Baby Girl

So according to the sonographer, baby number four with be our third girl~!  Good in the sense that we have totes upon totes of girls clothing, especially since I went overboard with my first and bought way more than she would ever wear, but I do feel a bit sorry for my 1 boy.  I guess he and dad will have to stick close! This pretty much requires us to add a second level (and second bathroom) to our house.  Maybe even 2  more bathrooms.  I am excited, despite feeling a bit sad for Rory.  I really always felt like I would do better with girls, and my little man and husband are more than enough boy for me : )

Now for the picking of names.  I like unusual names, but ones that aren't way out there.  My children are as follows:  Tabitha Rose, Rory Daegan, Ember Madison    We have a much easier time coming up with girls names, however since we have already used two girls names that we both agree on, I think this time around will be harder.

If anyone has any ideas, feel free to share : )  We could use all the help we can get!

It's finally over!

Tax day has come and gone and I survived!  "Busy Season" as we accountants like to call it, gets harder and harder for me each year.  I miss so much time with the kids and when I am able to be home with them, the stress of work lingers or my mind keeps wandering to something I need to do when I go back.  Now, though, another hectic deadline has come and gone, and I will be readjusting to my part time schedule in a week : ).

I am happy to have some family time ahead of me.  There are also a ton of things around the house that I want to get done before the baby comes, so having more time at home will be perfect!  During the past two weeks, we were able to extend the old nursery out into a larger room for my two girls to move into.  We worked hard and were pretty much exhausted by the time we were done.  It still needs some finishing touches (moulding around the ceiling & floor and the window needs to be framed in), but for the most part it is done!  We got the girls new bed (thank you Beachbody) set up and they love it.  I am impressed with the quality.  It is one sturdy bed set and has tons of storage!  It was well worth the money I paid for it.

The picture above doesn't do the bed justice, and my camera got dust in it at some point during the renovations.  I am very pleased with it though.  Once the room is completely finished I will post more pics.  If your looking for a good solid bed with lot's of storage, check out

 http://www.csnstores.com/Berg-Furniture-22-Series-Promo-FX1047.html

They have many different variations of the bed we got for the girls.

Bombed the Clean Eating

Ok so I have to be honest here.  I lasted only a week on the clean eating.  There are a lot of things I could blame it on.

1.  Having to work 12 hour days and being fed by my firm.  The dinners that they provide are great....it saves us money and saves us time, but....while they aren't terrible for us, they also are not good for us either.

2.  Being pregnant and craving foods until I finally break down and eat them.

3.  Being stressed and losing my good mind frame because of the stress.

I can think of so many more.  It basically came down to a handful of factors.....I didn't take the time to prepare enough snacks/meals to bring to work with me and got hungry halfway through the day.  Since the vending machine price is only 25 cents this time of year, I wound up frequenting it when I got hungry.  I didn't take the time to balance out my proteins, carbs, fat etc. with the point of view that I am pregnant and have different nutritional needs at this time.  I found myself feeling weak, shaky and having no energy because I didn't have the right balance in the foods I brought with me.  My lack of creativity with Michi's ladder and being a vegetarian also caused some issues.  I am sure I was not getting enough protein.

I have learned a lot from the experience and can't wait to try again.  I have learned that I can only do so much, and even super moms need to stop and take care of number one once in a while.  Once I get through the time that I told my boss I would give him (full time through April 15), I am going to try again and this time I am going to do it right with my full attention!

Aspiring to be Fat???!!!

When most of the world is in search of the perfect body, where perfect body means something along the lines of slim, toned, athletic, muscular etc.  There are a very few whose ideal body image is fat and fatter.  How you can disregard the importance of your own life and the future of your children when you die at an unnaturally young age is beyond me.


http://www.aolnews.com/health/article/600-pound-woman-eating-her-way-to-dubious-distinction/19399734

Clean Eating Challenge Starts Today!

So, a group of coaches, coachees & friends of mine are doing a 20 day clean eating challenge.  Today was day one and I did a pretty good job.  Came up a bit weak feeling this evening, so I know I need to increase my protein intake during the day.  Ready for tomorrow though!

PART I of III:


RULES OF ENGAGEMENT:

1. You PRESS PLAY Five or Six Times a week, depending on your program. If you miss a workout, you're out of the challenge.

If you are not doing a beachbody workout, you should aim to do 3 resistance days and 2-3 cardio days.

2. You EAT CLEAN six times a week. YOU GET ONE CHEAT MEAL PER WEEK, NOTTTT a CHEAT DAY.

3. No additional cheat snacks. ONE CHEAT MEAL PER WEEK. PERIOD.

NO ALCOHOL DURING CHALLENGE PERIOD. YUP!

6. You have until Tuesday morning to take your measurements AND pictures. You don't have to post them, but you do have to take them. A lot of times you won't lose pounds, but your body will change. Don't miss that event!

THE PRIZE: A NEW FIT YOU!

Are you ready?


PART II of III:

EATING CLEAN DEFINED:

RULE 1: You eat 4 to 6 small meals per day, ideally breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and dinner. That means that you are eating every 2 to 3 hours.

Your body needs to be fueled. Eating only breakfast, lunch, and dinner is not okay.

RULE 2: You eat at least 1250 calories (unless you are less than 5 feet tall). I am putting this down because this challenge is about eating clean and being healthy, not about starving yourself.

A few people have asked me if I eat very low calories. For the record, I eat about 1800 to 2000 calories per day these days!

RULE 3: This is more like a guideline than a rule. You follow something close to a 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat diet. For those of you doing carb manipulation or following a special plan for diabetics, that's fine, too. Again, I just don't want folks to think they are eating clean if they eat 4 bowls of cereal per day. Your meals have to be balanced.

If you need a meal plan, email me or ask your coach. If you are BB Club Member, you can print one out. It's up to you to substitute foods from Michi's Ladder.

RULE 4: This is the real challenge part: YOU EAT ONLY FROM THE TOP 2 TIERS of MICHI'S LADDER 6 DAYS A WEEK. That means that you cannot have bagels for breakfast nor frozen yogurt for a snack. Top 2 tiers. Period.

I see that bagels are now in the top two tiers. I would stay away from them, but if they are in the top two tiers you can have it.

To See Michi's Ladder, sign on to your teambeachbody account. Go to EAT SMART Tab and you'll find it there.

If you don't have a free teambeachbody account, go to www.beachbodycoach.com/momof3 and sign up for one now!  There are a lot of free tools available!

The Throes of Tax Season

I am back....finally.  This tax season, my three kiddos, and pregnancy has me wiped out!  I have been working some long hours, spending little time with the kids, and not getting enough sleep (according to my weary eyes and low energy levels each day).  I love being a CPA and doing tax work.  I especially enjoy doing large corporations & state tax work, however, I hate the hours and stress that come with the deadline driven profession.  This is partly why I chose to become a Team Beachbody coach.  I want to be able to stay part time and still have enough money to raise my (soon to be) four kids and *gulp* be able to help put them all through college should they choose to do so.  The main reason I became a coach is because I love the products & it motivates me to continue to try to be in the best shape of my life and therefore lead by example for my children.  I also like to think that I am helping the world become a healthier place...one person at a time.

I have one more week left until the first of two spring deadlines is over.  The March 15th deadline encompasses the business entities of corporate form, and the April 15th deadline encompasses the pass-through entity & Individual returns.  Since my run isn't heavy in the area of 1040's, once I make it safely through to March 15th it should be smooth sailing at only 50 hour workweeks til April 15th.  My typical weeks leading up to March 15th run around 60 to 65 hours a week.  Not fun!

I just have to take it one day at a time and one week at a time.  On the plus side, once I hit March 15th, there will only be 2 weeks left till we find out the gender of the baby!

Roller Fun!

Call me crazy, but I decided to get my almost 5 year old a pair of rollerblades......solely for the purpose of getting myself a pair too!  I remember how much I loved my blades when I was a kid and I miss it.  I am sure my OBGYN would not be happy at all to hear that I plan on going rollerblading here soon, but what she doesn't know won't hurt her :)

I took my daughter out on her blades this afternoon and she managed to stay on her feet! I was very impressed with just that fact.  She doesn't quite understand how to turn her feet slightly to push off, but I am sure that will come with time.  My husband has guilt tripped me into buying a pair for our just barely three year old.  I am afraid that he will hurt himself, being a munchkin of a three year old as it is, but he was so sad to find out that he didnt' have a box with blades in them in the mail.  So I have ordered him a pair as well and plan to blame his dad for any accidents that befall him.  Just kidding.  He is actually pretty physically capable, so he might even be better at it than our oldest.  Plus we have helmets, knee, elbow & wrist guards for both of them.  I couldn't find anything made specificially for the tailbone.....that might be a problem!~