Serenity Now

I Love Rock n' Roll--Blog World Karoke

2009-11-11T16:50:00.000-08:00

Yes, that's me on the left with the pink guitar.

Genesis Today--Genesis of a Great Idea $10,000 Contest

2009-10-25T11:18:00.000-07:00

Calling all fitness minded moms! Genesis Today is sponsoring a contest where the best social media idea wins $10,000!!! Check out the Genesis of a Great Idea contest and submit YOUR idea. There will be 5 finalists chosen, and each finalist will receive $1,000 and a chance to win $10,000. Woo hoo!

I'm going to submit some ideas, and I encourage you to do the same.

Here is some copy from the site about the contest:

"Genesis Today is an entrepreneurial company that started with a great idea and turned it into a success – Genesis of a Great Idea is a social media contest to reward the same type of innovation. Genesis Today will award $10,000 for the best idea to help the company engage consumers online. Everyone can submit an idea and anyone can win! All of the ideas will be judged anonymously by our expert panel. Read from one of our experts why we think Anyone Can Have a Great Idea and we want to judge the ideas anonymously.

Submit up to 250 words how you think Genesis Today could interact with community via social media and you could win $10,000 stipend and be part of the execution of your plan. Submit your idea by November 15th, and five (5) finalists will receive a $1,000 stipend and the finalists be announced on November 23, 2009. The five finalists will be flown to Genesis Today headquarters in Austin, Texas to represent the ideas in person in January 2010. The $10,000 winner will be chosen and announced then."

If you want to have your ideas considered by professionals, I encourage you to apply! Good luck!

My Love Affair with Loose Skin

2009-10-06T16:10:00.001-07:00

So this isn't something you write a post on everyday, but I think it's good to get out there.

I have loose skin. On my arms...belly...well, mostly on my belly. But my arms are the most noticeable. Cause every once in a while, I wear clothes.

I'm not ashamed of my loose skin. It's the equivalent of a battle scar. I'm very proud of the battle I've fought. I'm proud of the battle I continue to fight. And anyone on my team will get my applause and support.

I'm falling in love with my loose skin because it is a daily reminder of how far I have come. I've lost over 160 lbs. in two pregnancies and I get to take credit.

But the loose skin is also a daily reminder of my responsibilities in life. I get to pay it forward, because I'm lucky...how cool is that?

e.l.f. Makeup Collection Giveaway

2009-09-20T21:49:00.000-07:00

Win e.l.f. Makeup Collection at Plus Sized Mommy's Blog.

Ends September 25th.

What I'm Grateful For

2009-09-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

Days like today are the times when I sit back and concentrate on things that I am grateful for rather than the challenges ahead. I wanted to share with you some of the things I am grateful for:

1. My husband. Mark and I have been through alot in the short seven years we have been together. When things happen to us, we draw closer. Yesterday and today we have been especially close. And I would marry him over and over again a thousand times. For this I am grateful.

2. My children. They are the cutest, sweetest, little balls of affection and I love both of them. I love their redhair, freckles, and spunky attitudes. (That comes with the redhair.) I love having boys. For this I am grateful.

3. My mother and in-laws. My mom is very much my best friend. I spend a lot of time with her and she is always willing to go bat for me. I know a lot of people can't say this, but I LOVE my in-laws as well. My MIL and I get along famously...she knows I love her son and treat him with respect and she loves me as a daughter for it. My FIL is very thoughtful...and right now the only father I have. For this I am grateful.

4. My online friends. There are so many special friends that I have made on Bookieboo and twitter. The ones who know me personally are the most supportive and I love them for that. They put up with me and I can be a pain in the ass. For this I am grateful.

5. Challenges. I know that's a weird thing to be grateful for, but I've learned in my life that when God closes one door, he always opens up another one. That has been true for everything I have done. Most of all I realize that when you face a challenge, it's best to focus on how you will grow and learn from it rather then it's inconveniences. I will become a better person, wife, mother, business partner, organizer, etc. because of the things I must overcome. For this, I am grateful.

6. Life and health. I'm so thankful to God that I have my life and my family is healthy. So what if I have problems, doesn't everybody? What makes me think that I am special and don't deserve problems...I'm not perfect. I have the people around me that love me and I am becoming a stronger person. My life, just like everyone else's is precious. And because of my purpose in life, I'm helping people regain their own health. I get to do this...it's a blessing and a calling...and even though it has its ups and downs, it's a privilege and I'm well aware of that. For this I am grateful.

I Lost 3.5 lbs. This Week!!! Guess how...

2009-08-27T21:37:00.000-07:00

I'm down to my last 6...yes, 6 lbs. from my pre-pregnancy weight. All but one of my skinny jeans fits me again. And guess what ladies? I'm getting the beginning of a six-pack. So that's 104 lbs. I lost after first baby and now 55 lbs. lost after Mr. Grumpy Pants. I've shed over 159 lbs. from my body over these past almost 4 years. Sometimes you gotta just sit down to take it all in.

I was plateauing for a while...not losing very much weight. I cut down on my exercise to 3 days a week because of my work schedule. Yada yada...Then I got my Earth Footwear in the mail and started wearing them. I wear my tennis shoes to my Tae Bo classes twice a week and I've been wearing the sandals everywhere else. (Even to when I saw Spamalot..and oh yes, I have clanking coconuts.) Today when I weighed myself I was down 3.5 lbs. from last week. Can you imagine the excitement on my face? I started doing the naked dance on the scale.

Thank you Earth Footwear! I'm an amazing believer in your Kalso Negative Heel Technology. The first couple of minutes I had them on I had to adjust, but since then they have been very easy to walk in. The tennis shoes are very comfortable and cute...and the sandals can be worn all around town. Your slogan is right...I've been burning more calories with every step.

If you are a fan of Earth Footwear, they would LOVE you to fan their facebook page, here.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-08-11T19:50:00.001-07:00

I know this is awful...but doesn't it look like SpongeBob Squarepants? I'm just sayin...

For more Wordless Wednesdays, check out 5 Minutes for Mom.

@msegedie (aka Mr Bookieboo) First Guest Post

2009-08-04T19:12:00.000-07:00

The other night I made the mistake of commenting to the wife that she hadn't updated her personal blog in awhile. With all of the excitement of the Mamavation campaign moving into high gear things have been busier than usual in the Bookieboo household, which is saying a lot. You see we have three rambunctious, opinionated, and very stubborn redheads in our family: a seven month old, a three-and-a-half year old, and of course Mrs. Bookieboo. There is never a dull moment in the “organized chaos” that is our daily life. My intent was to gently remind Mrs. Bookieboo that she had been neglecting her blog. Leah, being the true opportunist that she is, quickly turned the tables on me and before I knew what happened I became a “special guest contributor” on Serenity Now . . .

My initial reaction was “Huh??” as my Kirin Ichiban shot out of my nose. This was quickly followed by a “noooo-way” as I scrambled to find a towel to soak up the suds of my precious beer. By the time I looked back at Mrs. Bookieboo I knew that I was a goner – she had her “game face” on with those big blue eyes and bright smile (think “Magnum” from Zoolander and you’ll get the idea). I had one of those surreal life-in-review flashbacks (you know, the kind that you have when you are dying) where I kept seeing her game face. Resigned to my fate, I made a hasty retreat like Napoleon at Waterloo and exiled myself to my computer.

Perhaps a little bit of background about me would be prudent at this juncture. I’ve worked in information technology for over twelve years and I like to think that I am tech savvy. During my time as a techno-geek I’ve been involved in many different areas of technology. I could rattle off acronyms and buzzwords that nobody really understands with the best of them. I’ve always had a natural affinity for electronics – I’m the guy that everyone calls when their electronic doo-dad doesn’t work. Oddly enough, Mrs. Bookieboo is the exact opposite – I have never seen someone break so many electronic devices in my life. It is almost as if she emits a negative aura that causes electronics to malfunction. Let me give you just one example of the shenanigans that go on in our house:

Just the other day I arrived home after a long day at work and was greeted with “Hi honey, I need to tell you something . . .” Now my immediate thought was “she can’t be pregnant” followed by “the house appears to be structurally sound”. After a brief question and answer I come to find out that the remote control “stopped working”. Now you have to understand that my remote control just isn’t any old remote. What self-respecting techno-geek would use the basic remote control that comes with the cable box? I like to think that if God himself had a remote control he would have the same one that I have. I even made the operation of said remote control simple – there is one (count it one!!!) button to watch TV, one (one!!!) button to watch a DVD and one (one!!!) button to turn everything off. Piece of cake, right? Not for Leah, the destroyer of electronics. It turned out that somehow after pressing the one (one!!!) button to turn on the TV the remote magically got out of sync and was stuck in VCR mode (mind you that we don’t even have a VCR or a button on the remote to operate a VCR). Needless to say, we have separate computers (mine runs just fine and hers is always “slow”) and she is never, ever allowed into my server room at work. But, I digress.

When Leah first started-up Bookieboo.com I was excited. Here was my wife, an avowed non-techno-geek, taking the plunge into “my” world of zeros and ones. Of course, I was also a little worried that she might crash the internet with her negative aura but as they say, C’est la vie. I watched and offered advice as she set out into the brave new world of “social media” (Just what the hell is “social media” anyway? Isn’t media by its very nature social?)). At the time I had no idea just how far down the rabbit hole “social media” went. Sure, I knew about blogs and Facebook but Leah quickly surpassed my techno-babble with her own vlogs, tweets, twhirls, and stickams. It seemed that the apprentice had surpassed the master and my tech-fu was sorely lacking.

It has been amazing to see just how far Bookieboo and Mamavation have come in such a short period of time. If you could see the time and effort that Leah and her contributors pour into these sites behind the scenes you would be amazed too. I am so proud of Leah (even when she breaks my remote control) and I can’t wait to see what the future brings.

You can follow me on Twitter @msegedie

- Mark (aka Mr Bookieboo)

My Video Confessional--I'm Not Eating!

2009-07-11T11:15:00.000-07:00

Okay, guess what? DH decides he's going to steal my food!

Happy Casual Friday!

2009-07-09T22:29:00.000-07:00

Find more videos like this on bookieboo

For more Casual Fridays, check out The Bantering Blonde.

Mr. Grumpy Pants Won't Let me Work!

2009-07-08T12:38:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Check me out tonight on The Spin Cycle at 6pm PST. I've got exciting news to announce about my new campaign, Mamavation.

Find more videos like this on bookieboo

Tina, the Bulgarian Goddess of Torture

2009-07-06T14:36:00.000-07:00

I wanted to introduce to you Tina, my Bulgarian Goddess of Torture. She hands me my ass on Mondays and Fridays. (But not so much Fridays anymore because of MomActive Radio :(...got the radio show.) I've known Tina for over a year and she is one of my favorite Tae Bo friends.

Remember girls, if you love her body, don't be a hater, just do the same workout as her!

Find more videos like this on bookieboo

Casual Friday!!

2009-07-02T21:15:00.000-07:00

Here is my last minute Casual Friday! What a whirlwind I live in..can you see the sweat from my work-out?

Find more videos like this on bookieboo

For more Casual Fridays, visit the Bantering Blonde.

Check out My Care Package from Morocco

2009-07-01T15:35:00.000-07:00

Heather from A Day with Jake had a giveaway a couple of months ago that I won. She was headed to Morocco and would pick up a gift basket for the winner. I entered and won and got the coolest package ever! Check out my vlog...

Find more videos like this on bookieboo

So Beat...

2009-06-30T14:21:00.000-07:00

Yuck...I erped in class again today. I haven't done that for a long time. I was 35 minutes into my Tae Bo Class and was really tired. Jude was on fire today and making everything really hard for all of ut. Then I started to get that feeling and uh...oh, dashed out the door to the side of the building and threw up. Dont' worry it was just water. Then I started to feel better, so I went back inside and kept going only to find myself outside again 10 minutes later. I didn't even get a chance to finish becasue I was so dizzy and tired.

That was a first, not finishing. I haven't done that since I was pregnant, but I took it easy on myself when I was pregnant. I was working out more than any other mom I knew, so taking it easy was important when I didn't feel good. After class I started to get a little down on myself, but then told myself to suck it up and shut up. I've lost about 47 lbs. in 5 months. I need to give myself a break sometimes and pat myself on the back. Today was just one of those days when I didn't have it in me.

I have days like that just like everyone else. Most of the time what I do is force myself to work out anyways, and I start feeling better during the workout. Today wasn't that type of day. It was a sit down and relax day. Afterward, my son had a private swimming class at my in-laws. I got in the pool and it felt so good. Then lunch and then home. Now I'm finally starting to relax. Both the kids are upstairs in bed. Maybe I'll have a whole half hour to myself....I hope...

Mr. Grumpy Pants & @msegedie wanted to say Hi!

2009-06-27T22:29:00.000-07:00

Me Vadoing @childhood Vadoing Me

2009-06-26T22:15:00.000-07:00

This is the kind of stuff that trips me out. Here is me vadoing @childhood while she's vadoing me. If my grandma could see this, she would flip out. Did we just break the time space continumum doing this? You tell me...

Working Out with Hubby

2009-06-24T20:54:00.000-07:00

My hubby and I have decided to work out together every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday lifting weights...heavy ones. We just finished our second night tonight and my arms and legs feel like noodles. I'm doing the Chalene Extreme program again with him.

Boy, oh boy...all I was hearing was "this is so easy" until I looked to see what he was doing...totally cheating! Of course it was easy! When I showed him how to do it right, there was grunting and silence. Ah, ha...that's right...Chalene is going to get all extreme on your ass! He's dying right now.

My hubby is totally muscular already, but he doesn't work out at all...and I'm always baffled by how "in shape" he looks without the hard work. Ahhh, men! And then when it comes to losing weight, all he has to do to lose ten pounds is walk during lunchtime for two weeks and that's it! I have to have my ass handed to me everyday for two months to lose ten pounds...men!

I can't even imagine how good he is going to look after three months of this. He's already pretty sexy...I can't wait!

Watch out for the Fischer Price Swing

2009-06-22T13:48:00.000-07:00

I don't think my 5 month old baby is supposed to be able to almost fall out of the Fischer Price swing, but he is. He grabs the bar, pulls himself up and out he goes. Then he's stuck out of the swing hanging there. I'm attaching some videos so you can see what I'm talking about. This is crazy! Someone at Fischer Price outta do something about this.

Now for some reason, I sound like a chipmunk in this video. My voice is alot deeper than this, but whatever, just watch the videos to see what I mean...

Moms Beware of Fischer Price Swing from Leah Segedie on Vimeo.

Now here he is almost falling out and stuck...

Fischer Price Swing II from Leah Segedie on Vimeo.

Night With Hubby

2009-06-19T21:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday and today have been a whirlwind of activity. And for the past month, Fiona and I have worked so hard promoting MomActive and the radio show. I've been spending alot of time working. And that happens sometimes, but when it's over it's time to celebrate.

My husband thought I was going to a dance recital for my niece, but I surprised him by being home instead cooking him steak. And boy does he love steak! Fillet Mignon with a potato, corn and salad. We had bread, but I forgot. But he was stuffed and very happy by the end.

Bookie, my 3 year old, is with grandparents and the baby was with us but very tired, so we put him down early. I didn't get on the computer till right now. We spent the night alone and had a beer. Then I gave him some much needed attention...:)

I'm very pleased with how everything turned out. Our message of healthy living to moms all over internet is striking a chord. Fiona and I are so excited to support and encourage all of you and provide some direction with our special guests and sense of humor.

Looking forward to having my girl Tracey Mallett next Friday on the show. Oh, and just to warn you, I'm going to be telling everyone a crazy story about what happened during the shoot of her newest workout DVD. (I was in it doing the ab workout. But it's not going to be released till September.)

Listen in to MomActive Radio Show Live & Win

2009-06-18T23:29:00.001-07:00

MomActive Radio Show starts at 11am PST, 12pm MST, 1pm CST, and 2pm EST.

Not only do I want you to listen in live because you are stroking my ego, but I want you to win a Poken! Fiona will be asking questions throughout the show. Remember, @childhood? Well, she will be picking winners at random and a total of 6 moms will win a Poken. Make sure to check them out because they are really cool!

During the radio show, we would like everyone to use twitter as our chat room, #momactive. Tweet at us, at each other, and tweet out your answers to the prizes. When you talk about the pokens use #startpoken. Twitter is so much more fun to me than a chat room. Don't you agree?

We look forward to hearing from our first listeners! MomActive, Motivated for Life!

Casual Friday with Jude Lee--Friend & Trainer

2009-06-18T23:20:00.001-07:00

Find more videos like this on bookieboo

For more Casual Fridays, check out Bantering Blonde.

Join Us Tonight!

2009-06-17T23:50:00.000-07:00

Come join us tonight for the ultimate twitter party launching our new radio show, MomActive with @bookieboo & @banteringblonde, brought to you by Bookieboo and Childhood Clothing.

We are assembling tonight, June 18th from 5pm to 8pm PST (Mountain Standard Time: 6pm to 9pm, Central Standard Time: 7pm to 10pm, OR Eastern Standard Time: 8pm to 11pm). There will be plenty of moms, fitness professionals, and possibly some stalkers. There's always a couple. Use hashtag #bookieb for the party. If you are unfamiliar with Twitter, click here for a great explanation.

And if we make the top trending list and are hijacked by porn, we will just simply switch the hashtag to #momactive. Simple enough. I'd love to get hijacked. That would mean our message of healthy lifestyles is being heard loud and clear.

I'd recommend you check out Tweet Grid if you haven't already. Tweet Grid is an awesome tool you can use that night to read what is going on and see everyone's tweets. You can click here for a bit of help. If you want the work done for you click here, compliments of @carissarogers. You will still need to insert the hashtag #bookieb in the top right and your own Twitter ID in the bottom right.

Then don't forget to join us for our first show on Friday morning at 11am PST. We are going to be giving away 6 Pokens, so you gotta be listening live. We will be using twitter again instead of the chat room on blog talk radio. So just use #momactive with your tweets. Kelly Loubet of Childhood Clothing will be there to help you out.

How can you help? Well, I'm glad you asked. We need help promoting the radio show and twitter party. You can twitter about the party. That would be the best way to show us the love.

"Come join us tonight for the MomActive launch party from 5-8pm PST. #bookieb, http://tinyurl.com/r843dt"

"Twitter Party! Celebrate the launch of MomActive Radio Show tonight, 5-8pm PST. #bookieb, http://tinyurl.com/r843dt"

Make sure to follow our wonderful guests:
1. Fiona Bryan, The Bantering Blonde
2. Tracey Mallett, Sexy in 6, author & international fitness star

Come follow the moderators:
1. Leah Segedie with Bookieboo
2. Kelly Loubet with Childhood Clothing

Here are giveaway prizes you can win:
1. Childhood Clothing-custom design
2. Stylish Baby Gear-Diaper Bag
3. Spunky Monkey-Trace Designs Traceable Wall Mural
4. My Hip-T-(1) Hip-T
5. Stroller Strides-One free month of membership (new members only)
6. Baby Emi--Jingle Bells Anklet
7. Baby Banz--$30 gift certificate
8. Sharis Berries--One Dozen Fancy Berries
9. A Mother's Boutique--Black Shawl Tunic Mini dress
10. Moon Drops Jewelry--chain and two charms
11. Karen Horton MD from Women's Plastic Surgery in San Francisco-Free plastic surgery consultation ($100 value)
12. JRB Shoes--flip flops
13. Nine Moons--Belly Bands
14. Boogie Wipes--Boogie Wipes Gift Basket
15. Aden & Anais--sleeping bags, single wraps, Baby Can Read DVD
16. My Body Belongs to Me book--Jill Starishevaky
17. Stork Magnets--30 announcement magnets ($65 value)
18. Cute as Buttons--Infant Tee Shirt
19. Be Present--Agility Pants
20. Touchd--Sugar Scrub Gift Set ($70 value), including sugar scrub & bath butter soap
21. Poken--10 Pokens

You will have to be present to win these prizes:
1. Pangea Organics- Radiance Gift Set (value $167 dollars)
2. Carolyn's Kitchen--Pink Dorothy Apron for Breast Cancer
3. Tracey Mallett--Quick Blast DVD Set

To enter the giveaway and RSVP, click here.

Bloggy Love Giveaway for MomActive

2009-06-14T15:40:00.000-07:00

Hey Bloggy Friends! Fiona and I wanted to make sure to get the word out before our MomActive twitter party on Thursday and first MomActive radio show on Friday. Wanna show us the love?

I'm proposing doing a giveaway for those of you who decide to show us the love by posting a special blog post about my weight loss AND our MomActive launch & twitter party. This will help us majorly with all the promotion! Just make sure to do the post before Thursday, June 18th.

I'm attaching a questionnaire and some pictures for you to use in your story. Make sure to link up to the twitter party post, MomActive, MomActive Radio Show, Bookieboo, and Bantering Blonde. After you have created the story, come back and hit Mr. Linky with the link to the story. I'm going to use Random.org to decide the winner of the giveaway. It will be announced during the Twitter party on Thursday night.

Prizes:
Traceable Wall Murals from The Spunky Monkey
Organic cotton bra from Nummies
Rose Oil & Bitch Balance Butter from Vital Earth Traditions
One 3pack of Dapper Snappers
Cuddle a Cup, Super soft Tagiee, & set of 2 Burpiees from Sparkles and Strawberries

(If you own a boutique and want to add to this list, email me at bookieboo78@gmail.com)

You can also show us the love by tweeting this out:

"Come join us for the MomActive launch party on Thursday, June 18th from 5-8pm PST. #bookieb, http://tinyurl.com/r843dt"

"Twitter Party! Celebrate the launch of MomActive Radio Show on Thursday, June 18, 5-8pm PST. #bookieb, http://tinyurl.com/r843dt"

Here are some before and after pictures you can use. Just steal them, I don't mind. I've also got the grab code for the twitter party banners available on the twitter party post.

At 149 lbs.

About 240 or so...

About 215 lbs.

Here is a questionnaire to help you out with the post:

1) Can you share a bit about your weight loss and your motivation for starting Bookieboo?

I was 253 lbs. when I gave birth to my first son, whom I refer to as Bookie. (When he was a baby, I called him Bookieboo.) I lost over 100 lbs. after he was born. I did it the old fashioned way: diet and exercise. I did it slowly, taking it 5 lbs. a time, and it ended up taking me two years. Fitness and healthy living have become my lifestyle now. It’s something I enjoy doing and something I enjoy sharing with my family and friends.

After I lost all that weight, I decided to combine my interests and create a site that was helpful to moms. I couldn’t find a go-to place where moms could share their struggles staying or getting into shape. I thought moms would enjoy the concept, so I created Bookieboo.

Bookieboo has over 40 contributors, posting about fitness, weight loss or healthy living. Many are certified personal trainers, but all are moms. No boys please. Bookieboo also has over 100 discount codes to share, as well as weekly giveaways, and great women.

I just had another baby, so the moms on my site are losing weight with me again. This time I only have 18 more pounds to lose. Come join me!

2) How do you stay motivated to exercise and eat well?

I don’t do the exercise for me, I do it for my family. I’m a better mom and person when I’ve worked out. I’m more patient, loving, and of course have more energy. The days I haven’t exercised are like mornings without coffee…I’m an absolute shrew. I do it for them, and that is my motivation.

People say you should exercise for yourself and put yourself first, but I don’t believe that. I think some things are greater than you are…like your family. And they deserve it.

As for the food, on days I exercise, I only crave what’s good for me. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true. It’s the days I don’t get any exercise, I have to think about what I’m eating.

3) What do you think is universally the biggest challenge for moms when it comes to being healthy and/or losing weight after pregnancy?

Having children and getting into shape is tough. I’m finding it tougher and tougher with two. I don’t have all the answers. What works for me may not work for everyone, which is exactly the reason I have Bookieboo. It’s about how to do it all with kids from many perspectives. Moms supporting moms. I get a lot of advice from my own members.

The MomActive radio show will be similar. Fiona & I will be there to support moms in all sorts of fitness and healthy lifestyle endeavors. We are not all the same, but we can all certainly use some support and encouragement. MomActive will be covering all aspects of healthy living on the show. Not only will we discuss losing weight and staying fit, but general wellness and health issues as well.

4) How do you balance all you do—work with family?

I ask for help. I’ve got two mothers as my secret weapon. YaYa is my mom and Grammo is my husband’s mom. They love spending time with the kids, and I love having them. Having an extended family is wonderful. I also have a close cousin nearby that I work out with and bounce ideas off of. She’s equally as brilliant and we are both Trojans! Fight On!

And I also have Kelly Loubet, the Editor/Moderator of Bookieboo and Bookieboo Rave Reviews & Giveaways. She helps me out ALOT with all my projects. You can visit her at Childhood Clothing or follow her @childhood.

5) Tell me about MomActive and any other projects you are working on…

MomActive is the new radio show hosted by myself and Fiona Bryan from The Bantering Blonde. Our premiere is June 19^th at 11am pacific standard time. We are going to have weekly guests that talk all about the same sort of stuff on Bookieboo--How to stay fit or live a healthy lifestyle while being a mom. I’ve already gotten a lot of interest in the show and am going to be bringing on some incredible guests. You won’t want to miss this. I’m going to be my eccentric self and Fiona is going to be her witty self and we are just going to make a go of it, so I’m hoping you all can join us.

MomActive will have a great website as well. Fiona is going to be doing most of the writing. For those of you who don’t follow her, she’s a very witty writer, sometimes I pee my pants I’m laughing so hard at her antics. But of course, I just had a baby, so that’s not hard to do.

6) Tell me about your family, kids—ages, etc?

I have a thoughtful husband and two children: 3 years and 5 months. I’m surrounded by boys, but I love boys, so I have a lot of fun. We include grandparents a lot. Our parents are very good at not stepping on our toes, so we enjoy having them around. Both my kids have red hair—a trait just like mom. Freckles also come with the territory as well.

7) What is your greatest joy as a mom? Your biggest challenge?

I love it when my son says “mommy I love you” out of the blue. He’s been doing that a lot lately. And then getting to see smiley face all the time from Mr. Grumpy Pants, the 5 month old, who might I add is almost crawling…I’m in so much trouble!

Biggest challenge…hmmm…well, my children have a lot of energy, so that is the most difficult aspect of it. They really need to get out, or they go nuts, especially the older one. Chasing after two is twice as hard. Which is why I rely on grandparents so much.

Serenity Now!

2009-06-13T12:08:00.000-07:00

Ever wondered where I got the idea for the title of my website? I've always been a fan of Seinfeld. Check out this clip...

Radio & Traffic

2009-06-12T22:13:00.000-07:00

I've had a great time talking on the radio these last two Fridays. I was on MomFaves last Friday and Coastal Chicks Unplugged today. I had a great time telling embarrassing stories from when I was in junior high in the 80's today and my weight loss last week. Fiona and I are going to have a great time on MomActive.

Our time slot, 11am Pacific Standard Time, works great with my family. I'm going to take the kids to grandmas and then do the show over there in the office. I've got this great new laptop that my husband got me. I'm feeling so portable!

Traffic...holy hell! Danielle from Extraordinary Mommy did a piece on me last week. This week a story came out on the Associated Press about a post she did a couple of weeks ago about a stolen family photo. That story hit the featured section of Yahoo, CNN, etc. Danielle was on CBS this morning. The post Danielle did about my 100 lbs. weight loss was the 3rd story down. Basically, I got a day of amazing traffic to my site.

I'm going to share this with you because my jaw dropped. I got 4,829 hits yesterday to Bookieboo. We also welcomed over 150 new members. My editors and I have been very busy. We've all been spending the last two days welcoming new members. I've gotten a new set of amazing women again. I love the moms that join my site.

What a Close Call!

2009-06-11T07:55:00.000-07:00

When I woke up this morning and my husband got the baby to put into the bed for feeding, his sweater set was wrapped around his neck and his arms were out. He had struggled out of it in the middle of the night and could have been smothered or hanged! I forget sometimes to thank God for all the blessings I have. My baby is one of them. Mr. Grumpy Pants is strong like a bull and as healthy as can be. I'm so lucky to have him as the new addition to our family!

Please ladies, thank God everyday for your family! This morning when my precious baby was okay...just cold, I was reminded of how thankful I need to be. Thank you God for sparing my baby last night.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-06-09T21:00:00.000-07:00

For more Wordless Wednesdays, go to 5 Minutes for Mom.

Shout-Out to my Girl Mel!

2009-06-09T14:39:00.000-07:00

Hey Mel! I'm so proud of you going to Iraq and working out the troops. What an inspiration you are!

I'd like to share this photo slide of my girlfriend Melanie Neat with you. She just got back from Iraq with Billy Blanks working out with the troops. I'm so proud of her!

Tae Bo forever baby! Melanie just got on twitter, so you can show her the love by following her here. She is also a wonderful mom and has a great understanding of what it takes to live a healthy lifestyle.

Daddy does Milton from Office Space

2009-06-06T08:31:00.000-07:00

My husband does Milton from Office Space. Check this out! Whenever he does this it always gives me a laugh.

Daddy does Milton from Office Space from Leah Segedie on Vimeo.

Casual Friday: Clutter

2009-06-04T20:23:00.001-07:00

Hey, this is my very brave video showing you the clutter in my house on Thursday. Sorry it's so dark in the beginning, but don't worry, it'll lighten up.

Casual Friday 5 from Leah Segedie on Vimeo.

For more Casual Fridays, check out Bantering Blonde's Casual Friday Carnival.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-06-02T21:03:00.000-07:00

For more Wordless Wednesday, check out 5 Minutes for Mom.

Grief Turned to Determination Part 2

2009-06-01T16:27:00.000-07:00

After my father died, I had one of those moments of clarity. I knew something had to change. I was 253 lbs. when I gave birth to Bookie and I didn't want to be the fat mom. I wanted to have the energy to play with my kids and run around. I wanted to model healthy behavior for them. I wanted to be confident and demonstrate that to them so they would be too.

I knew the statistics. Fat mom equals fat kids and then fat adults. People who are obese tend to make less money, are less likely to graduate from college, are found less attractive by the opposite sex (which also contributes to workplace discrimination, etc.) I didn't want that for my kids. The cycle could end with me. But how? Yeah, yeah...diet and exercise...I know...I've heard it all before. It had never worked for me before. I felt helpless, but I knew I had to do something.

So I decided to start walking with the baby and see if I could lose 5 lbs. Seriously, just 5 lbs. I just decided and then a couple moments later I was out the door walking with my son. Just like that. There wasn't alot of thought or planning that went into it. I just made a decision and then acted.

I started getting out everyday walking. (I have a condition called Hip Displecia, which means that the joints in my hips are not normal. I can pop my hip bones out of socket without pain, but that also means I have less cartridge in my hips than normal people do. My mother has the same thing and had to have her hips replaced at 50.) At that time, my hips bothered me alot when I walked. But I discovered that when I walked for more than five minutes the pain would go away. Then I started walking twice a day with my son and looking forward to it. It was nice to get out and I make friends easily, so I would meet people around the complex with kids.

The walking became a habit. And I really think that is what helped. The habits I created were small and doable and fit into my schedule. And they didn't disrupt my family. But as soon as those habits became too easy, I challenged myself with something else. I really thought about baby steps. Just doing a little at a time because I knew if I tried some crazy workout I would fail. I got used to the walking everyday twice a day. I got used to moving my body. The walking got easier and I lost about 6 lbs, which was above and beyond what I thought would happen. So I decided to keep going. I joined Curves and went 2-3 times per week at night when my husband came home. They weighed and measured me there.

These were my very first steps...the beginning of a 104 lbs. weight loss. Here is a picture of me at about that time. See how I'm hiding behind my son. That was typical. I was always hiding behind something or taking the pictures.

Here I am in the pool. Yeah, swimming wasn't fun. And I would only swim at my in-laws.

And here I am at my son's baptism party. As you can see, I loved black.

Grief Turned to Determination

2009-05-31T19:58:00.000-07:00

Someone suggested to me the other day that I should post more about my 104 lbs. weight loss. No, not what I'm doing right now, but the weight I lost after Bookie was born. I'd love to share my story with you, but I'm going to do it in parts.

When I gave birth to Bookie I was 253 lbs. I was only 12 lbs. lighter when I got back from the hospital. Three months after my son was born, I started walking, joined Curves, Weight Watchers and getting serious about changing my life. But at that time, I had no idea I would lose so much weight. I thought I would be lucky if I lost 20 lbs. It wasn't in the realm of possibilities for me because I had failed so many times. I think there are alot of people out there that feel like I did.

How did I get so big? To understand my story, I have to give you some background of what happened to me while I was pregnant. My father was diagnosed with Mesotheilioma, cancer related to asbestos exposure, when I was about 3 months pregnant. He was dying and I assisted my mother from Monday to Friday taking care of him until he passed away. Watching my father suffer the way he did was awful. He suffocated to death, was in alot of pain, and was losing his mind. Watching that made me incredibly grief stricken. I kept it together for everyone, but I turned to food to console myself. I never realized how much I was eating. Plus, I must have been thinking that the weight would just magically disappear when the baby was born. It was a big surprise when I came home from the hospital and was only 12 lbs. lighter.

My father died when my son was 3 months old. I was caring for him and my newborn at the same time. I remember packing everything up every morning and driving 40 miles to my parents house. My mom looked after the baby while I was with my dad. She needed the baby more than I did. I had no idea what to do with him and was dealing with so much grief that I was having trouble bonding. I actually felt at that time that I was trading a life for a life and felt guilty about it.

He was given 6 months to live, but lasted for 9 months to see his first grandson. I remember the day he died. My brother had brought a Johnny Cash CD and we were listening to the music. My father had a hospice worker. She was an angel. She stayed with him the entire time. I sat there for hours. My father was as stubborn as a mule, just like me. It took a really long time for him to pass. He wasn't conscious because of the drugs he was on for pain and anxiety. (He started to lose his mind a bit at the end.) I held his hands for hours and read the new testament to him. That was one thing we shared. I left to take a shower and freshen up and the hospice worker came in to tell us he was passing. We all ran in there as fast as we could. And it was so unlike how I imagined. He just stopped breathing and that was it. I remember screaming and crying. I couldn't control my emotions when it happened. I was praying for an end for so long because of his suffering, but when it happened, it wasn't any easier.

When he passed, my life was instantly different. There was a void. I knew that the coroner had to come to take his body, but I didn't want them to take him. I had an irrational need to stay with him, even though he really wasn't there anymore. (The coroner had to take his body because of the type of cancer he had. They consider Mesotheilioma an "industrial accident" in California, so they have to autopsy the body.) I couldn't leave his side. My husband had to pull me away and take me to another room.

After the funeral, I really started to think about things. I had a newborn, was having the hardest time breastfeeding and feeling very inadequate as a mother. The future that I imagined wasn't going to happen. I was headed toward the path of postpartum depression.

(I'm going to continue this post soon....)

Casual Friday: MomActive Radio Show Twitter Launch Party & Potty Training

2009-05-29T05:48:00.000-07:00

Find more videos like this on bookieboo

Sorry guys, I tried to talk about the MomActive radio show and our twitter party, but Bookie wasn't having it. He's been soooo cooped up from the potty training that he can't seem to control himself. I didn't do it over, because I thought you might get a kick out of me trying to wrangle a 3 year old boy. Anyways, hope you enjoy my son running around in his underwear. Big improvement from the naked #shamwow potty training.

For more Casual Fridays, check out the Bantering Blonde and her Casual Friday Carnival. Make sure and link up. See ya there!

MomActive Radio Show Launch Twitter Party

2009-05-27T13:54:00.000-07:00

Come join us for the ultimate Twitter party launching our new radio show, MomActive with @bookieboo & @banteringblonde, brought to you by Bookieboo and Childhood Clothing. We are assembling on June 18th from 5pm to 8pm PST (Mountain Standard Time: 6pm to 9pm, Central Standard Time: 7pm to 10pm, OR Eastern Standard Time: 8pm to 11pm). There will be plenty of moms, fitness professionals, and possibly some stalkers. There's always a couple. Use hashtag #bookieb for the party. If you are unfamiliar with Twitter, click here for a great explanation.

I'd recommend you check out Tweet Grid if you haven't already. Tweet Grid is an awesome tool you can use that night to read what is going on and see everyone's tweets. You can click here for a bit of help. If you want the work done for you click here, compliments of @carissarogers. You will still need to insert the hashtag #bookieb in the top right and your own Twitter ID in the bottom right.

How can you help? Well, I'm glad you asked. We need help promoting the radio show and twitter party. You can steal one of our images and post it on your site AND twitter about the party. That would be the best way to show us the love. Below are the banners & an example tweet. (This will also enter you into the giveaway, but make sure to leave a comment below.)

"Come join us for the MomActive launch party on Thursday, June 18th from 5-8pm PST. #bookieb, http://tinyurl.com/r843dt"

"Twitter Party! Celebrate the launch of MomActive Radio Show on Thursday, June 18, 5-8pm PST. #bookieb, http://tinyurl.com/r843dt"

Make sure to follow our wonderful guests:
1. Fiona Bryan, The Bantering Blonde
2. Tracey Mallett, Sexy in 6, author & international fitness star

Come follow the moderators:
1. Leah Segedie with Bookieboo
2. Kelly Loubet with Childhood Clothing

Here are giveaway prizes you can win:
1. Childhood Clothing-custom design
2. Stylish Baby Gear-Diaper Bag
3. Spunky Monkey-Trace Designs Traceable Wall Mural
4. My Hip-T-(1) Hip-T
5. Stroller Strides-One free month of membership (new members only)
6. Baby Emi--Jingle Bells Anklet
7. Baby Banz--$30 gift certificate
8. Sharis Berries--One Dozen Fancy Berries
9. A Mother's Boutique--Black Shawl Tunic Mini dress
10. Moon Drops Jewelry--chain and two charms
11. Karen Horton MD from Women's Plastic Surgery in San Francisco-Free plastic surgery consultation ($100 value)
12. JRB Shoes--flip flops
13. Nine Moons--Belly Bands
14. Boogie Wipes--Boogie Wipes Gift Basket
15. Aden & Anais--sleeping bags, single wraps, Baby Can Read DVD
16. My Body Belongs to Me book--Jill Starishevaky
17. Stork Magnets--30 announcement magnets ($65 value)
18. Cute as Buttons--Infant Tee Shirt
19. Be Present--Agility Pants
20. Touchd--Sugar Scrub Gift Set ($70 value), including sugar scrub & bath butter soap
21. Poken--10 Pokens

You will have to be present to win these prizes:
1. Pangea Organics- Radiance Gift Set (value $167 dollars)
2. Carolyn's Kitchen--Pink Dorothy Apron for Breast Cancer
3. Tracey Mallett--Quick Blast DVD Set

How to enter: Grab one of our banners and post them on your site. Make sure to leave a comment when you do so and tell me your top 3 giveaway favorites. If you don't have a site, make sure to visit Childhood Clothing and tell me what your favorite product is from the site and then tell me your top 3 favorites from the giveaway.

(Graphics by Fiona of Bantering Blonde)

For extra entries, tweet about the Twitter party. Make sure to use hashtag #bookieb in your tweet. Every extra tweet gets you an extra entry, but remember to come back and comment that you did it when you're done. Kelly from @childhood is going to be using Random.org to determine the winners that night. You wanna be there when she calls your name.

Here is the example tweet again:

"Come join us for the MomActive launch party on Thursday, June 18th from 5-8pm PST. #bookieb, http://tinyurl.com/r843dt"

"Twitter Party! Celebrate the launch of MomActive Radio Show on Thursday, June 18, 5-8pm PST. #bookieb, http://tinyurl.com/r843dt"

Please RSVP!! Let us know you are coming by using Mr. Linky.

Casual Fridays: #shamwow Potty Training

2009-05-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

Find more videos like this on bookieboo

For more Casual Friday vlogs, check out Bantering Blonde and her Casual Friday Carnival.

Day Three: Sham Wow Potty Training

2009-05-20T16:18:00.000-07:00

Bookie has done really well today. We have had no accidents, other than missing the potty a bit while trying to aim. He's decided that he wants to stand over the froggie potty like daddy does. So sometimes he makes it, and other times he misses a bit. But not too bad. And my handy dandy Sham Wow is always ready to wipe up the mess.

Day 3 Sham Wow Potty Training from Leah Segedie on Vimeo.

Hi @keepitclassyjen from Mr. Grumpy Pants

2009-05-20T15:21:00.001-07:00

Mr. Grumpy Pants loved your video Jen and wanted to say hi!

Hi to @keepitclassyjen from Mr. Grumpy Pants from Leah Segedie on Vimeo.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-05-19T19:59:00.000-07:00

For more Wordless Wednesdays, check out 5 Minutes for Mom.

Day Two: Sham Wow Potty Training

2009-05-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, you may think I'm corny talking about this #shamwow stuff, but I'm serious. It's working great! I guess it's too disgusting to include it in the commercial, but the #shamwow is a definite mommy tool. I'm all over it!

Today started off great, Bookie did #2 in the froggie potty. Geez, I'm so glad I didn't have to clean that doodie change, it was like a big cow pie. He loves to go pee pee in the froggie potty now. He gets real excited every time he sees his little car sticker at the bottom, so I got to give a shout-out to my girl Lana at @lanaclevermomme for sending me that potty training sticker! Check them out here.

Only one other accident when he decided to pee on the rug in front of the porch door. I felt like Vince with the piece of carpet. I was cracking myself up.

Dinner will be mediocre tonight. I'm having a lazy day! (Potty training is HE double toothpicks!)

Potty Training Bookie

2009-05-18T11:50:00.000-07:00

I've been potty training Bookie today. He's running around the house naked. And I will say that the Sham Wow is an awesome tool in potty training. I picked up a box at Costco last week and hadn't really used them yet. But let me tell you about all the pee pee it can soak up...

Vince, if you are out there, let me say "Sham WOW!"

Here's a quick video.

Potty Training Bookie from Leah Segedie on Vimeo.

MomActive it is...

2009-05-18T08:11:00.000-07:00

We asked you to vote....and you did!! The new show will be called.....

MOMACTIVE with Bookieboo and Banteringblonde!!

You can start tweeting us @momactive and stay posted for the new momactive.com blog! How exciting!

Thank you to everyone for voting and being involved in naming our new show on....

Beginning June 19th at 1pm CST you can listen in and participate with Leah Segedie of Bookieboo and Fiona Bryan of Banteringblonde on blogtalkradio!

What is the show about you ask? We'll be covering all the current health and fitness issues that concern us as moms. Looking for ways to mix it up or start a new fitness program? Frustrated by your picky eater? Curious about current fitness, nutrition, and health trends? Just want to sit in the chat room and make fun of us? THIS IS THE SHOW FOR YOU!

Now the partying begins! To help us kick off the new show bookieboo.com will be hosting a #bookieb twitter party on Thursday June 18th, 7-10pm CST. Come celebrate with special guests and tons of fabulous giveaways! There will be more information about the twitter party to come...

Casual Friday

2009-05-15T15:32:00.000-07:00

Hello Mr. Grumpy Pants from Leah Segedie on Vimeo.

For more awesome Casual Friday posts, check out Bantering Blonde.

Big Annoucement--Help Us Name Our Show--Rock Your Vote!

2009-05-13T22:39:00.000-07:00

Surprise! It's shocking and you are likely wondering how two girls who barely ever talk could possibly end up on.....

Hey, we have a lot to say and we got tired of just talking amongst ourselves so starting June 19th at 1pm CST you can listen in and participate with Leah Segedie of Bookieboo and Fiona Bryan of Banteringblonde on blogtalkradio!

Only one minor glitch..... we can't agree on what to call our show. This is where you come in. We want YOU to vote on your favorite name in this poll! Now, no pushing or shoving, just calmly take a look at the choices and let us know what YOU would like our show to be called. Voting ends at midnight CST on Sunday May 17th and we'll announce the winning name on Monday May 18th. Then mark your calendars and join us the night before our big debut, on Thursday June 18th, 7-10pm CST for a special #bookieb twitter party where we'll celebrate the premier of this fun show and have special guests and tons of fabulous giveaways.

VOTE NOW!!!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-05-12T21:28:00.000-07:00

Check out 5 Minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesdays.

Mommy Was So Proud!

2009-05-12T14:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a difficult day for Bookie. He got a huge splinter in his foot. I was unable to get it out and didn't want to dig in there with a needle, so we ended up in the urgent care center. Bookie was so brave and sat there patiently with his Leapfrog and daddy until we saw the doctor. The whole ordeal took about two hours.

Anyways, it took four people to hold my son down while they were getting the splinter out. I told them to give him a local before they started because he is very strong, but they didn't listen. I don't think they had any idea how strong a three-year-old could be. The nurse and doctor actually told me that he was the strongest child they had ever run across. Yep, he's definitely trying out for the NFL.

Anyways, why am I so proud? Was it because of how brave he was? Well, yes, but that wasn't the reason I was beaming. Was it how patient he was at the urgent care? Well, I was proud of that too, but my answer will surprise you.

After we finished at the urgent care, we still hadn't had dinner. So my husband and I took him to the dreaded McDonald's drive-thru. He got a cheeseburger happy meal with a vanilla shake. Yes, I know they have healthy options, but this was his first time getting a happy meal, so I figured why not. We got home and he took one bite of cheeseburger, drank about 1/8th of the milk shake, ate 5-6 fries, stole one of father's chicken mcnuggets and then ate all my cantelope. Yes, the kid who had all that fatty food in front of him CHOOSE for himself the cantelope that I was eating. I was soooooo proud!

This might not seem like a big deal to you, but it makes me feel like all my hard work has been rewarded. I work very hard to ensure that my son has good food to eat. I'm not a maniac, but I try to ensure that most meals are prepared by me and don't come from a box or can. I don't like to give him foods with preservatives or hormones or anything in it that I can't pronounce. Of course, I understand that we live in the real world and he's going to be surrounded by food that I wouldn't choose. So I just try to make sure that about 80% of what he eats meets my standards.

When we go to my moms or in-laws, I'm relaxed. They know what I like, but if they don't have that or choose to give him something with corn syrup or something prepacked, I don't freak out. I know that he will eat those thing whether I like it or not, my job is just to ensure that most of what he eats is healthy.

So I'm a proud mother today. My son choose cantelope over a cheeseburger and then went to bed. Today I give myself a pat on the back.

What is Mr. Grumpy Pants Wearing?

2009-05-10T19:24:00.000-07:00

What is Mr. Grumpy Pants Wearing? You can find this outfit at Cutie and Patootie. I went to one of their booths during the Baby Celebration Expo in Los Angeles and picked up this outfit.

Silver Skull Baby Creeper
Jolly Jack Babylegs

Casual Fridays: Bloopers

2009-05-07T21:23:00.000-07:00

Here is attempt #1. The batteries in the camera died...

Casual Friday Bloopers from Leah Segedie on Vimeo.

Attempt #2 without Bookie...ughhh!...brain fart....

Casual Friday Bloopers 2 from Leah Segedie on Vimeo.

Attempt #3....whatever...

Casual Friday Bloopers 3 from Leah Segedie on Vimeo.

Attempt #4....finally...

Casual Friday Bloopers 4 from Leah Segedie on Vimeo.

To see more vlogs like this one, check out Bantering Blonde.

What you can get me on Mother's Day

2009-05-07T17:14:00.000-07:00

I love Shari's Berries! It's sooooo worth the calories.

This Was so Good!

2009-05-06T21:53:00.000-07:00

I was hungry and wanted something different. So I busted out the organic applesauce that I just got at Costcos and then grabbed some candied walnuts I got at Trader Joe's. Yes, I shop at those two stores all the time. Check this snack out:

1/4 cup candied walnuts
1 pack applesauce

I've been weight training, so the fiber and protein was needed.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-05-05T18:23:00.000-07:00

For a list of other participants, check out 5 Minutes for Mom.

OMG! Go To Bed!!!!

2009-05-05T14:55:00.001-07:00

I'd like to welcome you to the adventures of getting two kids on the same nap schedule. This is driving me nuts! I put the toddler down and then put down the baby in my room. The baby is a very light sleeper. Everything wakes him up. I nurse him till he falls asleep. And then the toddler gets upset about something, I run upstairs and fix whatever the problem is, and the baby is up again! This happened three times today. And now I hear the baby crying again...

Let's Check On The Baby from Leah Segedie on Vimeo.

Hmm.....I wonder if I'm really safe yet? I betcha I'll get enough time to write this post and then someone will be crying again....

When people meet Mr. Grumpy Pants in person, they usually say how sweet and easy going he is. Yes, that is true if you are holding him. Here is what happens when you put him down.

Proof He is Grumpy from Leah Segedie on Vimeo.

Oh, oh, .....I hear something....

Vlogemotions for Fort Thompson Carnival

2009-05-03T16:07:00.001-07:00

Here's my vlogemotion for the Fort Thompson Carnival: Gratefulness. He's doing a great giveaway of a Jazz digital camcorder for your vlogging pleasure.

Gratefullness from Leah Segedie on Vimeo.

My Life is Being Taken Over By Toys!

2009-05-03T09:32:00.000-07:00

Has this ever happened to you? The toy area in the house gets bigger and bigger and bigger until you feel like your life is being taken over by toys? I'm at that point right now. When I had one, it was manageable. There were certain places for toys and then places for adult things. Now with two, there are no places for MY things! The clutter is driving me nuts!!!!!!

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a clean freak. That's my husband. I'm comfortable with some disorder, but lately I've been feeling pretty claustrophobic. The walls are closing in and when I look around, all I see are bright colors....Lightening McQueen, Thomas the Tank Engine, wooden railroad tracks, things I have to do reviews on, swings, vibrating chairs, playmats, stuffed animals, DVDs, dirty laundry, etc....

I find myself constantly leaving the house with the kids, because after being in the house for awhile during the day, I get more antsy than my toddler. Serenity now.....I need a good workout!

Casual Friday

2009-04-30T16:01:00.000-07:00

Find more videos like this on bookieboo

For more Casual Fridays, check out Bantering Blonde.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-28T21:46:00.000-07:00

For a list of other participants, check out 5 Minutes for Mom.

Segedie Boys at it Again!

2009-04-26T20:24:00.001-07:00

When things break in your house, what do you usually do? Call the repairman? Yeah, that doesn't happen very often here. The Segedie boys (Mark, my husband, and his father) like to fix things themselves. I cringe and giggle whenever things need to be fixed because I know it's going to be highly entertaining and frustrating at the same time. The Segedie boys will almost never read directions thoroughly, always hurt themselves in some way, but will eventually finish and then make manly grunts which need to be followed by compliments.

What broke this time? My microwave. Oh, and I didn't break it...my husband did. My microwave was an ancient model that is attached to the wall under the cabinets, so it's not like you can just purchase one easily. We measured and went to Lowes. We knew exactly what we wanted and thought we would just have someone come over to install later in the week. Well, it wasn't that easy. Not only did the microwave cost about $280, but they wanted to charge us $40 to come over and measure and then another $120 to install it later the following week. Which means not only would I be out of a microwave for another week or so, but I'd be out of another $160...that blows! Plus, have you ever tried living without a microwave? It was only gone for a day and a half and I thought I was going to die. I never knew how dependent I was on it until it was broken. So I needed one quickly.

So my husband decided he was going to install it himself. Uhhhhhhhhhhh....okay. He asked the guy at Lowes how to do it and he went over it with my husband. We only had to purchase another exhaust vent, which didn't seem too bad. Then we got home and things got interesting.

Okay, so please excuse the mess...it was laundry day and we were trying organize the mess in the kitchen from the....whatever. So here is dad bantering my husband...the two of them can be really funny!

Bantering Segedies from Leah Segedie on Vimeo.

Then here is my husband finding the tools...more bantering...

Mark Finds tools from Leah Segedie on Vimeo.

And then my son decided he was going to help...

Ducktape from Leah Segedie on Vimeo.

My life is never boring...

World of Fitness Tae Bo Memorial--I'll Miss Everyone!

2009-04-24T15:24:00.000-07:00

My gym closed down yesterday and I'm a little bummed. I went to the World Of Fitness Gym founded by Billy Blanks (and Tae Bo), so I wanted to do a special shout-out and post pics & videos of the day. So this special post is dedicated to Shellie & Melanie and all my girls in mourning for Tae Bo on Friday mornings.

Here is my girl Shellie, Billy Blank's daughter. When you workout to Tae Bo DVDs, she's always at the right of your screen counting, giving encouragement and demonstrating crazy kicks.

Find more videos like this on bookieboo

Here are some heart felt hugs today from my friends at the gym.

This is my cousin on the left. We have to find a new class to take on Friday morning now.

I'm gonna miss you guys! Don't forget to stay-in-touch with me, bookieboo78 (at) gmail (dot) com. There's also my Bookieboo social network for moms. :)

Casual Fridays

2009-04-23T20:35:00.001-07:00

I'd love to introduce you to Bookie, my 3-year-old, and Mr. Grumpy Pants, my 3 month old. Bookie was soooo excited to do this for you, but then didn't have as much to say when the camera was on. Don't forget to visit Bantering Blonde and her gals that are participating in Casual Fridays as well!

Find more videos like this on bookieboo

Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-22T07:39:00.001-07:00

For a list of other participants, check out 5 Minutes for Mom.

Just Another Manic Monday

2009-04-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

Life with kids can be a bit crazy. Today was and IS a busy day. And just because I love all of you, I found some time to write a post so you can get a kick out of my crazy life.

Today I had to do the following things: (1) Go to a dermatologist appointment to have them look at a funny freckle and possibly cut it out, (2) get Bookie to the dentist, (3) do my ChaLean Extreme workout, (4) contact some journalists, return emails, mostly just work, (5) wrap presents and (6) attend a family birthday party.

So I had over 100 emails when I woke up this morning. (Oh, and a side note...my husband left early this morning because they had a special project going at work. Usually he helps me in the morning getting the kids together and making my coffee, but this morning, no help.) And and one other thing as a side note for those of you who are following the sleep training saga with Mr. Grumpy Pants...my babies were ANGELS! I couldn't believe it! Bookie work up this morning and said, "Mommy, I'm really happy!" Why, I said. "Because I really like it when (Mr. Grumpy Pants) sleeps in my room." Ahhhhhhhh, my heart is beaming.

So back to the 100 emails with my son downstairs with me. He didn't want to watch the "babysitter" for an hour while I drink my coffee...I'm thinking uh oh...he's going to need me to help him with something before I had my coffee. Damm! Well, at least the baby wasn't up yet. "Mommy, I want to go outside!" I'm thinking, oh goodie!....then, the questions..."mommy, can you open the sandbox?"...."mommy, where is Mr. Gumpy Pants?" (he was still sleeping)...."Mommy, when we wake up Mr. Grumpy Pants can I say, 'wake up lazy bones?'" My 100 emails are never going to get looked at. Then Mr. Grumpy Pants wakes up and we ran upstairs to get him...Bookie says, "wake up lazy bones!"...Some how I sent out two majorly important emails.

Flash forward...my mom comes and I run upstairs to get a shower...can you believe it I got to shower!!?? Ran downstairs 10 minutes later...yeah, I'm fast...got the baby ready...packed two diaper bags--one for me and Mr. Grumpy Pants and for my mom and Bookie...inhaled breakfast and made some for Bookie...nursed the baby and then ran out of the house with the baby to go to my Dermatologist appointment. Got there, saw the doctor...had something cut out of my shoulder and sent to the lab. Then I ran out to the parking lot with the baby and drove to the dentist so I could be there for my son to see the dentist. Drove both kids home while my mom went to Sharkey's to pick up lunch. Then ate lunch, cleaned up the house, nursed the baby, forced some food down Bookie's throat, cleaned up another mess, took Bookie upstairs for his nap, then nursed the baby again, put him down for a nap, changed into my workout clothes, and then I listened to him cry for 5 minutes while I started my ChaLean Extreme workout. Now I've finished my workout and am sweating...I'm not planning on taking another shower...but don't tell anyone...I've got to wrap some presents and then get the kids ready to go to their cousin's birthday party at 5pm.

What a day....

Oh, I got there in time to snap this picture of Bookie at the Dentist.

But no, I haven't gotten through all 100 emails yet...

I'm Weak Sauce

2009-04-18T09:48:00.000-07:00

Last night we put the baby in his own crib at 9pm. He was perfectly content until the mobile stopped. Then the crying started...and I listened and was fine at first. After about 15 minutes, he fell asleep till 1am, then cried, then work up at 3am, which was really good. I gave in and nursed him in my bed at 3am. I'm weak sauce! I don't know if that was the right thing to do, but he was hungry.

He's almost 13 lbs. and is very very long for his age. He's now in 6-9 month clothing and is only 3 months! It's not bulk for him...he's just very long. Does he still need night time feeding?

(Okay side note, Bookie is spending the weekend with grandparents because I didn't want to do this with him in the room. I wanted to get the baby kind of used to his new surroundings first. So on Sunday night...the new HELL will begin with both the baby and toddler in the same room. I can hear it now, "stop crying baby! stop crying baby!" That's what Bookie says when he crys alot.)

Anyone have any advice with getting the two together in the same room?

Oh, here is a pic of the fam on Friday when we took a ride on the real Thomas the Tank Engine.

Casual Fridays

2009-04-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

Bantering Blonde talked me into doing a vlog for you with her Casual Fridays. Here is my first attempt. Hope you like it Fiona!

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Mr. Grumpy Pants

2009-04-15T20:26:00.000-07:00

Mr. Grumpy Pants is 3 months old now. He's getting alot more active and expressive. I wanted to share with you some pictures I took today and a great video.

Find more videos like this on bookieboo

Here is a picture I took today with Shellie Blanks Cimarosti with the World of Fitness Gym . This is Mr. Grumpy Pants & Titus.

Here's my baby in his little Bimbo today.

Here's Mr. Grumpy Pants with my mom, Ya Ya.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-14T22:06:00.000-07:00

I'm Soooo Lucky!

2009-04-14T14:42:00.000-07:00

I'm so fortunate in my life to have grandparents for my children, and to get along with them so well. My mother helps me throughout the week with my children, and this week my mother-in-law has been off to help as well. And it just so happens that Billy Blanks is in town for the entire week and has a special promotion going on at the gym. It's name your price and take as many classes you want. So I've been all over it.

This morning my mom came over and helped me get the kids ready. She made me breakfast and got my older son dressed, while I fed the baby and did some work on the computer. Then I dropped off my oldest at Grammo's (mother-in-law) and my mom came with me to watch the baby at the World of Fitness Gym in Westlake Village. It was nice to be able to see alot of familiar faces again. They came for the special promo and to work out with Billy. They got to see my baby and hold him. Then we all worked out together while my mom watched little Mr. Grumpy Pants. My mom told me that the entire time, Mr. Grumpy Pants was dancing to the music. Well, he worked out with me almost everyday while I was pregnant, so of course it's familiar. And he falls asleep sometimes to me doing Tae Bo at home. He was excited to be there. And he got to see little Titus, Shellie's new baby. Titus held his hand for a couple of seconds and smiled at him. Little Mr. Grumpy Pants was a very good boy today.

Afterward, my mom and I went back to Grammo's. I showered and we ate lunch and then chased Bookie around the house. I feel so fortunate sometimes. The only thing that is really important in life is family and I have that in abundance.

Oh, here is a picture of my mom, Bookie, and Grammo at the Underwood Family Farm in Moorpark. We went there yesterday.

An Easter Tradition

2009-04-12T20:40:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago, I started taking pictures of family members with bunny ears, and today it's gotten out of control. Here is some Easter fodder for ya...

Here are my boys: Father-in-law, Bookie, Daddy & Mr. Grumpy Pants

Here is my husband and I...yes, the happy couple...

Here is Grammo & Bookie...

Ah ha! My mom wasn't going to get off that easy!

And here is my brother and Nana (my grandma)...

Hope you enjoyed my lunacy! How was your Easter?

My Redesign: What do you think?

2009-04-10T20:59:00.000-07:00

This is my new redesign. I really liked the way it came out. It was a labor of love. I want to give Lindsey from Lindsey Joy Design a shout out. It was fun working with you again!

Lindsey is awesome! She was quick, very efficient and a pleasure to work with. If you take a look at her portfolio, she's done alot of other mommy blogs you have seen out there.

Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think of the new design. Also, what else do you think I should add on my sidebars? I'm open to suggestions...

I'm linking this site to my other giveaway site, Bookieboo Rave Reviews & Giveaways. Make sure to check there often for awesome mommy & fitness giveaways.

I Did It Again!

2009-04-10T15:33:00.000-07:00

Today I went to a Tae Bo Class with my cousin. The instructor was Shellie, Billy Blank's daughter. Last time I took one of her classes, I threw up half way through it. And guess what? I did it again! This time I lasted 45 minutes or so before it happened, but I couldn't believe it!

So you might as well call me Leah "the urper" Segedie. I'll take it...that'll be my name unless you can come up with something better. Here's a shout-out to Shellie--"Dang girl you kicked my butt!....thanks!"

Oh, and I just wanted to add in case any of you live in the Los Angeles area that the World of Fitness Gym founded by Billy Blanks is having a special next week. It's pay your own price for a class. You name the price and come take classes all week. And Billy will be in town teaching, so check the schedule.

If you are planning on going let me know, because I'm going to a bunch of classes and maybe we can meet up.

And just for fun, here's a picture of Shellie & I bumping bellies when we were both pregnant.

Bye Bye Bookie!

2009-04-09T19:26:00.000-07:00

Today Bookie spent the day with Grammo. He loves Grammo. Everyone else pays attention to the baby, but Grammo still makes James her favorite. This is all he understands. So he always clings to her whenever she is around. Poor little guy. I was the older child and know how it feels to be displaced by a baby. I clung to my Aunt Margie. I was always her favorite and she spoiled me rotten.

Tomorrow I want to go to a Tae Bo class, so I was going to have to get up earlier to get Bookie all ready to go to Grammo's again. I realized it might be easier to just let her keep him overnight. So I decided to go over to her house to explain what was going on to him and give him some kisses. I got there before he work up from his nap. When he woke up, he didn't look too interested in me. So I talked to him a bit and asked him if he wanted to have a slumber party at Grammos. His eyes got real big and said "yes!" Then I asked him if it was okay to let Grammo hold his brother for a couple of minutes. He said "okay" but then when I handed the baby to her he ran over and said, "mommy you need to go now and Grammo needs to play with me! Grammo give the baby back to mommy!"

Poor little guy! Grammo's house is the only place he's still #1. I don't blame him for wanting to stay there longer. I'm just happy he doesn't take his fustration out on his brother.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-08T22:24:00.001-07:00

Have I Stretched Myself Too Thin?

2009-04-07T19:12:00.000-07:00

I have a habit of taking on way too much and then stressing out trying to get it all done. I'll give you an example. My baby has just turned 12 weeks old and already I'm one month into an extreme 3 month body building regiment, I work out 6 days a week, I've started up two brand new blogs: Bookieboo Rave Reviews & Giveaways AND Serenity Now, I'm organizing a Twitter party on April 16th, my son has "mommy & me" preschool on Wednesday then we have lunch with grandma afterward, I go to Weight Watchers meetings every Thursday, and Fridays I go to a Tae Bo class with my cousin. Then I have to do the everyday mom things like cook, clean (i hate cleaning), diaper, dress, chauffeur, do laundry (I hate laundry), and whatever else I do everyday. Then of course, my family is adjusting to the new addition to the family. I haven't gotten any sleep in months. My toddler is showing some disciplinary problems adjusting to the new baby, which I know is normal, but very difficult to deal with. Oh, did I mention, I'm not getting any sleep?

My husband thinks I'm crazy and sometimes I agree. I just can't stand still. I always feel like I have to keep pushing forward. What I really need to do is stop every once in a while and smell the roses.

30 Day Weigh In

2009-04-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo! I just finished my first 30 days of ChaLean Extreme and here are my results.

Lost 10 inches
Lost 7 lbs.
Went down 1% in body fat
Down 2 dress sizes

I've been working my butt off 6 days a week: 3 days of strength training & 3 days of cardio/Tae Bo. I've been doing more than the ChaLean Extreme program asks for because on one of my off days, I take a Tae Bo class with Shellie (Billy Blank's daughter) and my cousin. I'm also doing Weight Watchers to watch my diet. I love Weight Watchers because it's easier than counting calories and a great way for me to quantify my weight management.

Here is a video of the program I've been on:

OMG...Go to Bed!

2009-04-02T14:56:00.000-07:00

My baby is the snuggliest little guy ever, but he also NEVER wants to be put down. I don't remember having this issue with my first one. If I put him down, he cries and cries...sometimes he falls asleep, but other times he just keeps crying till the crocodile tears come out and he's red in the face. My husband thinks I'm the biggest sucker holding him all the time. I always hear, "he's got your number!"

It's not just that I have to hold him. He can be held by pretty much anyone...just has to be held. Does this mean I have a more affectionate, snuggly little guy or something else? And please don't say all babies are that way, because i've seen plenty of babies that will give their moms a rest. Mine..not so much...

I'd love your thoughts...

Having Fun with Grammo

2009-04-01T22:28:00.001-07:00

Every Wednesday we go to "mommy & me" preschool and then at lunch join Grammo (mother-in-law) in her own preschool classroom just a couple of doors down. Bookie loves his Grammo. Here is a video of them having fun together.

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Bad Bad Mommy

2009-04-01T21:22:00.000-07:00

We went to Disneyland this Monday for the first time with Mr. Grumpy Pants (my 11 week old baby) and Bookie (my 3-year-old). My mom kept bugging me to go and I kept putting it off thinking it would be impossible. (Maybe some of you think I'm being overly dramatic, but you have no idea how active my son is...he's like Animal from the Muppet Babies.) So I finally gave in and decided to go on Monday. I got out of the house with everything I needed, but didn't even get a chance to put any make-up on or something that didn't look frumpy.

So why am I a bad mother? Well, after all that fuss to get little Mr. Grumpy Pants to Disneyland, I only got one picture of him there. Here is little Mr. Grumpy Pants at Mickey's House in the baby carrier. You can barely see him. When my husband saw this, he laughed hysterically.

We Fit Families Twitter Party March 30th

2009-03-29T21:49:00.000-07:00

We Fit Families are having a Twitter party. Here are some details:

Date: March 30, 2009
Time: 6:00 PM PST, 7:00 PM MST, 9:00 PM EST
Prizes: New prizes being added all week! Stay tuned!
Theme: Healthy snacks

Andrea Deckard of the very popular blog Mommy Snacks will be the official guest host along with both founders of WeFitFamilies.com, @Toni_gpb (Toni-Lynn) and @Chaotic_Barb.

They also have a great giveaway going as well during the event.

Come get more details here.

I Threw up! Can you believe it??!!

2009-03-27T14:04:00.001-07:00

On Friday, I went with my cousin to a Tae Bo class. It was also a certification class that Shellie (Billy Blank's daughter) was teaching. That's when people come from all over the country to get certified to teach Tae Bo. So the classes are alot harder than normal and it gets very crowded very quickly and then starts to feel like a sauna in 15 minutes because everyone is breathing on each other.

I worked my butt off and by the time it had been about 35 minutes, I ran to the back patio to throw up. I've never done that, but I did it Friday. Yep, just like on the Biggest Loser. It wasn't too much, but I can remember thinking how embarrassing it was and how surprised I was when it happened. It must have been the breastfeeding and the labor and delivery. Yes, I'm stubborn, so I went back into the class and kept going for another 5-10 minutes and then gave up.

I was bummed that I had to stop. I haven't finished a Tae Bo class early since I first started. I was mad at myself. The other problem was my mom was watching my kids, and the class started an hour late and I didn't want her to have to watch 3 toddlers plus a newborn for more than two hours. (Oh, my cousin was with me too...I don't have 4 kids...but together we do...my mom is so cool, isn't she?!!)

Anyways, I'm bummed I stopped, but I know that sometimes I'm too stubborn and determined for my own good. So I've got my cousin in there with me and Shellie kept coming over to me checking on me to see if I was okay. She calls me "mama" in class...we have kids that are similar in ages and were pregnant together this last time. So she definatly understands what it's like to recover from a delivery and try to get back in shape.

It's always dangerous when I'm in a room full of professional fitness trainers, and just me being a novice, because I push myself harder to try and keep up. It's only been about 10 weeks since the baby was born, but I get so frustrated when my stamina isn't as good as it used to be. And actually, I'm still slower than what I was when I was pregnant. But it's getting better with each day. Rome wasn't built in a day.

I worked almost this hard when I was pregnant, but monitored my exhertion closely to make sure I wasn't hurting the baby. I think I worked out so hard when I was preggers because of the speed of the weight gain. I was gaining like crazy..and it wasn't going all to my belly..it was going to my butt and thighs and everywhere I knew was going to be a bitch to work off. It's not like I was eating everything in sight. I was eating appropriately. I think the problem was my metabolism. After losing over 100 lbs., my body started freaking out during pregnancy and wanted to hold on to the weight for the baby. Geez!

Oh, I keep digressing. So I threw up in class today...my cousin rushed me some water and told me we could go home at anytime. I got stubborn and had to continue for a bit then knew it was over. Can you believe when I got back to her house, I took a quick shower and then we rushed off to a playdate? Yeah, I can rest when I'm dead...that's what I always say.

Here's my little monkey after a long day of playing in the dirt with his cousins.

Bookieboo Twitter Party--Come Join Us!

2009-03-25T14:10:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Come join us for our first Twitter party brought to you by Bookieboo and Childhood Clothing. We are assembling on April 16th from 6pm to 10pm PST. There will be plenty of moms, some fitness & nutritional professionals, and possibly some stalkers. There's always a couple. Use hashtag #boo for the party. If you are unfamiliar with Twitter, click here for a great explanation.

I'd recommend you check out Tweet Grid if you haven't already. Tweet Grid is an awesome tool you can use that night to read what is going on and see everyone's tweets. Click on the "1x3" box. When you get to the next page, you will see three columns. The first one will say "twitter" and the other two will be blank. There you need to insert "boo" for one of them and your Twitter ID on the last one. So mine would be "boo" and "bookieboo." Then click search for both of them. Above that under hashtag put "#boo" and then fill in your Twitter Id and password. My Twitter ID is "bookieboo." After all that is done you are ready to party. You type your responses in the box that currently says, "I'm getting real-time search results at TweetGrid http://tweetgrid.com/."

How can you help? Well, I'm glad you asked. We need help promoting the party. You can steal one of our images and post it on your site AND twitter about the party. That would be the best way to show us the love. Below are the banners & an example tweet. (This will also enter you into the giveaway, but make sure to leave a comment below.)

"Mark your calendars, the Bookieboo moms are coming out in force on Thursday, April 16th from 6 to 10pm PST. #boo, http://is.gd/oWLx"

The topic will be Fitness & Being a Mom. Wow, that is a broad topic, so we have cut it up into mini-segments that I'm hoping you will enjoy.

1. Fitness/nutrition during pregnancy
2. Creative exercises when you have kids
3. How to get your family to eat healthy
4. Getting back into your old jeans
5. Diet pitfalls and things you may not think about
6. What works for you: different types of exercises to try
7. Running & jogging strollers

If you have a suggestions for additional topics you would like us to cover, send me an email at bookieboo78@gmail.com.

Make sure to follow our wonderful guests:
1. Julie with The Wii Mommies
2. Sadie Nardini with Fierce Club Yoga Studio
3. Kimberly Blaine, The Go-To Mom and author of Mommy Confidence
5. Lindsay Brin from Moms into Fitness
6. Coach Jenn with Beach Body and Personal Fitness Coach
7. Kat with Kat's Healthy Living
8. Nisha with The 9 Month Club

Come follow the moderators:
1. Leah Segedie with Bookieboo
2. Kelly Loubet with Childhood Clothing

Here are our giveaway prizes you can win:

1. Total Body Transformation DVD from Sadie Nardini
2. Free Class at Fierce Club in New York from Sadie Nardini
3. Book: Mommy Confidence from Kimberly Blaine
4. Stroller Workout for Moms DVD/CD Set from Sara Holliday
5. Childhood Clothing 2 Piece Summer Set
6. Pink Creative Labs VADO Pocket Video Camera courtesy of Newbaby.com
7. 10-pack of Wrigley's Extra Sugar-Free gum, courtesy of Gail from Shrinkingsisters.com
8. Cry Babyz Wet Bag courtesy of The Spunky Monkey
9. Baby Boot Camp New Mom Gift Pack including a t-shirt, water bottle, resistance tube, and one week of free classes at any location
10. Thin Thighs Guaranteed DVD courtesy of Coach Jenn

How to enter: Grab one of our banners and post them on your site. Make sure to leave a comment when you do so and tell me your top 3 giveaway favorites. If you don't have a site, make sure to visit Childhood Clothing and tell me what your favorite product is from their site and then tell me your top 3 favorite from the giveaway.

(Graphics by Switchblade Designs)

For extra entries, tweet about the Twitter party. Make sure to use hashtag #boo in your tweet. Every extra tweet gets you an extra entry, but remember to come back and comment that you did it when you're done.

Here is the example tweet again:

"Mark your calendars, the Bookieboo moms are coming out in force on Thursday, April 16th from 6 to 10pm PST. #boo, http://is.gd/oWLx"

Please RSVP!! Let us know you are coming by using Mr. Linky.

Woo Hoo Weight Loss

2009-03-22T21:50:00.001-07:00

Yes, I'm obsessed about my weight. I'm just going to tell you that before I get into things. But I'm very excited to be losing weight finally.

(Here's my husband catching me eating my first Ho Ho in over 3 years while I was about 8 months pregnant...it's kind of a joke in our house.)

I was cleared for exercise at week 4, instead of week 6 because I had healed so well and had such an easy delivery. (Exercise during pregnancy is worth the effort. Not only do you feel good and get strong, but you are able to handle every day tasks better and the delivery is alot easier.) So I started the first day I possibly could back and was surprised by how exhausted I got. I had more stamina when pregnant than the first couple of weeks back. I'm sure it had to do with the stress my body went through during the labor and pregnancy and the lack of sleep I was getting staying up with the baby. Well anyways, I busted my ass for three weeks and nothing. I didn't lose any weight. I was shocked. It was so frustrating. It wasn't about what I was putting in my mouth because I joined Weight Watchers and was following the breastfeeding mother program as closely as possible. I got so frustrated because last time the weight came off when I put in the effort. All I had to do was get a little bit of exercise and watch what I ate and with the breastfeeding, the weight came off. This time, not so much.

(My inside monitor: Okay back up Leah! They may not know why you are so obsessed with weight.) After my first son was born, I lost 104 lbs. with diet and exercise. It completely changed my life and made me a fitness nut. I went from a size 22 to a size 8 and did it in two years. So you can imagine how hard it was for me to gain weight during pregnancy. It was hard on my psyche, but I did it for my son. And now that he's out, I'm back to beating my body back into shape.

So flash forward to week 7 when I was beating my head up against the wall because I couldn't figure out why I was working so hard and the scale wasn't moving. I realized that I had to start doing something different to get the result I wanted. The way I was doing it obviously wasn't working. Coach Jenn on my site did a couple of posts on some Beach Body products and one was a strength training program called ChaLean Extreme. I decided to try it because it was different. So I did and have been doing it for three weeks. So far, I've lost 5 lbs. and 4 inches off my thighs. I haven't measured all my areas yet, but will be doing so for the difference next week and will share that with you.

Woo hoo!

Giving a 3 Year-Old a Camera

2009-03-21T09:29:00.000-07:00

I gave Bookie the camera the other day. I wanted to share with you a couple of pictures he took and some I took of him. We get a little silly...

He told me to lay on Lightening McQueen & Mater and stick out my tongue. No problem Bookie! Mommy is happy to be silly for the camera...

Here he wanted a silly face. This is my silliest...I bust it out to make the kids laugh...but watch out doing it around babies...they might cry.

Here's Bookie trying to mimic mommy. I love having boys!

Here he wanted to pose sitting on both Lightening McQueen and Mater. He loves these little rider cars. He usually rides Lightening McQueen and daddy rides Mater around the house.

Oh, and let me include this video of Mr. Grumpy Pants and Yaya. Watch out! You're ovaries might start to quiver when you watch this handsome little guy smile.

Find more videos like this on bookieboo

Ultimate Blog Party--2009 Edition

2009-03-20T16:11:00.000-07:00

Hi! Welcome to my blog. This is a picture of me. I just started this blog up a week ago. I've never done a personal blog before, but it looked like fun so I decided I didn't want to be left behind. I also have the Bookieboo social network for moms into fitness and Bookieboo Rave Reviews & Giveaways. I'd welcome you to visit those as well.

I'm known mostly for my own weight loss. I lost over 100 lbs. after I had my first son, and now I'm working off my last 35 lbs. from my second son, who was born 9 weeks ago. I'm passionate about fitness, my family, and getting to know other moms. I'd love to get to know you, so leave a comment, follow my blog, or follow me on twitter.

I have two boys: one 9 weeks old who I refer to as "Mr. Grumpy Pants" and a 3 year old who is "Bookie." Yes, I named my other sites after him. I used to call him Bookieboo when he was just a baby. I also have a wonderful husband, mother, mother-in-law, father-in-law and cousin in my life that I spend a great deal of time with. My days are crazy, filled with toddler classes, play dates, grocery shopping, helping my cousin watch her kids or vice versa, Tae Bo classes, weight lifting, Weight Watcher classes, and running to my moms about 30 minutes away with the kids. When do I have time for my business? Well, a little bit here and there, which is one of the reasons why this post took me as long as it did.

Anyways, I'm excited to be part of my first blog party! Thanks for visiting my blog!

Feed the Doggies

2009-03-19T12:33:00.000-07:00

Getting Bookie to eat sometimes is a chore. Yes, I still feed him. Mostly because he doesn't eat anything unless I shovel it into his mouth and also because it's just alot faster. I went to my cousin's house today and actually got my son to eat by letting him "feed the doggies."

My cousin's son loves dogs and has several stuffed doggies. They were sitting on the couch and my son was playing with them. It was lunchtime and I asked him if he was hungry and got the "no thank you" response. So I asked him, "do you want to feed the doggies up on the table?" And his eyes got really big and he said "yes!" So we took the stuffed animals to the table and pretended to feed them there and every bite they ate, he ate.

We used to have no toys at the table rule because he couldn't concentrate to eat. Now I'm thinking maybe we should let him bring some "friends."

Update: So during dinner, I let him bring a "friend" to dinner and guess what?...no eating again! Ahhhh...toddlers!

I WILL Have My Two Hour Nap Time

2009-03-18T15:41:00.000-07:00

Does this happen to you? If you child falls asleep in the car ride home for a couple minutes, does he have trouble napping when he gets home? This happened again today. Little Bookie fell asleep in the car for about 3 minutes. I was talking to my mom and noticed there was silence in the back seat. I looked back and he was asleep. I'm thinking...ah, sh*t...this is going to another failed attempt at napping.

For those of you who don't have kids, understand that nap time isn't really for the child, it's for the sanity of the adult. If I don't have my two hours of silence everyday where I can work, watch tv, workout or do whatever I want without interference, I go nuts! Being a parent is exhausting! It's not just all the physical work you have to do, it's the mental stuff. You gotta be "on" from the time they wake up until they sleep. What do you mean by "on?" Well, you know how mentally exhausting it is to have to give a speech to a group of people. Where you can't turn your mind off and have to pay attention to everything? That's how I would describe motherhood. You're looking out for all kinds of things that can hurt your child. You're also monitoring behavior, trying to provide enough stimiluation, watching what you say....sometimes I get so tired my potty mouth gets the best of me....feeding, clothing, arguing, disciplining, etc. It's enough to drive you batty! So what I'm saying is I WILL have my two hour nap! He's upstairs in his crib right now screaming, but am I going to go to him?....no! My sanity is more important than his boredom...at least right now...

Oh, and I've put the baby on a nap schedule too, so he sleeps when his brother does. I hope this lasts!

I Love Boobies!

2009-03-17T18:56:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite videos of my son Bookie. He made up this song and it made me laugh hysterically, so he kept doing it. The melody is originally "I Like Ants" from Yo Gabba Gabba. We were at my moms for Thanksgiving last year when it happened. Enjoy!

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Here he goes singing it again!

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My Little Cooer

2009-03-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

Mr. Grumpy Pants has his moments of adorable cuteness. I filmed this yesterday when he turned 2 months old. Sorry it's dark, but I don't have video editing software. Enjoy!

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We Missed St. Patty's Day

2009-03-16T14:46:00.000-07:00

Okay I know what you are thinking, St. Patty's Day is tomorrow. But my brother's birthday is on St. Patty's Day and every year we would celebrate with corned beef and cabbage and green 7-up. Then when we got older it was green beer. Yes, we are Irish as well as a couple other things, but Irish on St. Patty's Day. The only year I missed it was in 2001 when I spent St. Patty's Day in Ireland. I was living in London that semester for college. (That year they canceled St. Patty's Day because of foot and mouth disease or some crazy thing all the cattle were getting in England...and they didn't want the tourists bringing it to Ireland....ahh, but I digress...)

Last night, we were supposed to be at my moms for dinner. This was going to be Mr. Grumpy Pant's first St. Patrick's Day. We had a little outfit for him with a leprechaun hat. Bookie was sooo excited to see Uncle Mike, my brother. He totally loves my brother and gets excited whenever he walks into the room. I started taking pictures with them together and then putting them in a calendar for the year. So this is an important family thing. Poor little Mr. Grumpy Pants has a cold. Okay, that's not the big deal, but the amount of mucus coming out of his little nose it making it impossible for him to eat or sleep without having to get suctioned out by that monstrosity of a bulb syringe I have. So basically there is alot of crying constantly and I just didn't want to bring all that to my moms and ruin my brother's birthday.

I talked to my brother and apologized and asked if we could reschedule. I'm hoping he lets me...I really really want that picture!

Here's a picture from last year with Bookie and Uncle Mike.

The New Crib

2009-03-14T17:48:00.001-07:00

When you purchase things like cribs, don't always believe the dimensions they give you online.

Today we went to get a new crib that we saw online. We wanted the most inexpensive one they had because we're planning on throwing it away in a year. We found the perfect crib and figured it would fit exactly in Bookie's room with little room to spare. Well, when we got to Babies R' Us the crib we wanted was very rickety. Of course, what do you get for $129? It looked as if it was put together with toothpicks. So we ended up choosing another one that was significantly more expensive, but smaller in length.

Getting it home was funny. I was watching my husband and father-in-law argue about how to get it in the car...should it be bungied or squished inside. The both of them hungry...Segedie men aren't happy when they are hungry. Then watching how stubborn both my husband and father-in-law are when it comes to lifting heavy things. They both think they should be able to do it all by themselves and don't wait for each other. My father-in-law got inpatient and tried to pick it up and shove it in the back...I'm yelling because everything is getting off balance. Then when we get home and my husband hurried and got everything in the house without waiting for help. Geez! This becomes problematic because they both have bad backs and can get hurt. When they actually get hurt because they were being stubborn, they pretend they aren't hurt, but you can totally see the sweat coming off their brow and red face and expression. Anyways....I digress....

Okay we got it home and my mother and I are trying to keep Mr. Grumpy Pants and Bookie entertained in a small condo while my husband and father-in-law are assembling the crib upstairs. We soon realized that there wasn't enough room. (Yeah, wasn't this crib supposed to be smaller?) So what we ended up doing was putting one of the dressers in the closet. You know things become serious when men start talking about getting the hacksaw out. My husband was going to use a hacksaw to saw off the bottom hanger rod in the closet, but we ended up getting it out with some kicking and a crowbar.

From the time we left to get the crib to the time we had the bedroom done, it was about 4 hours. Everyone was exhausted and my son didn't get his usual 2 hour nap because we were using his room.

Boogey Boy

2009-03-14T07:58:00.000-07:00

My poor newborn is plagued with boogers. Almost every night, I have to use that crazy looking bulb syringe to suction him out while he screams. This is partially my own fault. I get so tired that when I'm feeding him, I bring him in the bed and lay down. Then I fall asleep. I end up waking up hours later getting kicked and hearing little grunts--my wake-up call.

When he sleeps laying down the mucus pools into his nose. (He used to be plagued by spit-up, but that has seemed to pass and now we have moved on to boogers.) He's supposed to be sleeping in his carseat elevated by the pack'n'play right next to the bed. When he sleeps there, we don't have problems. I just can't seem to fight the urge to lay back down when I'm breastfeeding in the middle of the night.

Ahhhh, newborns. I'm not getting any sleep, but he is cute, isn't he?

Back in the Saddle Again

2009-03-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

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This morning was awesome! My mom came over to watch the kids and I made it over to the World of Fitness Gym. That's where Billy Blanks teaches Tae Bo. I took one of Shellie's classes, his daughter. We both have kids almost the same age. Her oldest is a little younger than mine and she now has a baby about two months older than mine. I finished the one hour class. It's a killer, but I did it.

As for my fitness routine, today was supposed to be my rest day, but I can rest when I'm dead. I still have all this weight to lose. This was my first day back taking a class, and the classes are way harder than the DVDs.

I've attached a video for you to see of a Tae Bo class from months ago. Shellie was pregnant and so was I. After about 40 minutes, I had finished and couldn't go on anymore, so I decided to film. Enjoy!

Life Can Be Over in a Matter of Seconds

2009-03-12T21:20:00.000-07:00

Today was a normal Thursday, I went to Weight Watchers with my cousin and some of her friends. We walked afterward and I found out that just blocks from where my cousin lives, a woman was struck in the cross walk by a driver that was driving recklessly in a school zone. The woman was pushing a two year old in a stroller and only had time to throw the stroller aside as far as she could before she was struck by the car. She took the entire blow, and saved the child. The child was her niece. It amazes me sometimes how instinctual protecting our young is. No one knows if the woman is going to survive.

My cousin's friend, let's call her Smiley because she has a beautiful smile, is trying to organize all the moms in the community to come out in force to the local city council meeting. This is in the City of Thousand Oaks. The school that my cousin lives by is a small elementary school in a residential area. It's close to a street that is busy, but not large. But people drive very fast down that street and in this case, were not paying attention to what is going on. There is very little signage posted alerting drivers to the fact that it's a school zone, and according to Smiley, similar schools have an outlandish set-up of signage, cross walk lights, and other bells and whistles to caution drivers. We need these type of precautionary measures on this road as well. Smiley has been trying to alert the city to this problem for some time and is even more determined to do so now. I've volunteered to help her with her campaign. My background is in politics, and helping to organize moms will be right up my alley.

That is such a horrible thing to happen in front of an elementary school. I'll keep you posted on what happens.

Beginnings

2009-03-11T22:10:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am starting up my own personal blog. I never thought I would ever do this. Why? Because I'm usually a private person when it comes to things. I was just brought up that way. When I was a kid, my mom taught me that no matter how bad things get at home, when I go out in public, I'm always supposed to have a smile on my face. Airing dirty laundry wasn't something we did. Now don't get me wrong, my childhood was normal. We weren't that dysfunctional or anything, it was just a rule after disagreements and fights. When I was in the workforce, that was a great rule to follow. People really don't like to hear your issues all the time. They don't respect you as much. So I'm not sure how much I'm going to reveal about my personal matters. But that may change. Who knows, I might get comfortable enough to start spewing it all.

Okay, so what is going on with me right now?...well, I've just had my second child and he's about 8 weeks old. I refer to him as Mr. Grumpy Pants. I also have a 3 year old son, whom I refer to as Bookie. (He was who I named the Bookieboo social network after when all this started. In the picture you see Bookie, Mr. Grumpy Pants and their cousin.) I love my little men. After my first son, I lost about 104 lbs. through diet and hard work. I became a big fan of Weight Watchers and Tae Bo. With this last baby, I gained more than I wanted, but believe it or not, worked out like a fiend. (Yes, I'm obsessed with my weight...but you will see me start to calm down about it when I get closer to my goal.) When I was pregnant, I was doing Bootcamps, Tae Bo classes, and jogging. As I got bigger, the less I could do, but you can ask anyone that has worked out with me, I was one tough pregnant girl.

My world right now is trying to adjust to having a newborn and toddler and make sense of it, while trying not to ignore my husband. I'm learning it as I go, but I have great support from my mom and cousin, who has kids the same age. (I have no idea what I would do without them. My cousin is like my older sister and my mom is of course my mom. We refer to her as Yaya.) I'm also really really into fitness, so I'm very focused on losing the left over baby weight. I've got about 37 lbs. to go. The moms on my site are doing it with me in a group called "Losing Weight with Leah." If you want to join me, I'd love to have you.

I will say this. I don't embarrass easily, and most of the time I don't care to monitor what I'm saying or writing. I really don't care what most people think, unless it affects my family. My in-laws are never surprised by what comes out of my mouth now, and my own mother, well, let's say that I learned it from her. My father was perpuetually red by what came out of her mouth.

A little bit more about myself and family. My husband is my best friend. We share everything...sometimes a little too much. Use your imagination. My mom is the closest girlfriend I have. I can talk to her about pretty much anything. I have a great relationship with my in-laws, which I know isn't common, so I consider myself very fortunate. My mother and husband get along very well too. She's careful not to overstep her bounds and he's very tolerant. My cousin moved close by to me a couple of years ago and our children are growing up together. I love her and am so fortunate to have her so close. Never had a sister, and she's the closest I have to one.

I'm sure you'll get a kick out of my everyday life. I'm eccentric, tend to take on too much work, have an uncommon sense of humor for a girl, and make friends easily.

About Me

2009-03-10T08:10:00.000-07:00

My name is Leah Segedie and I'm also the Publisher of Bookieboo, fitness hangout for moms, and Bookieboo Rave Reviews & Giveaways. I'm a stay-at-home mom of two boys with a busy schedule. After the birth of my first son in 2006, I lost over 100 lbs. and realized that fitness was the only way for me to keep my sanity in a world of diapers and temper tantrums. Fitness has been a great stress reliever, hobby and life saver. Earlier this year, I had another baby and am working off the remaining weight one pound at a time with hard work and dedication.

My background is in Communications. I have a Masters Degree from USC in Communication Management. Go Trojans! I also did my undergraduate degree there. I was on scholarship, because darn that school is expensive! I spent two years working for the California State Assembly and then another couple years as a fundraiser and then public relations manager in the corporate world. But when I became a mom, I found my passion.

I love to write and connect with other moms, review products, crack jokes, and make people feel loved. I'm also on twitter. You can connect with me there too!

Linky Love

2009-03-09T22:03:00.000-07:00

If you would like to do a link or banner exchange with Serenity Now, grab our banner and stick it on your site and then send me an email, bookieboo78 (at) gmail (dot) com.

Advertise

2009-03-09T22:02:00.000-07:00

Interested in advertising on Serenity Now?

Email me at bookieboo78@gmail.com for a media kit.

Radio Shows

2009-01-20T11:12:00.000-08:00

Here are some awesome radio shows you can check out! The Bantering Blonde and I will be starting up our own show on June 19th. But here is the line-up we are joining forces with:

9:00am CST The ChatterBox
Show

10:00am CST The Beauty Bunch

11:00am CST Chicks Who Chat

1:30 pm CST Coastal Chicks Unplugged

2:30 pm CST MomFaves