Go BYU!

It's been a good run for BYU basketball this season so I guess it is a good year to be a fan--and we have two cute little fans in our house. Grandma Anderson sent these outfits out for Landon and Katelyn and they just look adorable in them. GO BYU! (Thank goodness for Jimmer, right?)

weight report 3

I'm thrilled with this week's results because I'm gonna be honest and say there were a couple days I was off track. Like I've said before, I'll be happy when Landon doesn't need potty rewards like chocolate cookies and marshmallows:) He is doing great by the way so that may not be too far off. I put one of my jeans on the other day and was happy to see that my go-to- jeans for my "fat days" (or let me be realistic and say "Fat Years") are literally sliding off of me:) That helped motivate me. I can't really see a big difference when I look in the mirror but I did run into someone I haven't seen in six months and she commented that I was "looking good"--also a motivator. I only have a little bit to go before I reach the 20 pound goal and I am determined to try my best to get it by the next weigh in. Thank goodness I have my amazing husband following the same program as me--it's been the key.

Week 17: 1.6 lbs lost

Total lost: 18.4 lbs

Total left: 1.6 lbs

Baby no more!

Little Miss Katelyn has decided she's done with baby food. We've been feeding her "big people" food since she was 8 months old because she always wanted what Landon was having. But this time she didn't want the PB&J sandwich I was making for Landon so I looked in the cupboard and saw one of those microwave toddler foods and decided to give that a try. I had just turned my back to the fridge when I heard a big plop and Landon screaming "Sissy mess." She dumped her entire tray on herself, the floor and the highchair. AND she thought it was funny. Needless to say after a few smiles for the camera it was off to the bath for her!

Weigh in report 2

I'm really liking this weight loss program, and it may just be because Ben and I are doing it together. He has been very on top of recording every single thing he eats and planning meals so I have had it really easy lately. Yay for me! Ben has been great at going to the gym after work and I pretty much just exercise at home because the gym's daycare is packed to the limit:( I recently started "walking" at home. Basically "walk" a mile which is about 12 minutes in the morning, the afternoon and evening. I figure I have 12 minutes, right? And I can do it while the kids watch cartoons!

It has been very interesting to study my relationship with food since I've started this goal of mine. I never really understood how much of a "stress eater" I am. If I am having a rough day with the kids I want to grab whatever snacks are easy and convenient right there in the cupboards. And I use to do that ALL the time...a handful of crackers here, a little cookie, and one, no make that two, fruit snacks. No wonder the pounds packed on! Just the other day Landon was giving me a run for my money in the potty training department, oh yeah, and the coloring on walls department:( I was so frazzled all I could think about was stuffing handfuls of marshmallows in my mouth-but I didn't. I've gotten enough discipline through the last few months to realize what is driving my hunger so that I know if I really need food or not. So instead of going on a sugar binge I sent Landon to his room and MADE him play for a little while so I could calm down and take some ME time. It helped. That was all I needed. Who'd have thought? Anyway, here are the stats.

Week 16: 2 lbs lost

Total pounds lost: 16.8

Total left: 3.2 lbs!

**NOTE: 20 lbs was my original start goal to see if I could accomplish that rather than setting a really high goal for myself and getting disappointed in how long it was taking and give up. Now that I am almost to that first goal I've got to start thinking about how much more weight I want to lose to get me where I will be happy.

Cabin Fever entertainment

Last week we were pretty much snowed in for three days. It really got long, and boring-especially with me staying home with the kids all day. They wanted to go out, and boy did they look outside the windows a ton! So I read a couple fun activities to do on a rainy day on this neat site at www.toddlertoddler.com. One of the activities was to let them play at your kitchen sink--so I did. And they had a blast transferring water from bowl to bowl and playing with bubbles. Pure entertainment for 30 minutes. Oh, and letting a one year old up to play at a sink can get quit out of hand--but I couldn't let her NOT do it if her brother was doing it.

Yeah. Water was everywhere. It took 5 dish towels to clean it all up. Was it worth it? Yeah.

Weigh in report

So I'm gonna change it up a bit. I've been at this weight loss business for 15weeks now and keeping my weekly reports is making for a really long post. And I have just changed up my routine a bit so why not change how I report my weight loss too? Seriously, who wants to scroll all the way down through the weeks to see how I've done anyway? So I will post my total pounds lost and the week's loss (optimistically let's just say there won't be any gains:). I think that should be enough information to share anyway.

I have done 14 weeks of changing my lifestyle all on my own by counting calories and exercise (well, I've fallen off the wagon on that one so that needs to change). I am pleased that I lost 12 pounds in that amount of time. But like I mentioned earlier, I am now following the Weight Watcher program. My amazing husband gets to do 12 weeks for free (if he loses 10 pounds) through his work so I'm just reaping the benefits and following along. True, I don't go to a weekly support group to weigh in, but that is what I have all of you (and my hubby) for. I will weigh in every Thursday because that's when Ben does. You know, I was surprised how similar the WW program was to what I have already been doing, although it takes into account total fat, protein, and fiber as well--so that's got to be a good thing. Instead of limiting myself by calories I am limited by a certain amount of WW points and each food is assigned a value. So it kind of makes counting food easy--that's always nice. And the biggest difference between the first 14 weeks and the next 12 (well 11 since we've already done one week) is that my wonderful husband is doing it too so food choices, making dinner and all of that is much easier! So you want to know how I did this week? Pretty good.

Week 15: 2.8 lbs

Total lost: 14.8.

I've almost lost 15 pounds and I am just four pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight (with Landon) and that feels pretty darn good.

Oh, and if you are wondering how Ben is doing he said he really doesn't want to post weekly on here because just getting his money back if he loses 10 is enough motivation for him. But I will tell you he did much better than me this week:) But at the end of 12 weeks I'm going to post how much he lost anyway, so stay tuned.

p.s. We have added a ton of vegetables to our meals and at first I thought the kids would not do well with the meal changes but to my surprise they are doing great. They probably have had more vegetables this week than they did all last month!

Funny conversation

"Thank you, Pumpkin," I said while buckling Landon into his carseat for church.

"Not a pumpkin," Landon said sternly as he gave me an unhappy glare.

"Sorry, sweetie," I said with a laugh.

"Uh, uh. Not a swee-ee," he said shaking his head.

"O.k. Thank you, Baby." I said.

In exasperation he throws his hands up in the air and shouts, "I a BOY, Momma."

I'm pretty sure he is not too far off from rolling his eyes at me...Oh, how he makes me laugh.

New Year goals

Well 2010 has come and gone and looking back on it the year was pretty great. I'll start with the accomplishments.

Ben graduated with his Master's and got a great job he enjoys. We were able to leave apartment living behind for a little while by renting a house in the country. We have really enjoyed the space, but because this house is older it is a bit of an energy hog and we are considering moving elsewhere (maybe even an apartment) after our lease is up in June. We'll see. Our kids have grown leaps and bounds this year. Landon is 2 1/2 and does well with his numbers and had done well with his letters until he decided that he doesn't have "time" for them anymore. Stubborn kid. Potty training didn't go as expected, in fact I had to toss the book I got aside because he is not a strict 15 minute kind of guy and gets mad when we consistently ask him to go to the potty. He will come and tell us when he needs to go and has done very well that way, with a few small accidents a week. So it may take a little while but at least it is not a constant battle. Katelyn is 1 and is a total joy. She's a very happy child who likes to laugh. Following her brother is her favorite thing. She is much more adventurous than Landon was at her age and climbs and tumbles on pretty much everything. As for me, I've been enjoying the opportunity I have had to stay at home with the kids. I've made some new friends in the ward and am setting housekeeping goals. I'm also on a little weight loss adventure and have been able to lose 12 pounds in the last few months so I'm gonna keep on chugging along with that.

2011 goals:

Start having FHE

Stick to a budget

Eat healthier--kids too, meaning eat more vegetables!

Exercise five days a week--Ben and Kyra

Read scriptures more consistently as a couple

Keep house clean (stay on top of the laundry, dishes, etc)

Write in journal once a week--Kyra

So here is to 2011!

Knoxville trip

For Christmas vacation we spent a few days in Knoxville, Tennessee. We spent Christmas morning at home opening presents and then that afternoon we headed out on the road. We had a lot of fun while there.

Lots of smiles.

Landon is entertained by Toy Story thanks to Santa.

We went to the Knoxville Zoo while we were there and it was very cold! Most of the animals were not out so we are glad it was free for us thanks to our handy dandy Zoo membership.

Katelyn's mittens kept coming off so she wore Ben's gloves.

The zebras were one of the few animals that braved the cold weather.

We originally wanted to go to Gatlinburg to see the lights but it turned into a winter wonderland while we were there which was really neat.

We told him to stay out of the snow, but he loved trekking through the stuff!

We also went to the Gatlinburg Aquarium. It was expensive but the kids had a lot of fun.

This penguin was lots of fun. He would follow the kids from one side of the tank to the other. Katelyn was afraid of him though and kept moving further back:)

We were so glad Ben got two days off of work to celebrate Christmas because it gave us time to explore this neat city. We missed spending the holidays with our families but having a mini vacation with just us was a lot of fun too.