Sunny Days!!

The past three days has been nothing, but sunny sunny sunny!! Aaaaaahhhh!! You don't know how exciting it's been to sunbathe here. The kids and I have been going to the park every day. I swear it's the simple things in life like the sun coming out to play that can make things just feel right and confirm just how much there is a living God. 

I think we had a little too much fun our first day at the park cause later that night, Jordan was up crying and tugging on his left ear. Poor thing. I was pretty sure he had an ear infection so as soon as morning came, I called his doctor and set an appointment for him. 

Before the doctor's office, I hit my T25 workout. I mean come on now. It's only 25 min. Thee best 25 min of my day. 

Once we got to Jordan's appt, Dr. Watts confirmed an ear infection in both ears. Poor thing. And then he also got two MMR shots. Hoi. He's behind so we've been getting him caught up. One more in six weeks and he'll be all caught up for a while. 

We hit the playground right after his doc appt. But we came home first to pack up some lunch and then Savou wanted to ride his bike there so I put Jordan in the stroller cause it's all uphill and I wasn't trying to carry my little fatso the whole time. Lol. It was such a nice walk. The playground's about 1.75 miles from our house. We logged a good 3.5 miles yesterday and it felt GREAT!! 

It's crazy how a beautiful day can just change your whole outlook on life. Walking with the boys seriously had me feeling so grateful for who I am, where I was and who I was with. They are my everything and they don't know how much they help me strive to be better than the person I was the day before. I love being THEIR mom!!

Day Two

This morning was day two of Erin Stern's 4-week trainer and it was plyometrics and legs!! And in that order. Nothing kills me more than plyo moves, which is kinda crazy since they're all body weight moves. But it does. It exhausts my muscles and pushes me to and past my limits. I was sweatin' hard before even hitting the weights. Yeeeeee!! 

Tomorrow's rest day in the gym, but I'll still be doing T25 here at home. Aaliyah and I might hit the track for a mile run as well. The weather's warming up and I've been reeling my eating in so I can start leaning out for summer. But I don't deprive at all. I'm just watching what I eat and saving my sweet tooth cravings for the weekend. And not all weekend long, but maybe one day out of it. I'm back to a gallon of water a day, which has helped me, tremendously, with curbing my sweet tooth. I'm about to hit the shower and go thrifting with my boys. Until next time, ADIOS!! 

Gymin' It!!

It's been about two months of me being off pre-workouts. It's crazy!! I used to rely on them so much to give me that extra rush so I can push past my limits. But I've come to realize that I don't need to rely on anything besides my natural capabilities. I do bodybuilding workouts, but I'm not a bodybuilder. Competing has never been my goal. I just wanna feel and look good. I've given up on being insecure about my body because I was always so overweight from lack of caring. I've taken control of my health and I've kept it for years now. And although my fitness journey started back in '08, I've never felt as good about my health as I do now. And for that, I'm forever grateful to my Heavenly Father for instilling this passion for weight lifting in me. It's been my best friend when I need to release all the stresses of life back out into the world. 

Today I started both T25 Beta and Erin Stern's 4-week trainer and I absolutely LOVE them both. I struggled last week with getting to the gym cause I was so bored with my program. I faithfully stuck to T25, but only hit the gym twice. So I was too excited to get to the gym today and hit the weights. I did shoulders and arms and exhausted my muscles thru supersets. Aaaaaahhhhhh!! Felt so good!! 

With T25, it's the last half of the 10 weeks and I'm so excited!! I did Core Cardio and it killed me because the moves were so new to me. But I loved it!! I'm so looking forward to dying some more in the morning. Lol. And tomorrow's legs day in the gym so I can't wait since it's gonna be different from what I've been doing. 

I haven't really been taking my protein shakes either. I lost my shaker bottle and I'm too lazy to use my blender all the time. I haven't been taking any supps as well because of my laziness. Hoi. It's not a big deal to me, tho. I'm trying to be more mindful of the Lord's nutrition plan and incorporate mostly whole grains, fruits and vegetable and eat meat sparingly. Which I don't really know what the definition for that is. Once a day, once a week, once a month, once every couple of months?? I have no idea. But the girls and I are going to pray on it and see if the answers we receive are unanimous. And we're also starting with eating meat only in one meal per day. We'll see how long this lasts. This totally sounds like a vegan way of living. And HELLO?? Beyonce's been on this diet!! We need to get our life. Lol. 

The weather's warming up and we've been outdoors more. Aaliyah's gonna start working out in the backyard. I'll most likely join her so she won't be alone. She's taking dynamic fitness at school right now, which is weight training. She said she got to go in the squat rack today for the first time cause it's usually always full. She said she squatted a plate for 12 reps. Then a plate 25 for 15 reps. Then a plate 35 for 20 reps. Whaaaattttt?? I was like, GREAT JOB!! And she was like, yeah full body squats mom. And everyone in her class, mainly the boys, were like, ummmm....where did you learn how to do those? Lol. She laughed and told them she works out with me in the summer time when she's not in school. They were like daannnggggg!! Hahahahaha!! I love that girl. She is so confident in such a healthy way. 

I am so happy the weather's warming up. I can't wait to start hitting the track!! Nothing kills me more than doing sprint intervals on the track!! And I just wanna be outdoors again. I'm over hibernating in my house and in the gym. I wanna go trail running, hiking, swimming at the lake, bike riding, vball and bball at the park, free lunch, and everything else we have to enjoy here in Ogden!! Spring is almost here and summer falls right behind it. I can't wait!! 

Science Fair

Aaliyah had her science fair tonight. And she was so relieved once it was over because she's been stressing about it since Dec. Lol. I was so not like that growing up. Thank goodness she's the opposite of me in that aspect. But she's so like me when it comes to procrastinating. As in, we went and got everything for her board last night and printed out the last of her stuff as well. Hoi. She could've done so much better if she didn't procrastinate it, but I feel like I could've made sure she did better if I made sure she got it done sooner. Hoi. Another thing to add to the long list of things I need to be better at. 

I just hate when my kids turn in their work halfhearted all because they procrastinated. And she still got the 'EXCELLENT' award in her category. So I know she would've blew it out of the water had she been more on top of it. But it's ok. Live and learn and we'll definitely do our best next year. 

Her teacher came and spoke to me after the ceremony was done. She said how impressed she was with Aaliyah when she had to present her board to the judges. She said that she was so professional and mature. That she impressed them so much with her demeanor. I was like, really?? Lol. Nah, I know Aaliyah is wise beyond her years and I'm even guilty of forgetting how old she really is and expecting too much of her. But I've really toned it down and I am always reminding myself her age and what's appropriate for her. 

We stayed after the ceremony and helped clean up and then headed home to finally wind down for the night. It's been a really busy day that I'll have to blog about on another night. With that said, I'm signing out. 

Family Fun Night (FHE)

This past Monday was President's Day so the kids had no school. And Hoko came home on Sunday so he's home this week as well. So it was perfect. The kids took a vote and they decided on ice skating up at the Ice Sheet. When we got there, there was a hockey game going on so we couldn't do it. So we went with plan B and headed to the Junction for some bowling at Fat Cats. It was soooo FUN!! The kids haven't ever bowled so it was hilarious!! We had so much fun!! We ordered a pizza, some chicken wings, tenders and fries!! It's nights like this that I feel so grateful to be a mom to these amazing kids!! 

Oh and I can't forget what we did before that. Straight karaoke in our living room!! It was so much fun!! One of the things Hoko got me for VDay was a HUGE speaker thing from Costco that came with a mic so we hooked up Aaliyah's iPad and sang to our heart's content. Which was a lot!! Our poor neighbors. Lote was like, dude, I can hear you guys from outside. Lol. 

My Most Sacred Blessings Call Me Mom

We just got back from such a FUN night of skating. Just the kids and I. We went to Classic Skating in Layton. It's crazy how much my kids are growing up. And even more crazy how much I seriously enjoy spending time with them. Not that it's a bad thing, but me and seven kids?? Going out for the night?? I know some people that can't even imagine doing that. But I absolutely LOVE IT!! I love having so much fun with them and getting out there and enjoying the simple things in life. Last weekend, I went and bought junk food and we totally vegged out on the couch and watched a movie. And we were totally happy!! 

I feel like a lot of times in life, it's easy to forget how simple kids are and how they don't need much to be happy. How they really only crave the love and attention of their parents. My kids are absolutely my most sacred blessings in this life. Aside from Hoko, they make me so HAPPY and a lot of times I feel so undeserving of their unconditional love for me. 

President Joseph Fielding Smith said, "If I had to suggest one thing which I think we as parents are most lacking, it would be a sympathetic understanding of our children. Live with the children; follow their paths. . . . Know everything that claims the interest of the children, be a good sport with them.

We have been trying to impress upon parents the need of paying more attention to their children, having a little more of the spirit of the gospel in their homes, a little more unity and a little more faith; a little more responsibility religiously, spiritually on the part of the fathers; also, of the mothers; more of the teaching of the gospel in the home."

There is no other goal on this earth as vital to humanity than that of being successful in our relationships as a family. I love my family so much and count my blessings every day that they are a part of my life. My kids will never know how much I love them until they become a parent themselves. And I can't wait for Hoko to get home tomorrow!! I've missed him so much this rotation. And the kids are off on Monday for President's Day. Yay!!