My fitness challenge - february update

My February goal was to commit to regular exercise (regular for me being 30+ mins 4+ times a week) and a goal weight of 140lbs. I came in 2 pounds short on my February goal! Boooo! Can I blame it on the short month??

I tried my very best to get up and go to the gym every morning at 5am. It is SO hard! I don't know about you but I need my sleep...lots of sleep. If I'm not asleep by 10pm...there was no way I'd be at the gym by 5am. So on the days that I missed the gym, I would do little workouts at home. Basically everything I would do was adpated from pintrest workouts.

I would do about 20 minutes of any combination of things below...
50 jumping jacks
5 push-ups (yea...I can only do 5 at a time)
50 crunches
30 mountain climbers
30 second plank
20 deep lunges
20 squats
20 leg lifts
And if it was warm enough outside, I would walk with C and Lilly for 30 mins.
I also kept up on eating healthy (my January goal). Even though I'm not hitting my goals dead on each month, I am seeing an improvement. I have more energy and my clothes are fitting better, which they should after losing 10.5lbs and 7.5 total inches.

As of March 1st...
weight : 142lbs
bust : 36"
waist : 29"
hips : 36.5"
After One Month (February 1st)
weight : 146lbs
bust : 38.5"
waist : 29"
hips : 37"
Day 1 (January 1st)
weight : 152.5lbs
bust : 39"
waist : 31"
hips : 39"

My end goal is to be fit, feel good, and be confident with my body by June (just in time for our trip to Hawaii). My end weight goal is 125lbs (my pre-pregnancy weight was 122lbs). That's just 17 pounds away! I can do this.

Anyone else struggled with losing the baby weight? Or had great success? I'd love to hear your story!! Tips, tricks, hints...send them my way :)

open for business on Etsy

My shop is open for business on Etsy!!

Here's a little background...I had THE hardest time finding shoes that would fit C's chubby, pillow top feet. The soft crib shoes were the only ones I could squeeze on but most of those shoes stop at size 4. I felt bad that my one year old was leaving the house in just his socks so one day I decide I'd just make shoes for him!

And now here we are...selling handmade shoes and accessories for your little chub. Please check out my shop and let me know what you think! I'm leaving it to you to let me know what you're looking for...other colors, sizes, anything at all! Let me know! And please plase pass this on to your mama friends!

Also, I'm looking for a photographer that can do product shots for me, preferably in the Utah Valley. Let me know if you know anyone!

no poo challenge - update

Oh my gosh. It was horrible!
After 10 days, I quit!
So after the first wash my hair felt dirty. I read that it takes a few washes to get your pH balance back to normal so I waited a day and washed again. My hair was disgusting!! It felt like I hadn't washed it in a month. So I just rinsed it with water and scrubbed as best I could. My hair has never felt so dirty and never looked so gross.
I just couldn't handle it. Maybe I didn't give my scalp enough time to get back to it's healthy pH balance but I don't even care. Hair is dead anyway right?? What's a few more chemicals gonna hurt it?

If you're confused about what I'm talking about...see my previous post here about my No Poo Challenge.
If you tried it or still want to try it, let me know how it goes! Maybe my hair just prefers shampoo :)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I'll post more about the days happenings tomorrow...

Hope you all have a lovely day!!

date me!

"What do you wanna do?" " I dunno, what do you wanna do?"
Sound familiar? I made this date jar for B as part of his v-day gift so we don't spend half our night trying to decide what to do for date night (I'm banking on him not reading this post until after v-day).

Here's what I did...

I bought extra wide, wooden sticks and color coordinated them by type of date.
I wrote out all of the dates on the sticks (some of them are double sided so we can choose based on the season i.e. water park/sledding or if they're super similar i.e. park city outlets/traverse outlets).
Then I decorated a mason jar to store all of our ideas.

Here are some of the date ideas I used...

Plain : a date we can do at home
- homemade ice cream     - karaoke night     - themed night     - build a fort in the living room and watch movies     - takeout & redbox     - fondue night/BBQ     - picnic at the park/living room     - board games     - face painting & bubble bath     - make a bucket list    - do a pintrest craft     - play video games     - bake treats for the neighbors     - DIY spa date     - puzzles and pizza     - Netflix marathon & takeout     - plan a getaway     - high school music dance party     - go through wedding/birth photos/videos     - make a 4 course pintrest meal

Red : a date we can do with C
- just dessert out     - dino museum     - dinner at an old favorite     - dinner at a new place      - fashion place/south towne     - temple square/city creek     - tracey aviary     - riverwoods     - drive through the canyon     - tourists in our own town     - library/book store     -  drive in movie     - build and fly a model rocket     - house hunting     - dinner north of here     - dinner south of here     - look at cars     - batting cages     - her favorites     - his favorites     - provo beach resort     - decorate a room     - animal shelter     - visit an old dating spot     - ikea     - discovery gateway     - hogle zoo     - go on a hike     - feed the ducks at the pond     - watch the planes fly by at the airport     - go to the park and fly planes     - handball at the elementary school    - water gun fight/snowball fight     - 7peaks/sledding     - trip to the aquarium    - park city outlets/traverse mountain outlet

Purple : might take some advanced planning and get a sitter!
- art show/exhibit    - bowling    - couples massage     - paintball     - ice skating     - pedicures     - color me mine     - movies at the imax     - see a play/concert     - cooking class     - sports game     - volunteer somewhere     - laser tag    - classic skating     - 9 holes of golf    - bed and breakfast    - go to a store and pick one thing out for each other     - weekend in park city     - weekend in vegas

I also found this cute post on the PPB Blog about Valentine's Day recipes for a date night at home.

I'd love to hear yours! Leave a comment with some of your favorite date night ideas :)

"no poo" challenge

And I do mean No SHAMpoo. Don't get any weird ideas...

 

(he makes me look gooood)

So I've seen the No Poo method all over pinterest and wondered if it really works. Then my gorge mama friend over at Love Chugs posted about it and I decided it was time to give it a try.

The No Poo method uses baking soda and apple cider vinegar in place of shampoo and conditioner. It supposedly helps your hair grow longer, stronger, healthier, shinier, lengthens the time between washes plus more! Amazing right? Well, we shall see!

This is what you need...

Baking Soda
Water
Pointed Tip Bottle (like a mustard bottle or the kind that comes in box hair dye kits)
Apple Cider Vinegar (or white vinegar for oily hair)
Spray Bottle

This is how you do it...

Baking Soda Mixture (BSM)
Mix six parts water with one part baking soda in the condiment bottle. Shake. At the start of your shower, wet your hair. Apply BSM all over scalp and scrub (My hair is pretty thick and the BSM has no lather so I had to part it in fours in order to make sure I got every part of my scalp). Rinse.

Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)
Pour ACV into your spray bottle. After you've rinsed the BSM, spray the ACV all over the length of your hair. Let the ACV sit while you finish your showering business. Rinse. (Some of you might be worried about the smell because the ACV is STRONG but honestly, once you rinse it out you can hardly smell it and once your hair is completely dry you can't smell it at all. Promise. Some people have said they put essential oils in with the ACV to help with the smell but honestly I think that's a waste).

This is what I'm testing...

Health and Strength : I'm HORRIBLE at getting my hair trimmed...I think it's the biggest hassle. That being said, I typically get my hair cut twice a year and my stylist ends up having to chop about 6 inches each time because it's so split and unhealthy.

Shine : My hair has little shine without product or heat (thank goodness for Moroccan Oil).

Length : Right now my hair is 28" from crown to tip.

Time Between Washes : I wash my hair every 3-4 days (typically using dry shampoo on the fourth).

Added bonus : less frizz and flyaways (have you seen my hair air-dry? Yikes!!), less oily, more body, new hair growth, no chemicals, less expensive, safe for color treated hair

Go here to read the hows, whys, and what-ifs of the No Poo method.

Keep an eye out for updates about my No Poo Challenge and leave a comment if you've tried this! I'd love to hear your experience!!

ode to love day

Valentine's day is just around the corner! Here are some of the things we've done so far to celebrate...

T.P. roll heart stamped cards...
This was SO fun! C figured out how to stamp the hearts all by himself and made 7 cards before he was ready to move onto something else (I'd say that's pretty good for a one-year-old).

Here's what you need...

  

Here's how you do it... 

So it's pretty self-explanatory but just take your t.p. roll and pinch the top in a line all the way down the roll. Then directly parallel, pinch the bottom out all the way down the roll and it should make the heart shape. Then just dip, stamp, repeat!

 

 

**I highly recommend you use non-toxic, washable paint**

Clearly C had a taste or two of the paint.

My gorge mama friend, Jen, over at delightfuldeets.com made these cute v-day cards using heart shaped cookie cutters!

Valentine's photo shoot...
My lovely friend Sasha over at moiology.com helped me take some cute valentine's pics of C.
We're planning on sending them out (with C's heart cards) to some of our far-away-fam for v-day.

(They still need to be edited, but here are a few of my favorites)

Sugar Cookies baked with love...
We made a couple of goodie bags for our sweet neighbors that shoveled the snow off our driveway and porch TWO days in a row.
They included chocolates, cocoa mix, and these delicious sugar cookies!

Leave a comment or a link and let us know how you're celebrating love day!

Here are some other super cute ideas I found on pinterest that I'd like to try someday...

*52 Things I Love About You *Heart Strings *Love Notes for the Kiddos

my fitness challenge

Every body is different, right? Right! Ok cool, now that we have that out of the way...

I created a little fitness plan for myself so I can get back in shape and back down to my pre-pregnancy weight. Most of this will be pretty dang embarrassing for me but I feel like if I post it up here then I will feel more accountable and actually stick with it. Feel free to share your fitness knowledge with me because I'm pretty clueless and kind of just made this all up based on stuff I saw on pintrest!

I started on January 1st...yay for new years resolutions.
weight : 152.5lbs
bust : 39"
waist : 31"
hips : 39"
Oh my fatty! I know right?

January Goal : commit to healthy eating. goal weight : 145lbs

I missed my January goal by one measly little pound!! But I'm determined to make it up in February. And I did commit to healthier eating. It was actually easier than I thought. I didn't do anything crazy (like all protein or juice cleanses) because I know my personality and I can't handle that stuff for more than a of couple days.

Here's what I've been doing so far...
I do not indulge in sweets like I used to (who knew brownies didn't count as a meal?!)
I do not eat after 8pm
I drink at least 90 ounces of water a day and cut out juices and soda
I remind myself constantly that chips and candy are not considered "snacks" and if I feel a little hungry between meals I eat a cheese stick, fruit leather, carrots, yogurt...
For breakfast I eat something simple and filling like cottage cheese and fruit, an egg and toast, or oatmeal....
For lunch I have a green smoothie (C has one too, he LOVES them!)
For dinner I have whatever we decide to have for dinner as a family (lasagna, chicken, roast...) as long as it's not fast food.

As of February 1st...
weight : 146lbs
bust : 38.5"
waist : 29"
hips : 37"

Even though I didn't hit both of my goals, I'm pretty proud of myself! 6.5 pounds and a few inches down and eating healthy. That's HUGE for me! Anyone that knows me knows that I have quite the sweet tooth teeth!

February Goal : commit to regular exercise (regular for me being 30+ mins 4+ times a week). goal weight : 140lbs

This might be a struggle initially. Because of the weather I can't just go out and run anytime I want and with my husbands crazy schedule that leaves me with either 5am workouts or 9pm workouts which is when I'm usually really tired or so tired... Lame excuses right? Yea, I know.

My end goal is to be fit, feel good, and be confident with my body by June (just in time for our trip to Hawaii). My end weight goal is 125lbs (my pre-pregnancy weight was 122lbs). SO doable right?? That's only 5 lbs a month!

Anyone else struggled with losing the baby weight? Or had great success? I'd love to hear your story!! Tips, tricks, hints...send them my way :)

It's been a while but I'm back!

Thanks to my lovely insta followers, I've decided to start blogging again! I used to LOVE blogging but after I had my son, I kind of forgot about it!

I got on a few nights ago and gave my blog a little facelift and read through old posts...I can't believe how many things I posted that I completely forgot about! Now I'm super sad that I missed out on blogging the past year...and the first year of my sons life! But no need for sorrow. Better late than never, right?

Take a minute and look around. Even though my last post was over a year ago, it might be new to you! And don't forget to leave some love, I love hearing from my readers!

P.s. If you have a blog I would love to follow you! Please leave your link in the comments :) 

Baby Carter is Here!

Carter James Williams

Born at 1:31 am on November 12, 2011

7 pounds 4 ounces, 19 3/4 inches

So if you read my last post...I didn't make it to my next appointment :)
On Friday, November 11, my contractions were 10 minutes apart but of course they didn't hurt at all so I didn't think baby boy was coming. I went to bed around 10pm and woke up at 10:50pm because my water broke! I was a little disoriented and panicked haha. Brandon got my mom, a towel, and a trash bag and we hopped in the car and headed to the hospital.
We got to the hospital just after 11pm and checked in. The nurse checked me at 5 cm and 80% effaced. That's when the hard labor started. Brandon quickly put on my hypnobirthing cd and I tried to relax. Brandon, Mom, and Nurse Monica were SO amazing and helped keep me relaxed throughout my labor. We did such a good job that I started to doze of during contractions.
At 1:15am I started feeling really nauseous so my nurse checked me again because she thought I might be in transition. She said, "Oh! You're at a 9 and your cervix is gone. I need to go call your doctor!" After she checked me, my body immediately started bearing down, ready to get our little guy out. It was the weirdest feeling ever. It felt totally involuntary, my body was just doing all the work, I didn't even have to try!
Within a few minutes my nurse could see baby Carter's head! I had the hugest smile and could not wait to hold my boy. That's when my nurse put her hand on Carter's head and said, "Renee, I need you to slow down, your doctor isn't here yet." YEA RIGHT! I tried for a few seconds but I didn't know how to stop it. At 1:31am, Nurse Monica delivered baby Carter.
My doctor walked in just a few minutes after that (He came from Am. Fork Hospital, a 15 minute drive to Timp Hospital).
My nurse gave Carter to me as soon as he was out and I got to hold him for almost 2 hours before they started his newborn procedures. Brandon got to cut the umbilical cord and be with him everywhere he went. My doctor spent a good hour stitching me up afterward. I had three 2nd degree tears because little man came out with his hand up at his shoulder...awesome. It actually wasn't bad at all and recovery has been a lot easier than I thought...probably my easiest recovery all year!
Anyways, after a few hours they took us to our recovery room. We had TONS of visitors while we were there. I probably got about 3 hours of sleep the entire stay because all I wanted to do was stare at my sweet little son!
The entire experience was incredible. I don't think it could have gone any better. I'm so glad our little one is here with us. He is so perfect!!
P.s. HypnoBirthing is the best! If you're planning on going natural, I highly recommend this class!

So perfect :)