Saturday, October 31, 2015

October Highlights

October was quite the month for us. Lots of things going on, a few colds here and there, and Halloween is the beginning of chaos in this house. Shortly after Halloween is Thanksgiving, then birthdays, then Christmas, and before we know it, it'll be 2016. Here's a glimpse of our month.

{Jillian had a homework assignment of creating a girl to represent her. I helped cut and glue, but she picked out everything herself!}

{They were all displayed at open house night}

{We decorated the house for Halloween! Some of them got a little ghetto, but that's ok ;)}

{The big fuzzy spider on our door. We're hoping it'll keep all the real spiders, (including fiddle backs!), away}

{We went to a TU game, and we got several prizes before the game started. Jillian has been posing with her tongue out a lot lately =P}

{Davey wearing Papa's hat. He would clap and watch the game, while Jillian would yell "Yay football players" and "Can I go to the bouncey castle yet?}

{Jillian went with me to a local high school football game to support some of our youth kids at church. Her favorite part was playing with a ladybug, and getting popcorn to eat}

{Jillian practiced being a ghost for Halloween all month long}

{She even used one of my undershirts to get the full effect HAHAHA}

{We celebrated the 10th anniversary of our choir director at church. Even though we've only been there for 3 years, he was actually my choir director my senior year of high school! We surprised him with all kinds of speeches, food, and a song I wrote in honor of him. He works hard, and I'm so glad to have this man in my life!}

{We got a Groupon to a pumpkin patch, so Phil took off an afternoon at work to go with us! It was unfortunately 90 degrees that day, but fun none the less. The kids rode ponies, feed goats, went on a hayride, through this corn maze, and picked out a pumpkin to take home}

{Corn Maze Selfie}

{Being so hot, both kiddos were pretty pink-cheeked when we got back to the car. Luckily, they were both fine with some air conditioner, and water to drink}

{I made a perfect over medium egg the other day! I even flipped it in the skillet with one hand ;)}

{We went to a birthday party for a friend of mine, and Davey got an entire cupcake to himself. Unfortunately, the kid that gave it to him didn't realize how he eats food. It's blurry, but trust me when I say he was covered! HAHAHA}

{Jillian has really been into Fancy Nancy books lately. She wanted to look "posh" and wear "ax-eseries"}

{She is a sweet and creative girl, when she wants to be ;)}

{My mom sent money so that the kids could have light-up necklaces for Halloween. The ghosts are for Jillian, and the skull is for David}

{Royals in the World Series!}
{Funny meme I saw the day after the Royals scored 14 runs LOL}

{This boy scared me by running off on me at Petsmart. I couldn't find him for 3 whole minutes. I will never forget how that felt. I was beyond terrified, and I'm so thankful everything turned out ok. Lesson learned}

{I got some "me time" at Wal-Mart, so I naturally went to the toy section to get birthday ideas for the kiddos. Nothing says "I love you" like Poo-Dough!}

{For Trunk or Treat at our church, I needed some kind of costume. At the last minute I decided to attempt this...}

{Nailed it}

{I gave up, and was going to do something entirely different. After my hair got really poofy, I decided to be Adele. No one really got the reference, but I was complimented on how fancy I looked! Oh well, better planning next year :)}

{David would NOT wear the Bear costume we got for him. He picked it out in all honesty. Poor guy needed some mama hugs after all that!}
{Because we're awesome parents, we took a video of him freaking out about it. It's very funny!}

{The heart Jell-O mold came out almost perfect! I'm so glad my mom was able to send it to us again this year :)}

{Phil brought back the Mad Scientist trunk. We didn't win any prizes, but kids seemed to really like it!}

{Our family at Trunk or Treat 2015}
{We've got Adele, a ghost, Luigi, and Mad Scientist}

{Here's a close up of our trunk. Not pictures is the glass bottle of troll farts (it was empty, but we did it for laughs)}

{I was asked to join another friend of my brother's to go to a tasting event at the caterer they are using. I was able to work my calories out to do it without messing up my diet for the day. The other girl is a mom too, so we had a good time together! This was the drink I got, a champagne cocktail}

{The buffet table. It was all very delicious, and I'm glad I got to go on behalf of my bro and his lovely fiance :)}

{Jillian had her Halloween Program at preschool! I won't show other pictures because of privacy for the other kids, but trust me that it was a cute little program. Here are my boys at the snack area after}

{Silly Jilly trying to smile with a big bite of cookie in her mouth}

{Our fence had a portion fall over during the constant rain Friday. Phil thinks it's easily fixable. Hope he's right!}

{We took a family selfie before we left for a Fall Festival near our house from 3-6. That way, the kids could get candy, and we could pass out candy from home}

{Halloween Squad Goals}
{David is Linus, and Jillian is a Dragon!}

October was another full, but good month around here. I hope yours was good too :)

Carb-Cycling Update 3 {3 Months - 90 Day Check In}

Here we are at 90 days into this new lifestyle for me. I remember hearing a quote about
not being worried about the time that it will take to change because the time will pass anyways" (paraphrased quote by Earl Nightingale via) I have found this to be so very true. These 90 days would have come and gone just as much as it would have if I made no changes at all. I really and truly am thankful for my support team, and for the strength God has given me to do this. Truly, sometimes I have willpower that I never knew existed before :) Here we go folks...


The Breakdown:

- I am currently doing the Turbo Cycle from Chris Powell's book, Choose More, Lose More for Life.
- I am taking prenatal vitamins, and a slow-release calcium supplement everyday

Struggles:

- Having to go to multiple grocery stores. (or purchase online), to get what I need to be successful. It's more annoying than anything really
- Saying no to certain foods, especially anything sugary, when I'm stressed out
- Finding a way to start working out without overdoing it, and fitting it into my schedule
- My body has been getting used to good stuff that sometimes it aches when I'm not being extra careful.

What's Been Easy:

- I still love the structured plan.
- My guilt-free reward day is always great, and I no longer need to count calories! I can usually just keep my portions in mind, and do really well.
- Food prepping no longer takes half a day to do. Shopping at the grocery store has gotten much easier too! It's almost like second nature :)
- I have had a few days where I wasn't able to full cook and meal prep, so I improvised. For the most part, I can do really well with that, and not sabotage myself :)

Non-Scale Victories (NSV):

- I can put on and take off my size 18 pants without unzipping or unbuttoning them!
- I can drink 1 gallon of water a day without a second thought. Drinking less makes me feel dehydrated
- Being able to do things like go to a caterer tasting on behalf of my brother, (for his wedding), and plan in such a way that I don't completely go off the wagon!

- Wedding ring is easy to take off my finger
- Others are starting to notice changes!
- Getting great support from my parents, friends, and my husband :)

The Nitty-Gritty Numbers:
{Starting Weight} - 225.8 lbs

{Current Weight} - 194.0 lbs
{Total Loss to Date} - 31.8 lbs

Inches Lost - 16.5" Overall
Most Inches Lost - 4" in hips

Here are some comparison photos. The first ones are from 2014, but I was about the same weight and measurements, so they work :)

{Left: 8/2014   Right: 10/2015}

{Left: 8/2014   Right: 10/2015}

{Left: 8/2014   Right: 10/2015}

The decision to start carb-cycling has been one of the best ones I've made in my adult life. I'm blown away by my results, and I can't wait to see where I'll go from here :) Only 17 more pounds until I weigh what I did on my wedding day!

But I Know What It Feels Like

This post is going to be awfully vulnerable and hard for me, but I really want to finally say it out loud. I got permission for my daughter ...