Weight Loss Wednesdays

Really looking forward to fitting into my favorite pair of Lucky jeans (size 10) again.

Enough said.

You can find these cute jeans ::here::

Where the Wild Things Are

Look what I won!!!!!

I am sure I have posted about the amazing talents of Jayme McGowan before. I wish I had an inth of the talent she has. You can see her amazing paper illustrations on her lovely blog Roadside Projects. She recently made the illustration shown above and hosted a giveaway. 5 lucky readers got a signed print, I was one of those lucky readers! I can't even tell you how excited I am to hang this in the girls room. Maurice is still one of my all time favorite illustrators and children's authors. This artwork will be enjoyed by everyone in this house. Thanks so much Jayme!

Progress

It's all coming along. Slowly but surely. I'm off to the back yard right now. Time to enjoy this perfect and most beautiful evening with all my loves. Hope your weekend was as delightful as ours.

When all Else Fails

Friday afternoon naps never go as planned these days. Friday I watch a little girl that is about 6 months younger than Aris. She always sleeps in Aris bed on Friday & the two little pumpkins share Dean & I's bed. Only problem is they won't take a nap unless I lay down with them. I could threaten spankings and taking the cuppies away, early bedtimes, it just doesn't matter.......I am met with giggles and little feet jumping on the bed. It's pretty cute until later on in the evening when they re both having meltdowns because they missed said nap.

So I finally gave in and decided to snap a couple shots of the little stinkers in action. They did fall asleep for about 40 minutes once I put the camera away. Please excuse the messy bedroom. I guess when all else fails you just grab a camera and have fun with the memories later on. I am well aware that a day will come, sooner than I would like, that they will no longer want to take naps & jump on beds together. I'll take these little monkeys. Please don't grow up too quickly you two!

It's Potty Time!

About 3 weeks ago I decided to try and potty train Aris. I thought she was ready. She thought otherwise. After two days of crying when put on the potty and peeing on the floor I was not ready to force the issue. Monday morning you could have heard the angels singing! Aris woke up, asked for big girl panties and well the rest is history. Don't get me wrong, there have been a few accidents here and there, but for the most part she has done great. She looks so small on the potty. I have to help her up and she wants so badly to use the potty without the big girl seat. She has tried only to find that she almost falls in! Her buns are just too tiny. After a few close calls she is now okay to sit on the little seat. I Can hardly wait to have all my girls in panties. It will be so nice to only buy diapers for night time. I'm really glad I didn't push the issue. It's nice to know she is ready for this next stage. It does make me the slightest bit sad that we will no longer have a baby in our home. Sniff sniff.

Pumpkin Illustrations

This was one of the projects on my ever growing list of things to do. Unfortunately it is taking a LOT longer to finish than I had wanted. I realized halfway through getting started that I just didn't have as much fall themed paper as I needed. I had to go and buy more. Poor me. Then I realized when matching papers for the edges and back I still didn't have what I needed in fall patterns which resulted in yet another run to the craft store. The fun part is now I have a ton of great papers to work with and can add to as needed. The downside, not so great on the ol' pocketbook. Seriously though, can a girl have such a thing as too much scrapbook paper?

These are #1 on my list of things to finish this weekend. They will be in the shop hopefully before the end of next week.

Stay tuned for a special shop update announcement. I promise you won't want to miss it!

Weight Loss Wednesdays

This past week has been a little up and down for me. I have managed to work out all but one day. I just didn't feel real well. It's that time of the year when the weather is changing & I am dealing with sneezing, watery eyes, and a stuffed yet runny nose. Doesn't make waking up at 5:20 in the am all that pleasant. I did go for our fast paced 3 mile walk this morning after missing yesterdays walk. I wasn't feeling real good, but once the walk was over I felt great. Haven't been able to weigh myself yet. Hope to this weekend.

My goals this week are to keep up the walking, do my DVD workout, and keep up with the water intake. I have also started taking some b12. Hoping that it helps with some of the fatigue I have had. Working on getting some really great vitamins. I think those would help too.

Hope everyone else is having a super great workout kind of week!

Project in an Afternoon

This bin was a hand-me-down from a client when I worked up in Tahoe for an interior designer. It is highly functional in our very tiny home. It holds all of the tiny toys the little ones play with and all of their board books.

It just was looking a little drab to say the least. I've been wanting to give it a fresh coat of paint for a while. Why I haven't done this sooner is beyond me. My list of things to do, projects to finish, & people to help has me feeling like a sinking ship lately. I just feel like I will never catch up. Zana posted this. She encouraged me to write the list, now I just need to follow through with it. Jo helped to motivate me today. Thanks to two creative ladies I am getting my oars out and paddling like crazy to get this ship going in the right direction again.

I love how it turned out. Just a little pop of color for our little hallway. The girls like it too. Now off to conquer another project on my list! (After I cook dinner, get monkeys ready for bed, help Sloan with homework & clean the kitchen of coarse :)

Last Official Pool Party

Yes it was the last official pool party of the summer.

Homework was done. Snack was finished & the girls went out to play.

What I found was this.

A bunch of giggling girls out in their half deflated pool, covered up with all the different floaties & the slip-n-slide. It was getting chilly as the afternoon wore on. So Abby & Sloan wrapped the girls up in their sweaters.

They lounged in this manner for a good half hour. I think it was a good way to spend the last official day of summer.

It's Coming Along Nicely

It's coming along nicely don't cha think?

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Click here to visit the Simply Sweet Marriage site!

Only what I won was even better than a chicken dinner! I was one of two winners of Simply Sweet Marriage's recent giveaway. I asked for the Tilt. I thought it would be something fun that Dean and I could enjoy together. I jokingly commented that pillows don't always stay in place (come on girls, we know it's true!) The Tilt is also helpful for anyone who experiences hip or lower back problems. Thanks so much Heidie! Can't wait to have some fun with this (neither can Dean;)

Last of Summer, First of Fall

Aris really enjoyed it this year. It is amazing what a difference a year makes.

Zoe & Dean

Our second year of going to the Great Reno Balloon Races. We woke up early and got there as the sun was coming up. This year was a little overcast but it was still so magical watching all of the balloons go up into the air. Kinda makes you feel like a kid again. Come on, who doesn't like hot air balloons?

Grandpa Erick

Grandma Cindy

Little Miss Hotsa-mot-sauce in her socks and "waffle" shoes as she likes to call them. This girl has suddenly become obsessed with belts and socks. It cracks me up. Oh ad if I let her she would wear mittens everywhere. I'm not kidding you.

Sweetest guy I know

Erick & Cindy

I thought I would share the last of the b-b-q pictures. Life has been good to us. So grateful for so many good memories. The b-b-q was a great way to end the summer & the balloon races were a great way to start the fall.

I Finally Won!

This darling cake can look like this or..........

this!!!!!

I can't believe it! I finally won a Grosgrain Giveaway! I had all but given up on the idea of ever winning something from Grosgrain & what do you know. Little ol' me won the felt giveaway! Jessie from the darling blog Clouds in Chicago provided the giveaway on Kathleens blog. Be sure to check out her Etsy shop. It is chock full of the cutest felt kits I have ever seen. I got the cake in the mail last week and it is super cute. All the little pieces came in a bag so that the girls could dress the cake however they want. I am going to sew the pieces on before I post a picture of it. If I don't sew them on they will be lost before the end of the week. I love the idea of a decorate as you please, my little ones are just to good at loosing things. This would be a perfect gift for any little girl or boy. I think it would be great for a school classroom too. My girls can hardly wait to get their hands on it. Me either. I might have as much fun with it as they will. Run over and say hello to Jessie. Take a peek at her newest pattern for Halloween. So cute!

P.S. Did I mention that we both have little darlings with the same name? Aris! She spells her daughters a little different but how fun is that?

Two

See the movie trailer ::here::

See clips from the film ::here::

I just finished reading this book. It was one of the best stories I have read. I first heard about the book & how it is hard for some people to read. Some people can't make it through the book. I couldn't put it down. It is a story of a father and his son and their fight for survival in a world gone wrong. The son was born after the calamity that ended the world as we now know it. 8 or so years have passed & the earth has changed,a good portion of humanity has passed on. There is no longer a system of justice. It's every man for himself. What is left the man likes to call "the good guys" & "the bad guys". The good guys, which is what they are, survive by humble means. The keep to the road, heading south in hopes of salvation. Whatever that may be. Doing whatever they can to keep one step ahead of the roving bandits. Bandits are the bad guys. They go to extreme measures to stay alive, mostly feeding on human flesh. It sounds gruesome, and it is, but not because of what is written. The horror of it all is far worse in what is not said. It is beautifully written & I couldn't put it down. It is a bittersweet story. One of a fathers fierce love for the last thing that matters to him in a dark and decomposing world. I cried when I finished the book. As a parent I read it, the whole time wondering would I be able to do what he was doing to keep my children alive? It made me feel the need to be a little more prepared.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the movie will disappoint. The world in the book is a lot more desperate and bleak than the one portrayed in the movie. I am a little puzzled that they show so much of Charleze Theron as the wife in the trailer. She was only mentioned briefly in the book. I am sure it is to bring the story full circle. I feel the simple dialect between the father and his son along with all of their struggles would have sufficed.

If you are looking for a book to read I highly recommend The Road.

See the trailer ::here::

The second book that I read & couldn't put down was The Lovely Bones. It was very interesting and I really love the way it was written through the eyes of Susie Salmon. Susie Salmon is the 14 year old daughter and sister of the Salmon family who you find out in the first few sentences has been murdered. What happens next is life as she sees it after she has died. I really enjoyed this book. It only took me a couple of hours to finish so it's a pretty easy read. I can already tell from the previews that they have changed a few things. I am sure when I watch it that number will go up. Books are always better than the movie anyway.

What books are you reading right now?

Simply Sweet Septembers Card

I know I am way behind in sharing this months love card with you. You can download it for free here & give it to your sweetie.

Simply Sweet Marriage's blog is having a most wonderful giveaway right now. Run on over and say hello, offer a thought on what you would love to have and if you win Heidie will send you what you wish for! She's even choosing two winners! There are oh so many fun things on her website for you to use with that special someone. The website is very tasteful.

Giveaway!

Run on over to this delightful blog and enter for your chance to win a cute wand from Janet of It's an Evolution.

Weight Loss Wednesdays

Jennifer of Rosey Little Things blog has started a Weight Loss Wednesday. It's an awesome way to keep in touch and motivated with all of your fitness & weight loss goals. I signed up to be a part of this and if you are interested you are more than welcome to join in the fun. That's right FUN! It's fun to exercise and feel good about yourself and to have more energy. It will be even more fun when I can fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans ;) If you are interested, please run over to Jennifer's blog and leave her a message that you would like to be included. She will email you all the information you need to include in your Wednesday posts.

This week I am mainly focusing on::

*maintaining my 5:45 am 3 mile speed walking

*doing the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred video every night

*5 pound weights on m, w, & f w walk

*drinking more water

*slimming down my meals

I've kind of hit a plateau in my weight loss goal. My hope is that I will be able to use the video to get that scale moving in the right direction again. Won't be weighing until Friday, so I will update my weight next week. Until then have a happy and healthy rest of the week!

Lemons

My Little Hambone