Birthday and Christmas Fun

My husband took me to the Gaylord Texan Friday through Sunday to celebrate my 30th bday. We saw the amazing ICE-Madagascar.  

My little man dancing to the music

I was quite nervous going into the weekend because I really did not want to gain weight.  So I stuck to my guns and made some healthy choices like this

and I made some time to work out

My hard work and dedication paid off because my weigh in on Monday morning showed the exact same weight as Friday.  Woohooo I was so happy I did not gain.  So then came my actual birthday and my hubs got me these

I love them and they are so comfortable!  

We opened presents

and played in a little snow

So true to form I did extremely well with eating during my weekend getaway just to come home and blow it with 2 crazy days of eating.  I always sabotage my good work and now have SIX pounds to lose.  I will be chugging water today and eating salad.  I have to work out at home and try to stay sane being cooped up all day with the kiddos because  the roads are icy.   

Merry Christmas!

Weekly Weigh In and Birthday Weekend

Honestly, I feel like I have worked my ass off this week trying to lose weight.  I have hit the gym multiple times and kept up with my at home workout routine as well. I have eaten clean, with the exception of my girl's night out and a few small sweets last Saturday.  I hopped on the scale this morning feeling like I have gained weight, but luckily I was wrong.  I have lost 2.6 pounds this week. WOOOOHOOOOO!!!  This is huge considering I have been stuck on the same number or a few more for months.  

I'm not too sure if it is because I took out my Mirena or because I did so well with food and working out this week.  In the past, I had great workouts and watched what I ate with Mirena and did not lose an ounce so we will see if it continues.  My body is still transitioning to life without it, but I honestly think I may be feeling better.  My mood has lightened a little and I'm not getting frustrated as quickly.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it all continues to get better.  

I have big plans this weekend.  It is my Bday weekend and I am so excited.  My family and BFF planned a little weekend at the Gaylord Texan.  The Gaylord brings in tons of ice and they have sculptors carve it into cartoon characters.  This year is Madagascar.  They also have snow tubing and other fun things.  I think the kids are going to have a blast.  I am going to enjoy this weekend of food, alcohol, and fun because you only turn 30 once, but I will still try to make good choices and I will be bringing clothing to hit their gym.   

Happy Friday!!!    

30th Birthday Girl's Night

The day is closing in faster and faster.  I only have 8 days left in my 20's and while the thought of being 30 is exciting, it is also the end of a really great decade in my life.  So much has happened in my 20's like graduating college, starting my career, getting married, and having babies.  It is a little sad to see it end, but I know there are many incredible things ahead.

I was able to celebrate with a girl's night out with my friends.  My BFF planned a nice dinner at Whiskey Cake.  If you have not been there, then you should definitely check it out.  So yummy!   I had a blast celebrating with my girls!

Saturday afternoon my mom planned a little cookie decorating party for the kiddos.  It was a blast and the girls did an awesome job decorating.  Their attention spans definitely surprised me.  Little cuties!

After all the sweets and dinner out I had a few too many calories, so first thing this morning I had a date with the gym.  A little running, weights, abs, and the good ole' treadmill definitely did my body good and I'm feeling much better.

Dun Dun Dun....

I took the plunge and recorded my official "starting again" measurements and snapped a few pics.  You know how your brain tells you how bad you look one day and then someone comments on how good you look?  Don't get me wrong, I have only heard a comment like that a few times, but the point is we typically tell ourselves how bad we look and we are very negative about ourselves.  Well, I have to laugh at the fact that I was feeling pretty confident in some areas of my body since I have been eating clean and working out the past few weeks(like a few weeks makes such a big difference LOL). Oh man, as soon as I looked at the pics I was instantly snapped out of the dream I had playing in my head and put back into reality. Let's just say these pics don't look like what I was swirling around in my head...I will not let these pics bring me down and make me quit, but I will use them as motivation instead.  

Oh and did I mention that I am going on a 7 day cruise in March, without kids, and it will be our first real vacation since our honeymoon?  If anything will help with the motivation this is it.  I WILL be in a bikini, I will NOT have too much jiggle, and I WILL be confident in myself knowing I put in lots of effort beforehand!

Measurements:

Waist- 29

Hips-36

Chest-34.5

Arms- 10.5

Thighs-22.25

Let me end on a positive note...my babies!

I am alive!

Wow, has it really been since August that I blogged?  Life has me running around like a crazy person, but I am loving all of the fun activities lately.  December is always my favorite month since it is my birthday and Christmas, but this December is even better because I am turning 30.  Oh, how I love December!!!

Since this is my first blog that I am going to post for everyone, I figured I should give a little background for the new readers.  I am married with 2 children who are almost 4 and 2.  Their birthdays are in January and February.  Dang, they are growing up too fast.  I am a high school math teacher and currently working on my masters in school counseling.  I stay pretty busy, but after Thursday I will have a month off from school.  Oh yeah!

 I started blogging to document my weight loss after having both of my kiddos, but have never posted it for lots of people to possibly read.   My heaviest was after my daughter, but I cannot find any of those pics...probably because I did not take very many.  When I started my journey after my youngest was born I was about 215ish, but didn't start this blog until I got really serious about my weight loss at 170ish.  The picture below with both of my kiddos shows a little bit of how heavy I was after having both of my kids.  The other pic is where I want to be again...those were my good ole' days in college where all I had to do was run 3 miles everyday, go to school, and party to have a thin figure.  Before college, I struggled with weight.  In high school, I would not eat...a little anorexic huh?...or if I did eat something, which was necessary due to playing sports, it would consist of carrots and plain tuna fish.  I gained massive amounts of weight during both of my pregnancies because I thought "oh well, I'm pregnant and I can eat what I want."  I have lost a decent amount since having my kiddos, but have been stuck at a plateau for the past year.  I am so tired of seeing 150-153 on the scale everyday.  And yes, I weigh myself everyday.   It has become very disheartening that I eat clean and work out, but the weight will not move.

I am lucky to be around others that motivate me to keep it up and do better.  For those of you that read Megan's blog you know just how motivating she is and if you don't read it....you should.  She is my real life BFF so it doesn't get much better than that!  She has amazed me with her body transformation and I strive to have a tiny amount of her dedication!

So I'm sure some are thinking, why the new beginning and blogging again?  Well, today I have decided to get rid of something that I have thought could be causing me to not lose weight....my Mirena birth control.  Honestly, weight loss is not the number one issue, but it is a big factor in this decision.  I have very little tolerance for anything, mainly my husband and kids and they really don't deserve an irritable me.  I thought maybe it was just all of the stress of life and especially going back to school, but this all really started after having my son, so at that time I chalked it up to a new baby, but now I'm not so sure.  Anyways, I want to document all of the changes in my body as well as my mental health and would love to inspire others on my journey.  

Stay tuned for some new beginning pics!  It will be interesting to see if getting rid of this Mirena really will make a difference.  Do any of you have Mirena?  Do you like it or have you had issues?