Half-Soaked

Unlikely Friends

2012-01-11T00:58:00.001-07:00

A month or so ago a great deal for Blazers tickets/arena food popped up on Groupon, so I jumped at it. I wasn't sure who I'd take in the middle of the week, but in the end, Karin and I decided that I should take Matthew despite being on a school night. He is just getting into sports, and it was a great chance to have some bonding time, which I know means a ton to him (and is one of my favorite ways to spend my time).

I am sure everyone (or at least most people) think their kids are special and that they are fortunate to be their parents, so what I'm about to say may go without saying, but I spent the whole night feeling very blessed to have been entrusted with being the father of such a great kid. He does things every day that make me smile and laugh, and tonight was filled with those moments.

I decided we would take the train to the game to avoid having to park and walk a long way to the arena with him. We weren't the only ones with that idea, because the train was fairly packed, and we ended up standing. Matthew sandwiched himself between a blue-haired girl with a bike (stay weird, Portland!) and two older ladies (sitting, and therefore right at his eye level). One of them asked him a question (I think if he was going to the game), and he spent the next 30 minutes or so in a prolonged conversation with the two of them about everything from basketball to riding the train to Christmas trees/presents to sibling relationships. The highlight for me was probably when he found out they were sisters (who go to every Trailblazers game, apparently) and told them that they kind of looked similar in their faces and that their voices sounded kind of similar. Then he said, "So you are sisters, and also kind of like friends! A brother or sister can also be a friend." (He had already told them that he had a sister named Isabelle and that they fought sometimes). As we walked away toward the arena, he told them, "Now that we met, we are friends!"

We picked up our tickets at will call, and as we walked into the arena and grabbed programs, the lady passing them out asked Matthew hold old he is. When he said "5," she said, "I think you just met my sisters - I am the third one." They obviously had told her something, and it was funny that we walked through her door. He also saw one of the other ladies during halftime and started talking to her again.

I'm amazed at how at ease he is in talking to people and in asking questions. A little before Christmas we went to a party at my boss's house attended mostly by people from her husband's church (he is a pastor). As we put on our coats and got ready to leave, one older gentlemen there said, "Bye Matthew, it was nice to meet you" and talked a bit about the conversation they had.

Of course, this could be a little scary if Matthew is too comfortable with strangers, so we've had to talk to him about how to deal with them when we are not around. But there is something about the way Matthew relates to people that tends to endear him to them (although not always kids his own age), and sometimes I love just sitting back and watching. As he fell asleep on me on the train ride back, I again felt pretty fortunate, and I hope he never loses that piece of his personality.

Potty Training

2011-12-22T02:47:00.001-07:00

I have been dreading this day for awhile and have been procrastinating. Matthew was SO HARD to train! He knew he should be going pee in the potty and got the concept of the potty super quick, but could have cared less if he pooped or peed his pants. I had to constantly remind him to go to the bathroom and he had poop accidents quite a few times for about a month.

I knew that Isabelle was either going to be stubborn as a mule or act like a big girl and catch on quickly. I should have started potty training her a few months ago, but we were all sick and then I had sinus surgery and then we were all sick again and I didn't want to deal with all the messes when I wasn't feeling well. Out of the blue on Saturday without discussing it with Jordan, I decided it was the day to start training. Here was my thinking: Isabelle's diapers were running out (I mean like less than 10 left), Isabelle was liking her diaper less and less when it was wet or poopy, we had pull-ups ready to go, and Jordan was going to be around more the next couple of weeks to help out with the messes.

We tried a few things with Matthew that didn't work and then did the straight to underwear method that worked better than anything else. You just put them in underwear and set the timer for 15 min. and have them go to the potty every 15 min. until they have success and reward them for that success. If they have an accident then I set the timer for 45 min - 1 hr. to give them ample time to build up more fluids. Matthew's first day, I swear there were a million accidents and I don't even know if he went to the bathroom on his own once for the first week or so, but would go when I asked him to. Isabelle is a super potty trainer. She had 3 accidents on Saturday, none on Sunday and had a dry pull-up after church, and had just a couple of accidents yesterday and today when she couldn't get to the bathroom in time-BUT WAS trying to get there. She has gone on her own so many times and after Saturday I haven't even set the timer once.

We do use a little potty that you can dump and she even dumps it herself and flushes the toilet and I have never asked her to. She is running around in Matthew's old white underwear until we think she's really ready for sure and then we'll move her into her new princess underwear. She's been dry after her naps and nighttime the last few days and then will take herself to the bathroom once she wakes up. We've found that it has to be her decision though. She doesn't like to go to the potty right after she wakes up, so we just change her out of her pull-up into underwear and once she's ready she'll go use the bathroom. What a smart girl and we keep looking at ourselves in disbelief as this time around is a million times easier than last time. It holds true in our household that the boy was way harder to train than the girl.

Isn't her white boy underwear cute and hilarious!

...and she loves to do puzzles and can do 24 piece puzzles by herself. Not that it has anything to do with potty training, but her little brain is so smart!

Halloween Crafts

2011-10-31T16:20:00.002-07:00

I was so NOT in the Halloween mood this year until WAY LATE! I made my costume at the last minute, when I was inspired by devil horns I found. A super easy RED tutu later and I'm a she devil. I realized I didn't have a ton of Halloween decorations so this was thrown together SUPER last minute, but here are a few fun things I made this weekend.

Trick or Treat Banner

I cut out 4 different pumpkins from my pumpkin carving Cricut Cartridge and my Cricut Expression. I used my mini monograms cartridge to cut out the letters and xyroned those onto the pumpkins. I attached eyelets and tied the pumpkins together on the back with ribbons and then attached cute polka ribbons to the end pumpkins. I should have aged the pumpkins and monograms with paint and maybe added some glitter. Maybe I'll do that this week before it goes into the box for next year.

Halloween Frame

I had this wooden frame with broken glass inside sitting on my craft shelf and decided to make a quick Halloween frame. I painted the edges and inside of the frame purple and then modge podged a piece of 12x12 scrapbook paper onto that, let dry and then modge podged the front. I cut out the beware and the bats on my pumpkin carving cartridge and adhered the Beware onto white cardstock. I found some velvet stickers I've had for awhile and put those on and then tied leftover tulle and ribbons onto my frame.

Super easy!

First Day of School

2011-09-18T11:33:00.000-07:00

I can't believe our baby is in school. Well, really I can because he was so ready to go. School begins after labor day here and his school starts so early in the morning - the AM class starts at 7:45. Geez that's early!!! Matthew has a lot of friends in the afternoon, but I wanted him in the morning for 2 reasons.

1-We live too close for him to ride a bus, so I would have to take AND pick him up. By sending him in the morning Jordan takes him to school on his way to work.
2-Isabelle takes her nap in the afternoon. I would have to wait until we picked him up to get her to bed and that is stretching nap time late every day which I didn't want to do.

It was in the 90's which is unheard of in September during the first week of school so Matthew got to wear shorts for a few days. It has already started cooling down, but I'm hoping to squeeze in a few more shorts days before we run into full-blown yucky weather.

So handsome!

Like usual he wanted a silly pose.

We all went to school with him and of course Isabelle wanted in on the picture action.

Matthew has a hard time not talking and he is a wiggle worm, but for the most part I think he's doing really well. They get either green, yellow or red smiley faces everyday. He had a job chart at home and every day he gets a green sticker at school he gets to add a sticker to his job chart at home. If he gets all 5 green smileys for the week then he gets a bonus sticker too. He got all green last week except for yellow on Friday (for poking someone with a pencil) so we'll be working towards a bonus sticker this week.

We started the job chart as a way to reward behavior and get him to choose good choices, help out easier around the house without fighting, going to the bathroom without us reminding him and to earn money. Every chart is worth $ (we still have to decide how much) so he'll also be learning about saving money and paying tithing. The first chart he finished was used towards a plants/zombies game he wanted so that was a good incentive and worked really well.

He's so cute everyday when I pick him up after school. It takes a little prodding some days, but then he blabs like crazy about everything they did at school. He has a gym teacher named Mr. Twig - cool! He also went to music time and LOVED it. It's so cute hearing about everything and about all the things he doing and loving. I will experience brief freedom next year when he's in school all day and Isabelle goes to Preschool 2 days a week. I'm on the cusp of freedom! I really think another baby is NOT in the works for us.

Facepainting fun!

2011-09-15T15:33:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy this summer and with the start of school. I can't believe I haven't blogged for so long. I'm hoping to get some more pictures posted soon from our summer fun!

I am having a few moments here and there to myself with Matthew being in kindergarten - really 7:45-10:35 doesn't give me much time. I decided to scrapbook some cute pics this morning that we took at Jordan's summer work party. His group had a family picnic/BBQ in August. It was at a lake and had facepainting, BBQ food, bingo and a jumpy house...and other things that we didn't participate in. It was really fun and we got there relatively early and decided to take advantage of the face painting (free!) before the lines got too long.

Matthew knew he wanted a batman face right away. All black is a little complicated to see any features so I suggested the batman mask and he was all for it. For a pretty wiggly kid he sat perfectly still and did whatever she asked while he was getting painted. He looked so awesome and I cracked up everytime I looked at him. He loved playing bingo (he thought just five squares total was Bingo and so yelled Bingo 1 time and I had to yell he was just kidding) he was seriously so cute looking to see if either of our boards had the right numbers. He loved the jumpy house and was so disgustingly sweaty and dirty by the time we left. I wiped off his whole mask before we drove home. He looked like he had eyeliner on, it was so cute!

I have the say that the face painter artist was so amazing! She could create anything. There were a lot of little girls that were getting butterflies, unicorns and other girly things so of course Isabelle wanted a butterfly. I was so impressed that she stayed completely still while the girl painted her face. A lot of the bottom portion of the butterfly came off while she was eating so I wiped off the rest of the bottom off and she wore the top part the rest of the time we were there. She was a sweaty mess by the end of the day from jumping in the castle so I wiped off the whole thing before we drove home.

All in all a really fun day spent together and a good day for Jordan to be out of the office.

Downtown Portland

2011-04-18T10:35:00.002-07:00

Jordan has a co-worker that invited us to come hang out with them downtown and we finally were able to coordinate to go on Saturday. We went to a couple of parks that were within walking distance from their condo and then we went to a little Italian bistro that was SO GOOD! It was so fun and they were cool and easy to talk to. It's also great to have insiders that live in downtown Portland and know the best places to eat. All these pics are with our new lens - love it!

When we first arrived at the second (one with the bear) park Matthew said "this is boring, there are no toys (slides, etc.)", but then made a friend in about 2 seconds and didn't want to leave when it was time to. I don't think city life is for me, but I can't wait to hang out again in the city when it warms up a bit.

Matthew loves to have his hood on and it was a little chilly so it was zipped too. This pic cracks me up.

His "friend" he made. When we were walking back after dinner he told me it was fun meeting new friends.

There was this marble bear at the park and he loved climbing on it.

We went to this "park" first that had little walk ways and a pond. It was really cute, but I was getting so nervous because the kids trip all the time and I could see them falling in the super cold water.

There were 3 ducks that the kids kept watching.

The park where the bear was, was pretty big. Isabelle was loving running back and forth.

I love her wind blown hair and great smile. You know she's having fun.

Whenever we get the camera out she says "cheese", but doesn't look at us.

Happy Birthday Isabelle!

2011-04-10T08:31:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's already been 2 years. It seems like yesterday we were at the hospital having her.

More Isabelly

2011-04-06T13:38:00.000-07:00

I am determined to get caught up with my scrapbooking. I think Isabelle's 2009 is almost complete. Here are some more layouts I worked on this weekend. Conference is perfect to scrapbook to! Can't wait to scrapbook her birthday.

Right at about 5 months. These were her first days of rolling over. It's amazing the change they go through in just 2 short years.

I made a ton of these knock-off baby legs (tutorial here) out of women's socks for Isabelle. They are easier to put on than tights and you can change a diaper while they are wearing them and they are really easy to make. I found some larger socks lately and need to whip up some more as the ones
I made are mostly too small now.

Isabelle is such a climber! She has no fear - opposite of Matthew. See that little twenty-ten? I wrote that! A friend of mine let me borrow their tablet where you can doodle and draw and write electronically on your layouts (it's really for artists). It's easy to use, but harder to get the smoothness of writing down. I swear that was about my 20th try. I'm going to keep on practicing though.

I actually did this layout awhile ago. Matthew got this visor at a preschool outing and Isabelle loved it because she could get it on and off so easily. I caught her wearing it all the time.

Isabelle is ALMOST two!!!

2011-04-02T17:11:00.002-07:00

In honor of Isabelle's 2nd birthday coming up in a week from Sunday here are some layouts of her! Most of my elements come from http://www.designerdigitals.com/ and Ali Edward's words are a favorite of mine. I am hoping to borrow a wacom tablet soon so I can make my own sayings to use on my scrapbook pages. After 3 years of scrapping only boy stuff it's so fun to use pink and girlie things.

So you don't think I forget about Matthew I'm including two layouts I did today of him. Conference is great to listen to and scrap at the same time.

These are all pics from each month in 2010

Isabelle was such a cute baby! She's always loved food and out eats Matthew at almost every meal. How she is still so tiny boggles my mind. She is almost two, doesn't even weigh 25 pounds (Matthew weighed that at almost 1) and wears 18 month clothes. This layout was based on the free template here that I tweaked quite a bit and the free kit here.

Matthew can make Isabelle laugh like crazy and here is a cute moment I captured. My friend Kris had this layout linked from from her blog that she took inspiration from for a layout. I loved it so much that I took inspiration too and whipped this up in less than 30 min. Easy Peasy!

Isabelle playing peek-a-boo on one of those nights I had the camera out for my food blog.

I really can't believe I hadn't scrapped these pics yet. I need to look back through my blog to help me remember who was all there and what happened. Layout is based on the free template here that I changed quite a bit. Almost everything on my page is from Designer Digitals.

For some reason we went to the park this day. I need to check my blog for any mentions of this too. I think that we might have gone there before meeting up with Jordan at one of his family work get togethers. We definitely rode the train and it was a beautiful October day. The layout was inspired by this layout, but by the end it looks so different!

Scrapbook layouts

2011-03-31T19:28:00.001-07:00

I've been teaching a friend of mine how to digitally scrapbook and it has renewed the scrappiness in me again. I'm trying to get caught up and here are some layouts I've done recently of Isabelle and Matthew. It helps that my favorite digital website http://www.designerdigitals.com/ is celebrating it's 6th birthday and has new birthday items on sale for $.99 every day.

Random pics from Isabelle's first two months. I'm really trying not to use pink in EVERY layout.

November 2009 - you can see the resemblence to our toddler now

Matthew's 3rd Birthday. I captured some really good pictures and it was fun using new cheap items that I recently purchased.

Christmas 2010

Spring Training

2011-03-30T23:10:00.003-07:00

Our first stop while on Spring Break was spring training. Man was it HOT!!! It was probably 92 or 93 degrees. It was a bit uncomfortable, but I wasn't complaining because we were loving the SUN. Baseball isn't my favorite thing and it was a bit tricky with the kids, but it was a really fun day.

Spring Break

2011-03-14T22:22:00.002-07:00

Can I even tell you how excited I am to be going on vacation to Arizona????? Don't get me wrong, we are really loving it here in Oregon and are meeting some great people and I really am enjoying being at home with my kids, but I miss the sunshine and warmth. Our official spring break is next week, but all of AZ is having their spring break this week so we are heading out early and seeing and absorbing as many friends as we can. It'll be nice to be with friends where it's easy and the history of our friendship is already built. So, so excited - plus 85+ degree weather doesn't hurt either!

I can't wait to feel the warmth of the sun on my back, to wear my flip flops, shorts, capris and short sleeve shirts that haven't seen daylight since we moved. I even bought some new clothes for the occasion. My Nook is loaded up with good reads - if I have time. We have snacks packed for the plane ride (no we are NOT driving 22 hrs to AZ) and our netbook ready with movies. I am a bit worried about Miss Isabelle on the plane because of her inability to sit still for longer than 10 min. Hoping we can keep her awake through the ride to the airport so she'll konk out on the plane.

Besides seeing friends I'm also looking forward to hitting our favorite food joints. It is pathetic that in addition to making our itinerary that we made a list of all the food we need to consume? :)

We need to go to:

-In-n-Out - duh!

-Tia Rosa's - best Mexican ever!

-RigaTony's - yummy Italian!

-Floridino's - best calzone's!

-Dilly's Deli - a superb sandwich/soup shop

-Cafe Rio or Costa Vida - none here and Chipotle just doesn't cut it for me

-Some greek place our friends found that has good hummus

Optional Places to eat (they are in UT so I can hit them this summer if needed):

-Rumbi Grill

-Pei Wei - how they cannot have this in OR is beyond me!

-Paradise Bakery - I just found one in OR this weekend that is 30-40 minutes away, better than nothing!

My load of laundry finally finished drying so I'm off to finish packing and need to stop wasting time. Hello AZ here we come!!

The Sweet More Than Negates the Sour

2011-02-20T00:36:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went out to eat, something we haven't done a lot of since we moved to Oregon really, particularly as a family. Both of our kids were having a rough night to some degree, but Matthew was particularly having a hard time listening to us and behaving. I'm sure he was a bit wired up from being in the house all afternoon, and it showed. We (Karin and I) were both clearly frustrated to varying degrees. In his typical Matthew way, though, even on a night where he was giving us kind of a hard time, we were reminded of some of the reasons we love that kid so much. On the way from the restaurant to the car, he asked Karin, "When you are mad at me, do you still love me?" She assured him that she did, and he thought about that for a bit and then asked, "Would you still love me if I was a walrus?" Classic Matthew.

I had told him earlier that if he starting listening and was good, he could play a game on my phone on the way home, but he didn't follow through on that, so for the first 10 minutes or so on the drive home he was crying and begging us to let him play. Then I started talking about other things to try to get his mind off of it, and at one point he kept interrupting me for some reason when I was trying to tell him something. Finally, he said, "OK, you can go ahead. Say your words." He then settled for playing the guessing game (a simplified 20 questions, I guess - you don't ask questions, just guess), his favorite thing in the car.

Isabelle's favorite thing in the car is to listen to the kid version of this Dynamite song. I mean, she wants to hear it over and over. That could probably drive us crazy (I think it's already starting to drive Matthew crazy), but it is tough to be too bugged when you look back and see your not-quite-2-yr-old dancing and signing along to her favorite song. We love her spunk and creativity, even if that means having draw with crayons on just about everything in the house including her own face.

We are grateful that even on days when our kids are driving us a bit crazy, they are healthy and generally happy and seem to genuinely love each other. Even though Matthew gets a little bugged when Isabelle destroys his Lego creations (usually Batman related, using some real leaps of imagination), he can be really sweet to her. A while back she fell off of a chair and was crying, and Matthew sang her a rainbow song he learned (the entirety of which is "Red, orange, yellow, green, blue. Don't forget there's purple too. Rainbow colors for me and you!"). So now anytime she is upset, he starts singing that. On the way to the restaurant tonight, he wanted to sing that after we got done singing another song Isabelle had asked us to sing ("Popcorn popping on the apricot tree..."), and when Karin suggested we sing something other than the rainbow song, he said, "But it's beautiful!"

Bottom line... there are times when our kids push our buttons a little bit, but those things are more than offset by the genuine little moments of happiness they bring into our lives every day.

Curious George

2011-02-10T19:38:00.002-07:00

Isabelle is my Curious George. In Arizona we had baby locks on our cupboards that you had to unlock with a magnet. That was so great in keeping this girl out of everything. Well, in a rental you can't really do that! She is killing me. Everytime I turn around she is into something new. She likes to play in my measuring cups/glass prep bowls drawer and loves playing with our oven toaster that is under our island. She seriously keeps me running from the time she wakes up until she takes a nap and then again once she wakes up.

Boo!

She's just patiently waiting for dinner and wanted her picture taken. So cute!

Isabelle - Scrapbook Layout

2011-01-29T22:52:00.004-07:00

I haven't taken the time to scrapbook much lately, but since I've been taking photos of the kids lately I decided to put together this collage of Isabelle. These digital paper flowers really inspired this layout and even better were on sale for $.99 at my favorite website - Designer Digitals.

I really love digital scrapbooking. It has freed me of feeling like everything needs to be absolutely perfect when I sit down to scrapbook. I have a digital camera so it's super easy to take my photos off my camera and boom create a layout. I don't have to print until I want to and if I don't like something in my layout I can just delete it or keep playing with it until I like the way it looks. I can upload my layouts to Costco and I currently have a ton needing to be printed. This Christmas I created a memory book for Jordan's family of our summer vacation. I just created layouts, uploaded them to Snapfish and they printed and bound it. It was the perfect little reminder of all the fun things we did together this summer.

Anyways, just trying to remember the cute things she's doing at this stage and what some of her favorites are. I shared some of them (listed below) last week along with the original pics.

Fruit Snacks - Some moms may not believe in these little treats of yummy sugarness - but we do at our house! They seem to be the calming treat that can settle down my screaming, fit throwing kids at the store. Most of the time they are eaten while out and about and Isabelle knows I ALWAYS have some on hand.

Yogurt - Isabelle AND Matthew both love yogurt. It's often the first thing she requests to eat in the morning. We also introduced them both to vanilla yogurt with grape nuts mixed in and both of them love it. It's surprising what they take to.

Coloring - Isabelle is a girl through and through. She loves to color and wants to do it all the time. The hard part is she wants to also color things she shouldn't. She has found markers a few times, namely on Christmas while I was taking a nap (they are hidden now) and colored her brand new christmas clothing, books, cloth ABC book that my mom made, one of Matthew's presents and various other things I've found or keep finding. She is only allowed to use washable crayons and even then she's having a tough time staying on the table and only coloring the paper. She gets them taken away often, but I think it's starting to sink in.

Laughing (at Matthew) - this girl has the cutest laugh ever! When Matthew gets her going it's pretty funny. She is pretty happy most of the time and such a delight in our home.

Eating - Like I mentioned last week, this girl can eat! For example tonight she had: 1/4 PB sandwich, almost a can of peaches and a can of oranges. I'm not saying her food is high in calories, but shouldn't her tummy be hurting from all the food inside of it? Matthew on the other hand forcefully had 2 little pieces of chicken and then a can of oranges as well.

Reading Books - She loves to read and we have so many books that they got a book holder for Christmas. It has helped our books stay way more organized. When we had them in a basket, she would just take them all out and read them all, but scatter them everywhere.

We were reading the Mr. Brown Can Moo book tonight and she can pretty much make all the sounds. What does an Owl say? Hoo Hoo - so cute!

Binkie & Blankie - Oh my do we have a BIG problem on our hands. Isabelle LOVES her binkie and blankie (any thin blanket is good). If she finds her blankie she wants her binkie and visa versa. They are very comforting to her and I'm letting it go right now. She's pretty cute though if she's using them in the car and we get to the gym I tell her I need them so we can go play and she gladly hands them over.

Singing & Dancing - She's pretty good at singing and knows words to several songs. She loves to dance around and often I wonder how it is that children are so carefree and as adults we lose that capability? She's a pretty good little dancer and I can't wait until she's old enough to get into dance. I just got Kids Bop 19 the other day and both kids have been loving to listen to it in the car and wiggle around. So fun!

Fridge Magnets - She got these animal leap frog magnets for Christmas and inherited Matthew's old leap frog ABC fridge magnets. She loves to push the buttons to hear the songs and almost knows the ABC song (we just found the ABC magnets at the end of Dec.).

All in all so fun to see this little girl grow up. She is saying a lot of words and will try and say anything really. She's starting to put 4 word sentences together and often exclaims happily "I did it myself".

Matthew...not Matt, Matty or anything else

2011-01-26T10:20:00.003-07:00

Matthew DOES not like nicknames or shortened ways to say his name. He is Matthew through and through and if you try and call him anything else he'll tell you that his name is Matthew or sometimes Matthew Jordan Stephens.

It's tough to get a good pic of him lately because he just wants to be silly and/or make silly faces but I managed to get this one the other day.

He really loves to laugh, joke and just be silly. It's definitely fun around here, but sometimes the silliness is too much especially when trying to get ready for school. He definitely makes us laugh though and is too smart for his own britches.

This kid hates to eat unless it's candy, cookies, chips or treats. Not too hard to convince him to eat some swirly soft ice cream from Costco.

He was just veging out watching TV with his shades to "protect his eyes". He is such a creative soul and really makes us laugh often with his antics.

Silly IsaBelly

2011-01-25T10:59:00.005-07:00

This sweet girl of ours is really such a joy to have in our family. She definitely is fiesty and opinionated, but most of the time sweet and cute. Just wanted to share a few pictures that I've taken of her lately.

She got this farm fridge magnet set for Christmas and loves dancing to the music and putting the animals together. I just wanted to catch her in the action.

Isabelle LOVES reading books! She looks at/reads them several times a day and books are always scattered throughout the play room. I'm hoping this will stay a love throughout her life.

Isabelle also loves to color. She definitely is a girl. She wants to color, loves stickers, likes to be pretty (that's how I convince her to sit still while I do her hair). It is really fun having another girl around here.

She has the cutest giggle ever. The one person that can really make her laugh is Matthew. He can just be running around the house or hiding from her and she thinks it's so hilarious. It's cute to watch them both play together. Matthew is a really good brother for the most part and really loves his sister.

One other thing that Isabelle loves to do is eat. She can out eat Matthew at almost every meal, but is still so tiny. She is 21 months and wears mostly 12-18 month clothes.

I can't believe she'll be 2 in just a few months. It seems like yesterday that I was going in for my c-section with her. We are so blessed she's in our family.

In the Kitchen...with ME!

2011-01-20T09:51:00.003-07:00

I have been wanting to do a food blog for a long time, but with work and the kids it was just too much to tackle. Now that we've moved and I'm taking a break from work I decided it was time to start my food blog. The purpose of my blog is to:

1-Share my yummiest and newest recipes I've found.
2-Get YOU to experiment more.
3-Give you tricks and tips for more successful cooking.
4-Share my favorite cooking tools.

I'm way excited! Feel free to sign up as a follower and you'll get an email when new posts are posted. Also, feel free to share my blog with your friends.

In The Kitchen With Karin

Are These My Pants?

2011-01-19T01:28:00.002-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Jordan told me that he accidentally put on my jeans one morning and even though he could get into them they were very tight in an important area. He took them off and realized they were mine. When he told me that I thought it was so funny and couldn't imagine how he got them mixed up.

Fast forward to this past Friday. Jordan did laundry (yes you know where this is going) and lots of pants were in our laundry basket folded nicely to be put away. I grabbed a pair of boot cut 1969 gap pants out of it and put them on. They fit really well but were a little loose in the thigh and crotch area and were a bit different of a wash than I remembered. I thought it was all weird but went on with my day. My brother Brent and his wife Sam were coming into town and I needed to finish getting ready for them, Matthew had preschool and I had gone to the gym so it was a very busy day getting ready for the weekend company. When I went to bed that night at 1 am I went to look at what brand my jeans were again and saw a 31/32 size and started busting a gut.

I had worn Jordan's pants all day and didn't realize it. Yes they were looser and a different wash than I remembered, but I was sure they had said bootcut and 1969 gap jeans which they did say they were just Jordan's. I also have the same brand of gap jeans but mine are the womens cut.

All in all I guess we both like to get in each other's pants....:) :) :).

Joking Around...

2011-01-06T23:36:00.000-07:00

We are adjusting well here in Oregon. Matthew started preschool this week and we are getting into a good routine. The other day while at the store Matthew said to me: What game do pirates like to play? Caaaards (in his best pirate voice). That seriously cracked me up and has started a lot of JOKING around here at the Stephens household. For example...

What are pirates favorite bone? The aaaaarm
What is a pirates favorite color? Aaaaaarnge
What do you call cows that eat the grass? A law-mooer
What do cows like to look at at night? The moooon
What is a sheep's favorite color? Blaaaack

These are just a few of the hilarious (wink, wink) jokes flying around here. The best part is that Matthew thinks these are hilarious and laughs hysterically every time at these awful dumb jokes so it makes us laugh too. Isabelle jumps on the bandwagon and starts fake laughing too. It's been fun and silly lately while we are going to preschool, the gym, or running errands.

p.s. Look for a new blog coming from me soon all about cooking and my favorite and new recipes. I've wanted to do this for awhile and now have more time to explore recipes and document them.

Adjusting...

2010-12-07T00:19:00.001-07:00

Lots of adjusting going on at the Stephens household. Monday - Friday I wasn't feeling so great about moving here and longing for a lot of the things I knew from Arizona. Stresses I felt from the last week:

Our house was a complete disaster. Jordan put away a lot of stuff while I was in Utah, but the kitchen wasn't organized the way I needed it to be and I felt really frustrated I couldn't find what I needed in order to function in this house (I mean really I felt like I couldn't find a single thing in this house, my room, the kids rooms - you name it and I couldn't find it).
Matthew was dealing with the change with a lot of disobedience - backtalking, peeing his pants, disobeying lots of rules.
Last week it was raining a ton and COLD.
I'm dealing with a lot of personal change. Staying home with the kids full-time and everything that goes along with that is a new way of thinking about myself and my role in this household. Not bringing in money is a bit tough on my ego.
I'm feeling guilty about being completely behind on all things Christmas related.

Changes that we've made during the week and this weekend to help make this a smoother adjustment:

ORGANIZATION - Working on cleaning up and organizing the house. The bottom is in good condition and I completely reorganized the kitchen to what works better for me. We've made good progress and we only have a little bit of Isabelle's room, our room/bathroom, and the craft room which both are huge undertakings but I think we can finish this week.
MATTHEW - Changing my attitude with Matthew. He can make my temper flare and push my buttons to the max effectively. I've had to give myself a serious talking to and really tell myself to keep calm and just keep being consistent. We've moved timeout to the garage with the door closed. I know it sounds extreme but after about 6-7 timeouts this way on Thursday I think Matthew is getting it. He's cooperating better and if he forgets to obey I only get to about count 2 and he's decided he wants to obey. I'm also trying to be better in telling him the great things he's doing. I'm trying to loosen up on things that ultimately don't matter. If he wants to take 1 hour to eat 4 chicken nuggets and he isn't bothering me and is staying at the table then I'm just not going to care anymore. It's a work in progress but I'm hoping in a few months he'll be adjusted and his behavior will really improve.
RAIN & COLD - I had a 40% off coupon to the Gap and went and bought myself a new lightweight jacket that is perfect for Oregon. I really love it and it's helping me not be as cold. Me + cold + rain = 1 ornery wife/mommy. The downpour rain really sucks, but a light drizzle I can deal with.
SELF WORTH - I'm still working on the whole not working and staying home with the kids bit. Yes, I really love having a flexible schedule and not getting up to get ready for work. I love running errands during the day and having dinner under control before Jordan gets home from work. I love going to the gym during the day so I don't have to go late at night. I love being able to watch a show, read a book or rest while Isabelle is taking her nap and Matthew is having quiet time (a new thing we started too for my sanity). I do miss the other adult interaction and the good work I did. I'm still trying to not feel guilty about not working outside the home, but can attest that being a stay at home mom IS the hardest job out there. I just need to train my brain to think differently about all of this and I do know that being home with them IS really important right now.
CHRISTMAS - We did a lot of decorating on Sunday evening and it feels pretty Christmasy now. I'm still way behind on projects but will be buckling down this weekend and next week to get everything done. I did get our stocking advent activities all organized last night and everything printed and in the socks. I almost bagged the whole thing, but I know it will be a fun family Christmas thing to do and finally convinced myself it was better to start late then not do it at all.

I'm working on the glass half full theory and having a positive attitude. We have been impressed with how friendly people have been. My neighbor (who we rent from) invited some of the neighbors over on Thursday so I met about 4 women. 1 of them is LDS as well and she dropped off a ward Christmas party invite on Saturday for that night. We are usually not the type that would have gone, but we are trying to be better about putting ourselves out there. We had a good time and met some people so Sunday wasn't bad at all. We had so many people come up and introduce themselves so we are already feeling really great about our neighborhood, our neighbors, our ward and making new friends. We even had a family invite us over for dinner and went tonight. The wife loves reading too so I think we'll start a bookclub when the New Year starts. I made a call today to a preschool that I've heard has an opening and is really good so I am hoping to hear back tomorrow as Matthew needs some friends and the learning environment of school.

Things are looking up and this weekend and today I have really felt that we are here for a reason and that it's going to be a good place to be for awhile.

Saying Goodbye...(for now!)

2010-11-03T08:53:00.003-07:00

It has been a pretty tough week saying goodbye to so many good people and friends we have made the last six years here. To think where we started in a little apartment in 2004 and no jobs and where we are now it's amazing. We've both been blessed with amazing jobs and two amazing children. We've had the opportunity to make some long lasting friendships and to solidify some friendships that were started many years ago. We have loved the weather (ok not really the brutal months but right now it's beautiful outside) and the fun things we have done here. We have loved our house and community but won't really miss the commuting into "town".

I am so grateful we followed the promptings of the spirit to move here after Jordan's MBA school. He wouldn't be at Intel now if we hadn't as they've been on a hiring freeze for awhile and we wouldn't be starting a new journey.

I am excited for the new opportunities, friends, and ward that is awaiting us in Oregon. I'm excited to see how Matthew and Isabelle adjust to everything that's new and am glad we'll be staying with family for a few weeks before settling in. I have so much to do once I get to Oregon as I need to find Matthew a school and I want to start a weight-loss support group at our gym. It's definitely going to be a change not going into work every day, but I know being with the kids right now while they are young is the best thing at this time.

Arizona...so long for now. We will miss you and you never know we may just be back in a few years.

Bows, Headbands and Bow Holders for sale!

2010-10-30T23:46:00.021-07:00

I was a vendor at a little carnival tonight and things didn't sell well so I put together some pictures of my inventory. If you are interested in anything email me at flwrgirl@gmail.com and I can answer questions. I can also take close up pictures and email them to you of individual bows if you want to see them closer.

I'll be heading to Utah next week so if you are in AZ I can stop by before Wednesday and drop them off or if you are in Utah and I can stop by anytime the next 3 weeks starting on Monday November 8th.

If you live outside of Utah or AZ I'm happy to ship to you too. Please share my blog link with anyone you know that might be interested in buying bows.

All bows are hand tied individually with wire and the double bows are tied and then glued and stacked on each other and the ends are finished so they won't fray. All my bows are tied especially so they poof and don't lie flat like most bows do on the market. They are all finished with covered clips on the back. I can add some non-slip to the clips for no charge. I do this to all of Isabelle's clips since she's still little and has thinner hair.

All the hair bow holders have 2 ribbons so you can clip onto both or just the top ribbon and has a D-Ring on the back so you can hang on your wall. I love this in Isabelle's room so my bows don't get smooshed in a drawer, I remember what I have, and they look really cute hanging from a flower.

Prices:
Stretchy Headbands: $2.50 - great for babies as you can clip on the bows while they don't have hair.
Single Bows: $5
Double Bows: $8
Sparkle Headbands: $9
Fabric Headbands: $10
Bow Holders: $15

Stretchy Headbands

Only come in white and are 1.5 inches tall. Stretch well and don't hurt. I used similar ones with my daughter. The little holes in the band are great for clipping on bows and mixes and matches well. I used my white one the most.

Types of Ribbon
I mainly use 3 types of ribbon - Grosgrain, Satin, and Sheer
Grosgrain - Has a little ribbing to it and is thicker and stands up better
Satin - Is thinner and feels softer and is shiny
Sheet - See through ribbon

Single Bows

Bows L-R, Top to Bottom:
Blk/White Polka Dot Satin, Gingham Satin, Green Flower Satin, Blk/White Gingham Satin, Blk/White Polka Sheer, Green Polka Grosgrain.

Double Bows

Yellows and Whites

Bows L-R, Top to Bottom:
Yellow flowered ribbon w/yellow sheer ribbon, Yellow flower ribbon w/white grosgrain ribbon, White grosgrain ribbon w/yellow satin polka ribbon and yellow flower middle, White satin ribbon with blue polka grosgrain ribbon.

Creams/Light Pinks

Bows L-R, Top to Bottom:
Pink polka grosgrain with light pink lace like ribbon and pink flower middle, Pink Polka grosgrain and white satin, Off white/Ivory grosgrain and light pink lace like ribbon, Light Tan grosgrain and Light/Dk pink Polka/Stripe grosgrain ribbon.

Dark Pinks

Bows L-R, Top to Bottom:
Pink/Red Polka grosgrain and lace, Dk Pink grosgrain and white satin ribbon, Dk Pink Stripe and Black Diamond grosgrain, Dk Pink grosgrain and lace w/dk pink flower, ~~Dk Pink w/black stitching grosgrain and Black Polka sheer~~ - SOLD, Dk Pink grosgrain and pink/green striped

Reds

Bows L-R, Top to Bottom:
Black Polka Dot grosgrain and Solid red grosgrain with red flower, Grey grosgrain and red polka grosgrain, Red grosgrain and red/dk pink polka grosgrain, Red polka grosgrain and white/black polka sheer, Red/Dk pink polka and red striped satiny with clear jewel center, Red polka grosgrain and red striped satiny, Red striped satiny and black/white polka sheer

Greens

Bows L-R, Top to Bottom:
Bright Green striped grosgrain and green polka grosgrain, Bright green striped grosgrain and multi-colored striped satin with dk. pink flower center, Kelly green polka grosgrain and white satin, Kelly green polka grosgrain and White flowered sheer, White Satin and green flowered satin, Green polka grosgrain and multi-colored satin

Purples

Bows L-R, Top to Bottom:
Dk Purple w/ white stitching grosgrain and stiffer lace like cream ribbon, Dk Purple w/ white stitching grosgrain and black/white gingham with clear jewel center, Cream lace and light purple polka satin, Dk Puple w/white stitching and light brown paisley satin, Dk puple w/white stitching and light purple polka satin

Browns

Bows L-R, Top to Bottom:
White Satin and Light Brown Paisley Satin, Brown Polka grosgrain and Light brown Paisley satin, Brown satin and Light pink lace like, Brown Polka grosgrain and Green flower satin, Brown polka grosgrain and brown lace, Brown satin and Royal blue polka grosgrain

Black and White

Bows L-R, Top to Bottom:
Black/white checkered satin and pink stiffer lace like, Black/White Polka grosgrain and b/w checkered satin, b/w polka grosgrain and b/w polka sheer

Holiday Bows

Bows L-R, Top to Bottom:
Red satin and red/green satin, Gold metallic and red/green satin with gold edging,Gold metallic and red/green satin with gold edging with green and red holiday balls middles, Green grosgrain and red/green satin with gold edging, Green grosgrain and red/green satin with gold edging and red/green holiday balls middles, White/gold metallic stripe satin and maroon velvet.

Sparkly Headbands

Red/White Polka with white bow on Red Sparkly Headband

Stiffer Cream Lace like bow w/dk pink flower middle on Dk Pink Sparkly Headband

Black/White Polka Sheer on Black Sparkly Headband

White Flower Sheer Ribbon on Dk Pink Sparkly Headband

Light Olive Green Satin Bow on Sparkly Grey Headband

Red/Green Holiday Bow on Sparkly Headband

Fabric Headbands

Light Pink Polka w/Light Pink Lace Like ribbon and Light Pink flower middle

Blk/White Polka with Blk/White Gingham Satin

Blk/White Polka with Blk/White Diamond grosgrain

Bow Holders

Bow Holders L-R:

-Yellow/Pink Flower Ribbon and Yellow Polka Sheer with Large Yellow Flower

-Dk Pink/Red Polka Grosgrain and Blk/White Diamond Grosgrain with Large Red Flower

-Dk Pink Grosgrain with Blk/White Checkered Grosgrain with Large Pink Flower

-Dk Purple w/white stitching Grosgrain and Light Purple Polka Satin with Large Purple Flower

-Brown Satin and Royal Blue Polka Grosgrain with Large Cream Flower

-Kelly Green Polka Grosgrain and White Grosgrain with Large Cream Flower

-Blk/White Polka Satin with White Grosgrain with Large Dk Pink Flower

~~-Muli-Stripe Satin with White Grosgrain with Large Light Pink Flower~~ - SOLD

New Digs!!

2010-10-07T17:01:00.004-07:00

My parents came and watched the kids this past weekend while we went on a househunting trip to Hillsboro (suburb of Portland). I had made a lot of appointments and our first appointment of the day on Friday ended up being the winner. We went through the house and could really imagine living there. The landlords are the next door neighbors (have a girl Matthew's age) and just recently bought the house we'll be living in and have been fixing it up. They are super friendly and the neighborhood sounds really great. All the houses that we ended up going to after paled in comparison.

It has a beautiful backyard, 3 car garage, and the rooms upstairs are pretty nice and roomy. It even has a den downstairs which will be our computer room/craft room. So if you are visiting you don't have to share a room with my craft stuff anymore. We are way excited for a corner house, the garage space so we don't have to rent a storage unit, beautiful scenery and being close to things again. Jordan's work is 5 minutes away, my gym will be about 10 min., Costco (the largest in the U.S.) is just around the corner and Target is about 10 min. Talk about a change of life.

I think we are ready for some slowing down and enjoying a slower pace of life, the kids, and spending time together. It's getting too crazy with juggling my work, babysitters, Matthew's preschool, trying to make sure the kids are covered when I'm out of town, and then keeping up with regular every day house/life stuff that needs to get done. I haven't even had a chance to do many hobbies lately as I'm too tired at the end of the day after working, going to the gym, and getting the kids to bed.

Anywhoo…we took a few pics of the house on our phones that we wanted to share. Really, it is so gorgeous in Oregon and such a change from the Desert. It was chilly, but I think I'll be able to adjust.

Sweet 3 car garage!

Backyard - has a huge tree and we love the covered porch especially in the rain and it has a cute firepit where we can roast hot dogs or mashmallows.

Looking down our stairs. Isabelle is going to love these.

Not a great pic of our kitchen. Our current kitchen is way nicer but it will work. If we ever buy this house we'll definitely redo the kitchen.

Our living room. It will be weird to NEED to have a fireplace again. The rest of the pics of the house weren't great. You'll just have to come and visit us!!

Change is blowing our way...

2010-09-05T21:01:00.007-07:00

I think our word for the year should have been change. First we tackled me and my change and now we are tackling change with our family.

A lot of things have happened at work in the last six months. I've been pretty unhappy and only because of the IsaBody challenge and Celebration have I lasted this long. I told myself that I was going to quit after Celebration no matter what. I can't keep up this craziness of our lives and with our babysitter going back to school after the summer I knew I didn't want another person coming into our household to help with the kids. I've really been praying a lot in the last few months to know what to do about the situation.

Unexpectedly, Jordan has recently been given the opportunity to work on a really cool project but it would only take up 1/2 his time so he would need to find something else to fill up the rest of his time. He was talking to his boss about options and his boss mentioned moving to Portland where there is more opportunity to work in the areas that Jordan is interested in. Jordan came home and talked to me about it. I knew immediately this was the answer I've been searching for. Change isn't easy and starting over again is kindof scary but exciting at the same time.

We decided in many ways that moving to PORTLAND would be best for our family at this time. I can't believe we are really doing it. The paperwork is final and we are headed in two weeks to house hunt. The final actual move date hasn't been set yet, but it will be sometime during the first two weeks of November. There are many pros and cons to moving so I thought I would list them here.

PROS

-I won't have to work full-time and can be with my kids. I have been working full-time for the last 14 years so this will be a HUGE change for me. I'm a little nervous about it, but with Matthew in preschool and going to Kindergarten next year I need to be around to get him to and from school and I feel like it's just time to be home with the kids. They are growing up too fast and I need to be with them NOW. I do need to do a little work so I'm working on part-time options that I can do from home that will work with our family. I know we're supposed to move and know that something will work out.

-We'll be closer to some family. We haven't lived close to family since moving from Utah 11 years ago. My younger brother Brent and his wife Sam live in Seattle which is only 3 hours away. It will be fun seeing them and spending time with family more than 2 times a year. (My family in Utah will about the same distance and Jordan's parents/brother in the Vegas area will be further away.) We are way excited about this aspect to moving.

-Cooler weather. I don't love cool weather, but I also hate all this sweating I've been doing lately and feeling like my kids are going to die the instant we turn off the car or get into the car.

-We can get out of this financial sink hole of our house. It's $150k upside down and isn't going to turn around anytime soon. We have already met with an agent and will listing our house for short sale. It's in great shape and is beautiful and someone is going to get a steal of a deal.

-Decluttering. We're working on it now of things to put in our garage sale. Once we find a house in Oregon then we'll know what we'll be storing away and what we'll be moving into the house with us.

-Intel will move us. They'll be packing our house and unloading the boxes on the other end. We've never had that luxury before.

-I can spend a good chunk of time in Utah in the summer visiting family and friends. My vacations are always packed to the gills and usually I have to worry about work when I'm there too. Once Matthew starts Kindergarten we'll have even less time to be going places for vacations outside of summer.

-We'll be close to the Ocean. The Oregon coastal water is chilly, but we'll be pretty close so I'm excited to have the option to go on the weekends if we want.

-I can quit work and leave on good terms.

-Yummy ethnic food. I can make a mean Mexican meal, but Chinese/Thai is more tricky. We are way excited to explore new eating places up there.

CONS

-Leaving all of our great friends. I start crying every time I think of it. This is our 4th location move and we've always left great friends and have always managed to make great new ones. This will be especially hard since some are friends we've had since college. :(

-Parting ways with our babysitter Amy. She has been watching Matthew since he was 18 months old. She is a huge part of why I am able to work and has been the biggest blessing in our life. We truly feel the reason why we felt the huge need to back out of the first house we signed on and move into this one was because of her. She lives 5 houses down, is really responsible and cares for our children like they were her own siblings. We couldn't have made it through the last 4 years with me working without her.

-Bunco and Bookgroup. It sounds trivial, but I've been involved in these groups for the past 4 years. The people are always changing, but it's time I consistently make to get out and spend time with other women. It's hard when I work full-time to get together with other moms. I've known some of these girls for the 4 years and will be sad to go. I'm just hoping there will be other groups to join in Portland or I guess I'll have to start some of my own.

-The weather. Yes, it's a Pro and a Con. I really do hate chilly weather and I do feel better when the sun is shining. I guess the tradeoff is in AZ you have to survive about 5 months of crappy hot weather and in OR you have to survive 5 months of crappy chilly drizzly weather. We'll be moving at the start of crappy weather so I'm hoping by May we'll have the start of a nice spring/summer. I have no closed toe shoes as I wear sandals year round. Matthew recently told us he hates socks and Isabelle tries to take off her shoes within 10 min. of putting them on. Cold weather and shoes is going to be an adjustment for all of us.

-I will miss my house. It's cute and is a great fit for now. I'll miss not being able to do what I want to my house when I want to.

-My gym. I really, really love my gym. It is really far though to drive to from our house, but is convenient after work. I'm hoping to find another one that I love as much with a good childcare facility. It's a requirement of our new house. I need somewhere close to go to so I can fit it into my routine easily.

This change is not what I thought I would be going through 1 month ago, but it's a huge blessing to our family. It's something we've been needing for awhile and it's a good change in so many ways. Things I'm needing to find when we go house hunting are: a good house in a good location, a good preschool for Matthew, great gym and eventually FRIENDS.

All of you are welcome to visit anytime (say after January once we've settled in).

San Diego

2010-09-04T07:20:00.008-07:00

After my convention was over Jordan headed to San Diego on Wednesday with the kids. We stayed at a hotel in Mission Bay for 2 nights.

We went to Sea World our first day (we didn't take too many pics). It was really fun and the kids did pretty good. Matthew loved everything and I taught him how to sound like a seal and he does a great impression.

Matthew wanted to go on this ride which he never goes on rides. We were heading out of the park so we stopped for 1 ride. Not too scary so right up his alley.

Isabelle was super cranky (she was fighting a cold) so we stayed in the room and Matthew and Jordan roasted S'mores. I think Matthew had a fun time even if he was scared of the fire.

Isabelle would not quit crying in her pack and play so eventually I put her in bed with me and we slept by each other most of the night. She tried to roll over on me a few times so we finally moved her into her pack and play.

The next day we headed to the Zoo. Super fun! This is typical silly Matthew. Trying to get a good picture of him is getting harder and harder because of his silliness or weird smiles.

Camels in the background. So fun! I think Matthew loved every minute of it. He was super good. Isabelle was kinda cranky but did ok.

Cute Koalas! Poor Isabelle was stuck in the stroller most of the time because she would throw a holy fit after she got put back in so it was easier to just leave her in there.

The Pandas were pretty active. Last time we came (2.5 yrs ago) one of the Pandas had just had a baby. The cute little baby was out with the momma this time.

I don't have a picture of the Gorillas, but we sat down on this bench by this older guy who knew lots about the Gorillas. He told us a lot of great information. When we were leaving Matthew told the guy "thanks for telling us about the Gorillas" all on his own. It was so cute and moments like that make be feel he is a really kind boy even if he's crazy around us.

Before going to the zoo we moved to the Hotel Del on Coronado Island. We are doing an event there next April so they offered to put me up.

After staying there I've realized I am not a fan of really old hotels even if they are historic. I would rather be in a new hotel. The Hotel Del has a lot of character and right on the beach so that was nice! It's very expensive though all the way around from the rooms to the food to little shops and ice cream.

It was pretty chilly on Saturday morning when we went down to the beach. The sand is so nice there though and it was really good for cranky Isabelle to be outside. She loved just playing in the sand and probably just played for 30-45 min. dumping sand back and forth into the buckets we had.

Jordan was trying to make sand castles with Matthew but he kept wrecking them. Of course, he thinks that's hilarious.

Isabelle ate sand and then it stuck to her snot nose.

After lunch Jordan took Matthew back to the beach so Isabelle could take a much needed nap. I read and rested a little too.

Matthew was playing in the waves and a big one snuck up on him and knocked him over. He was soaked and that was the end of beach time.

Cuddle time! So much fun spending time with the kids and Jordan and not worrying about work.

We went for a walk Saturday evening down the street where all the restaurants and shops were. We found a cute Italian place that made their own pasta and had a great dinner. Afterwards, we found a yogurt shop where you can pick your own yogurt and toppings and then you pay by the oz. Yummy!

The view from our room was amazing!

After dinner and yogurt we came and hung out on our balcony enjoying the breeze.

I bought Matthew these pirate and dragon figurines. He was in heaven and had a great time playing with them all weekend.

Such a great trip, but I was gone for 12 days between Convention and vacation. So good to be home! We are getting ready for more change in our life which I'll be posting about next week.

The Results Are In!!!

2010-08-12T21:31:00.003-07:00

Most of you already know because of my Facebook post, but for a few of you that might not be on Facebook...

I DID IT!!! I can't believe it. I am still in disbelief. I have never set such a huge goal in my life and then actually come through to the other end and accomplished everything I set out to do. I am so proud of myself for sticking to my calorie limits and exercising 6 days a week even through 3 vacations, 4 events, and 3 family birthdays.

I will admit there were times it was hard physically, but I think most times mentally was much harder. There were days when I battled with myself to make good eating and exercise decisions even when I didn't want to. There were weeks when I worked out so hard and ate so good and then it would be a 1 measly pound weight loss. I just didn't know if all my hard work would be enough and I would feel like why keep trying when the results weren't what "I" wanted because I expected my body to do more. I'm so glad that I kept trying and kept going (I am still going) even through the tough times.

I am waiting for official pictures from Tuesday's announcement and then I'll post the whole story of how it all went down and how I was feeling, etc. Thanks for all of your encouragement and support. Some things have happened recently at work (co-worker wise) where I don't always feel supported, but having all of you tell me I can do it week in and week out helped me build belief in myself and to pull me up when it was hard. I knew so many people were rooting for me and that really made a difference.

It was hard at the beginning to really admit where I was body/weight wise and seemed like a long road to get to the results I wanted. Now that I'm almost there it seems unbelievable where I started. Like I put in my essay - these months were going to pass regardless and I could choose to change or stay the same. I chose change every day, week, and month. I'm still choosing change, I'm still on this journey and I am NEVER going back!! Thanks for going through this life changing journey with me!

First Day of School, First Day of School!

2010-08-07T09:14:00.003-07:00

Matthew started back to Preschool on Tuesday. What a difference 1 year makes. His teacher said he is doing really great about obeying all the rules and helping the other kids. He even got stickers (only a few kids did) this week on his papers for being so good. He loves school and is 1 smart cookie (in my estimation of course!). He was so excited to go back to Miss Heidi's. When I told him Monday night that he was going to school the next day, his eyes lit up and he said "yes!".

I can't believe next year he will be in Kindergarten.

I forgot to take a picture of his first day of school last year, but remembered this year. I love his long plaid shorts and his cute giraffe backpack.

Matthew made this his first day of school. It was a little clothes pin of himself. He thought it was so awesome! I love it.

They are practicing writing their names this year. Matthew did this all by himself. He has come a long way since last years writing.

See his sticker for being good-only 3 kids got them. He did this glitter writing all by himself. He was so excited to show me this and tell me the colors when I got home from work.

Green gold, blue, red gold, gold gold, blue blue, silver. I am so glad he is back in school. It's something he really needs.

p.s. We have been fighting illness in this household the past two weeks. Matthew was talking funny (like something was in his throat) and then had fevers for 2 days. I took him to the Dr. and he had a severe strep throat and double ear infections. The Dr. said you could see the puss on his tonsils. I went home and looked in this throat with a flashlight and sure enough huge coatings - no wonder he was talking funny. I had asked him if his throat or ear hurt and he said no. He had been complaining of a headache though so I wonder if that was from his ear infections.

Isabelle started getting fevers this week so I took her in and sure enough she had 1 ear infected and the other half-full of fluid.

Matthew is done with his round of medicine and Isabelle has a week to go. She is teething too so there have been a lot of interrupted sleep, early mornings and crankiness around here. Can't wait until they both are clear of sickness. You take good health for granted sometimes.

Official Before & After Pics

2010-08-07T09:05:00.006-07:00

I really can't believe the pictures, but here they are! The last two weeks I haven't seen any weight loss, but finally lost another 2 this week, so I'm at 46 total. Hoping for 4 more lbs. before convention to be at an even 50 lb. weight loss. I have a lot of work to do in the next 2 weeks.

BTW-I haven't been given the digital pics yet, so these are scanned from the hard copies I was given. Not the greatest quality, but it's what I have.

Obviously not too pleased with getting my picture taken here. I remember thinking I couldn't wait to get to the gym after work so I could start on this journey. I need to take a picture with these same before clothes on so you can see how baggy they are now.

Much better!

Final Essay

2010-07-17T08:27:00.005-07:00

I handed in my essay to the health coach on Thursday who was pretty impressed. She obviously can't guarantee that I'll win first place, but she said I will definitely get one of the prizes (of course I want first). I then asked if anyone lost more than me and she said "No". I was really shocked. She said about 3 of us are around the same weight loss. I didn't know of anyone who had lost more than me, but I don't know everyone that entered and it's pretty tight lipped about actual weight lost around the office. I for sure thought a guy lost more than me.

Here are pictures of my essay. The pictures are crappy because they are taken at work after I bound it there. I had 5 tabs. Essay, Before/After Pictures (that I posted here last week), Food/Exercise Log, Weekly Blogs, BMI results. I definitely had this plan all along to help boost my essay score. I'm hoping this will tip me over the edge to be the winner since 50% of the overall total is the essay. Everyone else's essays I saw (in her folder) were single sheets of paper so I'm hoping the judges will be impressed. Below I've posted my actual written essay.

This week I lost 3 pounds and am a total of 44 pounds lost (6 lbs until 50-wow) and only 20 to go. Can't believe it! My health coach suggested HITT training so I'm trying a new workout regime the next 3 weeks and will blog about it afterwards. It stands for high-intesity interval training that you do twice a week for 20 min., but the afterburn lasts several hours. It's great for burning fat and for getting a great workout in quickly. I tried it on Thursday and will do it again on Monday.

ESSAY:

I have wanted to get into shape for 8 years. While living in London I exercised almost daily but didn’t watch what I ate. After joining Isagenix I saw results from the 9-day cleanse but only temporarily because I didn’t exercise or change my diet. After 2 kids in 4 years added more weight, enough was enough. I was tired of excuses. I took this challenge head-on to get in shape the right way and permanently change how I and my family live.

I knew I needed drastic changes. I stopped bad habits I had formed: Diet Coke, fast food, and sugar. I started good ones like using more Isagenix products, drinking lots of water, and eating only healthy food. I committed to work out 6 days a week.

Within the first week I knew I needed to track calories. I found a great website (see food/exercise log tab) where I could even add products I use regularly such as the shakes, bars, IsaPro, WME, IsaDelight, and Cleanse. I love figuring out calories in recipes, tracking what I expend, and logging weight loss. I had chosen to be oblivious to calories, and this really opened my eyes and changed what I put in my body.

I knew that exercise was going to be tough, having done almost none in 5 years. I prepared to battle my fat with new shoes and exercise clothes, an iPod, and a gym membership. I could only do 20-25 minutes of cardio at first, but I worked up to 40-45 while adding yoga, pilates, and now weights. I love the gym and how I feel after going and don’t want to miss workouts.

To keep me accountable and motivated, I blogged weekly for friends and family (see blog tab), sharing diet, exercise, and weight loss. I also found a great saying that motivated me through tough times: “These months are going to pass, you can either change or still be the same.” Every day, week, and month, I chose change.

The four months of the IsaBody challenge have been about winning my body back and changing my life for good. I have lost 42 pounds (20% of my weight), 46.6 inches, and over 4% body fat (see BMI tab), and I have gone from a tight 14 to an 8. I kept my commitment of working out 6 days a week and eating good food the entire challenge even through 4 events, 3 vacations, and 3 family birthdays. I only have 23 pounds to my goal and will be close by Celebration. I feel incredible, have so much energy, and feel better about myself. I know I can do anything I set my mind to and am never going back to the old me.

I am so grateful for the products and Isagenix as a company for helping me make this transformation. I feel so proud to be an employee and to help others around me realize they can change and be healthy too.

Before & After Pictures

2010-07-13T22:31:00.000-07:00

Ok-I don't have my official weigh-in before & after pictures STILL, but I included some before pictures I had of me and some "after" pictures from our vacations at the end of June. Shocking really. I think I was really fooling myself that it wasn't that bad. I can beat myself for letting things get to where they were or I can just be proud of where I've come to date and keep in mind my goal and to keep working to get there. The pages below I'll be including in my essay booklet.

p.s. Please notice Jordan's great weight loss too. He's lost 30 pounds since about September of last year. He just hasn't been vocally talking about it on here. He's fitter than he's ever been and is in super great running shape. He looks amazing and has some "skinny" jeans that look really good.

So...in addition to the 41 pounds, I've lost 2 inches in each of my upper arms, 9 inches in my waist, 4 inches off my behind, 5 inches in each of my thighs and then some other in other places for a total of 46.6 inches totally lost so far. I was a tight 14 and in L-XL shirts and am now in S-M shirts and size 8 pants. I'm hoping to be in a size 6 by Celebration, but we'll see. I haven't seen these sizes in a really long time. I am still sometimes amazed at how just watching my calories and exercising every day for 35-45 minutes has changed my body so quickly in 4 months. If I can do it, really so can anyone else. I was so unmotivated and lazy, but now that I'm in the habit and feel great I don't want to get back out of shape again. I don't want to go through this process again. This is the new me and way of life.

Final Weigh In

2010-07-02T16:12:00.001-07:00

I am still waiting on the before and after photos to post here, but my final weigh-in was exactly 40 pounds. I was first to weigh-in Thursday morning and didn't eat anything and only took a few sips of water and peed right before I weighed in. I was over 40 pound weight loss at home, but knew the scale at work was different so wanted to make sure I hit the 40 pound mark which I DID!!!.

I am so proud of myself and my hard work. I committed to myself to working out 6 days a week the entire challenge and didn't miss 1 time. It's about time I took back control of my weight and body and can't believe the transformation that I've already gone through in 4 short months. One of my favorite quotes I came across at the beginning was essentially: "These months will pass regardless of what you do - do you want to change or still be the same?" I chose to CHANGE and never look back! These are permanent life changes I have made and great healthy food and working out is now part of my routine. I still have 24 pounds to go, but I know I can do it. My goal is to get to my goal weight by mid-September.

I am working hard on my essay and will post about it once it's off to the judges.

Here is how the judging breaks down:
50% is before and after pictures and stats
50% is the essay that is between 250-500 words

Essay is due July 16.
Results are announced August 10.

I have great plans for my essay and will update when I can. I am getting my final BMI results done next Thursday to include in my essay.

I am nervous about how everyone else has done and am shooting for first place so we'll see what happens. If you are on Facebook be on the lookout on August 10th about the results. Thanks for all your support and kind words. It's not always easy attacking the fat and making the hard choices to win your body back.

Slight Update

2010-06-29T12:14:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a 2 week vacation on Sunday afternoon. Great times! We packed in so much family and friends and I'm beat! I weighed myself Monday morning and lost another 2 pounds my second week of vacation so I'm officially at 40.1 pounds - yay! Vacations are hard to stay on track and considering I mostly walked outside my second week and had some splurges due to an anniversary get away, seeing friends for dinner, going fishing and traveling I was sure surprised to see those 2 pounds gone on Monday morning. I was just hoping for no weight gain. Final weigh-in is on Thursday (I'm first one to weigh-in), my essay is due July 16th, and final results are announced August 10th. Geez louise - I'll be biting my nails for over a month! Let's hope for a good weigh-in that isn't using my scale.

I'll post all of my final stats later this week and I'm working on getting vacation pictures put up. We took some really good ones.

Weight Loss Challenge: Week 16 Progress

2010-06-19T08:07:00.000-07:00

This was one tough week. We have been on vacation since Sunday so I visited 3 gyms during the week to find one that I liked. Jordan found one on Thursday that was only $5, had all of my favorite equipment and was really new. I wish I would have found it earlier. It's easy to eat well at my house as we don't keep much around that I don't want or need to eat. There were a lot of munchies lying around so I did a little cheating but overall I did really well considering the amount of cheating/eating bad I could have done, but chose not to.

Workout Wise this week:
6/12: Free Motion Machine - 20 min. and 210 burned. Weight training for 20 min.
6/13: Day of Rest
6/14: Treadmill - 45 min. and 502 burned. Weight training for 20 min.
6/15: Treadmill - 48 min. and 505 burned.
6/16: Treadmill - 45 min. and 450 burned. Weight training for 20 min.
6/17: Free Motion Machine - 47 min. and 500 burned.
6/18: Free Motion Machine - 40 min. and 450 burned, stationary bike - 10 min. and 50 burned, weight lifting for 20 min.

Eating Wise:
I tried really hard to stay within my 1400 calorie limit. We all took turns cooking every night and everyone mostly cooked chicken so I just bought some spaghetti squash to go with some meals where I couldn't eat everything that was made. Overall I feel like I did pretty well considering we were on vacation. Little things like not going out for ice cream when others did and bringing my Isagenix food really helped me stay on track.

Results: 2 pounds lost. Overall 38 pounds lost and 26 to go.

I really want 2 more pounds before the weigh-in so I need to focus on getting in good workouts the rest of our vacation (another week) and eating well. I know I can do it and am so proud of how much I've accomplished the right way in 16 weeks.

Weight Loss Challenge: Week 15 Progress

2010-06-12T19:51:00.000-07:00

Workout wise this week:
6/5: Treadmill - 36 min. and 450 burned
6/6: Day of Rest
6/7: Treadmill - 22 min. and 250 burned, Free Motion Machine - 20 min. and 220 burned and weight lifting for 20 min.
6/8: Pilates - 20 min. and approx. 98 burned
6/9: Treadmill - 42 min. and 502 burned
6/10: Free Motion Machine - 42 min. and 450 burned, also lifted weights for 20 min.
6/11: Free Motion Machine - 52 min. and 510 burned

I think I strained my back on Monday while lifting because Tuesday I was in massive amounts of pain. I took it easy that night and popped a lot of Advil and later after Bunco did some Pilates. I have committed to myself to workout 6 days a week throughout the challenge so I needed to do something that day even if it was pretty light. I was worried about having a back injury or some kind of infection, but with some help it has felt much better the rest of the week. We are in the home stretch to the weigh in and I can't afford an injury now.

Diet Wise:
Trying to keep around 1400 calories a day. Most days it seemed like I ate a lot this week but only consumed around 1200 calories. Still keeping my protein intake high and have been using our slimcake cookies (fiber/fruit cookies) in the morning to keep me going until lunch time.

Results: 1 pound. Overall 36 pounds and 28 to go.

I really wanted 2 and can only figure that by accidentally not eating enough my body didn't want to lose more. Only almost 3 weeks until weigh-in and my goal is to be at 40 pounds by then. I'm trying to not be stressed about it and just hoping it will come with my hard workouts. We are on vacation the next 2 weeks so I'll be finding a gym in St. George to go to and then using my mom's treadmill while at their house. I will try and blog but our schedule is pretty packed so I might just blog with my results when I get back. We'll see how it goes.

I feel so good and getting into smaller clothes has been exciting. Shopping is really fun again. I am so proud of myself of the progress I've made in such a short amount of time.

Birthday Wishes!

2010-06-07T07:33:00.000-07:00

We had a get together on Saturday to celebration Matthew's birthday. The kids went on our waterslide and then we had a BBQ and opened presents. All in all a really fun day!

Matthew wanted green frosting for his cupcake. I can do that! About 1/2 hour before the party started he also wanted red sprinkles, but I told him that it was too late.

This IS his smile, not me torturing him. He woke up to a few more gifts today on his actual birthday.

I LOVE this picture!

He loves reading books at night so I got him this Curious George 12-book set awhile ago at Costco.

We really spoiled him this year with lots of presents, but the "BIG" present was a sandbox. He loved the one at preschool so we finally got him his own he can play with at home. Should be fun and has a cover to keep animals out.

Weight Loss Challenge: Week 14 Progress

2010-06-04T22:14:00.001-07:00

Workout wise this week:
5/29: Free Motion Machine for 5 min. (55 calories), and weight lifting for
20 min. and then went later and did the treadmill for 28 min. for 345 calories
5/30: Day of Rest
5/31: Treadmill - 30 min. and 375 calories burned
6/1: Free Motion Machine for 45 min and 475 burned and weight lifting for 20 min.
6/2: Treadmill - 20 min. and 200 calories burned (cleansing)
6/3: Pilates for 25 min. (cleansing)
6/4: Free Motion Machine - 42 min. and 450 calories burned and weight lifting for 20 min.

I'm really loving the weight circuit training. I'm already filling stronger and just hope that I'm building more muscle to help burn more calories. On Memorial Day we had a full day planned so we were up pretty early (once the kids woke up) and Jordan went running with the kids and I went to our local gym. A different way to start our Memorial Day that past years, but helped me feel great throughout the rest of the day and I was proud of us for going early and on a vacation day.

Diet Wise:
My main focus this week was finishing up my 9-day cleanse. Whew it was hard and I didn't really cheat much. I just really wanted to: 1-see if I could do it and 2-help jumpstart this last month into the home stretch. This week was really good!

Results: 2 pounds. Overall 35 pounds and 29 to go.

Almost 4 more weeks to weigh-in. I'm nervous, anxious, and excited all at the same time. We're also going on vacation for 2 weeks so I'll have to be even more strict while on vacation - different than usual - but good. It will be nice to finally be done with this part of my weight loss journey. No worries, I'll still blog about how it's all going and I still have lots of goals to achieve. Hoping to hit my weight loss goal by September 1 at the latest and getting super firm. I'm definitely not going back again to where I started.

I did major cleaning out of my closet and got rid of lots of old clothes that no longer fit. I needed to get some new clothes as it's getting pretty thin in my closet what I can wear. Boy is it weird but awesome at the same time to be getting into sizes I haven't seen in years. I bought a pair of pants 1 size smaller from the size I just moved into. Mynext goal is to get into those by the weigh-in. I know they'll fit because the size I'm in now fit me perfectly.

Weight Loss Challenge: Week 13 Progress

2010-05-29T09:25:00.001-07:00

Workout wise this week:
5/22: Treadmill - 30 min. and 400 calories burned
5/23: Day of Rest
5/24: Free Motion Machine - 47 min. and 500 calories burned & Weight Training
5/25: Free Motion Machine - 46 min. and 500 calories burned
5/26: Treadmill - 21 min. and 200 calories burned (cleansing)
5/27: Treadmill - 20 min. and 200 calories burned (cleaning)
5/28: Free Motion Machine - 38 min. and 400 calories burned

I'm adding weight training finally to my regimen. I've been intimidated by the equipment, but really loved it. I was cleansing and needed to do some exercise but not a lot as I've almost passed out on cleanse days when I pushed myself too hard. I wanted to lift yesterday but didn't have enough time so I'm going into town for some me errand time and am going to go to my gym and do cardio and weights.

Diet Wise:
My main focus this week was getting through a 2-day cleanse. I've been doing 1 day cleanses, but really am trying to push myself this last month and 2 days is pretty hard, but got through it. The rest of the week I'm usually between 1,300 and 1,500 calories.

Results: 3 pounds. Overall 33 pounds. 31 to go.

So close to getting down to the next set of numbers. Hoping for another good week this week and to working hard at the gym. I weighed in with my work health coach to get some more free product and she said I was in the running for the top prizes. It's always nice to hear. Working hard this next month so I can do the best I can before the final weigh-in on July 1.

Swimming Lessons 2010

2010-05-27T19:47:00.001-07:00

Awww...summer is close at hand in Arizona. The temps are in the 90's-100's already and the water is heating up. We have done swimming lessons with a friend of mine from Bunco the last two years and Matthew's last day was today. He did so well and is swimming, but still needs to work on having strong swimming arms rather than bat arms. We did a 6 pm class the last two weeks that worked out well for our work schedule, but got chilly for the kids towards the end of class. All their little teeth were chattering every time by the end. She always gives them a treat at the end of class and she only had licorice the first time which Matthew doesn't like. She was so nice and went and got tootsie rolls which he loves. It was cute all but 1 girl picked the tootsie rolls as their treat today.

Miss Sonny can always get Matthew to giggle! Just tell Matthew not to smile when he's grumpy and eventually can't help himself but smile.

Getting "washed" (ie. getting wet and ready to swim).

They pretended they were on safari and what animal did they see to get away from? Matthew said a whale dinosaur the first time and by the end of the 2 weeks all the kids were picking dinosaurs. Hilarious!

Back floats. Matthew can float but is a little scared of floating on his own.

Matthew told all the kids to get their keyboards and type. The day before when Jordan took him I guess he was having the kids try and act like they had mouses and that he was the computer game. Seriously, where does he get this imagination?

Swimming through hoops.

Doing "kabooms". Matthew told me the first day that he wasn't scared of doing kabooms. Every day he wouldn't jump in by himself so he's still a little scared to do it on his own. We'll work on being brave and jumping to me in the pool this summer.

After kabooms they all got a ride back to shore.

Matthew's "smile" for me. The best he could while freezing. I always brought a change of clothes so he wouldn't have to ride home wet.

So proud of Matthew and what he accomplished in 8 short lessons. Miss Sonny was so patient with him and is a really good teacher! Here is to a GREAT summer of swimming.

BTW-I took most of these pics sitting away on the side with my zoom lens so Matthew wouldn't really notice that I was there. I REALLY love my camera.

Isabelle's Eye

2010-05-27T19:42:00.000-07:00

The poor girl has hit that left eye 2 times in a row now. The first time she hit the corner of our foot board and this time Matthew was flinging toys and one hit her right in the eye and scraped it too. Poor girl! This is about 5 days after it happened. It bruised immediately after getting hit with the toy, but Jordan said she didn't really cry that long. Matthew felt really bad. Always pretty smiley though.

Favorite Waterbottle

2010-05-24T16:48:00.000-07:00

I met this Associate while at our NY event that works for Precor that makes my favorite workout machine (btw-only costs $8k). We talked for awhile and I told him I loved the new machine and he told me he wanted to send me some stuff. Lots of Associates say this and really I was thinking he would only send me some literature which I would be happy for as well. It's been about a month and I thought maybe he wasn't really sending me anything and lo and behold a pkg was at my desk when I returned from my 2 back to back May events. Inside were 2 NICE hand towels to use at the gym, 2 Precor T's, and 1 Camelbak waterbottle. It's my new favorite thing. It's so cool and instead of tipping it you bite it and suck the water. I love that it seals out germs from the sucking tube and that I don't have to tip my head to drink my water while at the gym. I swear I have drank even more water that usual lately just because it's so fun to use.

Just something else to help my workout be fun and I thought I'd share one of my new favs! Happy working out everyone!!!

Jumpy Slide

2010-05-22T07:15:00.000-07:00

I've posted a few pictures and comments on facebook lately about our jumpy slide we bought this week. At Matthew's last day of school his teacher had this cool jumpy slide and Matthew was having a blast. I took one look and knew we needed to track it down and find one so that Matthew, Isabelle and our sitter Amy would have something to do this summer. Amy can't take both of the kids to the pool on her own and this is perfect to use while Isabelle is taking a nap. Another bonus is that is wears Matthew out and he can get out his pentup energy. We have used it everyday so far at least once and sometimes twice a day. Matthew loves it and Isabelle likes to wade around in the pool part. I took these pictures on Thursday when I took the day off and Isabelle was taking a nap.

I think we're going to use it for Matthew's birthday and we have friends coming down tonight to use it and have a BBQ. I think this might be one of our best investments for the summer. Matthew already has an awesome farmers tan from his rash shirt and shorts. He is getting so dark and we even use sunscreen like crazy.

I love this shot of Matthew. He is so full of life in everything he does.

Fully blown-up. It only takes 2 minutes to blow up and then the fan stays on the whole time you're playing. We are going to move it further into the corner and just leave it there for the summer. The grass is crappy in the summer anyways and will probably just die in that corner-oh well.

Matthew is always inventing one game or another. We played various games with the basketball since I'm over the pound limit and can't go down the slide (but not for long!).

Weight Loss Challenge: Week 11 & 12 Progress

2010-05-22T06:31:00.000-07:00

I am combining 2 weeks together as I was at 2 events back to back and worked 14 days straight. Boy was I exhausted by the time our 2 events were over. On top of this someone that worked for me quit so I was doing 1/2 his job + mine. The events were great, we got someone hired for the job that reports to me and our household is almost back to normal.

Workout wise the past two weeks:
5/8: Treadmill - 40 min. and 400 calories burned
5/9: Day of Rest
5/10: Free Motion Machine - 35 min. and 400 calories burned
5/11: Free Motion Machine - 45 min. and 500 calories burned (at event)
5/12: Walked probably 5 miles - I counted that as my workout for the day (at event)
5/13: Treadmill - 40 min. and 400 calories burned (at event)-went at 5:30 in the morning
5/14: Elliptical - 35 min. and 300 calories burned (at event)
5/15: Elliptical - 30 min. and 250 calories burned (at event)
5/16: Day of Rest
5/17: Free Motion Machine - 47 min. and 450 calories burned
5/18: Treadmill - 38 min. and 405 calories burned
5/19: Took the kids for a walk for 45 min. around our community - 200 calories burned (cleansing)
5/20: Free Motion Machine - 42 min. and 450 calories burned
5/21: Treadmill - 30 min. and 400 calories burned

It's been a struggle lately wanting to exercise. I'm so tired some days, but am committed to this challenge. I just need to remind myself that I always feel great after exercising and the payoff on the scale is worth it. It was really tough a few days while at the events. I couldn't go as long as I wanted because my feet were literally burning after walking/standing all day. I figured I walked a lot while at the event and the little I did on the cardio machines was better than nothing.

Diet Wise:
So hard while at events to know what you are consuming calorie wise. I ate small portions and just did the best I could. I'm so glad it's Saturday so we can plan next week's menu and go to the store today. We've been winging it this week which has been ok, but I like to know what we're doing every day.

Results: 4 pounds. Overall 30 pounds. 34 to go.

Wow is all I can say! I can't believe I'm at 30 pounds weight loss. We have 5 weeks left of the challenge so I'm really going to push myself this next month as I want to get to 42-45 pounds by the end of the challenge. Also, excited to be almost halfway there to my goal. Yay me!

Weight Loss Challenge: Week 10 Progress

2010-05-08T08:17:00.000-07:00

Workout wise this week:
5/1: Elliptical - 42 min. and 400 calories burned
5/2: Day of Rest
5/3: Free Motion Machine - 45 min. and 500 calories burned
5/4: Free Motion Machine - 40 min. and 450 calories burned
5/5: Free Motion Machine - 48 min. and 500 calories burned
5/6: Free Motion Machine - 47 min. and 510 calories burned
5/7: Treadmill - 37 min. and 300 calories burned

Took the kids with me on Monday again and Isabelle had a melt down so I was called in with 12 min. left in my workout. I got her settled down and finished my workout. I love the Free Motion Machine because it doesn't hurt my knees. My knees really hurt after the treadmill and even the Elliptical machine lately so I try to avoid them when I can.

Diet Wise:
I just got my new cookbooks and am excited to try some new things this week. We did a lot of basic chicken with vegetables this week.

It was a tough week for me overall. There is lots of stress going on at work so I worked late most of the week which means I got to the gym and subsequently home late. It's hard when you don't get you see your kids much in the evening and then the mother guilt kicks in. Good thing my will was stronger than my brain this week because I probably wouldn't have worked out much since I was tired from work. I'm glad I did it though because inevitably I always felt better afterwards.

Results: 2 pounds. Overall 26 pounds. 38 to go.

So close to 30 pounds and can't wait until my weight loss is higher than what the amount is to go.

Isabelle Eating

2010-05-02T08:35:00.001-07:00

Isabelle really wants to do everything herself that she can. Last night she wanted to feed herself applesauce so we let her go at it. She actually did pretty good!

Weight Loss Challenge: Week 9 Progress

2010-05-01T21:50:00.000-07:00

Workout wise this week:
4/24: Treadmill - 47 min. and 450 calories burned
4/25: Day of Rest
4/26: Free Motion Machine - 47 min. and 500 calories burned
4/27: Free Motion Machine - 37 min. and 400 calories burned
4/28: Free Motion Machine - 46 min. and 500 calories burned
4/29: Free Motion Machine - 35 min. and 400 calories burned
4/30: Treadmill - 46 min. and 450 calories burned

I took the day off on Monday and ran errands with the kids and then took them to the gym where they could play while I was working out. I love getting my workout done during the day. Interesting things I've seen lately while working out. While in NJ I saw a man in his work shoes on the treadmill, another day a girl wearing Uggs, and then yesterday there was a wedding going on at our clubhouse and the bride wore purple. Working out is not only good for your body and heart but you can also have the pleasure of witnessing odd things happen. :)

Diet Wise:
Trying to stay within 1400-1600 calories a day. I just ordered 2 new cookbooks that have low-calorie meals. Can't wait for them to arrive on Tuesday as I'm running out of ideas for dinners. Both had great reviews on Amazon so we'll see how they are. We did try some Spinach Lasagna rolls that only had 190 calories each. They were really good and we had some on the side with chicken.

Results: 1 pound. Overall 24 pounds. 40 to go.

Bummed that I didn't get to 25, but it's still weight loss. I think I'm going to do some lower calorie and higher calorie days back to back and see if that can't trick my body into shedding more weight this week. We only have 8 weeks to go and I really want to get to 45 pds.

Side Note: Isabelle weighs 20 pds today and Matthew 37. He wanted to see what I weighed and Jordan told him I probably didn't want everyone to see that number just yet. I'm getting there, but will share once I get to my goal weight.

Confidence

2010-04-29T21:24:00.000-07:00

Sometime in the past few days Isabelle gained some more confidence and is now doing the two-step all over the house.

Weight Loss Challenge: Week 8 Progress

2010-04-25T18:43:00.001-07:00

Workout wise this week:
4/20: AMT Machine - 42 min. and 450 calories burned
4/21: AMT Machine - 48 min. and 500 calories burned
4/22: AMT Machine - 47 min. and 500 calories burned
4/23: Pilates - 45 min. and 217 calories burned

So glad to have been back at my gym. I love the routine of going to work and then right to the gym. It makes it easier to work out. Friday I was just beat of working 12 straight days and went home early. We took the kids into town and went to dinner and got Isabelle a new car seat. It was all I could do to do pilates after we got home. I'm taking the day off tomorrow so after Matthew gets done with school we are all heading to the gym. Please no calls from childcare and I'm taking extra pants with me.

Diet Wise:
So much easier to be home and know what I'm consuming. Still going strong with my protein intake and keeping within 1400-1600 calories a day.

Results: 1 pound. Overall 23 pounds.

Looking to get 2 this week at least so I can get to 25. That's a big milestone!

Weight Loss Challenge: Week 7 Progress

2010-04-22T11:01:00.001-07:00

Workout wise this week:
4/10: Isabelle's birthday and I went too close to have eaten so only treadmill for 20 min. and 200 calories burned
4/11: Day of Rest
4/12: Elliptical for 40 min. and 400 calories burned
4/13: Elliptical for 30 min. and 300 calories burned
4/14: Elliptical for 47 min and 452 calories burned
4/15: Elliptical for 41 min and 402 calories burned
4/16: No workout :( - worked from 7:30 am - Midnight
4/17: Elliptical for 42 min and 400 calories burned
4/18: Treadmill for 38 min and 400 calories burned
4/19: Elliptical for 39 min and 400 calories burned

I only missed 1 day while at our event because I had to work until Midnight and because of some issues I had to handle Thursday night and was up until 1:30 am. I was beat and just couldn't do it on the 16th. I took that as my day of rest and ended up working out on Sunday which I don't usually do but I worked until 5 pm that day anways and figured I might as well work out and just kill my sabbath all the way around. :) I do what I can when I'm away.

Now that I'm back in my own gym I'm trying to up my burn to 450-500 every day. So far so good.

Diet Wise:
Between Isabelle's birthday, my parents being in town and then going away on business for 6 days man was it tough. I made good choices though and kept a log of everything I ate. I input everything when I got back from my trip and had some higher days and lower days. It is so tough to know what you are eating calorie wise when you don't cook it yourself and have no nutritional information. I think I did pretty well though and stayed away from all desserts and upped my vegetable intake when I could and stuck to chicken pretty much as my protein.

Results: 4 pounds. Overall 22 pounds.

I am so happy especially considering battling not knowing calorie wise what I was eating. I am so proud of myself for working out when I was tired and getting up early a few days before going down to work the event. I am especially proud of myself on Monday that I got up at 6 am to get to the gym before leaving for the airport at 8 am. I knew it would be a long day and difficult to get a workout in after landing and wanting to spend time with the kids.

I'll blog again on Saturday but I weighed myself on Tuesday morning so I'm just hoping for 1 pound within the 5 days. I'm so close to 25 and 30 pounds!!

Big Thanks: A big thanks to my parents for coming for Isabelle's birthday and then extending their trip 3 days so they could take care of the kids. Jordan has an unexpected work trip come up that overlapped mine. He was gone from Sunday-Friday and I was gone Wednesday-Monday. It was crazy with all the logistics, but I think my parents and the kids had fun. So glad to be back!

Weight Loss Challenge: Week 6 Progress

2010-04-10T22:53:00.000-07:00

Workout wise this week:
4/3: Yogalates and AMT machine for 45 min.
4/4: Day of Rest
4/5: AMT machine for 40 min. and Pilates with Jordan
4/6: Elliptical for 20 min. and went to the zoo with Matthew for 4 hrs and I think we walked around for 2.5-3 hrs.
4/7: Pilates with Jordan (I was cleansing)
4/8: AMT for 47 min.
4/9: Elliptical for 21 min. and Treadmill for 26 min.

Diet Wise:
I met with a nutritionist at the gym my work acquantaince will be opening this fall. I went in to do a fat analysis and we talked about my calories. He really thought I wasn't eating enough and that I needed to up them to 1600. He also recommended eating protein (shake or bar) 1 hr. before working out and 1/2 shake or bar 15 min. after working out. I started more calories and the protein part on Thursday. I'm really more eating in the 1400-1600 range and the protein is helping me stay really full.

Last night we went to Jason's Deli for dinner before going to the Muse concert. I did research beforehand as they had their nutritional info online. I had a really yummy Turkey wrap and got fruit on the side. I felt full, satisfied, and dinner was only 593 calories. Eating out can be done if I make choices beforehand that work in my calorie range.

Results: 2 pounds.

I am so close to 20 pounds and hoping that I'll break it next week. I'm off traveling this week for work, but am determined to keep things going. I might weigh in and blog next Monday when I get back so I don't have to pack my scale with me. We'll see.

Also, Isabelle's 1st birthday was today. I indulged just a little in chips, 1 cupcake and some yummy cheesy potatoes. I figure it will help throw my body off anyways so my metabolism can't get adjusted and will shed weight faster - right? :)

First Real Steps

2010-04-09T08:39:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is Isabelle's 1st B-day, and yesterday she took her first real steps (more than just a few steps, which she's been doing for a few weeks). Matthew had a first too (he put on his shirt by himself earlier in the day), so he wanted to demonstrate and, of course, wanted to "learn to walk" too.

Diet Coke, Sugar and Protein

2010-04-08T23:19:00.000-07:00

I've had a love for Diet Coke for probably almost 10 years now. It's been an ebb and flow of trying to be really good and limiting myself to 1 a day to 2-3 a day. Right before the challenge started I was probably having 2 a day and easily used it as a relaxer in the evening after a hard day at work and then coming home and dealing with the kids. Also, before this weight loss challenge I had a thing for sugar around 8:30 every night. I needed sugar and really wanted it. I couldn't get it out of my head and almost always gave in to my cravings.

I am proud to say that on the Isagenix program I've lost my cravings for both. I'll have a Diet Coke when we go out to dinner, but really besides that I don't really want it. I'm always drinking water now and my body really wants water - which is a good thing! Isagenix makes this energy powder that is great for when I'm feeling low, tired, or after a workout. I can't drink it all the time though because it's too much. I don't want sugar anymore and really we haven't had many sweets around the house. I'll indulge here and there but don't crave my favorites anymore. I'm sure I'll eat them now and again but for now I'm being good.

A work acquaintance of mine is opening a gym so I went to scope it out and talk to them. They are the ones that gave me a fat analysis last month and I also went to get new results. The first test probably wasn't really accurate so I'm going to wait another month to get another set of results and then I'll share here. Anyways, in talking to their nutrition expert there he really thought I was eating too little of calories, which I had decided might be the case after working out so hard last week and not losing any weight. My body was thinking I was starving it and probably started holding onto all my fat to protect itself. He recommended really stepping up my protein amounts (150 grams a day) and especially to eat a protein (Isagenix) bar or shake before I work out and then to consume either a half of a bar or half a shake within 15 min. of working out. I need to research some more so I can explain better on here what it does, but I felt really good today.

I felt like I ate a huge amount of food today and really it was only 1,500 calories. To up my protein I added our whey protein (no flavor) powder to my morning shake and 2 T. of cashew butter which I got at Sprouts the other day. Cashew butter has the same amount of protein as peanuts but half the calories and tastes really decadent. This shake kept me full until lunch and usually I'm needing a small snack in the morning because I've been feeling hungry. I had a plain shake for lunch and then ate one of our bars 1 hour before I went to the gym and another 1/2 bar after working out. I seriously felt so amazing when working out because I had enough protein in me to help fuel my body (protein gets converted to energy just like everything else).

I thought when he told me yesterday to aim for 150 grams of protein that he was crazy and there was no way I could do that. Today I ate 158 grams - just slight changes in what I am doing and I feel I'll hit it and hoping it will help me in my weight loss as my body uses my fat for energy instead of my muscles. I also took Almonds and my Soy trail mix for snacks (both are good sources of protein) but didn't even touch them as I felt so full all day.

So...up your protein especially before and after you work out and see if you don't feel a difference. Jordan has even been doing this lately and I don't know if he feels a difference or not. I'll have to ask.

Positive Affirmations

2010-04-05T22:32:00.000-07:00

I have a list of positive affirmations at my desk that I look at lately every day to keep me on track. This was very helpful last week when I had a bad few days and didn't want to exercise. I'm feeling really good this week, but am still reading and contemplating these every day. I thought up some on my own and some I got from a thread on Calorie Count and #4 I got from the Biggest Loser. They are really helping me stay motivated, keeping my goal in mind and getting me through the harder days.

You ARE Worth it!
You CAN do this!
You ARE stronger than you think you are, you can do more than you think you can.
It is the HARD work that matters and not the numbers - they will come!
Stay motivated and on track!
You are going to LOVE the end results
Have the COURAGE to refuse
It's supposed to be hard, if it wasn't hard then everyone would do it...the hard is what makes it great!
Nothing worth getting is ever easy!
Are the calories really worth eating that for? (Often - no!)
Thin in 2010

My favorite one:

Don't give up what you want MOST for what you want in the moment.

A gym owner that I know told me about a month ago to write down 3 goals or affirmations and look at them every day. He said that when he's worked with clients that have goals written down that they focus on daily they have better success, so I've added this into my life too!

And a HUGE shout out to Jordan who is the best husband and has picked up lots of duties so I can intensely focus on this through the end of June. He is often relieving the babysitters, taking them home, starting dinner, getting kids fed and bathed while I'm at the gym after work. He offers so much positive support and is up for eating anything that is strange and low-cal. I can't even imagine doing this without him and wonder how people do it that have a spouse or those around them that aren't on board with a lifestyle change. I would wear myself out trying to keep up the house, working full-time, the kids and gym time on top of it all. Thanks Jordan!!!

Tofu Parmigiana

2010-04-04T20:02:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of trying new recipes we tried another one today. As many of you are probably rolling your eyes and thinking ewww...(I know my sister is) it actually wasn't that bad and Isabelle and Matthew even ate it too. I wouldn't eat Tofu every night but once in awhile is a good change. Jordan learned to love Tofu while in Korea so he was up for it.

I think the key is good tofu. I got mine at a local store called Fresh & Easy. Extra Firm Tofu and to get all of the water out. I probably pressed 6 paper towels to get it pretty dry. Each serving of Tofu Parmigiana only had 274 calories. I made whole wheat noodles to go along but didn't really eat mine. We had a salad on the side and strawberries with sugar for dessert. My total caloric intake for lunch was only 388 and I felt super full. I found some really good Cilantro dressing at Fresh & Easy that is only 70 calories for 2 tablespoons and it makes all salads really yummy!

You can try the recipe here or at least browse their website for some really good low-calorie meals. I also picked up a soy energy trail mix of sorts at Costco the other day. 150 calories for 1/4 cup, and it has soy nuts, almonds, pumpkin kernels, and cranberries. Way better than I would have thought and I'd buy it again.

I did make Jordan some egg salad for dinner from our Easter Eggs that he thought was good. I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole but I wanted to use up the eggs and make sure Jordan ate enough calories today since he's on the other spectrum of trying to eat enough calories so he doesn't lose anymore weight. He's taking the rest for lunch tomorrow. It's a tricky balance in this household right now.

Hope everyone had a great Easter and I'll try and post some pics soon.

Weight Loss Challenge: Week 5 Progress

2010-04-03T07:16:00.000-07:00

Workout wise this week:
3/27: Took a walk with Isabelle, not ideal but we were on vacation and the gym was $10 and I couldn't bear to pay for another day.
3/28: Day of Rest
3/29: Elliptical and Treadmill
3/30: Pilates-not our usual teacher and boy was she tough. I was also cleansing and felt like I was going to pass out.
3/31: Elliptical
4/1: Elliptical
4/2: Treadmill and this new machine I don't even know what it is

Diet Wise:
Still on track with 1200 calories a day. Some days are easier than others. I found this website Eating Well and have been trying a few meals from there. We did this recipe this week. Not bad for a vegetarian. We used Chard and I have never had that before. It's fun trying new things.

Results: 0 pounds.

Totally sucky as I feel like I worked really hard this week and ate well. After talking with Jordan we can only figure that I'm building muscle and of course that weighs more than fat. I'm going to work even harder this week and hopefully it will show up next week.

I did a body fat analysis thing about a month ago and need to go do that again this week. If it shows some good progress then I'll feel better about this past week.

I'm off to Yogalates this morning and then to do my favorite new machine that rocks. I'm not going to give up or let this stop me. I'm just going to keep trying as hard as I can and I feel eventually the numbers will show up.

I AM doing this!!!

Busy, busy, busy

2010-04-02T12:22:00.001-07:00

Looking forward to my update tomorrow, but in the meantime here's what's up our sleeves the next 2 weeks.

1-Meeting up with friends tonight and tomorrow night
2-Coloring eggs for Easter and the Easter bunny visits
3-April 6th Jordan leaves for Oregon for two days
4-April 6th I am taking off 1/2 day to go to the zoo with Matthew's preschool
5-April 6th I have Bunco Tuesday night (babysitter is already lined up)
6-April 9th my parents arrive in town and I am taking the day off
7-April 9th Jordan and I are going to the Muse concert (muchly anticipated)!
8-April 10th is Isabelle's 1st birthday celebration
9-April 11th Jordan leaves for Oregon for 1 week
10-April 12th My parents and I are playing as I took the day off again - going to the spice store Penzey's and to an organic restaurant for lunch
11-April 14th I leave for NY for an event
12-April 16th My parents leave early to head home due to commitments, so our kids are shuffling back and forth between my babysitters parents house and ours
13-April 16th Jordan gets back from Oregon late
14-April 19th I get back from NY
15-April 19th I am supposed to take Isabelle to her yearly check-up
16-April 20th Book club, but I don't know if I'll be able to make it

I am tired already and none of this has even happened yet! Do you think too much is going on at our house soon? I do, but we'll get through it. It's been so mellow around the house travel wise and then all of this is happening at the same time-craziness! Mostly fun things but trying to fit in exercise and good eating will be tricky but I can do it!!! The hotel in NY looks like the gym will be great so I'm looking forward to that (and getting a full nights sleep with no child interruptions).

Weight Loss Challenge: Week 4 Progress

2010-03-26T09:14:00.000-07:00

I feel like I'm only blogging about my weight lately, which is a huge focus in my life right now, but we are doing other things so I'll try and get some pics up soon.

I did an official weigh in this week with our health coach and I was past the 10 lb weight loss mark (which I knew) so I qualified for a free 30-day system. This means more shakes and cleansing products for free to get me through the next month. I love free stuff and even better when I earn it. She said I was on the fast track to winning a prize so I must be doing better than most of my co-workers.

Workout wise this week:
3/20: We went to the zoo and then I did Pilates at home. I was beat after the zoo as it was a really busy day.
3/21: Day of rest and boy did my body need it
3/22: Did the Elliptical for 30 min. at the gym and Pilates at home
3/23: Elliptical for 40 min.
3/24: Elliptical for 30 min., I was cleansing this day and it's so hard for me to cleanse (no eating just drinking this nutritional cleanse drink) and workout
3/25: Got up super early and did Pilates before going to work and then an 8 hr drive for a mini-vacation.
3/26: Elliptical

I've really been trying to push myself as hard as I can on the Elliptical by either pushing the incline higher and/or the resistance higher. I'm really trying to make myself stronger and not take the easy route.

Jordan has been joining me lately in doing Pilates at home. It's been fun and boy is the resistance band a killer and really works my muscles.

Diet Wise:
Pretty typical week of shakes/bars/healthy meals. We have a yummy curry recipe and I found that it isn't bad calorie wise for the amount you get. My new food scale is awesome!

I'm pretty proud of myself for resisting free smoothies at work (they are low fat, but could be high cal depending on the yogurt, juices they use). We went to In-n-Out last night and I only had a burger and a few fries and then some carrots when I got home.

Results: 2 pounds.

I know it ebbs and flows so hoping for a bigger number next Saturday. Excited for a new week this week, working harder and getting stronger.

I am so close to getting into pre-pregnancy pants so that is my next goal and hoping by next week I'll be there.

I AM DOING THIS and am so proud of myself!

Weight Loss Challenge: Week 3 Progress

2010-03-20T07:39:00.000-07:00

Weight Loss Challenge: Week 3 Progress

I had a few hiccups this week such as Monday I took Matthew to the Pediatrician for an ear check-up and afterwards headed to the gym since my babysitter was home with Isabelle. I had been on the elliptical for 8 min. and the child care called me. Matthew had pooped his pants and I had no backup so we had to leave. By the time we got home and got everything cleaned up and dinner started I ended up just doing Pilates at home.

Workout wise I did this week: (Mon-Fri, since my last weigh in was Monday morning)

-3/15: Pilates for an hour at home
-3/16: Full day so I worked out on the elliptical at our community gym for 35 min. before going to work
-3/17: Yoga 101 at my gym for an hour
-3/18: Elliptical for 40 and Mat Pilates at my gym for an hour
-3/19: Treadmill for 35 min., Pilates at home for 30 min.

Diet wise:
Doing well in my calorie limit per day. I definitely look forward to my real meal every night. This is really working for me though because I've never been a breakfast person and a shake is perfect in the morning. At lunch I would rather eat at my desk than waste an hour and have to be there longer so a bar works.

It's interesting recipes I've made in the past that I thought were low-fat, low-calorie ARE low-fat, but not low-calorie. The recipe analyzer on Calorie Counter is good because I can adjust oils or high calorie items like beans, etc. and use less in my recipe to get to the calorie goal I need to be in.

We made some yummy chicken and black bean burritos last night. It called for 2 cans of black beans and I only used 1 and we ate whole wheat tortillas which aren't less calorie wise but are better for you. They weren't too bad at all.

Results: 4 pounds.

I am blown away. Those pds are just from Monday until this morning. I did my calorie burn calculation this week and I was preparing myself for 2 pounds. I am already down 14 pds. This really helps solidify my belief that what I'm doing IS working!

I need to get a digital food weight scale today so I can measure out what I can eat from my recipes as they give grams measurements for servings. I AM being so anal about my food now, but know it's short term and can loosen up a bit once I get to my goal weight.

I CAN do this!
I WILL do this!
I AM so proud of myself!!

Weight Loss Challenge: Week 2 Progress

2010-03-15T08:17:00.000-07:00

This week was a little challenging due to being at a work event from Thursday-Sunday. I was so stressed on Thursday that I wasn't going to get my workout in as we kept working later and later. I pushed my boss though and finally got out of there at 8 pm and then headed up to the hotel gym (which was really nice!).

Another thing I did to keep me on track was take my blender (it's made by Isagenix and looks more like the bullet brand) and shake with me so I could make my shakes in the morning and later in the evening after my workouts.

Workout wise I did this week:
-3/7-Nothing, day of rest
-3/8-I was going to go to our community gym, but Jordan unexpectedly needed me to take him to the dealership to pick up our Santa Fe that was fixed for a few minor problems. My gym is just across the street so Matthew came with me and went to the kids play area and Jordan took Isabelle home. Did the Elliptical.
-3/9-I was going to go to Pilates, but forgot my gym bag-argghhh! I went to our community gym and did the elliptical. It was also voting day and they use our club house as a voting place so I was acosted while in my workout clothes-nice!
-3/10 Met my friend Kari at the gym and I did the Elliptical and also the Yoga 101 class. Man is my flexibility lame.
-3/11 I did 30 min. on the Elliptical at the Hyatt gym.
-3/12 Did minor exercising
-3/13 Treadmill for 15 min. doing 1 min of run and 3 min of walking. I then did 30 min. of the elliptical.

Diet wise:
Staying within my 1200 calorie limit with 2 shakes or 1 shake/1 bar a day + 1 meal. I ate Friday lunch and then went out Friday night at Hard Rock. Man is that place full of calories. They don't have any nutritional information and the best I could find was a chicken salad with a citrus vinegarette that was pretty healthy. All in all I did pretty well considering I was out of my routine and couldn't completely control everything.

Results: 3 pounds.

I really wanted 4-5 pounds, but considering I was at an event for 4 days and didn't have full control and did the best I could I'm happy that I still lost weight. Still motivated and looking forward to working out this afternoon at the gym after I take Matthew to the pediatrician. Can't wait for the Pilates class and I'll probably go back to Yoga 101 again.

I CAN do this!
I WILL do this!
I AM so proud of myself for getting it in my head to finally be dedicated to get the results I want.

Progress...

2010-03-14T18:03:00.000-07:00

I'll be updating my progress tomorrow. I'm trying to do it every Saturday, but I was at an event from Thursday and got home today.

It's so much easier to control my calories when I know exactly the content of what I am eating. I had to guess at the amounts and calories in everything that I ate at our staff meals. It's also pretty tempting to eat lunch and dinner when they are provided but I did really good and only had 1 cheat day where I ate both lunch and dinner.

I did pretty good on my exercise and went to the hotel gym on Thursday night and Saturday night. I was going to do Pilates in my room after going out with a vendor for dinner on Friday night, but my laptop wouldn't play the video-so lame!

I ended up doing some sit-ups and some things that I remembered from the video, but it was a lame workout day.

We'll see what the scale says tomorrow and I'll report promptly!

Calorie Counter

2010-03-08T10:42:00.000-07:00

So I found a new friend to help me keep track of every single calorie I'm consuming. It's called the calorie counter. I found it while searching for how to figure out how many calories my recipes are producing.

This website is so great - let me tell you the reasons why...
1-I can log my exact calories
2-I can type in my recipes and it will figure out my calorie count
3-I can log my exercise activity
4-I can find recipes others have submitted that have low calorie counts too

It's quite eye-opening when you really figure out the reality of what you are consuming/burning.

I am here to change my life but not deprive it. I can make wiser decisions but still eat great tasting food. Changes won't be permanent if they aren't things you can sustain for life. That is why diets never work.

The other way I've been educating myself lately is finding out what the calorie count is of meals at restaurants we go to. Most restaurants have the calorie information somewhere on their website and if they don't they will have to by the end of 2010, and you'll be able to request at the restaurant.

We went to Olive Garden on Friday with friends and beforehand I perused their menu and figured out 5 things that had the calorie count I could handle. I used to love the Chicken Parmesan or Chicken but at 1050 calories on just the meal, not including the salad (350 per serving) or breadsticks (60 per breadstick) I can't afford right now that luxury. I got the Salmon and broccoli instead. It was really good and I felt satisfied.

Weight Loss Challenge: Week 1 Progress

2010-03-06T11:06:00.000-07:00

So it's been a week. My motivation is still in full swing. I have felt like I'm getting there work-out wise. I'm sore and achey but feeling really good.

Workout wise I did last/this week:
-2/26: Pilates at home (DVD's I've had forever that are finally getting some use)
-2/27: Elliptical for 25 min.
-3/1: Elliptical for 20 min, bike for 10 min.
-3/2: Elliptical for 30 min. - Signed up for gym
-3/3: Spin Class - almost died! :) - don't spin your first week back on the horse
-3/4: Pilates at home - could feel it at work on Friday
-3/5: Elliptical for 30 min.
-3/6: Yogalates for 1 hr, elliptical for 30 min.

Diet wise:
Staying strong on the Isagenix program. My cleanse day was super easy. I've had a few cheats here and there, but not much.

Yesterday we had this new gym in the area come in and I know the Owner from something we worked on at Isagenix together. He had this machine that with infared light could tell you your body composition. I really didn't want to do it, but did. It was a terrible result, but at least I know where I am now, have a goal I'm working towards, and he offered to do it again in 30 days to see my progress. I keep telling myself that I can't beat myself up for getting here, but just keep focusing on the goal and where I want to be. I'll share results when I feel more confidence and after I've improved.

Results of week 1: 6 pound weight loss

I am seriously so excited and proud of myself and almost in disbelief. When I weighed myself this morning I was nervous there would be no change and couldn't believe the number. When I was in London, I so wish I would have had Isagenix. I was eating ok, but we weren't counting calories or watching super closely our food intake. I would have a 1-2 pd weight loss in a week and I was working out 1-1.5 hrs every day and remember feeling VERY frustrated. Now I know I just didn't adjust what I was eating and that would have made the difference.

I'm feeling good!
I'm so proud of myself!
I CAN do this!!!

Weight Loss Challenge

2010-03-01T11:58:00.000-07:00

We have a yearly weight loss challenge at work and the winner gets $5,000. This is it's 4th year in a row so after having Isabelle I knew I needed to get to work, but didn't do anything about it.

The challenge officially started on February 16th, but the person weighing in and keeping track of everything couldn't get me in until last Thursday because so many people signed up for the challenge.

We knew this was coming and Jordan gave me a GC to Foot Locker and a new iPod Nano (in pink-so cute!) for my birthday to get me going. I went and purchased new shoes on Thursday evening and new workout clothes on Friday. I am determined to improve myself and win this challenge.

So far, so good. I worked out Friday, Saturday, and today before Jordan left for work. It's pretty slow going and I'm achey but I'm hoping in 2 weeks I'll be back in the groove. I got in pretty good shape while in London, and was getting there before I got pregnant with Isabelle.

Calories wise I'm doing the Isagenix program (where I work) which is 2 shakes a day + 1 meal of 400-600 calories and then nutritionally cleansing once a week. I'm not doing bad so far. Jordan found these Strawberry waters from Fresh & Easy that help curb the sugar or snack cravings until the next meal time.

I'm signing up at a local gym tomorrow (working from home today) and will start going there mostly after work and sometimes before. We have friends that belong so I'll probably meet up with them sometimes after work. They have spinning classes, zumba, rock climbing, and then the usual workout equipment. My work reimburses up to $24 a month so it won't cost me much beyond the reimbursement.

Wish me luck in finally getting back in shape after having 2 kids. I am determined to win the challenge, get the real me back and feel good in the process. I'll post about my progress.

Valentines Popcorn

2010-02-10T23:50:00.001-07:00

I decided to share the delicious treat that I made for Matthew's preschool valentines party.

VALENTINES POPCORN

Supplies Needed:
1 1/2 cups unpopped popcorn
3 bags of candy melts - I used white, red, and pink
Waxed paper
Bags to put them in

I got these bags at JoAnn's, but Michaels sells them and probably Hobby Lobby too. They come in all sorts of colors. I've given this out before at Christmas, but you could do this for St. Patty's Day, 4th of July, Halloween, etc. Also, if you know you're going to be using it for a specific holiday, wait until it goes on sale as it is kinda pricey. My sister got a ton the day after Thanksgiving for super cheap.

Pop the popcorn in 1/2 cup increments and keep in separate bowls. Microwave the first bag of melts separately at 30 second increments. Take out, stir, and microwave again. Do this a total of 3 times. It makes the melts the perfect consistency. Pour the melted chocolate over the first bowl of popcorn and stir thoroughly until all popcorn is coated. Spread over wax paper. Repeat with other 2 colors.

After the popcorn is set, break up into single pieces and layer in a bowl evenly. I did a little white, then a little pink, then a little red, and continued until my bowl was full. I had to use 2 big bowls to fit all the popcorn. After it is layered then take a spatula and gently mix together. I just find that this method really distributes the colors pretty evenly.

Take plastic bags - (I found mine near the candy section at JoAnn's where the candy melts were) and fill them about 3/4 full. Tie with ribbon and tie on your Valentines card. I think they turned out cute and the parents will be so happy that their kids are hopped up on sugar! :)

We are doing secret Valentines at work that we were made to be a part of. I've been lame and have been neglecting my secret person. I made her these cute filled hearts tonight, she'll get some popcorn, and I'm giving her some cute towels that I picked up today too. Anyways, I thought the broken hearts were a cute idea and wanted to pass along the idea from here.

Valentines Day!

2010-01-31T21:27:00.000-07:00

Valentine's Day will be here before you know it. You might want to start thinking about it now instead of scrambling at the last minute. Here are some cute things I've seen lately.

Cute kids Valentines!

Matthew is going to give away some Valentine's at preschool so I found these cute ones for free online here. They fit him perfectly since he's always the dinosaur chasing all the kids at preschool. I've already printed them and just need to cut them and make a treat to attach them to.

Valentine's craft project

I thought this was a super cute wreath idea. I am going to go pick me up some felt and heart foam wreaths this week and make this project. So cute! You can find how to make it here.

Also, lots of additional Valentine ideas here or here. And one of my favorites I'm storing for another year is a Valentine chair backer. Basically a treat bag that attachs to a chair. I want to make one, but it isn't going to happen this year. You can find the tutorial/idea here. I've seen lots of cute craft ideas and just need to get a few done and off my list before I add anymore. I need more time!!!

I did finish a diaper cover for Isabelle to match the dress my mom gave Isabelle for Christmas. I'm finishing up sewing a few additional things and then I'll post them here when they are done. They are turning out cute!

Our Busy Week Last Week

2010-01-25T09:25:00.001-07:00

Last week we returned from the funeral on Tuesday morning, and the very next morning Karin headed to a work event for about 5 days. While we were definitely very glad to have her back last night, I think it’s a good thing once in a while to have that bonding time with your kids. I continue to feel very blessed to have been entrusted with Matthew and Isabelle, and they really were very good for me all things considered. They are both at fun stages in their development, and I was reminded again by my sister-in-law recently that they won't be at those stages very long and that we need to write down the things they do and say before we forget, so here's another shot at that.

Matthew talks pretty much constantly right now, and it's funny (and a little scary sometimes) to hear the things that escape his lips. He definitely keeps us entertained with what he says and does. A few weeks ago, I took Matthew to the grocery store, and he rode around in one of those carts that has a little plastic car on the front. When we got back to the car, he hopped out and said, "Where's my button? Hmmm... I don't have one. Oh well." He then held out his hand and pretended to click something with his thumb and went, "Beep!" - he was locking his "car."

Again shopping with him the other day, this time at Old Navy, I was walking out of the store and thought Matthew was following me. When I realized he had stopped, I turned around and saw this:

That same day, we were hanging out with our friends, and Matthew turned to his little friend Maggie (OK, she's six months younger but a lot taller than he is) and said, "Maggie, I have to tell you something terrible. My mom is GONE!" Then when Karin got home yesterday, he told her, "I'm so proud of you for coming home!"

Isabelle only knows one trick at this point (she can clap), but she is (if that's possible) more active and into everything than Matthew ever was. Our house is fairly locked down, but she is into every cabinet she can open, and I caught her the other day prostrated on the floor trying to reach under the pantry door for something. She somehow knows which remotes are real and which are old ones with no batteries (this always amazes me that kids can figure that out). She is on her feet almost any chance she gets to pull herself up, so I don't think it'll be long before she's running around, and then we'll really be in trouble. She continues to smile nearly all the time, though.

As much fun as I had with the kids over the past few days, I'm very glad I'm not a single parent, and I'm really looking forward to a normal week for us, and I know Karin is, too. She gets pretty worn out by those events, and our DVR might have exploded anyway if she had been gone any longer since I can't really delete anything while she's gone.

Christmas Festivities

2010-01-11T23:07:00.000-07:00

We were kinda crazy this year and spent the week of Christmas at home and then left around 11:30 on Chrismas day to drive half way to Kanab, spent the night there and then headed to my parents the next day. It was good to break up the drive for Isabelle since she's not so happy nowadays in her car seat and just wants to be on the move.

Christmas morning pic - of course Matthew didn't get up until 8 am, and I was anxiously waiting for him to get out of bed. When he woke up he made a beeline for the table and saw that Santa "ate the cookies and drank the milk" with wide eyes. Santa left him a note thanking him for the cookies and the oatmeal for the reindeer. We had to then go look outside to see if the reindeer ate the oatmeal which they did! Christmas morning started off in a great way! He's always so enthusiastic so we couldn't help but get in the Christmas mood.

Our first few nights were at Grandma's house. We were relaxing our 3rd night there and I decided I better take some pictures before we moved onto our next stop on the Stephens Christmas Vacation.

Don't you just love the huge drool about to drip. Poor Isabelle has been teething forever and 2 bottom teeth are finally popping!

Matthew played I think about 10-11 games with Grandma this day. He wore her out!

On Wednesday we met up with some friends we met in London and haven't seen for 2 years. We ate at Crown Burger and then headed over to the Children's museum at Gateway center. It snowed a ton this day. We were so unprepared for Utah weather, but I'm not going to buy snow items for 1 day of use that will be outgrown before it's next use.

They had this great water feature that Matthew and Owen loved. Matthew was soaked by the end.

Group pic!

My brother's family was our second stop on the Stephens traveling Christmas Vacation. They live a half hour from my parents and since they were hosting New Year's Eve we decided to stop there on the 30th and 31st. It dumped a ton of snow on the 30th so mid-day on New Year's Eve Matthew went sledding for the first time with Jordan, my brother Russ and their kids. Me, Isabelle, and my sister-in-law Kari went fabric shopping. Matthew had so much fun! My sister Laura and her husband Carl and my parents joined us for New Year's Eve and we celebrated with TONS of food that we could not possibly eat. Jordan made Korean Bulgogi that was scrumptious and we had lots of other yummy items. We played Boxers or Briefs where people said not nice things to me (j/k) and played Beatles Rock Band.

On the 1st before we left for our last destination on our traveling tour my other brother Ken and his family stopped by on their way back from their vacation to Disneyland. They recently moved to Wyoming from Utah so it was good to see them for a little bit. We are hoping to go visit Wyoming this summer and see the vastness of where they live.

Brady, Kelsey, Karly, Matthew, Dylan

We were talking about sledding at Dylan's house the other day and Matthew said "Dylan didn't like sledding" which is true because Dylan wasn't feeling well and we got him and dropped him back home along with Brady and Kelsey who got hurt before heading out to shop. I am continually amazed by what our son remembers and processes.

Jordan said Matthew loved just laying and playing in the snow. Papa (grandpa) made his hat!

My brother got some sweet air!

My niece got even bigger air. Karly is a die hard sledder.

Matthew went down once by himself but that was "scary" so he went the rest of the time with Jordan.

Our last stop on our traveling tour was on the 1st to stay with my sister Laura and her family. My nephew Colby is a New Year's baby so we ate Ice Cream Cake with them. Matthew LOVED it! Colby's girlfriend Tee Cee is one of his favorite people and he kept asking to see her and finally got to see her on the 1st. So cute!

We left Utah on the 3rd and drove the whole way home. Isabelle did much better than I expected and for some reason we made record time at 11.5 hrs. Isabelle ran a fever that day and the next 2 days but is doing better now.

I just finished laundry and repacking for our trip back to Utah for Grandma's funeral. This time I'm flying up early with the 2 kiddos myself (please pray for a good flight and cooperative kids) and Jordan will meet me up there later. We're all flying back together and then the next day I leave for a work trip for 5 days. Let's just say January is starting off a little crazier than expected.

All in all a great Christmas and fun memories.

Remembering Grandma

2010-01-08T01:10:00.000-07:00

My sweet 97 yr. old Grandma passed away last night. It's been a long time coming and truthfully she could have passed a year ago when she had surgery and it would have been for the best. It's been a long hard year for my mom and grandma.

Here are a few photos I have of recent pictures of her. One from June with Isabelle and the other with Matthew when he was a baby.

6 weeks after Matthew was born.

Isabelle was about 3 months here. I was shocked at the condition my Grandma was in. She was pretty frail and confined to a wheelchair and could hardly hear or keep up with what we were talking about. I'm so glad that she got to meet Isabelle at least once. Isabelle's middle name is Sadie after my Grandma.

I have great memories of time with Grandma and my mom was her only living child (her brother died when he was a baby) so we had the privilege of having her with us for Thanksgiving and Christmas and we would go visit her at her house in the summers.

Fun memories:
-Her yummy cake doughnuts that she always had on hand. They were soooo good!
-She would always make ham and cheesy potatoes when we visited her
-Playing kick the can in her awesome yard
-Playing dress up with her costume jewelry
-Wearing her cool high heels and hats around while visiting her
-Fun family reunions out in her little town
-Sleeping in grandma's bed when we went to visit (she was a widow for 30+ years)
-Playing at and walking to the park in her little town of Myton, UT
-Walking to the post office with her and my brother to get her mail and we would pass the 3 legged dog
-Standing on the bed in her covered porch area and peeking into the kitchen through the vent and spying on what everyone was doing
-Taking baths in her claw foot bathtub
-Calling on her rotary telephone
-She would always read the same books when she came to stay at my parents house and we would always talk about what she was reading - she loved the book Charlie.
-She always fell asleep and snored while she was reading
-She would leave me kit kats (her favorite) or money on my pillow when she would leave after visiting us in Utah
-Chasing after me with a brush trying to comb my hair while my parents were on vacation (I think I was 8)
-She wore panty hose every day and a girdle when she was younger and I remember them always hanging up to dry and wondering what all those things were about.

She was one tough lady. She survived her son dying as a baby and my mom's dad dying in an accident and had a business and raised my mom by herself until she remarried when my mom was 12.

I feel so grateful to have to many fun memories with her and for having her in my life for so many years. Not everyone gets to have that with their Grandma.

I hope she's had a great reunion with her first husband (she got remarried and was then a widow of her second husband 30+ yrs) and son who she's been apart from for over 70 years. Most of her siblings and friends have passed on so I'm sure yesterday was a really great day in heaven for her.

Love you!

Merry Christmas to All

2009-12-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

We hope all of our friends and family have a great Christmas!

Our new nativity set that I thought would be child friendly as I won't let Matthew play with our olive tree carved set my parents gave us a few years ago from Jerusalem. He broke 3 things this year so this is now unplayable too. Luckily super glue is our friend and we could repair it without showing where it's broken. How did my parents ceramic set survive 6 kids with minimal damage?

Our Christmas card I created this year using some digital products from my favorite website. You can find the textured paper here. The stamps here and the words here. At Designer Digitals every Monday they have 2 items for $.25 each. The whole month of December they've been doing daily $.25 items. It's so great to add to my Christmas collection cheaply for future Christmas layouts and for next years projects.

I got this template and am taking pictures of things we've been doing and then I'll journal about the 31 days of Christmas. Should be cute!

Last year I couldn't upload to the Costco photo center as they wanted to make you use a template of theirs. This year I found a blank template in their other section (maybe it was there last year and I just couldn't find it?), uploaded this baby, and picked them up the next day. You can't beat 50 cards + envelopes for $15. I also love that no one else will have my same card look.

Photoshop Elements is the best program and once you get the hang of it super easy to use.

A sweet picture I caught the other day. These two warm my heart and I'm so blessed to be their mommy. Can't wait to do Christmas morning with these two.

Completed Projects and Countdown to Christmas

2009-12-23T23:50:00.000-07:00

Ah the night before Christmas Eve/early Christmas Eve morning and mostly everything is finally finished at this household. Most of the presents are wrapped. Most of my gifts are finished and I am looking forward to relaxing with the family tomorrow, watching the Polar Express before bed time for the kids, and eating yummy steak and potatoes.

I wanted to post some fun activities we've been doing around here for our advent calendar and also the projects I've completed for Christmas. Some things were easier than others.

ACTIVITIES/ADVENT CALENDAR

We made a paper chain one night. Easy and Matthew held the stapler. Now if I was planning further ahead we would have made this on night 1 and could have made one that had 25 loops to rip off every night as an additional count down, but we'll try and do that next year.

Door knob bells made from cut-out egg cartons. I got the idea here. We are using them at our house to see if we can hear when Santa comes. Matthew helped do some of the painting and pulled the string once we pushed it through.

Chocolate dipped pretzels. Jordan did the dipping this year as I was sleep deprived and he made me go to bed early one night.

Our playdoh cookies. They actually aren't bad to eat and Matthew made his own. He rolled little balls of each color, rolled those into big balls, and then rolled those into snakes and then rolled them up. I had to help him a little bit, but he did really good and loved rolling the snake up part the best.

Once they were cooked. We'll be leaving these out for Santa.

HANDMADE GIFTS

I'm really hoping those that are getting some of these don't think they are lame. I wanted to make some handmade gifts this year.

Mitts and embellished towels. You can find oven mitt tutorial here and dishtowel tutorial here.

Crayon roll. Perfect for taking to church or in the car. You can find the tutorial here. I would recommend using thin ribbon for the part that will go around the roll. Mine was a little too thick. Also, I bought a little memo pad at Target and then cut a piece of paper close to size, ran it through my xyron and stuck it on the front and cut-off the excess. I thought it just added another cute touch and the paper matched perfectly.

Made some felt hair clips. It was fun doing some hand stiching and covering buttons. It wasn't a hard project, just time consuming. It took me at least a half day to make all of these. You can find the tutorial here.

Our flash wouldn't work so these pics are bad, but I finally made some bracelets for Isabelle today for her stocking. I bought the supplies back in June to make one for her blessing but didn't get around to it. The pink and pearl one fits perfectly and I need to redo the all pearl one since it's a little tight. This was a last minute addition to the gift making list. I'm very happy with how they turned out and can't wait to get more teeny tiny beads.

My friend Kris made some towel bibs for her son and I've been wanting to do some for 3 years. I finally got some ribbing, found this tutorial online and whipped them up today. I'm so excited for more coverage for Isabelle when she is eating. I did not sandwich inbetween but rather sewed the ribbing and bib right sides together. Also, because my children have large noggins, I did a 4 1/2" opening but still a 13" piece of ribbing and tried it on Isabelle and it fits perfectly! Also, a last minute gift.

Block for Isabelle. PITA I must say. Trying to sew around the top/bottom parts was really tough for me and probably my most frustrating project. I didn't make it like this tutorial, but should have taken the time to do so. I think I would have been less frustrated and it would have been easier to sew. I'm just hoping Isabelle will think it's fun.

I like the end result of these fabric rings, but another project that was frustrating at the end. You can find the tutorial here. If you do attempt, I would recommend cutting the seams down after sewing them so you have less bulk inside the tube. I turned them all right side out before figuring this out and then turned them all inside, cut the seams, and turned them back out again. Annoying! Isabelle should have fun chewing on them.

My favorite, more leg warmers for Isabelle. These have been waiting to be sewn but I just needed to find time and they are going to make good stocking stuffers.

So, because things took longer than expected and I started WAY TOO late on some of my items on my list. I cut Matthew's quiet book, his Mr. Potato Head, Isabelle's bunny and Christmas apron. I'm still planning on making all of those things but just not for Christmas as gifts. I'm collecting ideas now for next year and will start way earlier so I don't kill myself with lack of sleep like I have this year. It's been fun though and I can't wait for Christmas.

Merry (Almost) Christmas

2009-12-20T23:44:00.000-07:00

Play Dough Cookies

2009-12-17T16:00:00.000-07:00

I found this idea to make play dough cookies (they are real cookies made to look like play dough) on my favorite new blog. I am so doing this with Matthew next week while I am off from work. Thought I'd pass the idea on if any of you are looking for things to do with the kids while they are off from school.

The recipe for the actual cookie dough is here.

A few pics to share

2009-12-14T22:55:00.000-07:00

Matthew was wanting to hold Isabelle the other day so I grabbed my camera hoping for a cute picture of the two of them. Of course, Matthew just wants to be silly and all Isabelle wants to do nowadays is wriggle away and go explore. We really have to bribe Matthew lately to get any kind of regular grin.

If Isabelle had only been smiling this would have been perfect, but it's pretty close and still cute!

Isabelle is loving exploring under our tree hence why there are no presents yet (and they aren't wrapped). I don't trust her or Matthew to leave them alone until Christmas. They'll all show up Christmas Eve at some point. Maybe some before Matthew goes to bed. He's bad enough just pulling papers out of our sock advent calendar.

Why do babies want to go through the chair and not around it? I caught this pic today quickly before she got really stuck and I had to help get her out. She is sure curious and is following us to wherever we are. I started her on pureed peas tonight and she gobbled them right up without a yucky face or anything. She is such a joy in our house. Oh and I love that tongue of hers. It's been hanging out lately in that corner all pointy.

Matthew has been a bit of a stinker lately and really frustrating me with some antics he's been pulling. Jordan made the comment that he's glad that Isabelle is here to have a calming effect. It's so true - she's always happy and smiling and really only grumpy when she's tired or hungry. She can get me out of a bad/frustrating mood when I let Matthew get to me.

Anyways, I finished 3 big projects last night/tonight so I'm happy about that! I'm picking up my Christmas cards from Costco that I designed tomorrow so I can't wait to see how they turned out. I also ordered some other things online that I designed for gifts and can't wait for them to show up next week.

Sometimes you do get rewarded for procrastination/not being on the ball. The item I ordered online today I needed 2 of and they were having a special of Buy 1, get 1 free. Sweetness! Saved myself $25. Now just hoping they come early next week in time to get 1 out in time for Christmas (I'm taking the other one w/me).

Christmas Bow Wreath Tutorial

2009-12-13T01:18:00.001-07:00

I popped into my favorite ribbon store the other day to get ribbon for Isabelle's Christmas bow. While in there I saw this cute ribbon wreath sample (why didn't I think of that?) Anyways, it is so easy and would make a cute gift or an added Christmas decoration you can whip up this week. I personally love making at least one Christmas decoration each year.

Here is what you will make, a ribbon wreath

You'll need a wire wreath. I picked this standard one up from Michaels. The ribbon store sample was a single thick wire wreath that was a bit smaller.

Pick 3-4 ribbons for the bows. I ended up using 43 yards (1 1/2 in. wide) total for my wreath. You'll use a bit more or less depending on your wreath and ribbon size. Cut 3/4 yard pieces (27 inch) and I used 19 pieces of each color for my wreath.

Michael's has ribbon currently for half off and if you plan ahead for next year you can get ribbon 75-90% off at Michael's or another craft store right after Christmas. I bought 3 20-yard bolts and have plenty left over so I'm going to go pick up another color so I can make another wreath as a gift.

My ribbon also had wire and I used pliers to pull all the wire out. Highly recommend doing this or your bows will end up looking weird and will be harder to tie and will smush easier during storage.

My red/green plaid ribbon ended up being my favorite and held up to the bows well. The mesh gold tore easier so I had to be careful but also tied bows well and my red was a bit flimsy and wanted to tie skinny bows instead of fatter fuller ones.

Start tying them on to the wreath. I went completely around the whole entire outside of the wreath. Also, remember when you are tying bows to keep one tail longer than the other when beginning your bow as the longer tail will go around to become the middle. You'll figure it out.

This is the underside of the wreath.

A close up of the backside.

That's it! I would also recommend fray checking all of the ends so that they don't start fraying and will keep your wreath looking nice for longer. I haven't done that yet, but need to. If you haven't used fray check, you can buy it pretty cheap at Wal-Mart for about $2. Poke the top in with a pin. I didn't read the directions my first time and cut off the top. BIG mistake as it dripped everwhere. I had to throw the whole bottle away.

Viola! All done after tying on all of my bows. So cute! I probably spent 2 hrs doing this. Easy Peasy!

Supplies Needed:

Wire Wreath

3-4 ribbons 1 1/2-2 inches wide and cut into 3/4 yard pieces (27 inch.)

43 yards total if using the Michael's wire wreath above.

Fray check

Leg Warmers in action + Sock advent calendar

2009-12-11T09:50:00.001-07:00

So I thought I'd show you some pics of the leg warmers in action. I whipped these up this morning. She's wearing a different outfit for a party we are going to tonight and I didn't want her to get a whole outfit dirty so a top and some leg warmers it is. What a cute model. Easy Peasy!

I love her chubby legs! These stay on her really well.

Here is our sock advent calendar.

And a close up of one of my socks and the numbers I printed and punched out. It was a little saggy so we did put a few nails to help hold it up.

I'm missing a few days for things to do but will finish that this weekend. Matthew kept commenting on the socks that didn't have anything in them when this first went up. He was worried some were missing papers. He's so funny!

My friend Kris has 3 kids and each day they write something to 1 of their kids. Works out perfectly for them all to have 8 days. You could also put scriptures to read each night or a game or movie to watch together. That's what is great about this, it's so versatile and changeable. It cost me less than $25 to create as the socks were at Old Navy for a ridiculous cheap sale. Target has some Christmas socks in their $1 bin right now, so if you want to do for next year pick them up now.

What I love is that it's already made for next year. I'll just have to unpack and put it up. As Matthew gets older we can put in longer Christmas stories or bigger activities to do. It's going to be a new favorite tradition for sure. I think Matthew is really loving it and can't wait to do the activity every day.

Christmas Projects

2009-12-09T07:19:00.000-07:00

I learned how to sew back when I was about 11 or 12. We did 4-H for 4 summers when I was little probably between 8-12 yrs old. Our first 2 years were cooking and the last 2 years were sewing/crocheting. I even won lots of ribbons in our fairs. I didn't always love those projects but those summers taught me life long skills that I appreciate now. I can follow instructions from a cookbook or pattern and I KNOW that I can make/cook anything that has directions. I may not be able to whip something up without a recipe or pattern like other people I know (psst...EmmaLee) but as long as I have directions I can figure it out.

I've loved fabric for awhile and there are some really cool designer fabrics out there lately. They are on the more expensive side - about $9 a yard, but worth it for special clothing or projects. I've been eyeing lots of fun projects to do but needed a decent sewing machine. I've had a crappy sewing machine for 10 years that I bought cheaply and haven't used since we moved to London and then back to AZ - so over 7 years.

I grew up on the classic workhorse Bernina 830 and really wish I had that machine. They go on eBay for over $500 and I didn't want to pay that right now. A cute Bernina store in Mesa was having a really good deal on machines so I got a Bernette - the starter series of Berninas and got it for less than 1/2 off. I've been having lots of fun sewing lots of projects lately and it's a really good machine AND easy to use which is key in my book. I had a bit of trouble with the tension at first but finally it's adjusted and has been sewing really well.

I found a tutorial here of how to make baby leg warmers which I guess are all the rage. I thought they were a good idea for Isabelle because I hate taking on and off her tights for diaper changes, she needs to wear something under her dresses now that it's getting cooler, and they protect her knees from chafing while she's crawling.

The first pair I made was from some old socks of mine. They weren't knee highs so they didn't stay up very well. I got some knee highs from Kohl's the other day and here is her first pair. She wore them yesterday with a dress and they were so cute (even Jordan admitted they were cute)! I bought some more socks from Target ($6 for 3 pairs) that are super cute. I can't wait to make them up. They are on the back burner for now as I have lots to get done before Friday. I'm just so excited because the Baby Legs brand are $12-$15 a pair and I can make them for about $2 a pair. They will also be good to grow with Isabelle. Right now they are a little long so she can still wear them next winter.

The pink is the top part of the original socks and then I added a cuff from the bottom portion of the sock.

I saw a pattern for shoes online a few weeks ago and really wanted to make Isabelle shoes but was a bit intimidated. I found a pattern and made these up. I had a few hiccups and the first shoe I made was too small, but I persevered. This pattern is ok, but the heel isn't high enough to my liking and they kept falling off so I think I'm going to buy this pattern and see how these work out. I can't wait to make some Christmas ones.

I'm not quite done, but I made Isabelle a stuffed giraffe for her stocking. The other side is the pattern the same as her shoes. It looks a little dorky, but Isabelle will love chewing on it. I found the tutorial here. This website has inspired me to try lots of things.

Like a stuffed Mr. Potato Head

and a co-worker purchased this apron from me that I am finishing up tonight.

Additional things on my list to make before Christmas:

-Christmas gifts I can't mention here :)

-The stuffed Mr. Potato Head idea I found for Matthew for church (stocking stuffer)

-Quiet book for Matthew - I got the pattern here (stocking stuffer)

-Fabric blocks for Isabelle but w/ribbons sticking out for her to play with (stocking stuffer)
-Stuffed bunny for Isabelle - got the pattern here (Christmas gift)
-The rest of her Baby Legs (stocking stuffer)
-Design christmas cards and get them printed
-Make a Christmas apron/bow/shoes for Isabelle - I found cute fabric at JoAnn's for 1/2 off

I have lots to do and I have assigned myself tasks every night so I'll be busy up until Christmas. I have a few days off before Christmas so that will help if I need to finish things up.

One thing that we are doing this year that I took the idea from my friend Kris is a sock advent calendar. I found poems, songs, activities and we are doing 1 every night. Matthew knows which day it is and can't wait to do that days item. It's been fun and Jordan even said last night that it has been a good idea. I got some socks in the $1 section at Target but most are different sized ones from Old Navy. I'll have to take a picture and post it. I printed out red and green numbers and punched them into circles and stapled them onto the socks and then pinned the socks onto a long piece of ribbon. This is going to be a yearly tradition for sure.

I love Christmas!!

IsaBelly loves candy!

2009-11-16T10:31:00.001-07:00

Matthew had his bowl of candy out the other night and Isabelle scooted over to investigate and had a great time pulling everything out of the bowl. Matthew was pretty good about it after I assured him she couldn't eat his candy.

Other things that have been going on around here:

Matthew

-Is doing GREAT in preschool and loves Miss Heidi.

-Says the funniest things all the time such as "hilarious" and "boring" in the right context. He tells us often that something is his "favorite" or someone is his "best friend". He also reminds us frequently of bad words we shouldn't say such as stupid, butt, and bum. Even if we haven't even said those words.

-Loves to learn new songs and sings all the time. His preschool teacher accidentally taught the wrong words to a song and when she corrected herself the next time he told her that "the new words" weren't right and she was singing the song wrong.

-Loves to count and loves the number 3 and must do things evenly. If he gives a kiss he must also give a hug. He cannot do one without the other. Sometimes he'll tell me 3 kisses and 3 hugs and then will do it 3 times in a row.

-Has lots of energy but also has a love of life. Everything turns into something fun or a game to him. He is usually a very happy kid but is starting to be mellowdramatic. Geez!

-Has a huge imagination and likes to be told stories at night in bed rather than reading books to go to sleep.

-Working on counting to 50. He's getting the concept of 21, 22, 23, etc. but then thinks it's 2010 instead of 30.

-Really wants to read so we found a couple of games online to help him learn the sounds of the ABC's and to read. He loves the computer so it's a win, win for both of us.

Isabelle
-Wants to crawl so much. She is sort of inchworming and scooting around. She can get to what she wants.
-Is eating solids really well and we just pulled out the high chair. She's so little in it. She definitely wants to eat when we are eating. She gets mad if we leave her out.
-Thinks Matthew is so funny. He can be doing nothing that is funny and she'll laugh and laugh.

-Just over 7 months old - the time is flying by!

-Is such a great sleeper. We love her smiling face in the morning. Always a smile!

-Can rival Matthew now with her yelling.

-Is so curious about her surroundings.

-Is learning to feed herself with her fingers. She's starting to be able to put cheerios in her mouth. We're working on her holding her bottle herself but she would rather have me do it.

Must I REALLY make pumpkin pie?

2009-11-12T21:51:00.000-07:00

I am hosting a small T-day consisting of our family, my parents and my brother Brent and his wife Sam at our house this Thanksgiving.

I have a dilemma.

I am not a huge fan of pumpkin pie, but can make killer pies. I personally love pecan and lemon merigue.

Must I REALLY make a third pie?

I am hosting T-day and will be buying most of the dinner ingredients. We will be cleaning our house for our visitors. I will be sweating cooking dinner. I will mostly be the one with the stress of having the "perfect" thanksgiving dinner.

Don't get me wrong, I love to cook and am really excited to be hosting!

But really-DO I HAVE to make a pumpkin pie since it's my house and I finally get to call the shots? Please weigh in....

p.s. I have a pumpkin dessert that is super yummy I would happily make on Black Friday to suffice the pumpkin lovers around here and I even like it OR I would even make pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving dessert too. Anything BUT pumpkin pie...blech....

but really weigh in....you know how I feel, but just wondering if it CAN be Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. I really would rather not...

Update on Meeting the Pioneer Woman

2009-11-06T11:40:00.001-07:00

Well I didn't meet her and didn't see the movie either. I got to see her speak and answer questions and then waited an hour before I gave up meeting her. If you bought your book at the bookstore you were assigned a letter. Mine was "M" and they took an hour to get through A. I left my book there with how I wanted her to sign it and will pick it up today or tomorrow. She did promise she would sign everyone's book.

Fun, but way more people were there than I expected. The guy at the checkout counter said there were 900 people in SLC and I'm sure there were at least 500 in Tempe. I'm getting sick with what the kids have so I just couldn't wait any longer since I didn't feel well anyways. Insane!

Meeting the Pioneer Woman

2009-11-05T10:43:00.000-07:00

I am going with a friend to meet the blogger and newest Cookbook author Ree Drummond. She has a great site http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ that has amazing recipes that are pretty simple and you can follow step by step. She just launched her first cookbook and is doing a book signing in Tempe tonight. Can't wait to meet her!

Hoping to also go see the Michael Jackson movie afterwards.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-04T17:01:00.000-07:00

We had lots of fun tricks-or-treats this year. Thursday we went to Jordan's annual Intel cubicle trick or treating fun. High reward for low amount of work. Matthew didn't miss a cubicle.

Friday we went with Kari and her kids to their trunk-or-treating as Garrin had to work and Matthew had a great time with Maggie. He LOVED checking out all the different trunks that were dressed up.

Saturday we had our annual party at the Hammond's with pumpkin bread bowls, soups, and our homemade doughnuts (3rd year in a row). Always a good time.

We have way too much candy in this household and it's always calling my name! Yes, we are using it to bribe Matthew to do the things or eat the good food that we need him to. I think soon it will be relegated to the trash. I was inspired by my friend EmmaLee and hopefully will be making all of our costumes next year.

Matthew loved his dragon costume!

Isabelle was a pumpkin princess? I bought a shirt, made a black and orange tutu, made a bow and found some cute orange/black tights.

The whole clan at Intel.

Isabelle's tutu was driving her nuts. The great thing is she can reuse in a few years as I made it so it can get bigger.

James the Hamburger. I really want that costume! EmmaLee is so talented.

Brynlee the Ladybug. Cute!

My fav-Buddy the Elf. EmmaLee's sister Amy made his coat. Amazing! And..it's his real hair!

Of course Blake a was a pizza. I think it was a bit heavy by the end.

Cruella de Vil.

Poor Matthew's "hat" kept sliding down in his face.

In-n-Out afterwards-yum!

In timeout at the Hammond Party. He was so wound up and doing naughty things.

EmmaLee & Ray as pieces of the game Settlers of Catan.

I found a last minute costume at Target and then made this headpiece to go with it. I'm a Medieval Wench? Who knows, and the costume was NOT comfortable!

I did have a different idea for me & Jordan but at the last minute he didn't want to do it so we both scrambled for costumes.

Jordan found a shirt at Goodwill and was a mechanic. Nice going for pulling it together the day of.

EmmaLee's nephew in a Link costume hand knitted by EmmaLee's mom-their whole family is so talented!

Hammond Clan

U2

2009-10-21T14:25:00.000-07:00

We went and saw them last night. It had been 12 years since we saw them last in Vegas when we were engaged.

A-Maze-ing.

Their stage was so cool and their screens were beyond anything I've seen. They could move up and down and get longer or shorter.

They sang classics and newer ones from their last few albums.

We discovered we are now part of an older concert going crowd-errghhh...

Going with friends to concerts is always a good time and lots of laughs.

Ate some pretty good BBQ for dinner.

Traffic to the concert was terrible-took us an hour and a half. The bright side was we got free parking AND a great exit spot so getting out of there wasn't too painful.

I have concluded that U2 (which rumor has it will be doing this) should agree to rights with Guitar Hero so that the younger generation gets hooked too! I would buy that game in a minute.

Our babysitter took great care of Isabelle and Matthew and they were so cute sleeping when we got home at 1:30 am. I am grateful for her everyday and her willingness to help us with our kids.

I took some pics with my phone so trying to get those to add to this post.

IsaBelly

2009-10-16T22:53:00.001-07:00

I just thought I'd do a quick update on cutie patootie Isabelle who celebrated her sixth month birthday on the 10th. She's just so cute! We've taken to calling her IsaBelly around here and she's been squeeling a ton so Matthew thinks she's hilarious.

Who would believe that she's gone in six short months from this

and this

to this

and this

and this!

I went to her official six month check-up today and she weighs in at a whopping 16 pds 4 oz and 25 1/2 inches. I'm just hoping once she starts crawling that her weight gain can slow down so she can last in her car seat for 6 more months. Matthew is almost out of his and will be ready to move into a booster seat when she is 1 and then we can move her into his carseat.

This is what she's been up to lately:

-Is super grabby and wants anything within her reach.

-Is rolly polly ollie. Rolls everywhere and can push her body around in circles with her toes.

-Loves tags!

-Is starting to push up on her toes when on her tummy-good first signs of wanting to get moving.

-Loves homemade squash and sweet potatoes puree. We're trying zucchini starting on Monday.

-Just got introduced to the Little Einstein activity center and is loving it. We used it with Matthew and it recently got a good cleaning and looks good as new.

-Wakes up way too early for her mom-most mornings she's up between 5-6. Jordan has been great about switching mornings to let me sleep in a little. This usually makes for a very long day and I'm beat and ready for bed after the kidlets get to sleep. I do have to say that her cute smile in the mornings always makes my day start out great!

-Great napper, takes about 3 naps during the day. Usually 2 long ones and 1 short one.

-Loves music and especially when I sing to her.

-Loves, loves, loves her brother and dad. Although she likes cuddling with her mom when she's tired-always!

-Has the funniest laugh. It's more like funny breathing rather than laughing out loud. We can tell when she's giggling though.

-Doesn't care for baths. Will tolerate them but doesn't love them like Matthew did at this age. I'm hoping she'll grow out of her dislike for water.

-Smiles ALL the time - at everyone and is willing to be held by anyone!

We absolutely adore our munchkin even though she makes our lives more complicated now that there are 2 rather than 1 chillins to take care of. She's such a great baby and only really gets upset when she's hungry, tired, or has to take a bath. She may be our last so we are really trying to savor her sweet moments and she'll be back talking before we know it!

Sneak Peeks and Visitors

2009-10-04T14:54:00.000-07:00

I bought a dragon costume at Pottery Barn 2 years ago for 80% off and have been waiting to use it for Halloween. We tried it on the other day to make sure it fit. Matthew is so excited! Here's a sneak peek of Matthew w/just the hat on.

Wouldn't let me take a pic of him in his hat smiling.

Isabelle was being cute so I took some pictures. She is rolling back and forth all over the place and is doing really good on tummy time. We are working on sitting up.

She is just so beautiful!

She loves to eat her hands.

and loves her big brother.

My sister Laura and niece Taelor came into town to visit on Wednesday. We had tons of fun hanging out, playing the Wii-boom blox and guitar hero 5, eating out, going to Penzey's and the zoo. All in all a fab time and we were sad to see them go. Matthew latched onto Taelor and wanted her to sit by him in the car, play with him, wanted to wake her up and kept telling us we needed to go on the plane with them too when they left today. She was #1 on his list this weekend. I'm so glad they came to visit.

Isabelle is so fun right now!

They had such a great time together!

Disneyland

2009-09-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

We had some extra tickets to use from last year before they expired and figured the week after labor day would be pretty low key. Matthew and Isabelle did so great and I was surprised at the amount of rides Isabelle could go on with us.

Our friends Kari and Garrin and their kids that are about the same age as ours went with us and it was pretty fun having other adults to go on rides with and watch the kids so we could go on big rides. It was also so nice having park hopper tickets. We went back and forth a lot. The 3rd day we went into Disneyland (it opens earlier than CA), took family pics, rode on Pirates and then headed over to CA to catch the Toy Story Mania ride that is really popular before it got too crowded.

Matthew especially loved the characters this year (last year made him cry). He thought they were so funny and gave them all hugs. I think my favorite moment was with Minnie Mouse/Matthew/and Isabelle, so cute and sweet! Here are some of my favorite pics from Disney. Can't wait for our next trip. Everytime it makes me want to get season passes and go more often.

Matthew saw his Mickey shirt the other day and told me we needed to go to Disneyland. I think he had a really good time.

Day 1 in Toon Town

We found Goofy and Matthew told him "Hi, but I want to see Donald"-nice! We never did get to meet Donald. We found him one time and was trying to go meet him but they cut off the line. :(

Day 2-Back at Toon Town, I made Matthew go on the Kiddie Roller Coaster. Afterwards he told me "That was scary!" I asked if we wanted to go again and he said, "NO!" Funny though now that we are at home he talks about going on the roller coaster again.

We were heading over to California Adventures and found Minnie. Minnie thought Isabelle was so cute!

Our first stop right when we went into California Adventures. Who doesn't love Woody?

Matthew and Jordan waiting in line to meet Mickey. I was on camera duty and watching a sleeping Isabelle.

We found Pluto too!

Chew-chew Train ride in Bug's life-boring!

Matthew always wanted to be looking at the maps. He's studying intently on our ride back to the hotel after Day 2. He always wanted to know where we were on the map. He's too smart for his own britches.

Start of Day 3-family pic time.

We got some fast passes for Splash Mountain mid-day and hung around that area for awhile having a pit stop, going on the Winnie the Pooh ride multiple times and visiting the Pooh friends multiple times.

Matthew gave Tigger some twigs to eat here.

One of my favorite character pics.

Waiting in line for Monsters Inc. - good ride for the little ones.

We do always say that Maggie is Matthew's girlfriend. He's too young to be starting that business.

Waiting outside of Tower of Terror for Jordan and Kari before we headed back to the hotel. It was getting chilly and it was a perfect place for Matthew to run around.

This was Isabelle pretty much the whole weekend. Just smilin'-poor girl didn't get too many long naps as it was hot and noisy which would wake her up.

Last pics before we left.

Disneyland is always a fun time. Dreaming of when we can take our next trip. We're already talking about doing the big DisneyWorld vacation when Isabelle is 5-6 and Matthew is 8-9. They'll be ready for long days and lots of fun at that age.

Seattle-June 09

2009-08-29T07:45:00.000-07:00

It's taken us forever to get these pics up. We've been so busy since I went back to work and these kids make us exhausted every day so by the end of the day we crash in bed. Jordan finally got these edited the other night and I have time this morning to finally get these posted.

We left the evening of June 13th. I had great plans to be actually ahead of the game and not packing at the last minute but got very sick for 4 days right before our trip (and right after Isabelle's blessing/Matthew's birthday) and even woke up really dizzy the morning of our flight. I stayed in bed as long as I could and finally got up finished packing and made it through the flight ok.

My brother and his wife picked us up from the airport in both of their cars as we were going to rent a van a few days later and I felt like we were a circus getting all of our bags, the kids and carseats loaded in their cars. That night was pretty mellow. Even though it was about 9 pm when we ate dinner, Matthew was still wired and thought he didn't need to go to bed because it was still light out.

One of the few pics of Isabelle awake. She did so great on this trip until the end when she pretty much refused to sleep or breastfeed. We switched pretty much to formula after this trip and upped her to 6 oz. and it has been much better. Isabelle also has lost almost all of her hair now, but new growth has started so I'm hoping to see more hair soon.

Playing in the park Sunday afternoon after church. It was a cute little park at the end of their development.

Monday night we went and ate down by the ocean at scuttlebutts and then went for a walk on the pier. It was pretty chilly and both kids were well wrapped up.

Tuesday morning Jordan and my brother got up and went and picked up our rental van. It's crazy how much a few extra days and picking up/returning to different locations can add to your cost. We didn't feel like $300 was worth it so we were grateful that my brother/sister-in-law picked us up from the airport and that my brother took Jordan to the airport on Tuesday (we ended up picking it up/returning to the airport since it was cheaper). Incidentally having a van on this trip pretty much sold us on getting a van (I have been resisting). It's just so convienient to have so I can sit back with the kids and there is plenty of room in the back for all our crapola!

We were off that morning to do the typical downtown Seattle things. There were places we didn't get to like the Children's museum, science center that we'll have to do with the kids next time.

While waiting for Jordan to get tickets to the space needle. One of the rare pictures of myself that I actually like. Matthew even smiled really good.

My brother and sister-in-law stayed behind to watch Isabelle since they didn't want to go up the Space Needle again (understandable with the visitors they've had).

Matthew is always picking up rocks, sticks, leaves, etc. This one stayed with us for awhile.

At the top of the Space Needle.

The leaf hadn't left yet.

It's not as high as you would think, but still really cool.

Of course we had to do Pike's Market. Jordan thought I was a little nuts wanting to get a double stroller, but it came in handy several times on this trip and a few times since. Both kids were sacked out by this time and Matthew pretty much slept all the way home too. We ate lots of yummy food here-Perogies, baby doughnuts, and other treats.

Wednesday we headed to Deception Pass while my brother was at work. Jordan took Matthew exploring and it was pretty windy so I stayed in the car with a sleeping Isabelle.

Matthew had so much fun throwing rocks into the water. The water was pretty chilly but what little kid really cares about that? His pants and socks/shoes got all wet.

Later in the day, more park time. Matthew really loved this park. It was perfect for him.

Hiding because he hates always getting his picture taken.

Thursday we headed to Tacoma to the zoo/aquarium. It's so cute and it was fun going to a different zoo. Matthew of course loved it, but Isabelle wasn't sleeping so great. I can't wait for it to cool off so we can start going back to the Phoenix zoo again.

We stayed in the shark area for awhile. Matthew loved that.

We all tried sleeping in the same room the first couple of nights, but between Isabelle waking up to feed (she was only 2 months old) and Matthew moving all around I wasn't getting any sleep and was very cranky. Jordan ended up going into their other spare bedroom and crashed in there with Matthew on a blow up mattress. Inevitably Matthew would be somewhat like this every morning and Jordan would be somewhere on the floor too. I got half way decent sleep once they moved in there. Poor Jordan pretty much slept on the floor for 10 days.

Friday-Monday were pretty mellow as my brother was getting sick and it was rainy. We went to lots of yummy places to eat, the outlet mall and Jordan went with my sister-in-law and Matthew on a walk one day. Matthew of course had a great time picking up sticks and stones. I stayed behind with Isabelle.

Monday morning we got up and packed and headed off to the airport to hopefully catch an earlier flight home. It was full and they wouldn't let us switch so we hung out in the aiport for awhile. They have a big beautiful waiting that is all glass. It was the perfect area for us to be in as Matthew could be noisy and messy as he wanted and it didn't bother anyone since there was a lot of noise going on in that area.

I think this is in Vegas when we switched planes.

After we got into Phoenix I took the kids to the baggage area and waited with our bags while Jordan went and got the car. They both fell asleep in the double stroller (once again great to have) and slept all the way home since it was after midnight once we were loaded and off to home.

All in all a great trip. Great for us to go while I was on maternity leave and it was fun to go see my brother and his wife in Seattle. I have been a couple of times in the past, but Jordan hadn't ever been. It was also really nice to get out of the heat for 10 days. It definitely gets chilly there and it was a nice break from the weather but I'm a heat lover and would rather deal with our hot summer and have a really warm winter than cooler/rainy weather all the time. The kids did pretty well and it was a fun trip. Now to tackle scrapbooking it all! :)