Weigh In Day (Shred Style)

Every Friday I weigh myself as soon as I get up. I then inform the record keeper of our biggest loser group who adds it to the spreadsheet. If I had a good week I anxiously await to see where I am in the rankings. I love the accountability the biggest loser group gives me. Since I don't formally attend Weight Watchers meetings the camaraderie among the losers is invaluable to me.

This week I did well. Very well actually. It is a loss that I have been working on for the last few weeks...

About 3 weeks ago I began to do the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred and the Jillian Michaels Shred It with Weights DVDs. The last month (and 10 lobs) prior to starting I was having difficulty breaking through both a physical and mental (aka becoming complacent) plateau. Up a bit, down a bit, repeat. I often have slips but this was different. Adding regular exercise was the obvious no brainer.

I must admit I felt some frustration while exercising because while my diet was still pretty much trudging alone as per normal I wasn't noticing much difference on the scale. BUT after a bit of time something started to happen. I started noticing the difference in my body. I began to see the muscles forming. Things are feeling tighter, feeling stronger. I dare say I am even getting addicted to my morning work out. I have only had a few days in the past 3 weeks where I haven't run through a video and on those days I walked, A LOT. Actually on many days where I do Shred we have a big family walk as well (like last night for example). It's the endorphin high man.

Since I mentioned it I do also want to expand on the Jillian Michaels workout DVDs. First off, she kicks your behind. In a major way. The workouts are quick though. About 25-30 minutes including the warmup and cool down. There are modified moves for beginners and what is neat is that you work your way up through levels, such as three in the 30 Day Shred or two in the Shred It with Weights. A trademark of Michaels' is what she calls a 3-2-1 system. Three minutes of strength, two minutes of cardio, and one minute of abs. Two days ago I moved up to level three of the 30 Day and today I moved to level two of the Weights. I feel it. And it feels goooooooooooooooood.

I encourage anyone looking to start a regular workout to snatch up these DVDs. I also have Michaels' Ripped in 30 Days and Yoga Meltdown DVDs which I haven't started yet but will soon. I really suggest having more that one on hand because I really liked being able to add that variety between the days. Monotony and getting bored can kill your drive to exercise. Your muscles like the variety too and will thank you. Some days I like more focus on the weights and others I feel like cardio is more in order. Either way, I sweat, I make that fat cry.

So seriously dude, go, buy the DVDs. Feel awesome about yourself. They're short too. I am a mum of three with a lot on my plate. If I can fit in the exercise you can to. The boys are used to Mamma doing her workout and they for the most part entertain themselves and sometimes even join in (they love jumping jacks and pushups, go figure). It is vital I do the workout either before baby E wakes up for the day or during her nap. Working out with Evelyn in tow is like some ridiculous multi word oxymoron.

I don't want to ramble much more but I also wanted to say that for the last week and half I have also switched myself over the newest version of the Weight Watchers program. I needed to. I was getting bored and having too many slips. I needed something that required my attention again. Plus I was intrigued by the idea of 0 point fruit. I am very much enjoying my post workout smoothie. HOLD THE  PHONE...did I just say "post workout smoothie". Some kind of planets must be aligning.

A few final thoughts: still drinking tea, lots, and water, lots. Two point fruit/yogurt smoothies are AWESOME. Soup is the ultimate diet lunch, so many veggies, and so few calories. Steel cut oats for breakfast rocks.

You want to know what made me really happy today? Seeing myself back under 190. 188.6 to be exact, which also means a 3.8 lb loss this week. I worked hard for it. I deserved that loss. I know I am still a ways from my goals but this past year (almost!) has been an incredible weight loss experience. I am keeping an image of a 2 piece swimsuit in my mind too (modified of course, I'm thinking shorts and a tankini type top, but still TWO PIECE).

A Whole Lotta Random

Good Day! And indeed it is a good day. While my thoughts have been abducted by some family drama as of recent and interrupting some blogging I also have many things going on. Busy doesn't begin.

I do have a fun project coming up that I am really looking forward to blogging about. It involves nature, 52 weeks, and 4 seasons. All will be revealed shortly (as in only several more days until the summer solstice shortly).

There are a few things I promised to blog about in the past that I just wasn't able to get to it. Some of those things now even seem redundant or irrelevent to post on now (Easter anyone?). Some of those things, like the Brtiax B Ready stroller are still very deserving of a post and still pending. I hope to get rolling on some of those very soon. I'm thinking some videos demos and reviews are also in order.

So here is a short update:

Things were quite busy around home the last few weeks. For one, Daddy was away for 9 days on a renovation job out of town. Yup, just me, three kidlets, the dog and the cat in our small abode. It had some ups and downs but we felt is was a great experience. It was also great practice for those times when Daddy has to go away to rock and we stay home. We had some great routines and patterns and I gained A LOT of confidence in myself. Dare I say I look forward to a few more occasions where I can dig in my heels and be both parents (but not in a long term sort of way). There is a definite dynamic shift when Daddy is gone and in short doses I like it. Don't get me wrong though. WE MISSED DADDY SOOOOOO MUCH!!!!

A big development around here is Max is potty trained. Max is what I would figure to be a later potty trainer. He is almost 3 1/2 and we didn't give it a good go until the last few weeks and I ran out of pull ups and refused to buy more. There have been many pee accidents and many poo accidents but we are currently hitting 80% success right now. I'm pretty trained myself now to watch the clock and every 3 to 4 hours get him to the potty. This past week though he has taken some initiative to go on his own, only had a few dribble accidents, wakes dry every morning, returns home from outings dry and has even had some pees out and about.

Other than that it is pretty much business as usual. Daddy is back from out of town and back to regular band rehearsals and long hard work days. While he is busy working I am busy taking care of the home front and every single thing that implies (finances, homeschool, kids, cleaning, cooking......). I did happen upon a very intriguing blog while Daddy was away which I have to admit gave me some great insight into the splitting of responsibilities we do have. Take a moment and pop over to http://womenlivingwell.org/. If you have a penchant for the 1950 husband/wife dynamic, like to homeschool and love the Lord then you will love this blog.

On the band front...they had their video footage shooting almost a month ago now and hopefully in a few weeks the video will be ready and be sent to the booking agencies (I am crossing EVERYTHING!). I am using every piece of The Secret I know to make this happen. That band does their part and I do mine. We are dreaming every day (and night) about international travel, flying with the kids, exposing our to the world, new tastes and new sounds.

Well there it is for now. Sorry for the shwack load of random thoughts. I just wanted to quickly write something out. Make sure people don't think I have forgotten them. In fact I guiltily think about how I should write more ALL THE TIME! I even have lots of good ideas. Getting the time? That is the ticket.

Thanks for stopping in today. Have a happy day :)

What A Rainbow

If you read my post Just A Little Stripping you would know that I was putting Miss E back into her cloth today after a brief hiatus to heal the sad bum. She went into a disposable first thing and by the time her morning nap was finished so would the diapers be done drying. Before she woke up I was able to get them all stuffed and ready for use.

Luckily I had a little time and the rare opportunity of my entire stash being fresh and clean. I mean every last one was there. Usually no matter how many are clean there are always a few that are in the dirty bag or clean in the diaper bag. Therefore I carpe diemed the chance to get a few pictures of the whole shebang. Just as the title of the post reads my first thoughts were, "Wow, what a rainbow". There are blues and browns and pinks and reds and yellows and pinks and greens and purples and pinks. Yes, there is a lot of pink. But overall I think I have done a semi decent job at representing a wide variety of colours. 

So without further ado I give you a few pictures of my stash and also a bit of a breakdown of brands and patterns.

So as you can see this is my rainbow. Is it bad that when I look at this I think "this doesn't seem like enough, I must need more"?

Here are a couple more close ups of the whole layout. 

Now for a bit of a breakdown of what I am currently running through.

In this picture we have all my wraps. I use these with the Thirsties Stay Dry Duo Insert. Starting at the left of the top row: Blueberry Wraps in Baby Bloom, Pink Lemonade and Butterflies. Second row are Thirsties Duo Wraps in Alice Brights (L) and Warm Stripes (R). Bottom row are two Rumparooz covers in Amythyst (L) and Lux (R). If I were to get any more wraps I would probably have to get one more of each as I really like all of them. They are soft, fit well and are nice and trim (especially the Rumparooz).

Above are my four Charlie Bananas. I really like these. They are very similar to a Fuzzi Bunz but I find them easier to stuff. Starting top row left and going clockwise I have Royal Blue, Red, Butterfly and one of my all time favourites is the "goodbye disposable hello cloth" in white (I do have a thing for white diapers). 

Ah, the BumGenius Pocket diaper. These are a fantastic diaper and are a favourite of many mums including myself. Clockwise starting at top left are: Blossom, Ribbit, Zinia, Sassy (amazing colour) and Zinia again. If I were to get another BG pocket it would definitely be in Dazzle which is an awesome deep purple.

Above are a few more BG items. The bottom is a BG Elemental in Grasshopper and the top two are the new BG Freetime in Lovelace and White. If I had to choose one pattern for all my diapers the Lovelace would be it. I preordered and waited MONTHS for that beauty. 

My TotBots. I love my TotBots. While I have favourite patterns the Totbots would be one of my favourite diapers all around. They are soft and fit fantastic. While they are an all in one diaper I like the way the insert pulls out yet stays attached. I would always like more of these. They have just released new patterns that I have on my wish list (specifically the Jubilee, Chicken Little, and Hansel & Gretel.)The patterns I have (starting clockwise top left) are: Cherrylicious, Toadstool, White, and Flower Power. 

I must admit I bought these Soft Bums Echo specifically because I fell in love with the top one which is called Sugar and Spice Giraffe. I didn't want it to feel lonely so I ordered another in Chocolate. These are a very trim fitting diaper so I like using them under the tights and leggings.

These Fuzzi Bunz were given to me by a dear friend. I'm not even sure what the colours are referred too as they are a few years older and companies are always changing their colours and patterns. They are all size small which will only fit a little longer but luckily I have a small and a medium in the adorable pink gingham one (that pattern makes me giddy).

Happy Heinys I really like. Especially with the snaps. Overall I have found the velcro to be stiff and kind of ripples oddly. That sounds bad, it's not THAT bad but I do like the snaps much better. Anyways...I have two in this brand which are the Groovy Circles on top and the Blue Hibiscus on the bottom. 

Apple Cheeks diapers are ones that I like to use as a night time diaper. I have them in size two and the way they fit now I find I can easily put a doubler in them. Top to bottom are: Delicious, Wild Child, and Purple Rain. 

I really like AMP diapers. At first I was a tad dubious then I found I liked them more with an AMP bamboo insert. The other AMP inserts I found too bulky and made the diaper seem too hard. The bamboo is softer and more flexible (to me anyways). These patterns are high on my list. They are a brand of diapers I initially tried solely for the cute patterns. In my stash I have (clockwise starting top left) Later Gator, Grunge, Ooga Booga, and Happy.

These are the last of the pocket diapers. I like these as a nighttime diaper as well, they are rather bulky and don't fit a lot of the day time pants but go nicely under sleepers. These are also the most luxurious of my diapers. My sister upon feeling one for the first time said she wished she had underwear this soft. These my friends are Blueberry Minky. Patterns are (clockwise starting top left) Winter Sage, Raspberry Truffle, and Paisley Blues.                                

                                       

This is a particular diaper that I only have one of (I think it is lonely though so another is on my list). The insert simply snaps into the cover and voila. They are a brand called Best Bottom and this one is Strawberry Shortcake.

  

Since I had the stash out I set out a few out my accessories too. These are my doublers. On the left are Thirsties doubles, AMP doublers in the middle, and Grovia doublers on the right. 

Cloth wipes are amazing. I use them for not only bums but faces, hands, noses, etc, etc, etc. The coloured ones are Thirsties, the middle are the ultra lush Fuzzi Bunz wipes and on the bottom are the BG (which I'm sorry, are like sandpaper compared to the others). 

Last but certainly not least...WET BAGS!!! Many cloth diapering ladies such as myself hoard, I mean collect, these like they collect their fluff. Wet bags can be a stash unto themselves. It wasn't long until I realized I had fallen down this rabbit hole too. Nevertheless this is my amassed collection of wet bags. On the left side are all Rumparooz. These are great with a handle and a half moon shape to fit more in. Starting at the top are Spring, Kangarooz, Eco-Owl, and Gumball. On the right are Planet Wise wet bags. The top is a large two sided hanging wet/dry bag in Pink Daisy/Stripe. The smaller two are a wet/dry bag in Outer Space and a wet bag in Fiesta. At the bottom is the mother of all wet bags (because this mamma is massive). It is the Bummis Fabulous Wet Bag, sized large, in green. 

Now that the strip is out of the way. It's taken me all day to write this (so many interruptions) and Evelyn has been through three cloth diapers now and so far so good. No horrible smells and thankfully no rash. Hopefully the length in a night time diaper doesn't set her back too far. The fluff has redeemed itself and the love has blossomed once again. I only had to stuff a few pockets to get that fuzzy feeling about them all over again. 

Phew, I don't feel defeated anymore. I don't like feeling that way. I really am keeping my fingers crossed that with some tweaking of the wash routine I'll be able to continue on the journey of cloth diapering :)