Welcome 2013

Welcome, 2013!

Before we continue, I need to add a disclaimer.
I am not yet finished with 2012.

I still have the RACK 2012 post to get out.

I want to post our Christmas pics.

There is a litany of birthy and parenting topics that I have fabulous ideas on to do posts.

And yet....



Yep. Crickets.
They are all up in here, messing in my business.

But, I did get a new computer from Hubby for Christmas! So hopefully in the next week or so I will have it set up and that will make it easier to do things from home. :-)

I just wanted to pop in and say Welcome to 2013!

New Year, New You! Right?

Or in my case, I am striving for a continuation of the resolutions I set last year.

I have joined a local CSA, which is awesome. I have a half-share of the combination shares for the Winter season, so I am picking up fresh organic veggies, apples, a loaf of bread, a dozen cage-free eggs, and fresh cheese each week. All GMO free and as organic/natural as possible. I hope to do a post on the benefits of the CSA in the near future also. I am so pleased that I hope to do a full share during the summer season. Given that I cannot get Hubby to work with me to find an appropriate place in our yard for a garden where it will get enough sun and not get in the way, this is a good second choice to our own garden. I still hope to do some growing at home, probably different herbs and easy plants to supplement the CSA options.

I am also working toward weightloss/getting healthy. The CSA is helping with that. I'm back on MFP, aka MyFitnessPal. Actually, I logged back in on Sunday and it was the first time I'd logged in to the site in over 7 months. *hangs head in shame* But, I have renewed motivation and energy, so we are working in that direction again.

I'm not even going to try to renew last year's resolution to blog daily. We all know how that went. I think weekly is a more attainable goal. And it will start after I get my computer up and running. ;-)

As far as organizing, I am in a better place than last year. And have made leaps and bounds in the last few weeks, including joining a "Dustbusters" group on FB that a friend created for us to use to bounce cleaning/organization ideas off one another and lend support. That has helped me come across some really good ideas. And of course, Pinterest helps a lot.

And I have been more socially active in the last year. Mostly concerning birthy stuff, like going to birth socials and workshops hosted by Mama*ology. I am actually the Board President of Mama*ology this calendar year, so I am excited for that opportunity and the things we will be doing this year.

So there you have it. My non-resolutions resolutions for 2013. Which will be begin after I finish 2012.

Oh Where, Oh Where Did My Informed Consent Go?

Did you just sing that? Because I totally did. It's been running in my head all day long and I have been waiting and waiting for that time of day when I can actually plop down and get some me-time to work on a post. Which, as any mother knows, translates to after the kids are in bed and I catch up on a few things around the house and online.

So here I sit, thinking back to the way I used to treat medical decisions. You know, before I made INFORMED medical decisions. I would go to the doctor, they would tell me the course of treatment we were going to take, and I would not question their standard policies and procedures. Why would I? They went to MEDICAL school. They have MEDICAL degrees. I'm just a lowly person with no medical training, why should I question what they want to do in regards to my health?

Weight Loss Wednesday- Week 10

Psssssssst......

Want to hear a secret?
I skipped posting last week.
I decided I was so busy with work, kids, etc. that I was going to skip a week.

Want to hear another secret?
I actually gained 1lb during the last 2 weeks.

One last secret?
I don't care because my clothes are still getting looser.

Weight Loss Wednesday: Week 7

This last week has been crazy in my house! Sick kids, a killer stomach virus, etc. I'll be honest, I did a LOT of slipping up this past week. I went to the gym more than normal, but I did not eat as healthy as I could have. There were LOTS of cookies last week. In my defense, I am a stress eater. Kids passing around a stomach virus and some other things going on in my life really made me crave sweets. It is also why I haven't been posting much the last week. I have several topics I would like to write about and have some rough drafts in my head, but just haven't had the time to sit and write yet. Hopefully I can knock all of the ideas I have jumbled in my head out soon. Now, let's get down to business:

Yep. That's right. Still the same. No gain, no loss. I did go to the gym 3 times last week, but after the weekend of the stomach virus at my house, I haven't been back until tonight. I was able to stay under my calorie goals for the week, although I did go over 2 days:

All those cookies also really helped my carb and fat percentages rise, as you can see.

Hopefully this weekend I can take the steps I need to get back on track. I need to work on some menu planning. I need to do a "spring cleaning" on my pantry. I need to pack my lunch for the week. This will be helped with my office being closed Monday for President's Day. Hopefully I can get back in the swing of things and start seeing the scale slowly go back down.

Sorry so short tonight, but I also think that I've come down with a bit of the stomach virus my kids had over the weekend. Off to bed I go!

Weight Loss Wednesday- Week 6

Although I didn't have a lot of progress with my weight this week, I have felt GREAT anyway. I have also been working out A LOT. More on that in a minute. First, let's check out the scale:

So I'm only down 0.2 lbs from last week. Not a great amount. But, I had a rough few days at the end of last week. Monkey got his very first ear infection. Started with a fever Tuesday night, then he was miserable Wednesday. We went to the ped to get checked Thursday and she said it was an ear infection. From that point on, he basically went on a reverse nursing strike. He wanted to only nurse Friday and Saturday. We went from our normal schedule of 4-5 times a day to 20+ times a day.

Yes, you read that right. Over 20 times per day.
It.Was.Exhausting.

10 Parenting Principles I Wish I'd Known: Episode One

Each of us can look back on our lives and wish we had known something "back then" that we know now. I had read a quote not to long ago that was along the lines of "Better to get the information before the decision instead of getting the information after the decision and regretting the choice that was made."

That got me thinking. I'd already posted before about my perspective on my parenting past. I have no regrets, only experience. But what if I had made different decisions because I had access to different information? What do I wish I had known "back then" that I know to be true in my heart now?

Weight Loss Wednesday- Week 5

Another week bites the dust! Looking back, I don't think I did that bad this past week. I worked out 2 times. I was below my calorie count every day except one, when I only went over 34 calories. So when I hopped on the scale this morning, I was excepting to be down a little, maybe a pound. And the verdict is:

Yep...I'm actually up 0.2lbs from last week.

Tomato Garlic Baked Tilapia

We tried out a new recipe tonight. I loved it, and while it wasn't a huge hit with the entire family, I had enough of a success to make it again. Everyone in my family has very different food personalities. Hubby is very "meat &  potatoes," which makes it hard for me sometimes since I like to add in lots of veggies and fruit. He hates seafood unless it is sushi or unless he is "within a stone's throw of the ocean." I love fish and would love to have it more often.

Sassy loves her carbs, potatoes are the only veggie she will eat and not complain, and she only eats some chicken and salisbury steak. Diva hates most meat unless it is chicken tenders, but loves veggies and will eat her weight in salad. Monkey is my garbage disposal and will literally eat anything I put in front of him.

So, needless to say, trying to find new recipes are difficult in our house. I usually try to compromise and include at least 1 thing that each person will eat, but that usually ends up with us eating the same things over and over.

Weight Loss Wednesday- Week 4

This past week was rough. We were preparing for Monkey's birthday party, which caused some rushing around and stress, which then led to poor food choices. But I was still able to stay below my daily calorie goal each day.

Weight Loss Wednesday- Week 3

Another week and another pound lost!

We've had some issues this last week at home. Our furnace was not working properly last Friday, causing an impromptu sleepover at Mom's and Mike from Grogg's Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. to grace us with his presence early Saturday morning. But, Mike did an awesome job and we were back home Saturday after the house warmed back up.

Weight Loss Wednesday- Week 2

One week DOWN! And I didn't do too bad for my first week overall. I keep having to remind myself that healthy changes will not happen overnight and I need to take baby steps. And I'm not referring to my weight, rather the healthy changes in my goals.

Weight Loss Wednesday- Week 1

And so my journey begins. One year ago today, my Monkey was born. After that date, I did what many typical moms do. I lost a lot of weight, then slowly started packing it back on. Before I realized I was pregnant with Monkey, I had quite the magic algebraic equation to explain the weight I gained after Diva was born:

Sweet tea obsession + Junk food habit + Depo Provera + lack of exercise =

Nicole + 40 lbs (at least)

New Resolutions for the New Me

Yep, I've been sucked in. I've decided to do a stereotypical list of my New Year Resolutions. I figure that the best way to commit to some new changes is to put them on the Internet, cursing them to live there forever.

Many of my resolutions are related to this crunchy layer that is slowly creeping further and further into my life. Others are the typical resolutions that most people make. So, here's a countdown of what I want to work on in 2012 and some of the tools that I plan to utilize.