Better late than never.

It has been a little longer for this post than I originally intended. As you know, since the beginning of the year I have been counting calories to lose weight. The first week was great with the 6 pounds I lost and the second week seem to be off to a good start as well. Except for Thursday when I was out running errands. I hadn't eaten breakfast yet and started to feel light headed. I got the kids and rushed home, grabbed a granola bar but that did not help. I became nauseous, still light headed, very tired, chest hurt. I swear I thought I was either having a heart attack or a severe panic attack. Well, my nephew-in-law is an EMT and he told me it did not sound like a heart attack but the my sugar level got low and I was causing myself to have an anxiety attack. Jason came home from work to take care of the kids, thank goodness they were out for 2 days. I slept most of the day except for when he forced me to eat something. I slept most of the next two days away too. I just had no energy to do anything. After talking to other people and looking online, and because I have a history of low iron, Jason got some slow release iron supplements that I have been taking the last few days. After eating breakfast, taking the supplement, and getting a little nap, I feel like myself the rest of the day. I will be making an appointment with my doctor soon to get a much needed checkup.

BTW, losing weight has been pushed to the back burner for the moment although I am still tracking my food on MyFitnessPal.

1 Week In...

And Operation Slimdown is right on track. 6.4 lbs lost in the first week. What What! Now I am NOT a "diet" kind of girl. I cannot be as disciplined as some people and cut out all bad foods and only eat healthy good for you stuff. If I tried, I would certainly fail. I need my chocolate and snack foods to get me through the day. OK, maybe I don't need them that bad but it would be very hard to cut them out, especially with the kids in the house.

I am certainly going to be realistic here, I understand that this was probably a beginner's fluke; but, it definitely makes for an awesome motivator. NOTE: If I can keep this up I will be back to pre-hubby weight in NO TIME! ;) Yes, it is all his fault. I gained 20lb in 3 months because all we did was eat McDonald's, Burger King, Arby's, etc. You get the point.

Jason and I have changed our eating habits by focusing on portion control and counting calories. I thought it would be difficult at first (I did this once before I got pregnant with Peanut) but it is pretty easy, especially with an app on my phone for MyFitnessPal. I even have Jason using it too. PSST...he is down 5 lb this week. WAY TO GO BABE! :)

Here is my motivation pic that is on my refriderator...me right before Jason and I started dating again in 2004.

BUSTED!

Turn my head for one second, and this is what I find...

Trying to mess with the printer. He is fascinated by EVERYTHING and that little catching his breath sound that he makes when he sees something he likes is the best. I love this age when everything is new and wonderful and they are so full of innocense. I kind of wish the older boys were still this age. BUT, then I come to my senses and realize that 4 boys this age would NOT be fun. ;) They make life so much fun and I just need to learn to go with the flow.

If you notice the website on the laptop, TheFrugalGirls.com, one of a few great sites that I like that tells you of different deals around, expecially FREE e-books, those are my favorite. Anyway, they have this awesome idea on there that I must try. Homemade Oatmeal Packets. I love those things and the fact that they are so easier to make and cheaper too is an added bonus. Publix sells the Quaker Oats in the canister a lot for Buy One Get One Free which will make this an even better for the budget deal. :)

2 Days in...

So we are two days into the new year and I have to say...so far so good. Both the hubby and I have decided to try and lose a few pounds by watching more of what we eat. I have been using My Fitness Pal periodically for the last few years and I got him on it too now. :) He's upset that he has to count calories. LOL Well, not really upset but now more aware of what he is eating. Two days in and I am proud to say that I (hubby too) have came in under my calorie intake both days. YAY! That is an accomplishment in itself because the other times I have started this, the first week was always the worst.

I have managed to finish Sam's 1 year scrapbook this week which is awesome. It only took me 5 years to do it. Hopefully, it won't take that long to finish Peanut's. I have decided that I am going to try Project12. Seems like a great way to scrapbook my family as the year goes on. I am all about sketches and this site has some great ones. Each month they post a sketch for you to use. Looks fun, so look forward to seeing lots of pics of my kids. :D

Another thing I am thinking of doing, well doing so far, is taking pics everyday. I am going to start toting my camera everywhere just in case. I figure that way, it will be easier to scrapbook our family. It will give me lots to choose from and with this house of nuts I am sure they will give me lots to take pictures of.

Here is a pic from yesterday...

Thank you to Paint The Moon for the awesome watermarking tool. :) ♥

Third Times the Charm

Hopefully. If I can't keep up this time then I quit.

2012 is upon us and time to recollect on the past year. I realize that 1. blogs are easier for some people than they are for others and 2. resolutions NEVER seem to be fulfilled.

I looked back on my resolutions from 2011:

My 2011 Resolutions

1. To lose 35 pounds (preferably by May) No :(

2. To scrapbook 5-7 pages a week (Goes with #3) No :(
3. Catch up on scrapbooking. Almost, but No :(
4. Keep up with Blog Big NO!!
5. Create and stick to budget I created a budget then worked with a different one so I guess that counts as a yes
6. Enter receipts immediately after grocery shopping so I do not have a pile to do at once. :) Sometimes but not always
7. Coupon, Coupon, Coupon. ;) This one is the only one that I really adhered to.

So no actual resolutions this year. Instead, I am making a list of things that I would like to do but won't be too disappointed if some do not happen. OK, they still would technically be resolutions wouldn't they. ;)

1. Eat healthy and exercise
2. Find a job using my degree
3. Scrapbook some (no goals here, just want to find time for me)
4. Continue to coupon and get my savings above 40%

Like last year, I will add to this list as I need to. Until then, I hope everyone has a great 2012!

Calling All Colors

You are being warned. I now have a way to use you to your full potential and I can't wait to get started.
I bought a color wheel the other day because I thought it would help with the whole process of scrapbooking. My main issue is that I second guess the layout over and over again. I lack the ability to truely visualize something in my head and make it happen in real life.

I googled how to use the color wheel because I obviously was not paying much attention in Art class in school. And to my surprise found an awesome site. Let me rephrase that, I saw an awesome portion of a site I frequent often that I never even knew existed. It is called Scrap By Color!. Basically it is the exact same thing as my color wheel I bought except 1) it is online. 2) I can upload the pic I plan to scrapbook and it will give me color ideas based on the colors in the pic. And 3) it tells me which colors would look best based on the color wheel. Did I mention it was online :D I love that I am able to plan the page, the color scheme at least, online so that it leaves less to figure out and hopefully help me scrapbook more pages.

Check it out yourself here.

I know what I plan on doing tomorrow. :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

So today was not as cool for me as it used to be. But hopefully it was for the kids. :D

We started out the morning with a fun twist to breakfast. For one I got up early enough to cook for them which is amazing all by itself. I fixed them Green Eggs and Bacon. They look really nasty when you put the food coloring in it.

 It looked a lot better once they were done and the kids liked it. Sam did not like that his milk was Green, even though it is his favorite color, and wouldn't drink it.

I
Based on info I researched online about giving babies eggs, I fed some to Gabe as well (there are no known egg allergies in our families). He gave his approval as well.

For their afterschool snack I found a recipe for Easy 1-2-3 Shamrock Milk Shake that I thought they would enjoy. Served with extra chocolate cookies. I don't think they really liked it at all, except for the cookies. Alex and Sam said they liked it but didn't drink much and TJ said he didn't like it at all. So I think next year I find a different fun drink to share with the kiddos.

The boys had a baseball scrimmage tonight. I love baseball season and can't wait for the games to start.

For dinner I wanted to make an authentic Irish meal but had to find one that I thought the family would enjoy as well as not take forever to make. So I made Crockpot Corned Beef and Cabbage. It was DELICIOUS. And definitely something I will make again.

Overall the day was pretty good. Can't wait until next year.