February 28, 2014

It's That Time Again...

Life After I Time for the 300/30 Day Ab Challenge again.

I did this challenge almost two years ago and my results were awesome.  If you've looked up this workout before chances are you've seen my poison ivy abs. I hated the first four days of this challenge but OMG was it worth it!  I've never done any sort of ab workout that got me results as quickly as this one.  It was incredible.  After the first four days it doesn't really burn anymore and it does, believe me, get easier.

I attempted to do the routine about a month or two ago and it was laughable. Seriously.  After two babies and two c-sections my abs are shot.  Maybe I attempted it too early?  I didn't make it through the entire routine and I hated that.  I want to get my abs {umm...} back.

But now that I'm down about 20 lbs since I last attempted this workout I think it's worth giving it a shot!  Starting tomorrow.  March 1 is the first day of the new 300/30 Day Ab Challenge and this time I'm challenging YOU.

Sarah from 5K's & Chardonnay is the one who told me about this workout almost two years ago and she's joining me this time too!  Her results were out of this world and I just know she'll kick ass again this time!  But we want you to get in on this too!  Don't be scared!

Starting tomorrow do this workout every day for the next 30 days.  On March 31 I will host a link up party and we will all share our results!  Now I took my "before" pictures and, ladies, they aren't pretty.  I still have about 25 lbs until I reach my goal so there's still a lot of "extra".  BUT I'm so confident in this process that I'm willing to share them with you, at the end of the challenge.  I'm not brave enough to share them now, sorry.

So, what do you say?  Can you commit?  I promise you will be cursing my name and this challenge but only for FOUR days!  FOUR!  You can do it, I know you can!  If my postpartum abs can do it, yours can too.  

Remember, summer bodies are made in the winter.

February 27, 2014

My Daughter Taught Me A Lesson

Tomorrow is my birthday {YAY!} and to treat myself I'm getting my hair cut and highlighted for the first time in about 6 months.  Blondes should never go 6 months between highlights.  I'm rocking my own sort of ombre over here except it doesn't look pretty like ombre.  Seeing my natural hair color is kind of fun {I forgot what it was, to be honest} but it's just this mousy light brownish color and it's not flattering, it washes me out.

I was looking at pictures on Pinterest and Kendall saw and asked who these ladies were.  I told her I was going to see Holly {my friend and hairstylist who has a daughter Kendall's age that we play with often} and she got excited, thinking she was coming with.  I told her that Miss Holly was going to be cutting mommy's hair and making it blonde, just like her {Kendall}.

And what she said to me, I'll never forget.

"But mommy your hair is beautiful!  I like it like that!  It doesn't look bad!".   All said while giving me the saddest puppy dog eyes and her head tilted.

Sweet, sweet girl. She doesn't see my overgrown roots.  She doesn't see my lifeless locks and split ends.  She just sees me and she loves me just the way I am.  Hair and makeup and nice clothes mean nothing to her.  She doesn't care if I'm makeup-less and wearing mismatched sweats all day.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could all see ourselves that way?  The way God sees us.  Perfect, just the way we are.

I think of all the women out there who go to great lengths to make themselves look beautiful, in their eyes.  Plastic surgery, eating disorders, teeth whitening, etc all for the sake of beauty.  It's sad, really.  We were all created by the same Creator and He made us just the way we are, perfect. But not many of us, myself included, see it that way.  We look in the mirror and see wrinkles, grey hair, blemishes, cellulite, whatever and think we are imperfect.  We all have imperfections, things we could work on, but we are all perfect in His eyes.

Hearing Kendall say those words to me made me realize just that.

And besides, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?  So who deems what is beautiful anyway?  The media?  Our peers?  Celebrities?

beau·ty
ˈbyo͞otē/
noun
  1. 1.
    a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, esp. the sight.

According to definition, there is no definition of what or who is beautiful.  It is to each individual to decide.  Today I decide that I am beautiful, just the way I am.  I haven't showered today, am a little bit stinky from running this morning, my clothes don't match and there is spit up on my shirt, but that doesn't mean I'm not beautiful.  

Beauty is only skin deep, it's what's inside that counts {I know, enough with the cheesy quotes} and inside I am a beautiful person too. I have my moments.  I lose my temper and say things I don't mean.  I get upset over trivial things.  But in my core I have good intentions and want nothing but the best for everyone I encounter. 

I am raising a daughter and I do not want her growing up being unhappy with the reflection in the mirror. She is gorgeous but I'm sure one day she won't think so.  I will do everything in my power to let her know the lesson she taught me when she was younger.  I also don't want her to be tortured by the scale.  I don't want her to change.  I hope that when she sees me exercising she is encouraged and empowered to want to be healthy.  I hope that she takes care of herself in a way so that she can live a long life.  

So, let's stop beating ourselves up over our imperfections. We are perfect and beautiful, just the way we are.  

*I am still going to get my hair done, don't get me wrong.  But I do have a new, refreshed perspective on the ideals of beauty, thanks to my three-year-old.

February 26, 2014

SO WHAT! Wednesday

Life After I DewThis week I'm saying SO WHAT if...

I didn't write a SWW {or any other post for that matter} last week.

Last week I was feeling overwhelmed.  I am bad at time management.  I've had so many people ask me how I fit in x,y, and z and the truth is, I don't know.  I feel like I'm always being pulled in five directions and I have a hard time prioritizing.  James still doesn't take great naps so when he does sleep it's usually in 20-30 minute increments and I have to chose what I need to do during that time.  So I usually try to squeeze in some kind of exercise, eat with both hands, or shower, I have little time for much else.  As much as I'd love to flop down on the couch and crank out a weeks worth of blog posts, I just do not have that kind of time right now.  Not to mention I didn't really have anything to blog about anyway so it kind of worked out.

Last week I had emails stacked up in my inbox from a week prior.  I had comments on this blog that I wanted to respond to but didn't have a chance.  I just felt overwhelmed and rather than put out more content {that I couldn't respond to} I just decided to do the opposite.  It was hard for me to turn the blog off for a week but I think I needed it.

As much as I love to respond to each and every comment I get from my posts {as long as there is a reply email address attached} I simply cannot do that anymore.  If you've been reading for any length of time you have probably heard back from me if you've commented.  I love having that interaction with my readers.  I think that is what blogging is all about, building relationships, not just writing posts for people to read.  I will still try to comment to as many as I can and if you ask a question I will of course give you an answer.  But I'm also not going to beat myself up if I can't respond to every comment that comes in.

My sanity and my family are worth me shutting down part of my online self every once in a while, right?  That's not to say that I'm going to not be posting as much or that this blog is going anywhere, it's not, but I'm going to be more selective about it.  And, so what?!





February 25, 2014

Are You A Morning Person?

I saw this shirt and almost immediately clicked 'add to cart'. It's cute, isn't it?  Looks super comfy too.  But it just isn't true for me.  

I'm a morning person, for the most part.  I've never been a snooze button girl.  Ever. Once my alarm goes off my feet are on the floor and I get ready for the day. I never understood hitting the snooze button for an hour and sleeping in 9 minute increments when you could just set your alarm the hour later and get another FULL hour of sleep, uninterrupted.  My mom always appreciated this trait.  I usually like to get in the shower and have my hair dry before I talk to anyone but...that was when I worked.

These days are different.  

Getting out of bed is a little harder when I've been woken up no less than three times at night.  But I do enjoy my early mornings. I love sitting in the house while it's quiet, calm, dark.  Jimmy's already left for work and the babies are {hopefully} still sleeping.  I can drink coffee while it's hot.  Check my email.  Catch up on last nights DVR.  It's glorious. I don't always wake up before them but on the days I do, I am thankful.  The days I don't I regret it. 

When I wake up with the kids, I am not a morning person.  I hate starting my day so abruptly and with so many demands the minute my eyes open.  And without a cup of coffee making it's way through my system.  It's not pleasant.

My girlfriends and I went to breakfast this weekend and when I suggested meeting at 9 o'clock my best friend of 25 years {holy hell I'm old} wanted to smack me silly.  She likes to sleep till 9 and quickly said, "You are SUCH a morning person!".  And I think my response was, "No I'm not!  But I make the best of it."  I want to be a morning hater {so that I can buy this tee} but the truth is, it's my favorite time of the day.

Part of me would love to sleep till 9, hit the snooze button a few times and then the OCD part of me says, "NINE!?  The day is half over!" or as my other BFF would say, "If I slept till 9 I wouldn't even bother getting dressed for the day!".  And then there's the other part of me that knows, even if given the chance, I would never sleep till 9, ever.  Eight o'clock, maybe. 

So what are you?  A morning lover or hater?  Do you hit snooze or jump right out of bed?

February 24, 2014

It Made Me Sad

Last week we did something we don't do very often throughout the week.  We went out.  Like shopping.  Together.  As a four person family.  Call it S.A.D.D., call it what you will but we rarely {and I mean never} leave the house past 5 o'clock on a weeknight.  Jimmy needed some new work clothes, I needed wanted to look for an Ergo.  We ate dinner early and decided, "what the heck, let's do it!".  Wild and crazy life we lead.

What was an exciting night out of the house {I love my house but seriously these walls are starting to close in on me, OMG get me out of here!!!} quickly turned sour upon our first top.

As we were walking into Marshall's {I hear they have CHEAP Ergos} I very vividly noticed a lady exiting the store with an arm full of clothes.  The tags appeared to still be attached and hangers were draped over her arms.  But surely, certainly, she wasn't.  Was she?  Maybe she was just making an exchange...

In that moment someone could have slapped me across the face and I wouldn't have noticed.  I was so zeroed in on what was happening.  I couldn't, didn't want to believe what was happening right in front of my face.

A store associate/manager came walking, leisurely after her, "Ma'am..." the lady in question starts walking a little faster, "Ma'am...", faster, "MA'AM!" and just then her escape car pulled around and in she jumped.  Just like that she was gone.

I witnessed someone blatantly stealing and I haven't stopped thinking about it since.

I wonder what her reason was.  Was she down on her luck but maybe had a job interview that she needed something nice for?  Was this a regular thing for her?  Once she hopped in her getaway car was she on to the next place to pull the same stunt?  What on Earth would cause someone to do such a thing?

It made me sad for her.  Sad that she felt that she had to do that, no matter what her reason was.  How embarrassed she must feel.

I know this type of stuff happens everywhere, all the time, but this was my first hand experience with it and I hope it was my last.  My children were with me and I'm so thankful that they were oblivious to what was happening.  At that exact moment in time there was nothing I could have said to them to make that situation right.  In that moment I felt helpless.

Should I have done something?  I mean I saw her, arms full of clothes, walk right out the doors and I did nothing.  Granted I had my two small children with me and keeping them safe is my #1 priority and job as a mother.  Who knows what might have happened had I said something.  But it doesn't help me not to wonder if I did the right thing.

February 14, 2014

How Do You Do Valentine's

Happy Heart Day!

I like Valentine's day, there I said it.  Even though we don't do anything fancy, we don't even buy gifts {typically} but I just love the feeling around and on Valentine's day.  So what if it's a "Hallmark holiday" and I get that you should let your people know you love them 365 days a year and not just this ONE day.  BUT what's wrong with a little extra love one day a year?  Love never hurt anyone.

With that being said, we are keeping it pretty low key this year.  Today my mother-in-law and I are taking Kendall to Melting Pot for some chocolate. She's been talking about eating strawberries dipped in melted chocolate for WEEKS now {thanks, Fletch} so I cannot wait to surprise her with her dream come true today.  Tonight we might go out to dinner, as a family, to a kid-friendly place {or we might just eat pizza at home because oh the crowds}.

Yesterday Kendall had her party at school and I was lucky enough to be able to attend and help.  It was so much fun and I loved seeing what Valentine's each kid brought and was so excited to give.  We had a good mix of cute, creative Valentine's and cute, store-bought Valentine's. We chose to do a mix of the two.
{my little photographer getting the perfect shot of her Valentines}

Which leads me to my first question...what do you think of these Pinterest-inspired Valentines?  I've seen so much controversy over this topic.  One mom says "what happened to the days when store-bought was all you needed?" and the others say, "who cares!  to each their own!".  I'm with the latter part of the groups.  I love making something special with/for Kendall.  I'm not very creative or crafty but kids crafts I can usually handle.  This year Kendall is obsessed with My Little Pony so of course she picked MLP Valentine's.  So we made take and bake Valentine cookies, stuffed them in cute, $1 heart bags, bada bing bada boom.  I loved them and so did she.

I also get that parents are feeling the pressure these days.  Pinterest and social media have changed everything, even Valentines.  Sometimes I wish for more simple days too.  I can only imagine what it will be like when Kendall and James are in grade school.  Thankfully we live in a pretty small town so hopefully the competition won't be that fierce.

So where do you stand?  Are you a fan of the Pinterest-worthy Valentines or do you go store-bought?

While we're at it I thought it'd be fun to take a trip down Valentine's Day memory lane...

And also...James Weston is 6 months old today!  A whole half a year since we've met him.  I cannot believe that in 6 more months he'll be one year old.  It's true, what they say, time flies even faster the second time around.


February 12, 2014

SO WHAT! Wednesday

Life After I DewThis week I'm saying SO WHAT if...

I watched Rich Kids of Beverly Hills yesterday and hated it.

So I've seen people talk about this show on social media, it's their guilty pleasure.  I saw the "cast" on Bethenny a few weeks ago and...wow. But I don't have E! so I've never been able to watch this train wreck myself.  Until yesterday.

Yesterday I was at my in laws, working out while Kendall was at preschool, and I turned it on.  To see what all the hype was about.  And I could barely walk on the treadmill because I had to pick my jaw up off the belt.  Holy guacamole.

For example, the blonde one {I didn't catch their names} said she gets manicures EVERY Monday because having chipped nails is the equivalent of wearing dirty underwear.  Say what?!

These "kids" just live in such a distorted state of reality, it's unbelievable.  I was cringing with each scene.  The way they talk?  Gag me.  And what 24-year-old looks at 3 million dollar homes of her first house?  Bananas.

Listen, I can take a lot of trash TV. Housewives?  Obsessed.  Sister Wives?  Watching now. Teen Mom?  LOVE.  But this, I just could not change the channel fast enough.  Being that I was on the treadmill and had no access to the remote, I had to suffer through an entire half hour episode.

So...have you had the "pleasure" of watching this show?  What do you think?







February 11, 2014

Eye On The Prize

Yesterday marked one month of religiously tracking my calories and exercise in My Fitness Pal.  Sure I've been "using" it since James was 3 days old but I was fudging it.  I wasn't committed mostly because the pounds fell off the first 6ish weeks and I thought I was golden. Then I hit a wall and then the holidays came and BAM!  It was the reality check I needed.

On January 10 I started using MFP the way it was designed.  The way I used it when I lost the baby weight the last time.  I've been tracking every little thing I put in my mouth.  That spoonful of cookie dough while Kendall and I were baking yesterday?  Yep, I put it in.  The half a banana I ate off of her plate this morning?  I logged it.  And sometimes, when I am lazy, I will not eat something just because I don't want to have to log it.  A lot of times I will overestimate on my calories eaten too.  For example, a serving of peanut butter is one tablespoon and I barely put a slather on my toast yesterday but I logged it on MFP as a full serving.  It's all a mind game, I tell ya.

On the other hand, there's exercise. I'm kind of addicted right now and if I can't get in SOME sort of exercise each day, I feel like a failure. I know, I know it's not realistic and I shouldn't be so hard on myself but working out makes me feel good.  It improves my mood.  It calms me down.  It gives a feeling of accomplishment.  I need it.  Even if it's just a 10 minute yoga session or a slow incline walk on the treadmill.  Something is better than nothing, in my book.

Much like I overestimate on my calories eaten, I underestimate on my calories burned.  See I don't have one of those super-cool heart rate monitor watches yet {I asked for one for my birthday this month}.  So I have my treadmill, when I do it, and MFP to track my calories burned. When I do the treadmill it says one thing and MFP says another so I'll use whichever is the least amount burned.  I don't, however, count things like cooking and cleaning as calories burned and, quite frankly, I think it's laughable that those are even in the database as cardio.

Before you go getting all, "But Shannon are you sure this is safe and healthy?" on me, I'm averaging 1200-1800 calories a day.  I'm fine.

All that to say, in the past month of logging every single thing, I have lost 12 lbs.


As you can see, this is still quite a ways from my goal weight but this was the motivation I needed to keep going.  It's amazing what can happen when you put your mind to something.  And now I more determined than ever.  

February 10, 2014

Life With Two Part...I Don't Know

I've talked about my journey of becoming a mom to two bundles of joy more times than I'm sure you care to read. So I'm sorry but here's another.

I'm feeling defeated, ya'll.

Every day is a struggle to fulfill all of my duties as a wife and mother and then there's trying to fit in time for me {to exercise, shower, eat, you get the point}.  It's just overwhelming at times.

When James naps I'm all, "YES! Time to shower!" and then I feel guilty because I should be spending that infant-free time with Kendall.  I feel badly that she doesn't get all of me anymore and I am saying "Hang on I'm _______ James" more than I'm saying "YEAH! Let's play!".  For three years she got all of me and now I'm lucky to give her half of me.

James has been a super grumpy mcgrumperton lately.  Call it teething.  Call it a "leap".  It's miserable in babyland.  He doesn't like anything for more than 5 minutes unless you are holding him. Standing up.  If you sit down, forget it.  He's crabby unless he's asleep.  I hate that he's so upset but nothing I do seems to help him.  Unless I hold him.  Standing up.

Then there's my husband.  He works his butt of to make our lives comfortable.  We don't live a plush lifestyle, don't drive fancy cars, wear Old Navy clothes but he provides it all for us and I can never thank him enough. BUT do I show him?  Not always.  When he comes home he's most likely feeling more stressed than he does working a 40 hour work week.

The house is messy.  The baby is crying. The preschooler has cabin fever worse than her mom.  And I feel like I'm going to lose my mind. Lucky guy, huh?  Not.

Wah wah wah, right?  I asked for this.  I wanted this.  I get it.  But, it's hard.  Of course we have good days and they outweigh the bad but today is one of the bad and, well, I feel like the world needs to know it.

And I'll stop my whining now.

February 5, 2014

SO WHAT! Wednesday

Life After I DewThis week I'm saying SO WHAT if...

My house isn't always tidy {anymore}.

I used to keep a very "company ready" house. There might have been a few things out of place and a toy or two on the floor but for the most part I wouldn't be embarrassed if you stopped over on a random Tuesday afternoon.  But now?  Psh.

I still stay on top of things like dishes, picking up toys at the end of the day, wiping down the kitchen table but when it comes to the deep cleaning stuff, forget it.  I don't know when the last time my bathrooms were cleaned besides the ole counter top wipe down and Scrubbing Bubbles squirted in the toilet bowl.

My babies are only little once.  I have a hard enough time trying to balance spending time with them and exercising and making breakfast, lunch & dinner and the last thing I want to waste my time doing is scrubbing floors.  I want to play with them, have silly dance parties, make cookies, and most of all, laugh.

When Kendall was little I tried to do it all and would often let the housework get the best of me.  If things weren't done or put away I'd be grumpy.  I couldn't "rest" until everything was done and "perfect".  I spent way too many evenings worrying about a clean house instead of enjoying that time with my husband.  It was stupid and my husband let me know it.

Now I am more laid back when it comes to things being spic and span.  I still try to do my best to keep it "company ready" but I don't stress out over it anymore.  If the toys are out and Jimmy wants to watch a movie, I leave them.  If James is down for a nap and Kendall wants to play Candyland, the dishes can wait.

It's taken me a long time to get to this point and some days I feel the old Shannon coming back, wanting to clean every little thing. But the old saying, "So quiet down cobwebs.  Dust go to sleep.  I'm rocking my babies and babies don't keep." rings so true.  So now I do what I can and enjoy my family a little more.







February 3, 2014

Motivational Monday

Where did we leave off with this whole weight loss post baby #2 business?

Oh yeah, here.
That was November.

I was feeling pretty good, or so I thought, at the time.  The weight had fallen off faster than it did with Kendall but not as fast as I had hoped.  It was really my own fault though. See the crazy/frustrating/funny part about having a baby is that the weight comes off super quick in the beginning.  Before you're six week post-partum visit you have already lost 20lbs and you are feeling tthhiinn.  And then you hit a wall.  You stay at the same weight for three months, fluctuating between three measly pounds.

Just me?

I digress.

So the holidays SUCK for losing weight.  Between Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Years I lost nothing.  Nothing.  Talk about a total bummer.  But I vowed that I would get my butt in gear for 2014 and really buckle down.

Remember my goal this month was to fit into those jeans?  Well I'm happy to report that I slipped those bad boys on this past Friday and they fit!  They zipped and buttoned with ease.  No laying down on the bed to zip them up.
Now there's a little bit of muffin top going on here, I am aware of that, but I can wear these jeans comfortably and that's more than I could say 4 weeks go.  And then Saturday, to my surprise, I woke up and hopped on the scale to see that I am officially down 40lbs since having James.  Which means I am back to my pre-preg weight.
Now that's not to say I'm back to where I was because clearly I am not.  When I hit my goal back in 2011 I hit 135lbs and was comfortable.  Unfortunately by the time I got pregnant with James I had gained a few of those pounds back so I still have about 20lbs to lose to get to my new goal weight.  I'm not sharing a number because last time I had set my goal at 130lbs and when I hit 135lbs I felt great and decided to not try to lose anymore.  I think the lowest number I ever saw on the scale was 133lbs.  But this time I'm going to try to push myself a little further and see just what I'm capable of.

I posted all of these pictures on IG over the weekend and got a few questions about what I'm doing.  It's simple.  I'm using My Fitness Pal again, tracking my calories, trying to eat as clean as possible and trying to get in some sort of exercise more days of the week than not.  I have my calories set at 1200 again, just like last time.  Most of the time, when I exercise, I add those calories back to my daily allowance {meaning I get to eat more}.  Sometimes I don't though, just depends on the day.  As for my exercising goes, I mostly do my yoga DVDs, walk on the treadmill or lately I've been enjoying the PopSugar workouts {they're free, the trainers aren't annoying, and they are a total body workout}.

One thing that I really think helped kick my weight loss into high gear this month is alcohol.  Or lack of it.  With the holidays comes lots of fancy holiday drinks and toasts and eggnog, which is a lot of empty calories.  I have cut out the alcohol {for the most part} and I cannot believe how much better I feel.  I had a couple of beers at dinner a couple of nights ago and I wasn't drunk {at all} but I woke up and just felt blah.  Something I'm not used to feeling anymore.

Gosh, this makes me sound like a lush.  I promise I'm not.

And remember how I said that working out makes me feel sane {here}?  Well it's true.  I've been bitten by the workout bug.  I literally find any way to get in some kind of calorie burn every day.  Whether that's a 10 minute arm exercise or a full on 40 minute incline walk, I have to do something each day or else I just feel worthless.  I like it though.  I like the changes my body is making and working hard to be the best me I can be.  It's invigorating.

I've been thinking about what my goal for February {my birthday month} should be...I think it's time for another challenge.  I found this 30 day plank challenge on Pinterest a while back and I thought I'd try it.  I started a few days ago {since there are only 28 days in the month} and so far, so good.
I've taken my before pictures {they are not pretty} but if all goes well during the month, I'll share them at the end of the challenge.  I'm not expecting any major results but maybe a little?