The Shed

We have this really awesome shed in our backyard that I have been thinking would be fun to use for some photos. Apparently, our neighbors don't feel the same way about the shed, which means it will be coming down soon. So I took Will outside to play in it tonight. Turns out, he was quite the poser tonight...please ignore the fact that he seriously needs a haircut....I didn't bother to fix him up like I normally would since it was almost bedtime. I had no idea he would be so cooperative.







And I have been horrible about blogging about my little man, so I should probably give a little update. Although today really isn't the best day to do it since he has been constantly fussing at me. I think I heard the words "hold you" about five thousand times today. Normally, it would melt my heart...but about 30 seconds after I pick him up, he wants down...only to start the fussing again. Oh my. I am praying this phase passes quickly.

Anyway, besides the fussiness, he has really started talking a lot more. He will repeat pretty much anything we say....which hasn't been a problem yet. Except for my sighing and growling. ha...that sounds really funny. I have never noticed that I do this until Will started doing it. Apparently, instead of saying choice words, I growl..."argh!" And now Will does it too. Chris says we also sigh at the same time. Funny.

He has started watching a little bit of TV. He's still not too interested and won't watch for very long. Every now and then he requests "Elmo"...but he really means Nemo.

He has developed a love for his Hot Wheels. It's a good thing because Chris has a huge collection for him that he is saving for his 3rd birthday. I originally said he couldn't play with Hot Wheels until he was 3 since that's what the package says, but he probably has about 30 that he already plays with...and a track.

He has been eating better! He is a really picky eater and we have to bribe him with other food to get him to eat the food that is currently on his plate...whatever works!

He is really good at pointing to his eyes, ears, nose, belly, toes, etc. He tries to count, but doesn't really know his numbers...so he acts like he's counting by pointing and saying something...just not numbers (well maybe he throws a two or three out there sometimes). He sort of knows colors and animals...sometimes he knows them, sometimes he doesn't...or he acts like he doesn't. We have also been trying to teach him animal sounds, which is pretty hilarious.

He has made some neighborhood friends. There are several kids that live in houses that we share an alley with. Since our driveways are in the alley, they are out there playing most afternoons and Will cannot get enough of them. They actually get really excited to see him too...even though they are all much older than him (the youngest is 7).

He graduated from his one-year-old class at PDO and will be moving up to the two-year-old class next week. This made me really sad and I even cried when I read the book he (his teachers) made throughout the school year. I am not a crier, so this was a big deal. I really am nervous about this transition and I hope he does okay. He has really grown to love "school" this year.

Well that is enough updating for now...hopefully in the next update I will be able to report that the fussy stage is long gone!

Time for a funny story...

Maybe the pictures say it all, but I will explain just in case. :) Almost a month ago, I took Angela's family portraits. We were in the courtyard of a church downtown and thought we would try to take some family pictures around the fountain. Right as we were getting the photo set up, this man came and sat on bench right by the fountain. We went about our picture taking. At one point, Taylor decided he wanted to run off so his dad ran after him...Angela was a bit distracted by what was going on with Taylor when suddenly this man decides it is time to take off his clothes for a bath in the fountain - right behind Angela and Kami! Angela had NO CLUE what is going on, but I am dying to get a picture of this scene...so I say, "One more picture!" Now the man starts to jump up (as you see in the picture) and says he is sorry...like he didn't notice that we had been taking pictures there the entire time he had been there!?! Well, Angela also jumps because she still had no idea he was there...and this is when I start giggling uncontrollably. Good thing Angela is my friend because I'm pretty sure this would have seemed unprofessional if she wasn't!

Please understand that I am not completely insensitive and I am not in any way trying to make fun of this man. It was a hot day and I'm sure I would have done the same thing...just not with a camera pointing at me. :)

Wednesday Weigh-In

It has been 2 weeks and 2 days since I told you about my 4 pound weight loss in just two weeks. The news isn't as good this time, but I have lost another 1.7 pounds for a total of 5.7 pounds in a little over 4 weeks. I am pretty happy with that number considering last week was my birthday which meant a lot of food and a lot of dessert. I tried to be good, but it was hard and I did end up gaining a little last week. It's okay though because I am definitely on track to reach my goal by the time we go on vacation and then I will be sure to eat a ton on vacation and not exercise at all...it will all be downhill from there. :) Happy Wednesday!!

P.S. I have been questioned about the exactness of my weight calculations. I have been weighing on Wii Fit and it tells you the exact tenth...that is my secret.

MY Week!

Well this has been MY week because my birthday was Wednesday and then of course, Mother's Day today. We have pretty much celebrated the entire week (thanks to Cole's graduation also falling this week)....I am not looking forward to tomorrow when I have to start cooking and cleaning again. :) It has been a good week though. I took my usual Sunday nap today while Chris cleaned the house and mowed the lawn. Then he cooked dinner for us tonight! It makes me exhausted just think about doing all of that in one afternoon.

Chris got me a new little camera for my birthday...which I really wanted. I have had fun playing with it and Will actually LOVES to smile at this camera...yet I have to trick him into looking at my "big" camera. Go figure!


Big Smile


Giving me a "big squeeze" for my birthday!


This morning before church...a very happy Mother's Day!

The truth is that I asked for this camera so that Chris would actually take pictures of Will and me. Just kiddding...kind of. :)

I also got a new camera for my business this week which is really exciting! I had to take a few pictures of Will eating his corn tonight because he thought it was the most hilarious thing ever. And I have to admit he looked pretty cute...corn in the teeth and all.

4 Pounds!

I have now lost 4 pounds in two weeks! I wanted to blog about it to keep myself accountable to keep at it and so that I can look back at this post when I need inspiration in the future.

This is what I've been doing:

- Running three times a week. I put Will in the jogging stroller (thanks Stacee!) and run around my neighborhood. I've been running for 20 minutes, walking 5, then running 10 more.

- Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred DVD. I just started last week...I think I did it 5 times. I love it because it's broken up into 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of abs...then it repeats 2 times. I think it goes by really fast and it's only about 20 minutes.

- Counting calories. I think I've mentioned before that I have an app on my iphone called Lose It. It has a lot of foods already in there, but you can also add foods that you eat. You also input your excercise so it adds the calories you burned to the total amount of calories you get to eat for the day. I only went over once last week...darn bread pudding.

This is what I've been eating:

- Breakfast - Honey Nut Cheerios with skim milk or a Nutrigrain bar with skim milk

- Lunch - Most days I've been eating a sandwich without the bread...I just roll up the turkey and cheese (thanks to my friend Dena for giving me this idea). With my "sandwich" I eat Garden of Eatin blue corn chips (my favorite) with pico de gallo. I buy the kind that United makes...yummy. I usually eat some fruit at lunch too. If I'm not at home, I just try to eat something very light. Oh, and I can't forget my Dr. Pepper. I'm not planning to give them up, so I've just been having one can a day...usually at lunch.

- Dinner - I've pretty much been eating normal dinners, just smaller portions.

- Snacks - It is hard not to eat snacks with Will around. Pretzels are one of his favorite snacks, so a lot of times I'll eat a few with him. We've had a big bag of M&Ms around, so I've also been eating a few those...but only 10 or so a day. Or sometimes I'll go back to the blue chips and pico.

- Dessert - Chris loves ice cream, so we usually have a ton of it in the freezer. Sometimes it's really hard to resist, so last week I bought some Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches to eat when I crave ice cream. I've only had one so far, but it was delicious!

I am by no means a guru on any of this, I just wanted to share what is working for me so far. Please feel free to share any tips or suggestions you have!

House Pictures!

Okay, this is sure to be disappointing since I've talked it up so much and really don't have that much to show. We haven't decorated any of the bedrooms, the office, or the second living room...so that basically leaves the dining room, living room, and kitchen...and that is what I am going to show you! They are still missing some finishing touches, but good enough for now!

I need to give a shout out to my interior designer (Donna Hill) and my mom for helping me decorate!! We went for a different/funky look...but not too funky. :)

Dining Room


Before





Living Room


Before




We didn't forget to decorate the mantle, we are actually getting the TV hung up there tomorrow. I need to hang something above the windows and I want more pillows for the couch.

Kitchen


Before




I decided that I like the color of the cabinets and I don't mind the countertops either. But we HAVE to get new backsplash. The current backsplash is seriously white shower tiles...?? I also need to get some rugs for the kitchen and underneath the table.

Master Bathroom


Before





That's it for now! I may post more pictures as the rooms get decorated, but who knows when that will be!

Random Thoughts Update

This is an update to my random thoughts post below:

- I saw a product on the Today show called Freeze & Go. It's a cream that is supposed to work like botox, but only temporarily (for a day...maybe?) so you have to put it on everyday or just whenever you want the freeze, I guess. They said it really worked, so I thought this might be my solution! So I bought it (it wasn't cheap) and it doesn't work (at least not on my problem area...which is lines under my eyes). I took before and after photos on my iphone to show you, but then I decided they weren't even worth uploading because there is no difference. I was really disappointed and I am now even more disappointed after reading about this on Darci's blog. I wish I could get my money back and put it towards that! Oh well, maybe I was just meant to have lines under my eyes. :)

- I booked our 5-year anniversary trip to Mexico! After looking at this website, I feel comfortable with our decision to go back to our honeymoon spot in Mexico...but we got trip insurance, so we can always cancel at the last minute if we get nervous about it. I'm so excited that I've been reading reviews of the resort everyday...even though I've been there myself twice already! :)


That beach bed is where I will be spending my days for an entire week.


- I am STILL running three times a week! And I finally started the Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred DVD last night. I am really feeling motivated to get in shape for our trip. I have also sadly discovered why they tell you to only weigh yourself once a week. According to the scale, I lost .7 pounds from Monday to Wednesday of last week. Then another 1.1 from Wednesday to Friday...for a total of 1.8 from Monday to Friday! I was totally excited and then I weighed again on Sunday and had gained .4...weighed again this morning and had a gain of .7. Granted, I did eat pizza last night. :) Anyhow, it is still a net loss of .7 for the week and I think I would have felt okay about that if I had only weighed last Monday and today. We'll see what happens this week.

- I can't believe I haven't taken pictures of the house yet! Honestly, it is because I haven't felt like removing all the toys from around the house to make it look like a toddler doesn't live here! :)

That is all the updating I have for now!