Brief update

Ok, so no pounds gained or lost this week, but that seems like a miracle considering we've eaten out a ton this week. We started moving, and it's such a pain to cook in the middle of a huge mess. I guess I burned it off moving because I haven't done an actual workout this week.

So...I think I'm going to cancel the photo session. #1 reason is it's this Monday, and there's no chance I could get hair cut and clothes by then in the middle of moving (we didn't know we were moving when I scheduled it). #2 reason is, of course, I want to lose more weight. So I think I will reschedule for the week of my birthday -- which is about 6 weeks away. That should give us time to get settled and time to lose some more FAT! :)

Disappointment...

Argh! I only lost two pounds this week. Two pounds used to be great weight loss for me in a week, but I got spoiled with a 4 lb and 3 lb week. Oh well! I'll take whatever I can. I had just hoped for more with the weight loss shakes. I think it's because I've been super stressed this week with a bunch of stuff I can't go into right now. But I will let you know when our lives settle a little bit and we have things figured out. Because right now -- we DON'T.

Hmm...anyone think I can lose SEVEN pounds next week? My last week before pictures...

Taking off to Bear Lake for the weekend with Andrew's grandparents. Looking forward to a little relaxing, swimming (in a pool), and sun!

Smiles for Sunday

I am posting so many of these (almost the same) pictures mainly for my mom because she has a hard time picturing what he looks like. All of these pictures are very much what he looks like right now (and he has slightly different expressions in each). He is SO smiley and easy-going. Andrew and I both think he is an awful lot like Kate was -- in looks and temperament. He almost always wakes up happy from a nap -- full of smiles and coos. He loves getting his diaper changed and LOVES it when we sing to him and rub his cheeks or chest/belly. He's a happy little man! I thought the last picture was just funny because both he and Kate have a similar funny face. :) Oh, and Christian has a sad little nose here because he scratched his peeling burn -- and it got all nasty and bloody. Poor thing.

He's wearing a cute little onesie my brother, Paul, bought him. Hehehehe.

First day of preschool!

How cute is this kid?? She loves preschool, by the way.

Second Weigh-in

Well, as expected, camping was not what I needed for weight loss. Four days of eating too much! Luckily, it ended up evening out with the exercise I got hiking, and I didn't gain or lose while camping.

That left me with three days this week to get busy! I worked out twice (P90X -- I'm loving it), and started the shakes I ordered. Wow! LOVE the shakes, first of all. The first day I was constantly thinking about food, and didn't feel satisfied at all and really questioned my ability to live off shakes for two meals. But I kept doing it, and now I crave those shakes (I combine fresh fruit, ice, and chocolate soy milk to the powder -- yum). I don't think I was feeling hunger as much as I was just battling my addiction to eating. Strange...there's a difference?? :) I have felt mildly hungry at times, and just snack on fruit or carrots. But yesterday I didn't feel hungry at all and even delayed drinking the second shake because I didn't need it yet. Then I just eat what I would normally eat for dinner (well...no more frozen pizzas)-- just not so much, and no chocolate or Twizzlers after dinner! :)

Anyway, the shakes are part of a multi-level marketing scheme, and for that reason I almost didn't try them. I hate MLM. I will tell you what it is, though, and you can try it if you want. It's the Visalus shakes. But I'm not trying to get anyone to sign up under me or anything like that. I went through ebay to get mine.

Okay, okay. So how much did I lose in three days you are wondering. THREE pounds!! I am SO excited about this. I can't wait to see what next week brings. It feels like the weight is just melting off. It has never felt like that! Well, besides when I first start nursing. And no, I am no longer nursing. I stopped around the two month mark -- so a few weeks ago. The weight I gained during pregnancy all came off in that two months. Then I was still left with my previous overweight self.

I have just felt really good the past couple days. I feel healthy -- which I haven't felt for a long time. I have energy -- even though I haven't been getting tons of sleep or anything yet. I have been getting more than I was, though. I finally feel like weight-loss is doable for me, and I'm actually going to do it. I feel like maintaining a healthy weight is key for me and my immediate and long-term happiness. If I can't control what I'm eating, then I have a hard time controlling anything else in my life.

I hope I don't hit any walls or anything, but so far so good! :)

Camping -- A Hundred Miles from Nowhere

Over Labor Day weekend our family and my brother Mark's family went camping at Great Basin National Park in Nevada. For those who have not been there, it is really in the middle of nowhere!! It's just a wasteland with NOTHING until you get to the mountains. It's a high peak, 11,000+ feet surrounded by desert (hence the name the Great Basin). It was really pretty, though, once you get up into the mountains. I realize now I should have gotten a picture of the wasteland, but I could never move when we were actually in the car.

I didn't really know what to expect with a two-month old, but I was pleasantly surprised! He slept almost the whole way there (just 3 hours to get there), and when he was awake, he was smiling and happy. Great! We had him sleep in his car seat, and the first night he slept NINE hours STRAIGHT!! He has never slept more than 5 or 6 at home. My sister-in-law, Melyssa, said that her mom went camping a lot with babies, and that was her experience. The fresh air seems to agree with them. Of course, that doesn't mean I slept well. I was constantly waking wondering why he wasn't awake. But I was still happy for the accomplishment. The second night he woke up after four hours and slept til morning. The third night the temperature really dropped and so he kind of cried off and on all night without fully waking. Poor guy!
Kate had the time of her life playing with her three cousins. And they were all so cute with her and worked hard on including her in everything they did. The youngest is two years older than Kate. The first full day there we went on a couple of short hikes. We borrowed a Snuggly from Melyssa's sister, and Andrew carried Christian like that. We tried our best to keep him covered, but the poor guy got a little burn on his nose (which, yes, made me feel like a horrible parent...) :( In this picture the girls are standing by their accomplishment -- building a bridge!
Here we are at the Bristlecone Pine Grove with trees that are or were thousands of years old. Kate liked the one that acted as a slide. :) These are Andrew's favorite trees. Kate was pooped by the time we had to hike back, but I wasn't too interested in carrying her. I would carry her for a little ways when she asked me to, then I would put her down. To distract her from the hiking, I told her story after story which captivated her, and she walked almost all the way back! An older man stopped us on the way down and said that he was happy to see little ones getting such an early start on the trail. Me too!

Enjoying a lazy game of cards on Sunday.

Sunday afternoon nap.

Since we were so far from anywhere, we got permission from our bishops to bless and pass the Sacrament. Because it was fast and testimony Sunday, we had one of those, too. It was a neat experience to be out in nature bearing our testimonies. Reminded me of girls camp.

Cute girls loving Christian. He's a lucky boy to have so many adorers.

The girls by their "Welcome" mat of their tree house, where they spent many hours playing.
I was worried about Kate going potty in an outhouse, since she is deathly afraid of flies. And screamed bloody murder when she saw a fly in the gas station bathroom on the way there...But she did great! She never cried about it at all. I think she was too fascinated about seeing all the poo/pee in the ground to worry about a few (LOTS) of flies. No accidents! Yay! And nobody fell in -- double YAY!!

I really don't know what Kate was thinking in this one. Celeste was just bending over looking at Christian, and Kate ran over when she saw I was taking another picture and hugs her bum! Uh...anyway, it makes me laugh whenever I look at it. :)

I really enjoyed camping with Mark's family. Kate had so much fun she cried when we took the tent down. It made camping with a baby so much less stressful to have so many people willing to hold him. It was so neat to see SO many stars in the sky at night and even some bats flying overhead! I'm glad we went!

Kate and Christian photo shoot pics!!

A friend from my ward offered to take newborn and sibling pics of my kids as her baby shower gift to me. I love good pictures of my kids -- so this is one of the best things anyone could offer me! She has a preview of the shoot up on her blog right now -- you can go check the other pics out by clicking here. She got great shots -- the one above is one of my favorites! Christian had just barely started smiling (this was two weeks ago) and to have them looking at each other and smiling -- you can't get cuter than that. Kate cuddles him all the time lately, and squishes her cheek against his. He smiles every time! He sure loves his big sister, I can tell.

I'm so grateful Alicia shared her talent with us, and now we have these priceless photos! Thank you!

First Weigh-In

Normally I will be posting my results on a Friday, since that is when I started. But tomorrow we will be leaving for Great Basin National Park in Nevada, and I know I'll forget.

So...are you ready for it?? I don't know how, but I managed to lose FOUR pounds!! I don't think I've ever lost that much in a week. I just exercised three times and ate less, and that's what I got! Amazing! I am very happy since that keeps me on track to achieve my 16 pound weight loss by the end of the month.

However, I always tend to gain weight while camping. You'd think it'd be the opposite, but not for me. I feel like each meal will be my last when I'm in the outdoors, and I eat way too much. So I need to be careful about that and make sure I get some good hiking in.

I also ordered some weight loss shakes that should be coming next week. I've never tried anything like that before, so who knows if I'll like it or if it even works -- or if I can handle not eating anything for breakfast and lunch besides a shake. We shall see. I ordered enough for two weeks.

So there ya go --for anyone out there really wanting to know about my weekly weight loss! :)