Third times the charm!

Yes, I know...this is my third post in less than 24 hours. I get blog happy from time to time but I wanted to share 2 things.

1) This:

20 minutes, almost an entire 5k... walking/running in laps around my living room and kitchen. Hey, it's a start! I'm posting this to see what my starting time/distance was for 20 minutes so I can see how I grow over the next few months.

2) My blog has reached 20,000 views! I've been at this for several years and until recently, I never even paid attention to how many views and such I was getting. It's exciting to see that other's have at least a little interest in me, my thoughts and my life. Thanks for being amazing guys, you're like the best blog friends a girl could ask for! 

365 - February

1) It's never too early to learn how to do dishes. 2) A favorite trinket box. 3) Basket-head. 4)A boy and his dog watching Daddy leave in the morning. 5) Valentine's Day photo shoot! 6) Playing with Aunt Sara. 7) Enjoying the outdoors on a warmer day. 8) New bedding! 9) Sleeping Angel. 10) My new antique hope chest. 11) Using the potty like a big boy! 12) Having lunch with the ducks. 13) Baking cupcakes. 14) My V-day dates. 15) What mom? 16) Mommy & Henry. 17) Henry & Mommy. 18) Chicago Skyline. 19) Playing with Hotwheels. 20) Passed out. 21) New haircut! 22) Asleep in Mommy's lap. 23) Mason. 24) The sun still shining as I'm leaving work. 25) Cuddling his blankies. 26) Crocheted phone cozies. 27) Dressing himself. 28) Not feeling well. =(

For the month of January I posted each individual picture, but I think most of you follow me on IG anyway so I don't want to bombard you with a ton of photos that you've already seen. If you don't follow me, you absolutely can (and should)! @jenn_ovey

Happy March!!

Move it!

Are you ready?? Wait for it... wait for it...

I committed tonight to participating in a 5k... THIS YEAR!

Nothing says motivation like signing up for a 5k and when you have a team of ladies joining you, you're sure to stay committed.

So this year, on August 24th, I will be participating in The Color Run...which has to be the most exciting 5k to sign up for. Period.

Is it crazy to say that I absolutely cannot wait?! Not only am I going to be doing this 5k with my bestest and SIL, but I know that this is exactly what I need to stay motivated to get my butt off the couch and get moving.

Color Run 2013 - Bring It!!

Tid-Bits

There is one thing I know about having a sick baby: I will feel horrible.

Emotionally I will hurt because my baby is sick and there is minimal that I can do about it. Physically I will be exhausted because I will be up a good part of the night rocking, cooing and urging him that the best way to get better is to just close his little eyes and go back to sleep.

It's 6 a.m. and we are currently sitting on the couch watching Mickey Mouse and drinking water. I'm exhausted but the best sleep he seemed to get through the night was when I was sitting up so he could sleep on my chest - so that's how I stayed. He didn't really sleep much otherwise. I think it's just a small cold or virus. He's running a low grade temperature and has a stuffy nose and cough. He doesn't seem to be feeling completely horrible, he's still active, running around the house and playing like normal, he just never sleeps well when he's stuffed up (who does?). I really hope he feels better soon, I hate when my baby is sick in any way.

I've been working on getting my Etsy shop stocked once again. I used to keep it full of items that could be custom made - and I can still take custom made orders -  but I ran into the issue that I would sell 2 or 3 orders at once and I would be working my hands off trying to get them all made and shipped as quick as possible. So for now, I'm planning on keeping mostly pre-made items in the shop. This way if someone orders something, I can throw it into a box/envelope, run it to the post office and be done. It's so much easier!

We also set our official vacation dates. We will be leaving for Florida on the 12th of April, staying in the condo there from the 13th to the 20th and then making our way home on the 21st. I'm so excited to take Henry to the beach again (and hopefully get some pictures this time). He loved it so much the first time! I'm ready for the vacation too, although I'm not ready for the long drive or the coming home part, haha!

Today is the last day of February which means my brother turns 17 either today or tomorrow. He's a leap year baby so I just leave that decision up to him every year. I can't believe I'm even saying that - 17. Someone pinch me and tell me it's just a dream. Love you Levi, Happy Birthday!!


It's Thursday which means it's time for Why I Love My Husband (The Never-ending List)

19) He brought me tea home from work yesterday - just to be nice.

20) He says ‘thank you’ and he says it often.

21) He trusts my judgment on pretty much everything.

22) He knows exactly how to calm my fears and anxieties.

23) He fixes my broken car and never complains because I break it quite often.

#enditmovement

Lip Tie

As I was sitting on the couch, cuddling and tickling Henry last night, I noticed something strange. Upon further inspection, a frantic call for Jeremy to come look, and a little research, we discovered that Henry has a lip tie.

From what I've read, it takes little more than a snip and a couple possible stitches to fix it, but it still scared Jeremy and I to death. Suddenly our seemingly perfect son was not so perfect anymore and quite frankly, that was hard for us to grasp. Jeremy is going to call today and talk to both Henry's pediatrician and hopefully a pediatric dentist so we can get an idea of what is our best bet at this time. I've read that a lot of dentists will suggest just leaving it be for awhile on the chance that they will fall or something and break it lose themselves. So I don't know what our next steps will be.

It also seems like the only downsides to having a lip tie is that there will be a gap between front teeth (which Henry clearly has) and the possibility of an increase in cavities and such with these two teeth because food particles can easily get stuck in the extra space there.

The part that angers me and concerns me the most is that usually a professional discovers this lip tie within the first few weeks of life because there are issues with breast feeding. I never could breast feed Henry and we talked to numerous lactation consultants, nurses and doctors. He's been to well check-ups and had his mouth looked at numerous times and no one ever caught it. I look back and think of the tears and the frustration and the months and months of spending an hour pumping and then an hour feeding just so Henry could have my milk, the rushed trips home from work to pump during my lunch in which I usually didn't get to eat, and the overwhelming feeling of failure because I just couldn't get my baby to take to my breast. 

It's easy to get angry because they missed it and most of that frustration and trouble could have been saved with a simple snip. Not to mention, the earlier it would have been found, the less painful and easier it would have been to be taken care of.

Have any of your kids ever had a lip tie? Did you have it cut or did you just leave it be?

3...2...1...GO!

Two posts in one day... I know, I know... you don't love (or even like) me that much!

Here's the deal. We've got a vacation planned for April. I don't know what week of April yet, but Jeremy, Henry and I plus Jeremy's mother and father are renting a condo on the beach in Florida for a week. We're taking 2 extra days to drive down and back so it will actually be more of a 9 day vacation than a 7 day vacation.

I. Cannot. Wait.

But I'm a whale. Seriously. I set a huge weight-loss goal somewhere in the middle of January and I know it's going to be nearly impossible to reach, but I want to work REALLY hard towards losing at least SOMETHING in the next month plus however many weeks, depending on when we decide to go.

I've lost 6 pounds so far. It's averaged out to a little over a pound a week. Which is good. It's progress and I mean...if you lose 1 pound a week for a year, that's 52 pounds! Right!?! I need to keep it up, but I'd really like to vamp it up to 2 pounds a week for the next month. My original goal was 2 pounds a week up until Jeremy and I's five year anniversary on December 23rd this year. And yes, that does equal out to almost 100 pounds, 96 if you want to be exact, but I realized that although I was dieting and exercising on a daily basis, it was just disappointing me when I didn't see that 2 pound weight loss every week.

Disappointment = Discouragement
Discouragement = A Drop in Self-Confidence
A Drop in Self-Confidence = Binge Eating
Binge Eating = Weight Gain
Weight Gain = More Disappointment

It's a vicious cycle. So I set my goal to 1 pound a week, which is more realistic and what most dietitians and trainers will tell you is what you should be focusing on losing anyway. I'm also not 'dieting' per say, but watching what I eat and how much I eat of it and then focusing on how certain foods make me feel and also how moving and pushing my body makes me feel.

I like to work out. I do. What I don't like is being out of breath and feeling like I'm going to pass out or constantly worrying if people think I'm gross and silly looking. But I know if I keep pushing, it will get better. I'd really like to take up running. I used to run and I loved it, but I am SO out of shape that it's going to be a push for me.

I found this and thought it might work for me. So this week I am starting with week one. I even added an extra 10 minutes of 'slow' walking so that it made it a full 30 minutes.

I've also been doing this workout every morning for the last couple of days although I've only done one rep. My goal this week is to move it up to twice a day and then hopefully increase it to even three times a day. I did increase the push-ups and sit-ups to 30 instead of 10 and 20 each. I've found that I'm actually quit strong when it comes to strength training, I'm just horribly out of shape when it comes to cardio. The jumping jacks about kill me.

I need motivation and I need rewards so I've started a little 'wish-list' rewards program. I have a couple short-term goals and rewards for vacation. But I also have some BIG rewards for the end of this year and journey.

If I can keep up the good work and continue losing 1 pounds a week until our vacation, I'll splurge on a really cute summer dress right before we leave. I love this one.

I'm also going to need a new bathing suit, so I'd like to find one that has a bit of a vintage flare and is also a two piece (even if it is a tankini). I'll be using this a lot this year considering we've already decided to get a new pool this summer. If I can work-out at LEAST 4 times a week until our vacation, I'll allow myself this. If not, it's the old, drab black one that I have tucked far away that I was hoping never to see again. 

Here are my incentives otherwise:

For every month that I continue to lose 1 pound a week, I'll treat myself to something from my wishlist. A movie, book...etc.

For every 10 pounds I lose, I'm going to treat myself to one 'essentials' outfit. A new pair of jeans and a cute shirt or something along those lines that I can find on sale/clearance that won't break the bank. Jeremy and I are also going to have a date night. I don't know HOW I'm going to accomplish that one, but I'm going to make it happen.

When I lose 25 pounds, I'm going to buy myself a new pair of shoes. I love shoes...and purses, so I'm itching for something new and super cute for the summer. This is going to be regardless of price (although I don't have super expensive taste). If I work really, really hard...I may be able to accomplish this before our vacation. That would be 19 pounds in 5-8 weeks, depending on when we go. I can do this.

When I lose 50 pounds, I'm going to treat myself to an additional outfit, regardless of price with the addition of accessories.. I'm also going to buy myself a 'hobby' accessory, whether that be photo, crochet or otherwise related. I'm also going to cut and dye my hair however I so choose.

When I lose 75 pounds, I'm going to buy another additional outfit and a right-hand ring. I want a vintage ring so badly so I'm going to find one that I love and keep my eye on it until then.

Isn't this just stunning?

When I lose the 96 pounds total, which is my goal...well, I'm going to go crazy. I'm going to get a new tattoo, maintain that weight (or even push to lose a little more) and feel wonderful about myself. I'll buy clothes and hang them in my closet knowing that they'll never be too small again. I'll look in the mirror and feel completely liberated knowing that I did it and that I did it for all the right reasons. I'll force Jeremy to buy me a new camera. I'll participate in a color run and wear dresses that come above my knees and shorts and tank-tops and will be able to shop anywhere for clothing. I'll renew my wedding vows with my husband and have an actual wedding ceremony and I'll buy a beautiful new dress that will stun all who see it. I'll cut and dye my hair, have my nails done, pamper myself a bit an bask in the idea that I did it all ON MY OWN!

I can't wait. Because I WILL do it. Even if it takes me two or three or even four years, I won't give up!