{3 Months}

3 months until my birthday.  That also means less than 3 months until Christmas - eureka!  The purpose of this post is not to freak out about Christmas (I will save that until after Thanksgiving - staying true to my procrastinating side), but share a little personal goal.  I don't use my blog to talk about me much, I usually reserve this for exploiting my kiddos, but today it is to kick myself in the pants.

I am super critical of myself, what I see in the mirror, is not what other people see, and it is not because I believe myself to be a supermodel!  Having a daughter has dramatically changed my way of thinking - there is no way I want her to ever use the words fat or ugly to describe herself.  I want to lead by example for all my children, and I never want my size or fitness level to limit what I can do with my children.  So, back to my birthday.  It will be my 34th birthday, so 34 pounds in 3 months is my goal.  This is not a diet, I hate diets, I sabotage other people's diets, I hate when people say they are on a diet, when I fall off the wagon, I make up for any success in one sitting, mentally, this cannot be a diet - it has to be a "lifestyle change."  Ugh, I just turned into "that" person.  Don't you worry, I will not fill this blog with progress, complaints, or random thoughts, at least not about me ;) I also have to admit, I don't expect to meet my goal (already the wrong kind of thinking, right?!), but maybe putting my plan in public will make me hold myself accountable.  maybe...

So, my plan last night when I started this post was to find a few old pictures to highlight my "ups and downs" as I am a human yo-yo!  As I started looking through my old pictures, I laughed. I laughed a lot.  Pardon the extra pictures and get a good laugh at my past "looks" and also a few innocent bystanders!  (Don't mind the picture quality.  After Kole was born, I had a computer crash and lost everything, so the first few pictures were scanned in.  And, I didn't use my Photoshop magic on any of the pictures!)

{First dance with Denin - 1993.  3 weeks after our first date.  I can still claim baby fat at 15, right?}

{High school graduation - 1996.  Mom, seriously, your hair back then...}

{Engagement picture 1997 - Yes, at this point, picking on my hair is fair game}

{College Graduation - 2000.  Got married, enough said!  Hair didn't get a whole lot better either.}

{Pharmacy school graduation banquet - 2003.  I had time for the gym back then... 

 Even my dogs were thin! And, I discovered the hair straightener!}

{Post Kole pregnancy - some time in 2004 (remember the picture statement above...).  Back then I ran.   Back then, I only had 1 child.  Looking back, those days were a piece of cake!}

{Post Kamden pregnancy - Halloween 2006.  I don't dress like a cat everyday, I promise}

{Post Jyllian pregnancy - November 2010.  By far the heaviest I have ever been}

Doesn't it stink to see the age progress too?  My hair has gotten better, but now, I look older...   Anyone seen the fountain of youth?  I don't think growing old gracefully is something I can do!  That will have to be another blog post, another day - back to regularly scheduled programming! 

My ultimate goal is to be a happier, healthier, and fit mama - one that can keep up with her kids, and maybe make them catch me!  My other goal is to complete the Ogden half marathon next summer, and it is time to get started on that goal!  I'm counting on the two goals working together, at least that is my plan!  Thanks for indulging my plan and putting up with this post, and feel free to call me out on it this any day!