OK, so when people that have not seen you in a while actually tell you how amazing you look, and when you upload pics of your family get togethers on Facebook and people start asking you how you managed to lose weight, you know it is working and paying off. I am not on the USN challenge to win the competition or to end up looking like a bodybuilder, I want lean muscle and I want to fit into a size 8 dress.  Tick on both.  I am super chuffed with the results thus far and I am not even halfway there yet.  For someone who had two kids, the youngest 6 months ago, I have an amazing tummy...I am not a vain person, but wow!  All those friggen crunches and core exercises are paying off.  It is sooooo worth it! And diet wise, I do cheat.  Not with food, mostly with the odd glass of wine at a wedding.  I went to a wedding on Saturday and even had a chocolate mouse, but hey, we need to still live, life is about more than chicken breasts and salad after all. ...

For someone who does not really get emotional I sure love a good wedding!  A colleague got married on Saturday and it was beautiful.  Really stunning, filled with hopes and dreams of forever after, the stuff movies are made of. There really is something about a wedding, maybe it is all the wine that makes me feel the way I do, but I sort of get all warm and fuzzy inside, a strange feeling.  The brides are always gorgeous, the grooms handsome, I tell you, mushy. And the groom quoted from "Leap Year" in his speech, such a nice quote: "May you never steal, lie, or cheat, but if you must steal, then steal away my sorrows, and if you must lie, lie with me all the nights of my life, and if you must cheat, then please cheat death because I couldn't live a day without you. Cheers!" I really am quite into quotes these days.  It was also Liam's school annual sport day on Saturday, they participated in activities such as potato on a spoon race, wheelbarrow ...

Do you ever find that sometimes you just need a tad of inspiration?  Well this post will be my ongoing list of ultimate quotes, I will update it as I am inspired :) "When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."   John Lennon “And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more .” Dr Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas "Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it's cracked up to be. That's why people are so cynical ab...

So just because I am writing this, all hell will probably break loose soon, the kids will be very sick soon... The thing is, we had two fairly good nights in a row, nobody is sick, Luka is smiling and happy, Liam is adorable.  All is well in our household for the first time in weeks, no make that months! Luka is going for her 6 month developmental assessment today and I tell you she is cute, pretty as a button, I simply cannot wait to put some clips in her hair, she is such a pretty girl and she is slowly finding her way in the house, her place, settling in to family life and the dynamic of the four of us (ok, 5 if you add Sekai). Liam is just loving life, school and his friends.  He is such a clever little boy and his artwork is on display at the main gate of the school - can you tell that I am a super proud mummy. So all in all, we are just all in a happy sunny place for the moment, sometimes I do wish that we can just push pause and remain in these happy conten...

We are finally going away for a weekend, a much needed weekend in the bush, house in Zebula booked, Sekai coming along so mommy and daddy can pay golf and of course, Liam and Luka are sick.  Luka went to the GP last Thursday, she has bronchiolitis, this week, both started vomiting in tandem, tonsils, ears, antibiotics.  I am done, I am totally pooped, I feel like I am dying, Luka refuses to drink any meds, she hates the asthma mask / inhaler that she has, she refused her medication, her food, her milk.  There is really only so much one mommy can handle, and I tell you I have reached breaking point now.  I told Gerhard this morning that despite the fact that Luka is the smallest (6 month old mind you) member of the household, HER mood dictates the mood of the house, she is unhappy, Gerhard and I start bickering, Liam cries, it is quite astounding.  We are all at a bit of a low right now, feeling a tad emotional and sorry for ourselves (at least I am). It ...

Goodness, I need my sleep, I need rest!  I am exhausted and I promise you I am only standing here by the grace of phedra cut... Gerhard and I got really adventurous last night, we watched two episodes of Game of Thrones back to back and then went to bed fairly late for people with a small baby in the house.  As we were settling in, Liam started coughing, I had to get up and get him a drink of water...it lasted for about and hour, then Luka started, about another hour.  I must point out at this point that Gerhard has a cold, so he drank some asprins, and slept like a log. Then Luka was restless, she was crying and niggling most of the night, and the cherry on top, at 3am Liam wet his bed and came crying for clean clothes.  Goodness, I just rolled over at 5am when Gerhard got up and felt like death warmed up a tad. Then, imagine the shock and horror when gym managed to perk me up!  15 mins of crunches and the like and 40 mins of high intensity cardio, a bit ...

Jip, we managed to last two weeks on the 12 week challenge, Gerhard is falling off the wagon though. I managed to get to gym six times last week despite the fact that I spent two days on a strategy session, I am so proud of myself. The one area where I am falling short though is the fact that I really do not have a space for the evening protein dessert, I will try harder though! Tomorrow is measuring & weighing and I am really looking forward to it!  I no longer flinch when I see myself in the mirror, so I am seeing the results, 10 more weeks.  Watch this space.