MOTIVATION!

**It should be noted that I have been working on this post for THREE DAYS. Colin does not allow time on the computer at ALL. ;-) **

I am making it official for all the world (or my 5 readers) to see. I am going to get healthy NOW. The time has come. I have decided that a public declaration is the way to go after seeing what a great job Dana has done. She made a vow to post about her journey every week, regardless of what happens. I am going to do the same thing. I am setting Friday as my update day. My goal is 25 lbs by July 3rd. That is an average of two lbs per week. I think that is attainable due to the fact that I am at my heaviest weight and the first half should be easier to come off. At least I hope so!! I certainly need to lose more than 25 lbs, but first things first. My goal is not only weight loss, but overall health. I need to get in better shape if I am going to have baby number two! I can't start a fitness routine after I get pregnant, but if I am already accustomed to one, I can keep it up! I am serious about this. I have posted numerous times about being chubby and wanting to lose weight, but I never did anything about it. I have finally decided that the time is now. I was in survival mode as a new mama for a long long time and I have paid zero attention to myself. Less than zero. If I don't force myself to do this now, it will be that much harder and I will be that much heavier after the next little one. So here I am, jumping into the deep end! I think writing publicly about this will help me be accountable and keep me focused on the goal. My past attempts were always thwarted by Colin and sleep. When he is sleeping well, I can easily find the will power to get moving. When he is waking up at 4:00am and not napping...well, that is when things go down the tubes fast. I am determined to change the direction this time! I am going to do it. The first rule will be that a bad day does NOT equal the end of the plan. If Colin has a bad phase, I may have to scratch my hour long workout, but I can still eat right and find 10 minutes on the elliptical. No matter what, I am going to DO THIS.


The hardest part of this is giving up the precious hour during Colin's nap. I must work out and I hate giving up that time. Colin's nap is my little window of sanity...I use it for any number of the following activities that don't get done around Colin: folding laundry, cleaning the house, taking a shower, fixing my hair, putting on make-up, reading a magazine, picking recipes and making grocery lists, watching a grown-up TV show, or just closing my eyes for a few minutes. That is only a partial list. I am forcing my work-out to go to the top of that list. I know that in the long term, I will be SO HAPPY that I did it. I just have to power through the first few days of getting used to a new "normal". The thought of buying a cute bathing suit this year gives me absolute chills of joy. I WILL DO THIS!

Daddy's Little Helper

Jer went outside after dinner to clean out the trash cans. They were beyond gross and needed a good scrub. Colin could hear him outside and begged to go out and join him. He was a VERY good helper, as you can see. ;-)

Easter Dinner

We have had a wonderful and blessed Easter Sunday! Colin had a hard time going down for his nap (mainly because he was excited and amped on sweets) but he finally went down and took a decent rest. When he woke up, we headed over to Jer's parents house for our big celebration. They had two big Easter baskets for Colin as well as an Easter egg hunt that Jer's mom set up all around the house. He saw the first egg immediately when he walked in the door and he took off after them! It was adorable. The rain finally let up and the sun came out, which was a welcome treat. It was very wet outside, but Colin still managed to put some laps in around the yard. We had a fantastic meal of pork rib roast with my favorite pineapple stuffing (Jer's mom knows how much I love it!) and all kinds of goodies. Mom Mom made homemade cupcakes, which Colin lost his mind over. It was just a fabulous afternoon! We took gazillions of pictures...here are some of my favorites:

Colin being the king on his throne. :-)


My sweet family! I still can't believe Mark got this picture of us...Colin is actually smiling and looking at the camera! Do note the dog paw. ;-)


This is going down in history as one of my favorite shots. We were trying to take a picture with Colin, but he ran out of the frame as usual. This is what we ended up with. HILARIOUS!

Colin running down the stairs during his egg hunt!

Colin rolling with laughter while eating his cupcake:

Me and the little man...he was yelling here because I snatched him up for a picture.

Wearing his bunny ears and looking at all his Easter goodies with Mom Mom.

Lots of Easter loot from his grandparents!

Easter Giggles

We just got home from our awesome Easter dinner and I will be posting lots of pictures shortly. This video just HAD to be posted immediately. His Mom Mom (Jer's mom) was cracking him up! Enjoy! :-)

Easter Zoo Trip

Happy Easter! At this moment, it is 10:15 in the morning and we are having a VERY rainy day. The storms moved in last night and it has been raining ever since. We are heading over to Jer's parents house this afternoon for Easter dinner and what I am sure will be an indoor egg hunt. I was hoping for some adorable outdoor shots of Colin today, but that is not in the cards. :-) I am sure I will have some cute pictures to post tonight regardless. I am a Colin photo-holic. I should probably seek help!


We went to the zoo yesterday morning as planned and thank goodness we went first thing! As we were leaving at around 12:30, there were police directing traffic and the first two parking lots were full! It was total chaos. I knew that was going to happen since the weather was beautiful, but scheduled to be yucky today. We were all glad that we avoided the huge crowds by going in the morning. Colin had a great time running around the zoo like a mad man and we had fun chasing after him. We also just happened to run into one of my best friends from high school, Kelly. I was so excited to see her and her little boy, who is just about 6 months younger than Colin. They actually live close to us and we exchanged phone numbers and will hopefully have a play date soon. The only unfortunate part of the trip was that Colin fell asleep in the car on the way home, which you all know ruined any chance of a real nap. After chasing Colin around a huge park, Jer and I would have loved a nap ourselves, but that was not to be. :-) Here are a few shots from the day:

Colin and Daddy watching the gorillas. Colin loves nothing more than to be on Jer's shoulders these days. Jer's back is killing him today from doing this all around the park. Oops!


I think my boys look absolutely adorable in this picture. Colin thought the flamingos were awesome, mainly because they were so close.

Colin trying to climb into the giraffe exhibit. He would have made it if I had not grabbed him. ;-)

Colin and Mama getting ready for the carousel. It should be noted that he was NOT a fan. He was ready for a nap at this point and he did not enjoy the ride!