One Thousand Gifts: September

"Normal day let me be aware of the treasure you are" M.J.Irion

A portion from this month's thankful list:

306: Strawberry stained faces 

308: Masses of flowers

323: A heroine

327: A reminder to rest and enjoy

337: Portable technology for the times you need a little quiet
338. Pink goggles. Pretty girl.

340: The Bronte sisters

344: Sewing projects by the girls 

349: Fierce loyalty

353: Rainbow snow cones 

Losing 10 kilos

This is not something I would usually share on my blog.

It's personal. 

But I'm proud of this and how I did this.

So I'm revealing, sharing, hoping that someone else might be encouraged.

Who: 32 year old Mum of three. 172 cm tall. 72 kilos.

Why: I had put on 15-20kilos during pregnancy. I didn't want try dropping that weight until after I'd finished breastfeeding (too hungry!). 

When: At about the same time that Zeb was weaned, my sister got engaged.Yes, I wanted to look good for family photos. That set my timeframe to one year - September 2012. 

What: Setting a goal weight was easy. I picked my pre-babies weight of 60kg, and added 2 kg (we've got to give ourselves a little leniency ladies!). That meant 10kg in 12 months. Very do-able.

How: The right way. Hard core diets, restrictive healthy eating and heavy exercise certainly have their place for those with more weight to lose, but not for me. I was not that far from my suggested BMI, but I didn't feel good and I didn't have great habits. So, I needed to take the time and change my lifestyle. 

• I used Myfitnesspal (a food journal app) to track my eating. I counted calories, with a 1400 daily limit. Fortunately I am way too hungry a person to abuse this kind of strategy. There was no way I could just eat as I usually did and then stop when I reached my daily limit. 
• I cut down a little on the amount I was eating (this was probably natural anyway, as I had stopped breastfeeding), but mostly just cut out a few bad foods. No more second breakfast. No dessert after dinner (except if we were eating with others. I didn't need/want to make a big deal about my food rules around others. This can make them feel bad or take away from the community atmosphere of sharing a meal!). I switched my dark chocolate snacks to 70% dark chocolate snacks (same calories, less sugar). Never drank soft drinks. Always ate a healthy lunch. Enjoyed the apples and carrots.
• I did daily exercise. Wii dance is about the best thing around for stay-at-home mums! Dancing (energetically) to 4 songs is about the same calorie loss as a half hour jog. I know which I'd prefer. The kids always joined me and we enjoyed it together (c'mon who doesn't want to sing and dance to 'Pump Up the Jam' with their three kids)!
• I started a weekly adult ballet class with my sister and a friend. I started because I like to dance and because I would love the long lean body of a dancer!  
• I took a few month long breaks to see how I could maintain the weight I was at. And I did. Suprisingly, it only took 6 weeks of changed habits for me to start wanting to eating right. Now I can go without food logging/calorie counting and I find I am (mostly) choosing the right foods and maintaining my weight. 

 

Outcome: The last 2 kilos were very stubborn, and at the wedding I was 0.6kg from my goal. But I am there now. At 62kg! The best outcome has been the one I mentioned above. My habits have changed and I feel better about my everyday choices (most days). Now, I have set a new goal. It is less about the weight and more about my body shape. After carrying three rather large babies past 40 weeks each, I suffered significant diastatis (where stomach muscles don't heal or return to normal and you tend to carry extra weight around your belly). Well, I want it gone! Unfortunately all the usual stomach exercises make it worse, so I have begun this program. 

Stay tuned.

Dancer's body here I come...

Spring Break

Last holidays, we spent the whole 16 non-school days indoors.

Sick. Cold. Kind of cranky.

(Except for one day: a farm sleepover for the girls!)

Starting tomorrow, we have 16 more non-school days. Outdoors.

Well. Warm. Kind and happy.

Oh I hope!

One Thousand Gifts: June, July, August

"I don't want my life to be how I took experiences - but that I gave exceedingly." - Anne Voskamp

A portion from three months thankful lists:

225: Watermelon dribble

240: Forgiveness, forgiveness, forgiveness

244: Pink and yellow flowers

248: The reminder that brains are no match for spirit!

253: My girl's 'fashion sense'

260: Brie

266: This birdy birthday gift from a few years back

276: Zeb's glum face during his first hairdresser haircut
288: Babysitting a favourite boy

 288. Cousin love and sushi 

291: Mancala with the girls
294: A fulfilling life
301: Boys bonding time

Pinny for my mini

A dash of sewing time.

A slice of checkered fabric.

A sprinkling of sparkly buttons.

A pinch of pretty girl.

A pinafore.

He bangs the drums: a party

Boy parties rock.

This one was no exception!

Here are the pictures and a few details for Zeb's 2nd birthday party.

(Drum roll please...)

The front of the invites, drawn by this lovely sister.

The main attraction of the party and his gift from us. 

Second hand from Gumtree (for a third of the price as a new set)! 

The food table. 

Tim painted a blank canvas with a black and white chevron pattern to match the back of the invitations and the favour bags. I collected and cleaned tins of various sizes to hold the food. The large ones were baby formula tins sprayed with chrome paint.

I used a yellow colour scheme for the food, to bring everything together: chicken twisties; cheese sticks; passion fruit marshmallows; lemon curd tartlets; jelly and custard cups; star biscuits; buttered popcorn; pineapple; chicken mini subs; and lemonade!

 A very simple smash drum cake.

 Instead of candles, Zeb beat the drum and smashed the white chocolate disc sitting on top of the cake...

 ...which revealed a centre full of (yellow) lollies.

 We strung up a 'banging wall' so even the little ones could make some noise.

 And handed out chevron favour bags.

Most of all, it's my that kids make every party awesome!

Z marks the spot

I have been savouring the moments better with this one.

And today, I have two years worth of moments.

Boy noises, bath splashes, dirt throwing, hair spiking.

Falling asleep in my arms, hugs for sad sisters,

and the most tender kisses in the world.

Each is more precious than gold.

If Elara and India are my pride and my joy,

then this boy is most definitely my treasure.

Happy birthday my Zebulon!