Saturday Morning Observations

First of all, we are two nights into our three nights without the man challenge of Spring, 2009. So far, we are all still alive. Which is the good news.

The not-so-good-news is that we are all feelin it - especially Sophie who woke up 3 times last night callin for her daddy. I was NOT a suitable exchange for this dilemma ... so we stooped to the bottle. THREE TIMES!

Clearly, the parenting skillz are in short supply at 11:27PM, 12:31AM and 1:52AM around here.

And, with that said, here are my (oh-so-random)observations on a sleep deprived Saturday morning...

* Hattie slept til 8AM, Sophie slept til 9AM ... so, I am at a complete loss as to WHY - after the night that Sophie and I shared - I was wide awake at 6:51AM. I did, however, get in a LOOOOONNNGGGG leisurely shower, in which legs were shaved and everything!

I KNOW!

*There is NOTHING on at 6:51AM on a Saturday morning except infomercials.

*There is a contraption (whose name I cannot recall - even though I heard it repeated eleventy-seven times between 6:51 and 7:00AM) which promises to make ab exercises "fun and simple" to do. OBVIOUSLY this is false advertisement and the Better Business Bureau should be alerted immediately. Because, since WHEN do the words "fun and simple" and "ab exercises" go together ... at ALL?!?!?!

*There are currently two little girls playing in the bedroom. I'm not sure what they are doing (and am afraid to check since it involves loud thumping and banging on the floor), but they are laughing it up back there and THAT sound rocks my world!

*I miss my man ... a lot.

*No, seriously, a LOT!!!!!

*I saw a number on the scale this morning that made me smile ... big and wide.

*It has been warm and sunny this week and every window has been open ALL DAY LONG!

*I am currently wearing capris that were too small for me by the end of last summer, yet, today they are a perfect fit.

*Man, oh MAN ... my legs are WHITE!

*Got my hair cut and colored this week ... LOVE IT!!!!

*OK, that last thump necessitated a check ... jumping on, and then off the bed. Had to put a stop to that one!

*I think the girls and I are in need of an outing today ... lookout Costc0, here we come!!!

*I may even work up the nerve to take em to the park by myself. And, if you have ever seen Hattie forced to LEAVE a park, you will know why that would be a challenge!

*Because of said lovely new "do" from the "hair wizard", I may be in need of a flat iron.

*Who knew that people with stick straight hair would ever even CONSIDER buying a flat iron?!

*Hubby comes home tomorrow.

*YYYYYAAAAAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

*Did I mention that I miss him ... a LOT!?!

OK, there is now a not-so-nice sound coming from the bedroom.

Gotta go!

Have a GREAT weekend!!!

All By Myself (well, 'cept for the kids!)

Hubbs, at this very moment, is on his way home from the airport with our oldest boy. Which means ... STEVEN IS IN THE HOUSE!!!

For a whole 12 hours. At which point they will BOTH vacate the premises for the woods and all of it's manly glory. They are going hunting for the weekend and will not be home until Sunday.

Now, a GOOD son woulda brought his WIFE along so that the mama could have a little fun. But, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

(I'm NOT bitter ... much)

This will be the first time, in this house, that Hubbs will not be here to protect us from all of the things that go bump in the night. Now, I had pretty much gotten used to all of the noises that the old house made and could actually sleep through the night when he was gone. I am praying that I can sleep here too. This house has some, shall we say, "issues", that cause it so creak and such. Add to that the fact that the HVAC unit seems to have a mind of it's own, the sump pump goes crazy at times and the toilet is constantly running and we have a possible mental breakdown in the making. But I'm NOT worried ... much.

So, if ya think of it, could ya lift up some prayers with our names on it while he is gone. As well as a few with the fella's names on it. 'Cause, ya know, we all remember the time they went hunting and came home early because of Steven's BROKEN KNEE!!! We do NOT want that to happen again. Thank you and Amen!

Also, there is that little issue of me just not liking, AT ALL, being away from my man.

Yeah, there is that...

I Heart Faces - The Choice was TOUGH!

This is a big week over at I Heart Faces! We are supposed to enter our very best photo - even if we have already entered it.

Can I TELL you what a terribly hard choice this was for me? But after much input from friends and family (and of COURSE the hubby!), this is the photo that was chosen .....

I LOVE the expression on her sweet face - the innocence of just enjoying herself and forgetting all about the rest of the world. (Don't we ALL wish we could?) I also like the composition - it's off centered but not so much so that the simplicity of the subject is lost.

I also happen to REALLY love the subject of the photo. She's a beauty, wouldn't ya say?!?!

If you would like to see more - or even enter your own - hop on over to I Heart Faces and check it out!

"I am submitting this photo into the www.iheartfaces.com Blurb Book photo contest. I am granting I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites."

Project 365 Week 18

I just want to thank Sara for hosting this little carnival over at her place. I have really enjoyed the daily reminder to capture so many sweet memories. And, I HOPE that you are enjoying reliving them with me!

Thanks Sara!

That being said, here is our week ...

May 11 - THIS is what handsome looks like.

And he still makes my heart go pitter-patt.

LOVE HIM!!!

May 12 - This is a total cheater shot ... not only did I not take the picture, but it wasn't even taken on this day! HOWEVER, this was the day I stole it off of Kayla's MySpace page ... does that count?

May 13 - There is nothin quite like crackin open a new Bible Study/Devotional! ESPECIALLY when it is written by Beth Moore ...

May 14 - My Mother's Day roses still lookin beautiful, especially when reflecting the morning sun.

May 15 - Hubbs was still home when it came time for meeting the bus. He and Hattie had a bit of fun while waiting for the ride. How happy does she look?

May 16 - We have started a new thing here in B Manor. We each take one of the girls out to do somethin special one day a week. Today I took Sophie to get her portrait taken and Hubbs took Hattie out for ice cream. Here they are just getting home.

Have I mentioned that I LOVE that man?!?! Truly, I am so Blessed to share my life with not only an incredible husband, but also an AMAZING father to our children! I could not ask for more!

So, how was your week?

And Hattie thinks she is a bootiful princess!

Saturday was prom night for the local High school. That lovely time of year where are the girls and boys dress up like royalty for one sweet night and enter a fairy tale wonderland where dreams come true ...

My niece Kayla was, I am SURE the prettiest belle at this ball!

Doesn't she LOOK like a belle amongst all of those magnolia blossoms?

She took some picks with grandma and grandpa (the two who planted that magnolia tree in the first place!) Kayla's parents (hubby's sis Melissa and HER hubby Harry) bought the house that they had all grown up in and now HER children are growing up there too!

Hattie and Sophie were enthralled with their cousin and Hattie is STILL talkin about the "bootiful princess" they saw ... wonder if she even realizes that it was her own cousin!

Here she is with the OTHER most beautiful belle of the ball. This is her sidekick (and our not-quite-but-close-enough OTHER niece) Jessica. MAN, are they not stunning?!

Prince Eric provided quite the chariot for their ride to the ball! But Kayla was quick to point out that SHE is the BOSS!

But, I would be remiss if I left without showing you THIS picture...

Because THIS one sooooo needs to be seen!

All pics courtesy of my FABULOUSLY talented sis-in-law Melissa! Or, as the girls call her, Auntie Weezer!

Get up and MOVE!!!

Miss Linda over at 2nd Cup of Coffee is the host of this fun-ness. It's called 30X5 because participants are making a commitment to get up and move for 30 minutes, 5 days a week. I tried to participate in the first round, but it took place while we were moving. NOT a good time to be making promises with 30 minutes 5 times a week.

I skipped phase 2 because we were still in crazy mode and I just couldn't commit.

And that brings us to Phase 3. And, since I am doing the 30 day Shred every stinkin day of the week, I feel like I can meet the requirements! However, the Shred is a 20 minute workout. Still, I feel like I qualify if you take into consideration the fact that it takes me roughly 10 minutes to GET UP OFF THE DERN FLOOR when I am done Shredding!! Plus, it IS every day, so that should even it out ... right?

Also, and those of you who know me can feel free to laugh your fool heads off, I have agreed to TRY a triathalon! I KNOW!

Yes, it IS OK to laugh because you would not be the first ... ahem ... just ask my hubby. Now, to be fair, he SAYS he was laughing at the thought of HIM doing it, but I dunno... Also, my mom called me crazy.

Yeah, that's my family ... supportive much?

(in all fairness, hubby IS being VERY supportive in this endeavor, it was just the first few minutes that threw it off. Ya know, what with all the SHOCK!!)

I do have some foot "issues" that could hold me back - degenerative tendons in one foot and bone spurs in the other - but I'm getting through the Shred thing OK (and if Jillian cannot ruin me, no one can!). So I am gonna go slow on the training. I've found an online couch(potato) to 5K program that gets you ready to go in 9 weeks and I am gonna start workin on that too.

It may be crazy, but I gotta do something because I want my girls to have an example of a healthy, active lifestyle to follow after. They are going to be sooo different in body shape and style, and, as girls will be naturally compelled to compare themselves with the other. I NEED to find a healthy self image of myself so that I can instill the same in them. This is something I have struggled with as long a I can remember and I have come to realize that it is time to claim the promises in Psalm 139 for myself.

I AM fearfully and wonderfully made!!!

Thank You Father for this life and this body ... now help me to use it all for YOUR glory - it IS your temple after all!!!

And, finally, I am planning on doing the Breast Cancer 3Day crew again. Here is the link to my fundraising page. As a member of the crew we are NOT required to raise funds, but how can they find a cure if we do not raise money? Pink ribbons are pretty, bumper stickers catch the eye and a t-shirt can raise awareness, but without the funds there is no research and without research, there will be no cure.

I KNOW times are tough, believe me, I KNOW! But cancer is an unnecessary evil that MUST be destroyed. I have 2 little girls that I want growing up without the fear of this disease. And I love 2 little girls who are growing up without their mommy (whom I loved with every ounce of my being) because of this junk and I do NOT want them to live in fear for their own lives as well.

Please, prayerfully consider what, if anything, you can do to help. Every little bit helps because EVERYONE deserves a lifetime!

Thank you!

Project 365 - Week 17

Here we are ... May ... How did THAT happen? And HOW is it that I am celebrating my 4TH Mother's Day? Growing up I wanted nothing more than to be a mom. And, in truth, it has far exceeded every last expectation that I had.

It is harder than I had ever imagined. It is scarier than I had dared to think. It is more sleepless nights, cold meals, dirty diapers, piles of laundry, dirty dishes, spilled milk, messes made and heirlooms broken that I ever thought could be.

And it is more prayers answered, hopes fulfilled, kisses goodnight, tummies tickled, I Love You's whispered, bear hugs, bathtime splashes, rocks to sleep and warm-sleepy-baby-lotioned-tiny bodies in my arms than I deserve. I truly LOVE being a mom and I could not have asked for more than what I have been Blessed with in the two sweet beings that my Lord has entrusted unto me.

Thank You, Father, for this life I am so Blessed to call my own.

And, speaking of this life, here is the last week:

May 3 - The one thing in this house that is sorely lacking is storage space. And the smallest of all closets is the one in the master bedroom. And that is why I have commandeered the LARGEST closet in the house for my own. It just happens to be in Hattie's room. After the 347th time of finding my clothes strewn about I BEGGED hubby to come up with a solution. We cannot drill into the door since we are renting, so, on short notice and in a moment of sheer genius, THIS is what my brilliant man came up with.

Thankfully, we had enough spoons for every closet in the house!

May 4 - Last week I had taken a cool picture of a guitar, so this week I set out to take one of the piano. I got some nice ones of JUST the piano and I have a project in my mind to use it and the guitar shot.

But, THIS one of Miss Sophie ENJOYING the piano ... priceless!

May 5 - Cinco de Mayo - every woman's excuse for Mexican food. I was hoping for enchiladas, but the day got away from us. So, we settled for taquitos from the freezer. And, gotta say, after a week and a half on a diet ... not too shabby!

May 6 - Sweet little Sophie's first time out. I heard cries from the bedroom and walked in to find Sophie on TOP of Hattie with a handful of blond hair in her little hand!

CLEARLY she is not a fan of timeout, but she stayed there until I let her up and we had a hug fest and then found, and made up with, Hattie too. All's well that ends well ... and it's even better when there is photo op in the midst of the drama!

May 7 - A date with Teri. We used up the last of the gift card from Fran for our yummy caffeine laden goodness and then took this picture to show her our appreciation! WE LOVE YOU FRAN!!!

May 8 - Hubbs and I had a date. We went to see a movie - and all who know me will be SHOCKED that the movie we saw was Star Trek! I am soooooooo NOT a Trekkie!!! But, once assured that there was no sign of William Shatner at ALL, I sucked it up so my man could see the movie he had been waiting for!

Plus, we found it quite amusing that the Coke cup came with DIRECTIONS for filling!

May 9 - We went to sweet Evy's birthday party. The theme was fairies and her back yard was transformed into a forest. Evy's mommy is oh so creative!!! The favors were these fairy wings (withOUT wires so they could be worn in the jumpy!), flower wands and lovely hair flowers! MY sweet fairy princesses LOVED theirs!

May 10 - Mother's Day. Thank you Hubby and Sweet girls for the BEAUTIFUL flowers and sweet, sweet cards!

I love you too!


So, how was YOUR week?

One Week Later

So, I have been Shredding for a week now. And, as crazy as it might seem, I am LOVING it.

Jillian is HARD CORE! And, in my head I know she is just on my TV and cannot hurt me, but I still think she might and that thought gets me through the entire workout. I am getting up early every morning to do it before I start my day and I would've thought it would make me tired for the day (and the first few days it SOOOOOOO did!) but I find it gets me going.

Now, it is NOT easy. After day one I could not do this:

Those four little steps were TORTURE! And going down was ten times worse than going up. I have no idea how she managed to do THAT! Plus, my poor arms were ready to fall off. So the laundry piled up pretty high before I could get down there and lift it into the washer! I had to release the sides on Sophie's crib to get her out of it and still had to just wrap my arms around her and use leverage! Day two my arms actually gave out mid push up and I kissed the floor. BUT, I survived the first two days and day 3 was the turnaround day. I actually had the endurance to finish everything and the pain was beginning to ease.

Now, after seven days, I am feeling pretty comfortable with it all and am even considering moving up to level two. Now, I have WATCHED level two and there are some pretty high impact moves involved. Sadly, I think I inherited my Grandma's knees so that may be hard, but there are low impact variations that do not look too bad. Maybe tomorrow.

I am also considering adding some additional cardio stuff to my day to help burn off this gut a little quicker. HOWEVER, in the last week I HAVE lost 6.8 pounds, so I am NOT complaining! AT ALL!!!

Now, to all of you who may be considering this - I totally recommend it. It is as hard as they say it is - even my friends whose workouts have consisted of more than lifting the spoon/can of diet coke to the lips and mashing buttons on the remote control have found it difficult - but once you get through the first few days it gets better. And trust me when I say, if I can do it, ANYONE can!

In other news, Sophie is talking a million miles a minute. Most of it is gibberish, but gibberish with effort. She is CLEARLY trying to communicate! And we can understand more and more of it every day. She is as joyful and sweet as ever - although we are seeing a few more Nellie Olsen style hissy fits here and there the closer we get to three! Yesterday, in a mini rage she grabbed my "pretty" (my cross necklace) and yanked and broke the chain. It broke my heart but I had to put her into timeout. She stayed there though, crying hard, and it hurt ME! Afterwards we hugged and made up, which was almost sweet enough to make up for it all. Almost.

Her favorite words are "please" and "thank you" and "hi". And just last week she started saying "love you" when we say it to her. I cried like a baby the first time - so very sweet. She is joy personified!

Hattie is growing like a weed - just up though, never out. She can still fit waist wise in some size three's but height wise she needs a five. And even the slims leave her lookin like a plumber most of the time! She loves to sing and dance and "read". She also likes to pretend she is any given Disney/Nick Jr character at any time. She is fun to watch play pretend and more and more she lets us play WITH her.

She loves school, but I think she is really ready for summer. It cannot come soon enough for this mommy. She is such a happy, sweet affectionate girl and a joy to be around. Even her "meltdowns" are coming a little less often and it is getting easier to pull her out of them - although Sunday was a hard day and I ended up staying in the nursery with her and Sophie because Hattie refused to go in her classroom. Not sure why - this is where that whole communication thing would come in real handy!

That about sums us up right now. I really am tryin to get back on a regular schedule with the blogging ... please be patient with me. That is, if you are still out there ...

Hello?

Anyone?

Beuller?

dern...

PS - Amy Grant has a new EP out and here is the handy dandy link (tryin to win a copy cause I LOVE me some Amy, oh yes I do!!!)

Project 365 - Week 16

I only have a few minutes to get this up, so let's get right into this weeks pictures (sorry to be so very unsociable!!) ...

April 27 - Miss Belle wakin up from her nap ... LOVE that sleepy face and am so very thankful to her mommy and daddy for sharing her with us every week!

April 28 - We had worship practice for a special worship night on Sunday ... I haven't been up to sing in over a month - and my voice was showin it!

April 29 - AKA Day 1 of the 30 Day Shred ... and, all I can say is OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!

April 30 - I am sorry, but this CANNOT be my baby girl. I can hardly even stand how big she's gettin. here she is in a pair of PJ's that Hattie LITERALLY wore last week. I pulled them out of H's drawer out of desperation and they fit!!!! And I cried a little...

May 1 - Spent the day designing blogs for some lovely people (the one in the pic should look familiar to those of you hoppin over from Sara's blog!). I designed two for my friend Kelli and she chose the one I was hopin she would, cause that means I got the other one ... How do ya like my new look?!?!?!

May 2 - Can my girl rock a McD's kid's meal box or WHAT?!?!?!?! Gotta love a new hat :)

PS: I want ya to know that I had a salad and did not even snitch a single fry! I mean, I am no Shreddin for nothin. And the 4.5 pounds I lost this week are STAYIN off this time!

So, there is our week, stop by and see Sara if you would like to peek in on the weeks of other strangers!!

So, how was YOUR week?

This Is Gonna Hurt

I am a HUGE fan of The Biggest Loser. I admit it, I am a reality TV junkie. I especially enjoy seeing people overcome battles. And, since weight and self image are battles I am constantly fighting, seeing people overcome them touches me in ways I cannot explain.

Now, when watching the Biggest Loser, or American Idol, Survivor or Amazing Race, I often try to picture myself in the shoes of the contestants. In fact, I often look at Hubby and explain what my strategy would be in that situation. For instance, if I ever get on survivor I am wearing layers - lots and lots of layers so that I have a change of clothes and am not forced to wander around an island (with the whole world watching!) in my underwear. AND, for that matter, I am wearing boxer briefs under everything - no hiney hangout for this girl! Not to mention a supportive bra - I mean come ON! You are on SURVIVOR - meaning physical challenges in which you may be required to bend, run, jump, leap, run, hang and, did I mention RUN!?

Support the girl ladies, support the girls!

OK, back to Biggest Loser ...

There was a moment once where Jillian had someone on a treadmill and that person (I cannot remember who at the moment) kept putting down her hands to hold on to the handles. Jillian was getting mad and actually threatened to rip her arms off and beat her over the head with her own arms if she did it one more time. Jillian is hard core y'all. Hard core!

Now, generally Bob is the nice one, but there was one contestant this year that made HIM lose it. Joelle. Oh, she was infuriating! Here she has the chance of a lifetime, to get herself in shape and have someone to help her learn to STAY that way and she just blew it off. She would BARELY participate in the workouts and do just enough to get by in the challenges ... Heck, I wanted to rip her arm off and beat her with it!!! He finally went all Jillian on her and there was more bleeping in that one scene that there EVER has been on that show!

So, anyway, I have decided that this is it, I have to do it now or never. I KNOW you have heard this before, but this time I have some AMAZING accountability partners and we are gonna do it TOGETHER! In fact we have all picked up a little something to get us started ...

I am tellin ya, in the words of Big Mama, it should actually be called the 30 Day DREAD. I did day one this morning and I have come to the conclusion that Jillian is one of two things:

A: She is a stinkin genius and bound to be my BFF in the next 30 days, or ...

B: She is a terrorist working for some foreign dictator and is determined to take out the good 'ol USofA one stay at home mom at a time.

I have ALSO determined that I would be the one to lead Jillian to at least the threat of violence and I would be the one to send Bob over the edge. Yes, I am Joelle.

And THAT must change!

So, this morning I got up at 0 Dark:Thirty to do Day 1 (because, clearly, I like my torture in two's). And I am tellin you ... OUCH!

It's gonna be a long 30 days, in which I will either DIE or find the motivation to keep going and TRULY get into shape.

I am betting on the latter.

In which case, if I ever DO get on Survivor, there will be MUCH less jiggling and hanging out of the hiney.

Priorities people, we all need em!

Dare We Get Excited?!?

Well, lookey there!

Do you see what I see?

No, really - can ya see it?

No, not the lily white skin ... look closer ...

Yeah, I know they're beautiful, intelligent, adorable and the cutest stinkin' kids on the planet ... look BEYOND that!

Yep, there it is ... do you see it?

They are wearing ... Could it be? ... why, yes it is ... They're wearing SHORTS!!!!!!!!!!!

Even Miss Belle (who was JUST waking up from her nap) is dressed for the FINALLY warmer weather. But then again, Belle would wear this dress in a blizzard if ya let her - girlie girl likes her sleeveless dresses! And, ummm, how precious is her freshly awoken face?

Beautiful!

Can I just get an AMEN on the oh-so-welcome-warmer days ... and a prayer that they are here to stay a while!?

Yeah, AMEN and Thank You LORD!