I can't believe how fast our post are going! It is great that we are posting so much!
It keeps me motivated for sure!

Crystal,
Hope you have a wonderful time this weekend. Hope things aren't too stressful for you this week getting prepared!

I will need to get my day started so I will check in later

Have a great day!

It's another good morning here! Can you already tell I've been peeking at the scale

Spryng, I'm glad you got your workout in. I'm going to do two toning tapes (for a total of 30 minutes) later this morning.

Melinda- I suppose I'm part of the baby lifting club as well I'm glad you made it to the gym!

Penny- Wow- what DH did is soooo sweet! Your yesterday sounds great.
Di - did you enjoy yoga?

Geri- hmm . . . hope you had fun talking to DH

Lisa- sounds like you got a workout just doing stuff around yours and MIL's house!

Crystal - have fun getting ready for your trip

Well, for the morning I have to work out and then finish up folding laundry. No big plans that I know of this morning. I'll check in again later!

Good morning all!

Leigh, do you like your toning tapes? What are they again? I forget.

Crystal, Your trip is this weekend? I hope you have tons of fun and it's relaxing and romantic for both of you. I know just having one night with my DH on our anniversary in a hotel and all that was great. Not having to worry about the kids made it even better. Felt like a couple of teenagers again, lol. Can I ask you some questions about your homeschooling?? I'm just doing some odds and ends with Ava since she can't start kindergarten this year because of her age. What exactly should I be working on with her to prepare her for kindergarten nex year? I thought I'd go to walmart and buy her one of those big kindergarten activity and learning books. But anything else to go with it? Should we be doing crafts so she can learn how to use scissors and glue? Any input would be appreciated. TIA.

Penny, I'm excited for you to join TOPS! Having a little more encouragement never hurt anyone Now do they have a diet plan or is it mainly a support group? And no, my bootcamp tape is definitely not hiphop, lol. It's a bootcamp regime of exercises. Lots of weights, lots of pushups, squats etc. Not much aerobics, just enough to keep the heart rate up. I really like it. By the time the last set of pushups came (and I do them girlie style, LOL) my arms were shaking! But it was a good burn. I wanted to do my Firm workout but I didn't think the kids would let me have 50 min to workout and Tanner would be fighting me for the fanny lifter, lol, he thinks that is his personal step stool, lol. But I am really proud that I got something in yesterday. And that is sooooooo sweet of your dh!!!! It's always extra special when you have no clue. Last night DH came home (this was 4 weeks ago) dh came in with roses and a memory card for my camera. I was so suprised. He also had stuff for the kids. It was very sweet.

Di, I will post that recipe for you sometime today and yes I'll let you know when it's done, lol. Did you like that movie last night?

Lisa, so sorry you lost your post. Maybe it was the site yesterday because my post was dissapearing and then posted all by itself last night.

Michelle, I have a question for you. Do you do your strength training everyday still?? All of my workout videos have weights in them and I don't want to wait until tomorrow to do another one. i want to do it again today. Is that whole "wait 24 hrs between weight training" a precaution or a rule?? I loaned my pilates dvd out to a friend so I don't have it to do and the in between days. Any recommendations??

Ok, today I have normal stuff planned. My morning routine... 15 min in my zone, which is the master bedroom this week. And boy does my room need help. When dh was re-formatting my computer he tore the closets apart looking for hardware and disks, etc so stuff is everywhere! He never puts things back. So I'll be working in here today too. And I have some laundry to do and Tanning tonight. Dinner will be spaghetti since it is the easiest, I'll save the fish for tomorrow night. What are you all having??
Ok, gonna get my day started. TTYL!

Good Morning Girls!

Spryng - Well, the whole weight training day off thing is NOT a myth, I was reading that you don't get the results while you are working out, your muscle transforms while you are Resting!! So it really is imparative that you take a day off between weight workouts, otherwise you aren't giving your muscle time to repair. Body for life has you wait 4 days between body part workouts ie. upper body, lower body. The Body for life schedule goes:

Day 1: Cardio
Day 2: UBWO
Day 3: Cardio
Day 4: LBWO
Day 5: Cardio
Day 6: UBWO
Day 7: REST!!

Penny - Sounds you are back on track and doing well!! I was thinking of checking out some TOPS meetings but I am way too busy now to go. Awwww your DH was soo sweet to get you that wishing well!! I want to see pictures girl!!

Crystal - Girl I hope you have a great time on your getaway!!

Leigh - What do you have planned today?

To everyone who asked, I am really enjoying my few nights out a week at work! Gets me out of the house and socializing with adults!

Well I'm gonna get busy and get some stuff done today. I will TTYL!!
Hugs to all!!
Michelle

Hey Ladies!

Yoga was heaven last night! Pilates is a really hard work out as well. As a matter of fact I include some pilates core stuff toward the end of our yoga routine for our tummys. The ladies love it!

I peeked at the scale today and I am happy to report I'm a loser again. I think I need to keep a scale in my kitchen next to the fridge and pantry to help my motivation. If I'm 'down' I wont want to screw it up by eating junk. If I'm "up" it might keep me from making it worse. LOL, just a thought!

Michelle, I'm excited about you doing BFL, I've been interested in starting it with the whole before and after pics ect... I just don't know if I could be that good about exercising yet, but I'm still interested. I've seen pics of people who have completed it and they look fantastic.

Spryng, I'm totally in the mood for mexican food, like chicken enchiladas. I'm going to look in my WW recipe book for something and S.Beach it by using whole wheat tortillas or something. If I can't find that I might just copy you and have whole wheat pasta and sauce.

Crystal, you must be sooo looking forward to your upcoming trip. There is nothing more heavenly than the occasional trip where you don't have to worry about kids, and you can just focus on yourself, stay up late and sleep in a bit. Delightful!

Leigh, you big peeker you! Glad you were happy with what ya saw on the scale. Your day sounds about as exciting as mine: laundry some house cleaning. Sigh.

Penny, that was soooo sweet of hubby to suprise you with that! He sounds like a wonderful man. Sometimes they do good eh? Steve left little cards hidden around the house for me to find yesterday. There was one in the kitchen, one in the diaper cabinet, one in with the kids' movies and one on my pillow before bed. What a romantic he is turning into. We've been kind of really trying to work on our relationship, put more effort into it. It's really been sliding on the list of priorities since the twins have been born, so we have to work it out.

Geri- so did you have a good talk with dh? LOL

Lisa, that sucks about your post, it happens to me now and again too. Keep dancing!

Melinda, I haven't tried the CarbSmart vitamins yet. I have had the WeightSmart ones and I do like them when I remember to take them. I often forget them for some reason.

Hi to Ricci, Jami and Liz, hope I didn't forget anyone else. You all have a great OP day.

The House of Sand and Fog was great. It was realllllly slow in the beginning, but picked up towards the end. Someone told me the ending in the book was completely different than the movie? Can anyone confirm or deny this?

Tonight is the Magdeline Sisters (sp?) So I'm excited about movie night number 2!

Today is laundry, cleaning master bed/bath and office. Then outside to put together an Arbor and hook up my fountain, which the boys LOVE to splash in. Good times! I'll check in after lunch.

lv,
Di

I am a peeker, too. I have gained and lost again this week already, so maybe I will have a better weigh in than I thought. But it just shows me what staying OP would really do if I did that everyday.

This is not a good week to make any big changes in my lifestyle!! I am so busy, nothing has gone as planned. Kids are going to VBS nightly, so we are just eating quick and easy stuff. Maybe one day I will get it right!

So glad everyone is doing so well.

Di...I do weigh daily, even though people say it's not good. I think it keeps me on track better.

gotta go, kids are causing trouble and I need to get busy! More personal later, I hope!

Hi everyone,
Just a quick post this morning. I am excited. I bought a bed (a really big one lol) yesterday and its coming today so I am going to be spending the morning deflating these air mattresses and cleaning up my bedroom. They already called to confirm delivery but they are only bringing the bed and one of my drawers. Seems that they only had one of my drawers in stock but will deliver the other one sometime next week. As long as the bed is coming, I dont care lol.

I bought a really nice C.King comforter set yesterday at Walmart. it came with everything including the sheets, bed ruffle and 4 pillow cases and it was only $41.00. You cant beat that.

Leigh, I think you may be right lol. I probably got a good workout just fixing those horse corrals. They are made of solid metal piping and a heavy. Her appaloosa mare is due to have its baby here in about a week. My MIL has never been one to just let her horses have their babies on their on. As soon as she thinks its going to happen, she will sleep out in the corral with the mother. LOL, her horses usually choose the middle of the night to give birth. I don't know of one that has been born during the day.

I kinda stood on the scale this morning. I dont normally stand on the scale more than once a week, but after yesterday, especially all the pop corn lol I was feeling a little guilty. Anyways, all I will say is I don't think yesterday is going to do any damage what-so-ever but we will see for sure come Sunday. Today i will be back on track.

I'm not sure if I am going to do this "free meal" every week. I'm thinking that every two weeks might be better. I don't want to get into a pattern of enjoying my "free meal" then obsessing over the scale for the rest of the week. I have known people to do that and I just dont want to get into that habit.

well everyone, I hope you have a great day today. I am going to deflate these beds and hopefully never ever have to sleep on them again lol.

oops, i guess this wasnt just a quick post after all, lol

Good morning ladies,
It has been a bad few days here. I haven't been completely OP, but then not completely off either. Took Eric to the dr. yesterday because his cough was getting worse instead of better. He has bronchitis. Now RJ is sick too. Plus TOM is here, and I am having really bad cravings for sweets. I have fruit and it helps some, but its just one of those things. Hopefully it will pass before I completely cave.
It sounds like everyone is doing great. Welcome to the newbies. I am Ricci,(pronounced ricky) sahm to two boys, Eric 5 and RJ 3. I am going to school in August. The women here are a great support for any and everything. Hope to see you guys posting alot.
Spryng, I hope you don't mind me letting you know about Ava and school work. Eric has been going to summer school, and they sent home notes that the kids NEED to know how to cut with scissors, use glue sticks, and be able to at least draw a stick figure. That's just what they told us here. Oh, and be able to write their names with the first letter capiltilized. I taught Eric to write his name like that anyway, but I guess a lot of the other kids aren't. I bought one of those big activity books for Eric, but now RJ will use it because he will be in school next year, and he really needs it.
Have a great day ladies.

Hi!
Spryng- I do really like my toning tapes. They are Tammilee Webb (I hope I spelled her name right). I like that they are all broken up into 15-minute segments so I feel like I can get one or two done depending on Liam's nap. I like her a lot, too. The abs one is quite a workout, let me tell you I also have the bootcamp tape - a friend gave me hers - and it's a hard workout! It's fun, though, you're right - I also do the pushups girl-style when I do that tape.

Michelle- I'm glad you're enjoying your brief times away from home. I think that's really important. Since DH is out of town so much, we've decided to try and get someone to come in and watch Liam for 3 or 4 hours one morning a week so I can get things done or just have free time. And no plans for the day. When Liam wakes from his current nap, we may all go for a walk in the park if it isn't raining.

Di- on being a loser again! Your Dh sounds very sweet too

Cindi- I weigh daily too I just can't help it. I also think it better lets me monitor what I'm doing, but I can also see why they say weigh yourself once a week.

Lisa- let us know how you like the new bed! That's exciting. I do think the free meal thing has the potential of making some obsess. I purposely try to use my flexpoints after my WI day, but long before my next WI - so I try to eat it Friday-Tuesday. If that makes sense

Ricci - Sorry your children are ill and you have TOM on top of that. No fun at all. Don't beat yourself up - just get back OP when things calm down and be kind to yourself emotionally

Okay, I'm sure there are more household chores I could be doing, so TTYL.

Spryng, don't push her into anything if she doesn't act interested. And mainly she should focus on things like using scissors, glue, you can buy little lace things. I haven't found them at Wal-Mart and you can probably make some on the computer if you want to. But at a book/educational store called Mardels, I found this pkg. of several cardboard shapes of just things with laces and they can lace in and out in and out. Things to focus on fine motor skills. You shouldn't at all be concerned with her writing. That can be a toughy. Things like colors and shapes. Find puzzles to focus on this stuff. Make like a grab bag of goodies and when she completes a puzzle or something you've asked, she can have a reward. I've learned, the hard way, make if FUN, FUN, FUN!!! That's what makes them listen. Alisa learned SOOOOOO much with early computer games. She learned her entire alphabet with computer games. I don't let her set there every day for hours, but every once in a while for an hour or so. This will make her feel big and smart. You can try the books, but they get bored easily with that stuff. I hope this has helped. In PRE-K, we also started learning to identify the letters, big or small. They tend to learn the big first and they don't have to learn order just yet. Maybe the 2nd semester, she can start putting the small letter with the big letter. Make flashcards, you can buy them, but just as easy you can make some. Don't let her know that c makes two sounds or g can make two sounds. Or the vowels. She only needs to know the one sound for now. Alisa will just now be learing the two sounds next year in 1st grade.
I hope so much that this has helped. Let me know if you need any more questions. I will try to find all the great websites for you.
Good Luck!!!

Hi Everyone,
Lieigh..that makes alot of sence. That's why I figured Mondays or Tuesdays would be a good day for me cause Sunday's are my weigh-in days.

I am munching on 2oz of beef Jerky right now. Pemmican makes a good beef jerky and it only has 1g fat for a 2oz serving. Zero carbs. It's around 100 calories for 1 serving and a very good source of protein.

well, I got to run, they will be here with my bed in about 30 mins or so. I also called the carpet man and he is coming at 1pm to clean my carpets. I havent done my dancing this morning but I think i made up for it busting my *** cleaning around the house today lol.

will check back later....

Good afternoon all!!

Well I did get alot done today (I think...) I did 15 min of work in my bedroom. Boy it always suprises me how much I can get done in just 15 min! I completely cleaned the closets again, picked up all my clothes and trash, etc. The room looks 1000% better. So tomorrow I'll do another 15 min segment. I also installed a pre-school cd rom for my ds on the other computer and he can't really work the mouse but he was able to tell me what things were and where they went. I think he is going to do great! Then I wasted the morning away chatting with my dh on the phone. Seems he "may" be an hr from me tomorrow or friday so I might get to see him. I'm not getting my hopes up because plan fall through, but I'm crossing my fingers.
Crystal, thank you so much for your input on school stuff. Ava already knows how to write all her upper case letters and most of her lower case ones. If you write out a word she can write it too. But scissors and such have never been used by them so I'll have to buy some of that stuff. And I'll be looking forward to those websites! Thanks again!
Leigh, it's nice to know I'm not the only one who does girlie pushups! lol. But that means as I get stronger I will be able to do the real ones later so there will be progress! But I like it too.
Ricci, don't beat yourself up over the past week. TOM always makes things harder. Just keep at it and before you know it he will be gone and you'll be able to stay OP easier. And thank you also for sharing those school tips with me. Ava can do all of that so maybe I'm worried over nothing. It drives me so crazy that because she was born in dec she can't go to school this year... she is just as smart as the rest of those 5 yo's. By the time she starts kindergarten she will be too advanced and then I have to worry about her getting bored. O-well... not much I can do about that.
Lisa, CKings are sooo huge! My in-laws have one and when we lived out of state and would come visit we'd sleep in their bed (not by choice, lol) and I'd feel lost in it! We have a queen and that is the right size for dh and I. I hope you enjoy your new bed! I love buying new comforter sets! I've bought two since we moved here. I change them out every now and then. Since it's summer I have my regular comforter on but during winter I put on my feather comforter with it's pretty duvet set. I think that is a good idea about the free meal thing. If it will make you obsess about your wi then don't do it or space it further apart. Every now and then I'll weigh every day just to see what I am doing, but most of the time I never think about my scale until wi day. I like it like that because a couple years ago I was over compulsive with my scale and it drove me nuts! LOL. So I feel like I have balance now.
Cindi, what is VBS?
Di, you could probably find a great low carb enchilada recipe on the net somewhere. But I will post that creamy ziti on the other site as soon as I get off here ok? Sorry it's taken me so long today. your dh sounds romantic too! I used to leave little notes for my dh to follow after we got married... of course they led to me in some sexy nightie! LOL. That hasn't happened in years! lol. The kids would find the notes and keep them or tanner would eat them, lol. But someday they WILL all be in school and if dh is ever home again we'll have more time for each other. something to look forward to.
Michelle, thanks for the weight training info. I guess I was just hoping someone would say, sure do your firm tapes every day! lol. But today I'll do The Firm Abs. No weights involved, lol. Tomorrow is my day off of exercise since I never work out the day before my WI.

Well, I'm going to hop off here and get that recipe posted and then I think I'll take a nice hot shower. TTYL!

ok, got the recipe done. Here is the link: http://groups.msn.com/MomslosingWeig...&ID_Message=70

ok, I'm off of here for now! TTYL!

I found this recipe off a south beach diet site for enchiladas since I knew that is what you really wanted for dinner. Hope it sounds good to you! (i'm not on Sb and it sounds yummy and simple to me! LOL)

EASY ENCHILADAS Phase II

FILLING:
4 lg chicken breast cooked and sliced thin
1 Can Canelini* Beans (white Kidney beans) drained *check spelling?
1 15oz jar no sugar added Salsa
1 can black olives (chopped)
1 8oz bag shredded L/F Monterey Jack cheese

Mix all but 1 cup of cheese (reserve for top) together.

1 Package whole wheat tortillas
fill each tortilla, lay next to each other in sprayed casserole dish. Add any extra chicken mix on top, top with reserved cheese. Bake at 375deg for 30-35 min.

and here is the site if anyone is interested: http://www.***************************/