This Week's Goals

Last year, I rarely spent time reading books that weren't related to research for my homeschooling website, and that's something I wanted to change this year. Right now I'm reading a book called, The 4-Hour Workweek and it is totally changing my thoughts about productivity and time management.

Instead of encouraging multi-tasking and efficiency, The 4-Hour Workweek teaches you to be more productive so you spend less time working and more time doing things you enjoy. The author devotes several chapters to teaching techniques that will eliminate time wasters like e-mail and meetings. He also speaks extensively about delegating, outsourcing and automating tasks.

One thing I've decided to do is shorten my workday to 2 hours so I have more time to spend accomplishing non work-related goals like spending time with my daughter and managing laundry. I'm going to play around with my schedule a bit this week.

Another goal for this week is to get back on track with my diet and workout schedule. I overate and skipped my workouts Friday, Saturday or Sunday, and I'm really feeling the effects of it.

This week, my goal is to continue working out on my treadmill one hour per day and stick to my healthy eating plan.

This Week's Menu

Monday - Chicken Quesadillas and Chips
Tuesday - Dinner at Grandma's
Wednesday - Beans and Rice
Thursday - Mexican Casserole
Friday - Leftovers
Saturday - Pizza (Andrew and Isaiah's birthday party)
Sunday - Roast

My Secret Weight Loss Weapons, Part 2

I don't mind working out, but I really, really hate dieting. I don't like denying myself my favorite foods and I don't like feeling hungry when I go to bed at night. Here are some strategies I use to trick myself into eating fewer calories without feeling deprived.

1. Divide meals in half. - I've already shared that I sometimes rely on frozen dinners for lunch, but for dinner I eat the same meal I prepare for my family. The difference is, I only eat half of what I would have normally eaten. If we're having Mexican casserole, I eat a small portion of casserole and 1 serving of tortilla chips (I actually count them). I sometimes serve myself on a salad plate so my plate looks really full. My stomach is already adjusting to the smaller portions and I feel full more quickly.

2. Eat dessert. - Sometime after I had my second child, I developed a sweet tooth. I still eat dessert, but now I have 1 cookie instead of 5. I remind myself that we're not in the midst of a famine. I can always have another cookie tomorrow, so there's no reason to hoard.

Here's My Secret Weight Loss Weapons, Part 1. I'll share more tips next week...

This Week's Goals

Last week, I mentioned wanting to keep my daughter closer so I could give her more attention and supervision. I'm going to continue working on that this week.

When I notice my children arguing excessively, displaying negative attitudes and (for my toddler, especially) getting into mischief, I often find that instead of parenting proactively, I've been doing my own thing until I'm forced to put out fires.

For me, the easiest way to get back on track is by tomato staking, and that's one of my goals this week. When I keep my daughter close to me throughout the day, involve her in what I'm doing, talk to her about things I feel are important and listen to her thoughts, our days run much more smoothly.

For me, tomato staking is not about boot camps and excessive punishment, but about making my children the primary focus of my day. My children deserve a spot at the top of my to do list.

This Week's Menu

Monday - Frito Pie
Tuesday - Leftovers
Wednesday - Dinner at Grandma's
Thursday - Tortilla Soup
Friday - Grilled Steak and Veggies
Saturday - Leftovers
Sunday - Out

My Secret Weight Loss Weapons!

My weight is still going down at a steady pace, so I wanted to share my top 3 weight loss weapons. In addition to walking an hour per day, I've received a boost from the following:

1. Water - Replacing soda, sweet tea and juice with water is one of the top ways I've cut my calorie intake. As the experts say, "Don't drink your calories!"

2. Breakfast - Instead of skipping breakfast or eating bacon and eggs with the kids, I eat a Vitamuffin and drink a small glass of calcium fortified orange juice every morning for breakfast. The best thing about viatmuffins is - they're chocolate!

3. Frozen Dinners - To avoid getting hungry and overeating, I eat lunch with my children. I am less tempted to eat something unhealthy when I have a frozen dinner on hand. My favorites are Kashi and Lean Cuisine.

I'll share 2 more secrets next week...

Tiny House

Do you hate vacuuming and cleaning? Do you want to help the environment? Consider moving into a Tiny House.



I can just picture my children barreling through such a delicate space. All four walls would fall down, lol!

This Week's Menu

Monday - Manicotti, Salad, French Bread
Tuesday - Leftovers
Wednesday - Tacos, Black Beans
Thursday - Pork Chops, Rice, Veggies
Friday - Sausage and Peppers, French Fries
Saturday - Out
Sunday - Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad, French Bread

This Week's Goals

This week I'm going to continue working on my laundry routine. I am washing, folding and putting away several loads a day, but the we are still running out of clothes at times, so I'm going to try washing certain items on certain days and see if that helps.

Monday: towels, Drew's clothes
Tuesday: whites
Wednesday: children's clothes
Thursday: darks
Friday: towels, Drew's clothes
Saturday: sheets
Sunday: off

I've been reading to the children at bedtime every night and it's so much fun. I didn't realize how much I missed that part of our evening routine. As soon as I get my 2 year old in his PJ's, he grabs a book and hops on his sister's bed to get ready for his story. He's the only child who's never had a full bedtime routine, so it's neat to see how quickly he's catching on.

This week I'm going to keep reading to the kids every night and also keep my daughter closer to me during the day - letting her help me with chores and cooking. She needs a bit more one on one time as well as some extra supervision.

I also have good news to share - I lost 5 pounds last week! I'm going to keep drinking water, cutting back on portion sizes and walking for 1 hour per day. Only 39 pounds to go...

Cooking with Leftovers

Like the rest of America, my husband and I are being budget conscious and we've decided to eat more meals at home. Over the holidays I went to Sam's and stocked our pantry and refrigerator with the items we eat most often, and stocked our freezer with a few pre-made casseroles that we can rely on in a pinch.

One thing I'm learning to do is reuse leftovers. There is just no reason to toss good food.

This week, my children have eaten leftovers twice for lunch, and tonight, I'm making Chicken Caesar Salad using leftover chicken from our dinner last night.

I'm adding romaine lettuce, pre-made Caesar dressing and shredded Parmesan cheese, and I even learned how to make croutons. Who needs to eat out? I can't wait until dinnertime!

So Far, So Good

I didn't execute my goals perfectly over the holidays, but I did catch up on laundry and I did exercise a few days a week. This week I'm going to continue focusing on the habits of doing a load or two of laundry every day and walking for one hour per day.

I don't normally watch Oprah, but her show yesterday was really good. She talked about her thyroid diagnosis and how she used it as an excuse to eat what she wanted to eat and gain weight. She also said that in all of her busyness last year, she forgot to add herself to her to do list.

I am not a big advocate of "me time" as for me, it quickly becomes an all consuming, selfish pursuit. However, I am finding that I do need to make time to care for my physical health through healthy eating and exercise and my mental health by reading my Bible and giving myself some down time.

Yesterday, I told my children they'd have to occupy themselves while I walked on the treadmill. You know what? It didn't hurt them. It also didn't hurt them to play in the next room a bit while I watched that episode of Oprah. My entire day is centered around caring for and interacting with my children, and I think they have become a bit all consumed and selfish in their pursuit of "mommy time".

The key word in Oprah's show yesterday is balance. I think that's what I'm trying to find this year. I want to balance my roles as wife, mother, homemaker, home educator, work at home mom and individual. My roles as wife and mother will always come first, but it's okay to give the other roles some space on my agenda, too.