Non weight loss post

My boys are growing...literally!! Today we had a double doctor appointment, Chase's three year and Taylor's four month. And both boys are doing great!!

Chase
Weight 34 lbs 80th percentile
Height 39 in. 88th percentile

Taylor
Weight 14.7 lbs 39th percentile
Height 25.5 in. 65th percentile
Head 17 in. 70th percentile

I have such big, healthy, strong boys!! I am lucky!

52 Week Challenge Week 3

Well, I knew this would be an interesting week for me. As most of you know, last Saturday we left for Disneyland, and we were there all week. In some regards I was very proud of myself. Obviously I got lots of exercise, walking all over the parks, pushing a stroller and carrying a backpack and Taylor in the Bjorn most of the week. I also planned ahead and brought lots of water and snacks into the park, including lots of fruits and veggies. It was actually much easier than I thought it would be to get my 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day as part of the Biggest Loser challenge. One thing I did notice though was that a lot of the snacks I brought, beef jerky, almonds, chips, etc, had a lot of salt, so that is something I need to be more careful of. It was also nice at the end of the day to have the boys be so tired from so much stimulation and sack out every night. I got at least 8 hours of sleep every night! But of course I did allow myself several treats, like hot chocolate and other things. I also started my period this week so that doesn't help on the scale. So, my results are as follows.....For the Biggest Loser challenge, out of a possible 70 points for the whole week, I got 52!! Which I was really pleased with because I made a personal goal to get at least 50 points a week. And as far as weight goes, 278, no change this week. It makes me want to try harder next week, and post better results. At least I didn't gain though, which is easy to do on vacation. Stay tuned!!

52 Week Challenge - Week 2

Well, an overall okay week. I had a little more stress this week as I was planning and packing for our vacation we are leaving on today. But I have to realize that that is life, and giving in to temptation when we are stressed is just no good, and has to be overcome. I did however do well on my exercising, aerobics once, and Zumba twice. I could have done better but the kids were a little under the weather so I didn't go to aerobics the other two mornings. And I did great with drinking water, so I'm pleased with myself. Something I'm looking forward to now, even this week when I'm going to be faced with temptations in Disneyland, is starting the Biggest Loser challenge I outlined in my last post. I think it will help me work harder knowing I get points for every accomplishment, and it's not just based on my weight loss. So I will start reporting on that next week.

All in all, weight loss for this week....

278, 2 pounds lost!! Right on track for my goal. Thanks again for all your support!

52 Week Challenge - Biggest Loser

One thing I have learned over the years, and through many successful and unsuccessful attempts at weight loss is that having a support system in place is key to seeing great results. It always helps when there are people to be there and pick you up when you are down, help and give advice, and all around support. I have a great support system with lots of people there for me. Especially my sister Lindsay, my great friend Becki, my parents, and my amazing husband Brad. I also have lots of other friends around showing me their support, and encouraging me.

I have been presented with another huge opportunity for support, and what I would classify as a "Challenge within my Challenge". Several ladies in my ward have the same desire I do, which is to maybe lose a little weight, but overall get healthier. The "ringleader" of our little gang, Cindy (who is an awesome friend) has put together a great goal setting program based on "The Biggest Loser".

We will keep track of our daily points, which we get for doing the following healthy things. Get 8 hours sleep, cardio exercise, resistance training, eat 5 fruits/vegetables, drink 64 ounces of water, no food after 8 pm, no caffeine, no sugar, no soda, and take a daily vitamin! I am so excited to start this!!! I have already gotten my weights out and put them in a prominant place, measured my largest cup to see how many I will have to drink to equal 64 ounces, and purchased a multi-vitamin from Walmart. I am going to do so great at this challenge!!!

I am going into it though, knowing there are a few things I will struggle with. But maybe it is good to know my weaknesses so I can strive harder to overcome them. I love fruits and veggies, but it will truly be a challenge to make sure I get at least 5 servings every day. This will be GREAT for me to work on. Also, with a 4 month old baby, getting 8 hours of sleep every night is something I really struggle with. Again though, I know how good it is for me, and I have heard the studies that show that people have an easier time losing weight when they get sufficient rest. So now in addition to updating my weight every week, and my pictures and measurements every month, I will also be updating my Biggest Loser success every week!

By the way, everyone who reads this, I really appreciate each of you. It has been so great the outpouring of love and support I have already gotten. Especially since I have been a little embarrassed about putting my huge weight number out for the world to see! I knew if I did it though, no one would judge, and I would just get that much more support. I am very grateful!

52 Week Challenge- Week 1

I am pleased to report successful results this first week. It seems that my hard work has paid off. Wait for it......
Weight 280, four pounds lost!!!
Arms 15 in, same.
Bust 48 in, same.
Waist 46.5 in, half an inch lost!!!
Hips 51 in, same.
Thighs 29 in, same.

I am pleased that things turned out well for my first week. I worked really hard on my diet to eat smaller portions, more fruits and veggies, hardly any sugar and tons of water. I also did Aerobics one morning, and Zumba three evenings. And I tried to walk as often as I could, considering the weather and that Taylor is so young. As soon as I can I want to get back to walking around the neighbor once or twice every day.

So stay tuned for next week. Thanks to all for your support so far, I am feeling very confident, and appreciative of all the love I have in my life!!

The 52 Week Challenge!

I will put at the beginning of this post that my great friend Becki and I are on a weight loss journey together and we both decided that in order to help us be more accountable we would post about it on our blogs. She has been brave and posted a lot about her situation including her starting weight, so I am going to join her! Also, I know I can do this with confidence because anyone who reads this blog loves me and won't judge me based on my size. With that said....

I am 6 foot 1 in tall. I have always been tall, but with that came other things. "Big bones", "Broad shoulders", "Strength". But those things came with another title in my head "FAT!!!!" When I graduated high school I weighed 200 pounds. Then I went off to school at SUU, and I had to walk everywhere, and I made great friends that I enjoyed goofing around with, and I had limited money so I didn't eat as much. I also decided to cut sugar out of my diet my freshman year. Therefore, in the course of that year I lost 20 pounds and got down to 180. I felt great, looked great, and now as I look back to that 15 years and two kids ago, I realize that is where I want to be again. A healthy 180 pounds. I think that is very reasonable for someone who is 6 foot 1 inch tall.

So hear we go. The reason I am titling my journey the 52 week challenge is multi-faceted. It is very convenient that there are 52 weeks in a year. I would like to have achieved my goal in a year. And it just so happens that 52 x 2 is 104. In order to reach my goal of 180 I will have to lose 104 pounds. That is right, people. I am putting it out there for all the world to see. I am starting at 284 pounds. (As of Saturday, January 1st, when I intended to post this.) I am also going to post my measurements, as I think they can also be a great indication of weight loss. My arms are 15 inches, my bust is 48 inches, my waist is 47 inches, my hips are 51 inches, and my thighs are 29 inches.

I will be updating this blog every Saturday after my morning weigh in. I know I may not always reach my weekly goal of 2 pounds, but with help, encouragement and hard work I can strive to get there, and get more healthy and feel better about myself in the process. I would love any comments to help me along my way. Here goes......

Me now, front view, and unhappy. We'll see how that facial expression changes over the weeks!

Me now, side view. Not for long!!!

Chase's Surgery

Most everyone knows that Chase's eye surgery went very well! Coming out of anesthesia was hard, but after that he was back to normal in just a few hours. When we got home and finally took the patch off, his eye was completely bloodshot. We understood this would happen, and be even worse because the doctor had told us he would most likely have a herpes flare-up in addition to the redness that comes from the surgery, but in just a weeks time it looked tons better. Here are a few pictures from the big day, and I want to thank my sister, Lindsay for taking Taylor the whole time Chase was in the hospital, and my parents for coming down from Logan to be there with me since Brad couldn't get off work. But he was there with us in spirit too. Also thanks to all my friends and family who included us in your thoughts and prayers. Obviously those prayers were heard!
These two pictures were from the exam room before the surgery. Chase thought it was fun that he got to wear hospital jams and that the nurse gave him a pair of surgical gloves!
Chase thought it was very exciting that the doctor pulled him through the hospital in a little wagon! Unfortunately I'll never forget the look on his face when we got to the point were I couldn't go any further and he turned to me, arm outstretched and started crying and calling out, "Mommy, no!!"
Here we are right after the surgery in recovery. They wouldn't let him go home until he had drank 4 ounces and was demonstrating signs that he wasn't reacting badly to the anesthesia. Such a brave boy!
I took this picture the day after the surgery when we took the patch off so people could see how red his eye was!
Then this picture was taken exactly one week post surgery to show everyone how well he recovered. It's now been two weeks and he is doing great!

Taylor's Birth Story

Lets just say I have been planning for Taylor's birth for a long time. It all started on a September day three years ago, when I had to have surgery while I was pregnant with Chase. That was so hard to recover from, I got it into my head that I couldn't deal with another surgery ever, so I had to deliver Chase vaginally! The rest of my pregnancy with Chase was pretty uneventful, including no contractions AT ALL!! Some would consider that lucky, but I was pretty frustrated, because I knew how big Chase would most likely be and my doctor wouldn't agree to deliver me sooner than one week overdue since he was my first baby. Since I wasn't having any contractions, I knew my body wouldn't help me come early, or probably even on time, so I was finally induced 8 days after my due date.

After having Pitocin induced contractions for 10 hours of labor, I was stuck dilated to a 5, and not progressing. My doctor decided I needed to have a c-section after all, and shortly after that my 10 pound 9 ounce Chasey was finally in my arms. While my doctor was stitching me up, he said "There is no way you would have been able to push this kid out of your small pelvis. At least all the rest of your pregnancies we can schedule a c-section and you can do it a week early!" So this time since I knew I would have a c-section, I wouldn't go into labor on my own, and I could pretty much plan my delivery, I started making said plans very early.

A few weeks before my scheduled c-section, September 21st, I was pretty proud of myself. I had accomplished a good portion of my "To Do Before Taylor Comes" list, and I had worked out detailed instructions for Brad on everything he needed to know while I would be in the hospital. I had places for Chase to go every day, even while Brad was in school at night, my bags were packed, and everything was covered.

Unfortunately, in the middle of all my plan making, I forgot to ask Taylor when he wanted to come, because his plans apparently didn't coincide with mine...

Thursday evening, September 16th, yes that was 5 days before my scheduled c-section, Brad, Chase and I went to grab some dinner at Magleby's Fresh. As we were leaving, I had a contraction!! I was shocked because I didn't think my body would do that, in fact, I wasn't even positive it was a contraction, so I didn't think much of it. But, by the time we all went to bed that night, they kept coming. Far apart at first, and mild pain, progressing to every 5 to 10 minutes and very painful by midnight. Unfortunately, someone like me who was uneducated in the ways of normal "labor" didn't know what the protocol was for someone who was laboring but was planning on a c-section. So I told Brad at about 2:30 that I would try to tough it out, and call my doctor in the morning. But by about 5, I couldn't stand it anymore, and I figured we could go to the hospital and see what they said about it. So Brad got up at 5 to get ready for work as usual, but I told him to call in, we were going to the hospital.

Luckily, Brad's parents are so close by, and his mom was able to come be with Chase. Once we got to the hospital at about 5:30, things started happening really fast. Orem Community Hospital is so great and efficient, and they had me checked in and hooked up to a monitor by 6 am. It turns out even if you are scheduled for a c-section, when you come in they still monitor you for an hour to see if you make progress before they determine whether or not to go ahead and deliver the baby. When the nurse checked me, I was dilated to a 3 and 90% effaced. But, we didn't know what I was previously because with a c-section planned, of course my doctor had never checked my progress. So the plan was to keep letting me have contractions and see if I was progressing in an hour. Again, my body did something unexpected. My water broke! I said to the nurse, I think I am peeing, and she checked and we all were delighted to find out it was water leaking!

Once this happened they didn't need to watch for progression anymore. One of the partner doctors in my doctors office was called, since my doctor was out of town, and he said he'd be there in half an hour. So I was quickly prepped, given my spinal and moved into the operating room. By 7:03 am Taylor was out and I was being stitched up! My HUGE miracle came into this world at 11 pounds 1 ounce and 22 inches! He beat his brother by half a pound and an inch!

Taylor came out breathing and crying and seemed just fine to me. I wasn't told until later that the respiration guy was a little concerned so after we got to see him, he was taken to the NICU. Since it takes a while to be stitched up after a c-section I knew it would be a while before I would see him anyway. Once I got back to my room though, and still wasn't able to see him, I put Brad on duty to find out what the deal was. Turned out our little man had to be put on oxygen because his levels weren't where they should be.

Long story short, it turns out Taylor had two things working against him. It is common for bigger babies to have breathing issues, and it is common for some of the air and fluid babies are born with to not get pushed out of their bodies when they are delivered by c-section. Taylor had a little pocket of air next to his heart, and some fluid in his lungs. We were reassured that these things would work themselves out, but he needed to be watched, so he didn't get to come to my room and the doctors would be checking in on him frequently. Another precaution that was taken "just in case" was to give him an IV of antibiotics to make sure there weren't any infections.

All this made the hospital stay very hard. We went in and visited our little man in the NICU very often, and I went in for all the feedings. He kept getting a little better, and they would take him off the oxygen for little bits at a time. But by Tuesday, when I was hoping we would both be discharged, little Taylor still wasn't ready. Ironically, this was the 21st, the date my c-section had been scheduled for. So Tuesday night and all day Wednesday, I opted to board in, which meant a paid a little fee to stay in a room, but I could come and go as I wanted to. This worked out okay, but I was getting a little sick of the hospital. I was hoping that Taylor could come home Wednesday anyway so I wouldn't have to worry about staying again. However, after the pediatrician came and did his circumcision Wednesday morning, he gave me some crappy news.

The news was laced with good, that I must point out. He told me we would be able to take our little man home the next morning! We were thrilled about that. Unfortunately, that was where the good part stopped. He would be checking us out at 11 am, and that was on purpose because he had scheduled an appointment for us to see a specialist down from Primary Children's at Utah Valley Hospital to get an EKG and echcardiogram on Taylor's heart. Again, they said this was "just in case" and they wanted to rule out any heart problems. Also, we would be taking an Apnea monitor home with us for Taylor to have on for at least two weeks which is keeping track of his breathing and heart rate, to make sure he is doing okay.

Now to the present. We have been home for 8 days. Taylor is two weeks old today. Yesterday we had his two week doctor appointment and everything is fine. The results from the heart tests were positive, a few things were a little concerning, but they will work themselves out over time, and we don't even have to follow up. Taylor has to have the monitor on for two more weeks, but the doctor thinks that will be fine too. Now we are just settling in to our new routine with our new bundle of joy. Chase is thrilled to be a big brother and he helps out as much as he can. We have had tons of support from family and friends and we are so excited to have our little four person family at last!

Logging Roads

So there is a running, or should I say driving, joke in my family about getting stuck on logging roads. As you all know, I hail from Oregon, where there are frequent mountains, and trees. Hence lots of opportunities to get stuck on skinny roads, usually through mountains, that may or may not have lots of Semi's driving on them pulling loads of logs.

When I was about 10 years old, my family and I went on a trip to Southern Oregon to see some of the sights and just get away for a few days. Please keep in mind this was long before the times when a GPS and portable DVD player were common place on long family trips. I fondly remember our entertainment, and that was playing through the two "Best of Huey Lewis and the News" cassette tapes my dad loved. And our navagation consisted of my mom reading a map. It was about a 5 hour drive from Salem, where we lived, and somewhere along the way, my dad "discovered" a short cut....or so he thought!

We ended up going about 2 hours out of our way on said logging road. It was very scary for all, especially a 10 year old girl, who has anxiety anyway, who kept looking out the windows at the steep cliffs we were dangerously close to or looking up to see huge Semi's pulling logs coming towards us all too fast, because they knew the road well, and we didn't!

Needless to say, we survived and even enjoyed our vacation. But that is not the end of the story. Another time, when Brad and I were newly dating, we went home to Oregon to see the family and meet my newly born nephew, Dallin. So this would have been when I was about 26. On this trip, my whole family, in two cars this time, took a day trip to a couple of fun cities in Oregon including Bend, and Seaside. Now these two cities were quite a drive from Salem, and quite a drive from each other. The trip from Salem to Bend was easy, as we had done it many times. From Bend to Seaside on the other hand was not as familiar to us, and again, dad thought he found a short cut. Still no GPS for our family at this time. So again we got stuck on a logging road, for and hour or two. This time it was much more funny to the family though, because we could relate it to the first experience and so we made it a lighter situation.

Well, like father like daughter! This past weekend Brad, Chase and I went to Merced California for a 90th birthday party for my Grandpa/Christensen Family Reunion. Merced is not in the fun parts of California where everyone thinks of. No beach, no Disneyland. It is actually in farm country, and getting there coming from Utah by way of a huge portion of Nevada involves quite a distance through the Sierra Nevada mountains, and lots of logging type roads.

Now Brad and I learned a valuable lesson on this trip. Despite having the luxury of traveling with a GPS this time; said GPS, or Jenna as we refer to her, has settings. One of those is chosing between the shortest distance to a location and the fastest time. Jenna was set to direct us the shortest distance, and she didn't take into account that less miles may not mean getting stuck on logging roads!!

As we were coming out of Reno, Nevada I started to wonder because instead of staying on the major freeway we started taking little 2 lane highways through random cities and lots of farmland, forests and the like. But I didn't really get concerned until I noticed we were in a National Forest, and the switchbacks were getting steeper and the road was getting skinnier. Finally I stopped and asked a nice man who was taking pictures of the beautiful view from the top of the mountain we were on if we were headed in the right direction. Unfortunately he confirmed my fears. We were going to get to where we were going, but it would take a long time, be difficult, and there was no easy or timely way to turn around. So we kept going.

We finally made it off of the logging road, and to a bathroom, which the pregnant lady was very grateful for, and after a few more re-routes, we made it to the family BBQ that had started at least an hour earlier, that we were expecting to have plenty of time to arrive to!! It was an adventurous trip to say the least! Thanks dad for teaching me at a young age how to handle driving on a logging road!

Hello, again, hello...

I guess that title was inspired by last nights episode of Glee.

I haven't posted in awhile, and I'm not sure anyone misses it, but I thought I would do a quick update.

As all of you probably know, I am 16 weeks pregnant. So far this pregnancy has been less dramatic than my last, but not without its complications. For one, I have been throwing up way more than last time. That sucks! Also, I had some bleeding in my uterus, which is attributed to the placenta pulling away from the uterine wall a little. Fortunately, this is common, and usually heals itself, as it did in my case. There is also a little cyst on my one and only ovary, which of course, the doctor is keeping an eye on, as we don't want a repeat of last pregnancy!

Otherwise, I am still enjoying being a full time mom, and not working outside of the home. I do think I keep myself plenty busy however, running my dad's print business, and starting a business of my own as an Independent Beauty Consultant for Mary Kay. I am really enjoying it and learning a lot about skin care and other beauty products! If anyone wants to order product, host a party, or find out about owning your own Mary Kay business, let me know! I also recently became a certified phlebotomist, and I am starting a CNA course next month.

Brad is still in school part time, working his way towards his bachelors in Behavioral Science. He only has ten classes left so we are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. He seems to have really found something he loves in Social Work, and we think he will do great things when he graduates. Brad also recently had a huge shake up at work. American Express, whom he worked for at Convergys for almost twelve years, pulled all of their projects out of the Orem location, so Brad is now working customer service for the United States Postal Service. Just within a month of being on this project he has already been selected to be on a more elite phone team, and he is wanting to hopefully move back up into a management position within 6 months. We know he can do it!!

Our little Chasey is doing very well, and growing like a weed! He had his second birthday in January, and is really starting to learn a lot. We are starting to work on counting, colors, and spelling his name. He also likes to sing his own version of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "Book of Mormon Stories". It is fun watching him learn and grow. Chase is also excited to become a big brother, and he often kisses the baby in momma's tummy!

So, that's it in a nut shell! Thanks for checking in, and we'll keep you all posted on any future developments!!