Complex Circuit

Do you ever kind of measure how your workout was for the day? Last week, during lunch I worked out at the Y, and finished up, headed to the locker room. A lady that was in there looked at me and said, "Wow, I must be doing something wrong. I never sound like that after a work out." I always have judged my workouts based on sweat, spaghetti muscles, and accelerated breathing. Apparently, I sounded pretty winded. And yes, I felt I had a good workout that day.

Let's add another factor to this workout. One, feeling like you are gonna throw up. Every so often, I do get to that point. I need to do some research on where that part comes from. I do know I can't eat a large meal or too soon before a workout. Because I know I will get the upset stomach. Most times, I have cut this factor out because well, I don't eat too heavy prior to when I am working out, or try to eat at least an hour before with little to no carbs.

Hello, "Complex Circuit" compliments of Jason. It was a routine of 6 different lifts, and burpees. The only thing I ate before hand was a protein shake with powder and water. I knew I was gonna be hurtin on the workout with Coach Kusick. Stories be told, he is pretty tough.

He introduced me to a whole other factor on how to judge a good workout. Not just the sweat but tears. No, I didn't cry, but man I sure felt like it. In the five sets of the "complex circuit" the first being just a warm up. (thanks Jason for clarifying after I thought I finsished the third and only had one more to go, but then realized I had two more to go!) The lateral raise was the final lift of the circuit in each of the sets. When I got to it.....OH MY! I pushed and pushed until I felt like my arms would not move anymore. By the fourth and fifth set, I practically felt like I was pushing back tears to finish. My mind wanted to complete, but the body just wouldn't do it. Is that called pushing yourself to "muscle Failure?" not sure. But I do know, I did some lifts I have never done before, and with the help of Jason did them in some pretty good form. I hurt, oh, yes I hurt, but it was a hurt so good feeling. I felt accomplished. I felt good.

I know I need to work on abs and core to help protect my lowback. It is a little weak. So, I am up for the next challenge. Off to the gym on lunch. I have never been so excited about working out before!

And, oh yes, I will meet this complex circuit again.

"Best Day EVER!" Quote from Tangled

This is what we heard from all of the kids as they launched there bodies over and over through the everloving slip n slide. Imagine a way to say it in pure excitement, coming especially from Ava, Benjamin, and Taylor!










For Ben and Jonna, it ended with a BBQ at Grandma Deena's. Some absolutley wonderful popsicles, swinging on the swingset, and bubble blowing mania! It really could constitute as the "Best day EVER!" in an almost two year old and four year old eyes!

Graduations - Katie Cool and Benjamin

Spunky little girl she is.

Eating her icecream cone.

And this here was a priceless picture. Anytime they fall asleep together, they snuggle and i treasure these moments.

In action on the climbing wall.

Swinging at the park on Field Day, the last day of PreK.

Riding on his new big kid bike! This guy has grown up so much. It makes me a little sad that he is getting farther and farther away from being my baby boy!



Receiving his diploma at Pre-K graduation. Yes, we may do it a couple times, but how cute is a bunch of 3 and 4 year olds in graduation hats!!

Getting ready for the balloon release!

Up, Up and away!


The Second Graduate!

And another of my goodlooking sisters.


My youngest sister graduating highschool. I am proud to say, that I have made it to 9 out of 9 high school graduations of my siblings. Not to shabby. Only one more to go!






Mom and Dad are just relieved they only have one more child's graduation to sit through.



Who is that cutie!? Katie's boyfriend Brandon.


He is off to bootcamp for the national guard in a couple weeks.




Life is well in Holee Land!

Times of Giving in, Times of Strife and a little fish in the sea.

The weekend was possibly a time of giving in, when I ate two nice sized chocolate chip cookies at my sister's graduation and a big fat chocolate icecream cone after dinner on Sunday. But I am counting my times of strife today. Yesterday, I ate healthy all day long, and even denied the icecream after dinner, as I watched everyone else enjoy. I had a great workout on lunch, which my body really feels today. And today. I am going to plug forward. Won't be able to work out today, but will at home tonight with help of my kiddo's. Jonna and Ben are getting really good at sit ups, push ups, and jumping jacks! ;) But, I am beginning to learn options for exercises sometimes are endless. It is actually exciting! What can I learn to do next in challenging my strength and endurance?!

I have lots of pictures to update. From Ben's graduation from Pre-school (Soooo Stinkin Cute) to my youngest sister's graduation from High School! It has been such an eventful last week and half. Jake and I are super busy, but all is well. Grandma and Papa Doug moved in the weekend before last, and it is so wonderful. We try to visit whenver we can, and the kids love it!

And, funny story for the day: We were at Grandma Deena's last night visiting with missionaries from their church. They were sharing with us some scripture, and well, Ben had to use the restroom which was accross the room from the open kitchen and living room. He hasn't learned to shut the door yet, but as he was grunting away, he also decided to sing a little melody for us. "If I were a fish in the sea, I would wiggle my tail with glee. If I were a butterfly, I would spread my wings and fly, If I were a robin in a tree, thank you lord for letting me sing, But most of all, I thank you Father for making me, me!!!" I don't know the words as well as him, he learned this song at school for his graduation. We were trying really hard to concentrate on the words from the missionary, but we couldn't help but all bust a gut, as my innocent little son, age four, did number "two" on the toilet grunting and singing away. We are gonna need to teach him to close the door when at other people's house's.

My love, my dishwasher

So, why didn't anyone tell me before how much I was missing out on not having a dishwasher? For those that don't know, this new dishwasher is my first experience having one (we had one before we didn't use becuase it didn't work). Yes, we are catching up to the times. I have had it for almost two weeks, and this has by far been one of the best purchases in my life. It saves water (cuz we only have to run once a day max), makes my kitchen look cleaner and uncluttered, and most of all it saves MY precious time. Yes, I can clean the kitchen in five minutes flat, so I get more time with the kids, and possibly focus on other areas of the house that need attention.

This is one peice of technology that is by far amazing.

P.S.

Try this for your next cardio. 10 sets of Burpees for 30 seconds, 20 second rest between each set. I didn't do the hop to the side or the one legged. I just did a pushup. We will try the one legged our next run with these so called Burpees. Super fun. Complements of Coach Kusick.

Legs of Spaghetti complements of Coach Kusick

I haven't written much about my healthy advenure over the last few months, but I figure now is a better time than ever.

It started when Becca my sister n law ran her first marathon last November. She is a parent of two little ones like me who has her hands full. She was so inspiring to me to be able to accomplish such a feat!! Amazing. Now, I can't run, play a lot of sports that cause impact or other crazy stuff like marathon running because of my hip disease and previous surgeries. BUT, I can bike ride, use elipticals and lift weights. Becca (who happens to also be a birthday girl today!) gave me an initiative to do something great for myself. So, I made a personal goal to get in the best shape of my life.

It began. Becca had emailed me a training workout that consisted of about three weeks of intense exercises, and most I could do at home. With some great help from Ben and Jonna. I was dedicated. As I began to do these exercises, I increased my reps, or then added on weight. I began working out 4 to 5 times a week. Some workouts consisted of a 10 to 20 minute workout, and some were my 40 minute workouts at the Y on lunch. I call it a combinatin of P90X, Crossfit, Cardio, and Strengh training. Always core excercises, but some days focused on legs more, or arms more, or back more, or core more. I felt my body tone up more and more. I was getting stronger. The first weeks of these exercises I was SORE, and I mean sore in places I didn't know I could be sore in. But it felt good. I had to stay motivated. And it was helpful, that these workouts actually kept my endorphins up, so I felt good. I was getting good sleep when I can. Now, my kids still get me up at nights, but it takes seconds for me to get back to slumberland.

Then, Jake started this caveman diet. It consists of nuts, fruits, and vegetable all during the day, then a full meal in the evening. We had so many almonds, pecans, peanuts, and walnuts at home, along with a fruit basket of anything you could want. How could I not enjoy. I have always been a fan of healthy foods, and taking supplements. But I am also a big fan of carbs and sugars too! Love me some good ole chocolate! So, I ate what was around the house and Jake ate. He kept telling me how great he was feeling from removing processed foods from the diet.

So, Lent began (March/April) I told myself I could give up on sweets. I can't lie, I had some cheat days, but for the majority, I started this diet during the week of Hardboiled eggs, cottage cheese, apples, cheese, bananas, greek yogurt, meat, oranges, carrots, cucumbers, peanuts, and almonds. I ate those types of things everyday and stuck to one meal at night, with no snacks after dinner. Meals always had a meat in them, and then probalby some carbs, a vegetable, and sometimes even a dessert. Every so often I enjoy a bowl of icecream or some other small sweet, but nothing past 7pm. And I would still enjoy beer or wine on occasion. So, I haven't totally given up carbs, but did cut A LOT of them out of my normal day to day diet. I was a bread, cracker, chip queen, so by doing this, I really was reducing my overall processed food/caloric intake.

Ok, then I am still working out four days at least a week. I was getting stronger. Strong enough that I upped my dumbbells in workouts from 10lb to 15lbs. I was doing more reps. My pants were getting bigger. My arms were getting lean, and by golly I don't have any more cottage cheese on the back of my upper legs!! I fit into sizes I haven't fit since early college years. So, I decided to weigh myself about a month and 1/2 ago. I was weighing 6 lbs below my average weight that I have kept when not pregnant since I started dating Jake.

I have had this hypothesis in the past years, that from my genes, the more I lift and work out with weights I gain weight. Cuz, well, I always have. Even my sisters have agreed with me. That's what their bodies did too when they worked out. But back then i wasn't ever changing my eating habits. I LOVED CARBS. Now, I am not going to say I am on a diet, cuz I never go hungry, I am just eating more balanced, and a lot healthier. I weighed myself last week and was 8lbs less. And not only that, I thought I would test my strenth at some pull ups. I haven't been able to do a pull up since before I had Benjamin. I remember when I was young and in gymnastics I could do 10 or more. Do you know I did three?!! I couldn't believe it. I was so proud of myself. I sent a text to all my brothers and sisters and my Dad! haha. Fyi, my Dad and brothers can do up to 40 pullups or more. no joke. Then, last Sunday, I did a set of four, then two, then one in my work out.

So, I have had such great results with this and truly feel I am in the best shape of my life. I want more. So, what did I do talked to COACH KUSICK! My brother that is a teacher, coach, and now a personal trainer. He wrote me a program over the weekend, and my first workout was yesterday. Legs of spaghetti today are complements of Coach Kusick! But, I am excited again. I have more workouts to look forward to.

Sometimes it is hard being a parent

It;s just hard. Like when you wake up for the second morning in a row after seeing every hour of the clock with your little girl who has been sick. It's hard when that same morning that you are so sleep deprived you have every wish in the world to just climb back into bed and go into work late. It's hard when that same morning, you begin to get both kids ready, and they want to challenge and battle every little thing you say or try to get them to do. From temper tantrums, grunts, meltdowns as they throw themselves to the ground, or throw a toy at you. They don't like what they are wearing, Jonna doesn't want her hair put up. Ben doesn't like his shorts. Jonna hates that I put the lid on the cup and didn't let her. Ben doesn't want to wear socks, and he is cold. Jonna thought it would be a good idea to sneak away to Mom's room and plaster mascara all over her face and dress. Ben thinks he needs a peice of candy for breakfast before his actual breakfast. Ben wants his Dad cuz he is at work and Mom finally has had it and says, "GET IN THE VAN OR I AM LEAVING WITH OUT YOU!"

It's hard when you think you deserve more recognition. It's hard when you don't know what end is up, what end is down, where you are going, where you are coming from. What should you make for dinner? Do I have enough time to stop at the store on lunch, or clean out the van that has crackers, orange peels, tissues, cups, blankets, toys, crumbs, all over the place? What should I do next? Running in circles all the time. Sometimes, I remind myself to stop and BREATHE!! I can't even remember the last time I was able to pick up a book and read. Oh, how I love to read.

Lets' get down to business. Slow down, and just stop thinking in fast forward. The real truth is it's all so worth it. Really, who would I have enjoyed my mother's day with and went on a walk with accross the river bridge on Mother's Day while Jake was working. My kids.

As we headed home from Gma's house on sunday, I drove over the bridge as I do almost every day and saw the new bridge walk way, where all the families were taking a peacefull stroll admiring the river. So, what did we do? Mama parked the car, and said lets have an adventure! I wasn't sure what to expect, but this was it.


Almost to the top! I really thought I would be carrying Jonna a lot. It was the end of the day around 6pm, and they had both had their fill of playing. But nope, they both trekked away.


Did I mention how terrified I felt walking on this bridge while Jonna and Ben both felt the need to put their fingers underneath the fence and wiggle around admiring the huge river several hundred feet below. I think I have a small fear of heights. I wanted to stay RIGHT in the center of this walkway. Not my children. They felt the need to walk right next to the side of the fence that faced the river making sure to stop and lean into the fence to get a real good look.


Breaktime on the way down.

Seriously with two sweet kids like this that take a break to come give me a hug and say they Love me all the time. I mean me. Their Mom that sometimes forgets Ben's bookbag, or Jonna's diaper wipes for daycare. Oh, or did I mention when I pulled Jonna's elbow out of socket trying to keep her from falling down the stairs.
I would be lying if I didn't tell you how completely overwhelmed I feel sometimes. Even feeling like I fail as a parent, yes, those are the times, when I ask, "What am I doing wrong?!" or More so, "What can I do better?!"

Every day is in a adventure, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Okay, I am lying. I wouldn't mind a full nights' sleep. Sometimes, it is a little hard being a parent.

Mama's day 2011 and our Mexico Trip.

A great Mother's Day weekend. With family. Ben and Jonna played, played, and played some more with their cousins.


Jake worked mother's day, but he did let me enjoy an afternoon free of the kids on saturday, when I got to go watch Katie have her final senior soccer game ever. She has an injured back and will not ever play again. She actually wasn't supposed to play this game, but the coach said with parents permission he would start her. And well, as any kusick girl does, we are stubborn, she didn't really ask Mom about doing it, she just went for it! Can't blame her. She looked awesome out there. She wore her back brace the entire game, so she was good. It is a hard plastic brace that covers her thoracic to lumbar vertebrae, and doesn't have much give. When one girl ran into her, she hit the brace pretty hard. Didn't stun Katie, but the other girl let out a yelp. Nothing like running in to a brick wall :).


Daddy and his little mischievous girl!

Sunday, we went to church with my family. 6 out of ten kids made it in. We went on a picnic that entailed a nice long walk, fried chicken, corn on the cobb, watching "duck" wars, and going down the slide 1,967 times.

My babies! Ben's shirt is very truthful.

Jonna is such a stinkin doll.

Man, I love her!

So, we did it. We bought new appliances! This is our trip to Mexico.

I love them.

Grown up decisions. Beach or new kitchen.

Awesome part about this, is we will enjoy them everyday. And thank heavens for Uncle Jim and his lakehouse. We will be enjoying some sun, water, and vacation time there this summer, and it will be fabulous!
Gma and Gpa Holee have an ETA of this Friday! We cannot wait!!