Fitbit: Drop it like it's hot.

1 Year, 45 Weeks.


I've really let myself go, I'm not ashamed to admit it.  After nine years of blissful marriage,  3 kids, and an affinity for gourmet foods high in flavor and goodness calories, I had gained 25 pounds and 2 pant sizes since walking down the aisle back in 2003.  Sure, I can make excuses for why I never stayed around that weight but honestly the only person I can blame is myself:  I just stopped trying and never got it back.  That is, until 2 weeks ago.

Enter Fitbit.

These 30K steps also included 175 flights of stairs!

We were introduced to this tiny device by the Grodacks back in December.  Basically, it's a step counter, but truly it is so much more.  It's like having a personal mini motivator that is attached to your hip at all times.  Not only does it count the number of steps you take in a day, but it tracks your distance in miles, counts the daily number of flights of stairs you've climbed, and tells you how many calories you've burned.  It also monitors you when you sleep and tells you how long it took you to fall asleep, how long you actually slept and how many times you woke up during the night!  And that's just the unit!  On your account online you can set personal goals, track your progress, analyze your stats and historical data, log your daily food/water intake and activities, and manage a weight loss program. And what's fun is that you can be connected to friends who also use Fitbits and see where you rank among them!  Talk about some peer pressure!

Anyway, Tangie and I have started really utilizing the device and programs and are really getting into it, so much so that we're always trying to make sure we hit our daily step and climb goals by the end of the day, usually with a mad scramble!  Sometimes I'll even "forget" something upstairs for the purpose of getting that extra climb to go back up and get it, so I really don't know how efficient I'm being.  But it has also motivated us to be more active and eat healthier.  What, you say?  But Allen, how can gourmet food be both delicious and healthy?  Simple.  Take away or reduce the stuff with the high calorie count:  butter, creams, olive oil, sugars.  And keep the artisan cheeses to an ounce or two.  And cut junk food, soda, and late night binging!  And last but not least, some moderate exercise.

So, that's what we've been doing the past 2 weeks.  I've been averaging walking 17,500 steps, or roughly 9 miles, each day, my best being over 30,000 steps/17 miles in one day!   Tangie and I take turns to go walking/running each evening after the kids fall asleep, and I've been dutifully making sure we're cooking and eating better at home.  And it's paying off;  The bathroom scale is starting to be a lot nicer to us!   :)

I went from this a couple weeks ago...

to this.   The years haven't been too kind.

Okay, let's see.  Last weekend was one of those no activities/plans kind of weekend, with the exception of a birthday party on Sunday afternoon.  Friday was very nice to have a quiet, un-rushed supper with Tangie and Braelyn after the twins went down.  Friday evenings are one of my favorites, as we can just revel in the peace that comes with the Sabbath.  It's also an opportunity for Braelyn to stay up later and spend time with Mommy and Daddy without having to share us with the twins, so I know she looks forward to Fridays, as she usually says "Today is Friday!  It's my favorite day in the whole world!"  God really knew what he was doing when he created Rest.

They made a choo choo train out of some boxes.

Sabbath was Corey and my 4th consecutive and final week performing teaching up front at Sabbath School.  It was a lot of fun, and great to share in the experience with all our friends and their kids.  But I'm going to give it a rest, at least for a while.  I don't know if my body can take any more abuse ~ I'm not as young as I feel!  But I did gain a bigger respect for rhythm gymnastics/floor ribbon exercises!  I can't wait for that event at this summer's Olympics in July.  No, not really.

We picked up some lunch on the way home to try to get the kids down for a much earlier nap than usual Sabbath/weekend times, to try to get them down around the same time the following day because of a birthday party.  Why someone would plan a party during everyone's nap time is dumbfounding but whatever.  I'll save that rant for another day.  Anyway, the twins had a hard time going down earlier, especially Maddy.  She would not sleep, and would shout and bang on her crib, the noises coming over the baby monitor which made it hard for Tangie to get some actual rest.  Kohlden slept through it though.  The boy can sleep through most anything!  After naps we took them to a park near the trail, where after they played, we went for a 2 mile walk, just to get our steps in!  Nice scenery and good weather, although a bit chilly, which called for jackets.  We're such lightweights!  We headed home for supper, and after the children were down, Tangie stole away for a late movie with Corey and Jennifer, while I stayed home and watched the NBA All-star weekend and completed 10 loads of laundry.  Such a wonderful husband, I'm proud to say!

Walking the West Orange Trail.

Braelyn was such a trooper and biked the whole 2 miles!

On Sunday we wanted to go to a park and tire the children out before noon, but the weather wasn't cooperating.  It was overcast all morning, and by the time we wanted to head out it was starting to drizzle.  We decided on a whim to go downtown to the Orlando Science Center and take advantage of some indoor educational entertainment.  We also convinced ourselves it would be beneficial for us to get the family membership, so we can go as much as we want for a year.  Especially with the summer rains.  So we went and the kids had a fun time, though we were there for only an hour.  We did bump into Heather Cochran and Kieran, along with William's parents.

Cereal for breakfast on Sunday.

Running down the walkway to the Science Center.

Working in the wood shop.

Brae and Kieran run the controls on the locomotive.

Maddy finds her own set of wheels.

Tangie finds an inconspicuous place to sit down!

The twins had a hard time going to naps, as expected.  The birthday party was at the RDV, a good 20 minutes away and it was slated to start at 2.  That only left an hour if we had to wake them up.  I was a little put off by the whole situation, so I decided to let the twins sleep and only Tangie and Brae would go to the party.  She woke Braelyn up at two and paid dearly for it:  Braelyn was in the crankiest mood, crying and uncooperative, and when they arrived at the party 30 minutes late Braelyn wouldn't participate or play with anyone.  Lesson learned ~ Do not compromise naps!

Monday was all gray skies and rain...

but that didn't damper Maddy's spirits!

Watching the rain fall down.

Tuesday evening unexpectedly gave Tangie an unpleasant surprise.  Everything was good up until she was about to head home.  I was finishing cleaning the children's dinners and prepping ours when I got a phone call from her letting me know that the Pathfinder wouldn't start in the parking garage.  She had tried to get it jumped but the starter wasn't even clicking, so would I be able to come pick her up?  So I quickly loaded the kids sans shoes in the van and drove downtown to pick Mommy up, which led to skipping baths and later bed times.  What a bummer!  The Infiniti's starter had died on us several months ago and now this!  Our two older cars are really showing their age!  Anyway, we did some research online that evening and found something that if you take a small hammer or something and lightly tap on the starter the car could potentially start up again, and then Tangie could drive it to a mechanic.  Problem was, the starter was located under the battery and below the engine.  So Wednesday Tangie took the Infiniti to the office and during lunchtime she attempted the tap trick.  It was dark in the garage so she just stuck her arm down the hole where the starter would be and just started slapping around with her hand.  She slid behind the wheel, breathed a prayer, and turned the ignition and voilà, the Pathfinder came to life!  So she drove it to a mechanic, but quickly retracted when she saw how many cars were in line to be fixed.  Then she remembered something she read on Corey's blog about her having a good mechanic that she trusted, albeit clear across town out by 436 and Aloma.  So Tangie went there and had the guy check it out, calling me to see if I could pick her up and bring her back to work.  That meant that the twins would be napping in the van as I drove the 45 minutes there.  Kohlden finally fell asleep just before we arrived at the shop but Maddy of course refused...too many distractions.  On the drive back to Tangie's office I decided to just pick Brae up from school early, since we were already on that part of town, and go to the Science Center, which unfortunately is closed on Wednesday's, as I found out when we walked into the building to complete silence.  Oh well, back in the car to go home for another ordinary evening.  Pathfinder report came back negative;  He couldn't find anything wrong with it.  So now the Infiniti is in the shop to replace a bleeding power steering reservoir.  Tangie is very ready for a new car.

Tuesday, sunny skies, and dry enough to play in the park.

Taking an afternoon walk with big sister.

Sharing a close moment at Costco...

before things turned very sour.

Brae fashions her own seat out of sofa cushions,

Meals this week:

Seared Salmon with Edamame.

Fruit sorbet with...fruit.

Sautéed Salmon with Peas.

Sautéed Chicken on toasted Basmati with chilled Asparagus Squares.

Randoms/Neighborhood Watch:

• So on Thursday last week I was just starting our morning walk with the twins, when I came down from our driveway and turned onto the sidewalk and noticed a man walking up the street towards us with his head down.  When he heard the wheels of the wagon on the sidewalk he looked up, saw us, and immediately made a u-turn, went across the street and started walking away from us.  I thought that very odd, and with him now going in the same direction we were headed, I decided to follow him, from a very safe distance (don't worry grandparents!), and on the other side of the street.  We followed him for a good twenty minutes, as he zig zagged around the streets and sidewalks of the neighborhood, looking back at me every couple of minutes or so, to see if I had made the same turn as him.  He also kept bending down beside random driveways and it seemed as if he was picking pebbles or something up and putting them in his pocket.  After he had had enough of us tagging behind him, he bent down to pretend to tie his shoe, while I caught up and passed him, he eyeing us the entire time.  After I passed him he got up and turned around and went the other way.  That was when I called the front gate and had the security guard call the police with the man's description.  The twins and I went back home and got in the van to head out to Costco, but I decided to drive around the neighborhood to see if the cops had arrived, which they had not, and to see if I could find the suspicious individual, which I did.  I headed back out to the gate and told the guard he was still walking around the area, and Antonio informed me that the police were indeed on their way, so we drove out.  Later that afternoon I was talking to my neighbor behind us and shared the story and he confirmed that the gentleman was one of twin brothers that lived in the subdivision with their parents, and that they suffer from Schizophrenia, which explains why he kept picking little things up and always looking over his shoulder as if someone was following him, when in fact, there was someone following him ~ me!  So...in making sure our neighborhood was safe I was actually not helping with the man's condition!  Awkward!

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Quotable quotes:

• I was in the kitchen cooking and and thought I caught a whiff of a dirty diaper.  I turned around to see who was the guilty party and noticed Madelyn was closest to me:

          Me:  "Maddy, did you go poo-poo?"

          Madelyn:  "No."

          Braelyn:  [as I check Maddy's diaper and find nothing]  "Daddy, she's lying."

          Me:  "No, she didn't go.  And she wasn't lying.  She doesn't know about lying."

          Braelyn:  "Why?"

          Me:  "Because she's just a baby."

          Braelyn:  "No she's not!  She's a toddler!"

          I stand corrected.

• We were having dinner and the twins weren't touching their vegetables, so I tried to utilize Braelyn to help me encourage them.  So I asked her to eat a carrot and show the twins how good it tasted.  As I got the twins' attention Braelyn picked her carrot up and held it up.  Both Kohl and Maddy followed suit.  Braelyn ate hers and said, "Mmmm!"  Kohl copied her and said, "Mmmm!"  Maddy looked at her carrot, then at her brother, and then put her carrot on Braelyn's plate.

• We were just finishing up baths, and I was pouring buckets of water over all three to rinse them all off completely, when all of a sudden Braelyn stands up, and with her hands palms forward in a defensive position said, "Okay, okay!  Enough with the water!"

Have a great weekend!