Ella Plays in Leaves!

Arizona's version of Fall has begun! Last years leaves seem to be falling off our trees again as new leaves are sprouting in their place. Ella LOVES this "Fall" and loves playing in the them. I promised her I would take her out for some fun and we had a great time! Here are some photos of her playing and "jumping" in our leaf piles! Enjoy!

No Pain No Gain

So I want to explain to everyone why you did not see my stats posted this past Sunday... I realized after a month of working out on my own and seeing no results on the scale that I needed some professional help. So I am now working out with the help of a trainer at my gym. I have been working out with my trainer for less than one week and already I can see a huge difference. I have NEVER pushed myself as hard as Whitney is pushing me. She also put me on a meal plan and CRAZY cardio plan on my off-days. Anyhow I just keep telling myself "You can do it, you can do it". I go into the gym with a fierceness like I am ready for what you throw at me. I promised Whitney I would not be WENDY WHINER the whole time we worked out, and if I was she could call my hubby. Whitney by the way has two kids under two (like me) but has the body of a 22 year old with no kids who spend all day playing in South Beach. (not like me- LOL. But that's okay because she is helping me get there!)

Anyhow point is I want to share something funny that happened today. We were doing upper body today and literally instead of resting between sets there were jumping jacks and up/downs and mountain climbers galore. Normally I would just sit there and look around in between sets when I worked out alone, or maybe sip some water. I literally reached a point of physical and mental exhaustion and slammed into a wall hard. I just started smiling and Whitney asked me why and I told her it was all I could do to keep from crying. (I felt like one of the people on The Biggest Loser). This happened to me three times during the workout where I was fighting back tears. Whitney kept telling me "You are not going to cry - You can do it" and I was thinking "this bitch is crazy" but I did it! And I told her "I promised you I would giver you 150% and I would never say no to anything you told me to do, and I would never whine and complain and go at it half ass when I worked out with you. But I NEVER said I wouldn't cry while doing it!" She cracked up. But then I told her she better not go easy on me or lighten my load when she catches me smiling like an idiot, which is my "poker tell" that I am about to burst into tears! LOL. Thankfully for me, she said "Don't worry- I wont!" Wink wink!

This is CHANGING my life!!! Once I do this I will NEVER go back to being a couch potato and not having exercise be a regular part of my life. Heck I am exercising so much I don't even have time to blog more than once a week anymore or go to playdates! Now you KNOW I must be busy if I am not blogging every day!!! Just Kidding!

PS- Mom and Sis came to visit and Ella played in Leaves and I have all these cute photos to post but will get around to it when I am not so sore and so busy! Stay tuned for my weigh in next Monday too! It is going to be GREAT!!! You watch!!

Ella loves her little sister!

So Ella's door has the hardware turned around where her door lock is on the outside. Might seem inhumane and Supernanny would surely scoff at my lack of parenting skills for having to resort to such tactics but after 4 weeks of my child getting out of her toddler bed over and over for 2-3 hours straight just for the pure joy of one of us walking her back to her bed, we decided to end the game for her. Anyhow sometimes the door does not close all the way or the lock doesn't click into the door jam or something and when El wakes up in the morning she is able to escape. The last two mornings in a row this has happened and instead of coming into my room to see me (which she did the first time she escaped her cell) she now goes into Baby Ryen's room! Not only does she turn on the light and wake her up, but she runs to the kitchen and gets my step stool so that she can reach Ryen's crib and can hold her hand and talk and sing to her. It is so adorable I just had to grab my camera! See photos below:

Anyhow Ryen seems to LOVE seeing Ella this early in the morning and is all smiles and giggles when Ella wakes her up this way. I just have to say I have been so amazed and impressed with how much Ella loves her baby sister. There has never been an ounce of jealousy since the day Ryen came home. Nothing. She wants to touch her, kiss her, hold her hands, smile at her and make her laugh every chance she gets. Now dont get me wrong, I am not deluding myself that in 6 mos or so she will be ripping toys of our her hand and they will already begin their sisterly fighting. But for now I am enjoying the blissful peace of siblings! Here is a cute video too!

Another Weigh In Sunday

Hello everyone! Didnt want anyone to think I was trying to avoid weighing in today and updating you all on my progress. I have just been busy visiting with my Mom and Sister Lisa who are in town. Anyhow today was another weigh in day and another day to post my excercise for the week to hold myself accountable. Was not the week I had hoped for but it is hard to stay focused and on your routine with family visiting. I did have a weight loss, but not much. Here are the training stats.

Monday: Body Combat: kick boxing class at the gym (kicked my butt!)
Tuesday: Swim training 200 meters in lap pool
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Off
Friday: Body Pump: High energy fast paced weight lifting/strength training
Saturday: Off
Sunday: Ran 20 minutes/walk 10/abs/steps

My weight this morning was 146, down a pound from last week. My plan to drink 8oz of water BEFORE eating anything and before having anything other than water to drink was going well for me and when I picked up my Mom and Sister on Wed I snuck a peak at the scale and it was 144. But then Dunkin Donuts trips, card games etc has led to not as much water and a little bit of snacking. Hopefully this week will be better!

Update: 2 mos 3 weeks till wedding. 3 months till triathlon!

PS- I got my maid of honor dress on. I have only an inch that I shouldnt try to zip just yet. Other than that it fits! Yeah! I am confident it will look great come April!

What a Morning!

Happy Sunday! I had the coolest morning today. First, both our kids spoiled us by sleeping till 7:30am. Which is RARE! Then, I go in Ella's room and she starts throwing every stuffed animal in her bed on the floor. My first instinct was to tell her NOT to do that. But I decided instead to start laughing. The more I laughed the harder she threw them and the more she threw until there was none left in her bed. So I threw them all back at her and the best stuffed animal fight EVER ensued! Daddy came in and climbed in Ella's bed with her. It got kind of funny because Daddy kept trying to grab a pillow or stuffed animal to lay his head on, and Ella kept yelling "Daddy I need that" because she needed more "amunition" to throw at Mommy! We went on this way for a good 10 minutes with lots and lots of giggles. There were monkeys, giraffes, doggies, bears, and gloworms landing on our heads and bouncing off the walls! Here are some pictures below! (My favorite is the way Baby and Elmo look like road kill!)


Anyhow because today is Sunday- it is time for me to post an update on my training and weight loss goals. My training this past week was as follows:

Monday: Body Pump hour long training session consisting of non stop weight lifting and cardio
Tuesday: Running 10 minutes/Biking 15 minutes
Wednesday: Body Pump hour long training session consisting of non stop weight lifting and cardio
Thursday: Swim Training 150 meters in lap pool
Friday: Off
Saturday: Off
Sunday: Bike 30 minutes

My weight this morning had not changed from last week. It was 147. While this was a little disappointing, I can say honestly, I am not sure it was too accurate. Yesterday I snuck a sneak peak at the scale and was down to 145. I think the problem is yesterday was such a busy day for me, that I drank literally no water at all. So my goal for this week is to force myself to drink 8oz of water BEFORE eating anything and before having anything other than water to drink. Hopefully next week will reflect this. Good luck to any of you who are trying to lose this week!

Update: 3 mos till wedding. 3 months 1 week till triathlon!

Triathlon and Dressathon Training

So I have officially started my training for my FIRST Triathlon. The AZ Tri for the Cure on April 19th. But you could also say this training is for my DRESSATHON which means I have a beautiful Maid of Honor dress that I must fit into by April 11th (8 days before!). So the training will come in handy for both.

When I got pregnant with Ella I was 127 pounds. When I delivered I was 160 (33 pound weight gain with her for you mathematicians out there!). When I got pregnant with Ryen I was 134 pounds, partly due to some weight I was still carrying from Ella and partly because of the pregnancy we miscarried in Nov 2007. When I delivered Ryen I was 170 (36 pound weight gain that time around). Since delivering Ryen I have lost 23 pounds and am down to 147 pounds. I would like to share my progress and training with all of you to help hold me accountable. By having to post once a week I will be forced to face the consequences! So be HARD on me if I seem to start slacking! I might need the kick in the butt!

Here are my starting stats and goals:

Starting Weight: 147 pounds
Starting Body Fat %: 24-25%
Starting Dress size: Size 12 (yes I am brave to be honest, but heck I had two kids in two years so oh well)

Goal Weight: 115-120 pounds (or my goal fat% whichever comes first)
Goal Body Fat %: 19% (only because I am so short and need muscle)
Goal Dress size: Healthy. (see below)

I am comfortable being whatever size I end up at a healthy weight and healthy body fat. If it is a 4,6,8 whatever. I have NO desire to be a 0-2 as I know my body and know I would have to be unhealthy to achieve that. Now, I want to stress that it is REALLY important to me that my girls have a positive body image and realistic image of what is fit and healthy. So I wont kill myself to achieve some elite athlete body fat or weight, since I am not an elite athlete, I am a homemaker! LOL. If you are wondering what is a healthy body fat % for your age I have included a chart below. I found it very helpful in helping me set my goals. If any of you are starting a healthy lifestyle or fitness plan this year, I wish you luck and would LOVE to hear about your progress as well!

Body Fat Standards for Women Recommended by Age Group

		20 to 29	30 to 39	40 to 49	50 to 59	69+
	TOO Low	<16	<17	<18	<19	<20
	Low	16-19	17-20	18-21	19-22	20-23
	Optimal	20-28	21-29	22-30	23-31	24-32
	Moderately high	29-31	30-32	31-33	32-33	33-35
	High	>31	>32	>33	>34	>35

New Years Photos

Our New Years was low key again this year. We had made plans to go to dinner and rent a movie. Jimmy and the kids and I went out to an early dinner. Afterwards, Ryen was being vomit baby so Jimmy stayed home with her while Ella and I went out to play with our friends in the neighborhood (who had organized an impromptu gathering). Here are some cute photos. I love the photo of Ella and her friend Tanner together (the adorable boy with the spiked hair)! I keep trying to arrange their marriage! LOL Ella played for a while and got good and tired. She had a real good time until Mommy dragged her out to go to bed, so that Daddy and I could snuggle and watch our movie and watch the ball drop. And sorry but I still find it disturbing and difficult to listen to Dick Clark these last few years.

On New Years Day Jimmy stayed home with sleeping vomit baby again while Ella and I met up with our neighbors again for Brunch. Our friends Yolanda and Britto (yes the same Yolanda who I rave about in my Christmas Fun and Yummy Treats post below) invite a bunch of us over every year for an all day Brunch. Yolanda stays by the stove cookin' eggs, sausage, fried dough, home fries, coffee cake, a full spiral sliced ham, etc along with fresh squeezed OJ, Champagne and coffee! The kids get to play and we all get to start off the year breaking our resolutions about healthy eating! LOL! But is worth it. Some photos of the brunch can be found on our babysite under the new years album www.babysites.com/sites/carillis

Hooray For Ella!!!

Hooray for Ella, Hooray for Ella!
Ella went pee-pee on the potty... Hooray for Ella!!
1-2-3-4, who we gonna cheer for? Ella! Ella! Hooray for Ella Yeah!!

Our first hour of potty training, seems to be going well so far.
I will keep you posted on our progress! Wish us Luck!

Look at this...

How would you like to walk out into your backyard and see this?



After dinner last night I heard this strange sound coming from my backyard. I couldn't believe it when I walked out. I grabbed Ella and brought her outside to stare in wonder as I took these photos. The funny thing is, living in Chandler we see this all the time! I can't tell you how many times we have pulled out of the garage to see the skyline filled with anywhere from 2-20 hot air balloons. Ella LOVES it! But NEVER before have we seen one so close to our house. The photo doesn't do it justice. Before we grabbed the camera the balloon looked like it had just lifted off from my backyard. Here are some more photos below.



What a way to start the New Year!!