Quick, before I get Sidetrack'd

Last week I posted 5 goals for the weekend. When I read the list to Matt he basically told me I was crazy. He was right.

Let’s take a look at where I stand…

1. Do the great clothing exchange – it has been a full week and there are still clothes all over the place. I am just about finished with the girls’ clothes, but I haven’t even started on J’s stuff. I wish I had taken pictures; this ordeal is a blog post in and of itself!

2. Make pumpkin applique shirts for the girls – yeah, not done. I’ll try again this weekend.

3. Catch up on laundry – well, it was caught up last weekend, but now there are about 6 loads of clean laundry on the couch that need to be folded and put away.

4. Clean the bathrooms – Matt finally gave up on me and cleaned them one night this week. I love that man!

5. Cook some muffins for breakfasts next week – didn’t get done over the weekend, but E and I baked 2 dozen on Monday morning. That counts as school, right?

Just trying to keep it real here.

And while we’re at it, this post is posting real time and I haven’t had a shower yet. We used the hour or so that M actually slept to get some school done. Now she won’t let me put her down. I’m going to miss this one day, right?

1. Do the great clothing exchange – I’ve had boxes of the kids clothes out of the attic for several weeks now. This weekend I plan to go through all of the clothes in their closets/drawers and the clothes in the boxes to clean out the Summer stuff and put in the Fall/Winter stuff. I also need to sort out the stuff for Spring consignment.

2. Make pumpkin applique shirts for the girls – again, a project I’ve had everything for (except E’s shirt) for awhile now. I intended to have them ready before our pumpkin patch trip last Sunday, now I’m shooting for completing them before our Fall festival at church this Sunday.

3. Catch up on laundry – I’ve let myself fall behind this week and it’s not fun. See also #1.

4. Clean the bathrooms – enough said.

5. Cook some muffins for breakfasts next week.

What are your goals for this weekend?

It’s Spring which means it’s time for Matt and I to embark on some home renovation projects!

Three years ago we replaced the furnace (J was a week old). Two years ago we repainted the kitchen and laundry room including trim and chair railings. Last year we had the siding on the house replaced. This year we’re embarking on the biggest set of projects yet (as far as work for us Matt is concerned).

It all started when we decided to redo floors. Our kitchen floor has needed to be replaced for a while now, so that was the first project in the plan. We’ve also wanted to lay wood floors in the living room and hallway since our light colored carpet is hard to keep clean in the high traffic areas, so add that to the list.

Then, when we were discussing flooring options for the living room, we decided that we would be able to choose from more finishes if we painted the brick fireplace and hearth, the list keeps growing. And, while we’re painting, let’s go ahead and paint the walls in the living room. I’ve long (like not long after it was put on the walls 5 years ago) disliked the wall color in our living room. The amount of work that we’ll have to put into painting (the walls are painted veneer paneling) has made us put it off. However, now that we’re replacing carpet and will have the living room torn up for a while anyway, we might as well take the opportunity to make the room like we want it.

So, Matt started painting the fireplace and hearth this week, he’s planning to work on the kitchen floor this weekend, and then we’ll paint the living room walls before embarking on the living room/hallway floors.

Should be an exciting Spring!

Man, it’s been busy around here this week! I’ve been prepping clothes for consignment, our washer had to be repaired (yay for handy Matt!), we’ve had three playdates, and I had a BSF leaders workshop from 9 to 1 today.

So, there are the excuses for posting this on Wednesday. Lol

Anyway, there isn’t really much to report, unfortunately. I had zero loss (but also zero gain) in both pounds and inches. I did okay with exercise, but I kind of sabotaged myself with my eating on Thursday and Friday. Oh well, there is always this week!

But, on the exciting front, I’m posting this from my new toy…my iPad!

Several months ago I set out to lose the rest of the weight I gained while pregnant with Baby Girl. Well, I did really well for the first ten pounds. Then I was able to fit into my jeans again and lost all motivation.

So, here I am again, challenging myself to get fit and lose some weight one more time. Only this time there is a little twist…Lindsey, Stacey, and I will be doing this together and blogging about our results every Monday (well, except Stacey since she doesn’t blog). The “official” challenge begins today and goes through October 18. I’m hoping that the additional accountability and encouragement will help keep me from losing momentum as I go.

I have about 30 pounds that I would like to lose, but that is a totally unreasonable goal for me for the next 10 or so weeks; so my challenge goal is to lose 15 pounds (and then hopefully retain momentum to lose the other 15). Each Monday I will record my weight loss/gain for the week, my inches lost/gained in several areas (waist, hips, thighs, arms, chest, etc), and a little about the exercise I’ve done and anything else (stress, holidays, etc) that might have effected my loss.

I plan to use some combination of T-Tapp, jumping rope, walking/running, and some other workout videos as my exercise each day. I will also be following the “No S” diet (no sweets, no seconds, no snacks except on days that start with “s”) to help control my caloric intake.

If you’d like to join us, we’d love to have some company. Here’s to a good 10 weeks!

Here are a few random things that have been going on around here lately…

~Baby Girl stayed in the nursery this morning at BSF. It was the first time she’s stayed in a nursery. We both survived. In fact, she did great.

~Boo turned two last week. More on that when I get my act together and get pictures uploaded.

~Little and Boo go for their very first dentist appointments tomorrow. Should be interesting.

~We got new outdoor toys this weekend. The kiddos are having a great time playing in the backyard.

~Baby Girl has learned to roll from back to tummy over her left side.

~My best friend moves from 2 houses down to 20 minutes away next week. I can’t say that this makes me happy, but I’m excited to see her new house.

~Matt and I got to go out Friday night (thanks for babysitting, Mom and Dad!). All.by.our.selves.

~I’m contemplating buying a sewing machine again. Matt says I’m crazy and that I don’t have time to learn to sew (which is pretty accurate).

~I’m also considering taking up scrapbooking. Matt will probably say something very similar to his comments about sewing.

~We’ve planted a garden. Again, a post awaiting uploaded pictures.

~I’ve fallen off the “reclaiming my jeans” wagon this week. I need to get back on quickly! (so far I’ve lost about 5 pounds and several inches from my waist and lower abdomen, but I have a ways to go to get back into my jeans)

~Baby Girl has had a string of rough nights this week. We’re hoping to get a little more sleep sometime in the near future.

I think that’s about all I’ve got for now. More thorough posts to come soon assuming I can string together comprehensive thoughts.

It’s kind of funny (in a not so funny sort of way) how my body has changed as I’ve gotten older and as a result of each of my three pregnancies.

Little was born when I was 27. I gained a total of 24 pounds while I was pregnant with her. At my 6 weeks post-partum check up I had lost 26 pounds. Then I lost another 20 pounds while she was nursing.

Boo was born when I was 29. I gained a total of 32 pounds while I was pregnant with him. At my 6 weeks post-partum check up I had lost 22 pounds. I lost the other 10 pounds before he was a year old, but then gained them back before my pregnancy with Baby Girl.

Baby Girl was born when I was 30. I gained a total of 40 pounds while I was pregnant with her. At my 6 weeks post-partum check up I had lost 20 pounds. And here I am, as Baby Girl turns 2 months old, holding steady at 20 pounds to lose.

So, I decided to get going this week in an effort to reclaim my jeans. I’ve teamed up with my SIL for encouragement and support, and we’re embarking on a get-in-shape/weight loss journey.

Right now I’m just doing T-Tapp, a 15 minute toning/cardio routine that I’ve had success with in the past. After the 14 day “boot camp” with T-Tapp I plan to add in some Wii Fit or walking as well.

I might have also mentioned in Matt’s hearing that I might need to do something drastic like give up chocolate. So I guess I’m doing that too. Short-term, at least.

And to further my accountability, I’m going to write about my successes (or failures) right here.

Wish me luck.

And motivation.

Early last month I posted some of our financial goals for the year.  Here’s where we are so far:

Done – 1. Move our savings into an account that earns more interest – February 15 – we’ve opened two new savings accounts and have earned more interest on the money than we did all of last year.

2. Have Life Insurance in place for both Matt and I – March 1 April 1

3. Create a Last Will and Testament for both Matt and I – February 15 April 15

4. Research Homeowners and Auto Insurance options before renewal – May 1 – have started this process; still gathering quotes, etc.

Done! – 5. Fully fund 4 months of Emergency Fund – September 30 March 5 – I am so excited that we were able to complete this quickly thanks to our tax refund

Done - 6. Prepare and file tax return – February 15

So, we’ve completed three of these six in the last month or a little more.  My big issue right now is with our Wills – I just can’t wrap my mind around choosing guardians for our kids in the event we aren’t here to raise them.  We’re considering our options (okay, so that sounds like we’re choosing a new paint color. We’re trying to prayerfully consider the people in our lives with whom we trust our children’s lives and well being), and, hopefully, we can get the Wills written soon.

New goals?  Since we’re doing pretty well I’m adding a couple of new things to the list.  Matt and I haven’t sat down to set “achieve by” dates yet, though.

1. Fully fund an additional 2 months of Emergency Fund (for a total of 6 months funded)

2. Start saving for a replacement car (ours are 10 and 6 years old, but that’s okay for now because they are paid for)

That’s our progress thus far in 2009.  Hopefully, we can get a couple more things marked off the list soon!

One of my goals for 2009 is to lose 30 pounds.  What have I accomplished?  Absolutely nothing.  During January I was totally unmotivated in regard to my eating and exercise.

And now February has begun and it’s time to get my act in gear; for the next 6 weeks (which will take me right up to my birthday) I’m going to work on getting some of this weight off.  I’m not one for extreme dieting so I don’t expect to lose all of the weight in that time, but it would be wonderful to drop the first 10 pounds or so.

How will I go about it?  My first step is to reinstate the rules I used during my challenge back in the summer/fall – exercise 5-7 days per week, limit my non-water intake to one per day, and no eating after 7 pm.  I know I’ll have to make some additional alterations from the way I’m currently eating, but I think these three things will help a lot.

So there we have it.  I’ve spoken (or at least typed) it, so I have some accountability.  Now if I can just find the motivation.

About 4 years ago Matt and I took Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. With the things we learned in the classes we were able to pay off all of our debt (except our house).

For the first couple of years we did really well, but as we got out of debt and started bringing in a little more income we got lazy with our budgeting and envelope system. So when our church decided to offer FPU we decided to go through the program again. This time around we’re focusing on getting our savings in line so we can do some things around the house and work toward paying cash for our next car.

Last weekend we sat down and worked out our budget for February. It wasn’t much fun, but, hopefully, it will all pay off when we are able to meet our financial goals for this year.

As of today, these are our financial goals for 2009:

1. Move our savings into an account that earns more interest – February 15

2. Have Life Insurance in place for both Matt and I – March 1

3. Create a Last Will and Testament for both Matt and I – February 15

4. Research Homeowners and Auto Insurance options before renewal – May 1

5. Fully fund 4 months of Emergency Fund – September 30

6. Prepare and file tax return – February 15

Each month I plan to revisit these goals to see what we’ve accomplished and to add any new goals to the list. I think having the information here and in print (in my budget book) will help keep us on track and accountable.