My fitness goals

My fitness goals used to include doing tons of cardio and getting skinny (think Keira Knightley). Now, not so much. Don't get me wrong, I don't think anything is wrong with that body type, just that it isn't my ideal anymore. I want to look fit and strong (think Jessica Biel).

So, I've been lifting heavy weights since September 2014.

Ignore my crazy facial expression. I was excited to lift the big plates for the first time!

I did a ton of reading and decided that weightlifting was the best fit for me. I'm following the Stronglifts 5X5 program for now. I was worried about bulking up, but it seems like that is only going to happen if I eat more than I burn. So, for me that leaves counting calories. I need to slowly lose the fat while building muscle.

It is really challenging getting to the gym. My husband goes to work too early for me to go in the morning, leaving evenings. It is hard to take away time from the family to make this one of my priorities. I usually try and wait until the kids are in bed, but then it takes away time for me and my husband. I have to do this though; I need to be healthy for my family.

Having a gym buddy helps and makes it less intimidating and more fun. The only issue is she has small kids too, so coordinating two schedules is even more challenging.

My goal is to make it to the gym three days a week.

Lifts (lbs):

Squat:        45>>>100
Bench:       45>>>60
OHP:         45>>>50
Rows:        45>>>70
Deadlift      45>>>140

Number three a bit late.

I joke around with my friends that this baby will have his birth announcements mailed out with his graduation photos. So, don't feel too bad that I haven't shared anything about baby number three.

Eddie was born last spring and it has been wonderful. I never thought I would have a boy and now that he's here we can't imagine not having one. The birth was the best one yet and everybody is healthy.

My first goal of the year is to have his nursery organized and tidied so that I can share the changes I've made since Neve lived in there. She is now sharing with her big sister Laney.

Neve's tropical coloured nursery

I guess it's nursery week.

This is Neve's (now empty) nursery. We moved her in with Laney a couple of weeks ago. That transition is another story, but for now I wanted to show her nursery as is before making changes for the new baby boy.

We didn't know Neve's gender while we were pregnant. I wanted a neutral nursery that would work with a girl or a boy and since I love blue that is what I used. I tried to avoid a baby blue and used a blue that leaned more towards turquoise (Shallow Waters, can't find brand online). Mike installed the wainscoting up the two long walls and we painted them a warm white. I wish that we'd done this instead of the chair rail in Laney's nursery.

I framed a couple of pictures from a calendar my mother-in-law had given me a few years ago and I think they are very sweet. The mirror came from Home Sense. The crib and change table came from Laney's old nursery as did our antique dresser (you can see it in Laney's old nursery here.) The wall decal was a steal from Dollarama. The diaper holder was from my nursery when I was a baby.

We aren't making a lot of changes before we welcome our new addition in the spring, but I do have some things to change around. I'm looking forward to getting this room ready for baby!

Source List:

Paint-                A colour called 'Shallow Waters', brand unknown

Mirror-               Home Sense

Bookshelf-        IKEA

Map Picture-    Children Inspired Design

Curtains-          IKEA

Glider-              Babies'R'Us

Laney's sentimental nursery

These days I'm into decorating my home. I've been reading tons of interior design blogs and websites and perusing Pinterest when I have down time. I plan on sharing my house in its original state and the changes I've made over the next little while. I don't really have any natural talent for decorating, but I'm doing my best to learn and to make my house feel like a home.

So, this post takes us back to the first room I ever really decorated from scratch. Sigh. It really doesn't seem like very long ago.

Laney's very first nursery was in a rental house, so I wasn't able to make any changes to the room itself. I was very happy with how it all came together, however. We did find out that Laney was a girl before she was born, so this room was off limits to our family and friends as we kept it a surprise until birth.

We bought our first house when she was about six months old. I was so excited to decorate a house for the first time. Laney's room was the very first one we finished. Mike installed the chair rail around the room and I painted everything. I chose this light green, (Behr Disney- Skipping Stones) for the top half of the wall and a warm white for the bottom as I didn't want the room to end up looking like a pink explosion. I wanted to be able to change the colour scheme easily in case I ever had a boy.

The curtains I made from a children's themed pink toile fabric I ordered online from fabric.com. I used very basic online instructions to make them lined with blackout fabric. Laney has always been a light sleeper so being able to make the room as dark as possible was necessary. My regret about the curtains is that I should have made them bigger and hung them so that they were higher and wider. Like this. When I did my second nursery, I hung my curtains high and wide and even though the window is the same size as Laney's it looks twice as big.

The picture with the Amish girl is something we bought in Pennsylvania to honour Mike's roots. His mother's side was Amish. I had it framed at Michael's when they had a sale on.

The painting was done by Mike's grandmother and I love it in here.

The dresser is a family antique passed down to me from my grandmother. It isn't super sturdy and I would like to have a professional fix it up a bit down the road.

The Peter Rabbit picture was found by my mother-in-law at an antique sale. I love it.

I really wanted a traditional looking nursery with soft soothing colours. This was probably my favourite room in the house (and still is even though a lot has changed in there). The kids' rooms are definitely the only rooms I feel are "finished."

I love using old and new things when I'm decorating and since I'm a little sentimental, it is nice to use items that have been passed down along with adding new things I love. 

Welcome

Here I go for a second round. Blogging that is.

For me this is a place for me to jot down my goals, aspirations, and keep a journal of daily life. Maybe  something my children can look at down the road (for what I'm sure will end up looking like a glossed over version of reality). I'm not too big on putting it all out there, so you will likely just see the good stuff. I don't want it to portray a fairytale life where everything is perfect, but at the same time I don't want to dwell on the negative here.

I've really considered my kids' privacy when starting this blog. You definitely won't find embarrassing stories or intrusive photos here. I will share small tidbits perhaps, but my main goal is to give them the gift of their own personal online history. I don't want their names coming up in a google search until they begin creating their own online footprint. Hence, I use aliases here for the kids instead of their real names. and I will do my best to always consider their privacy when posting.

So what can you expect to see? 

The main purpose I had in mind when creating this space was to share my goals, plans for reaching those goals, and successes and failures.

My interests will definitely be shown here. Fitness (or lack thereof) cooking and baking, my attempt at crafts and decorating my house will be here. Maybe even a bit of DIY. I guess this is likely to end up as a lifestyle site. 

Oh, and maybe a little bit about my current pregnancy with number three.

Welcome.