Baby Ducks Are Here!

The baby ducks were born at Timber Run! They look pretty cute I would say. Now, to just keep those darned geese from laying eggs!

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Happy Easter!

What a weekend! We started with a great trip to Eric and Sarah Baker's house to spend the night and let the kids play together. The girls had a great time and were so excited to sleep at Oliver's house. Sometimes I think the anticipation is more exciting than the actual event! After some great Creno's pizza and breadsticks, we settled in for a not-so-relaxing night's sleep. Jack was up a few times with a cough - poor baby.

Saturday morning, we headed back to Newark and went to Tom's parents (not before grabbing City BBQ for our lunch) and the girls colored eggs. I was actually quite surprised that they did as well as they did. Thanks to Nana for the very short notice on boiling eggs and getting dye ready. And, thanks to Nana and Papa, Tom and I were able to meet my mom and dad to do our 9 mile run to prepare for the Indy Mini. There is something about running with other people that really helps the time go faster. We ran along the Granville bike path, which was actually really nice. We were lucky enough to avoid the storms and only had rain for the last mile or so. Tom and I actually ran about 9.4 miles and walked another 0.4. I cannot even begin to describe how sore my body is today - two days later. Here is a link to the app I used to track our run. (We did 9.4 even though it only states 8.9).

Had a nice dinner with my parents and an Easter egg hunt as well. Jack loved finding eggs and mom had planned certain eggs just for him. He was pretty proud of himself.

Finally, Sunday was the big day - Easter! We spent the morning resting around the house, after Easter baskets of course. (Not the best photos, but you get the idea!)

We went to the late Newark Naz service and loved seeing our friends and what a great service! Every time I go, it's somewhat bittersweet. I absolutely love the worship and no one will ever beat Wes' sermons. But, it's a reminder that we need to keep searching for that type of environment here in Greenfield.

We had a lovely lunch with the Joyner's, my parents, the Fenton's, Grammy, Grandpa Anderson and Grandma Ellie. It was great having everyone together. Another Easter egg hunt ensued, the kids got hyped up on candy, the parent's got full on ham and then it was time for the three hour trip home. Great trip back to Ohio, but also glad to be home, which is probably a good thing...

Welcome and Introduction

OK - well, I'm here. I decided it's probably time to start a blog. Honestly, I've started one before, but just couldn't get into it. I'm going to challenge myself to post once a day for 30 days. My thought is to have a "stream-of-consciousness" blog and just get thoughts down on paper in order to document the every day aspects of my life. We have a very busy life and the days do seem to run together so I'm hoping to capture some of our finer moments as a family.

As a bit of an introduction, I'm a 31 year old mother of three  -

(Josie - 5, Tessa - 4 and Jack - 10 months). 

My husband, Tom, and I have been married for 11 years. 

Tom and I own a residential construction company and build condominium homes in Greenfield, Indiana. We are currently on a fitness expedition to lose weight and become more fit. It all started with P90X, then Insanity and now we're training for the Indy Mini - a 13.1 mile race on May 7th. We're also very involved with the Rotary Club of Greenfield and enjoy our Thursday lunch meetings at Ponderosa along with all of the community service opportunities it provides. Finally, and most importantly, we are Christians and try to live our lives in accordance with God's will, as hard as it is to discern at times.

So, while I realize this may not become a successful blog, I hope to entertain you all with the craziness that is our everyday lives. Plus, I promise to post lots of pictures of our adorable kids. See - I knew that would draw you in...

P90X - Day Fifty Eight

Well, the posts are becoming farther apart! I’m still on the workout track but the food is a different story. Things got busy and I got lazy in the kitchen. Plus, with Halloween, the candy temptation was just too high. My weight is the same, which I guess is good. And, my measurements are still going down. So, all good, but I have to wonder what would be happening if I stuck to the diet. Each day I tell myself I’m going to stick to it, then I just don’t. My hunger has been pretty high too.

Anyway, still digging it and looking forward to the last phase. We are heading to Colorado this weekend so I’m going to do my 60 day photos tonight. Close enough! I did extend the last phase though since Tom joined in. So, I’ll be doing P97X. 

P90X - Day Thirty Eight

Well, here I am at day 38. Haven’t lost a pound in 8 days and getting a little more than frustrated. However, I have read that Phase Two is less about weight loss and more about body transformation. So, I will keep at it and check the results at day 60. I really wish I was strong enough to put away the scale until the milestones. But, it’s just not going to happen.

The diet has been pretty good. I do have an overwhelming feeling that I’ve been cheating, even though I’ve really stuck with the right ratios. All I really know if I’m eating way more healthy than I ever have with a good blend of food, so the weight is bound to come off at some point. I am on the same belt loop as before I was pregnant so there must be some change! 

Tom is starting with me as of today as well. I’m excited for him. I think he will bulk up quickly and the muscles will just pop through. I’m so happy he’s decided to do it too. We did yoga together today and it was a lot of fun. We giggled a lot on the hard moves and I actually had my best yoga calorie burn. The girls joined in at the end too which is always funny. Josie was trying to get us to skip the exercises because they were so hard. They always love the “Ohms” and they look so cute doing it! 

Now that we have our internet back, I’m going to try to load my face photos of before and 30 days. I can’t believe the difference!

End of Phase I!

OK – so today is the end of phase one. Tomorrow begins the new workouts and the new nutrition plan. I have to say I feel like I’ve cheated the program a little lately. Today, I did nothing and feel bad. Even though today is Stretch or Rest, I chose to rest. It just didn’t fit into the day and I didn’t make it fit. Then, of course, last night, I ate the chips. Ugh. They were still worth it but I’m wondering if it will lead to more bad things. I’m going to have to kick it into gear tomorrow morning. Tom says he’s going to do it with me, so we’ll see. I’ve heard crazy things about this round – one handed and clap push ups. I wonder if they have the same effect if they’re done on the knees. 

One other thing I’ve done is put together a spreadsheet for nutrition and calories. It made me realize I’ve actually been pretty far off of my ratios. But, I’ve lost more pounds than the 3500 per pound deficit, so something is working. Right now, I’m assuming 500 calories for breastfeeding and using the first two digits of weight times 100 times 1.2 for the base calories burned. So, over the month, I had an almost 20,000 deficit, which would equal 6 pounds, but I actually lost 9.5. As for the ratios, I actually need to cut down on the fat. My protein/carbs weren’t too far off (averaged 44 protein and 32 carbs, which they were supposed to be 50/30) but fat was 25% instead of 20%. So, I still need to cut the fat and now can switch some protein for carbs. I got double protein bread for a piece of toast in the morning. We’ll see how it works this phase.

Still have two days until measurements and photos. I think I’ll see change for sure. I still have a ways to go, but it’s kind of all gravy from here. I’d love to be pre-Josie weight by the time I’m done. But, I’ll take a few pounds more with muscles. I’m thinking maybe a Turbo Jam circuit after this round of P90X. I’m sure I’ll still have fat and inches to lose by then. Well, that’s 60 days away, so I’ll see when I get closer.

P90X - Day Twenty Seven

Well, tomorrow marks the end of phase one! I got kind of bored at the end of this recovery week both with diet and exercise. So, I had chips tonight at El Rodeo – my first real food cheat. I thought about it a lot in advance to make sure it wasn’t an impulse thing. Man, they were good!

I’m excited to move on to phase two. It will be nice to have toast with breakfast! I’m also excited to take my 30 day stats and measurements. I know I’ve lost pounds and inches!