The begining...

Ok I know I took forever to post this, and I am really sorry to all that messaged me....BUT better late then never right? I am sorry if I didn't respond right away ect, I just really didn't feel like typing it out a bunch of times....so for those of you that are wanting to know what I am doing to lose weight....here it is.

I have always struggled with weight. Up and Down Up and Down. Within the past three years I have had 3 children and diagnoised with hypothyroid and PCOS. Both of which are linked to weight problems, and we all know having those baby's sure doesn't help! :) I have lost from time to time but it's never been easy and I always seem to hit a point, then it goes out the window. Once I stopped nursing the twins and the holidays hit BAM I gained a ton. I was very unhappy with my body and I said at the begining of the year I was going to try again. I am DETERMINED this time, and I think that's really the key to sucess.

As a disclaimer, I'm no medical professional. I am still in a trial and error phase trying to figure out what works best for me, and much of my info has came from friends and google! I am just in the begining of my journey, I am only posting this for all my crazy friends who are thinking I have some kind of diet secret! lol

January 2nd I said ok this is it! I am ready to change! Starting on that day I restricted my calories to about 1,200 a day. Not only did I restrict them but I also changed what I was eating. If you are eating things like fruits and vegtables your going to fill up on a lot less calories. Sure you can have chicken nuggets but then there goes half your calories! This is really bad with drinks, one thing I have learned from past diets is don't ever drink your calories! I also began to exercise with the Biggest loser on WII. (Love it) By the 18th I was down 15 lbs. Simply reducing calories eating better and working out. NO secret there, just determination. Anybody can do that!

I knew that the weight lose would begin to slow like always and I wanted difference results this time. I was ready to do anything. Well, a good friend of mine had just lost a good amount of weight doing the HCG diet. So while I have never done any of these crazy diets before I just had to look into it. (who doesn't want great results fast). After lots of research and asking my friend 100 questions this is how it works.

HCG is the hormone you produce when your pregnant. When your pregnant it makes your brain deliver nutrition to the placenta. However, when your not pregnant researchers have found that it actually causes your body to burn off stored fat. Note* I'm putting this in dummy terms here, and remember I'm no pro here so bear with me. You can google it to find more info yourself, but the diet is setup around research done by a Dr, that has evolved over 50 years. Basicly the protocol is set up around a very low calorie diet. You eat only 500 calories a day! Yes, I said 500 but NO I'm not starving myself. After the 500 calories are burnt up your body then takes from the stores fat due to the HCG, instead of going into starvation mode. It's suppose to keep you from being hungry and so far I think it works. You have to seperate mental hunger from actual hunger.

The first two days of the diet you do whats called a loading day! You eat anything and everything you want! Crazy I know but it's true. This is to stock your body up and prepare it for what it's about to go through. I really didn't want to do this since I had already been dieting, but I wanted to follow procerdure. So I did and I gained 5 lbs..then I lost it quick once restriction started. You take the HCG three times morning -before lunch- before dinner.

After the restrictions you begin the low diet calorie phase.

Twice a day I eat:
100grams of approved meat
1 serving of approved vegatbles
1serving or approved fruit
1melba toast

you may have as much water, tea, and coffee you would like

The catch is they give you a list of approved foods. I don't like many of the vegtables approved, but I am getting good at changing things up. The meat also needs to be cooked without added fats. The BEST way to do this is get a small counter top grill. We bought the griddler. I highly reccomend it, it is a panini press, flat griddle, ect. George foreman works great too. I've literatly used mine twice a day since I've got it. I also use a postal scale to weigh my meats.

I have read online that your body first burns carbohydrates, then sugars, then fats...so I believe what they are doing here is removing the first two so your body goes straight to the fats. Just a guess here.

The HCG I am taking is homeopathic and I have had no problems with it. Now I have read many things saying to only buy real HCG which has to be prescribed to you or imported from out of country (it's leagal for up to 3 months). BUT I have had no problems with mine and it seems to be working.

Basicly you can do a 26 day program (20lbs to lose) or a 40 day program (over 20 to lose)

After the diet phase is over you go into a maintenace phase, which is very important to stabilize you new weight.

The major con is the cost of the HCG. I got mine from the site my friend recommeded www.hcgdiet.com so you'll just have to decide if it's worth it to you or not.

So that's the main jist of this crazy diet for those of you that wanted to know! I have only been on it for just over a week but I have lost 9 lbs plus the 5 I gained from load for a total of 14 lbs in 8 days! I feel great! My My only side effects were headaches the first few days..which I have been told if from reduction of carbs and sugar, it passed just like I read.

Now, I think it's only fair to point out that my awesome friend took the HCG but stuck to her own low cal diet of around 500 calories. She just ate 500 cals or what she wanted not exactly what they said. She did great! But if your wanting fast results I would def stick to the protocol. For me it's easy cause I know exactly what to eat.

Overall, no this diet is not easy. BUT if you are determined and are absolutely ready to lose it is maintainable. My thoughts were I can stick to this for 40 days if I am seeing such great results, then go back to a regular diet. I would rather spend 40 days of a strict diet then months with small results.

I am now 23.5 lbs lighter then I was 27 days ago. Couldn't ask for better results! I lost several pounds each of the first few days, now I am losing a steady 1 -1.5 lbs day.

No matter what diet you do or if your just changing your diet the key is determination. You will do it if you truely want it. No matter what you do, you have to change the way you eat. Even if you lose 50 lbs and go back to the way you were eating, your going to gain it back. It has to be a life change, not just a diet.

Here are some tips and tricks I've picked up:

Somebody to keep you accountable. This was my reasoning for postin gon FB. If I was posting it out their to the world, I knew I had to keep it up. I knew people would be asking how the diet was going..I didn't however think it would strike such an intrest in my friends!

After drinking 17 oz of water you body burns calories up to 30% faster for a period of time.

You need to drink atleast half your weight in oz of water each day. Once you body is incredibly hydrated it will begin to flush out water weight

Every pound of carbs in your body carries 3-5 pounds of water

Pick up some stevia! It's an all natural low cal sweetner I use it to make baked apples, in my tea ct.

When you feel hunger in between meals drink water first

Cut back on salt as it makes your retain water weight

Drink water throughout your meal to help fill you up

Green tea! It has been proven to aid weight loss and it's all around good for you. I add stevia sweetner to it for my "sweets"

Make warm tea instead of a late night snack, it will fill ur tummy

Get a workout band for your tummy, this tip was from my diet buddy and I love mine! It gives your tummy a sauna effect to make you sweat when working out

Every time you workout for 20 minutes your body continues to burn far at an accelerated rate far after your done working out! So for this I have broke up my work outs into 20 minutes throughout the day

If you doing the HCG diet chart your weight each morning as soon as you get up to keep track of whats working and whats now as you figure it out.

Take your measurements! Often you can lose an awesome amount of inches and not the same great amount of lbs (maybe u turned fat into muscle?)

If your not doing the HCG diet eat small meals and healthy snacks throughout the day to keep your metabolism going


PORTION CONTROL!!!

And most importantly...I pray for strength each day. That God will give me the willpower and hope to keep going and make this a life change. I know that without him, I just can't do it!

Ok well you asked, and there it is! Once again..I have only begun! However, this is what I am doing and trying as well :) Good luck everybody. If you need any more info leave comments /questions in the comments box below...

sry for the typos...I am to tired to proof read!

1 Peter 1:13-16 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

Big girl carseats...

That's right...our car is begining to resemble a scene from John and Kate plus 8...old school before Kate went from exhausted but happy mommy to a (insertword here) celebrity ;)


I can't belive our girls are 10 months!! I know so cliche but it's true, pregnancy lasts a life time and then then in the blink of an eye they are a year old. As they have gotten older lugging around those infant seats was getting harder and harder, we had planned on waiting till a year to switch them to convertables but when we saw the ones we planned on buying on sale we had to grab them up!
If anybody is looking for a good convertable carseat I HIGHLY reccomend these!! When Cadence was ready for one I went crazy researching carseats and I totally fell in love with the Graco-Nautilis. This seat is everything you could want!


1. SAFETY!!! Britax always comes to mind when thinking safety, but really its not the only safe carseat out there. (I was not thrilled with the Britax's at all just IMO) The Nautilis has steel reinforcement all the way up and down it. Just pick it up and you'll know it's no evenflo :) It weights a ton! (con but pro at the same time) The straps fit snug and secure up to the baby, the safety ratings are awesome!


2. Versatile - you will NEVER have to buy a carseat again!! The head rest moves up to accommadate the childs height, then it goes to high back booster and then remove the back and it's a regular booster!!

3. Design-I LOVE the style of this carseat! I is big and comfy yet designed in a way not to take up too much space, there is a cupholder for the kiddo, and even a little storage space in the arm rest. Cadence loves to put her toys/sunglasses/snacks in there! It also reclines..and not to mention its so cute! They come in many different fabrics.


4. Comfort-Cadence loves her seat, its seems super comfy..it comes with removable padding as well as strap covers and even one to protect the baby's legs from getting pinched.


5. Durability- We have had c's for 2 years and it still looks great...can you tell in the pics hers is 2 years older?? We take off the covers throw them in the wash...easy clean.



6. Price-When I bought C's it was 200.00 plus shipping. Not too bad, but now we grabbed these 2 for 155.00ea right outta the store!


All around..I love this seat! We now have three of them and I wouldn't change a thing on them. The kids are happy, comfy, and safe!



Oh and when I say John and Kate...literatly...I saw that they have the same ones!!! 8 of them!! Crazy!

I know the the most creative post, BUT that's the new excitement around here! I hope that helps some of you looking for new seats :)

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6

Let them eat cake :-)

I had a really rough day, and then a really rough night. So I thought I'd blog about something that makes me happy...cake! Well making cakes that is! Although there's been a surge of hip new cake shows filled with fake reality of the cake world, that is not what inspired me to start. We have had disaster after disaster when ordering cakes, and both me and the hubby were tired of it...I just knew I could do it if I tried or atleast as good as what we were paying for! So in July I bought a few pans, the largest cake set wilton sells (with a 50% off coupon at Micheals wahoo!), and the obbsession began! Quickly I found out two things...1. making a cake is WAY MORE COMPLICATED THEN IT SEEMS! and 2. I LOVE IT!!!

To begin it seems so easy...bake a cake, ice it, get a little creative right? WRONG. There are dozens of steps and pricey tools involved when making cakes. I won't even begin to list them...but after much trial and error, reading, and many sleepless night I am finally learning and loving every minute of it! I haven't been able to make many cakes over the holidays so I'm in need of a few good cakes! I'm no professional and I have much to learn, one day I would love to take some pastry/decorating classes! For now here is what I've done so far in order...

My first practice cake!

A little cake for out 4th of July BBQ

A birthday cake for our neighbor, my first roses!

A birthday cake for a little man turning 5! (yes everything is edible ;) )

Comic book Batman cake for our good friend's birthday (I added to the top at the party)

A practice cake, trying some technique I liked

This one was made for the birth of a little girl after having 5 sons, yet the girl turned out to be a boy whoops..

A birthday cake for a friend of ourse little girl

Another birthday cake for another great friends child

Two cute little cakes I made for a little halloween bash

and my daughters 3rd birthday cake! The whole reason why I am learning to make cake

I am not currently trying to start a cake business or anything but I am making them on the side for some extra cash. I just love doing it! I had said no cakes over the holidays, but I am ready for more! So let me know if your wanting a cake, and those of you that have already asked please contact me to confirm dates and such :)

I'm curious to know, which one is your favorite?????

"I can do all things through Christ, who strenghtens me." Philippians 4:13

Vampire Gift Basket

Thought I would share a little fun I had this weekend. A friend of mine, Michelle, was celebrating her 20th birthday and her sweet mom threw her a Twilight themed party. Awesome, except I am clueless about anything Vampire..generally if it's not frilly and pink it's not my project! I wasn't sure what to get her and was Twilight clueless, I thought Twilight and Trueblood were the same thing, boy was I wrong and did I ever look like an idiot at the mall when I asked for a Trueblood Twilight gift! So I decided to put together a vampire gift basket....it was last minute and I couldn't find almost anything I had wanted to put in it BUT it was Vampire themed and I will admit it was kinda fun...really I can't resist doing a "theme" with anything :-)

I was really limited on time as I did this the night before. But if your wanting to make one for your Vampire loving friend there are many things you could include! Twilight socks, bookmarks, picture frames, a red body wash, fangs, a photoshoped picture of them with their fav character, ect ect ect. I orginally found the lables on HWTM you can download them for free!

http://www.hostessblog.com/2009/03/hey-twilight-lovers-drink-up-printable-vampire-bottle-labels/

Then I created most of the other little lables in photoshop. The Basket included a big photo frame of who I now know is Edward, a strawberrycrush, altoids, red tictacs, an oil scent, a candle, an apple, a red rose and vase, a "blood" energy drink, and two wine glasses I added fangs to.

Kinda different but fun, I hope Michelle enjoyed it!

Playarea!

We finally completed the play area! Well sorta...

The girls are getting SO big!!! Originally we were going to have a 4 bedroom house in which the 4th was to be a play room. However, due too many housing issues we decided to accept a 3 bedroom. We were told that it had a 8X8ish (something like that) storage room or something that basicly would serve as a playroom. Well even though we do have a large storage closet its not 8X8 and can not serve as a playroom. We knew a play area was going to be a must with the twins. Think two babies crawling around a 1900 sq ft house. This is what we came up with!

This use to be our dining area, we moved it to the other side of the room. Not exactly the decor I had in mind for our house but being a parent of multiples often calls for much compramise. The gate is the Superyard XL deluxe..many of you have seen the plastic kind. Daddy mounted it, it was really easy and I highly reccomend it! It can be moved in all shapes and is great for around a fire place! For those of you that asked about the playmats they came from BRU. They are the little Miss Match and DO come in a blue version. If you want them though get them fast because they are clearanced! However, I should note they come in sets of 9, not really for covering a 60 sf ft area like this but we just loved them! I didn't want the typical red, yellow, green, and blue ABC mats. We went to several different ones after getting a list of which TRU and BRUs had them in stock :-)

Some shots of the girls loving their new "space".

I just love these little girls, their smile makes all the work worthwhile! We are SO blessed. :-)

The play area has been awesome to have. I am much more able to do things around the house knowing they are playing safe and happy. Much less crying and me constantly fishing things out of Miley mouth!

The girls are ready to host their first playdate! lol

I WILL GET THIS GOING!!!

OK so I began this in February while pregnant for the twins..hoping to get it going for when the twins were born ect. It's now January...of the next year. Which means it only took me 11 months to post!! Hey I've been a little busy ok! In the past year we've been a little busy! I guess I keep putting it off because I am not sure which direction I want to go with the blog, maybe because I don't ever stick to one thing in life either. One minute I'm making bows, then baking cakes, then I'm sewing felt food, or painting a room. So I guess I will let it develop it's self! I plan to share my crazy thoughts and current projects and well as our family's milestones! Here goes!

The twins will be one just around the corner and guess what that means!?!?! PARTY?!? One of my fav things to do is plan events of anykind. Coming just weeks after Candyland I'm a little burnt out to start but it's their first birthday I can not not go all crazy! The theme we picked is Monkeys of course! Since the twins were born I have refered to them as monkeys so that I was not always calling them "the twins". There were several other themes I really loved but I'm keeping them up my sleeve for future events :-)

I could just use the ever popular Mod Monkey theme, which is really cute.

http://www.1stwishes.com/Pink-Mod-Monkey-1st-Birthday-Party-Supplies/67568/PartyKitDetail.aspx

The internet it chuck full of matching products and cute things to go with. But of course I just couldn't be that easy. I had to make it hard on myself because of course the pink and green was not EXACTLY what I wanted, so that is where my ever present DIY diesease comes in. Here's my sneek peek of what I have brainstormed so far.

I couldn't find the exactly what I want so of course I have to start from scratch. Ever have that one thing in your head and it's just not out there! That's the story of my life, I plan on using a few digital graphics I purchased from a designer on etsy, Maree Truelove to create all the party images.

Instead of using green and pink I'd like to use LIGHT PINK, PINK, and YELLOW. I've been brainstorming monkey themed treats and lots of bananas. Can't share too much more or I'll ruin the fun of the party...but I still am lacking on a treat sac/bucket idea and a activity for the kids so feel free to share if you have one!

That's all for now..not the bet of posts ever, but a post none the less!