Couch 2 5k Adventure

Okay, so I started running. I started the Couch 2 5K and I'm on week 4 but have done week 3 twice. First I will say that it has not been as bad as I thought it would be. At first I hated it but it helps to have a friend to keep me motivated. I'm okay once I get started but it's the getting started that is a challenge. We've been running in the evening after work and has been HOT. Oklahoma summers are no joke and I think I have sweat more than I ever have in my life but it has been amazing. Let's recap my first 4 weeks...
Week 1 was rough. My feet hurt, my legs hurt, I was sweating like a crazy person, my breathing was off, it was HOT. In fact I didn't want to do it at all. I was thinking of how hard it was going to be the entire time and I even told myself that I was an absolute crazy person. Mind you, I was only going Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
Week 2 got a little bit easier. I could breath better and each step didn't hurt as badly. I wouldn't say I was enjoying it but I didn't hate it as much as I did the week before.
Week 3 was also easier to breath but the runs started getting longer and that was another challenge. By this time I had gotten use to heat a little more and I started focusing on finishing. I also realized that I was enjoying myself.
Week 4 we decided to do week 3 over and not move on with the app. We aren't in a hurry and week 3 has 9 minutes of running, so why not? We also stepped up and started going 3 days a week. We switched our runs to Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings and get this we added Tuesday evening as well (we only walked).
I'm a beginner but I have always loved running. All my adult life I have turned to running to lose weight but I also got lazy and never kept it up. Or I would lose what I wanted and then think to myself that I didn't have to anymore. The funny thing about this mentality was that I would always end up in the same place I started. Bad habits would creep back up, I would start eating junk, not drinking enough water, etc.
How is this time different? Honestly I don't know that it is other than I am doing it for my health instead of weight loss. I finally am starting to be okay with my body and I'm happy in my life. I have an amazing husband who loves me curves and all, 4 perfect kids that like to camp out in my ass (I can't turn around without bumping onto one of them), and family and friends that love me for me. I can't remember a time in my life when I actually let myself be enough.

OMG I have 4 kids!!!

Wow! Life just keeps moving. Now I'm a mother of 4! It seems so crazy that I have 4 kids. I never dreamed I'd have one not to long ago. Now I have nights when I would be happy to just poop alone for once. I often wonder if I'm a good mom. I don't have to be great but I definitely want to be a good one. I think back on the times each  day that I got annoyed or lost my mommy cool and try to recall what triggered my blood pressure to go up and I meditate on it. Every night I do this. I always want to remind myself why I became a mother, how much I wanted a large family.  It helps me improve myself everyday. And I listen to other mothers and I take their advice to heart. I want my children to grow up strong and independent but I also want them to be loved and know they are loved.
This is how I know I'm a good mother. I am willing to grow and learn for them, together. I count my blessings every single day for each and every one of them. They are such little miracles. I never thought I could ever love anything so much. Yes I'm bossy and over protective at times but what mom isn't? MamaBear is just doing her thing, right?
We all make mistakes as parents but it's important to learn and grow from them.
For example, we had dinner with my husband's family this evening to celebrate Harper's birthday. Lars had asked me for a second cupcake and I told him to wait until we got home. He waited until we got home and reminded me of my promise right away. But a promise is a promise so he got his cupcake. Now I'm paying for it because I think this kid is definitely on a sugar high! It's 10pm and as he puts it, "not tired mom" as I'm trying to get him to go to bed.
In that example I was annoyed b/c he was right. I made a promise and he knows I always keep my promises. So he got his cupcake and I got my wild child. But I also learned that this little guy is getting super smart and he knows how to get what he wants. Next time I'm definitely going to have to watch the clock before I promise extra cupcakes! He probably had a few at the party that I didn't see! I could go on but I'm very tired... Peace out!

Life update

Wow... it's been a long time since I've been on my blog. I'm sorry about that. So I guess the best thing to do is give and update on our life. Dustin is working at Baker Hughes as a Wireline Operator and he seems to really like it. Claudia is growing up into a little lady. She wears make up and wants to start shaving her legs. Yikes!!! Harper is doing better this year in Kindergarten but I think she has ADHD. Very hard on us! Therapy here we come. Lars is playing tball and loves it. So cute watching them learn the fundimentals of baseball. And they're all so darn cute!
More later.... night!! RIP Earlie Dean Malone, will be missed by so many.

Birthday Boy!!!

Check out @ehfar_mom's Tweet: https://twitter.com/ehfar_mom/status/554173581824126976?s=09

Mommy Fail....

First let me start out by saying that I love my kids more than anything. They are the best part of my life and staying home with them has been a dream come true. I feel so blessed and grateful.

But... I don't know how stay at home moms do it. I am exhausted all the time, the work is never done, and I can't take a step without stepping on a toy or bumping into a kid. Everything is a challenge from going to the grocery store to going to the bathroom. I pretty much live in the kitchen and laundry room. I can clean daily but you can't tell it EVER. My house stinks because they spill milk, soda, juice all the time. Telling them to keep it in the kitchen is a waste of my time but of course I say it 50 times a day anyway. Laundry is always piling up and I hate it so much. And of course half the things that end up in the dirty clothes were clean to start with but I get to rewash because they were mixed in with the dirty ones and at this house dirty means dirty! They go outside and they come back in with mud (and it doesn't even have to be wet outside), sand, gravel, oil, and of course my ultimate favorite... Dog poop!!! Lucky me!!!

Zeal Update

Still working this Zeal Challenge. I'm down another pound but I have still been lazy. I keep saying I'm going to add exercise into my daily routine but I just get so busy and find other things to be doing/enjoying instead. I would rather just not eat. Haha... Seriously though I will start one of these days... As far as hunger goes I'm good. I haven't really had an issue with feeling hungry this far. I do keep forgetting to take the Burn at dinner but thankfully I haven't been eating extremely bad. Because of summer gardens we're getting a lot of fresh veggies so we've been getting creative and trying to eat healthier as a family. I have started to notice that my portions are getting smaller and still seem to fill me up naturally. Lately I have been working on seeing food differently. Instead of being in love with it, I'm trying to just stay away from it. Which could also explain why exercise has been alluding me. Exercise makes me hungry which = eating more and thinking I can get away with cheating more because I earned it by burning a few calories. Definitely not the healthiest way to look at things but its keeping me more on track right now. I figure you can't rush these things. One day at a time down this journey of weight-loss that we all love/hate so much... 

Thanks for all the support!! 

Xo

Lindsay

I HATE laundry!!!

This is my laundry basket almost always. And I guarantee that a lot of the kids clothes are clean. The girls love to play dress up and they always promise to hang their clothes back up or put them away. I always fall for it and they always end up in my hamper to be rewashed. Needless to say I'm never caught up and we were spending a small fortune on laundry soap and softener. So in an effort to save money I decided to make my own. I started with a liquid recipe, but found that it was a lot of effort and I'm all about easy peezie. But I do keep it on hand for spot treatments. I pretreat any grass stains, mud, food, etc. It works great and is a fraction of the cost of shout or other stain removers. However it does take up more space in the laundry room or becomes a great step stool for my son to stand on and get into things that he shouldn't. Here's the recipe:

1 Fels Naphtha Laundry Bar, grated

1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

1 cup Borax

Hot water

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and add grated soap. Reduce heat to low and simmer until all soap is melted. Be sure to stir continually. Next fill a 5 gallon bucket half way with more hot tap water from the sink. Gently pour soap water into the bucket. Add remaining ingredients and stir until all is dissolved. Fill the bucket up with more hot water, stir again, cover and let sit overnight or 8 hrs to thicken and cool. 

This recipe makes 10 gallons of laundry soap. I transfer the concentrated soap into a smaller 2 gallon bucket and add warm to dilute if using as my detergent or if using as a spot treatment I leave as is. For top load washers use about 3/4 a cup or for front load washers use about a 1/4 cup. 

Because time is an issue for me I have started using the dry version of this recipe. It takes up less space in my laundry room and works very well. So far I've been very happy with the end results. Of course you can play with the recipes and make them your own! Here's the dry recipe I use:

1 Fels Naptha Laundry Bar, grated

1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

1 cup Borax

I use my food processed for this and it works amazingly! Just make sure you mix all the ingredients completely and I like mine to be very fine in texture. Use a tablespoon per load or 2 tablespoons if really dirty (always at my house). 

Now lets talk fabric softener. I have to admit I was a little skeptical at first but I decided to brave it and it turns out that it works great. I don't even use bleach anymore (don't mix bleach & vinegar). So here's the recipe: 

3 cups White Vinegar

1 15 oz bottle of hair conditioner, any brand (I use whatever is on sale)

6 cups hot tap water

100% essential oil of your choice

Mix all ingredients together and use a 1/4 cup per load. Depending on the essential oil, I use about 20-30 drops. Just do the smell test if the vinegar bothers you. 

Vinegar neutralizes odors, helps colors from bleeding/fading, and is a natural softener. Who knew vinegar would become a staple in my home! 

Good luck and let me know what you think!! 

Xoxo

Lindsay