Fresh Produce

I have always been one to eat my vegetables. My parents always made sure there were vegetables at lunch and dinner. There was always a raw vegetable plate out among the treats at family get to togethers and holidays. Unfortunately, because my dad was picky about his vegetables, it was always the same ones.  Peas (which I actually don’t like. Never have), corn and yellow wax beans for dinner. Raw carrots or broccoli for lunch. Carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes for veggie platters. That’s it. 17 years living under their roof and that is all I was exposed to.

When I lived on my own all I ate was canned corn, canned green or yellow beans, broccoli and carrots. And they weren’t often. I lacked on my vegetable intake big time.

I was never one to eat fruit. I was a sugar junkie and choose to eat fruit flavoured candy instead. Bad move.

Even when Hubby and I moved in together we didn’t buy too much fresh produce. If we did, it was after Monkey #1 came along and he got the fresh stuff.  I make my own baby food. Always have since the first monkey. Don’t go thinking I’m one of those moms who thinks jarred baby food is nothing but crap. It might be, I don’t know. I’ve never looked into it. I looked at price point. It was, and is, a heck of a lot cheaper to make my own baby food than to buy it done. Sure, it’s a little more time consuming. But I don’t mind that. Parents do what works best for their families. For me, it’s making my own baby food. And I’ve gone completely off topic here. Where I was going with this is that I would take the time to pick good looking, fresh produce for my baby, but I didn’t bother to for myself of Hubby.

No wonder we gained weight!

Our grocery bill is much different now. We pile up on the fresh stuff. We love trying new vegetables and fruits. And yes, I eat fruit now. We bypass canned vegetables and fruit cups, opting for frozen instead if the fresh doesn’t look too great.

Once upon a time, our plates were half protein, nearly half starch (potatoes or rice) and just a touch of produce. Now it’s half produce, a bit of weighed out protein and just a touch of starch. Sometimes we leave out the starch. I love potatoes. I thought I would always eat my weight in potatoes. We didn’t have a single potato last month while Hubby was trying out the Paleo diet. I didn’t miss them. Of course, when we cooked up potatoes on the BBQ last weekend, they tasted heavenly!

We’ve really changed the way we look at produce. I love seeing all the different colours in our fridge and in our fruit bowl. I love that everyone in our house reaches for carrots, berries, apples, oranges, etc before reaching for the pudding, crackers or fruit roll up.

I’d also like to add that I love how we no longer eat until we feel full. We eat until we feel satisfied. Such a better feeling than feeling full. Honestly, I never want to feel full again. That’s yucky bloated, heavy stomach feeling is a thing of the past. 

Proud Mommy Moment

I'm going to take a quick break here from my weight loss recording to share a special little moment.

My baby boy, who just hit six months last week, is sitting up all by his self now. He started sitting by his self a couple of weeks ago, but was still a little wobbly. He has it nailed this week.

Where is the time going? I swear it's going by faster than it did with my other two monkeys.

Oh, baby boy, slow down! This mommy wants to savior each and every moment since there will not be anymore babies in this house. At least not for many more years when our babies are ready to have babies.

Feeling Defeated

Last night on the scale, my heart sank. The numbers on the scale didn't move from last week. I thought I did so well. I ate well, I exercised hard; I was expecting at least a pound and a half. I thought of the TWO cupcakes I had over the weekend. I put blame there first. Then starting thinking that maybe I didn't drink enough water throughout the week. Maybe I didn't push myself at the gym as hard as I thought I did.

The excuses kept popping up in my head. They haunted me all night long. Hubby gave me the speech I knew was coming; you didn't gain, you lost inches, you should be proud. All I could think of is how I want to throw out those leftover cupcakes; how I can revamp my exercise schedule. I racked my brain all night on how I can ensure a loss next Monday evening.

Obsessed much?

I know, deep down, that everything Hubby said last night to make me feel better is true. I've dropped 4 inches around my waist in two weeks. That’s huge! That’s something to be proud of.

I think I put too much pressure on myself. I have a goal in mind and want to get there as fast as possible. I have a long road on this journey of mine. I need to understand that it’s going to take time. It took me years to pile on the weight. It’s going to take more than a few weeks of a couple f months to take it all off.  

For the Love of Tea

Tea!

I love tea!

I really, really love DavidsTea! I have a bit of an obsession going on right now. It all started two years ago. Okay; it started longer than two years ago. But two years ago was when I got my first taste of DavidsTea. My now brother-in-law (then sister’s boyfriend) gave me a pack of “dessert” teas for Christmas. I loved them. Drank them up fast. I went online to discover the world of DavidsTeas.

(photo source unknown)

At first I stuck to the ones I had already tried. Then I got brave and tried new ones. I have come across one that I didn’t like. Chocolate orange. It smelled amazing. But I did not like the taste of it. But, then again, I was only 8 weeks pregnant when I tried it and everything made me gag (or worse) then.

Two months ago, my tea supply was running low. I did what any normal tea crazed person would do. I placed an order. I love that all orders from DavidsTea is only $5. Free if you order over $50! Plus you get three free samples with every online order. Since I love a bargain, I ordered over $50 worth of teas; plus a new tea infuser. When that box comes, the boys and I sit on the floor and smell all the teas, picking our favourites.

I have a cup of tea almost every night. It’s soothing. It also curbs any night cravings I may get. Salty? I drink Movie Night or Salted Caramel. Chocolate? Any of my chocolate teas. Sweet? A current favourite is Copabanana. Comfort? Sleigh Ride; my absolute favourite. I even have Hubby drinking tea now too. Something he said he’d never do. He even asks me to make it some nights. He won’t make it his self. He claims I make the tea better. My mom says the same thing; I make tea better than my dad.

So, yeah, I placed this nice big tea order. Then I remembered my mom’s birthday was coming up. So I decided to get her some tea too. There isn’t much she can do or enjoy these days. I figured tea was the way to go. I got her honey and cinnamon sticks and agave sticks to try. Of course since I was getting her these sticks to try, I had to get some for me too. I wanted to try them too. The honey and cinnamon stick is amazing in Sleigh Ride. There were also a few teas I decided I just had to try. So another $50 order is placed only a few days after the other order.

With that order, I got a coupon for free tea. We happened to be going to the city that weekend. I dragged Hubby and the monkeys into the store. I live about an hour away from the closest DavidsTea store. Hubby works about 15 minutes away from it. We go into the city all the time for shopping, doctor appointments; 5 minutes away from the store is the hospital I had all three of the boys. I shop across the street at Bonnie Togs all the time. Yet that was my first time going into the store. Hubby and I must have smelled twenty or so teas. I got my free tea; Forever Nuts. It’s yummy and turns an awesome shade of pink. I then picked up more agave, Lime Gelato and Coconut Oolong.

Self control…What is that? Apparently I have none when it comes to tea.

My cupboard was overflowing with tea. And I loved it! I discovered I loved having all the different choices. Every day can be different. My afternoon tea and evening tea can be complete opposites.

And now, a month later, my tea collection has quite the dent in it. I would love to place another tea order, but decided to wait until I have more empty tea containers.

Tea

If you’re a tea drinker, I highly recommend DavidsTea, if you haven’t tried them already. 

Noticing A Difference

I have a “good weather” friend. And I mean just that; we only see each other when the weather is good. She hates winter and hides. When Spring and Summer are here, she’s out almost every day. Now that the beautiful weather is here, I’ve been seeing her again. We’re neighbours. We used to live right next to each other. She babysat Monkey #1 when I was still working. Then we moved…Across the backyard. Now my place is right behind her’s.

My friend would never say that she’s active or fit. She’s one of those people who just can’t sit still. She’s always on the move somehow. We go on a lot of walks together, always have for the past five years. I’ve always had a hard time keeping up with her naturally fast pace. I was always huffing and puffing, sweating and struggling to keep up a conversation.

We went on our first walk of the season yesterday. 

(The trail near my house. This was taken back in January. You know, before 

winter hit and we got snow that lasted up until last week.)

Halfway through the walk I realized I was perfectly fine. No shortness of breath. No pain in my bad knee. No sweat even in the 25 degree weather. I was able to chat and laugh at ease. We walked for nearly an hour. I came home feeling the same way as when we left.

It feels great to realize my hard work at the gym is paying off. I am getting fitter.

Unfortunately, walks with my friend can’t be considered a workout anymore. Not if I’m not pushing myself. I’m okay with that. That’s why I now have a gym membership.

Speaking of the gym; tomorrow I’m going to hand over my monkey’s to my new brother-in-law and steal my sister. We’re going to go to the gym together. My brother-in-law is a super fit military captain; I’m throwing in that captain part only because I’m super proud of him. He’s only 24 years old. He’s doing great in his career. Anyways, he is always pushing my sister to be more active. At one point, my sister was underweight. Size 0 hung off her. She was just bones walking around.

Marriage agrees with her. She’s put on weight. She’s still far from overweight. She looks good. She looks healthy. Now she wants to tone up and get fit to keep up with her hubby. She says I’m motivation too. She says I can’t be the only fit sister; she has to keep up with my progress. I still have a long, long way to go. But I’m glad I’m getting her off her butt. I’m looking forward to sweating it up with her while Captain learns how to handle babies. I’m sure he’ll be fine.  

Get Moving

What a beautiful day! It’s the type of day to be outside as much as possible.

The monkeys and I spent almost the whole morning playing in our backyard today. Practicing soccer, bouncing on balls, climbing and sliding and, the most spring like thing we could think of, blowing bubbles.

Now it’s time to refuel these tired kids. Lunch and then nap time for the littles. A little bit of quiet time for the oldest. And some quiet time for me too. Too bad my quiet time is cleaning. I have baskets of laundry to fold and put away, two bathrooms to clean and the breakfast and lunch dishes to wash and dry.

The one nice thing of all the chores I need to do, I get to climb stairs multiple times. My own at home stairmaster! Since I can’t make it to the gym tonight, I’m going to try to get in my workout here at home. Bend, stretch, run up and down stairs, play a lot with the kids. Too bad my bike is still at my dad’s shop. I’d go for a late afternoon bike ride with the kids if it were here at home. Maybe a couple hours at the park will wear us all out before supper.

I’m going to get in my activity today. Hope you do too.

beautiful day

It's a dark day, but a beautiful day all at the same time.

Today, the family is meeting with a funeral director to go over plans for my mom. Getting her ducks in a row before the dreadful day comes and she loses her battle with cancer. 

I've decided not to sit at home and think about what's to come. After I got Monkey #1 onto the school bus, I strapped the littles into the stroller and set out on a run. And it SUCKED! 

This was my first time attempting to run with the stroller. I have a somewhat of a jogging stroller. I have a Phil & Teds with the second seat.

(yes, that's my stoller and my 3 monkeys. Picture taken this morning. 

The pirate hat monkey sits in the seat below)

 I figured I've been doing really well at the gym, why not take the kids for a spin. Oh! My! Gosh! It's was so hard! What the heck? Am I that uncoordinated? Why did my 13 and 28 pound kids suddenly turn into 100 pound bricks of lead? I managed to walk/run 30 minutes before I gave up. Plus Monkey #2's continuous "ahhhhhhhhh" was starting to drive me bonkers. 

I'm glad I tried it. It's something I am going to try again. After all, it's got to get easier, right? I'm happy I did something pre-gym. Tonight I'm heading over there for some strength training. 

Since today is one of the first truly gorgeous days we have had this Spring, the littles and I played outside after our run. I pulled some of the outside toys out of the shed. Monkey #2 was delighted to see the slide, the playhouse, the picnic table, the seesaw and his golf clubs again. Hubby and I are thinking of getting a swing set for the kids this year. It's not set in stone yet since we can't seem to agree on which set. I'm sure I'll just turn around and buy one at some point. I did just that yesterday. Only it was a bike trailer, not a swing set. 

I have not been on a bike in 18 years! When I was 13 the helmet rule came into play. I refused to wear a helmet. So I couldn't ride my bike. I'm stubborn and just stopped riding. Although I do not want to be one of those people who's butt hangs over the side of the tiny bike seat, I am sucking up my pride for my children. Monkey #1 got a brand new bike last week and he's itching to ride it. So far, Hubby and I just run next to him. I can't do that when Hubby is at work.. If I could figure out how to run well with the stroller, I would do that. But instead, I've taken my mom's old bike (it's 15 years old, never used, works fine) and I'm going to attach the bike trailer to it. There's two seats for both the littles in it. Then I'll be able to take my kiddos out for a bike ride whenever we want. I told Hubby my idea three weeks ago. Every time I suggested buying a bike trailer, he hmm and ah over it and we'd walk away with nothing. So I bit the bullet yesterday, bought one and sent him a text saying I need him to build it for me, or he risks me putting it together. I reminded him his babies are going to be in that thing. I'm sure he'll have it built for me this weekend. 

I love how we're becoming an active family. We go for long family walks. We play sports together. The two older kids are both in soccer this year. We go swimming. We will be going biking. Someday maybe we'll run together too.

I'm loving how we've changed. I love how Hubby and I are setting good examples for our kids. Monkey #1 comes to my meetings with me. Not only do I get to spend a little one on one time with him before and after my meeting, he gets to learn why I'm overweight and why I'm working hard to lose that weight. Hopefully he's never in the same boat. Hopefully he'll learn how to eat healthy and same active his whole life. I not only want to be a loving mother, but I want to be an active mother. I want to be a role model for my boys. I think I'm off to a good start.