30-Day AB Challenge

So since having Emmett,my physical fitness(aka-routined exercise) has sort of not happened...like hardly ever.I lost pretty much all of my baby weight early on after E was born;but I attributed this to 1)I don't have a growing child inside of me,2)I hadn't gained more than expected with any typical pregnancy,3)I was nursing,and 4)I was still eating pretty healthy.Well,after a few months some weight has slowly come back. :P I like to be outdoors,but I kept putting things off with the excuses that it is too hot to do anything,and that I'd do more stuff if Brian were around more.Anywho,so as I was scrolling through Facebook one day recently,I saw an ab challenge that looked like it'd be a great way to re-introduce an exercise regimen back into my daily activities.Apart from the day to day tasks of this challenge,I am trying to go on a 20-30 minute walk with Emmett.And if I am lucky,I'd like to weed for 30 minutes to an hour while E takes one of his naps.Hopefully it also doesn't stay so hot like it has been lately because E can only stand it so much...Yesterday,I tried to take my mom's two dogs on mine and E's walk(by myself),which was not as terrible as I expected.But it still wasn't that easy.So,here it goes...I will try and take a picture each day(without sucking anything in),as well as the first picture being the calendar of the daily ab challenge tasks.Wish me luck!

DAY ONE- JULY 18 -206 lbs.

DAY TWO- JULY 19 -206 lbs.

**so,funny story...I was already kind of tired before I did my workout the first night and did a harder workout than it has you do.I somehow thought it had said to do 5 planks,but thought it was weird it didn't say how long to hold the plank.So I figured a minute would be a good goal for each one,even though I didn't think I could hold it quite so long.In actuality,I ended up doing five planks,each ranging from 30-46 seconds.That first night,I also figured I was supposed to hold each leg raise for a certain amount of time.I picked a minute for my goal on that one,as well.When looking at tonight's workout,it dawned on me that I am only supposed to do one plank and it ups the interval of time to hold it each day.As for the leg raises,I am pretty sure I am just supposed to do them all in a row,constantly moving.Since I survived the first night anyway but want to be able to reach the goals as laid out with the other tasks,I figured I will do a combination of what I originally thought I was supposed to do and what I am actually expected to do.**

DAY THREE- JULY 20 -203.8 lbs.

DAY FOUR- JULY 21 -REST

DAY FIVE- JULY 23 -206 lbs.

** I fell asleep last night before I could do my workout,so I had to do it today.I will still be doing day six's workout tonight. **

DAY SIX- JULY 23 -205.8 lbs.

DAY SEVEN- JULY 24 -206 lbs.

** It is definitely getting harder,but also easier(if that makes sense).It is harder because each day the reps/amount of time per task increases and continues to push my body.The only thing I do more than required is the planks.I am only required to do one for a certain length of time,but try to do anywhere from 2-5 for whatever set amount of time.This routine has also gotten easier,in the sense that,It is now loads easier for me to do a sit up than when I first started,I can do more of a continuous motion of each exercise(rather than having to stop lots of times in between,or cheat and do a slight easier variation of whichever task),etc.I have also noticed a dramatic increase in my energy levels,and am able to get a lot more done(even with E's extreme crankiness,possibly teething,bad attitude) lately.I am still exhausted by he end of each day,but it is a good exhausted because I am able to feel like I had a productive day.Not like before,when I would as though I barely got anything done and the day just wasted away. :) **

DAY EIGHT- JULY 25 -REST

DAY NINE- JULY 26 -207 lbs.

**  :(  I m going to try doing my workout sometime during the day,instead of a little while before bed.Even though schedule-wise,it fits in better at night;I am hoping it will help with losing weight.  **

DAY TEN- JULY 27 -205 lbs.

** One-third of the way through! **

DAY ELEVEN- JULY 28 -206 lbs.

** Even though the numbers aren't showing it just yet,I can definitely feel it in my abs.And personally,I think it shows a little bit in the picture... **

DAY TWELVE- JULY 29 -REST

DAY THIRTEEN- JULY 30 -205 lbs.

DAY FOURTEEN- JULY 31 -206 lbs.

DAY FIFTEEN- AUGUST 1(COMPLETED AUGUST 2) -206 lbs.

** Brian and I had a wedding to go to on the 1st,and I was exhausted afterwards.So I ended up doing my workout the next morning,technically my rest day. **

DAY SIXTEEN- AUGUST 2 -REST

DAY SEVENTEEN- AUGUST 3 -206 lbs.

** I thought maybe I wasn't trying hard enough these past couple workouts,because when it came to the plank,it was extremely hard to hold it for the specified duration.But tonight I tried doing the plank at the beginning of my workout,and could do it just fine... :) **

DAY EIGHTEEN- AUGUST 5 -205 lbs.

** Yes,I skipped a day...but I'm back! :) **

DAY NINETEEN- AUGUST 6 -204 lbs.

DAY TWENTY- AUGUST 7 -REST

DAY TWENTY-ONE- AUGUST 9 -204 lbs.

** Yes,I may have skipped another day(or I guess just postponed);but it is HARD going back to this workout after a lovely rest day.But I keep at it because it makes me feel better and I have started seeing results,so why wouldn't I keep going? :) I can do it! **

DAY TWENTY-TWO- AUGUST 10 -204 lbs

DAY TWENTY-THREE- AUGUST 11 -205 lbs.

DAY TWENTY-FOUR- AUGUST 12 -REST

DAY TWENTY-FIVE- AUGUST 14 -204 lbs.

DAY TWENTY-SIX- AUGUST 16 -203 lbs

** Life happens.I have been SUPER exhausted lately(who knows why...),but do you know what?I figure that as long as I don't completely give up on this thing and actually finish it,then I am doing pretty good. :) I have noticed that I am not the best when it comes to finishing any type of project/goal.So when I started this challenge,my one,true goal was to complete it.Sure,I had hoped to be even better and do everything as scheduled out.But I realized that if my goal is to finish and if I don't let myself get caught up on the details of it,then I have a much better chance at succeeding. :) **

AUGUST 20(Variation repeat of day 25)

** I skipped working out for a few days because of various excuses(some more legit than others...).But then I got on the scale and it had said that I had gained back some of the weight I had worked so hard to lose.I know it is not about the number,but that doesn't mean it is any easier to see that number sometimes.So,I recommitted and thought it would be better if I re-did a couple days,in order to get back in to finish strong. :) **

AUGUST 21(Repeat of day 26)

DAY TWENTY-SEVEN- AUGUST 26 -203 lbs.

DAY TWENTY-EIGHT- REST

DAY TWENTY-NINE- SEPTEMBER 10 -200 lbs.

** Only about 7 more pounds until I am back to what I was when I became pregnant with Emmett!Although that is still not my ideal weight,I will be thrilled to be under 200lbs. and back to where I was before,at least. :) **

DAY THIRTY- **I never made it to this last day because I was pregnant.I tried my hardest,but just had absolutely no energy at the beginning of my pregnancy and having a one year old to take care of as well.I plan on doing this again a month or two after Charlie is born. :)**

The Married Life

So,Brian and I have been married for a little over a year and a half now...boy,how time flies!It hasn't always been pretty or what I might have expected from marriage,but we're doing alright.The wedding in August 2011 flew by way to fast.Our honeymoon had just as many disasters as the wedding planning/day.And our second reception wasn't what I had hoped it to be.But it's easy to only notice the bad if that's all you're focusing on.But when you look at the big picture of things,you're able to find the rays of sun: (1)We actually got married and a lot of family members were able to be there for us, (2)We were given two great things to do for our honeymoon,that way we didn't have to go camping, and (3)Trixie[our car] actually made it moving us across the country,even when we later found out that she shouldn't have made it.So yeah,there are always going to be rough patches and hard things to go through;but as long as you can still find that silver lining to your gray cloud,then there's hope you'll make it through after all.Marrying Brian has been one of the best decisions of my life!And although we weren't able to make it to the temple to do sealings on our anniversary this last year(because I was 7 months pregnant),we were able to get there a day after our semi-anniversary(aka-Valentine's Day 2013) and it was wonderful!It was so nice to kneel across the altar again,holding the hand of my husband and just think about all that has changed for us in the last year and a half...Moving to Colorado,finding jobs,getting pregnant after a miscarriage,and finally having our little E here to love and snuggle and teach things to.I couldn't ask for anything better...And now,E is just over 8 months old,Brian is back to school,and I'm learning the ropes of being a mommy more and more each day!Here's some pictures of what the last year and a half have brought us,and hoping all of the exciting things we have ahead of us.What a ride it will be! :)

Here are some of our favorites from our engagement pictures. :)

Here are some favorites from our wedding. :)

And a little over a year later,we added a new member to our family.

 One Month Old

Almost Two Months Old(Christmas 2012)

Three Months Old

Four Months Old

Five Months Old(Visiting Cousins for the First Time)

Six Months Old

Seven Months Old

(Almost)Eight Months Old

I will definitely add more pictures of Honeymoons(and yes,that is plural because we were able to take two :) ), Family Vacations, and of course, Emmett(birth story and as he has/is growing).I hope if anyone reads this,you enjoyed hearing a little bit about almost everything.  :D