The Nelson Narrative

So after a little set-back last week I managed to get back on track and lost the pound I gained (thank God it was only a pound--I thought it might be a lot more) plus another pound.  So I am now down 4.8 pounds since April 1st.  My goal for April was to lose 5 pounds so I think I'll make it and maybe a tiny bit more. On Monday I did the 30 Day Shred workout for the first time in months.  While I was doing it I came up with the idea that I would get up early enough every day this week to do that workout before the girls got up (or if they got up during they could just watch a little TV while I finished and showered), plus I would still go to the gym or run/walk outside my normal 2-3 times.  But when my alarm went off Tuesday morning I was pretty sore from the day before since I hadn't done that workout in so long, plus I'm just always SO tired that early in the morning, even if I go to bed at a reasonable hour.  So I skipped it. Then I had planned to get...

The girls got swim lessons for their birthday from Paul's parents.  They started last Tuesday and they go twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.  I wasn't sure what level to put them in so I guessed best I could and they are in P1 (Preschool 1 out of 4), but we realized right away that it is too easy for them, so we asked to move them up to P2 and they assessed them and agreed that Kayley should move up but Olivia isn't quite comfortable enough on her back (floating assisted) to move up.  There happens to be a P2 class at the same time that their friend also happens to be in, but unfortunately it is full.  The person we talked to was going to ask the instructor if they could do an "overage" and add her, or we could take her on Mondays and Wednesdays but then we'd be going there 4 nights a week.  I think that's what we're going to end up doing, though, because we figure 1) it's only for 4 more weeks and 2) it would be good to separate them a...

Once again, I hit the 4 pound mark and totally fell apart.  The girls were at their grandparents' all weekend and Paul and I had a date night and then he went down to join them giving me some free time and I just overall have splurged over the last several days.  I haven't bothered to weigh-in but I'm sure I'm up a few pounds, if not all 4 or even more. BUT.  As of today I am back on track.  I was planning on going to the gym when Paul gets home from work but it's nice enough outside that I'll probably just go for a run/walk. Speaking of running, it was this time last year that I was training for my first 5K.  I ran the thing in early June and have since never run more than a mile and a half and since the fall I don't think I've run more than 5 or 6 minutes at a time without stopping to walk.  I want to do another 5K in November (our community has an annual Turkey Trot--it's nice and close and cheaper than some of the others) but I will to...

Paul's parents came over for dinner on Thursday evening for a belated birthday celebration for him and his dad, then they took the girls home with them for the whole weekend!  We had last night and today alone together and then tomorrow morning he is going to go down there and join them and I get the whole day and evening and part of Sunday to myself!  Whoo-hoo! We were originally going to do something fun today, like go to the Pike Place market and maybe ride the new-ish Great Wheel, then we decided we were going to paint the girls' bedroom instead, but ultimately we ended up doing none of the above and did separate errands.  He took one of the cars in this morning for an oil change, then went to the mall to spend a gift card.  I got a haircut and went to the Gymboree outlet to spend my Gymbucks.  We're going out for dinner tonight, though, and then back home to watch a movie since there really isn't anything playing in the theater th...

I'm a few days late with this post, but here it is.  So I was really good last week and pretty good over the weekend and up until Tuesday when I ended up eating a bunch of left-over Easter candy.  Oops. Anyway, I lost 3.8 pounds between Monday the 1st and Friday the 5th (obviously mostly water).  I was going to weigh in today but decided to weigh yesterday instead and I was the exact same as last Friday.  Oh well, at least I didn't gain, and I'm still down almost 4 pounds in less than 2 weeks so that's still pretty good. I've been keeping up with my goal of a minimum of 3 workouts per week, but I haven't really been doing the 10 minutes a day thing on the other days (one of my goals for the first 20 days of April).  I need to step it up.  Also, I've been slacking on my food diary for the last few days so I need to get back on that, too.

The girls went to their first real tea party last Saturday.  It was at one of their friend's house just down the street so they just walked over and I didn't go but she posted some pics on FB so I'm going to share them here. How sweet is this picture of Olivia?  They made cereal necklaces, hence the bowl of Fruit Loops. Typcial non-smiling Kayley face.  I guess she's almost smiling.  So close. I always have a long list of projects that I rarely find time to work on, but I finally found time to clean, purge and organize my linen closet a few days ago. Before Closer up of the mess.  The cat helped. After Nothing Pintrest-worthy, but still way better than it was.  Now I'm in the process of redecorating the girls' bathroom.  More on that soon. After starting spring off with SNOW, we had a nice bout of warm, sunny weather but now it's back to cold and rainy.  But our...

I love books and reading and I've made it a point to read to the girls every night since they were old enough to listen.   I really hope to instill in them the save love of reading. We've made almost weekly trips to the library since they were a little over a year and they love it, although they are usually more interested in playing on the computers or looking at CDs and videos than actual books. But they do love books and being read to.  I am linking up with Kelly's Korner today to share some of our favorite books, and I'm looking forward to getting some great ideas for new books for us. Pinka/Purple/Golda/Silverlicious.  Just discovered there's an Emeraldalicious or something that we haven't read yet   All of the Olivia books, of course (one of my girls is named Olivia).     The Fancy Nancy Series   Sugar Would Not Eat It They got this for their 4th birthday and love it.       Cars...

We had been talking about removing the training wheels from the girls' bikes sometime in the near future, then last Saturday I was up in our bathroom getting ready for our date and glanced out the window and there was Paul and the girls, with the training wheels off of their bikes and him helping Kayley ride.  She was able to do it for little bit but couldn't start out herself or turn around.  Olivia tried too but I don't think she really did it without Paul hanging on the whole time. Tuesday I practiced with them and Kayley was getting better but still couldn't start by herself and Olivia still couldn't really do it without me hanging on.  Then yesterday we tried again and at first it was the same, but after awhile Kayley was able to start by herself and then so could Olivia!  Now they can both ride their bikes without training wheels!  Good job, girls! Here's a video of Kayley.  I took one of Olivia, too, but she's alr...

Today is my first time linking up with Alex and Erin for Weigh-in Wednesday.   I just stumbled upon it last week, and thought I'd join in since I was planning on making a fresh start with my weight loss efforts on Monday the 1st anyway. If you are visiting from that link-up, welcome! I'd love to find some people to connect with that are on a similar journey. Since I just started on Monday, though, I didn't actually weigh-in today, and I usually prefer to weigh-in on Fridays, anyway, so I'll probably continue to do that and just post on Wednesdays about my progress, or lack thereof. So, if you are new here, here's where I'm at in a nutshell.  I had once lost all my baby weight plus 7 pounds, putting me at 5 over my wedding weight.  But in the last 3 years are so (my twin girls are 5) I have slowly but steadily gained it all back and then some.  And I keep losing and regaining the same 3 or 4 pounds over and over and over, except sometimes I gain even mo...

I swear, the months of February through April are even worse on my diet than the whole Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year's period.  First it's Valentine's Day, then the girls' birthday, then some more family birthdays, then Easter...it's a cake and chocolate fest for 2 solid months or more. But it's all over now and it's the start of a brand new month.  So here are my goals for April: Lose 5 pounds Work out a minimum of 3 times per week Do at least 10 minutes of physical activity per day (in addition to the above) for 20 days (repeating March's challenge) Keep a food journal consistenly for the next 2 weeks (I sometimes use My Fitness Pal but I find that just writing it down on paper is a lot faster) At the beginning of March I set a goal of losing 15 pounds by July 4th.  I lost 4 in the first week and a half or so, but just like usual I gained it right back and then some.  I am starting April 4.6 pounds heavier than I started March.  Grrrrr....