Archive for March, 2010
Kiddie Comission, Chores and Tablespoons
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
Since Katelyn and Madelyn are 2.5 and 4.5 years old we decided a couple of weeks ago to implement a chore chart and commission system for the girls. We are doing this a la Dave Ramsey. We’ve decided that we are not going to do “allowance” but rather pay “commission” for doing chores around the house. The girls both have specific daily chores they are to do to earn their $1 a day for 5 days. The rest of the chores they are expected to do because they are members of our family. We will not be paying them for every little thing the do! They will each get $5 dollars a week as long as their daily chores are checked off on their chore charts:
They are required to give $1 to church, $2 to savings and keep $2. They put their money in some glass jars we have so they can see their dollars building up.
This way they are learning to give to church (We believe in tithes and offerings to church) save for their future ( maybe a car??) and then have money to spend as well. This will also teach them to value their money and make good choices when it comes to spending it. Katelyn seems to be having the most trouble with this. Madelyn doesn’t seem to care all that much.
Katelyn asked the other day if we could stop at Dunkin’ Donuts or McDonald’s. I told her I didn’t have any money for it but that she was more than welcome to spend hers. However, if she spent her money on junk food she wouldn’t have any left to go to Toys R Us in a few weeks to buy a toy. She got all upset and said ” I don’t want to spend my moneys! I wan YOU to buy it with your moneys!!”
Aaahh.. the refreshing candor of children.
She also asked how much “moneys” she was getting and I said she was getting two dollars after giving to our church and saving. She cried ” I don’t want two moneys I want seven moneys!!”
We have quite a few lessons to learn, don’t we? But this is a great lesson in reality that many adults don’t get these days. Katelyn doesn’t like delayed gratification just like most of us!
She’s also learning working and getting money go together. This has been fun and eye opening!
Katelyn’s daily chore list is as follows:
Pick up toys in her bedroom
Pick up toys in playroom
Feed our dog Benny (I put the food in his bowl. She brings and takes the bowl)
Put dirty clothes in hamper/shoes in shoe basket
Madelyn’s chores are as follows:
Pick up toys in bedroom
Pick up toys in playroom
Put her shoes in shoe basket (we have a problem if losing shoes and/or tripping over them because they are always scattered around. Drives me nuts!!)
Put her dishes in the sink (or on the kitchen counter)
Everything else they are expected to do because we told them to and because they are a contributing and valued member of our family.
This chore chart and commission works for me!
And on a side note I wanted to share this small tidbit that has been working for me as well.
Do your kids eat oatmeal? Do your smaller ones have trouble getting the oatmeal from the bowl, on the spoon and into their mouth with out dumping it all over their shirt? Same goes for any kind of cereal.
I’ve found that a measuring Tablespoon works perfectly for this!
It’s deep enough to keep the oatmeal in the spoon without it pouring out as Madelyn tries to get it in her mouth. Eating oatmeal has become much less frustrating for her and me!
This post is linked up to Works For Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.
Songs That Make Me Cry {Top Ten Tuesday}
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
I’m a cryer. Everything makes me cry. I mean everything. I get choked up about most anything. Not a day goes by where I don’t find something to cry about whether it be myself, a commercial, a movie, or a memory. Most of the time it’s not “bad” crying, as in I’m sad, hurt or upset. Usually it’s emotions. The thing that gets me to cry the most is music. I’m forever hearing a song that makes me cry. There are several songs I can’t sing at church with out crying now. I usually cry every Sunday during the song time! I hate that about myself but there it is. I’m trying to come to terms with it and just accept that that’s the way I am and not be so embarrassed about it. I think the embarrassment makes it even worse. Music touches me the way nothing else can. Well, unless it’s a sad blog about a sick and dying child, but I think that would make even the most stoic person cry!
My Top Ten is going to be a list of songs that make cry. This is mostly ‘the” top ten but I’m sure within the next few days I’ll find more songs that make me cry.
Top Ten Songs That Make Me Cry
(UPDATE: For some reason the Youtube links are not working for me! GRRR. I don’t have time to fix them as of publishing this post. I’ll try to work on them later!)
1. You Raise Me Up- sung by Josh Groban
Gorgeous song! I joke that Josh Groban is the only man I’d ever leave Mike for! I. love. him. He has the most beautiful voice ever in my opinion.
Gets me every time.
2. You’ll Be In My Heart- sung by Phil Collins for the “Tarzan” Soundtrack.
Does anyone else find the lyrics and music to this song absolutely beautiful? I have a story to share about this song. Right after I got married in 2001 my family moved back to Texas. I mean, right after. I had never lived away from my family. Never moved out until the day I got married. So living thousands of miles away from them was huge. Several months after I got married I went to Texas by myself for my cousin’s wedding. I had never flown alone either. The whole trip was super emotional and bittersweet for me since I missed my hubby terribly but I was also so happy to be with family.
My mom and I were in Wal-Mart one day when ” You’ll Be In My Heart” came on over the sounds system. My mom was in the dressing room trying on clothes. I was in the bra section. That song just hit me and the words seem so appropriate for my situation that I started bawling right then and there. The ladies around me must have thought I was crazy! A young woman standing in the bra section crying her eyes out. They must have thought I was upset about my cup size or something!
“You’ll be in my heart, yes you’ll be in my heart. From this day on from now and forever more”.
Aren’t those words beautiful? All I could think of was how once I went back to Massachusetts that my family would be in my heart.
3. Mary Did You Know? By Mark Lowry (and Buddy Greene) (But my favorite is Michael English singing it)
Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation? Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations? Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb? This sleeping child you're holding is the great I am.
How can you not get emotional with these words?
4. People Need The Lord sung by Steve Green
I was 16 when I first broke down in public while singing this song as a solo. That was the down hill slide of me crying while singing!
5. In Christ Alone written by Stuart Townsend And Kieth Getty (sung by various artists)
One of my favorite lines is this one:
No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.
Oh my! I cry every time we sing this song at church. It gives me chills it’s so beautiful.
6. The Star Spangled Banner written by Frances Scott Key
My American pride makes me cry every time we stand up to sing our nation’s anthem. Please tell me I’m not the only one that tears up with this song. And to think that some people want to stop singing it because it’s “inflammatory”!! Travesty!
7. It Is Well With My Soul written by Horatio G. Spafford
Horatio Spafford wrote these beautiful words in 1873 after hearing of the death of his four young daughters when their ship sunk. This makes the song all the more meaningful to me.
You can read the whole story here. I highly recommend it!
- When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.- Refrain:
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
- Refrain:
- Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul. - My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul! - For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul. - But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul! - And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
Go ahead, mock My name;
My love for you is still the same.
Go ahead, and bury Me;
But very soon, I will be free!
10. Lady by Kenny Rogers
This was “our” song. I think every couple has a song. We played this at our wedding while my bridesmaids walked in. This song will forever be special to me.
Lady I’m your night in shining armor and I love you…
*Sigh.*
How about you? What songs make you cry? Check out more Top Ten Tuesday at Oh Amanda.
March Photo Flashback And Randomness
Monday, March 29th, 2010
It’s the end of March but here are some of my favorite pictures from March of last year.
This picture was taken at my parent’s house in Texas when we were staying there for several weeks last March. I love how relaxed Madelyn is hanging out with uncle Bryan (or “Bob” as she called him back then). I also love how she had her hand resting on his arm. She was only 19 months old!
This picture was taken at the park we frequented while there. Katelyn loved it and this picture just showcases that.
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I made lasagna for the first time last week. I have never made it before and am now wondering why I waited this long to do it!
Looks pretty good, doesn’t it? It turned out yummy! I froze half of so we can eat it tonight for dinner and I still have enough ingredients left to make another pan of it to freeze.
We’re onto our next two weeks of food shopping on a smaller budget and I’m really trying to make our dollars stretch to the max. We have purposed that we absolutely cannot take cash from a different envelope for groceries. We have to make sure those envelopes build up and are used for what purpose in which they were intended. If we divide out our food budget right now by day and designate $20 for eating out on Sundays it comes out to $14 A DAY. That sounds like nothing to me! But I know we can find a way to do it.
When you have an X amount of dollars there are a lot of things you usually buy at teh grocery store that you find you don’t really need anymore.
We stayed up very late last night trying to close out this months budget and make sure everything was balanced.
Uuumm, not so much. Like Dave said the first few months will be spent tweaking our budget until it does work.
Here is another one of my creations. I call it the “Melzone”. I know everybody makes a variation of these. I was trying to use up different ingredients I had in my freezer already and was able to use up some frozen bread dough and last little bit of frozen chicken nuggets. I rubbed some olive oil on the dough, cut up the frozen chicken nuggets and spread the pieces evenly. Sprinkled cheddar and mozzarella on laid the rest of the bread dough over the top and pinched the sides. Then I baked it at 350 until it looked done. The frozen chicken inside cooked at the same time. It was really good!
Oh, I didn’t put any tomato sauce inside because none of us are super crazy about it unless it’s on spaghetti or pizza.
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If you didn’t read my post from Saturday don’t forget to check out my new blog!
Hannah’s Prayer TTC And Fertility Blog is a Christian support blog for women struggling with infertility issues. Tell your friends and family about it! It could use all the followers and support it can get right now so it can grow to help others.
Happy Monday!
My New Blog Project Unveiled!
Saturday, March 27th, 2010
I’m so happy to tell you what I’ve been working on the past several weeks.
A new blog!
Because of my struggles to conceive, the Lord has really laid on my heart a passion and love for women struggling with fertility issues. So I created Hannah’s Prayer TTC And Fertility Blog. This blog is a biblically based Christian support forum for women who struggle with fertility issues to come together to discuss, pray, share stories, share Scripture, support and connect. However, this blog forum is not only for Christian women. All women who share the common bond of infertility are welcome!
But, I’ll direct you to my new blog and let you click around and read all about it there.
Please, please, please tell your friends who struggle with fertility issues to check out this blog.
*DISCLAIMER TO MY FAMILY*
There will be TMI about myself on this new blog. Be aware. I will try to post a “TMI ALERT!!” whenever I plan on writing something intimate about myself that I’m guessing you’d rather not read about me.
Just sayin’!!!
And I’m also hoping my brother Bryan is working on a nifty blog badge for Hannah’s Prayer that you can all add to your blogs. *Hints all around*
The question now is, how in the world am I going to keep up with two blogs??? *snort*
Let me know what you think!
Losing It Week 5
Friday, March 26th, 2010
Soo…. any guesses on how much I lost this week? If you guessed ONE POUND you’d be correct!! So, my body is sticking with it’s regular weight loss rate. Slow and steady, people. Slow and steady. Just call me ” The Hare”. And as I’ve said before I”m happy with it! So, that makes 8 pounds so far. I will be taking my measurements next week and I’m curious to see if I’ve lost anymore inches.
Another reason I’m happy with the pound I lost this past week is that I only exercised on Sunday and Monday! If you count the vigorous housework and sweating I did yesterday as exercise, well then, I guess that would make three days this week. I plan on getting on the elliptical today and tomorrow to try to “make up” for the days I didn’t do it this week. I think my exercise thus far has built up muscle and quickened my metabolism so that even when I don’t exercise I’m still burning more fat and calories than I did before.
I did not count calories at all this week but still did good with my eating. I guess it helps combining trying to lose weight with a Dave Ramsey style budget because we don’t have any junk food in the house! Trust me, I’ve been starving some nights and have dug around in my pantry and have come up with nothing easy, quick and satisfactory to eat! When you’re craving something like chips or chocolate chip cookies an apple just ain’t gonna cut it! I made banana bread and pumpkin muffins for my ladies Bible study last night and you would think I”d died and gone to Heaven eating that banana bread!
I’ve also been amazed at how many calories I’ve been saving by making myself a sandwich and eating it the car while waiting for Katelyn to be done with school. It’s definitely not as tasty as McDonald’s but it’s been better for my waistline and health. I’ve also put a little effort into making my sandwiches a little more special.
So in summary:
:: Lost another pound this past week for a total of 8 so far
::Exercised two days
:: Did not count calories but am eating smaller portions and healthier foods
:: Am feeling more energized and have better stamina!
To read about this weight loss challenge that I’m participating in and to check out some more Losing It 10 ladies go to Giving Up On Perfect.
See ya next week! Hopefully another pound lighter!
The Credit Card Monster
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
We’re going into week 5 of Financial Peace University this coming week and I’ve already learned so much. Last night we watched Dave Ramsey speak on “Dumping Debt” and he taught on a lot of myths and then told us the truth about those myths. One of the myths he spoke about was that we are taught in our current society that you must have a credit card to be an adult and to build good credit. I believed that myth for years and ended up going into a lot of debt because of it. The debt was completely my fault. I’m not blaming the credit card companies for my debt. They are marketing geniuses and market aggressively to consumers. They are not out for our best interest as much as they want us to believe they are.
Here’s one of the myths about credit cards that Dave pointed out last night in the class (it is also in the workbook. I want to give credit where it’s due and not infringe on any copyright laws!)
Myth: I pay mine off every month with no annual fee. I get brownie points, air miles and a free hat.
Truth: Recent Dun and Bradstreet study found that when you use plastic instead of cash, you spend 12-18% more because spending cash hurts. So what if you get 1% back and a free hat?
He also showed a study on why McDonald’s now takes credit cards. With cash customers used to only spend an average of around $4. Now that McDonald’s takes plastic they spend an average of around $7.
There was another report that stated that 75% of all air mile points are never used or claimed. I can vouch for that from using my Discover card and then closing it never having used any of the points or miles accumulated on it. I didn’t have enough to do much with anyway! We used to own a GM Master Card that you could rack up GM points with and get money off a new GM car once you had enough. We thought that was a fantastic idea! We loved GM! Dave points out that the money you have to spend to get those points is A LOT only to go buy a brand new car that loses thousands of dollar in value once you drive it off the lot. Not good math. Ummm… we did that. We still have that car. And it was payed off years ago thankfully but we paid a lot for it. Dave only buys gently used cars, by the way. But that’s a lesson to be saved for another day!
The point is, many people think they can “beat” the credit card companies at their own game. Usually they aren’t. Credit card companies aren’t making billions off Americans each year because they’re dumb. They are always going to find a way to make money off even the most frugal, careful and responsible person. It only takes one crisis, one lost job, one time of paying your monthly balance late or forgetting and then you are rocketed into credit card hell. (My words, not Dave’s! The point is the same though.)
Here are some “Credit Card Crumbs” as Dave calls them from his lesson on dumping debt.
- The Total American consumer debt is more than $2.7 trillion
- The average household credit card debt has increased approximately 167% in the past 17 years
- There are 1.3 billion credit cards in circulation in America
- The credit card industry mails out over six billion credit card offers each year, sending an average of six offers a month to each American household
- 45% of American cardholders make only the minimum payments on their consumer debt
- The average balance per credit card-holding household is more than $9,300
- It would take over 13 years to pay off the average credit card to balance if only making the minimum monthly payments of 4% at an average interest rate of 15%
- Credit card interest rates are often raised when a cardholder takes out a new loan, such as a mortgage, car loan or other type of credit account.
- A singe, first offense late payment can immediately raise a cardholder’s interest rate as high as 34%. A “late payment” is defined as anything that posts after 2:00 pm on the due date.
- In addition to increasing the cardholder’s interest rate, a card issuer can charge a fee of typically $29-39 for a late payment.
- The credit card industry takes in $43 billion per year in additional, unexpected fees from the consumer, such as late payment, over-the-limit, and balance transfer fees. Late fees alone bring in more than $11 billion.
- Overall, American households spend over $412 billion in credit card charges each year.
Wow. Last night’s lesson was so eye opening. I was amazed at how much we fall for marketing schemes! And the amount that Americans waste on debt each year is astounding. I was mad at myself for the part I’ve taken in being careless with our finances. We have one card left to pay off and thankfully it will be paid off by the end of the year. And that will be the last credit card we own. We’re making sure every credit card account we’ve ever opened is completely closed.
Dave even showed results from a neurological study that showed the difference between pain sensors and those who paid with cash registered more pain that those who swiped with a debit or credit card. Psychologically, we don’t see using plastic as spending “real” money.
That’s why we’ve loved (and hated!) using the cash system that Dave Ramsey teaches. Here’s the little envelope system that comes with the FPU kit. However, you can create your own envelope system by using plain envelopes!
Each envelope is also a little ledger so you keep track of what you took out of that particular envelope. As I said, you can do this with any envelope! I do like being able to carry this around with me.
In August there are huge changes coming to the credit card industry. Many of them are sneaky. If you have a credit card please keep an eye on your credit cards and get rid of the ones you can.
The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
Proverbs 22:7 (NKJV)
Owe no one anything except to love one another
Romans 13:8 (NKJV)
Cutting up our credit cards and using a cash envelope system works for me!
What are your thoughts on credit cards? Were any of these facts eye opening to you?
Do you struggle with credit card debt?
This post is linked to Works For Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.
Top Ten Things I Hate To Do {Top Ten Tuesday}
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
If I asked one hundred women to list ten things in their weekly lives they hate doing our answers would be varied and interesting. But I’m guessing there would be a couple of things that were the same. For my top ten I’m going list things in my day to day life I hate doing.
Top Ten Things I Hate Doing
1. Cleaning my tub.
Absolutely hate it. We have a large tub that never seems to look clean even after I clean it. The tub has jets and I can’t ever seem to get those darn things clean. And I’ve pretty much tried every cleaning product in the store for tubs and still my tub doesn’t look completely clean. Ever.
2. Cleaning my oven
Another dreaded chore. Which is why I don’t do it that often!
3. Taking my car to the mechanic for anything.
I always feel like they are going to screw me over somehow because I’m a woman and know nothing about cars. I always feel slightly stupid. Especially when they ask me questions and I shrug, smile and say ” Uh… I’m not sure!”
3. Cleaning my fridge
Another task that seems to take way too long for little gratification. I cleaned out my fridge a couple of weeks ago until it was sparkly and beautiful on the inside. Just a couple of days later the sparkle was gone and my efforts looked non existent.
4. Going to the DMV for anything
Are you with me on this one? Anyone ever had an easy, quick experience at the DMV?
5. Going to my pediatrician’s office
We always end up waiting at least 45 minutes if not longer. And most of it in the exam room! Not out in the colorful waiting room with the pretty aquarium. Instead, we wait in the tiny exam room where my girls are dying of boredom and start whining and crying. Then they start crying that they don’t want to be there and start freaking out about what the doctor is going to do to them. Then the doctor always comes in and says ” Sorry for the wait”. I want to scream ” Then have your staff only call us in when you’re actually ready to see us!!!” Then, her visit is done five minutes.
Can I get an Amen?
6. Blow drying my hair
I know this seems silly but I absolutely hate having any kind of hair style that requires blow drying. Like the one I have now. That doesn’t actually mean I spend any time blow drying it. I always have good intentions of blow drying my hair especially if the hair cut I get is really cute and would benefit greatly for a blow dry. Then I end up letting it air dry every time and end up spending extra time on my hair with the flat iron trying to make my hair all go in one direction.
7.Grocery Shopping
It takes way too much thought and time. I am such a slow shopper. Especially now that I carry my calculator around to make sure my shopping doesn’t go over the cash I have on hand. And , yes, I know about meal planning. Meal planning is a drag to me! I’m doing it but I must be doing it at the wrong time of day or something. My mind starts to wonder after the third day of planning. I think if I didn’t have such a picky eater for a husband meal planning would be a whole lot more exciting. How many different things can I do with chicken that don’t involve putting it in a casserole type dish?
Seriously.
8. Having to return stuff.
Some of this I bring on to myself. I hate trying on clothes. So they either fit me really well or I end up having to return them. That is clearly my fault. I hate it when stuff I buy from the grocery store needs to be returned. My mother in law is great at this. If she buys some fruit and starts eating it and finds that it doesn’t taste that good or is bad in any way she’ll march right back to the store and exchange it or get her money back. I’m just not that motivated. If my apples don’t taste that good they’ll sit the the fruit bowl and go bad until I have to throw them away.
9. Taking out the trash
Clearly this isn’t a big deal to a lot of people. I live at the top of a long, driveway and our trash goes out once a week. So rolling our barrells down the driveway and then carrying my recycling bins and paper bags is an ordeal. It’s usually supposed to be my husbands job but he doesn’t take the time forgets to do it.
A lot.
But to his credit he does work long hours and gets up early in the morning. He usually doesn’t feel like putting out the trash the night before it gets picked up. He swears he’ll do it in the morning. Then the next morning he’ll be rushing to leave for work and not have time to put the barrels at the end of our driveway. Our trash finally went out today after 3 weeks!! Surprisingly we didn’t have nearly as much as you would think!!
10. Vacuuming my stairs.
It’s a pain and a drag. It only takes a couple of minutes and I always wait way too long to do it.
But there you have it.
What’s on your list of hated tasks? Do you share any from my list?
Link up to Oh Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday with your own top ten list or to check out some other fun ones.
Guess That Drawing And More
Monday, March 22nd, 2010
UPDATE- This answer to what Katelyn drew is at the bottom of this post!
Here we have another masterpiece drawn by Katelyn-
What in the world could this be? I’ll warn you that the answer may seem obvious but it’s really not…. or maybe it is! I guess we’ll find out
Give me your best guesses!
And in completely unrelated news our friend Marian was in town this past week and she stopped by yesterday for a visit
This is Marian. We go waaayyy back. In fact we go so far back that her parents are the ones who introduced my parents to each other! Cool huh?
Here’s take 1 of a group shot at dinner time. My sun room turned dining room is small so I was wrapped around our corner lamp trying to get everyone in the shot. Katelyn was being a wicked brat nincompoop about taking pictures.
Here’s take 2.
Take 3
And the final take!
We enjoyed catching up, eating pizza and playing Wii. I was so happy to find out that I’m in better physical shape now than I was 442 days ago (which was the last time I was on the Wii Fit!). I was able to do a lot of the exercises on there faster and/ or longer. My scores were all significantly higher! That was a great feeling. Plus I got a little unexpected exercise yesterday.
The girls balked big time when it was time to go to bed. Katelyn begged for Marian to “have a sleep over” and Madelyn tearfully declared she was going to ” miss Mary”.
Now I’m off to clean house and get myself started on a hopefully better daily schedule now that my weeks are a lot busier. I’ve been allowed to practice the Easter musical with our church choir and we are performing it in two weeks! It’s going to be beautiful. I haven’t had the pleasure of being able to be part of a choir in years so this has been a treat at our new church.
Have a great Monday!
*** What did Katelyn draw above?
A PINK SUBMARINE!!! You see it now, right? I think it totally looks like a submarine *wink*
Losing It Week 4
Friday, March 19th, 2010
So…this week was pretty much the same as the past few weeks! I weighed this morning and I lost another pound. That makes 7 pounds total. I’m pretty happy with these hard earned single pounds I’ve been losing each week since they’ve been steady loss. However, I do feel that maybe I should try to kick it up a notch to lose at least 2 pounds a week every now and then. If I continue at this rate I’ll have lost almost 50 pounds by the end of the year which is my goal.
::Eating- I ate well this week. I must admit I haven’t been counting calories as well as I should since at some point I want to be able to eat the right portions without help from counting calories. I don’t think I’m quite there yet. And I’m an awful nibbler!!! I nibble on everything and anything if it’s out or while I’m preparing lunches or dinner. Those nibbles definitely add up! And since we’ve started doing Financial Peace University I’ve been packing my lunch on the three days that Katelyn is in school from 11:30-1:55. On those days I don’t come home and it was just so easy to grab McDonald’s. Now that we’re really watching our spending and I’ve spent all my “blow” money this month I’m being forced to make myself a sandwich instead of eating chicken nuggets and fries. And I haven’t bought chips in ages! That was a weakness of mine. Especially while eating a sandwich. So I know I’m definitely saving calories on those days.
Another thing I’ve been very pleased with is that I haven’t been throwing as much produce away as I used to. We’re all eating it! My girls were actually fighting over the last pear slice the other day! These are the two girls who wouldn’t touch a pear before!! It’s so nice to see my crisper and fruit bow emptying because we’re eating the stuff and not because it was going bad and I had to throw it away. My husband has been taking half a sandwich and salad to work every day. And he doesn’t eat any kind of salad dressing on it either. (He’s super picky and doesn’t like salad dressing! Who doesn’t like salad dressing??!!) So, he’s eating plain salad which I’m sure is healthy!
We’ve also both noticed that if we eat out over the weekend and have a lot of greasy food we feel terrible. It doesn’t sit as well with us anymore.
::Exercise- It’s becoming a part of my day more and more! I’ve worked out my elliptical for 30 minutes two days this week. Yesterday I went walking for 30 minutes while pushing 31lb Madelyn in the stroller on a hilly road by Katelyn’s school so I was huffing and sweating when was done. So that makes three days so far and I’m going to get on the elliptical today too.
I’m feeling positive and encouraged! I haven’t tried on any clothing that didn’t fit me before to see if they now fit me. I think I’m going to wait until the 10 lb mark or later for that!
So, that’s my Losing It week!
How was yours?
Head over to Mary’s blog Giving Up On Perfect to read how all the other participating ladies in the Losing It challenge did this week.
Thank you to Jessie at Vanderbilt Wife and Ashleigh at Heart And Home for also hosting this challenge!
Pigs In A Bathroom
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
Where else but my bathroom would you find this?
I was in for a big surprise when I went to use the bathroom the other day. I found I was not alone.
It looks kinda nice there, doesn’t it? I may have to think about redecorating.
This post is linked to Wordless Wednesday over at 5 Minutes For Mom
and Wordful Wednesday at Seven Clown Circus
