A facebook page for my blog

Yeah, I finally created one. You can "”like” it here.

Come like me. I will be having a giveaway once I get 100 likes! Woot!

A Kindle Fire? Yes, please!

Thanks to some really great blogs, I am the proud owner of a brand new, Kindle Fire! Yup. You read that right. I WON a Kindle Fire. I absolutely love it. It is so easy to use. Now I just need to get some stuff put on it. Buy some books, some apps, music maybe? It’s a great way to surf facebook. lol. Not that I really needed another way to go on facebook anyway. I’m slightly addicted. But I ‘m trying harder to not be on so much. It’s hard with all these great giveaways going on all the time though!

Samantha’s birthday is coming up soon. 20 more days to be exact. I’m going to have a THREE year old. It’s insane. Absolutely insane. She is getting so big and the things that come out of her mouth surprise me on a daily basis. One of my favorites? The other day she told her daddy “I’m tired, I should probably take a nap”. He asked her if she wanted to go upstairs and go to bed and her response?? “I should, but I don’t want to”. Oh the things that children say.

I have some pictures coming! Just gotta get them on the computer!

Operation diet is going… horrible. absolutely awful.

Dustin wants to contribute something to this post… He will take it from here…

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Well folks, there you have it. He’s a smarty pants.
Good night!

A Day in the life of…

A sick person.

Ever since I can remember, I’ve never been a “sick” person. Sure, I would get sick… but when I was sick at home in bed with the flu, I still ate. Or I still WANTED to eat. Well, same story. Only my body isn’t satisfied with eating a salad when I’m sick. No. I want pizza. And chips. And all the stuff that is absolutely awful for this challenge. Can I call a do-over? This challenge hasn’t been working out the way I’ve intended it. I haven’t cut down the carbs as much as I would have liked and I still haven’t been to the gym. I blame that part on my kids being sick, and now on me being sick. So I’ve extended my 29 day challenge. My new goal is March 31. Through the end of March I am dedicated to eating right and exercising more often. And not just to prove to you that I CAN do this (although that’s the real reason behind blogging about this whole thing), but for ME. Because it’s almost Spring. And what comes after Spring? Summer. And I want to be able to put on a swim suit and not feel like I need to wear a tshirt and shorts over it.

Today has been awful. This morning wasn’t so bad. I had a yogurt and a juice smoothie full of vitamins (to help with this sickness thing). For lunch? 2 pieces of toast… one with cheese on it, the other just some butter. Dinner is going to be a bit more challenging… Dustin is making beef stew. Full of yummy delicious potatoes and veggies. But talk about a lot of carbs.

Anyway, the kids are fighting over books. Time to play referee!

Until next time…

My first Saturday of the challenge

It’s been a pretty great day today. Woke up this morning and made an omelet with some cheddar and mozzarella cheese, topped with some chunky salsa with a single piece of toast on the side. Lunch was non-existent, but I did have a couple girl scout cookies. They were totally worth it. Dinner is still un-decided. We didn’t take anything out, and no one here is really hungry with the exception of me. Oh well.

We headed out to take the kids sledding today. We went down the small hill at a nearby park less than 5 times, but Samantha had a lot of fun. It was sooo cold though, so we weren’t out for long. It took longer to get both kids INTO their snow outfits, than we actually spent outside. Oh well. It was worth it. By the time we got home, Samantha was so tired, she actually to take a nap! And she is STILL sleeping. Yeah, at 7pm, my daughter is still napping. Tonight is going to be difficult. But she is OUT. We have tried waking her a couple times, but she is just not having any of it.

Today was a lot of fun. Glad you could share our fun with us!

Day 3

I was so proud of myself today. I had a piece of toast with a huge blob of peanut butter for breakfast.

Lunch? Today was pizza day at the office. So what did I eat? A nice big salad with green pepper, onion and cucumbers. Not one single bite of yummy delicious pizza. I was so proud of myself.

So then we come to dinner. Yeah. I was bad. Very bad. We had Chinese. And as most of you probably know, there aren’t many Chinese dishes that are GOOD for you. I had some sweet and sour chicken, empress chicken and sesame chicken. Just a little bit of each. With some white rice. Brown rice would have been preferred, but Chinese restaurants just don’t serve brown rice. Oh well. It was delicious.

Sigh. Maybe I’m not cut out for dieting. It always seems to make me want to crave the bad stuff even more. But I’m going to try to stick with it. Maybe tomorrow will be easier.

Anyway, both kids are sick. Fevers, body aches, whiney. It’s absolutely awful. I feel so terrible that I can’t do anything to make them feel better. Some tylenol here, some motrin there. But that’s about all I can do. Samantha has been laying around the house most of the time I’ve been home from work. We cuddled. A lot. That part was nice.

Anyway, I’m going to go kiss my kids and head to bed myself. Maybe watch a movie before going to sleep. It is a Friday night after all. Ah, the life of a mom.

Day 1 and Day 2

Well, I’m on the second day of my 29 day challenge. It’s going as well as can be expected for someone who absolutely loves carbs.

Day 1 Meals
Breakfast – 1 pouch of instant oatmeal and 1 piece of toast with peanut butter
Lunch – half a salad from Wendys and carrot sticks with ranch dressing
Dinner – a very small portion of spaghetti made with whole wheat pasta and a salad and 1 girl scout cookie along with a small handful of m&m’s… yeah yeah, I know. But I love carbs! I love sweets!

Day 2 Meals
Breakfast – 1 piece of toast with a large amount of peanut butter
Lunch – a salad with some baked chicken and a very very small portion of leftover spaghetti from last night and carrot sticks with ranch dressing
Dinner – Chicken soup is currently on the stove

I’m not doing as well as I would like, but I’m doing better than the “normal”, so it’s progress at least. Any ideas for some great low carb meals? Tell me! I need some ideas! Especially breakfast ones! FAST and EASY is KEY for breakfast. I don’t really have enough time to cook anything! :-)

Some life updates

The kids are getting bigger, life is getting busier.
But here are some fun moments from my life I wanted to share with you!

This picture of Bradley is awesome! Straight out of the camera! Love it! And here’s one of my sweet baby girl.
   

They love to be outside! This picture was taken in January. In CHICAGO! It was crazy nice out!

My sweet girl loves sharing with her brother!

 

And as I’m sitting here typing this, this is what our living room floor looks like…. lol

I tried to get some good family photos! Unsuccessfully I might add….

Bradley is ONE!

Bradley turned 1 on February 3. We had a blast and he LOVED his cake. Here are a couple pictures of the big day!

Bradley decided he wanted to try a bite!
 

I made the cake myself! And you can tell… lol. But I am happy with the way it turned out. Even more happy with his smash cake.

 

He LOVED his cake!

And last but not least, a picture of my two munchkins! It is SOOO hard to get a picture of the two of them together smiling. But I’m working on it!

Thanks for sharing this time with us!
Ta-Ta for now!!! (as Tigger would say!)

29 Day Challenge

A friend of mine, Jesse, started a 30 day challenge today. You can read all about it here. I am going to join her, except since I’m a day late, I’m calling it a 29 day challenge. I also will not be as strict as her. Because lets face it… I can NOT cut out all carbs. I just can’t. But I CAN limit them. A lot.

My goal is to lose at the very least 10 pounds. 10 pounds in 29 days? I think I can do it. I pigged out today with chicken tenders and fries for lunch and homemade pizza for dinner, and even snacking on some mini marshmallows after dinner. :-)

I’ve got my work cut out for me! Especially because I’m also making my goal a little bit more challenging by adding some workouts to my challenge. I’m aiming for making a trip to the gym 5 days a week, but at least 3 days a week for sure.

For those that don’t really know me, this will be a challenge.
Reason Number 1: I like to sleep. I cannot get up at the crack of dawn to drag myself to the gym.
Reason Number 2: I like my time with my kids. By the time I get off work, I’m ready to come home and see them.

This new routine will take some getting used to, but my goals are to get myself into a healthier routine that I can live with every day. A better diet, and exercise.

For the next 29 days, I will be posting regularly about my progress and without revealing my actual weight, will give you the pounds lost! This will serve as motivation to me as well…. Other people are going to see if I cheat? Other people are going to see if I gain a pound? Yeah, it’s going to be hard… but I can do it. And I’m doing it for MYSELF. I can’t wait!!!

Until next time…

Time flies

As Bradley gets closer and closer to his first birthday, (yeah... I said it. First birthday!) I am starting to think about what I want to do to celebrate the occasion. For Samanthas first birthday, I planned this huge party at our local rec center and rented a room. I ordered a huge gorgeous cake and bought a ton of decorations. It was nice, and totally pretty. But it was a huge waste of money. The cake was half eaten, less than half the invited guests showed up, and we were rushed to get out on time.

This time around, I'm planning on doing something that will look great, while staying on a tight budget. I'm planning a lot of DIY projects and instead of renting a room at the rec center, I am going to plan an at-home party for a smaller guest list.

I just started a pinterest account, and I'm loving it so far. I'm planning on stalking the pages for ideas for Bradleys 1st birthday party and Samantha's THIRD birthday party. Oh where did the time go!?

Bradley will be 1 in just over 3 months, and Samantha 3 in just under 5.

I'll keep you updated!

Bradley got his first taste of food!

He loved it! He has only had rice cereal and sweet potatoes so far, but we are going to start green beans tomorrow!

And sweet potatoes!

He even thought he could feed himself!

Samantha got her first haircut! Auntie Cassie did a great job!

All done! Pretty girl huh?

I’m a bad updater

But here is another very long overdue update.

When Bradley was born, he was 8 pounds 6 ounces and 21 inches long.
6 Months later, he is 20 pounds, 4 ounces and 27 1/2 inches long.

He has grown an extreme amount, and is so chubby.

 

What updates did I promise? oh yeah. Samantha went to the pool for the first time!

Bradley went swimming for the first time:

And she started gymnastics, which is now over and done with. She loved it though and I can’t wait to sign her up again for a new class!

We saw fireworks!

And we went to the carnival! And Samantha won a fish!

She really wore herself out and this is what happened at dinner time:

That’s all for now. But I promise to have more soon!

Updates

Yeah, 4 months. It has been almost 2 months since my last post and Bradley is already 4 months old. I know I said I was going to get better about updating this blog, but what can I say? I'm a full time working mom to 2 beautiful growing kids. By the time I get home from work, all I want to do it spend time with my little ones and the weekends are reserved for family time. My quiet time (aka nap time) is usually reserved for laundry, grocery shopping and cleaning. Today I have snuck away while Bradley naps and Samantha plays quietly behind me. She WAS laying on the couch having some quiet time when I started this post, so you can all see how long THAT lasted. With no nap today, she needed the rest, but apparently she has decided she has had enough.

We made the trip to the mall today. We were there for about 3 1/2 hours. Samantha walked around like a big girl almost the entire time. Bradley played with his toys or slept the whole time. I am proud to say that that is by far the LONGEST trip we have made with a potty trained little 2 year old! She is pretty much completely potty trained and only wears a diaper or pull up at nap and bed times. She has been wearing them while we go out as well, but we decided today to bring some(lots) of extra clothes and give it a try! No accidents. She did so great! I am so happy to have her out of diapers! That will save us quite a bit every month!

Stay tuned for pictures. I'm not on my computer, so I don't have any on here, but I will get some up soon along with some more news about the kids!

What's to come?
-Bradley had his 4 month dr visit
-Samantha went to the pool
-Samantha started gymnastics
-Bradley is rolling over and giggling like crazy

So make sure to come back to read all about it!

Bradley is here!

This post is extremely belated. BUT. Bradley Joseph made his way into this world on February 3, 2011. He was 8 pounds, 6 ounces and 21 inches long.

He is absolutely perfect.

 

He was welcomed by 2 very proud parents.

I have spent the (almost) last 3 months enjoying my life as a mommy to 2.
My blog has been neglected, but this changes now. I’m back!

I’ve been back to work for almost a month, and it’s sad leaving them everyday, but I have 2 gorgeous kids to come home to now. Samantha absolutely loves her little brother and she showers him with hugs and kisses all the time. When he was born, she was sick. Very sick. So she didn’t get to meet him until we came home from the hospital, and didn’t get to really see him or hold him at all until the day after we came home. This was her first time getting to hold him.

He wasn’t very happy. But the look on her face was priceless. She loves reading to him and trying to play with him, and she sings him the abc’s quite often. :-)

Her face is full of pure joy every time she gets to hold him.

This was one of the first pictures taken of us as a full family. As you can see by the date, it was way too late… this should have been done as soon as we were all together, and that much, I am extremely regretful of.

But I am so happy in my life as a mommy to a gorgeous son.

And a beautiful daughter.

And I’ll leave you with this. His first smile caught on film.

These 2 kids are my pride and joy. I couldn’t imagine my life without either of them.