12WBT Update

So I thought I'd do a bit of an update as we're now in week 3. The food is delish! Like really really YUM. Not just that, but really easy to prepare and cook. Admittedly, I have had a few bad food choices and at the party on Friday night I did drink one or two(or four) glasses of Jacob's Creek Sparkling Moscato.

The part that I'm struggling with is the exercise. I'm really really finding it hard to get out there and do it. I know I'm making excuses, but I'm struggling to pull out my 'just fucking do it' card. It's going to change though because I'm going to just have to pull some motivation from somewhere. This week I'm going to my first pole dancing class with 3 women from work. It's going to be a lot of fun and I hope that it's going to be a great workout too. This is really embarrassing but I'm quietly freaking out that I'm not going to be strong enough to carry my own weight on the pole. Buuuut, if I can manage then I think I might sign up for the beginner course. We'll see. Stay tuned.

I forgot to get on and mention how much I lost last week(at least I think I did? Shit I can't remember what I had for breakfast the day before most days!). Well I was 1.6kg down. I honestly am not expecting any kind of loss this week though, we shall see I suppose....I'm being a bit blase about it all but deep down I am crapping myself! Haha.

By the way, Skinny Cow Coffee flavoured ice cream cookies....O.M.G! And only 124 calories each!!

Meep!

How sad is it that I have to resort to blogging on my iPhone at 11.30pm just because I simply do not have the time to sit down and write something.

Does anyone get the impression that I tend to overload myself with things? Why oh why do I do this to myself. And how have I not crashed and burned yet?

So what's been happening in Casa MamaTee? Well my kids are as feral as ever. Ah well, not quite that bad but I can tell school holidays are right around the corner by judging their behaviour. Jye is just about toilet trained besides him pooping right in the middle of his brothers bed and then proceed to tell me about it. He was as proud as punch.

Friday night I escaped the mad house for a few hours *gasp*. One of my workmates is turning 21 and invited me to his birthday bash at the pub. It's always so interesting to see people outside of work when they're not on their best behaviour. It was a good night but boy did I feel so old being almost 30 and all.

Saturday was my cleaning and procrastinating day. I have assignments due on Monday and I was going to get stuck into it...then the kids and I went next door for a BBQ and bonfire and came home late.

Today the hubby was at home for most part of the day and AWAKE! He usually sleeps through the weekend due to nightshift. In fact, he is at work right now. So anyway we decided to take the kids to a school fete about 20 mins away as it was sunny and warm. And because hubby and I are like jinxed or something, it poured down with rain about 15 minutes after we arrived!! Bloody hell! All we managed to do was have a feed and because we were all soaked to the bone, we left. Of course it stopped raining by the time we got home and was clear for the rest of the afternoon. Grrr!

So now it's midnight. Jeez it's slow typing on my phone! I must get some sleep before another action packed week ahead!!

12 Week Body Transformation

I'm ashamed to admit that I have gained some weight back over the last few months. I worked so hard to get to under 80kg, I don't know what the hell happened to me but 12kg is back on my body. It's been really hard to get motivated, especially when I know what I need to do to lose the weight. Why is it so hard? Why do I keep sabotaging myself? And you know what sucks the most? I've kept the weight off the top half of me(read boobs) and have put it on around my waist, butt and thighs. As if they weren't big enough already. *sigh*

I really, really need to pull my head in. I have to get out of my comfort zone and just fucking do it! There is no excuse and I've got to stop hiding behind them. If I've got time to sit on Facebook, then I have time to exercise. I won't by crap food any more and I need to get organised and have meals frozen ahead of time so when I can't be bothered cooking, there is no need to go to the take away. It's time to really get serious about this, no more half arsed attempts. The only person I'm hurting is myself.

With that said, I bit the bullet and signed up to Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation. In case you've been living under a rock, Michelle Bridges is one of the trainers on the Australian Biggest Loser series. She created the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation, where each week she provides a meal plan, workout plans and there is plenty of support. The forums are great, but the Facebook group for the Perthies has been amazing thus far. There are so many women there who have shared their stories, their before and after pictures, etc it is so inspirational and it's given me motivation to do this.

So there will be more posts from me as I transform this body once and for all. I don't want to get to 30 having spent all of my 20s being over weight. I am committed to this program and I WILL KICK BUTT!!! And that's a promise!!

Floss your Teeth!

{Image from here}

On Tuesday, I went to the dentist. You're probably thinking, 'yeah, and....'. Well I'm ashamed to admit that it's been about 10 years since my last visit. Yes. TEN years. It's not because I have a fear of dentists as I spent like 3 wearing braces. No, it was because I couldn't afford private health insurance(dudes, I was so poor that I lived 4 months without electricity when I was 20). I couldn't afford PHI which means there was no way I could afford the full cost of visiting the dentist.

My perfect job has an incentive with a well known PHI company and offers a corporate discount of 8% for our entire family and gets deducted from my pay packet before I get paid. Now we are in the position to go see the dentist, etc for a low out of pocket cost and I asked the hubby to book me an appointment for this week. He loves me, he really really does. So much in fact that he booked my dental appointment for my BIRTHDAY. Thanks hun, I love you too.

Let me tell you, I was crapping myself all day Monday. How bad are my teeth? What if they need to be taken out - every last tooth in my head! Don't tell me I'm being silly because I know a woman who is younger than me who had this happen to her. What if he tells me off and makes me cry on my birthday of all days? I realise I will probably need some work, I've had 5 pregnancies with morning sickness each time. That stomach acid has got to do something awful to my teeth.

Before I even sat in the chair I blurted out, "It's my birthday, please don't tell me off!". He examined my teeth and I do have a bit of tartar build up which he cleaned off my front teeth. I'll have to go back in a few weeks to get the rest done. Other than that I have to get one, maybe 2 fillings and he's going to just fill some of my molars a bit and seal them to protect them. The BEST news of all is that I won't need to have all 4 of my wisdom teeth pulled out like I thought I would have to. They have all completely ruptured and have come in straight with space to spare. Thank goodness for that!!

It wasn't so bad in the end(though he did lecture me about tartar and flossing because I admitted I don't floss...ever). Oh and he dropped his little mirror tool thingy on my face. Not cool Mr Dentist Man. I will go more regularly now and I will floss every day, I really would like to keep my teeth. My kids told me they were so proud of me and asked if I got a sticker and a colouring page and then proceeded to tell me that my Dentist sucks and I should go and see their school dentist to get the freebies!

What's your plan?

Home invasion. It is happening alot here at the moment. Basically every day this week I've heard it on the news of people being victims of home invasion. It is a massive, massive fear of mine. Especially being the wife of a night shift worker, meaning I am home alone at night, almost every night - with 5 kids.

Even the photo gives me the creeps when I know it's not real. I can't have the mindset that it won't happen to me. It might, it might not but I would rather be prepared to know what I can do than have it happen to me and not knowing how to protect my children.

First things first, I make sure that my doors are locked at ALL times. Including the deadbolt. I believe those chains that allow you to open the door partially are a load of crap. If you can have a peephole, USE it! Lock your fly screen door too if you have one. ALL THE TIME. Home invasions can happen at any time of the day! Having security screens on your windows is a good plus and if you have an alarm system, make sure the warning stickers are visible.

I sleep with my mobile phone under my pillow and I have important numbers on speed dial. I have a baseball bat down beside my bed. My eldest children know to try and escape the house without being seen and go to the neighbours(who are my in laws) and to be noisy outside their house to wake them up. My only fear is that they can't get out, all our bedrooms open into an open space, it's very hard to sneak anywhere. I thought that I could just get all the kids into one room and barricade ourselves in, but how do I do it with kids so young who don't understand why Mama is dragging them out of bed(plus I don't have enough hands to carry 3 sleeping toddlers).

It's not very nice to think about but every family should have a plan on what to do if this happens to you so that you can do your best to prevent any of your family member and yourself from getting hurt. My heart goes out to the victims of these home invasions and I have no idea how people can do this to others. They truly are evil beings.

I'm 28!

Heeeey!!

I celebrated my 28th birthday on Tuesday. I spent the day....at work. My workmates are AMAZING and my desk was drowning in banners and balloons. It was so very cute and warmed my heart. In return, I baked some yummy lemon meringue and devil's food cupcakes for them all and it was very much appreciated by all. So much that I am baking more of my yummy cupcakes for Cupcake Day for the RSPCA.

Hubby took me out for dinner that night. Just the two of us(doesn't happen very often). It was fun and I'm glad we got some time alone out of the house, even though I was so sick(damn cold!) and could have just gone to bed at 5.30pm instead of going out.

So....28. Another year closer to....*gulp* 30. How the frickin' hell did that happen? 10 years ago I was pregnant and scared shitless. There were no career goals or anything like that because I was going to enter motherhood...five times over in less than 8 years. That was that. I never really gave my career a second thought. We had our business and I learnt alot, but we were still very focused on family.

Then we came back to Perth and in financial poo. It was time for me to get my career going. I was over the retail jobs, I am so not a shop assistant kind of person, but I also knew it would be a bit of a struggle to enter the corporate world - funnily enough I love paperwork and such and I craved a fancy desk job. Don't get me wrong, I have worked on and off in various jobs in between children, one of them being a PA role for about 8 months. We were struggling on one income, so I had to bite the bullet and I landed my current job when Tahnee was just shy of 12 months.


I love my job. Like reaaaaally love it. The people are great, my supervisor and I are always laughing about something. We all spoil each other with lovely morning tea every week. They are paying for me to get a formal qualification - my cert 4 in HR. Now I can actually complete not two but THREE qualifications in a year, cert 4 in Business and cert 4 in Frontline Management. Not just that, but the Director seems keen to keep me with the company and when I suggested that our OHS Manager trains to become a First Aid Trainer so we can do Senior First Aid in house for our staff(as she holds a cert 4 in Training and Assessment), he approached me and said he thought it was a great idea but he wanted ME to do it! So if all goes to plan, I will have 4 qualifications by the end of 2012. Wow. Someone up there is looking out for me. Suddenly my career goals are being fast tracked and now my opportunities are endless. After the shit year we had last year, I am feeling incredibly blessed this year.

I still get shocked looks from people when they find out that I am a mum of 5, I work full time and I study. They ask me how I do it. I dunno, I just do it. Yes, I am tired(it's 9.15pm peeps, and I could have gone to bed an hour ago - I was just catching up on my shows after the kids went to bed). The early bird stuff is not my thing because I have ALWAYS been a night owl. Alas, the perfect job comes with it's bad points and for me that is the 7am starts - but the 3pm finish is perfect for right now. My house is a mess, it rarely stays entirely clean for more than a day but I will touch on this a bit more another time.

On that note, I'm off to my empty bed to get some sleep while the hubby is working hard tonight with a bad back. *sigh* The things we do.

When it rains, it pours!

It literally has been pouring here in Perth over the last week. Many people are grumbling about the rain and how they're getting wet getting the kids to school, or at footy. I probably would too if I was the one picking up the kids, but I'm not. I'm safely tucked away inside my office with the heater blowing at 24 degrees. While I agree that the rain can be a bit of a pain, lord do we need it! If only it would just bucket down between 6pm and 6am, then most people would be happy.

So anyway, the title wasn't really anything to do with the weather. Things had been going really good for us as of late. REALLY good. Perhaps too good. Then it all comes tumbling down.

My kids brought home their school reports. They are not doing so good with their writing and grammar. One is having trouble with his reading. We read with them all the time and I am really at a loss at what to do.  It is sooo hard as a parent to know that your kids aren't doing well, it makes me feel like I'm failing as a mum and I can already see the looks in their teachers faces at the interview that plainly say that I'm not cut out for this job. *sigh*

Our lovely boys like to use half a roll of toilet paper every time they poo. No joke, I can hear 'MUUUM, I need more toilet paper' at LEAST once a day. Well. This came to a head 2 days agow hen Owen flushed the toilet and it overflowed. Water ran into the bathroom, into my linen closet and down the hall. Not cool. A bottle of bleach and 2 days later the smell has finally gone. ARGH!

I've had to listen to Bailey sobbing all day because I refused to let him go to his football match in the rain with an earache. Such a mean mummy I am.

Bailey has an earache. Need to take him to a doctor.

I think I have gingivitis. EWWW!!! It is really quite gross and I am waiting to get into the dentist and brushing after anything passes through my lips until I do. Major freak out about my teeth falling out and all that, but we won't go into detail on that one.

The landlord from our old business is giving us grief and it looks like we are going to be going to court over it. So stressful and really lame(it's over a whopping $800). When I am stressed, I eat which brings me to the next bad thing...

I have GAINED weight. You wouldn't believe how annoyed I am at myself, I keep saying I'll buckle down and I haven't. My eating was out of control again. I haven't gone and had my fat captivation done because there was a fire in the shop next door, causing damage to the clinic. That's on hold until they reopen. Gah.

It is tax time. Enough said.

Seriously, what is next? When can things be really good again? I was really enjoying myself.