Just a Tip

One very annoying thing I have come to have a huge dislike towards in this house is the hard water. For whatever reason I can deal with it drying out my skin, it's nothing a little lotion won't take care of. However, when I put dishes in the dishwasher to get clean and they come out covered in a nasty while film, that is when I have issues! So today I looked up how to get rid of that film and a girl suggested Vinegar. So I tried it...put about a cup of vinegar at the bottom of my dishwasher, ran it like normal (no soap) and the result was just what I was hoping for! I think the dishes came out cleaner than they do with dishwashing soap!

Hmmm....no more buying dishwasher soap??

Starting Today

I have been beating myself up lately, letting my body image consume my happiness.  It's been rough because I have not been able to do a full workout like I used to due to the problems I have with my back.  I've just been gaining and gaining since we moved here.  I tried to get into a good walking routine but my back cannot handle hills right now and we have two hills on both sides of our neighborhood so no matter which way I go...there is a hill, ha! I feel like I'm at my biggest (other than pregnancy) and I'm not happy with how I look. I don't strive to be super skinny. I love my curves. I just want to be tone and fit.

So I finally gathered up enough courage to speak to my spine doctor (I do NOT like talking to people about the things I dislike about myself) and he suggested that I get into swimming/aquatic exercises.  Whether I'm jogging in the pool or doing laps, he says I will get my heartrate up and burn calories without it hurting my back because my body will be free weight in the water.  He also suggested that I cut back on my calorie intake because I'm obviously unable to burn as many calories now. 

So with that being said...today is the day I get on the road to feeling good again.  I am going to try my hardest and focus only on MY goal. Not letting anybody influence me or tell me otherwise.  The food part will be the hardest because I love to eat but I'm going to work hard at cutting back. I am currently somewhere between 165-168 right now (wow...openly admitting that seems WILD) and my goal is to be between 140-145.  I am hoping to reach this goal by the end of the year. That will be my Christmas gift to myself! :)

I HAVE TO DO THIS! With God by my side, anything is possible!

Also...if anyone has any low calorie recipes, snacks or tips...please share on here! I'm open to trying anything...as long as it tastes good. If you suggest I drink something green, don't even bother because I won't do it! haha!! 


Cindy

1st Grade Picnic

 Today all the first grade classes took a walk from the school down to Lake Oneill. That is a lake here on base, which is not far from the school. I met Caiti and her class over there because I don't think hiking is on my list of okay things to do, ha ha! She was very happy to see that I made it. :) I enjoyed watching her run around & play with all of her friends. She's such a pretty little girl...inside and out. They got to play at the playground, blow bubbles, play baseball & football, throw the frisbee around and then it was time for lunch. A couple of the Dads grilled up some hot dogs and the kids all scarfed them down! Once lunch was over I gave Caiti kisses and headed out...they still had two hours to spend there! What a great treat for working so hard all year long!

Sunday Update~June 10

Halfway thru June already! I can't believe that Summer is just around the corner...the kids & I are very excited!!

All is well here with our family! We've been busy as usual.  We have been busy working on the house and yards. The backyard is slowly coming together. We bought a patio set (nothing fancy), just something for us to sit together at. We ate dinner out there the other night and it was great! The grass has been worked on by The Lawn Doctor and is in the process of growing.  Patience starts now! ;)  I visited my plant man yesterday at the swapmeet and got lots of plants for great prices! Today for our family fun day we went bowling.  I won both games of course but have learned that I will need to downgrade from my 10 pound ball to probably an 8 pound ball.  I notice the decrease in strength in my back as the game goes on.

Jason is still enjoying his job very much! He is preparing for a week in the field next month and is looking forward to doing "Marine" stuff, ha ha! He has become quite the little gardner around here. He loves planting seeds for flowers and veggies. He has plans to build his own flowerbox so he can plant whatever he wants! He wants his own produce garden so we no longer have to buy that stuff from the grocery store. His birthday is coming soon so the kids and I will be planning & plotting! Hopefully we can take him to a baseball game!

I have just been up to the same ol same ol. I moved up to Phase 2 in Rehab which is Corrective Care (Phase 1 was Pain Relief). I've learned new exercises and such in order to help correct what's causing the pain.  It's been a month now and though I still feel pain, I do notice improvements in some areas. Such as, my big toe is no longer numb and the tingling in my feet have gone away. Which means the pressure on my spine has let up some.  I spoke to my doctor about what workouts would be good for me he suggested swimming/aquatic exercises. I have been looking into it and chose to just do lap swimming at a pool here on base. I really hope I can burn some calories doing that!! I am really looking forward to Summer break...sleeping in is my favorite part! :)

Cory is doing great! He is turning into such a admirable young man! He loves to cook, play basketball, ride his skateboard, hang out with his friends and play video games with Dad. His teacher raved about him when we went in for Open House. His artwork was even displayed on the classroom door...all by itself! He is such a great artist. He's really got a knack for drawing! Something he gets from his Dad!! He will be starting his 4th year of tackle football this Summer. And he's hoping to do basketball in the Fall then baseball in the Spring. He loves sports!!!

Caiti is just a big ball of energy! She is becoming more and more independent! Eager to learn as much as she can. She loves to help out with as much as she can...when she feels like it! :) We pulled her out of her Hip Hop class because I felt it was too unorganized.  She has a friend who does gymnastics and Caiti really wants to try that out (again) so we are going to look into that once the Summer is over. Right now she is just all about playing outside, swimming, hanging with her friends, drawing and being a typical girl! She is still big into collecting her stuffed animals so I am going to have to figure out a way to display them in her room...they're just too heavy to hang from the ceiling, ha ha ha!!!

This upcoming week will be the last week of school for the kids. They get out on Friday and will be out until after Labor Day I believe. We have a lot planned this Summer and are very excited about everything...except the part where Dad leaves for a week.  

Until next time....

Still A Winner

 Even though he couldn't finish out the season with his team, Coach Ray still sent Cory his medal & trophy! The Stafford Tigers flag football team were the Champions for the 2nd consecutive year! Cory was really bummed he wouldn't be able to help his team finish but these boys still pulled it together and did what they do best...WIN!! Cory got a really nice letter from Coach Ray and the trophies they received this year are incredible! They light up!! How awesome is that?! I'm sure I'll be replacing batteries like crazy now, ha ha ha!!

Frog & Toad

 Caiti's class did a Spring play called "Frog and Toad All Year Long". It was a play about the seasons. Very cute and all the kids did a great job! Caiti was a butterfly and did so well with her line along with all the other adorable butterflies!!

Welcome June

It's been two months now that we have been here in Cali! Everything is continuing to go great! The weather has been wonderful, we still love our house and we are all adapting to life here just fine! May flew by so fast, it's hard to believe we've been here this long already. 

We have been spending so much wonderful family time since we've been here! We came up with this idea to put a bunch of clothespins with ideas of fun things to do on the weekend into a basket. The kids get to choose one each Friday and we either do go out on Saturday or Sunday. This is just a way for us to get out and explore without any bickering over what we should do. 

Jason is enjoying work. He misses his office and is now part of the cubicle world, ha ha!! He's been meeting a lot of great people and is a part of so much that goes on within the Marine Corps. He has becoming a real motorcycle man! He even took me out for a ride last week while the kids were in school.  It was fun! He's got a bit of a drive to work but enjoys it because it's relaxing on the bike! He has great hours and will still have plenty of time to help coach Cory's new football team for the upcoming tackle season!

Cory is great and BIG! This boy is almost as tall as me!! He is doing great in school, he's back into basketball again (still has a passion for football) and is growing up right before my eyes. I still can't believe that in 3 months, he will be starting 6th grade!!!!  He's looking forward to football and basketball this year!

Caiti is still a big ball of energy! She is doing well in school as well. Has made so many friends and is outside so much now! I barely see her (and Cory). She was taking a hip hop class but I've chosen to drop that because it was so unorganized! Hopefully we'll find something soon that is good for her!!! She will be in a play at school so there will be many photos to follow that!!!

I am doing well! Been a little lonely during the days here but the minute my family gets home all is well!!!  I've just been staying busy with my spine rehab and taking care of these three!!!

We've got a lot coming up! School is over on June 15 and I don't know who's more excited...me or the kids! LOL!!!  June is always a fun & busy month!! BBQ's, beach time, pools, sleeping in, and fun fun fun!!! There will be many picture to share so stay tuned!!!