Results are In...

After doing the 7-Day Detox with LeanMoms.com, I am just amazed at my body and the changes that can happen in such a short amount of time.  So I measured myself today, after 7 days of eating smoothies full of natural oils, fruits and veggies and lean meats here are my results:

I lost 7 lbs!
I lost 8 inches in total body!
That, to me, is amazing.  Seriously.  Now, I'm not going to post any pictures just yet.  My journey isn't over.  This is the hard part now.  Being loosed into the wild to make sure I make the right choices.  But luckily they have a Hormone Balance Diet that I'll be doing now.  Similar to what I just did but more foods!

Seriously check out LeanMoms.com if you are ready for some changes in your life for the better!

7-Day Detox Diet from Leanmoms.com

I'm on day 4 of the 7 Day Detox Diet from Leanmoms.com
I've been wanting to do something like this for a while now.  I'm pretty aware of my sweet tooth.  It's pretty serious. Ever since I can remember, it's been there.  My dessert plate would always be bigger than my dinner plate.
This past Fall & Winter was my breaking point in changing my health.  I was at an all-time low in how I felt and looked that I finally decided enough was enough!
6 months later, I've done The Mutu System 12 week program with flying colors, healing my DR and strengthening my back and core.  (Those who have Diastasis Recti, you definitely need to check that out.)

But I hit a plateau and wanted/needed something more.  Somehow I found Leanmoms.com and checked it out.  It looked like what I was looking for, with the flexiblity that moms like me needed.  So I bought the program and started working out 3 weeks ago.  Her workouts are HIIT workouts that are 15 minutes long.  They are definitely HIIT.  And I feel it every day.  I could see the muscles tone.  But the fat on top of them were still there.  And it seemed that wasn't going anywhere.  I still needed to make some changes.

Along with the program was a 7-Day Detox Diet.  It's a way to kind of jump start your body to get rid of all the toxins in it and start fresh.  For 3 weeks, i've been afraid to just do it.  But this past weekend, after talking with friends and Joe, I just decided to DO IT.

So here I am.  Day 4 of the Detox. The past 4 days have been fruits, veggies, lean meats, some nuts and natural oils, like coconut oil, avocados, etc etc.

The first couple of days were rough.  Definitely felt the effects of cutting all sugar and processed foods out of my diet.  But right now, I'm feeling really good.  REALLY good.  Like I have more energy.  I am tired at night and go to bed around 10:30.  I sleep better.  I wake up more refreshed.

I don't know what I was so scared of.  This has been an amazing change in just a few days.  And it's just been my diet.

After the 7 days, I'll measure & weigh myself.  And then i'll start her hormone free diet plan, which extends what i've been doing but it does add other foods back plus a cheat day to eat whatever I want.  I'm excited for this road i'm on.

I wasn't paid to write this.   I decided to do this on my own, so that I can remember and look back when times might be a tad harder for me.

Fathers Flip Chart

Father's Day is right around the corner!  So I wanted to teach my kids in Primary the song "Fathers".  They will then sing this in Sacrement Meeting on Father's Day.  It's a great song!

Here is a Flip Chart I made for them to learn.  Feel Free to use it for your own personal use.  Pictures are from the LDS.org website or Susan Fitch Designs Blog.

You can download it HERE.

Awards Program

Gotta say I'm so proud of my girls!
I was able to attend their award ceremony this morning.
Both girls got the Top Girl Accelerated Reader in their class!
Both girls Both got Citizenship awards.
Both got on the Principal's List.

Well...technically only Emma did on the last two since they don't do those awards in 1st grade.  But i'm pretty sure Kate qualified for those awards too.

So happy and proud of them.  They are both amazing readers and amazing students.  This was such a surprise for them this morning so it was so fun to see their happy, excited faces when they went up on stage!

On a somewhat related note, 10 minutes after taking pictures with them, I lost Luke.  And when I say I lost him, I mean that he ran out of the gym.  Lately, if he does that, he usually is in the hallway or just hanging out.  But today, he decided to head out to the van alone.  Luckily a friend found him outside...on the sidewalk...by the road...alone...  Seriously this boy!!  I'm going to have a heart attack from him!!

Talk about a roller coaster of emotions!  So after we got home, I was done. The only thing I really did was make dinner tonight.  #thelifeofastayathomemom

Easter 2014

Easter Sunday.

Something about Spring, Easter, Rebirth, Resurrection and the energy that comes from all of that is just uplifting and rejuvenating!

These kiddos sure keep me on my toes, making it impossible to finish any task at hand without someone calling my name or crying.  haa haa. such is life right now.  But I'm  trying REALLY hard to look past all that and find the joy that comes from the everyday.  Because that's what we have, every day with these guys.  I am so grateful for that.  Every day.  And it's all because of Him... am I right?!

Is it Summer yet?

I think...I THINK...I can safely say that the warm weather is here to stay.  I am hoping I can pack the winter coats this time!  Memphis weather likes to play with my emotions!  Goes from sweaty heat to winter chill in one day.  But today seemed to have knocked the cold weather out of the park.  Over 90 degrees today!

So to make it official, the kids went swimming.  We've been prepping the pool for a couple weeks now, making sure it was clean and swim-ready.  The temperature has been the only hang up.  But today, it passed their standard of swimming.  As we grilled up some burgers (we finally bought a grill), the kids swam.  It was still REALLY hot around 5 pm.

When they were done, we ate some dinner, got them cleaned and ready for bed, then had brownies for dessert.

Although the day wasn't completely perfect, with bickering, messes and some attitude from the 8 year old, it was one of those days that kind of stick in your mind as just amazing.  And that's why i'm blogging it.  So I definitely don't forget.  And that's what I miss most about my blog.  The little details I used to document.  I want to do better with that.

So I got a few shots of the kids swimming.  Jake was all too eager to jump in.  But Joe and I were not.  So he had to sit this one out.

Mother Dear Flip Chart

At the end of the year, I got a surprising phone call from the Bishopric that I would be getting a new calling in church.  I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Members of our church hold callings to help the members and the church function and organize ways to serve one another.  My new calling was the Primary Chorister.  I would be in charge of teaching the children, ages 3-11, music every Sunday for a total of 40 minutes.  I was so excited.  This would be my first calling in the Primary ever.  I have always been in the Relief Society.  That's where the women meet for an hour.

So throughout this year, I've taught the kids lots of songs and many more to come.  We also have opportunities to have the kids sing in Sacrament meeting, which is the first hour of church, where we listen to speakers and partake of the weekly Sacrament.   Mother's Day is one of those times.  So i've started teaching them the song called "Mother Dear".

Here is a flip chart that I made to help the kids learn the words.  I love digital because it's just so easy to create things like this to help the children quickly learn songs!

Feel free to DOWNLOAD this free printable.  This is for personal use only please!  Most images I got from the church website or Susan Fitch Designs!