Cheyenne

We've officially been in Cheyenne a little over a month now. The house is ALMOST put together, just a few pictures and items left to hang. In just a few weeks, our family begins to visit and I must say -- I am SO excited. We have family visiting from April-August! Calumet hotel will be busy!

My list of pros and cons of living in Cheyenne thus far:

Pros:

• Our family is ALL together. I can already feel the normal-cy returning and it was very needed for not only the girls, but for me. But -- it's still a transition and the girls are still very much getting OVER daddy being gone and getting used to him being home. I am also still trying to adjust and let go of (cant find a right word for last year) and just BREATHE. 
• The weather! As windy as it may be, the weather is beautiful. We are loving the bits of snow we are getting. The sun shines so bright here, the skyline is beautiful, and it just feels better.
• Everything we need is close by. We can get anywhere is just a matter of 5-10 minutes. Even heading to Fort Collins (for Costco and other random places we don't have here) isn't too bad.
• No traffic. The lack of traffic has been amazing, take that stress off your plate because it just is NOT here. I'm not stuck getting out of my subdivision, stuck in 5'oclock traffic, or dreading driving places because of how stressful it will be.
• Our house. It's the perfect house for us, before this Comanche Ridge was by far our best house, but this might just beat it. It has all the space we NEED, it's in a beautiful and quiet neighborhood, and the layout is perfect for us.
• The people are so caring, nice, and helpful. Back home, I don't really felt like we had the helpfulness (minus when we lived in parkview hills) that we have here. Everyone --personal or business- seem to do what they can to help. I've had people save us money on something just because, offer to help watch the girls, and just bring us banana bread and welcome us to Cheyenne.
• Community events everywhere and they are never super overcrowded. 

Cons:

• Not a whole lot of indoor activities for kiddos. I don't think I ever realized how much we had to do INDOORS back home until now. But -- there is tons to do outdoors, here.
• No airport IN Cheyenne. I wish the airport was closer, we have a small airport --but everyone has to fly in to denver. 1.5 hour drive. Which isn't terrible considering the traffic back home, it could take an hour to get to DFW.

Thirty-Two

Hey ya'll. So, I realized I hadn't been on my new blog, well not so-new blog, in such a long time. June my friends-- June was the last time I wrote on here and so much has happened since then. I've literally spent the past hour or so going through my old sites from back when I had Leah and lost 60 pounds until when I was pregnant with Zoe. Just wow.

Thirty-two is here and I feel like I'm sort of re-inventing myself right now. Trying to decide which path to go, find out where God is leading me. He's been here each step of the way and I'm sort of just going with it, week by week because that's just how this past year has went for me. I had to put myself on the back burner and put my girls first. I had to stop thinking about working out and food and just LIVE. And you know what? It's been nice. Nice to just focus in on the little things, to spend time healing emotionally, to get through the tough things, to be present here and now. I learned to live without a countdown and to just trust.

It's made me reflect a lot on what I want for this next year and what my new goals are going to be at thirty-two. I know, I do want to refocus back on my physical health, get back to working out again, eat more at home (and less fast food), eat my vitamins, you know -- go to the dentist like I should twice a year.

I hope ya'll will join me and follow me along in this new thirty-two. It's gonna be an adventure, as always, with three little girls, three little dogs, my husband, and working on ME.

Pull up a chair, drink your coffee, and enjoy some daily insight into my mom bun.

- Bethany

I ran...

My schedule for treadmill time is Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday nights. I don't really have a running routine, but I do have an app I plan on using soon. So, after walking briskly 2 miles on Sunday night, I decided to run tonight.

Phew! I am out of shape. I took off running way too fast. I am used to running outside and pace isn't as quick as what I put myself on. I about killed myself .25 miles in. I made it until .45 and had to walk. The girls had decided to join me at this point .. "running" along side me and "working out". They crack me. Leah asked me about 39390430 questions about how the treadmill worked.

If I wasn't yelling to NOT touch this or go there, I was turning around backwards to make sure no one hopped on with me. I walked and then ran again and then gave up.

It was 12 minutes, but 12 minutes done tonight.

Oh may...

May has been an adventure already. I attempted to get back to the gym and was very unsuccessful. I had more issues with childcare and taking good care of Zoe. I even tried talking with the gym and didn't have much luck. I am going to wait on the gym until Zoe is older and I know she can fend for herself better.

Until then, I've been walking 2 to 3 times a week in the mornings. I'd love to get a treadmill and I've been working on that. I was just about to buy one (used) when I decided to wait. We really could use the money for other things right now, so that's what I'm doing.

Meanwhile, I got on the scale a day ago and weighed in at 151. This has been the number I was at about 2 months ago after our dietbet. My weight has gone up and down since then but I always seem to settle back into that number. Is it horrible? No. I'd like to get down to 140-145 but for now ... its a number I can be happy with because I know where I've come from.

It's May and I'm back!

I know, I sort of just fell off the face of the blogging earth the past few months.

Let me rewind to 4 weeks ago when Adam started traveling. I pretty much went into survival mode and have been there ever since being a mom to 3 little girls without Adam around. It was not only an adjustment for me but also for the girls. I feel like we've been in the routine long enough that I can finally refocus back on myself. 

I've been running through plans to get back into working out and I know its going to be hard. I'm going 24/7 with the girls from the time I wake up to about the time I go to bed. I have a little time before bed to workout but being real honest here -- I am physically exausted in the evenings and its hard to find any energy to do much other than clean the house up and get things ready for the next day. I'd love to be running in the mornings before the girls get up but I have no one to stay and be here with the girls. Which leaves me to my only option -- the gym. It's a love/hate relationship because I wish it was closer. It's a huge feat for me to load up at least 2 of the 3 girls and get them there, work out, pick them up and get back home. 

BUT -- I've got to make it work.

My goals are the same as before, working out 3 days a week. I am planning on a M-W-F routine. Either gym time or running/walking with Zoe in the jogging stroller when Hannah is at school. 

As far as eating, I am going to get back into My Fitness Pal and keeping up with my calories. 

Status as of May 2017:

Weight: 155

Waist: 35(-1 inch)

Hips:42 (-1 inch)

Thighs:21

Arms: 11

Starting Over

Tomorrow Zoe is 7 months old and I am officially starting over with my weight loss. I'll admit, I just havent been in this 100%. January started off how my 2012 started off and I hit some set backs. Funerals, flooring issues and an ankle injury. I am pretty sure I have a stress fracture in my ankle and I have debated going to the doctor for a week now. It will seem to be getting better and then become bad again (like barely able to put pressure on it bad). I bought a compression bandadge for it on Amazon which should arrive by Tuesday.

I am still planning to take this week off from the gym to give it a full week to hopefully heal.

Last night I had a real "rock bottom" moment when I logged my food for the day. This was the first time I have logged in weeks and I had *thought* it was a pretty good day until I saw I ate 2386 calories.  I about lost it when I saw that number. That was DOUBLE my calorie limit for the day.

Jimmy John's you are dangerous! What I thought was a good choice was 876 calories! Wow! Never again.

So today, I got back in the game. I weighed myself, took my waist and hip measurements and decided THIS IS IT!

Starting weight: 162.1 pounds
Height (5'5)
Waist: 36 inches
Hips: 43 inches

1st goal weight: 145 pounds by Zoe's first birthday on June 30th.

I have done this before and I know I can do it again!

New Year

2016 was full of change, once again, for me and my family. I swear, there is not one year that some big life change doesn't happen. Don't get me wrong, I am a person who love changes. Just ask Adam, I change our home decor, our furniture, and my hair so much that he doesn't even notice anymore.


Let's look back on my 2016:

January: We were still basking in the excitement of our little surprise, I was pregnant again. We were going to have three kiddos! We were also frantically trying to figure out how financially this was going to work. We were just at a point where things were stable and we had reached a 5 year - 10 year plan. Well -- it just went all out the window and were re-creating our new 5 year plan.

February: We listed our beautiful dream home for sale. It sold in 8 hours.

March: We moved out of our home and into my father-in-law's house to stay for a month with all of our belongings in storage. And well, lets be honest, a good chunk of stuff in my FIL's garage. ( We have about 95% of it out now)

April: Things began to get scary with my pregnancy as my body decided it was done with baby baking at 22 weeks pregnant. We moved into our new home and a few weeks later I was officially put on bed rest. I worked my last day at Texas Wesleyan on April 29th to go home on short-term disability and bake Zoe until at lest 36 weeks. Oh, and I failed to mention, Adam totaled our 2016 Nissan Altima that month.

June: After weeks of touch and go, Zoe decided to make her appearance on June 30th, 2016.

August: It was decided I would stay home and put my career in higher education on hold. We were putting all of our trust in God and taking the leap for me to be a stay at home mom.

The first half of 2016 was busy, hectic, and sometimes just downright insane but -- I made it. We all made it.

For the first time in a few years, I didn't work out, I didn't count calories, and not because I didn't want to. I just couldn't. I had to really be 90% my family and 10% me.

This year, I get to focus a little more on Bethany. Will it ever be 50% 50% -- no. But, I'm okay with that. Life is so so short and I only get these few years to enjoy Leah, Hannah and Zoe being little. Soaking in every minute (the good and the rough), growing this little family of ours with Adam.

I wear my mom bun with pride these days because I know eventually I will take it down.

Hello 2017 and Hello to ...

• My gym membership again
• Adventures as an Uber Driver
• Losing 25-30 pounds and building some mommy muscles
• Loving on puppies
• Painting my nails
• Branching out with new friendships
• Making some more "me" time
• Focusing more on my relationship with God
• Taco Bell
• A little more mom bun wearing

Oh Taco Bell, we go way back and yes, it still makes my list every year. 

Happy New Year Ya'll!