I like to eat. Ice cream, baked goods, cheese, rich foods laden with cream and fat, desserts of any kind. And I like to cook. Combining a love for cooking with a love of eating is a recipe for gaining weight and/or making it more difficult to lose weight. Generally, we eat pretty healthy foods.  We don’t drink soda, there is rarely junk food in our pantry, and I almost never purchase snacks while we’re out running errands.  For me, the struggle comes when there are sweet things in my house.  If it’s there, I will eat it.  When I feel guilty about eating it, I just eat it more quickly…

There is no getting around the fact that bearing children will cause you to gain weight.  Each of us gains it differently, dispersing the extra pounds on various parts of our body. And each of us loses that weight differently, with our bodies possibly taking on a new shape. I mentioned in the first post of this series that losing pregnancy weight didn’t happen overnight for me.  It’s been something I’ve had to work toward.  But there were several factors that made me finally get serious about losing weight and getting back into shape.  I’ll get to the nitty-gritty of how I made a diet and an exercise plan, but first I wanted…

  When I was just 8 weeks pregnant with my first child, a well-seasoned mother of 5 began talking with me about my pregnancy.  She asked how I was doing and feeling, and some of the ins and outs of motherhood.  At some point in our conversation she shared with me that she wore Spanx.  Everyday.  I was in shock.  Up to that point, I had been determined to gain as little weight as possible and certainly by the time I was finished having children, I’d be back in regular clothes and look just like I did–if not better than–before I ever got pregnant.  I sort of laughed in my…

Nobody told me I would have days when I wouldn’t feel like being a Mom. When I had my first baby, I thought I was ready.  I had been babysitting for years, so I knew how to take care of children, how to manage more than one, I had done it tons of times.  And then I had to nurse an infant.  And it didn’t work.  It hurt and I couldn’t even perform a simple task like feeding my baby.  I was at a loss.  All the years of babysitting, church nursery working, and helping out other Moms was nothing compared to the real deal.  Quickly I realized that knowing…

Reading books aloud to our children has always been something that I’ve enjoyed.  Thankfully, they have each grown to love it as well.  Sitting on the floor with all four of them crowded around is one of the best parts of my day. Isabella (5) and Mallory (4) have gotten to the point now where they love chapter books.  I think it was two years ago when we started the Little House on the Prairie series.  It astounded me how much they retained at such a young age, so I made it a point to continue to incorporate longer books into our reading times.  Since then we’ve finished that series,…

Beach living now characterizes our family, and just in time for summer!  We’ve been living, or semi-living, we’re still in a hotel –in sunny Florida now for five days and it didn’t take long for me to realize that there are some essentials for me as a “Beach Mom”.  I love seeing people’s favorite picks for various things, but when I go to the websites that they highlight, I usually find that the items recommended are WAY out of my budget.  So, I’ve rounded up some affordable essentials that I either have, or am planning to purchase for our summer at the beach.   1// Extra Large Canvas Tote.  A…

We are book people.  If you had looked in our house a few weeks ago you would have seen piles of books in our bedroom, bins of books in the garage, and bookshelves full of them. We’ve moved five times in our seven and a half years of marriage, and each time we go through our books, get rid of some, and pack away the others to save for another time.  Some have been read multiple times, others are still collecting dust for that perfect rainy day when we have time to sit and read {I think that might not come until our children are grown}. As we’ve been preparing…