Saturday, December 20, 2008

pictures of the kids



was going to use these photos in a Christmas card-but I am a little late. So think I'll use it for a "Happy New Year" or "change of address" card!! will see what I can come up with!

December Update!

Wow things are surely busy for us right now. We are still trying to get settled into our new home-we still have boxes that need to be unpacked. We have been busy at work preparing for the Christmas season, the program and making ornaments and crafts. I've also been trying to do some things at home with the kids. Busy, busy, busy!

I have really enjoyed making crafts and ornaments this year-my dinning room has become the "craft room" for the month of December. I have pictures of some of the ornaments we have made-but I'll have to figure out how to upload photos from my camera before I can upload them!

Monday, November 17, 2008

School Photos

The kids are enjoying school these days. They both are doing so well and adjusting so well. I can see both of them in the hallway or lunch room and give them a hug or blow them a kiss and they do fine-no more tears! Sometimes if I get to close to baby girl she will start to cry-so I try to keep my distance which an be difficult at times since I walk by her class several times a day. But here are a few pics of the kids at school. Enjoy!





deer photos


Well as most of you know we recently sold our house and have moved into a new house. Well one afternoon while visiting a few open houses a friend and I stumbled upon a beautiful house-just down the street from our new neighborhood. The house was beautiful and the view out the back was beautiful. Unfortunately not only was it most likely out of our price range but the back yard was just WAY too small for us. But luckily I had my camera with me and snapped a few pictures from the driveway overlooking the backyard. Here is what we saw that day...

Now that would have been awesome to wake up to that sight every morning. But like I said it isn't too far from our neighborhood so maybe those guys will grace us with their presence from time to time. My dad has already seen one on the main street leading to our neighborhood!

Recycled crayons

Well I am a recycling nut!! I am so bad about keeping anything and everything thinking there must be another purpose for it or some way to reuse or recycle it. Problem is I am not creative enough to think of things on my own. But here is a supper great idea I found at this cute little website Chica and Jo. Very cute idea!

Now they took it a few steps further than I did. I simply peeled crayons and then broke them into pieces and placed them in small circle muffin pans. Then melted them in the oven and placed them in the freezer for a few hours. I sorted mine by color-but next I might try the multi-colored ones shown on this website. I'll also have to check out the dollar stores and clearance racks for cute little shaped trays.


Here are my crayons about broken and peeled..


and here is the finish product...


Yes the peeling of the crayons took some time-but I work at a daycare so playing with crayons kinds fits into my job description!!! Very fun project that will probably result in some very cute gift ideas for my kids daycare classes this year! I better get busy melting crayons!!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

NEW HOME

As most of you know our home has been on the market for 2 long years!! Finally we have sold our home. We actually have closed on it and moved out. We are now in limbo waiting to close on our new home. Luckily the current owners allowed us to move our stuff into the garage since we plan to close on Tuesday. We are moving to a smaller home but at least it will be one level and hopefully easier to manage. The back yard is still a good size but still manageable. We look forward to getting settled into our new home and community and so gratefull for all the thoughts and prayers during this time.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Changes and Updates

Well so much has been going on the last few weeks. We finally have an offer on our house and we've been working to get everything in order. We have been out looking at houses and we have another outing scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. I'm sure we won't have any trouble finding anything, but the potential buyers want to close on October 30th!! Yes that is fast approaching. I have a wedding to shoot this Saturday and Keith is working this weekend, so we only have one weekend to really pack and move out. So hopefully we will find something this week and all the inspections and things that need to be approved will get done quickly as well.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

check this brain teaser out

Yes it is in Japanese but the point is to remember the numbers and click on the circles in order from least to greatest!! See if you can beat my score of 24!

Brain Teaser

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Life

Well things have been so crazy lately. I'm working 35 (give or take) hours a week and some days I don't get off until 6:00pm. So we don't get home on those nights until about 7, which means by the time we have supper and baths it's the kid's bedtime. Which doesn't leave anytime for fun. So I've been trying several different things the last few weeks. One thing I've done is put baby girl to sleep while J plays on the computer or in his room. Once she is asleep he and I have some one on one time-which I have really enjoyed. But my house is a total disaster. I told my husband we need a maid-because every extra minute I have I am cleaning and you can't even tell I've done anything. I just don't see how working moms get it ALL done!

It would be so much better if we lived closer to the area. I actually do get a lunch break and a few days a week I get off at 1 so if we lived closer I could run home and clean while the kids were at school. Oh well, hopefully soon our house will sell!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Shopping Spree!

I love shopping-especially since I have lost 48 pounds this past year-trying to lose 2 more by the 3rd so I can make it an even 50!! Anyway, this week I found some great sun dresses at JC Penney on the clearance rack for $9.99 and one for 14.99!! I was so excited. I figured I could wear them early spring and summer-two are black and white and I have a cute little short sleeve mid crop sweater that I can wear over it-so cute!! Anyway--here are some pictures, they are not good quality but you get the idea.





Monday, August 25, 2008

Biting

Well I read a blog post the other day on biting, the poster's daughter had been bit for the first time at daycare. I sent her a comment about how our son was in daycare a year before he got his first bite at 15 months-on his last day of daycare. And now that they are both in daycare and have been for the last month they haven't had any bites, nor have I heard anything about bitting going on. Well of course wouldn't you know my baby girl got bit THREE TIMES today!! Before the teacher could get to her the other child bit her three times! My poor baby girls arm was so red, luckily it did not break the skin. I know these things happen so I didn't get upset-but my poor baby has bruises on her arm now :(

Hopefully it won't happen again-but like I said these things do happen.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Weekend getaway




My husband and I went on a small weekend getaway last weekend. We stayed in a cabin at one of the state parks. We throughly enjoyed it although it was much too short. We fished and hung out in the cabin most of the time-after a few trips to town for groceries and such. It was great to get away for the weekend and just relax. I'm sure the kids would have loved it-although it would have been tough keeping baby girl away from the edge of the lake. So maybe next time we will take J, but baby girl will have to stay at home until she gets a little older.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Daycare Update!

The kids are doing GREAT!!! J is absolutely loving his new class!! He says the nap is a "little bit" long and not "so so so so so so long" like it was in his previous class. He is doing great with his work-although I wish he would write his own name on his paper. I told him he needed to and he said, "but Mommy, my teacher writes my name on my paper." He is doing well with discipline I think-I just thought to ask about it this week. She has envelopes and they have green, yellow and red papers in them. They start the day off on green if they get in trouble once it goes to yellow and then red-red is BAD!!! J was on yellow one day this week, because he left the room without asking. He was going to the bathroom.

Baby girl is doing well. They told me she wasn't eating her breakfast and I had to confess that I let the kids eat butter cookies on the way to school. So they fuss at me each morning and tell me not to even put her at the table because she won't eat. Well one day this week she did not have cookies on the way to school and still did not eat breakfast. So this morning she had cookies on the way to school!! HAHA. She is doing well taking a nap on her mat! That was a big surprise! I figured it'd take them forever to get her use to laying on the floor on a mat for naptime-but they said she went right to sleep the first day!!

So with the kids doing well mommy is doing well-most of the time. It is such a challenge going from a stay at home mom to a working mom!! On the days I work until 6pm we don't make it home until almost 7pm, then it's dinner and baths and that leaves little to no time for play and relaxing. So I am going to have to work on that. It isn't like I actually "cook" much anymore anyway-I usually just have hot dogs or macaroni and cheese on my late days-but I've got to find more time for play!!

Weight Loss Update

Well things were going well until I started my new job. Kinda hard to stick to Atkins when there is so much yummy candy in my office!! I have gained about 7 pounds in the last two months. My birthday is less than 30 days away and I'd really like to lose another 10 pounds. Of course most of that will be the weight I've gained back in the last 2 months but oh well. I did quit my gym membership-I found one closer to my office that is only $20 a month!! So I do plan on getting by there in the next month and joining it. But in the meantime I hope to get out on the track and do some walking and maybe work up to some running. I'd really like to get back into running-did a lot of running in high school and college and although I was never a fast runner I did enjoy it.

So my goals for the next month: stick to Atkins-which I plan to do until I get to my goal weight. Start walking and work up to a light jog!!! That is about it as far as food and diet go.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Day care update!!

On Monday both the kids moved up a room at daycare. J moved to the "3 year old" room and baby girl moved to toddler 1. J has hated going to school and even made up a song last week on the way to school one morning, "I don't want to go to school ever, ever, never, never. I don't want to go to school, no, no, no, no, no, no". Cute Cute! Well yesterday he started his new class with Mrs. Joyce. We had open house last Thursday night and he was able to meet his new teacher, see his new room, and even play with the toys for a bit. So when he got up MOnday morning he said, "mommy, I go to Mrs. Joyce's class today". He still said several times that he did not want to go to school but he wasn't too whiny about it. Well I saw him several times during the day and we'd wave at each other and I'd give him a kiss from time to time and he seemed to be doing well. Same for baby girl. I saw her a couple of times int he lunch room and she didn't cry or fuss when she saw me-she just kinda looked at me with this blank stare like "who are you and why are you looking at me?".

Anyway, yesterday I had to take baby girl to the doctor for her check up. So after my lunch break I went back to the school to get the kids. Got baby girl first because they were already up from nap and then went by J's room-they were just getting up. I got his stuff together and we began to leave. But in the hallway he said, "mommy, maybe I changed my mind, maybe I want to stay". WOW!!!! From not ever, ever, never, never wanting to go to school to wanting to stay!! What a turn around!! Give that Mrs. Joyce a raise!!! So I left him there while I took baby girl to the doctor.

Then this morning on the way to school he made up another song, "I want to go to school, now, now, now!". And usually in the mornings he closes his eyes as we approach the school and fusses when he first sees the school. But this morning he got excited when he saw the school and even said "yay my school".

Mommy is very happy!!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Me Time

Whenever I happen to get both kids asleep at the same time and/or find myself at home alone (which is extremely rare!!) I often am torn between what to do with that time. Should I clean the house-since it desperately needs to be cleaned. Do I use that time to nap-since I rarely get more than 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep myself. Or do I use that for "me" time-to scrapbook, play on the computer, learn to sew or to attempt to complete other various tasks?? so much to do and so little time!!!!

Baby Girl's First Birthday Party

Everything went great, we had a house full of friends and family. Baby girl had on her new outfit, matching bib and matching birthday hat! Just beautiful!! I wish I knew how to sew so I could make things like this for her to wear!! So beautiful. I had bought fabric to make her a pillow case dress-but at the last minute my sister suggested "Mrs. Joyce" could make her an outfit and a hat to match. Little did I know it was going to be so cute or I would have sent several yards of fabric!! The outfit was monogrammed with her name, the hat and bib were monogramed with her name and/or first birthday!!! So cute...


She loved her cake!! She tore into that thing-unlike her big brother. He cried when everyone started singing happy birthday to him on his first birthday-and would not have anything to do with the cake after that.

She got such nice things for her birthday. I want to thank everyone that was able to come and celebrate with us and help make this special day such a success!

Friday, August 1, 2008

Daycare update

Well after three weeks of coming to daycare-J still complains every morning about having to come to school. Once we arrive at school he doesn't cry anymore-which is so wonderful. When I picked him up one day this week he did tell me he had fun at school, so that was a HUGE improvement!! Baby girl is doing well but she is not eating lunch for some reason. I think it is because she is too busy watching the other babies.

So all in all is is going well. In a week they will both move up to the next class. J will be in 3 year old kindergarten and baby girl will move up to the toddler room which means she will be sleeping on a mat-that will be interesting!!

Friday, July 25, 2008

Daycare Update

Daycare dropoff has not gone too well this week. Although J has not cried when I dropped him off at daycare, he cries from the time he gets up in the morning until we get to school. The beggin, "Mommy don't take me to school" starts when I pick him up in the afternoons and ends when we get to school. It breaks my heart. I'd like to think he has fun once he gets to school, but I haven't really had a chance to watch him at play. When he sees me he starts crying so I have to sneak a peak every now in then but that doesn't really give me much of a chance to observe him. Baby girl is doing well although from time to time she does cry when I drop her off.

Friday, July 18, 2008

vacation


baby girl posing for mommy

J playing at the pool

J fell asleep at dinner one night

Me and Keith at Hammer head's-it was so HOT!!



We got back from Destin, Fl last night about 7pm. We had a great week, it was hot and tiring but we enjoyed it. My entire family came home sick. Keith and the kids have sinus infections, I'm taking the kids to the doctor today. Keith is taking my refill antibiotic from when I had a sinus infection last week (shame shame yes I know). I ended up with a stomach bug which I guess is how I ended up losing four pounds even though I ate a ton of junk and totally disregarded Atkins for over a week.

So I will be back on track-guess oreos for breakfast this morning was not a good start though.

I will get some picturs from vacation up as soon as I get a chance to unpack and get these kiddos well. Mommy is very tired - sick babies can do that to you.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Day four of daycare

Well from the time I picked up J from school yesterday he begged me not to take him back to school again. Said he didn't like school and wanted to stay home. He woke up this morning saying the same thing. We spent about two hours in the doctor's office this morning (for me-that is another story) and I finally had to tell him "We are not talking about it anymore-we are at the doctor's office let's just concentrate on that for now." And he did good the rest of the time and didn't mention it but a few more times. Then we pulled into the daycare parking lot and he wasn't happy. He didn't cry but said over and over he didn't want to go to school. We dropped his sister off first and then J had to go potty. So in the bathroom he teared up a bit and I reminded him he brought his "blue bear" to school with him today and he could hold "blue bear" during nap time. And reminded him we would get ice cream after school. Told him I'd come see him after nap time, told him not to cry because that makes mommy cry too. He choked back his tears really well-he sure wanted to cry though. We walked to his room and his teacher was waiting at the door and walked him to his nap mat. I"ll have to check later to see if he cried after I left. He really hates nap time-I would too it is 2 hours long-he rarely ever takes that long of a nap at home. So getting here right at nap time was not good-but couldn't be helped since we were stuck at the doctor's office for TWO HOURS!!!!

Anyway, only one more day to go and then we will be on vacation for a week...then we get to start ALL OVER again. UGH!!

Is this job really worth it???? hmmm...

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Third Day Woes

Well things did not go so well this morning. From the time J woke up this morning he repeatedly said " I don't want to go to school". I tried to convince him he would have fun today because his class was going swimming. Although he hasn't been swimming in two years and doesn't like water in his face I thought the idea might make him feel better about coming to school. It didn't.

So we pull up in the parking lot, J immediately says, "I don't want to go to school, it's not fair!!". I have to make him get out of the car-I won't share the threat I made but it got him moving. We dropped baby girl off first-and she cried. I handled it well-just kept walking. But as soon as I got back in the hallway J was crying-he didnt want to go to school. I walked him to his room and again tried to convince him he'd have fun since they were swimming-but then his teacher explained that since he is not full potty trained he would not be allowed to go swimming in a "swim diaper". Well it didn't bother J too much since he didn't want to be there anyway. So I sat in a chair and put him in my lap-the entire time he is clinging to me for dear life. His teacher eventually had to pry him off of me. I left the room in tears and cried all the way to my office.

Broke my heart!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

New Job

Well yesterday I started my new job at the daycare and the kids of course had their first day as well. Of course baby girl cried when I dropped her off and apparently she cried most of the day. They also had a hard time getting her to sleep-so that made her especially cranky on her first day. I went to check on little man after nap time-as soon as he saw me he teared up. Which of course broke my heart. We chatted for a few minutes and then I told him I needed to get back to work and he said "But mommy you already went to work". I was later told he cried a few other times and said he missed me. So the first day did not go well. My son has been at home with me the last two years and my baby has never been in daycare so I know it is going to be an adjustment for all of us, I just have to give it some time.

When we were headed home from daycare J and I had a cute conversation:
J: Mommy my teacher had a blue shirt on
ME: she did?
J: Yes but she didn't teach me anything
ME: she didn't??
J: No. But maybe tomorrow she will teach me how to do a cartwheel

Too cute!!!!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Late weigh in post

Well I did weigh in on Monday. Happy to report a negative one pound. Yes normally I would not be so happy about a one pound loss, but considering I have neglected my Atkins diet tremendously over the last 8-10 days I am ecstatic to have a loss and not a gain. I have got to buckle down though, only two more weeks until vacation. I would love to lose ten more pounds-but at this rate I don't think it'll happen. I made the mistake of going to the grocery store hungry the other day-bought Little Debbie brownies...shame shame.

Oops, that teething baby is crying...gotta run!

Second tooth-already

Well Sunday I noticed baby girl is getting another tooth-just two days after noticing her first tooth. It is also her top tooth so this explains why she has been sticking her tongue out a lot lately-guess feeling those teeth with her tongue. Also explains the many sleepless nights. Don't get me wrong my babies never sleep well but at least she has been sleeping until midnight or a bit later. The last week she has been waking up 4-5 times BEFORE midnight. Makes for some rough days and nights around here for mommy.

I've got plenty of Tylenol and Orajel on hand so hopefully that will get us through the next few weeks. I'm sure there are more to come though.

Friday, June 27, 2008

First tooth

Well while we were getting J's hair cut today I was tickling baby girl in my lap and noticed her first tooth barely peeking through her gums!! It is the top right tooth! I'll have to look back at J's baby book-I think that was his first to come through too. This explains why she was up five times last night before midnight!! So she will be getting a good dose of Tylenol for the next few nights and some night time oral gel!! She fights and squirms everytime I try to get a peek at the took so I doubt there will be any photos of it anytime soon.

Big boy haircut

Well after a weekend full of strangers asking if my beautiful son was a "boy or a girl" I decided it was time to get his hair cut. I still could not part with his long hair so I told her to keep it a little long but to give it a good trim and "lighten" it up a bit. Well I'm not happy with it. The bangs are way to short for my taste and I never really care for that "freshly cut" look on little boys bangs anyway. So for a few weeks I'll have to slick them to the side to avoid that fresh cut look. So here are some pictures of the before and after..
BEFORE



AFTER

Monday, June 23, 2008

Weigh in day

Well I technically I lost 4 lbs this past week, but that was because I gained about 4 lbs over the weekend. I went to the coast to visit family and totally disregarded the low carb diet. Luckily I was able to get it all off this past week. So I'm not complaining. I am back on track although I did have another brownie this morning. I just cannot resist those Little Debbie brownies!!

I haven't been to the gym in two weeks-but last week we were out of town. So I plan on getting back into the groove this week. Need to burn some extra calories and work off some of my stress. Why am I stressing, you ask?? I have no idea. I just feel overly stressed the last few weeks. I guess we do have a lot of changes going on around here and maybe that is the issue.

I am going back to work, we might possibly have a potential buyer for the house, still trying to potty train the 3.5 year old, a little worried about him going to daycare and being the only kid in his class not potty trained. So I guess I do have a lot going on, but I am normally not one to get all bent out of shape about things and get stressed out. So I gotta work on that.

I went to the store yesterday and tried on some jeans...I am down another size!! I was so excited. But I couldn't find any in my size that were on sale so I didn't buy any. I am not "usually" one to pay $30 for a pair of jeans-especially since I have 40 more pounds to lose. Plus if I stick to the plan I could potentially pull out some of my "skinny" pants in two weeks!! I have a huge bin of pants and shorts that range all the way down to size 6. So once I get down another size or two I don't think I will have to buy any more pants for a while. So I should hold off on buying anything else for a while!!!

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Saturday, June 21, 2008

More pics



I took a few more pics last night of my new hair do! They turned out much better. Although it doesn't appear I am going to be able to keep it up. I talked to my "boss" yesterday and she said I cannot come to work like that. So I guess once it fades I'll have to leave it bleached instead of recoloring. Although....I'll probably color it again for our vacation and just bleach it out before I go back to work. Being told what I can and cannot do, what I can and cannot wear-is sure going to be an adjustment after being a full time mom for two years!!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

New Do!!


I went to Gulf Shores with the kids for a few days. We stayed with my Uncle, Aunt and cousin. Before I left I decided I wanted to color my hair. So I let my cousin and her friend, Charity, dye my hair. I think it turned out really cute. It has faded a bit since I washed it this morning but I still think it looks cute!! There is a small "tail" on the right side but it is hard to see. I'll have to redo that one so it shows up a bit more!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Another weigh in

Yeah I lost another four pounds this past week. I've been out of town the last four days so hopefully I haven't gained those 4 pounds back.

I will update more later!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

New job

My husband and I have been praying and discussing for a while the possibility of me going back to work. Well after talking with a friend last weekend she indicated they were hiring. So today I will be putting in my application. I hate to put the kids in daycare-but since the job is at the daycare and I will be able to see them everyday and be with them it makes me feel much better. It will be a BIG adjustment for us all. The kids being cared for by someone else during the day, trying to get all the household chores done while working 30 hours a week. It will definitely be a challenge. So wish me luck and I will keep you updated.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Weigh in #4

Well I lost a big whopping one pound this past week. I did cheat a bit here and there but overall I thought I did well. I also started going to the gym last week. I only went twice and only for 30-40 minutes each time. However, I did get there earlier today so I was able to ride the bike for an hour! I wanted to give my arms a little more time to rest before I got back on the machines, since my arms were hurting all weekend after working the machines on Friday.

This brings my total weight loss since September 3rd 2007 to 43 pounds!! I really had hoped to lose more by now but I am still losing so that is good. I really hope the one pound a week does not become a trend. Yes I know that is a "healthy" weight loss but with how restrictive I am being with my diet I really hope to see higher numbers each week. We will see.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Dry Drowning

This is very scary although it is very rare it could happen to your child. I have never heard of it before.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Weigh in #3

Well I wasn't as excited this morning as the previous two weigh-ins. Although I still lost 2 lbs I'd like to have seen a bigger loss. I did start going to the gym today. The kids did well. J didn't want to leave when I went to pick him up. And baby girl was asleep when I dropped her off so there were no tears. I'm really afraid she will cry when I drop her off and that will just break my heart. I only rode the bike for about 20 minutes because we got there so late and the day care center was only open for another 30 minutes. Oh well, I will just have to start getting up and moving earlier in the mornings instead of taking my usual nap until 9am.

Anyway, hopefully next week we will see a bigger loss. I do feel much better and clothes are fitting much better. I have yet to wear the dress I bought a few weeks ago-mabye soon.

Saturday, May 31, 2008

"Pooped"

These days it's all I seem to deal with "poop" and "pee". No matter what brand diaper/pull up I use my son always leaks. He only wears a pull up at night, but when he wakes in the morning you would think he'd been wearing the thing for days because it is so full. At times it is so full it is literally hanging off of him. He is doing great going to the potty to "pee" but the "poop", UGH! I have resorted to using my husbands trauma sheers (he is a paramedic) to cut off J's "big boy underwear" instead of pulling the "poop" filled things down his legs and creating an even bigger mess. He gets a real kick out of mommy cutting his big boy underwear off. That might actually be hindering the potty training process-might have to rethink that one...later. So after the SECOND accident today, I told him no more t.v. or video games today. But before my husband left for work he got the new computer game up and running for J to play. I didn't think anything of it as I was busy rearranging furniture in the living room (that's a story for another blog entry!). But after my husband had left I realized J was not suppose to be playing video games today, so I headed into the next room to remind him, although I did plan on letting him continue since his daddy had set it up for him. But this is how I found him...


oh well guess you will have to come back at a later date to see the photo. as my current luck would have it, I can't get the computer to recognize my camera nor the printer to read my card.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Weigh In #2 on Atkins

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Yeah I know the Tales from the Scales Challenge has ended-but I just had to add the button for 40lbs lost!! I have bragging rights so I had to get it!

Well I had another great week on Atkins. Still staying between 25-35 net carbs a day which is more than what is recommended but oh well. I lost another four pounds this week!! Brings my total weight loss for the two weeks to 10 pounds and my total since September to 40!!! Very excited about that. Now this week I will start going to the gym so hopefully that will tone my muscles and get me to burning more calories. I have seven more weeks before vacation so I hope to lose about 15 more pounds before vacation. That is my goal anyway. Hopefully I'll exceed that but we will see!!

I went shopping this week and bought a new dress! I never wear dresses, don't care for my calves. But I really like the way the dress looks and it hits me about mid calf so I don't think it is too bad. Plus I'll be working on toning those calves in the gym so it shouldn't be too bad for too long. Anyway, when I wear it I'll have to get a picture. It is a "print" which I normally don't do either. Most clothing items I buy are solid colors, very rarely do I buy prints. So this will be something totally different for me.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Weigh In Day #1 on Atkins

Today was my first weigh in day after a week of doing my version of Atkins. Atkins, as most everyone knows, is based on low carbs, but I am also watching fat and calories. Yes that limits my variety but I know a lot of fat isn't good. After two weeks I can start taking in more carbs and I'll go from there.

Anyway...drum roll please........... I lost 6 pounds this week!!!! I am stoked! I know it's the first week and it'll taper off but I am excited about it. Four more pounds and I'll be where I was before I got pregnant with my first child!!

So this week is week two and on Atkins that means sticking with 20 grams of carbs-which I have yet to accomplish-but I think I am staying in a healthy range of about 25-35 grams per day. I also plan on joining the gym this week. That will surely help boost my energy and weight loss.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Popsicle stick



After a trip to Wal-mart today I grabbed one of the ice cream pops to eat on the way home. Baby girl was in the back seat and started fussing because she wanted a bite. So I tried to give her one but she kept pulling away from it. After I was done there was a little bit of ice cream left on the stick so I gave it to her. She LOVED it! She sucked on that stick the entire way home and while we got drinks at Sonic. When we got home she had fallen asleep with the stick hanging out of her mouth. Too cute!!

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Bummer

Well I just looked a little closer into some of my food items. It appears the Carb Smart Fudge Pops I've been eating, which I thought only had 3 grams of carbs, actually have 9 grams! Although the front of the box says "3 net grams of carbs". So I will have to find another low carb dessert for the next two weeks. As I am only suppose to have 20 grams per day. So that brought my total up to 41 grams of carbs for Monday and 32 for Tuesday-YIKES! Oh well, still better than over 200 per day.

Everything still going well at this time. Hope to see good results come Monday!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Day 2


Well today is day 2 of the Atkins diet. Not too bad. Was very tired this am-my husband mentioned I may be more tired with a drop in carbs. But I am usually very tired in the mornings anyway. Think it has something to do with getting up 2-3 times nightly to tend to baby girl and not sleeping well when she sleeps in the bed with us sometimes.

So far I am doing good, although I did stop today at Sonic for a Route 44 Diet Dr. Pepper. I know I can only drink diet drinks with Splenda-but they just don't sell those in fast food places.

I am hoping for a big loss this week. I looked back over my online food journal and I averaged about 220 carbs per day. Yesterday I had 26 carbs!! So that is a big cut! Hopefully that will get my body to burning some fat. Also I plan on joining the gym which will be great "ME" time and great exercise-which will be great for my diet and great for me to get some "alone" time. Will see how the kids do going to the little kid center.

Here is a picture of me at J's soccer game. It was several weeks ago but I haven't lost any weight since the end of February so I think it'll serve greatly as a "BEFORE" picture.

Monday, May 12, 2008

First Day of Atkins

So far today has gone well. I have had 22 grams of carbs-which is more than the 20 grams recommended but I think it is still within a healthy range as for as Atkins goes. I am still trying to stay with low fat and low calorie meats. I bought some turkey dogs and they are actually good, low calories, no fat and low in carbs. Also I bought egg beaters today so I won't be eating whole eggs for breakfast anymore-they have a ton of fat. I know Atkins is high fat and low carbs, but I just can't see taking in that much fat.

I have decided to join the Y. I think it'll have many benefits for myself. It'll give me some "ME" time and help me exercise regularly to get in shape and lose weight. So hopefully I will get over there this week and do that.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

This morning baby girl and I got into the recliner for a nap. I told J not to wake us up. Told him if he had a question or problem about his game (Cars for Wii) he needed to go downstairs and wake up his daddy.

Well about 30 minutes later baby girl and I wake up to an empty living room and a quite house. so I get up and start looking for J. This is how I found him....

Saturday, May 10, 2008

I Give in...

I am going to give Atkins a try. Yes I know it isn't the healthiest diet and I know most people gain the weight back after they start eating carbs again. But I have got to lose some weight and maybe this will jump start my system to loose some weight fast. I want to cut carbs without adding too much fat and calories. Yes this will be difficult-believe me I have tried to find low carb, low fat and low calorie foods and there just aren't too many of them.

My plan is to do Atkins to jump start my system, make it through the 4 phases of Atkins. After losing the weight I will stay active and keep the weight off. I miss playing soccer and softball. I played in high school and college and could play in an adult league-if I was in shape. I hope to play again when I get my body in shape. With that said I think I can do it.

Of course most of you know that my mom has done Atkins for over a year now. She has lost a good bit of weight-most of us think too much. I don't think Atkins is healthy for long term but for short term I think it can be helpful.

So-after Mother's Day of course- I plan to start Atkins. It will be difficult because I sure love my oatmeal for breakfast and my baked potatoes for lunch and/or dinner. But I hope the end result will keep me motivated to stay on track!

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Baby Steps



YAY!! Baby girl took a step here and there this weekend, but today she took 4 steps!!! YAY!! I am so excited. Yes it will be harder chasing her around the house and stuff when she starts walking-but going to the park will be so much easier when she is walking. I won't have to carry her for the most part. She is my baby, and probably my last so it is hard to see her grow so fast but I am loving every minute of it.

I love watching her and her big brother interact. Today we went to the grocery store and got one of those buggies with the little car in the front. So I let her ride in it with him. That lasted for all of 5 minutes until he started irritating her. So I put her up front and he soon wanted up front too-this particular buggy is big enough for two kids to sit up front!! So I got them both in there and he held a bottle for her-so cute!! Then tonight while I was feeding the kids, he would take a bite of his applesauce and then give her a bit-so sweet!!! After dinner we went upstairs for a few minutes of playtime and he had her cackling so loud!! Again, so sweet!!! He just adores her and her him. I hope and pray they continue this love for each other into adulthood. I want them to be close and depend on each other, be there for each other and support each other throughout life. I hope they will be able to duplicate that same bond I have with my family.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

A Mother's Day Wish from Heaven

A Mother's Day Wish From Heaven
By Jody Seilheimer

Dear Mr.
Hallmark,

I am writing to you from heaven,
and though it must appear
A rather strange idea,
I see everything from here.

I just popped in to visit,
your stores to find a card
A card of love for my mother,
as this day for her is hard.

There must be some mistake I thought,
I saw every card you could imagine
Except I could not find a card,
from a child who lives in heaven.

She is still a mother too,
no matter where I reside
I had to leave, she understands,
but oh the tears she's cried.

I thought that if I wrote you,
that you would come to know
That though I live in heaven now,
I still love my mother so.

She talks with me, and dreams with me;
we still share laughter too,
Memories are our way of speaking now,
would you see what you could do?

My mother carries me in her heart,
her tears she hides from sight.
She writes poems to honor me,
sometimes far into the night

She plants flowers in my garden,
there my living memory dwells
She writes to other grieving parents,
trying to ease their pain as well.

So you see Mr.
Hallmark,
though I no longer live on earth
I must find a way to remind her
of her wondrous worth.

She needs to be honored,
and remembered too
Just as the children of earth will do.

Thank you Mr.
Hallmark,
I know you'll do your best
I have done all I can do;
to you I'll leave the rest.

Find a way to tell her,
how much she means to me
Until I can do it for myself,
when she joins me in eternity

Little boy with MANY talents


J is 3.5 and he just seems to excel at everything he does (except potty training-but we are getting there!!). You name it and he does it, and does it well: baseball, golf, soccer, basketball, etc, etc.

Well this weekend we visited my uncle and aunt for their grandson's birthday party. My cousin has played guitar forever and he had bought one for his son-J just loved it. He held the thing like he had played before-it was the cutest thing!! He strummed on it very well and he really enjoyed it. He asked so many questions about the guitar-which I am sure goes with his age-but he was so inquisitive!! My husband and I have borrowed my brother's guitar with hopes of learning to play-but never thought about J playing. So I guess we know what we will get him for his birthday-if we wait that long. He might learn to play before we do.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Baby girl's 1st time eating ice cream

While mommy is away...



...the kids will sleep!! Mommy left today to run some errands and left the kids home with Daddy. Daddy took some pictures for me...baby girl fell asleep while Daddy was feeding her. J fell asleep while playing Wii, he has the steering wheel in his hand! Bless his heart.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

photoshop fun



One click in Photoshop created this photo! I think it's cute!!

Day of Fun?! For Who??



Well we went to a local festival for kids today. Yes it rained this morning so I considered it'd be a bit muddy. I also knew the forecast called for more rain during the day but I prepared for it, or so I thought. We arrived, paid our $30 to get into the gate (YIKES), greeted a few children's characters, sat on a few tractors, then J got in line to ride the raggedy carousel. Then came the rain. By the time the ride was over the rain and just about stopped. His next choice for rides was a fun house, which I thought he'd be able to do on his own-wrong. The carny wanted me to go with him-which normally I wouldn't mind but I could tell from where I was standing the thing was absolutely filthy. But I went anyway. We got through the thing and came to the slide at the end-it was covered in mud. So J went down first, slid down to the end, then slipped off-right into the mud. Ick! After that we peeked into a few shows, some kids acting out animals, and then a clown/magic act. Then we skipped out.

We decided it'd be much more fun to pick up a few games at Blockbuster and head home to play the Wii! So glad my sister got a Wii for Christmas!! I don't think she'll be getting it back anytime soon! My husband picked out the games: a Diego game for J-which he absolutely loves!! Some Tom Clancy game for himself-which is full of violence-exactly what he enjoys!! And some kind of soccer game for me. I hope between the two of them I get a chance to try it out-lol!

Friday, April 25, 2008

NILMDTS



One of my goals is to be a member of this fantastic group of photographers that volunteer their time and service to provide lasting memories and keepsakes for grieving families. From the moment I heard about NILMDTS I wanted to join, but I don't feel my photographic abilities are where they need to be to capture these rare and precious moments. During these moments you cannot have equipment failure or operator failure-everything has to be perfect, because these moments you can never get back.

I wish I would have been more informed after my miscarriage. I think I would like to have a photo of our baby girl. I found out months afterwards that we most likely could have gotten our baby girl's footprints-I wish someone at the hospital would have asked me if I wanted her footprints. That is one reason I wanted to start the memory boxes. I want to make sure other parents are more informed than I was.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Wii

Well my sister got a Nintendo Wii for Christmas this past year and since she is a young single business woman, she takes may fun and exciting weekend trips and doesn't have much time to play. So this weekend, when she getting ready for yet another fun filled weekend, I asked her to pack up her Wii and let me have it for the weekend. After 24 hours with the thing in my house, she will most likely have to fight my husband and my 3 year old son to get the thing back (I'd fight for it too but I'm too sweet for that-lol). Anyway, last night me and DH played and just fell in love with it. Something we can do together, at home after the kids go to bed. Besides the usual him at the computer and me at my scrap table and/or in front of the tv. It was fun and we got a great mini workout-until we realize we could play just as well sitting on the couch.

So today my son and I played-he had been bugging me to play since my sister put the thing in my truck-not that he knew what it was, he just knew it was a game. Like father like son, he is really into games, whether it be a video game or a computer game. But I digress, anyway, we played for about 2.5 hours before lunch-and he did exceptionally well for a 3 year old. I've also been using the game as a discipline tool-yes every new toy he gets has come in handy for discipline. "If you don't stop whining you cannot play your new game tonight!" works wonders!!!

So we will be in the market for one real soon. And yes, at my sister's request I will take some photos of J playing the Wii and post them here soon!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Adobe Photoshop CS3


BEFORE

AFTER
Love it!! I took a course on Photoshop last year but I just cannot afford the full program right now. So today I found a 30 day trial version. Maybe in the next month I can fool around with it enough to make some decent photos, book some shoots, and maybe make enough money to buy the full version!! I can dream can't I?! Anyway, I haven't had much of a chance to play around with it yet, but did try a few things out today. Not sure exactly what I did but I like the results so far.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Pillow Case Dress




Well I finally made a pillow case dress. My mom left one here this weekend and I pulled it out today while the kids were napping and whipped one together. Of course I didn't have any cute ribbon to put into it but I made do with what I had. And yes it is a bit too big for my 8 month old baby girl but I can see potential!! I am very excited. I am not a sewer by any means and the hem lines and such are not straight nor are they pretty but I think it came together nicely for my first attempt. Here are some photos...

summer fun

We went outside again today to play-but we weren't out long and mommy was tired. Where did spring go?? I told J we would have to start getting out in the mornings because it was just too hot for Mommy in the afternoons to get out and run around.

We threw the frisbe and played some baseball and that was about all J could handle too. He was ready to go inside for a break. Here are a few shots I snapped while outside today...




STRIKE ONE

STRIKE TWO

GOOD HIT!