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Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Wii Fit Plus

Exercise.  Is exercise fun to you? Not for me.  Exercise has never been something that I was all to excited about doing, and it certainly isn't something I cared to do every day....not even 3 times a week.  However, when you begin a journey to lose weight and get healthy, you know that the introduction of regular exercise into your routine is inevitable.

A couple of months ago I purchased a Balance Board and Wii Fit Plus DVD for our Wii.  My sister and I played it once, then it sat for 3 weeks.  Then we pulled it out again and played a little more.  Another few days went by and my sister was out to the house again so we decided to try it some more.  That was the time it clicked for me.  We played on this balance board for over 2.5 hours that night.  We laughed at each other, got frustrated at the game, opened some harder levels, sweated like mad, and had an absolutely blast!!

Who da thunk that playing a video game could make you sweat so much, and keep you wanting to do it again and again?!

I have found a couple games in the Aerobics section that I enjoy.  The Advanced Step, Rhythm Boxing and Rhythm Parade are 3 of my favorites.  I play them over and over again trying to beat my high score.  Before I know it an hour has flown bye, and I'm sweating hard.  I would never had believed how much fun it can be.  If I still feel like playing around then I go to things like Advanced Skateboarding/Super Hula Hoop, and Rythm Kung fu.

I am looking forward to getting back home and getting to do it again!  High Scores, here I come!!!!!

What do you do for exercise, and is it fun?

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Life Jackets and Water Wings

Another great day here in Embrun.  My sweet sister-in-law took the boys for me this morning when the woke up at 6am, and let me sleep.  She is totally awesome.  She had them dressed, fed, and heading to the park before I even headed for the shower.  The sleeping in was very, very appreciated.

Anyway, moving on to todays Tales of Three....

My boys don't know how to swim.  That doesn't stop them from wanting to go in a swimming pool though.  I was smart however and asked one of my other sister-in-laws if I could borrow several life jackets before we left home.

Yesterday Isaac was the first in the pool with his oldest cousin Ben.  The life jacket didn't work so well and made it very difficult for Isaac to hold on, and he was thoroughly unhappy.  Once we took it off, he was great, and loved being in the water.  Then there is Gabe.  Life jacket on, up the ladder, and within 5 minutes is merrily bobbing around the pool.  Now it is Zach's turn.  We got him into his suit, then into the life jacket.  He went up the ladder, sat down, and that is where he wanted to stay.

After some prodding from my youngest nephew, Cameron, I too ventured into the pool.  MAN was it COLD!!!! But, I was still in within about 5 minutes.  Now, Zach is still sitting on the top of the ladder with his feet in the water.  He even got off the ladder so as not to be made to go in when I was getting in.

I prodded him to come in with us, and he wasn't feeling that so much. LOL.  Now me being a little stubborn about some things, made him come in with me.  I think in total he was in the pool for less than 15 minutes and he cried the whole time, and held on for dear life.  I have no idea why he had that kind of issue?  He has never had a bad pool experience, but he certainly was not impressed.  Once he stopped crying we let him get back out.

This brings us to tday.  Ben and Cam get in the pool in 2 seconds flat.  For Gabe we decided to try Water wings this time.  He did absolutely awesome.  Once we got him settled enough in the freezing water,  I made him try to touch the bottom.  The first time he said he couldn't, but after serveral attempts he figured out that he could touch and then he was off.  He was thrilled to be swimming , and was really doing well with it.  I was very proud of him.

Zach is another story.  He got back into his swimsuit, back in the life jacket and sat back at the top of the ladder.  He didn't want to swim, but he didn't want to have his nap either.  Eventually the nap won out.  Back out of his swimsuit, and the life jacket, I took him upstairs for the nap while he proceeded to cry that he hoped it would rain so he wouldn't have to go in the pool. lol  I only napped with him until his was asleep,  Thankfully he slept for afew hours!!!

Now it is very dark out, and I need to get some sleep.  I will post some of pics as soon as I soon!!

Monday, August 16, 2010

Are We There Yet?

Very early this morning, the boys and I began our trip to see my brother, sister-in-law, and my 2 nephews in Embrun (Ottawa area).  I had packed everything in the car last night so that all I had to do when I woke up was put the refridgerated things we were taking in their cooler, wake the boys for bathroom visits, get them dressed and we'd be out the door.

I had even gone so far as to pick up another set of headphones and an adapter to make the headphone jack on the car dvd player take 2 sets of headphones.  That way I would be able to listen to my music on our 6.5 hr car ride instead of their movies. 

However, when I went to put the adapter into the player late last night and get it set up in the car, it managed to push the connector piece inside the machine making the headphones unusable, and me some what annoyed.  Oh well, shit happens, move on, get to bed cause 4:45am will come way too soon.

By the time I had finished messing around making sure I had everything and that I had done everything I needed to, I crawled into bed around 12:30am.  My alarm rang at 4:45 and I was out of bed at 4:50am. I got myself ready, got the stuff from the fridge, grab afew last minute items and got them all in the car.  I woke the boys, changed Isaac, everyone gave Daddy kisses goodbye and we piled into the car.

Boys are buckled in and I turn on the DVD player to find out that not only did it mess up the headphone usage, it has messed up the sound totally.   There was NO sound!!  So now I have a 6.5hr drive in the car with an almost 7 year old, a 4 year old, and a 1 year old and no movies to occupy them.  Now, before you think that I didn't plan very well if I was going to let my kids watch movies all that time.  I did take books, and afew toys, but what they wanted were those movies.  UGH!!

So, off we start on our travels.  We put the movie on minus the sound and for the first 30 minutes everything was fine.  Then i got my first  Are we there yet?

Dear God this is going to be a long drive!

If I had a nickel for everytime one of them mentioned how long it was taking or when would we get there, why do they have to live so far away, etc, I'd be a rich girl!

Far too many times for a Mom driving alone with 3 kids to take.

Remarkably, we made the trip in a few minutes over 6 hours with one 15-20ish minute stop for a pee break, a donut and some gas.  Despite the constant ridicule for the long drive and the broken movie, we made it in good time.....and all my kids are still alive to tell the tale.  LOL

Now I am just praying that my brother is skilled enough to try and fix it for our trip back in a few days, we might not all make it home otherwise.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

My "NEW" Truck!!!

Before I jump in to talking about my new vehicle, I have to say that I am beyond grateful to a wonderful man from our church who GAVE us his vehicle almost 2 years ago now when we were in the midst of my hubby's year off from work,pregnant, no money, no vehicle, and about to lose our home. This man generously donated his 1997 Honda CRV to our family. It has truly been a Godsend. When we moved to the country a year ago this vehicle was the only thing that kept me from going crazy. It allowed me to ease into country living without feeling like I was isolated and couldn't get anywhere. It enabled me to do errands, run the boys where they needed to go, visit etc. So to this very sweet man (he also helped us move) we owe a great deal.

However, with more than 300 000kms on it when we got it, we knew that it wouldn't last forever...(especially after the safety was done and it barely passed after $1000 worth of work). So the task of needing to find a new vehicle has been looming over us. The CRV was going downhill fast and I no longer trusted it to take me distances greater than about an hour . My hubby works for a car dealership and thankfully was able to work something out to get me a new truck. A little more than we had hoped to spend, but definitely needed.

Being that we have 3 boys, 1 in a regular carseat and 2 still in boosters, it makes it difficult to fit them in just anything. The back seat needs to be flat, and wide enough that I can actually get my hands between the seats to buckle them in. This was a difficulty with the CRV once Isaac was out of the infant seat and turned forward facing. The positioning of the teether bolts made it necessary to have him on the outside seat, and having 2 boosters side by side...well, it would take me close to 5 minutes to get the boys buckled in EVERY time.

I am happy to say that I am THRILLED with my new vehicle. This is not a NEW vehicle, but NEW to me. It is a 2005 Hyundai TUCSON, and I love it!! I am spoiled in it. It has heated leather seats and a moon roof!! It also has a CD player. That might not sound like much cause everyone has a cd player, but remember, i just came from a 1997....yup, you guessed it, a CASSETTE player! Needless to say, I didn't have much taped music left, but we did manage to find a few. Thankfully the radio still worked. But oh, how nice it is to listen to my cd's again when driving.

It drives so nice and smoothly. The boys no longer tell me that they like Daddy's car better. LOL. I'll post a picture soon.

I am very thankful that God has continued to provide a vehicle for us, and to my hubby for working so hard to look after the boys and I.

Well, I'm off to go get in my truck and drive!!!!

Friday, August 13, 2010

Keep Moving Forward

One of my favourite quotes is from Walt Disney.

"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."


I constantly remind myself to just keep moving forward.  This weightloss/getting healthy journey isn't easy.  I have good days and bad days, but no matter what happens I know I need to keep moving forward. 
 
Every step forward I take is opening that new door to a better, healthier, happier me.  I must continue to try new things, and not be afraid to go where this new path and lifestyle is taking me.
 
I am worth the effort.  My family is worth the effort. 
 
I WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Truth Be Told

Well the last time I posted my numbers I was so thrilled to have reached my 10%. Unfortunately, I have had two not so good weeks since. The first week I gained 2lbs, and this week I only lost 0.2lbs. But, this is my journey. I just have to keep going and not let it get me down.

At our WW meeting yesterday morning we had one of our members reach Lifetime. She has lost 117lbs!! She held up a pair of pants that she wore last summer and it was awesome to see how far she had come. I look forward to the day when I can stand in front of other members and show them just how far I've come. I've even thought about what I would take as that too big piece of clothing. LOL Maybe I can inspire others as she inspire all of us in the meeting :)

Thursday's is the FAT TO FIT Blog hop over at Diminishing Lucy. Visit here for the rules to join. Its a great way to find some others who are on this weightloss journey. So come on, join in!!




Something New

I'm going to try something new.  I have been finding it difficult to blog lately.  Not because I have nothing to say, but more because I have too much to say.

I have so many things rumbling around in my head that I find it hard to focus and get something readable out.

I have noticed that some bloggers have a type of schedule.  A different topic for every day of the week.  I have decided that this is what I am going to attempt to do.

Mondays -  Moment for Mom
These posts will be about me and my adventure in mommyhood.  Things like dreams, struggles, aspirations, fears, goals etc will all fall in this category.

Tuesdays -  Tales of Three
Here is where I will share about my boys.  I have three beautiful blessing from God.  (Some days I wonder what He was thinking) Some posts will be about all of them and others about them individually. 

Wednesdays - Working on Weightloss
This weightloss journey will be the topic of Wednesdays posts.  Anything from recipes, to tips, to fitness, goals, pitfalls...anything that helps or hinders the journey.

Thursdays - Truth Be Told
MY journey will occupy the Thursday spot.  My weekly weigh in results, how my week has gone, successes, set backs...etc.  There will also be a link to the Fat to Fit Blog Hop each week.

Fridays - Inspiration and Motivation
Everyone needs a little pet talk every once in a while.  Fridays will be little words of wisdom to keep us striving toward our goals

Saturdays - Weekend Wanderings
This will be my day to blog about whatever tickles my fancy.  Maybe a great event or a news item.  Maybe a suggestion for a must read blog or a great movie.  Anything goes on Saturday.

That leaves Sundays - An Expression of Faith
A perfect day to share some favourite Bible verses, or maybe a passage from a book or song, or maybe a comment on a sermon.  Things to hopefully make you want to know God better or just remind you about how much He loves you.

So, this will be the week.  Wish me luck :)

Thanks for visiting and please come back and share your thoughts and comments.