{do it for you} days five and six……

Posted on September 25, 2006

Hmm - not doing too badly.  The weather here was absolutely horendous yesterday, AND I had sick snotty M’s - so there was no exercise at all yesterday.  Bugger.  I really miss it when I don’t get a chance - makes me a little cranky too.

Oh well - today is another day.

Off to the gym this morning - big power walk - took hevrey with me (he had an RDO today!).  Felt great - although a little stiff in the back still.  Took myself off to Mr Chiro - no wonder.  I have a couple of discs that are starting to bulge in my lower back - so he treated them, and instructed me not to LIFT AND TWIST.  Yes - I put that in capitals - coz I am shouting it.  Lifting and twisting is a common casue of back problems - always use a straight back (says me!!!!!).  That may explain the extremem pelvic pain I have been getting agina towards late in the day when I have been on my feet for too long. He also had a go at my left elbow, as I have been getting alot of wrist pain - it’s all connected.

I have a little bit of ’swanking’ to do….

Get on over to Designer Digitals, and check out the awesome stuff that went in store today. AND while you are there - go and challenge yourself with the challenges this week - I espeially love Pattie’s template challenge - check it out and post your layouts! I am gonna have to give it a go right now!!!!!!

Also - check out the wonderful kit that Jess Bolton and Carrie Stephens teamed up together for…. EMILY’s WISH

How yummy are those colours!

Boy - have I got some scrapping to do!

M1 has swimming lessons every day this week - FASTTRACK  at Kings.   It’s a bit of a pain to have to travel 30mins each way to get there - but in our house - learning to swim is not an option.  We are on a island surrounded by the beautiful sea - why not be safe while we are enjoying it.  They are both at creche today - lovely - a free day for me - but it has been soooo busy. At least I do not have The Cat in the Hat playing in the background as I did yesterday!

I have a new favourite recipe to share (actually - it’s an old favourite that I just remembered!).  You have to try it!
ORIENTAL FRIED NOODLE SALAD

{do it for you} day four……..

Posted on September 23, 2006

So no exercise on Day 3 - oh well - Day 4 is here - let’s get back on the train again!  No worries! Unfortunately Will is working 7 daays a week now - so there go my weekend gym sessions - a real bummer.  I love to get a sweat up!

To top it all off - I have woken up with a super sore neck and back this morning!  Must see if my chiro man does consultations on a Saturday - otherwise I am in for a BAD day!

Bought a whole heap more fruit yesterday - we eat so much of the stuff.  I have a whole watermelon looking at me from the bench, and a big bag of oranges (did you know that if you eat too many oranges all the time - the sugar contained in them will rot your teetH - TRULY!)

This is a short post - I have to deal with my two girls - especially the one who is still awake when she should be asleep.  Arrgghh - I just went and blew up at her.   Arrgghh - sometimes I feel like such a horrid mum. I probably didn’t need to smack her then - but I  tell you - she is so frustrating at present - it is soooo hard to stay patient.

With that -I am off to start my day in full……

{do it for you} day three…

Posted on September 23, 2006

OK - so I am posting this on Day 4 - I’ll do Day 4 later.

Day three was a no go for me.  Normally on a Friday - both the M’s go to creche.  M1 went, but I ended up keeping M2 home - she did a huge sneeze while at creche, and all the green yukky stuff came pouring out - not the best way to leave her at creche.  Soo - my planned sessions at the gym didn’t happen - fitness walk and powerride - I was soo looking forward to it - but I culdn’t take a snotty child to the creche at the gym - that would have been unfair and irresponsible of me! Anyway - M2 ended up sleeping for two hours from 10:30am!

We met up with Wilbur for lunch (and his workmates) at the local RSL.  Food was OK - Will had ordered me a chicken parmigana - not the healthiest option - but the salad was good.  Then on the way home we stopped in at a friends house and got a very late invitation to a 1 yearold birthday party for last night!  I rang up the creche where M1 was - to make sure she had a sleep, then whisked N2 home for a nap of her own - again!  Great night out - my girls filled themselves up on the stuff that they don’t get at home - namely chips, chocolate and cake.  They got to bed at around 9pm, and were up at - you guessed it - 6am this morning.  It’s now 8am - and I have been trying to get cranky M1 to go back to sleep.

What is it with three year olds - mine is an absolute terror at present.  She is such a sook and a cranky little thing.  I don’t think she is getting enough sleep.  She goes to bed at around 7:30ish (even if I put her in earlier - she doesn’t go to sleep for a while), and is always up and awake by 6am.  By the time it gets to 1:00ish in the afternoon - she is exhausted and cranky - so she has another nap.  It’s a bit of a catch-22 situation.  If she dowsn’t have that middle of the day nap, and goes to bed early - she still gets up early, and then is cranky all afternoon.  I just can’t get it right at present - amd we are having a rough time because of it.  She is always cranky and sooky, and I lose patience with her.  I hate losing patience with her - coz that invariably makes me cranky as well.  really - it’s just not worth it!

{DO IT FOR YOU} ….DAY TWO…..

Posted on September 21, 2006

Already we are up to Day 2. Was Day 1 hard? It is always hard to start something new - but let’s give it our all.

Day One for me - didn’t quite go as planned. Never got to my pilates calss - I was too busy crying my little eyes out watching the wonderful tribute to Steve Irwin. What a passionate man. If half the world were as passionate as him…….well.

Soo - I cleaned out the ‘pink room’! it’s really a junk room in our house! We moved in here nearly two years ago - and we still do not have any storage - so the pink room fills the job1 I also cleaned out the girls toys - mammoth job that was. A friend dropped in with some fairly upsetting news - of which I will not divulge - but I spent some time with her and her daughter. A rollercoaster day of emotions.

Food diary wise - all excellent. Snacked on fruit and water, and had my normal meals - portion sizes smaller and NO CHOCOLATE! How happy am I! I am not going to bore you with the skimpy little details of what I have eaten - just to let you know that all is well! A little disappointed that I didn’t fit in my hours worth of exercise - but that’s life I guess!

I will be at the gym at 9:15 am today though for a powerbar class, and then again at 6:15pm for a poweride class - so that should make up for it!

Remember - whatever your goals are for this challenge - you are doing it for you - any goal is a good one. Today - I want you to write down your goal, and stick it on your desk. Make it a specific goal, one that is doable. mine is to fit into my favourite pair of ‘camo’ 3/4 length pants - with ease. Write it down - make a scrapbook page - do whatever you liek - and then stare at it for the next 6 weeks - whenever you feel like straying off the rails - keep and eye on your GOAL.

Here’s a quickie layout using one of PAttie Kox’s templates at  Designer Digitals:

just a few pics…….

Posted on September 20, 2006

Little M2 in her fairy dress…..

The favourite pose….

I can do it too…………………….

The new bedding arrangement………..

Helping dad……….

Laughing it up in the bath…………….

so I shocked myself…….. {day 1}

Posted on September 20, 2006

OK - so the weather is warming up - I thought yeah - why not try on some of my warmer wear attire. Either BIG mistake or not a big mistake! I discovered exactly how much extra weight I am carrying. It was not pretty. So - here it is - all out there right now. I have 6kg to lose in 6 weeks. Now - I could have done this with a private blog -but why - this is my online diary of me - and I figure - how can I get anymore me than this. So here it is - all it’s realness (under ‘r’ in the dictionary - I’m sure!). My losing weight method is a simple one. Energy in < energy out. Simple. MAke healthy choices when eating, smaller portions - NO CHOCOLATE or EXTRA STUFF! Notice how that is in bold - my downfall is chocolate - but I can do this.

So - I don’t know if anyone wants to join me on this - I am not giving anyone time to prepare - coz basically - why put off to tomorrow what you can do today. The lovely Rhonna Farrer has a 21 day challenge on her blog - I am going to do a similar thing - but for me - it will be a 6 week challenge. So that makes it a 42 day challenge. Yes - that’s alot of days - but it is possible - think of it as 2 “21 day” challenges back to back.

Today is {day one}. The whole idea of the challenge is this - food diary, exercise for at least ONE hour per day.

Let’s break that up. A food diary - easy. You can use a scrap piece of paper, a pretty journal, your blog - whatever you like, BUT be HONEST. Write down EVERY scrap of food that you eat, and drink. Exercise - for some -may be a little harder - one hour is alot - especially when you are busy - but it is possible. This iso your health that we are playing with. Think of the pros of exercise - helathy, less stress, relaxation, cardiovascular benefits, strength gains, weight loss - the list goes on and on. You need to exercise at a rate that you can feel. In otherwords - a stroll down the street - while it is classed as exercise - we want to exert a little more energy than that. Push yourself - you know your limits - really try to push yourslef that little bit extra. You can do it.

It all sounds too easy. This is how it will go. I am going to try and post something a little motivating every day - I will try for each morning. Each night - I am going to try and post my food, and exercise diary for that day - rather than do a million little posts a day every time I take a mouthful - certainly not exciting reading for anyone!

If you would like to join me in my little challenge - great - I’d love to hear from you. Leave me a comment - you can join in anytime you like, and anyway you like. Your goal may not be to lose 6kg in 6 weeks like me - but maybe to exercise more, or eat better. Whatever - it’s up to you - I hope that I can help to motivate you in some way.

I have a couple of goals I want to reach - not so much weight related - but figure related. I have two pair of my favourite jeans I want to fit into, AND we would like to have a third child - and October / November has always been the time we had ‘pencilled’ in our diaries as ‘time to conceive’! So - I want to be strong enough to put my body through a rigorous pregnancy, and keep up with the two children I already have.

Please bear in mind that everyone is different - this is what I want to do, and how I am doing it - if anyone else want to join in - great - but you are looking after your own body - I am just providing a few tips and a bit of motivation. I do have some knowledge of what I am on about - after all - I am a qualified Personal trainer,and I studied human movement at Uni for a number of years - so I know a bit about what I am doing! Just remeber - DO IT FOR YOU! (hey - that’s a quirky name - the challenge now has a new name - DO IT FOR YOU! Blinkie on it’s way soon, and spunky motivational image coming for today too.
So………….down to business…….mumbo jumbo out of the way!!!

I have absolutely no idea of how much I weigh - I will find out today when I head to the gym for my first ever pilates class. But - I can find out what my measurements are - with a simple tape measure!

• Hips: 89cm
• waist: 97cm
• chest: 94cm
• biceps: 28cm
• thigh: 49cm
• calf: 32cm

That’s it. The weather is beautiful - I am going to the gym to do my first ever pilates class. great. Then - later in the day - we will most likely go for a bike ride - the girls love their bike trailer - it is super windy - so my legs will have to work extra hard. I love that feeling.

Onto my normal blogcast……….

While I was sitting typing this - M2 was sitting next to me on the couch - suddnely I hear the unmistakable ‘here come a poo’ grunt, along with the red cheeks, followed by the smell. WOW - what has this child eaten!

They are doing really well in their new beds. M2 is sleeping nicely - didn’t get out of bed until 7:15 this morning - fantastic. M1 on the other hand - 5:50am she trots into us. We sent her back to bed. Plenty of tears from her though. She can turn those things on like you would a tap. It is so frustrating and annoying. She’s turned into a sook - just like her dad! If anyone has any tips on dealing with a sooky child - let me know!

M2 had her chickenpox vaccination yesterday. What a brave child. She omitted the silent cry (we all know how that sounds!), and then Barb (the jabber!) waved a lollipop in M2’s face. We all know that the way to M2’s heart is through her stomach - so there was instant smiles! M1 was playing with my gorgeous cousin and her fiance at the park - what a treat for them all! Apprently they got to said park, and M1 said - “I want to go to the OTHER park, and I’d like an ice-cream please’!. At least she used her manners! Anyway - we met up after the jab - and had an icecream. Why they make that disgusting conglomeration known as ‘rainbow’ ice cream is beyond my scope of thought. Have you ever tried it. Not high on my list of icecream desires. AND - how messy is it. Unbelievable.

Cousin and fiance came over for a BBQ last night.  How we love a BBQ here at this house!

quick interruption - M2 has come out of the bedroom with her fairy dress on - her way.  Upside down and inside out.  This is a bit of a change - she doesn’t like to wear skirts generally but she really likes her fairy dress.  I have ‘righted’ her - and she looks like a little princess - with a singlet on - photos later!

Back to BBQ - when we do a BBQ - we really put it on!  Wilbur went to the butchers (Ray’s!) and bought half the store.  Bear in mind that there was only 4 adults and two small children to cater for!  Nevertheless he is having left-overs for lucnh today.  He is such a meat and potatoes  man!

My study is coming along nicely - next week I can reveal some of what I am working on.  My assignemnt is to create a website  - at least 15 pages of site.  great - it has given me the kickstart on what I have been planning for a long time.  Preview coming next week!

Time to sign off for a bit - Steve Irwin’s memorial service is about to start, and I am watching it. Once again - best wishes to the Irwin family.

my little muchkins are growing up….

Posted on September 17, 2006

We took the pluge yesterday - and put M2 into a bed.  Not just any old bed - but a double bed!  She looks so tiny!  We had been planning on getting a set of bunks for the M’s, and Will just happened to spot a set at a garage sale.  Goodo.  I wasn’t with him - so he bought them for a whole $40.  Even better!  It wasn’t until I saw them that I discovered the bottom bed was a double!!!  Luckily we had a double futon matress spare - so on it went!  M1 loves it up in the top bunk, and M2 - well - she seems to be OK.  Haven’t had too many hassles yet - she trotted out this morning after an OK night - with a huge smile on her face!  No longer my little baby girl!  She did wake up in the night screaming, and refused to get back into the bed.  She only settled when she was lying on top of me, with her head nuzzled into my neck (her favourite in the middle of the night position - oh so uncomfortable for me though!).  After a while - I was able to untangle her, and throw her back into her own bed!  It was all good.!

Here she is; (bed photos to come later!)

We had a wonderful weekend.  Lots of family time.  Bike ride this morning, and then off to the movies.  We went to pivk up a little buddy of M1’s, but he took one look at Will, and decided not to come!  Poor little fella!  We went to see Barnyard - I’m sure it was good - can’t tell too much about it - I was too busy dealing with M2 wriggling, popcorn eating, dancing on the chair and singing all at once to watch!  We ended up leaving nearly 3/4 of the way through!  Looks like it is on the DVD list!!!!

I am sure I have plenty more to say - but it’ll have to wait!  Need bed and sleep!

happy little camper…..

Posted on September 11, 2006

If you are looking for something super interesting - this is not where to look!

We had a VERY lazy and relaxing weekend. Lots of playing, reading and just gentle family stuff. I went to the gym on both days - felt good - EXCEPT for the huge headaches I am getting. Not overly happy about them. I usually very rarely get a headache - but the past two weeks have delt me some nasty ones - I am not sure why. I have also been feeling super light-headed every now and then NO - not pregnant. It is now getting to the stage where I think a visit to the doctor may be in order. I NEVER go to the doctor - so I figure I must be feeling pretty crap!

School this morning. Learnt some fantastic stuff. I am now a whizz at the pen tool in Illustrator - even in Photoshop! LOVE the pen tool - it is going to make my drawing activities sooo much easier and smoother. Pen tool mixed with WACOM tablet and pen - WOWZER! We now have two weeks of holidays - so hopefully I can get some whiz-bang drawing done for my site template - AWESOME. Also going to learn how to add some FLASH to it. Must get cracking though!

Went to a friend’s house for fish and chips last night. They have two little children as well - Miss A, (a wee bit older then M1 - maybe 2 weeks!), and Mr T - he is 8 months. Wilbur and I met the parents in pre-natal classes, and we formed a fantastic friendship. Unfortunately we don’t see them very often - but when we do - we always enjoy ourselves. Their little girl - Miss A - is a social butterfly - always out to parties and stuff. It made me stop and think. M1 - doesn’t receive invites to any parties from the other children at creche. Does that mean she is a nasty pasty to them? From what I can gather - they all play really well together. Who knows what it is. Should I really be agonising about the amount of invitiations my daughter gets for play ‘dates’. Is that a measure of how popular she is - or is it directly prortional to her attitude and personality at creche? Arrgghh - maybe I should not worry at all. If anyone has any suggestions - feel free to step in at this point!

Hey - I got my first lot of spam today. Very exciting - I guess if no-one else comments on here - at least a few spammers do!

Cheers!

so I missed a day or two……

Posted on September 8, 2006

Not that it matters - since I seem to be writing to myself!Today was meant to be the day of M2’s MRI - you know - to check out her little heart and see exactly what is wrong with it. We get a thrid of the wayto the hospital (50 minutes of drivibg), and get a call from the MRI department telling me ‘the scan has been cancelled - there are no recovery beds’. WHAT. I tell you - that’s just not good enough. We had to wait three months for that thing, and now most likely another three months will go by as we wait again. Very poor form.

Onto funnier things….

M1` and M2 seem to think that it is funny when they lick each others tongues. I kid you not. They spent ages the other night giggling at each other whilst licking each other. Unfortunately every photo I took looked like M1 was just licking M2’s face - didn’t capture the moment at all. Continuing on from the licking theme - M2 has found that tipping her milk on the bench and licking it up is a better way of drinking her milk rather than the conventional ‘use a cup method’. What am I teaching these children.

Speaking of teaching them. M1 came up to me the other day, and said ‘Mum - we don’t say that f****n word - that’s bad.’ I nearly fell off my chair. yes I agreed - it’s a very bad word, and you must never say it. I never swear - so I was really suprised to hear her say it. I asked her where she had heard that word - ‘daddy’ was the reply. Aha. Daddy doesn’t swear except when at work surrounded by the blokes - so obviously M1 must have overheard it pop out at some stage. I tell you - they are like parrots. Although there is not much parroting from M2 - her vocabulary is not expanding much at all. She has many different grunts that seem to get the meassage across though!

Managed to successfully enrol M1 into Kinder for next year. She will be in the seahorse group. Lovely. I can’t wait - a bit more structure in the week. I love structure, and lists. Bring it on.

Check this out:

I went to a Learning Ladder ‘party’at the girls creche a while ago. I don’t normally buy things at ‘parties’ - but I really liked the look of this. M1 loves it. She places the clear plastic tray over some pictures, then has to match the numbered tiles to the correct pictures. When finished - if she has done it correctly - the tiles show a pattern. It is the first itme that she has really ‘gotten into’ (is that a phrase or word in real life!). She even does it by herself - which is a big thing - coz I must admit - she doesn’t have a great deal of confidence! I also purchased a couple of touch and feel books that are themed around ‘peek-a-boo’ for M2. She loves them, and wants to read them all day. She gets a cheeky grin and says “pee-boh”!

Lastly - I purchased an alphabet / word building blocks game….

She’s not that into it yet - but did suprise me with a little bit of letter recognition!  She knows more than I giver her credit for.

Onto a sad thing….

A wonderfully inspirational Australian dies tragically this week.  Steve Irwin .  A true blue Aussie legend.  His love for the land and sea and family was amazing.  Everything he did was for his family or the wild.  A truly amazing person. My thoughts and wishes go out to Steve’s family and friends.

Cheers.

Posted on September 4, 2006

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