My Baby is Six!

It’s hard to believe that my original reason for “losing weight after baby,” my Ethan, is six years old now!  A full-fledged first grader, it’s amazing to see him learn and grow.  From riding his bike to school to Spanish vocabulary words, he’s a super champ of a kid.  I love being a mother more than I ever thought I would.

For Ethan’s party, we had all his favorites:  Doritos, salad with balsamic vinaigrette, cheese pizza, and ice cream cake.  Yup, they are my favorites too!  We played games like bean bag toss and basketball free throws.  The culinary highlights were my husband’s ice cream cake which rocked as usual, and my dad’s carved watermelon that showcased a Hot Wheels car.

Celebrations are fun and once again I’m reminded…I’m so thankful for my baby weight because otherwise, I wouldn’t have my awesome kids!  (Of course, I was also thankful when the weight came off too!)

Fun at VBS!

Just wrapped up a week of teaching the kindergarten class at VBS day camp.  The theme was “Sonquest Rainforest.”  We were the MIGHTY MONKEYS!  I had 23 kids in my class including my daughter Noelle.  We had a blast!

Here she is with her “surprising bread.”  You take milk and add a few drops of food coloring.  Then paint the bread with the colored milk.  Then toast and voila!  Surprising colored bread!  Too bad it was white bread but as you can imagine, the kids loved it.  I think Noelle had 3 pieces.  She’s not on the losing weight after baby program!

My 1st grader was unable to go to camp that day, so I tried to recreate the colored bread for him by allowing him to put drops of food coloring on bread then toasting.  I was trying to skip the whole mixing it with milk and painting on, etc.  Well, the food coloring was so strong on the bread that it colored his lips and tongue a dark indigo color.  Oops…this is why I write books and not lead crafts!

Girlfriend Gathering for San Diegans!

San Diego mamas…

Friday night, August 6th, is a great chance to get out with your friends to a terrific girlfriend gathering featuring author Pam Farrel along with a few other speakers including myself.

You will learn how to step out and discover God’s adventure for your life.  You will be inspired and energized for all you have to get to do!

It’s at the San Diego Kroc Center from 7-9 pm.  Tickets are $10 and you can buy them here.

Hope to see you there!

Speaking at MOMS of All Seasons at Maranatha Chapel!

I had a wonderful time speaking to the MOMS of all seasons group yesterday at Maranatha Chapel.  What a wonderful group of moms with babies of all ages, from newborns to teenagers. 

Here I am pictured with my friend Reina who used to be my neighbor.  She is the proud mama of 3 kids and I’ve interviewed her before on my Losing Weight After Baby podcast.     

I’m excited to return to Maranatha Chapel in the future – I love these high energy, enthusiastic moms!  Thank you for having me!

How Goals Have Worked for Me

Every August for several years, my husband and I have attended a fabulous personal growth conference called Mastermind Summit, put on by Brian Buffini and Buffini & Co.  It’s in San Diego and has featured such notables as Bill Cosby and Sinbad for entertainment, and Zig Ziglar, Neil Armstrong, Lou Holtz, and Jack Canfield as speakers. 

The friends we’ve made along the way have noticed something about me:  I’m usually pregnant at this event. 

• In 2004, I was about 36 weeks pregnant with my first. 
• In 2005, I was pregnant with my Angel Rose, who we lost at 26 weeks.
• In 2006, I was pregnant with our second daughter. 
• In 2008, I was pregnant but then miscarried at 12 weeks.
• And now in 2009, I was 29 weeks pregnant with a little girl.

It’s especially meaningful to be pregnant at Mastermind since a family goal my husband and I set was to have more children.  And Mastermind is also about trying again when you don’t succeed, and we’ve been trying!

The beauty of Mastermind is that it includes goal writing in the actual conference.  They don’t leave it up to chance that you will write goals at home.  They make you sit down and write goals in 5 important areas of life:

• Spiritual
• Family
• Business
• Financial
• Personal

Then you write short, mid, and long range goals in each area.  10-10-10 they call it.  10 day goals, 10 month goals, and 10 year goals. 

So for example, my 10 day personal goal was to do 2 workout videos.  My 10 month goal was to lose my baby weight.  My 10 year goal was to exercise at least 2 1/2 hours each week. 

What goals can you write down today?  What do you want to accomplish in the next 10 days?  10 months?  10 years? 

My Boy’s First Day in Kindergarten

Well, I have done it.  I’ve experienced a rite of passage for moms – the day the firstborn goes to kindergarten!  I am so happy that my son was very excited.  Walking to the classroom, I said, “This is so exciting!” (even if I didn’t feel that 100%) and he replied, “It’s even more exciting for me!”  I know it’s helping that he’s getting Hot Wheels cars at the end of the week if he does well.  He is totally motivated by rewards.

We decided to try a dual immersion program which means he will be taught primarily in Spanish.  Since we’re not Spanish speakers, this is a big and exciting step.  I know a year from now he will understand so much Spanish and that’s a wonderful asset.

But for now, he didn’t understand  a whole lot (and neither did his classmates) but that will change in time.  Those strange words will begin to make sense very soon.

It reminds me of when we want to try a new way of eating or exercising.  At first, we’re not very comfortable and feel out of our comfort zones.  But if we persevere in time, those new things will become second nature to us. 

So don’t give up moms – stay in the “losing weight after baby” classroom and reward yourself along the way to keep you motivated (Hot Wheels cars are good – no calories in those!).

My Guest Appearance on The 700 Club

My family and I had such a great time on The 700 Club!  The day began at 7:20 am with a walk through of the exercises with the co-host Kristi Watts.  Then we went to make up and hair, we prayed for the show with the guest coordinator, and then the live show began at 9:00 am.  It went by very quickly!  I have done TV interviews before, but never LIVE TV.  That is a different beast!  No retakes, no editing!  Thankfully, it went well and was a lot of fun.  We did exercises with a real baby…he crawled away but didn’t cry.  But the 15 month old baby was 20 pounds and poor Kristi, the co-host, certainly got her workout lifting that big boy! 

If you want to watch the segment, just click here. 

With hosts Pat Robertson and Kristi Watts:

With my family (the oldest girl is my niece).

Watch Arlene on The 700 Club on Wednesday!

I’m honored to be a guest on The 700 Club this coming Wednesday, July 8th!  Each week, they have a “Skinny Wednesday” segment which features health tips from experts from various fields.  I’m thrilled to be talking about losing weight after baby!

What you won’t see on Wednesday is all the angst I’ve experienced shopping for what to wear on my 26-week-along pregnant body.  I have to look “sporty” for TV – ha!  You’ll know that I visited the dressing rooms at Target, Walmart, Pea in a Pod, Old Navy, Gap, Nordstrom Rack, Macy’s and a few more before finding something that looked sporty but didn’t highlight all the rolls that come with pregnancy!   

I hope you’ll be able to tune in and tell your friends!  After the interview is done, I’ll post a link so you can watch online at your convenience also.  If you think of it, say a prayer for me on Wednesday, July 8th…the show is LIVE! 

Arlene Television Appearance on The Hour of Power

I am so incredibly honored that my appearance at the Crystal Cathedral is being televised today on The Hour of Power.  It was such a great experience to share my story of miscarriage at 26 weeks.  I hope my story will encourage moms who have miscarried or had other disappointments along the way in motherhood. 

As I type, my 2 year old strong willed but adorable daughter is sitting on my lap.  (This won’t last long as she’s having a hard time not touching the keyboard)  If I had not miscarried my girl named Angel Rose, my daughter Noelle would have never been born.  She was conceived a few months after my miscarriage.  God can make something beautiful out of the painful times in our lives!

So if you’re in need of some encouragement today, take heart – God can take your present circumstances and turn them around for good.

Highlights from Speaking at the Women’s Retreat

I’ve just returned from a wonderful time of rejuvenation with the women at San Diego First Assembly of God church.  I’m on the far left – I thoroughly enjoyed being with these wonderful ladies!  I spoke for 4 sessions and wanted to give you a few highlights from each talk:

Makeover by Monday – Think of what motivational speaker Zig Ziglar says, “Many people are poor learners because they focus on acquiring more knowledge instead of applying what they already know.”  What areas in your life need a makeover?  Act on what you know! 

I Know He Can – Are you facing a giant obstacle in your life?  Rely on someone bigger than yourself.  “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” – Phil. 4:13. 

Happiness Is… – Did you know happiness is a learned skill, not just a feeling?  Recommended reading:  Happiness is a Serious Problem by Dennis Prager. 

The Ripple Effect – Make a splash in life and touch others by loving yourself, playing to your strengths and not your weaknesses, and being patient with God’s purpose in your life.

I’m thinking of putting these messages up as bonus podcasts so you can listen in for free.  I’ll keep you posted!  Here are some more pics from the weekend: 

With our wonderful prayer coordinator Liz and my mom.