Christmas with T-Paw



 TJs parents got Riley some clothes, a hat, two ornaments, shoes, head bands and a cute little bear. We love all her new stuff. Her little feet are still so tiny she's barely able to keep her newborn size shoes on but hopefully she will be able to fit in her new shoes soon! I am so excited about all of the baby ornaments we got from different people this year. Next year Riley's Christmas tree in her room will be packed (which I love)!

Riley with her T-Paw. She thought he was so funny. I love this picture of them.

Walker Family Photos 2013

The last time we took family pictures I was a baby and sitting in my moms lap so it was about time.



Christmas 2013

Christmas 2013 was so special for several reasons; it was Riley's first Christmas, my sister's first Christmas since getting her own place and the first Christmas for my little family.

Christmas Eve TJ and I decided to bake a birthday cake for Jesus. TJ did most of the baking and decorating himself. I was beyond impressed with how it turned out. I do believe he will be doing the baking from now on.

It is a tradition in my family for my siblings and I to spend the night together Christmas Eve & "Catch Santa". So, in the spirit of tradition, this year was no different. TJ, Riley and I spent the night at my parents with my brother and sister.  Christmas morning we get up bright and early to open gifts.

Santa brought Riley diapers, wipes, formula, and some toys. Riley got some adorable clothes from her aunts and uncles and lots of books from her Nana.

TJ got a new gym bag, jacket, pants, cologne, blender bottles, daddy diaper bag, money to order custom shoes, and boots for the fire academy.

I got some new workout clothes, an outfit, sleeping pants, baking dishes, towels and a camera.

I wish I would have known I got a new camera so I could have opened it first so some of the pictures would be better but now that I have it I am very excited to have better quality pictures to share.

Our family & friends came over to eat lunch.  

 My mom & grandma, two of the classiest women I know. I am beyond thankful that Riley will have them to look up to as she grows up.

 This is my brother Ky (right) & my "brother" Brant (left).

 Aunt Shelly, Uncle Bryant & Riley.

Riley with her Lolli & Tootsie.

This Christmas really made me feel so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives to love and support us and to be there for Riley as she grows. All material things aside; the gifts that God has given me in the past two years far surpasses anything I could have ever dreamed of.

 One of the most amazing gifts I have ever received is my amazing husband. He supports me, loves me unconditionally, and does whatever he can to ensure that Riley and I are happy. I could not be happier than I am right now.

Miss Riley was absolutely exhausted from all of the Christmas excitement. Poor Thing.

 



Week 14 & 15

Sorry I couldn't upload a progress post last week, life has been crazy! I did see some great results, however, I am down to 182lbs which is only 2 lbs away from reaching my second weight loss goal since Riley has been born (every 20lbs is a goal). I forgot to change the "week 14" to "week 15" in these pics but I am on week 15 and these are the results! I can tell that as I shrink my skin is getting looser so I am upping my water intake and ill be scrubbing with an exfoliating scrub every night to help increase my skin elasticity.

Though I am far from were I want to be I love looking at pictures and being able to see results. I hope everyone on this journey with me stays positive and keeps striving!



My Little Project

I am a HUGE fan of childrens' books. We read Riley a book every night before she goes to bed. Fortunately, my mom saved all of my favorites and my siblings favorite books and gave them to me after Riley was born. When we did her nursery, however, I didn't put a book shelf in it for some weird reason. My amazing grandma found this cute shelf for twenty dollars and brought it to me to re-do.

Eventually I pan on putting flowers on the sides but who knows if that will ever happen. I needed to get the books off the floor so its in the room like this.

 



Week 13

Super excited about my progress this week. I am down 3.6 pounds and 11.25 inches.

Waking up at 4:30am every day has been rough and this past Friday my alarm didn't go off so I was unable to do fasted cardio in the morning and had to makeup my missed workout Friday night but I think the only thing that matters is that I did it! 

 

 

 I am the leader of the weight loss competition this week with a total of 30 points, however, I could not be more proud of my accountability partners. They are both working so hard and seeing great progress.

 

 

How to Stay Motivated and Achieve Your Goals

I have gotten so many questions about how I stay motivated to workout and eat right. The truth is, its freaking hard, especially on weeks where I work my butt off and see almost no results. With that being said I am going to share with you some of the things I have learned that help me stay on the right path.

• Accountability: Let everyone in your life know what your goals are. Put it on social media, tell your co-workers, your family, and your friends. The more people who know you're trying to lose weight the less likely you will be to grab a burger at lunch or skip a workout. Try and find a partner. Someone you know is in a similar situation and wants to lose weight. There is strength in numbers so it will be easier for you to exercise and eat right if you know you're not alone. I do understand that not everyone can find an accountability partner (I lost all 60 of my 90lbs without a partner at all) in that instance I suggest the things below.
• Visualize: Follow people on social media that you find inspiring or that you would love to look like, print pictures of your most influential people and put them all over the place. Yes, you may get some funny looks when you have guests but who the heck cares...it works! Our fridge and workout room is covered with pictures. If you see people you are super envious of every time you go to the fridge I promise you that you will reconsider what you're about to eat.
• Inspiration: Pinterest is the mecca for inspirational and motivational quotes. Find some that really get to you and write them down on sticky notes, posters, notebook paper, ect. and place them all over your house, car, desk. Basically, stick them where you will see something all day to keep you thinking positively and on the right track. One of the quotes I constantly run over and over through my head when I am dying during a workout and wanting to quit is "You can always go 30 more seconds." Simple as it may be, I repeat it over and over and it keeps me going. Find the words that drive you.
• Clean Out: Throw out all of your junk food and all of your temptations. I mean all of it. Take 30 minutes before you go to the store and plan your meals for the week. If you cook for a family there are plenty of healthy dishes you can cook that wont derail you or it is just as easy to throw an extra skillet on the stove next to your family's hamburger helper and grill you a chicken breast. There is no excuse for not eating healthy. I hate when people say they don't have time to make healthy meals or cannot afford to. Those two statements are excuses my friends and where there are excuses you will not find any success. A bag of apples costs exactly the same as a box of cupcakes at Wal-Mart..I checked. If you can afford junk food you can afford fruit.
• Prep: "Fail to prepare and prepare to fail." Another one of my favorite quotes. Meal prepping is not always easy or convenient but it is an awesome way to hold yourself accountable during the week and save you money! See my meal prep routine here.
• Schedule: On the Biggest Loser years ago Jillian Michaels told one of her trainees that going to the gym is like going to work or to a business meeting, you don't miss it unless its an emergency and you have to schedule it into your day. Do you think I want to get out of bed at 4:30am to be at the gym by 5:00am...no...but I do it because it is the only time I could schedule it where I knew it would not be canceled or interfered with unless an emergency came up. If you don't have a gym membership or hate the gym there is no excuse for not getting a good workout at home.
• Backup Plan: Always, Always, Always have a backup plan. If for some reason you cannot get outside for a run/walk or cannot go to the gym there are so many ways to get a good workout at home with absolutely no equipment. Jumping jacks, lunges, high knees, Russian twists, pushups, sit ups, planks, squats, ect. are all very effective forms of exercise and require nothing but your body to complete them.
• Be Realistic: Do not expect to drop 5lbs in the first week. Most people do not see those kinds of numbers on a weekly basis if ever. The first time I started trying to lose weight I did not lose one single pound or one single inch for the first 6 weeks then BAM 20lbs fell off. After that, another 6 weeks went by with no progress even though my diet and exercise were on pointe. Do not get discouraged. I used to tell myself all the time that as long as there were no gains I was succeeding. Learn to view the success as something other than the number on the scale or measuring tape. The success is the way you feel when you can run just a little farther or lift just a little more weight. The success is your husband, children, family, friends telling you theyre proud of you.

We do not live in a world that makes it easy to lose weight or live a healthy lifestyle but it is 100% possible and the bullet points above are some of the things that have helped me achieve that; I hope they help you too.

 

xoxo

Loving this "Mommy" Thing

Lately, it seems like everyone has been asking how I am doing or how I like being a mommy.

I am so thankful for having so many loving people surrounding me who care enough to check on me. The truth is, becoming a mom was the most wonderful yet the most difficult experience of my life. Anyone who knows me, knows I am selfish by nature so being 100% responsible for another human beings' happiness was quite an adjustment for me. Mentally I really struggled all throughout my pregnancy with the way my body was changing and once Riley was here I experienced alot of resentment early on towards my husband for still getting to look freakishly hot and workout all of the time and for not having to be glued to a baby 24/7. I know most of you reading this are probably like "whoaaaa she just said that" but I am not ashamed of how I felt because tons of new moms struggle with those things; they just wont admit it. I don't think my difficulty adjusting to motherhood is anything to be ashamed of. It was a struggle I overcame so I am proud of it.

I started back at work 3 weeks after having Riley; I am just not cut out for the stay at home mom thing. Fortunately, I am able to bring Riley to work with me every day so before anyone goes postal on me for going back to work so soon..its not like I missed out on any time with her. Working full time with a newborn was kind of tough especially since I was exclusively pumping breast milk due to Rileys inability to latch. It sounded like and ice cream machine was running in my office at all times haha.

Getting back in the routine of working out was tough. With a little girl who refused to sleep, a husband training for a fitness competition, a house that needed cleaning and working all day finding time to workout was difficult but at 4 weeks post partum I started walking on the treadmill for 30min-1hr every day and slowly added more weekly.

As many of you know, I am SUPER high maintenance so not having the energy or the drive to get fixed up every day was so hard for me. Between my crazy hair, red face, the newly developed bags under my eyes and my post baby body I felt terrible about myself.

It has been 3 months since I became a mom & I am proud to say I have finally gotten the hang of the daily routine. Riley is still not sleeping much so getting out of bed at 4:30am to go to the gym is difficult but I know it will pay off in the end. I am still in the process of getting my body back but getting an hour to myself at the gym to work on myself ha honestly been the best thing for me mentally. My confidence is back and it is nice to have an hour that is just dedicated to me and not to doing things for others. You can follow my fitness journey on this blog as well.
Working full time is not getting any easier. As Riley gets older, she is awake more often and demands way more attention. I am so blessed to be surrounded by family and friends at work who spoil her just as much as I do and are happy to hold her and pay her the attention she needs when I need to finish up with a task.
Getting ready every day is so much easier now that Riley has discovered Sponge Bob haha. I prop her up in the morning when her daddy leaves for work and she watches it while I shower and do my hair/makeup. If she has a morning where she is a little more needy I try and come into work earlier and finish getting ready in my office.
All in all I would say that I am absolutely loving this motherhood thing and again, I am so thankful for all those of you who have been checking up on me.

xoxo

Thanksgiving 2013

This year has been the most wonderful year of my life. I am so thankful for my sweet little family and for all of my extended family. TJ had a four day weekend for Thanksgiving, which never happens, so we took advantage of it and jam packed the whole thing full of fun!

 

Thanksgiving with the Walkers:

My sweet little girl loved looking at the fire her G-Dub made her!

Sitting in front of the fire again...this time with Uncle Ky

My little turkey's first Thanksgiving outfit..I made the fabric skirt myself and my Aunt embroidered the onsie for her.

My cousin Travis, his wife, Angie and son, Nat came in to visit from Mississippi. I was really excited to get a good picture of Nat and Riley since they are the only great-grandkids on my moms side of the family so far but as you can see..Riley was dead asleep and Nat was not too sure about being on TJs lap; I think it was actually his first time to meet TJ because he was at the gym the last time they came down.  Oh well, one day they will be old enough to sit still for a good picture.

 

Thanksgiving with the Williams:

TJ's family is so fun, they are all full of personality and there is very little idle time at one of their family events so I completely forgot to take more pictures but this one is the one that really mattered. This is Riley's first picture with MawMaw, TJ's grandmother. I really wanted a picture of all of the grandparents and great grandparents the day she was born but unfortunately, MawMaw had to leave before they brought her to me from the nursery so this is a special picture for us.

 

Averi's First Birthday:

TJ's sweet cousin Holli threw her daughter, Averi, a birthday party while they were down even though her birthday was on the 20th.

 



The chalk board I did for the party

How awesome did they do on this cupcake owl cake?!

Trying to get a picture of all of the kids...you just cant wrangle a bunch of one year olds haha

The sweet birthday girl showing off her icing and battle wounds! She is beyond precious.

 

We also got a date night over the Thanksgiving break, which never happens!

We went to watch Mandy & Sarah's husbands' DJ/MC

We had a blast