Weighty Matters

I haven't updated about my weight goals in a couple of weeks, although if you are on Facebook you are probably tired of hearing about them...  I actually have really appreciated all the support from my friends and family both on Facebook and LoseIt.  It has made a huge difference and is really keeping me motivated.

 This is the other thing that is keeping me motivated.  It's working!!!  As of today, I have lost 12 pounds!  I'm nearly to my goal weight!  I can even zip up my favorite jeans, although since my baby belly isn't completely gone, they still aren't quite right, but that is just a matter of time.  I've learned a lot over these last 4 weeks.  Especially about how easy it is to eat Way Too Much without realizing how many calories you've eaten.  I realized that I have been doing a ton of mindless. boredom eating.  I've also found ways to make better food choices to get the best nutrient bang for my caloric buck.  I really think that I'm getting a lot more out of this journey than just jeans that fit, and I'm really glad I'm doing it.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Myra's been waiting all week to wear her Valentine's Day dress.  Isn't she cute?!  We hope you have a happy, snuggly and cute Valentine's Day!

An impromptu formal dance.

While we've been busy painting and flooring to get ready to sell the house, I've been a bit homeless during the day.  There isn't a whole lot to do in Temple with three kids, and while we did take a trips to Waco and Austin, we still had a lot of time on our hands.  Several of our friends were kind enough to adopt us and let us hang out with them for the afternoon.  The kids thought this was the coolest thing ever.  They got to hang out with their friends and play with a new set of toys.  It was a bit of a hassle being out of pocket, but I enjoyed hanging out with friends as well.

Here the kids are playing dress up and having a little dance.  The picture isn't very good, but here they are on video.

They were so cute!!  And a big thanks to everyone who let us disrupt their homes!!

Ponytails!

Those of you who see Myra every day will be shocked to see that I am actually capable of putting up her hair.

Isn't she cute??  They even lasted all the way through church before she pulled them out.

Christmas Catchup

So, obviously Christmas has come and gone without any bloggy notice.  Needless to say, with a newborn around, we were a little busy.  We had a lovely time anyway, and it was great to have family around!  This was the first year that we weren't able to get the whole clan together, but we did manage to have all the Deshazers here, which was great.  Not too many pictures were taken, but here are a few.

The tree, with presents in various places.

 We put most of the gifts up high out of reach.  It started out as a kid avoidance measure, but we thought it looked pretty cool as well.

 Logan enjoys the scooter Oma and Pappy got him.  Seriously, he loves this thing!  He rides it around the house chanting, "I can do it myself!"  So cute.

 The stockings are discovered...

 Myra plays with her new princess castle.

 Can you see Logan back there?  A big Mack and Lighning McQueen kept him busy for quite a while.

 This cool puzzle took two grownups with Engineering Degrees to put together, but it was totally worth it!  Can you see how giant it is?  Logan loves it.

 Logan and Alan bonded over the color changing cars.  This made a huge mess on the floor (the cars change color with hot or cold water) and is now a bath toy much beloved of both kids.

The addition to the train set was also a hit.  Logan and Alan are buddies!

 Logan asks to make houses often still.  Total highlight of the fun!

 Mitch got all architectural.

The finished products.

Checking in

I've been such a slacker blogger.  I know you all are more interested in pictures of the cute kids, so there will be more of that soon.  First, I promised some weight loss updates.  Hopefully this will help keep me on track.
The plain facts -- I have lost 6 pounds in 2 weeks, although the first weight was on a different scale, so I can absolutely claim the latter 3.5 pounds.

I really like the LoseIt.com program!  It's really convenient having it available on the phone, (although it is super easy to update online as well) and I love getting realtime feedback about what I'm eating.  It's amazing how easy it is to eat way too much!  I think that the biggest benefit of this program is that it helps me to be more aware of what I'm eating.  It also does a nutritional analysis, which I think is pretty awesome.  After all, just because a food is low in calories, doesn't mean it is actually meeting your needs.  In fact, I think it is even more important to be careful of a nutrient balance when following a calorically restricted diet.
It has also been really awesome having friends and family following on LoseIt.  I find it motivating that I'm not the only one seeing what I eat.  It is also really great having the feedback from them.  As you can see from the chart, the slope hasn't always been downward, and it was nice having some encouraging comments, even when the numbers went up a little.  I've been weighing daily, just because I like to have a lot of data points to follow a trend.  I realize that day to day variability is only to be expected, but it is nice to hear it from others, too.
So, Mitch suggested that I post my favorite picture of me, pre pregnancy, as a reminder of my goal.

Mitch took this for my sewing blog.  Those are my favorite jeans and right now, I can't even zip them.  But I will!!