8 Weeks to a Better You Challenge

Eights goals in 8 weeks.  Yikes!  I really needed some motivation to get my butt off the couch and get in shape.  It seems that too often the role of mommy and wife leave me with a hundred excuses of why I don't have time to work out or change my diet.  I have too much to do already and too little time to do it.  But lucky for me a friend shared this challenge with me:

8 Goals/8 Weeks to a Better You:  (You get 1 point per goal per day)

1. Personal Goal: (Mine is no soda especially my all time favorite and life line Diet Dr. Pepper)
2. 7 hours of sleep each night.
3. Eat 5 servings of fruit/vegetables each day.
4. Drink 64 oz. of water each day.
5. No eating after 8pm.
6. No eating sweets. (Another mommy coping mechanism)
7. Exercise 30 minutes a day.
8. Exercise an additional 30 minutes a day.

Bonus Points Awarded for:

1. Not eating fast food all week.
2. Improving your minuter per mile.

I emailed friends and family members to see if they wanted to participate.  Nothing like a little reward money and friendly competition to help motivate me.  The person with the highest amount of points at the end of 8 weeks wins.  I like this challenge because the focus is not on losing weight, but adopting a healthier lifestyle.

Week One Recap:  I have done pretty well the last few days.  Last weekend, I made sure to eat lots of sweets before I started my fast.  I haven't had soda or sugar in 7 days.  Yeah me!!!  The most difficult goals have been exercising every day (especially when juggling work and kids) and drinking lots of water.  One thing is certain, I have to potty alot more frequently.  I am ashamed to say that my minute per mile is 13.40 (run/walk combo).  At least, there leaves a lot of room for improvement.  I have developed an eye tick- which I wonder if from caffeine withdrawal.  My skin feels way more refreshed and hydrated.  I hope that the natural outcome will be to lose some weight.  Kaitlyn is doing a modified version of the challenge geared towards kids.  I love it because it gives her the opportunity to make healthy choices for herself.  And the other plus side is that fruits and vegetables are no longer wasting away forgotten about in the produce drawer of the refrigerator. 

Alice in Wonderland Bday Party for Kaitlyn

I love to plan and organize parties and get togethers.  I usually get in way over my head and try to do too much myself.  Luckily, I have amazing friends that know this about me and usually end up bailing me out.

My oldest turned 6 at the beginning of the month.  We decided to have an "Alice in Wonderland" themed party.  Or I should say I convinced her to have this kind of party.  It just so happened that my bookclub was reading the book and the new Tim Burton movie was being released the eve of her party.  We spent the month hunting through thrift stores and dollar stores for dishes, decorations, and party supplies.



For the decor- I set up 2 tables with mismatched china, colorful napkins and plastic ware.  We tied balloons onto the chairs.  One of my good friends loaned us a darling handmade flag-banner that we hung on the walls.  We placed some fun hats (that Amy made) around the room.  I wrote each child's name on a playing card and used it as a place setting card. We also invited all the kids to where a fun hat or dress as a character from the book.

Birthday activities included an "Alice in Wonderland" obstacle course, "Follow the White Rabbit" (the kids took turns playing the rabbit and leading the other kids around the yard to music), a treasure hunt (they took turns hunting for different items: a white glove, a rabbit, a red rose, playing card, teapot, etc), and finally a pinata.  For the first time ever, we had beautiful weather for our party.  The kids loved playing the games outdoors and my house stayed a little cleaner.

The kids sat down at the "tea party" and ate lunch.  I went a little overboard on the cake.  I attempted to make Kaitlyn a topsy turvy cake.  You can see the pictures below.  My mother is a wonderful cake decorator, but lives in SC.  I do not possess any of her skills.  And since my mom was unable to offer any demonstrations, I turned to "Youtube" for guidance.  The cake turned out a little funny, but it tasted really good.  I made my own buttercream and fondant icing.  We also made a bunch of cupcakes (those were by backup incase my cake failed).

For parting gifts: I bought "Lofthouse" Sugar cookies from the bakery (I was done baking) and wrote "EAT ME" on the cookies and then wrapped them individually in cellophane treat bags and tied with a ribbon.  I also bought those cute mini sodas and tied a tag that said "DRINK ME".  We basically sugared up the kids and then sent them home with their parents.  I'm sure they all really appreciated it.  All in all, it was a really fun party and my daughter adored it.




 

 

The Birthday Cake: Yellow cake with lemon filling/ chocolate cake with chocolate filling/buttercream icing with fondant embellishments.

 

 Tea Party

3 Alices

Kya- our little Cheshire kitty

                                 Singing Happy Birthday (please don't mind the garbage cans in the background)