I missed reporting in last week due to being ridiculously busy and yesterday got away from me, but I’m still here and still working hard!

I tried on the offending dress that kicked my butt back into gear and am liking how it’s fitting a little better now, but still have some more work to do. But I’m not done when this dress fits. By the spring, I want to be back in the tankini that I wore on my honeymoon .

I’m going to work my way to a better body, one piece of clothing at a time.

Yeah, I know I said no numbers, but I couldn’t help it. I’m down 8 lbs total since my return to Mamavation and expect that to tumble even further now that I’ve discovered EA Sports Active 2. I think I might be in love.  Why did y’all not tell me? Oh wait…you probably did.

Just over two weeks from now, I’ll be in L.A. hanging out with @Bookieboo and @ResourcefulMom, so I need to step up my game. I wonder how close to 15 down I can get by then….we shall see!! But first, I’m gonna break the 10 lbs mark by next week. Game. On.

It’s Monday again and I’m sticking with my promise to myself to get back on track. Still not focusing on numbers, but I did note that I dropped 4 lbs from last Monday’s weigh in. Being that I did not work terribly hard on exercise last week and I did splurge this weekend a bit, this confirms my original thought that I had been retaining water after a weekend of a little too much drinking and eating while I was away in NYC.

This week, my goal is to get in more exercise. While I did work out a couple of times, I was not on my game in that case the way I really wanted to be. The current objective is to look and feel good enough to wear the offending LBD at Blog World in 4 weeks. I’m not 100% confident that I can pull it off in time, but I’m going to go down swinging.

I’m stepping up the exercise game this week, to try to get at least four one-hour-long workouts into the mix. Will I pull it off? Here’s hoping!

In fact, I’m off to start the first one right now!! Wii Fit, I will OWN YOU.

It’s been awhile since I’ve shown my face around a Mamavation Monday. Earlier in the year I was kicking butt, dropping pounds and feeling great about myself. Then one day, something happened. I lost my mojo, stopped really caring about eating well and got lazy and complacent about exercising.

Fast forward to this weekend.

I sat in NYC, having an amazing time, with amazing people (including an ass grab from our beloved Bookieboo herself) and on Saturday night, I put on a little black dress. I took one look in the mirror, fought back tears, and took it right back off in favor of pants and a fancy top.

Why? Because when I looked at myself in that dress, I was right back where I started. I haven’t yet looked at the numbers. I may not for awhile. I’m going back to work on me first and numbers aren’t what is going to make it happen.

Starting tomorrow morning, it’s time to start remodeling my body once again. This time, it’s about that little black dress. And when I like how I look in that, I’ll move on to the next piece of clothing that just makes me feel MEH about myself.  I have a couple of other little black dresses in the closet that could definitely be contenders for “round two.”

It might be awhile before I even think about reporting any losses or even start caring about the numbers on the scale. This time, it’s about how I feel. I don’t want to ever again feel the way I did when I looked at myself in that dress.

Some of you might remember a little over a year ago, when we had a frightening hospital stay with then 3-yr-old D. Unbeknownst to us, he had gotten ahold of a button battery and swallowed it. What presented as a severe “tummy ache” was actually a battery that had lodged itself in his esophagus and was slowly burning him inside. We had no idea. Button batteries were not even on our radar as a danger.

In our case, even though we spent several days in the hospital, we were lucky. After surgery to remove the battery, then a repeat procedure a month later to check healing, D is back to normal. In all honest, it is nothing short of a miracle that he walked away with as little damage as he did. From the time he began complaining until the time that he had surgery was approximately 18 hours, far longer than the 2 hour window before these batteries can begin to do damage.

Today on Twitter, a tweet from a friend caught my eye and I simply had to click through. I discovered that Energizer and Safe Kids USA have partnered to create The Battery Controlled, which is helping to raise awareness about the dangers of button batteries to small children.

This informative site shares some of the alarming statistics about button battery injuries in children. Please take a few minutes to visit, read about preventing accidents similar to ours and learn how to react if your child accidentally swallows a coin battery.

While you’re there, join me in pledging to safeguard your children the best that you can. Though our tale had a happy ending, not every child who has accidentally swallowed a battery has been as fortunate.

I was not compensated in any way by Energizer, Safe Kids USA or The Battery Controlled for this post, it is simply a message that I felt the need to share.

Keeping our families safe on the road is a very important task that we undertake as parents. We drive carefully, keep our cars in tip-top shape, and make sure everyone is buckled in safely on each and every trip. Unfortunately, we can’t control what other drivers on the road are doing. We must rely on the police and essential safety equipment, such as red light safety cameras, to help keep us safe.

A recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found that 113,000 people were injured and 676 were killed in crashes that involved red-light running in 2009 – two-thirds of the victims were pedestrians, bicyclists and occupants of vehicles hit by the red-light runners.

The study also showed that red-light safety cameras helped save more than 150 lives in 14 of the biggest U.S. cities from 2004 to 2008. Had the cameras been operating in all 99 U.S. cities with populations more than 200,000, more than 800 lives could have been saved.

Each time we enter an intersection, our families are at risk of becoming the victim of an accident – whether on foot or in a vehicle. Red light safety cameras help to change driver behavior and reduce the risk to our loved ones, however many people are unaware just how valuable these cameras are to those on the road.

The National Coalition for Safer Roads has created a powerful video, showing just how tragic the consequences of running a red light can be.

You can find the National Coalition for Safer Roads on their website, Twitter and Facebook, for more information about this important initiative.

Join the Coalition in spreading this important message. You may save the life of a loved one or spare a family the heartbreak of losing a life to a tragic intersection accident.

Happy Monday! I know, I was silent last week on Monday. Had a crazy busy day and just didn’t have the chance to get a post up  to tell you about my current progress.  I’ll just have to do double duty this week and give you all of my updates at once.

Last week was another really successful week. I dropped another 6 lbs, to come in at 12.5 total. I did really well with water and exercise and kept up with my point tracking consistently. Brief, I know. It was a week ago. It’s all gone blank now…

This week was mildly successful, but I got a little lazy with things. I still dropped 3.5 lbs this week, but I could have done so much better. I didn’t exercise half as much as I should have and I had a couple of days where I didn’t track my points very well. Add in Saturday’s movie popcorn binge and I’m lucky I lost what I did. It was still a decent loss for the week, but I’m a little disappointed in myself for my slight screw ups.

I finally took on the massive project of cleaning out my closet this weekend. All of my old “skinny” clothes have been hanging over my head (and under my feet as the case of my messy closet may be). Though I’m in the process of getting “that” me back, that me would be hopelessly out of style if I kept those clothes. I’m going to start this off with a clean slate.

In my purge of the closet, I did come across a couple of things to keep. One was a pair of (small) size 11 jeans that I’d like to be able to wear again. The other was a little black matte jersey dress in a medium. I tried them both on just to give myself an image of how far I have to go. The jeans went on, but it’s going to be quite awhile before they’ll button. The dress goes on, too, but so tight you can practically map my stretch marks. I’m excited to see the fit of both change as I progress.

My goals for the coming week:

• Track my points daily and stay within my allowed points, avoiding using the weekly and activity points.
• Exercise Monday through Friday, for at least 20-30 minutes each day.
• Stay on top of my water.
• Up my fruit and veggie intake.

My wish for the week? Drop 4 lbs so I can say I’m down 20. Probably a stretch, since I have a feeling this will be the week that my loss levels out to a pound or two a week, but a girl can dream…

This week, Mamavation’s blog carnival is sponsored by Fiber Plus and they’re asking what we’re doing to get more fiber in our diet this New Year.

I’ve never been one to think much about fiber, but since starting to change my eating habits, I’ve been paying more attention to the amount of fiber I get in a day. I’ve been looking for whole grains in breads and cereals and also adding in more fruits and vegetables to help out. I really need to pay closer attention to my fiber intake, once I settle more into my routine of getting healthier and in better shape.

I’m writing this post as an entry to a blogging carnival sponsored by Fiber Plus. I will be receiving free product in return.

Yesterday, I broke out my Shred DVD and really got down to the business of working out. I made it through the workout, but when I was finished, every muscle in my body was shaking and burning. I thought “This is good, but I am going to hurt tomorrow.” As the afternoon and evening went on, the soreness started to seep in. I stretched, soaked and rested my body, but by this morning, I was so sore that it hurt to breathe.

Naturally, my immediate instinct was to whine. Hey, it hurt!! It hurt to move, hurt to breathe, hurt to even think that I needed to do the workout again today. So I complained for awhile about how sore I was and how much I was dreading doing all of this again.

I went to Twitter and asked for some advice on how to deal with it, hoping someone knew a magic formula of how to make things easier. I got some great advice about stretching and warming up and other tips, but none of them were going to make it “easy.” It was still going to hurt.

Then I thought about it. I was blaming the workout for making me hurt. And the workout DID make me hurt. But that wasn’t the real reason that my muscles were sore. It wasn’t the fault of Jillian Michaels’ workout.

It was MY FAULT.

I was the one who let myself get out of shape after the last two pregnancies. I was the one who lived her life with excuses why she couldn’t or shouldn’t workout. I was the one and only reason that I woke up this morning, sore and uncomfortable.

No one forced me to sit in the house all day long, doing nothing to make a positive impact on my body. No one shoved crappy foods down my throat or caused me to overeat. I made poor choices. On. My. Own.

It’s time to start taking the blame for my own mistakes. It’s time to start taking my “medicine” and dealing with the consequences of the past few years of laziness. It’s time to stop whining and own my soreness and pain for what it is.

It’s time to correct the mistakes that I have made with my body and my lifestyle. And I am going to do it.

Disclaimer – This in no way is a guarantee that I will never whine again. Any future whining will simply be more contemplative.

Well, I survived week one of Weight Watchers, basically intact and still feeling motivated to stick with it. Drinking my water has been my biggest struggle, since our tap tastes like crap. (Whee…I’m a poet!) I’m trying to overcome it by adding lemon or lime to my water, and hubs was sweet enough to pick up some bottled water for me without being asked.

I’ve been using the kids’ Kids Bop Dance for Wii as my exercise program this week. It’s really gotten me moving and even working up a good sweat. While I know it’s not going to quite be enough for a long term exercise plan, it’s fitting the bill for now.

The support I’m getting at home is really making a difference. Just being asked if I can have something when hubby’s making dinner or picking something up, or him checking to see if I have the snacks and foods that I need to make it through the day is so helpful and encouraging. He knows it’s important to me and he’s making it a priority in his life, too.

And now, for the big reveal….

I’m down 6.5 lbs!!!

I know after a couple of  great weeks, things will settle into a smaller, more steady weight loss, but watching that number make big jumps in the beginning is really keeping me going.

This week, my goals are to:

1. Hit my water targets every day.
2. Find another exercise program to add to the mix.
3. Exercise at least five days out of seven.

I still have a long road ahead of me, but with the help of my family and the support of my friends and the Mamavation girls, I know I can do this!

As you can see by recent posts about my frustration with my life, there’s lots of things that I want to work on. One of the most important is my weight. Having K and D almost back to back took a toll on my body that I could never have imagined and the lifestyle of being a WAHM with two babies just made things worse.

I’ve become a victim of my own circumstances, combined with an out and out lack of motivation. It’s time to get my act together, though. It’s time to take back control of my body, as well as the other factors in my life that I’m working on. I’ve decided that joining the ladies of Mamavation will help me to stay motivated and on track. I’ve seen the amazing support that they give each other, and think that it will be crucial for me as I start on this long journey.

My weight scares me a bit now, especially with Mother’s Day approaching. Sounds strange, I know. For those who don’t know me well, I lost my own mom 2 years ago in July. Heart disease stole her from me at just 58 years old. One of her biggest contributing factors was her weight. She yo-yo’d back and forth for years, never getting to an ideal and healthy weight again after having my brother and I. I don’t want to put my kids through the pain of losing me before my time. Plain and simple.

I’m trying to go into this with realistic expectations and to not do too much to start. My first steps are going to be meal planning the week, so that I don’t have to turn to fast food options for lack of something to make for dinner, plus cutting out soda in exchange for water. I also need to get moving, so am committing to a half hour of exercise every other day, to start.

I’m not the most comfortable sharing my weight with the world, but will say that I’m in a size 16 right now, shooting to get back into a size 8 eventually. I have a specific goal weight in mind, but for me it’s not going to be about the numbers. It’s going to be about feeling good and in control again.

Wish me luck, everyone and I hope that you’ll follow along with me as I start down the road to being a healthier mom!

With the holiday season moving into full swing, families across the country are in the car and on the go. Whether you’re driving across the country to visit family or across town to holiday shop, it is important that your child passengers are riding safely and that child safety seats are used correctly.

AAA estimated that 30 million people travelled this Thanksgiving holiday alone , and for many this is just the beginning of the holiday hustle and bustle. Now is the time to utilize the Child Car Safety tools provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Ad Council to learn more about proper car seat use and installation. You will find informative resources that include instructional videos.

Have child passenger safety questions that you need answered before you travel over the river and through the woods to Grandma’s? NHTSA is always available to answer your questions online through Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/childpassengersafety) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/childseatsafety).

We don’t do a lot of long distance traveling for the holidays, but with all the shopping trips, family gatherings, and fun events to attend, we do spend a good bit of time in the car. Making sure that the kids are buckled in snugly and that their car seats are properly installed when we switch back and forth between vehicles is so important, whether we are driving across the street or across the country. Do your children a favor this holiday season and make sure that they are as safe as they could possibly be when in the car. Their lives may depend on it!