Goals 9/19-9/26 revisited

1)  Paint the trim. Painted, but of course, I didn't finish.
2) Workout 3 times.
3) Write articles for textbroker.com and look into other paid writing options.
4) Vacuum all of upstairs and stairs.
5) Deep clean bathroom. Just didn't get to it.
6) Start a Christmas present list and budget.
7) Make squash baby food.
8) Make a menu and grocery list for shopping trip by Friday.
9) Remember to take boys to soccer on Saturday morning.
10) Work on lower case letters and spelling with Carter.

Goals 9/19-9/26

1)  Paint the trim.
2) Workout 3 times.
3) Write articles for textbroker.com and look into other paid writing options.
4) Vacuum all of upstairs and stairs.
5) Deep clean bathroom.
6) Start a Christmas present list and budget.
7) Make squash baby food.
8) Make a menu and grocery list for shopping trip by Friday.
9) Remember to take boys to soccer on Saturday morning.
10) Work on lower case letters and spelling with Carter.

Goals 9/12-9/18 Revisited

1) Work on painting (how long is this going to be my number 1?)  I worked on this, but have not finished.  It takes FOREVER to paint the trim around the doors.
2) Workout 4 days at the gym.  I went three.
3) Finish Emmy's photo book. Worked on, but did not finish.
4) Work on finding a bed solution for Maddox.  Still looking.
5) Make squash and peas baby food for Emmy.
6) Start looking for Halloween costumes for the boys.  Have looked but not decided.
7) Look for something to wear for a wedding on the 30th.  Hopefully, will get something picked out Wednesday.
8) Clean our bedroom.
9) Buy a new shadow box to replace the broken one.
10) Keep up with laundry.

Goals 9/12-9/18

1) Work on painting (how long is this going to be my number 1?)
2) Workout 4 days at the gym.
3) Finish Emmy's photo book.
4) Work on finding a bed solution for Maddox.
5) Make squash and peas baby food for Emmy.
6) Start looking for Halloween costumes for the boys.
7) Look for something to wear for a wedding on the 30th.
8) Clean our bedroom.
9) Buy a new shadow box to replace the broken one.
10) Keep up with laundry.

Goals 9/5-9/11 revisited

This week really sucked as far as crossing off items goes.  I forgot about a doctor's appointment I had and Brady ended up going out of town Saturday.  Oh, well!


1) Paint the damn trim...  I didn't get anything done!  The weather was so humid that what I had recently done was sticky.  I'll wait for dry weather this week.
2) Get the kids clothes out for fall/winter weather.  Carter is done.
3) Workout at the gym Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday.  Things got thrown for a loop when plans changed mid-week.  I went to the gym twice and did a 2 mile walk/run in the neighborhood.
4) Bake bread with the boys again.  This was fun for all and it tasted great!  We didn't make bread, but I did allow the kids to play with play-doh and we did some fun arts and crafts with coffee filters.
5) Watch my in-laws take off in an air balloon Tuesday night.  The boys will think this is cool.  This got rescheduled due to wind.
6) Finish Emmy's photo book.  I didn't even look at it.
7) Take some time for myself.  I need it.  Sort of... I got to take an hour to nap, but I couldn't even sleep.
8) Put all laundry away instead of letting it sit in the laundry basket.
9) Look for bed options for Maddox.
10) Possibly move Emmy to Maddox's room and Maddox into Carter's.  We didn't buy a new bed so we couldn't move Emmy.

Goals 9/5-9/11

1) Paint the damn trim...
2) Get the kids clothes out for fall/winter weather.  Carter is done.
3) Workout at the gym Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday.
4) Bake bread with the boys again.  This was fun for all and it tasted great!
5) Watch my in-laws take off in an air balloon Tuesday night.  The boys will think this is cool.
6) Finish Emmy's photo book.
7) Take some time for myself.  I need it.
8) Put all laundry away instead of letting it sit in the laundry basket.
9) Look for bed options for Maddox.
10) Possibly move Emmy to Maddox's room and Maddox into Carter's.

Goals 8/29-9/4 Revisited

1) Make homemade bread.
2) Work on getting the trim painted.
3) Workout Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  My back was hurting pretty good so I missed a day.
4) Work on a menu and get a grocery list with coupons ready for a Friday shopping trip.
5) Work with Emmy on night sleeping habits.  This may be difficult as I think she is getting a tooth.
6) Do a special project with Carter.
7) Go to playground or feed the ducks with Maddox and Emmy while Carter is at school.
8) Remember to go to the back to school meeting on Thursday.
9) Work on having a pleasant attitude even when I'm stressed and overwhelmed.    I did this halfway because I'd find myself giving in to stress.
10) Let Brady sleep in on Wednesday.

Loftier Goals

Here is the beginning of a list of loftier/long term goals.  I plan on updating this and adding to it.  This is just the start.

1) Write a book.
2) Write a screenplay.
3) Get back to a glorious weight.  Say 120-130 range.
4) Raise kind, intelligent, productive, giving, happy, respectful, God-loving children.
5) Mini getaway for Brady and me.
6) Big vacation for Brady and me.
7) Take kids to Disney World.
8) Learn to sew.
9) Write a cookie recipe from scratch and have it be Brady's favorite.
10) Sell our house.
11) Build our dream house.
12) Travel to Italy.
13) Get a new, higher quality camera and learn to take good pictures.

Goals 8/29-9/4

1) Make homemade bread.
2) Work on getting the trim painted.
3) Workout Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
4) Work on a menu and get a grocery list with coupons ready for a Friday shopping trip.
5) Work with Emmy on night sleeping habits.  This may be difficult as I think she is getting a tooth.
6) Do a special project with Carter.
7) Go to playground or feed the ducks with Maddox and Emmy while Carter is at school.
8) Remember to go to the back to school meeting on Thursday.
9) Work on having a pleasant attitude even when I'm stressed and overwhelmed.
10) Let Brady sleep in on Wednesday.

Goals Revisited

1) Finish painting the trim.  I did not do a lot with this.  We had our house shown one night with just an hour notice and then another night our washing machine broke and we spent all night trying to fix that.
2) Get the shot records to the school.
3) Go to the gym Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.
4) Get insurance stuff worked out so van can get fixed.
5) Do crunches and push-ups at home everyday.  I did this all but one day because my back was feeling really bad.
6) Continue to work with Emmy on better sleep habits.

7) Write a story with Carter.

8) Feed the ducks with Maddox.

9) Make a meal plan, grocery list and get coupons organized for a Friday shopping trip.

10) Make a treat with the boys.

Overall, I think I did a pretty good job.  

Goals

A list of my goals for this week.  Hoping I can get these done and then I'll feel good about my accomplishments (if you can call it that.)  I read that having goals is part of the key to happiness.  These aren't too lofty, but they still need to be done.  Maybe I'll work on a list of lifetime goals...those will be loftier.


1) Finish painting the trim.
2) Get the shot records to the school.
3) Go to the gym Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.
4) Get insurance stuff worked out so van can get fixed.
5) Do crunches and push-ups at home everyday.
6) Continue to work with Emmy on better sleep habits.
7) Write a story with Carter.
8) Feed the ducks with Maddox.
9) Make a meal plan, grocery list and get coupons organized for a Friday shopping trip.
10) Make a treat with the boys.

Ugh...

Where to begin...
Well, how about with that weight loss stuff?  Ok.

I haven't been keeping track of everything since I went on vacation last month.  No, no...bad Stefanie!  (That was me scolding myself.)  However, I have found my way to the gym again.  I was doing really great going every other day until I fell while mowing the lawn and sprained my ankle real good.  I had to crawl to our house from the spot that I fell.  I don't think anyone saw.  However, I did keep up with my crunches and push ups while not being able to walk.  I've been back to the gym once since hurting myself, but I took it pretty easy.  My ankle is still sore, but getting better daily.

We have also been doing some minor work to the house.  Brady and my father-in-law installed new wood laminate flooring in our entryway, half bath and laundry room.  We've also been working on painting all the doors and trim in the house (thanks Amanda and Tony!)  I hope to get that completed by this weekend.  This project has been going slower than I would have liked due to illness in about everyone but myself.  Hopefully, I'll get it all done on Brady's days off.

Emmy is starting the push to crawl.  She is getting on her hands and knees and springing forward.  She is only a few days past 5 months old!  How is this happening already?  She is my last baby and I just want her to stay a baby for a little while longer.  Why do I have to have early movers?  Both boys were early walkers at 9 1/2 month and 8 months.  I can't imagine her walking any sooner than that!

School starts for the boys officially in 2 weeks.  I'm excited for Maddox to start, but also nervous.  He is so aggressive with Carter that I'm worried how he'll act with another child if he/she takes his toy.  I'm hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.  We've been going over the rules for school, but who knows if he's taken to them.

I think I'll end it here for today seeing as  how there is something weird going on with my computer and I have to keep rewriting stuff.

Over and out,
Stef

Some new pics

Food Blog Day 4

Coffee with mild and 1 tsp sugar
slice of whole wheat toast with peanut butter

6 bottles of water

Veggie rice

Hotdog with bun
Coke
BBQ chips
3 Nutter Butter cookies (we went to Symphony on the Prairie and there weren't a lot of good options)

Activity/exercise
Emmy arms
Going up and down the hill at Conner Prairie in the 90 degree heat.  It felt like it was really hard.

Not as much exercise today.

Tripin'

The fam and I are going to visit my family in South Carolina the 4th-20th. Thus being said, I probably won't be posting my food blog everyday. However, I will try and keep up with the Wednesday weigh-in and post my progress. There is a lot to do where we are going, so I hope to get in a lot of exercise while I'm there.

I'm very excited to visit my family. This will be the first time my dad, brother and grandma will see Emmy. I know they are anxious to meet her. I will also get to see my sister's new house and the progress on my parents' new home. Brady and I also hope to get a better feel for everything and hopefully decide on an area where we would like to live. I can't wait to live near my family for the first time in my adult life. I miss getting to have special occasions and holidays together.

On a side note, does anyone know why my boys have to be loud all the time? I mean they scream and yell for no reason. They could be playing nicely by themselves and just let out a scream. Do doctors know about this phenomenon? If so, is there a treatment or cure for it? I would love to know about that!

Over and out,
Stef

Food Blog Day 3

Coffee with milk and 1 tsp. sugar
Decaf coffee the same way
4 scrambled eggs

5 bottles of water

Turkey and cheese sandwich on whole grain bread
Less than a handful of Kettle chips (Maddox decided to share)

Spicy chicken sandwich from Wendy's
Some fries (Maddox ate some again)
Light lemonade

3 Lorna Doones

2 Iced decaf coffee
1/2 peanut butter sandwich




Activity/exercise

Emmy arms
Emmy crunches
Jog/walk with Maddox

Favorite Pancakes

As part of "Show us your Life" Fridays over on Kelly's Korner, I am sharing my favorite breakfast recipe.

This is a recipe I found on allrecipes.com. I added the vanilla extract. I think that it adds that little extra something. My husband claims that these are the best pancakes he's ever had, and that means a whole lot coming from him. They are light, fluffy and tender. These pancakes freeze really well too. I often make a double batch and freeze any leftovers.

Fluffy Pancakes
adapted from allrecipes.com

3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
cooking spray
Directions

Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to "sour".
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg, vanilla and butter into "soured" milk. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side.

Just some cute pics

This last one is of the window I had just cleaned.

Notice the hand print?

Food blog

1 cup of coffee with milk (ran out of coconut milk.)
1 slice of whole grain toast with natural peanut butter

6 bottles of water

Turkey and cheese sandwich on whole grain bread
Handful of kettle chips

Iced coffee (this one was in a can, I got it for free)

2 Lorna Doones
Handful of parmesan goldfish

Grilled chicken breast
Veggie rice

Decaf iced coffee with sugar free whipped cream and a small scoop of chocolate ice cream


Activity/exercise

Walked mall with Carter and Emmy in stroller.
Played Dance Central on the Kinect.
Did the Emmy arm exercises that I did yesterday.
Did crunches with Emmy. I moved her from side to side while I crunched.

Food blog

Here is the list of food I ate yesterday...

1 cup of coffee with unsweetened coconut milk and a tsp. of sugar
1 slice of wheat toast with natural peanut butter

6 bottles of water

Quesadilla (homemade) with light cheese, black beans, and corn tortillas

2 Homemade iced decaf coffees with coconut milk and 2 tsp. of sugar.

2 turkey hotdogs
Handful of Kettle BBQ chips

About 10 bittersweet chocolate chips


The activity/exercise for today:

Did a mini arm workout by lifting Emmy up over my head, then to chest level and out. Did this 10 times and my arms were burning. FYI I think she weighs around 15-16lbs.

Took a brisk walk/run with the boys to the pond. I pushed them in the double stroller (not the jogging stroller which would have been easier but it was hung above the car) for most of the walk. I also ran after Maddox while Carter was still in the stroller for half the walk. I'd say that it was a 1/2-3/4 of a mile length. I would have liked to have gone longer but the bugs were bad.

Weight

So, how much weight do I want to lose? Good question. Let me start from the beginning.

Almost 6 years ago I got pregnant with my first son. At the time my weight had crept up higher than normal, but was not too bad. From that starting weight I gained 60+ pounds during that pregnancy. You can pick your jaw off the floor now. I gained that much with all 3 of my kids. No matter what I did, my body just gained. My doctor was never concerned about it since I was really healthy otherwise. That being said, by the time of Carter's first birthday I weighed 15 pounds less than I did when I got pregnant with him. It seemed so easy to lose the weight. I worked out at the gym and watched a little bit of what I ate, but nothing too strict.

When Carter was 20 months old I got pregnant again. This pregnancy was stressful and ended in a miscarriage. I gained about 8-10 pounds during that pregnancy.

Two months after the miscarriage I got pregnant again with Maddox. I gained the 60+ pounds again (I don't know the exact amount of weight since I stop looking at the scale somewhere in the third trimester with my pregnancies.) When Maddox was a year old I had only lost about 40 pounds of the weight. By the time I got pregnant for the last time (when Maddox was 15 months old) I weighed 25 pounds more than I did when Carter was a year old.

So, the last pregnancy I gained the usual 60+ pounds. The weight this time is not coming off as fast as it did in the beginning like it did with the other two. I retained a lot of water after the surgery and it just did not go down for almost 2 months after she was born. As it stands now, I've lost 31 pounds from the week before Emmy was born. Some would say this is decent, however, I am really overweight. And if you do the math, I need to lose at least 50 more pounds to get to where I was after Carter.

So, this is the countdown to lose 50 pounds! I can do it! If the lady on that "Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Addition" can lose 100 pounds in 90 days, I can lose 50 pounds in 9 months.

Today is Weigh-In Wednesday. My weight today is what I will base my 50 pound weight-loss on. I will also be posting my food blog and exercise/activity blogs each day. I can do this, and so can you, whatever your destination weight loss is!

Over and out,
Stef

Carter is 5!

Carter turned 5 on June 14th. For his party this year we decided to wait to have it at the theater so the kids could watch the sequel to Carter's FAVORITE movie "Cars." Plus, our house is for sale so we didn't want to have it at home. It was really nice that the theater had a party room that didn't cost to rent out. All we had to do was pay for the tickets and the kids' pack which consisted of popcorn, a drink and a fruit snack. Let me tell you, it was a success! We had the room for an hour before the movie started where we ate cake, took pictures and opened presents. I did not see the movie since I had Emmy to deal with, but from what I've been told (by Brady) it was not as good as the original. In fact, it didn't even seem to be a sequel since it was more about Mater than McQueen. However, the kids loved it and that's all that matters.

The cake.

The candle wouldn't light, so we pretended.

Maddox enjoyed the cake.

Presents!

Emmy in her party dress.

Carter and his friends.

I think it was a good party...


Stef

Meet Emmy!

I have not yet introduced my newest baby to the blogging world. I've been a bit behind on things. So, without further ado, meet Emersen Violet Scott or Emmy.



This was Emmy just minutes old. She weighed 8lbs. 12oz and was 20 inches long. She was over a pound bigger than both her brothers.



It's fun having a girl!




And now here she is 3 months old.



We love her!

Stef

Keepin' It Real

I've decided to try and keep myself in check and use this blog to help me with my weight loss. The weight I've gained with my third pregnancy is not coming off like it did with the first two. In fact, after each child it seems to have gotten harder to lose weight. I'm not sure if it's because I'm getting older, if I'm busier with the kids, or some other factor that is contributing to my lack of weight loss. I do know that I need to take it more seriously. And I cannot make excuses! I will not let my back pain get in the way (that's a story for another time.) So, I'm going to keep a food and exercise journal on here. I know that maybe the 1 person (hi Amanda) that reads this will keep me to it, right?

If there is anyone out there who would like to join me in my weight loss journey, link up!

Over and out,

Stef

Link to keep yourself in check.

(Cannot add links: Registration/trial expired)

AWOL

So, I haven't been on here in about 10 months. I've been busy though! You see, I had another baby since I last posted. A little girl named Emersen Violet Scott. She's cute and 7 weeks old now. We love her.

We also have our house for sale. Having your house for sale with 3 little ones is just pure insanity! I pray that no one will want to see our house without giving us ample notice. It's just impossible to keep it show ready with kids.

I figured I should get back into the swing of things since I stalk so many other blogs. I also figure this is a good way for me to keep record of all the wonderful (and not so wonderful) things my kids do. Like this morning for instance, Maddox found a stray crayon and wrote all over the newly painted walls. I now need to paint the wall again because the Magic Eraser just ain't cutting it. Why would I want to remember that you ask. For payback when he is older, that's why. Just kidding...no, I'm not, but kinda.

Over and out,

Stef