when I need it. My family and church family are so wonderful and so supportive. For all of that, I am truly grateful and blessed.

"The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him; though they may stumble, they will not fall, for the Lord upholds them with His hand." Psalm 37:23-24

Catch UP!

Well, I'm way behind because so much has went on that I would have LOVED to document every moment of. I've decided to spend at least one lunch a week eating at my computer and catching up on here. I don't want to forget all of these precious memories that go by so quickly. So, this is going to be a little long recap. :)

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Biggest News lately - Christian started Pre-School on August 19th. He LOVES it!!!!! We are beyond thrilled with our decision to put him in First Place Academy. Corey and I prayed about finding the right place for over a year and we can't believe it's already time for him to start. We both teared up a little on our way to his open house just talking about it. He goes two days a week until noon and he has had a wonderful first few weeks. He wakes up SO excited to get ready for school in the mornings. :) I love our conversations we have on our way to school in the mornings - they seriously make my day and are one of the most enjoyable moments with him right now. We talk about everything. I pray every night for this to be an amazing year for him and that his little light shines bright for Jesus!!

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8-21-14 His first Show & Tell at school and he chose to take his firetruck of course. He said he wanted to tell all of his friends about his daddy being a firefighter.

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This next few weeks are color weeks and I'm having way too much fun dressing him for the color of the day!! He helps me pick out his shirt at night and I think he loves it too... haha!

BLUE DAY!

GREEN DAY!

He got to be the special helper yesterday & he was super excited about that!

Which means he also got to dress the weather bear! :)

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I also started back to school & grad school. I adore my kiddos this year... They really are awesome!! My classes are a lot of fun and we are off to a great start. I'm SOOOO happy that I'm done with Research & Statistics, the nightmarish class I took this summer. It drained every bit of life right out of me at times. I'm taking Practicum this semester so I get to start doing some real counseling and I'm nervous/excited about that. I redid the look of my classroom over the summer and I'm just in love with it. It was so time consuming but well worth it. The kids really love it and that's all that matters. I'll post pics of that soon as soon as I get some time.

There are major perks to working with your best friend! :)

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Harrison lives a pretty easy life that still consists only of eating, playing, sleeping, and staying with his Nana while we are at work and bubby is at school. He is about the most chill, easy going child I've ever met... He may look just like me but he totally got his daddy's laid back personality. He's starting to talk so much and saying new words each day. I can't even imagine him having a conversation with me but I know that day will be here before we know it. He thinks his big brother hung the moon and he's daddy's buddy! He's rough, rowdy, and always smiling! :)

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Bad news: I've been having gallbladder attacks again... BOO! I thought I had magically escaped the problems but after two years of being attack-free, it hit me hard a few nights ago. :( Worst. Pain. EVER.  I have an appointment with a surgeon on Monday and the plan is to have surgery on Wednesday. I'm a nervous wreck so prayers are greatly appreciated. 

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I feel like I shouldn't end this wonderful post on a bad note, so let me not leave out my wonderful hubby. He's almost done with our first flip house... It should be finished by the end of the week or next week. Super excited to get it on the market and hopeful it will sell quickly. What a blessing that would be! He's been hard at work loving his job at the fire department and taking night classes twice a week so every moment we get together, I cherish greatly! I'm so proud of what an amazing husband and daddy he is and just feel super lucky. <3 

He DOES direct my paths.

I have a lot of thoughts. My head is really busy... definitely not as busy these days as it used to be.. and for that I'm thankful. But tonight was just one of those nights I guess. I was thinking of a situation that 6 months ago would have drove me crazy. It would have consumed my thoughts, stressed me out, and all for nothing. Tonight was different. As I was thinking about the situation, I said to myself, "Maybe I'm not supposed to understand... Maybe God is just directing my paths." Immediately a light went off... MAYBE??? MAYBE God is JUST directing my paths??? Of course God is directing my paths.... which is exactly why it doesn't matter how hard I try to make something happen, if it's not in line with God's will for my life, chances are I should just get over it. Did I really just discover something that I've been searching for all my life? All this stress, heart ache, trying to please people, worrying for nothing... all of this could have been as simple as letting it go and letting God take over? No..... no way... In my controlling-like brain it could have never been that simple. But it is. And tonight I realized that. I've thought it many times, but I didn't truly feel it until tonight. There is no doubt in my mind that as I started to think about this same situation that would have got me down a few months ago, God immediately stepped in and spoke to me. His words are powerful. His words are comforting. And best of all, His word is TRUTH.

Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take. -Proverbs 3:6

Tuesday Blessings

I'm obviously the worst blogger on earth. Harrison became a toddler one day and that was that. haha! I haven't given up on it completely though. This blog is a way for me to document precious memories and I've already wished I had written down some of the sweet moments that I can't remember every detail of already. So, my plan is to make an effort to post more often, even if they are short and sweet. These posts are really just for me to be able to look back and read one day anyway and for our family to enjoy hearing about the boys. :) 

Today, I took the boys with me to run errands. I have been pinning and brainstorming like crazy and could not wait any longer to get some things for my classroom. I am so excited about my purchases!! Eek!! 😊 Any place that has stationary, office supplies, and craft stuff is heavenly to me. I love Learning Oasis and the boys love the Toy Zone in there so it's a win, win. Then we went to Hobby Lobby.. One of my favorite places ever. I probably did way too much damage for one day so maybe the husband won't look at the checking account. If he does, who could get mad about me wanting to create the best learning environment possible for my kids?! 😉👍 I'm sure he will just be happy to see that I'm doing something with the crazy amount of hours that I spend on Pinterest each night. 

Adorable chalkboard.. I'm a sucker for pennants. 

I'm obsessed with the fabric I got to put together. I'm going to give this whole sewing thing a go... It could be interesting but I'm determined. A couple of table skirts and a curtain shouldn't be too complicated, right?? 😁 I'll be calling on my mom for back up. 

This cross is also a chalkboard.. Love. 

Cute new frames that may or may not make it to my classroom.. I love them lots for the house, too! 💛 Corey says we are at maximum chevron capacity though. 

I have big, exciting plans for this metallic gold paint...

And I bought this picture because it looks good with the black and white striped, gold polka dot fabric. It also has the perfect saying for my classroom.

I get so excited to decorate my room each year and more excited to meet all my new kiddos!! #lovemyjob I'm pretty sure hashtags do not belong in the blog world but I like them. And this is my blog. 

Anyway, on our way in to Hobby Lobby, I was holding Harrison on my hip and holding Christian's hand. He looked up at me and said, "We are all connected.... except daddy, he is at work." I thought it was the sweetest thing. I have no idea where that even came from because I've never said it. And the fact that he included daddy was pretty sweet too, because he was thinking how we are all connected. ❤️ That little boy has such a sweet heart. Then, while we were shopping, he starts singing "Hey, hey, dear Jesus.. Hey, hey, He is risen!" Which is a mix of a song from VBS and one that he's made up.. lol I didn't even know he knew that song at all. A couple that was close by thought it was so cute and thanked me for raising him to know Jesus. They were an older couple and so so sweet. All the while, Harrison is trying his best to sing along and definitely making up his own version. He was so good the entire time we were out, like usual. That kid hardly makes a peep.. He just strolls around, smiling, like he's the happiest thing in the world. I sure am proud of those babies. I spend a lot of time praying about this parenting thing, doubting myself, and asking the Lord for guidance to raise them in His word... And it's days like today that I feel like He shines a little light down to say, "you're doing alright, my child."