our weekend :)

what a great weekend it was! Started off with both daniel & I having friday off...whoohoo!! our day was spent just taking it easy in the morning, then heading out to lunch with my whole family. after that we went "baby tea" shopping because I am looking for an outfit to wear to my tea which is a week from Saturday! No success...but will keep looking! After swinging by the grocery store on our way home, I decided to make daniel his new favorite little treat :) oozie doozies!
well & of course Madie had to taste...
and Elijah got some too :)
saturday morning daniel studied Greek for 3 hours while he let me sleep in. Let me just say that it was amazing! Eli has been an active boy lately depriving mommy of sleep, so I think I just finally crashed! I slept from 9:30pm to 8:30am. Can't tell you the last time I did that! Thanks daniel for letting me catch some zzzz's!
Saturday was our all day "date day" (taking advice from some sweet friends to enjoy all the time we have together before the little one arrives). We went shopping (well shopping with only managing to buy one pair of running shorts for Daniel that were way on sale we couldn't pass up) had lunch at one of our favorite local places, and then headed to the IMAX theater to watch Transformers 2. We had a nice little dinner & then headed home for time just to hang out!
my husband..the one always behind the camera :)
sunday (today) after early service & community group, we hit the rode for the lake! what a fun day hanging out with friends. Of course daniel & i got more sun than we thought! Even though i can't ski or tube (you know pregnancy gets in the way) that didn't stop me from enjoying the boat rides while others had their fun! what a fabulous way to end the weekend. Now to another week that will be filled with 2 doctor appointments, work, friday off & some time spent with the family :) Have a good one!
Oh & did i mention i will be 31 weeks on tuesday...getting so close!!
mae

BOBing it!

In just a few short months you will see me out & about BOBing it! Thanks to my sweet in-laws, Elijah will be cruising in style as he & mommy (and maybe even daddy) take our daily run!! We got a phone call the other day that it had arrived in the store (they had to special order it), & Daniel IMMEDIATELY hopped in the truck to pick it up. When I arrived home it was put together so nicely waiting for me to test it out. Thanks sweetie!! We both were/are so excited. Didn't know we could or even would get this giddy about a baby jogging stroller. So without further ado..
Please excuse the way i look in the pic...Daniel & i had just got back from a long run & NO we didn't take the BOB if you were wondering (although we wished we had little Elijah out to do just that :)).


can't wait to test it out with all the other mommy friends out there too!
Mae

Should I

...be worried I still have 10 weeks to go. Yikes...Elijah is growing pretty rapidly & so am I. Here I am at (almost) 30 weeks!!


Our doctor visit last week was...well...not so fun! I had to get a shot in my rear end, 2 finger pricks (because the nurse couldn't get my first finger to bleed enough blood) & I had to have blood taken out of my arm...ugh. BUT the good part was that I passed my sugar test!!! Praise the Lord. We got a great report from the doctor & I am measuring right on track (maybe a little big but no biggie). Elijah is head first & in position which we were grateful to hear! we go back to the doctor again a week from wednesday. maybe they will surprise us with a sneak peak of our little boy on the ultrasound :)

mae

never thought

...i would purchase a pack of white men's wifebeaters from wal-mart for myself, but today i did! since i'm still running & it's summer time, I needed something to go over this BIG belly of mine! All my running shirts still fit EXCEPT for the fact that my belly hangs out either while i'm standing there or when i begin running. and i would wear daniel's t-shirts, but i live in a VERY VERY hot state where a t-shirt could seriously make me over heat!!! so there ya have it...a first :)

mae

my secrets

...to weight loss (ok let's be honest! they are not secrets...basically in a nut shell just eat right & work out :))
I am overwhelmed at how many people have requested to "know my secrets" over the year, and well you see i have been a bit busy in all preparing for a baby & working working working! BUT i have finally found some free time to sit down & share so bare with me if it is long...

to begin:
I would say one of the most important things for me (and that I tell everyone first thing) is that you NEED if at all possible to get someone to either workout with you, or to be there for encouragement (or to just tell you not to eat that chocolate brownie that you really really want!!). This person for me was my dear husband (i guess at the time when i started 4 years ago he way my boyfriend :)). Daniel never missed a workout or run and was very good at helping me stick to the diet! What a great guy. Not only that, he basically was my "personal trainer". In case you haven't noticed (which i'm sure you have) he is in GREAT shape and has been working out for years, so he knows all about it! Yes there were times that well...i wasn't so kind to him because really i didn't want to lift one more pound or i just had to have an oreo cookie. Looking back now i am so thankful for his constant love & faithfulness to me :)

**oh i do need to say that over the years my exercises & diet have changed slightly as i have gotten stronger & exercise more, but this below is what initially i started with & made me drop the weight pretty quick. My total weight loss (pre-pregnancy :)) was 64 lbs.

the workout:
-don't start off by killing yourself

• 30 mins of intense aerobic exercise (started off at 3 days a week & worked up to 5 or 6 days). This can be anything like running, fast walking, aerobic classes, swimming, biking, elliptical & so on. I would usually try to run three days a week & then do some other activity the days in between.
• weight training **Ok ladies! I know what your thinking right now! "I don't want to lift weights because it will make me big & bulky". Let me be the first to tell you that is a lie...remove it from your thoughts right away!! Weight training has done wonders for me!

Here are some tips/guidelines to plan for your lifting...

• don't always do the same exercises. change it up to keep it interesting & keep your body guessing!
• don't work the same muscle groups two days in a row.

• i usually pick two exercises per muscle group & do each of them three sets of 15 (ex. 3 sets of 15 side raises & 3 sets of 15 dumbbell press all to work my shoulders. Google those if you don't know what i am talking about).
• i would usually do something like back, biceps & legs on Monday, & then chest, shoulders & triceps on Tuesday...Wednesday would be back to what was on Monday and so on...circuit training is also a good way to change it up.
  

the diet:

• cut out all sweets!!
• basically eat the same amount of protein as carbs.
• make sure your carbs are whole grains NOT mulitgrain (that can be deceptive...they are not the same thing). ex for whole grains: whole wheat bread, whole wheat bagels, whole wheat tortilla's, oatmeal...etc. basically anything that is 100% whole wheat!!
• for protein you want anything that is lean & grilled/blackened, etc. Get rid of the fried fast food stuff! Ex: egg whites, grilled chicken, tuna, grilled shrimp, turkey...etc. protein is important & you need it to build lean muscle.
• do vegetables more than fruit since fruit does have sugar in it.
• use splenda instead of sugar
• cut out soft drinks!!!! I lost somewhere between 5 to 10 lbs by just cutting them out alone!
• be aware of calories...and how many you take in!
• drink water...don't waste calories with sugary drinks that leave you empty! I have found that propel water is a great way to get flavor but also to go healthy!!
• when you are out to eat order a salad with grilled chicken! be smart with your choices. eat steamed or grilled veggies instead of those french fries.

my menu: in case some of you need more direction because i know i did! I wanted Daniel to tell me EXACTLY what to eat & the portion size..

Breakfast:

2 egg white (with pepper NO SALT!)

1 piece of whole wheat toast

water :)

Lunch:

1 can of tuna (drained) with a table spoon of fat free mayo & some pickle relish. All of this on two pieces of whole wheat bread to make a tasty sandwich.

water :)

Dinner:

grilled chicken on a beautiful bed of lettuce with some fat free dressing. also, i try & include some walnuts, raisins, carrots, tomatoes on my salad for extra nutrients!!

great snacks: hand full of walnuts, almonds, raisins, carrots spread out during your day when you just feel like you can't make it!

**Oh i can't believe i almost forgot this...PROTEIN SHAKES! My first year of loosing weight I lived off of these! Every morning i drank one with a half of a whole wheat bagel. BUT i have to say that after years of drinking them I can barely even type this without throwing up! Maybe i will get back to them when I'm not pregnant!!

so there it is...

don't expect to be instantly thinner. it took me about 8 to 9 months to loose 50lbs & and then another 3 to 4 months to get the rest off! I have kept it off and feel great! It is all about a lifestyle change!

i have continued with this lifestyle even being pregnant. As of today I have gained 11lbs at 28.5 weeks pregnant (well i say 17 lbs but the doctors say 11lbs). Eat healthy and exercise like i said before. Oh & do splurge some time! I can still remember when I lost my first 30 lbs Daniel took me to chili's & let me get my OWN molten chocolate cake! I devoured that thing! He wanted to reward me for all my hard work. So sorry this is jumbled and I feel like I am rambling, but maybe someone will benefit from it. Please let me know if you have any questions :)

Mae

God is just so full of surprises!!...

2 down, 1 to go...

Trimesters that is!! Geez could time fly by any faster. Elijah is a very active boy these days tumbling around in my belly & keeping me awake at night!

I honestly have LOVED being pregnant (ok please no comments or even evil thoughts from all you former preggos or preggos dogging me on this) but i have been blessed with a wonderful experience so far. Daniel tells me all the time he also loves me being pregnant..haha so crazy i know! I am ready to meet our son, but going to suck up every moment that i have left. I hear the last trimester is the hardest (physically & probably emotionally), so we will see if i am just as optimistic once it's over :).

Here i am at 28 weeks (ok it is 2 days shy, but you can still get the idea...we have a busy week ahead & didn't know if i would get around to posting for all three of my readers out there!).
well Daniel, Madie & I are off to the park for an afternoon of exercise & enjoying the beautiful outdoors. Have a great Sunday!!
mae