Um, exercise. Wait, what?

I think everyone- at least most women- are aware of some physical trait (or many) that they don't like about themselves.  Some people may weigh themselves constantly, or wear tons of cover-up make up. Some may slavishly straighten/curl their hair every morning, or obsessively pull out the premature grey strands they find creeping in.

I've generally not been one to obsess over such things, but of course there are a few things about my own physique that have mildly annoyed me through my life. The most notable is the weird way my hips tilt forward, when I feel like I'm standing perfectly straight. This makes it look like my stomach is sticking out weird; even back when I was quite skinny it drove me nuts to see pictures of myself like this. The only way to alleviate this tilt is to consciously tilt my pelvis at an unnatural angle and kind of curl my shoulders forward, so that I feel like I'm stooping over. I don't do it very often.

1999-ish? My kids asked who this was when they saw it!

Luckily, ever since I got married eight years ago, I haven't really worried about it much at all! Then I had four babies. Many women obsess over loosing the "baby weight" after they have given birth. I have been lucky to usually loose most of my pregnancy weight within a few months...and I don't own a scale so I only discover this when I go in for a checkup or something. 

After the first two I lost it all quickly; after Jonah I did retain, oh, about 10-15lbs, but I didn't really care. Then after this last one, I did get back to my "post-Jonah" weight without much effort. However, while I don't have much extra weight, pregnancy does affect my body shape a lot!

 I have never had much core strength, and after being stretched out for four babies, and then cut open for two c-sections, my stomach is having issues. Combine this with that weird pelvis tilt thing, and danged if I don't look like I"m about 5 months pregnant still!

Now of course I know how to take photos of myself so this isn't noticeable, and I have some clothes that hide this flaw, but dang it, I'm tired of being too embarrassed to wear some of my favorite shirts!

So because I don't feel like I have a "weight problem", I've concluded I don't need to modify my diet. I need to exercise.  Shoot.

I'm just dreading some stranger asking when I'm due! Ugg. Nice door-nob behind me too.

Now on to my second problem. I hate exercise.  Sure, I love a good walk with my family, an occasional game of catch, but the second it feels like exercise, I'm out. I think it has to do with my bad psychological association with PE classes, which I have loathed since middle school. I excelled at every other subject in school, but I always felt like the biggest moron in PE. I don't understand the rules to most sports (probably because the teachers assumed you already knew the basic idea of various sports, which I didn't). I hate anything to do with a team, because they'll all be mad at me for making them loose. 

On top of that, I have weak joints so my ankles pop when I run, my wrists can't support my weight when I do pushups (This is much worse now that I'm older) and my shoulders also pop during said exercise. It usually took the entire semester to work up to doing ten sit-ups, because my abs are so weak! (I'm lame, I know.)

I hate working out in front of other people (so mortifying) so even if I lived somewhere where there was a gym (I don't) and I didn't have kids to watch all the time (I do) there's no way I'd go to one. Same thing with running in public places. I would die of embarrassment  if I tried to do zumba or kick boxing or something that sounds cool, before you actually do it. I know this because I felt that way when we had to learn line dancing in PE! (Yeah, what's that all about?) Besides, at the moment I score a zero in stamina, so I wouldn't last five minutes doing something that intense.

Ever since I've cautiously concluded that I need to get over this aversion to exercise, I find myself making even more excuses. I don't have anywhere to work out (my floor is too hard, my bed is too soft). I don't have workout clothes or sports bras, only jeans and shirts I don't want to sweat on. (I know, stupid, right?)

So, I've been bookmarking stuff on pinterest trying to motivate myself,  things like workout mats, nice sweat pants, special routines that target abs, etc.

But then I realize, oh yeah I don't ever have money, and even if I did, why would I use it for this? Then I start thinking, "I never cared what people thought about my looks before, do I really care now?" 

And I'm back to square one. So...I guess I posted this picture to motivate myself further. Because if people know you're working on something, you're more likely to do it, right?

Is anyone else working out? What do you do to motivate yourself?

Elijah at six months

I know, enough with the pictures, right? Sorry, Elijah is six months old, and it is imperative that I document this momentous occasion for all my children. Except for Joshua of course. But we've already discussed that. There's something about the six month mark that just seems to be a turning point in a baby's life. This is when they can suddenly start doing stuff. They can sit up, they can eat food, they can hold things, and from now on they just keep learning and growing so quickly!
With Eli, he also just suddenly seems so much bigger. He's been such a shrimp, well below the 5th percentile for a while, which was a little scary, but now he is finally filling out and growing! He looks a lot like Elora at six months too, which is a little weird. Check it out, this is Elora at six months:





Okay, now I have to post pictures of everyone. Cause I'm the mom and I can. Here is Jonah...wait a minute, THEY ALL LOOK ALIKE!





And no, I don't have a six-monther of Josh,but here is a very cute nine-month old!

Okay, now that we've taken care of that trip down memory lane we can see Elijah! As you can see, I've become fond of the sheet background for the six-month picture; it's just easy. Although, when I look at these I realize, wow I should have ironed those sheets. This time, I actually pulled down the curtains in Jonah's room to use as the backdrop, because I just love the blue gingham.
 And I know these pictures aren't that exciting to those who aren't Eli's mother (everyone but me), and may all look the same to you, but I have a really hard time picking one to hang up. Not only are there the different expressions (well, different to me) but I can't decide whether I like the faded edges, plain edges, or the faded picture style best...I have made all three versions of most of these and still can't decide. Which do you think is best? (And some of these may look blown out (too bright) but I did that on purpose, since my pictures always seem to get printed too dark, and I want to see if it makes a difference.)

I have several close-ups:

the conservative smile

the happy smile but not at the camera (with faded edges)

the tongue (with faded edges)

 And there are a bunch that show his whole body. I like these, except that it looks like he's down in a hole a little bit. Which he is, because it's on my bed.

the finger. So to speak. (faded edges)

looking up (faded edges)

the psycho-cute smile (no fade in this version, but I have one)

cute smile (with faded edge, that may be overdone?)

Then I love these where he has his sock, of which I did like four versions. This is the one example of the "faded picture" I was talking about. I like it, but I also love those bright colors in the others. Do you like this style?

which version of "The sock" do you like best? I've got to print one of them for sure.

  So, is there a style you like better? Close up or far away? Or one particular shot out of these you think I really need to print? I would love your input.
Thanks!

Joshua's...4 3/4 year-old pictures?

Poor middle-child Joshua. Okay, he has two younger brothers, and only one older sister, so technically there is no "middle" child, but if someone in this family fits the bill for middle child, it's Josh. Especially when it comes to pictures.
Everyone else in the family has had their pictures taken on their birthday, and sometimes about the middle of that year. When they're babies, everyone got newborn, three month, six month, and one year pictures. Everyone but Josh. Somehow, we missed him at six months, counting Easter pictures as his "nine month" shots. He did get one-year-old pics, but everything after that was a little off. The majority of his wall pictures were shot at some random time, and were chosen out of vacation pictures or random outings with the whole family, instead of his having a special photo shoot like Elora and Jonah usually get.
I don't do it on purpose. Josh just doesn't pose well; he wiggles a lot and gets bored easily! And every time I realize we've missed taking birthday pictures again, it's usually so late I decide to wait a few more months.
Anyway, this last week, I was planning on taking Elijah's six-month pictures. I had been contemplating Joshua's wall photo and thinking about him too, but I kept putting it off. I wanted to try taking Eli's pictures outside for a change, but it turned out to be too windy, and he just can't sit up well enough yet for him to sit safely on the hard ground instead of a bed. I was feeling frustrated, when I realized, "Hey, Josh is wearing a cute shirt. I should take his  pictures!
Joshua was actually thrilled at the idea! I felt bad because I realized he hadn't had his own "photo shoot" since he was about 16 months old (when it was Easter), but he'd had to sit by and watch me take Jonah's and Elora's pictures these last few years. Poor guy! He was still wiggly and silly ( I took about 86 pictures and kept about 15, most eliminated because he'd move and not be in focus) but he did better than usual!
We had the usual places to take pictures, which may seem a little boring, but I guess it will fit with his siblings' photos from this year that are already hanging up!
I was looking for spots that were shady, since it was a pretty bright part of the day. First we found some nice stairs.

He actually did really great for his first shots! This really captures his personality.

I was surprised at how many cute faces he did,without wiggling too much.

 

He did especially well with Jonah trying to get in every shot!

























We did some other shots nearby, including a million on the often-used red gate. Unfortunately the sun was a little too bright, and Jonah kept wiggling the gate... as did Josh.

















Too bad, because I really wanted one of them to turn out great!

These bottom two are okay, but I hate how his arm looks all scrunchy and awkward.

 I also found this great wall, with a convenient sitting spot on the shady side! I was excited about it, but Josh didn't share my enthusiasm, so I only took one or two shots before he completely lost interest in sitting still. Oh well, I guess colored walls are becoming cliche these days.
























We then went over to the poles where we took Elora's six-year-old pictures. I didn't want to repeat the same thing, but they really are a good spot to block out the bright afternoon light.

what a handsome young man.

A lot of these turned out great too! I love him laughing in the upper right.

Finally I found a spot in these cattle chutes (I think that's what they are, but maybe I haven't read Pioneer Woman enough to know for sure) that was a bit shady. These were fun, and I love the light, but I wonder if the background might just be a bit too busy.

I love his silly look in the bottom left..and how red his hair looks!

So I'm glad I finally got around to taking some pictures of Josh...even though his birthday is still three months away. It's going to be hard to pick which one to hang up. Which do you like?

Lake Durkee on ice

This last week it was crazy warm around here; it even got up to 85F one day! Early in the week when it was rising into the 60s, I took the boys to look around the lake near Faith, after we had gone grocery shopping.

Yay water!

 

Josh's hair always grows crazy. I always think I'd like to grow it, but this is what happens!

 

The little lake was still half covered in ice, and we had fun tossing rocks out past the edges of the ice...okay, I'm the only one who could throw that far, and the boys were duly impressed.

wow mom! You throw like a super hero!

It's sad that the only way I can feel athletically awesome is to outperform my four-year-old. Eli napped in the car for an hour while we explored and had fun.

Then that Friday, Joseph decided he wanted to go metal detecting (yes, my dad gave it to him, and yes, he is way too excited about it) so we went back up to the lake and spent the entire afternoon there! Most of the ice had melted by this time, as it was around 75F. It was crazy windy while we were there-and the next day was much warmer- but we had fun getting out of the house!

We always have to commemorate the first picnic of Spring!

Eli gets his own picture..yep, he was there too.

Elora may look innocent in these pictures, but she was definitely being a Saucy pants while we were there. She wore her new rainboots, which are perfect for the mud. She however, thought they'd be perfect for walking in the water! More than once they filled with water and she was walking around barefoot, crying about the pokey grass and her wet legs.

"What? I'm just a cute little girl, right? Right?"

"Bwwaahhhahhahhaaa!"

At one point the kids found a curled up piece of chainlink fence in the water, and Elora convinced everyone it was a crab trap. I told her to not try and get it because it was way too far out in the water, and it was by a swampy muddy area, but apparently Elora didn't think I was talking to her. I left to use the facilities, and when I came back Elora was screaming because she was stuck in the mud and her boots were filling with water...again! Not only that, but Jonah had followed her and his boots, too, were stuck in the muck. As he tried to pull them out his foot popped loose and he got his sock all muddy. Joy.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

As the afternoon stretched on, Joseph searched around the grasslands for hidden treasures. (Apparently, he's actually in a vollyball court right now.)



While the rest of us explored the surrounding marsh. Yay for no mosquitoes yet, or this would've been a lot less exciting!



Eli loved being outside for so long, he even kept laughing at the wind blowing in his face, though I tried to keep him facing away from it.


 

It was a pretty good day.