Emmet Otters Jugband Christmas

For anyone struggling with money this year who feels like they can not make t an amazing Christmas for their family, this is a must see. Check it out...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6trGocstHI&feature=fvsr

Elf on The Shelf

So we got the Ef on the Shelf a few years ago from my sister. We never really followed it, we just put him up around Thanksgiving and told the girls he was watching them. Well thats not how you are suposed to do it. This year we are following the rules. We read the book to the girls and every night we (Andy) hides him in a new and fun place. The girls wake up every morning and run around the house to try and find him. He seems to always get into trouble from doing snow angels in flour to shaving his face in the bathroom.  Super silly. It cracks me up when Graci gets so mad at him for being naughty. She says it isnt Ralphs (that what the girls named him) fault, it is a pasky elf that comes in the middle of the night....Check out some of Ralphs fun hiding places....

NEW PICTURE....

Tonight Andy got a bit creative....Gross..

IT'S HERE....

OMG. I am so excited..It has arrived.  This time I am going to do it..These videos are super fun. It is a lot like the P90X but not so hard core. This is geared towards woman ( and is far less expensive).

The diet you follow is pretty easy..NO sugars lots (any amount) of veggies and smoothies everyday for breakfast and after your workout...It comes with a boo explaining it all, and a journal.  I saw this on Dr. Phil and well I believe everything that comes out of his mouth so I had to cancel Weight Watchers which wasn't working and try this..It wont be easy but it is doable.  I looked in the mirror in my underwear this week and cried...No wonder why my husband doesn't compliment me, there is nothing to compliment on...It all came to me this week, I hate myself and my body so I need to change that for not just me but for my husband and children, and I will have a bikini body by summer.Yes I will...Watch me shrink people..And get pretty healthy along the way...If I could give up smoking a pack a day as easy as I did why cant I do this?...Here I g, well right after I take a nap and get through this weekend...XOXO

The 25 days of Christmas.

The 25 days of Christmas...

Well this year it will not only mean shopping for the perfect gifts for everyone but it will mean 25 days of some sort of physical activity.  I am not going to pretend I am going to do any full force workouts and run long distances but I am going to do something every day.  I am pretty excited. I fell for somthing on Dr.Phil and I rushed out and prdered it..It is called PINK Method. It is kind of like the P90X which I have and have never used but it is more of a girls version where it works out the parts we want to get rid of.   I should be getting it this weekend and then I can get started..Super excited...Well back to the basement remodel..Pictures will be posted when it is complete...

I LOVE the holidays...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the holidays.  Christmas is my favorite. I know it is not about the presents but who doesnt love them? I love watching the kids open their gifts, and I love that look on their face when they come into the living room and see all of the presents santa left.  This year will be one of the first years we will be home and not traveling...I am going to start our own familt tradition but I am not sure what that will be yet..Any ideas?  What do you do as a family for Christmas? 

So we decorated...I love to decorate, (did I say love to much today?) and I have a hard time letting the kids help. :)  I hate all of the kid ornaments on the tree because they do not match my color scheme. So this year I put up my little tree that I had for my dorm in college and let the girls take all of the kid ornaments and decorate it. It was a win win in my book. 

The main tree....

The Girls tree....

The Stockings...

And the girls modeling...

=====================================

What are youf kid friendly traditions?

PUCK: Pioneering Unique Cures for Kids

If everyone could please take a minute and look at this site. I know it is the holiday season and I hate to ask people to donate but if you can at all please do...From the bottom of my heart I thank you...


PUCK: Pioneering Unique Cures for Kids

I have some great kids...

Thanksgiving was great.  I was able to spend it with my momma and my family.  We do not have a very large family and my sister doesnt come home for many holidays so it has taken some getting used to but going home for the holidays ROCKS.  I love seeing my momma with my girls. My grandma was the greatest woman in my life so seeing the girls and theor special relationship with my momma makes my heart melt.

How was everyones Thanksgiving? I think I ate more then three weeks worth of points so thats sucks and I guess I will have to make some major changes thins week.  Running, well that didnt happen much last week but I swear I am back at trying this week.

===========================================================================

Saturday my girls rang the Salvation Army bells, they were so cute.  There wasnt one old man that could say no to them.  It was fun to watch. One man even looked at them and said " That is not even fair" as he put his money in the kettle..  Yhe girls were so cute ringing the bell, singing and saying " we wish you a merry christmas"...

What amazing little girls I have, They did so good, well untill the last half hour when Ayva had her temper tantrum and had to go sit in the car but you will have that when they are three.

===============================================================================

In other news....Okay lets face it I am not that exciting, there isnt much In other news, but it sounds fun...I am working on finding a good template for this blog, something that says "ME". So you will see many changes, I am sorry,  It takes me while to make up my mind...

And it goes

So here it is Friday...What a crazy week it has been..
Weight Watchers has actually gone pretty well.  Yesterday was the only day I went over my points...I have only got Starbucks once this week and I ran once..Okay yeah I know what you are thinking, only once?  Yeah I was lazy...Depending on how tired I am tonight when I get home from work I may try a bit...I am so hungry though..Lol...

 So, the holidays are coming and this year we will be starting our own tradition...What traditions do you all have?



Fun Photos Alert....
So, for our 5 year anniversary I scheduled a fun photo shoot with a friend of ours and I got the disk yesterday...I love em..He is so good. We had so much fun.    Here are the best ones....

So fun...

Meet Charlie

This is my friend CHARLIE...

You will never EVER meet anyone like this kid.  He is special.  Why is it that he is special?  Hmmm, where do I begin? 

He is special because of his killer personality, his charm (hence the name Charmander) and his over all good looks...

Only this boy could melt my heart the way he does.  Esp. when for absolutely no reason at all he looks over at me and says " I love you". 

Only this boy could bring a whole community together.

And only this boy could walk into a room and just make every one smile. 

I can say that my life has became whole meeting this kid. He has shown my kids and I that life doesnt revolve around us and that giving is more important then receiving and that helping others is more important . Charlie is a true Super Hero...

This is Trisha, she is Charlies mom... This woman should get Mother of the year award EVERY year.  If you ever think your job is tough, follow her around for an hour.  She is the kindest, sweetest woman that I have ever met. She has been a great friend to me. Calling me when my kids are sick or when I am sad. Really? I should be calling her every day to see how she is doing yet she finds time in her busy day to see how my girls are doing.  Wow...Who does that?  This woman does.  She spends day in and day out taking care of Charlie.  She doesnt even think twice about it she just does it and she does it with a smile on her face. 

So, my whole reason for introducing you all to these people is to show you in real life what your kindness and generosity can do and who it could help. 

Its so easy to drop money in a donation box, or something like that but how often do you get to see the face of the life you have helped to save.  So what I ask all of you is this, when you are out spending hundreds of dollars on Christmas gifts, for kids that do not need any more toys think about giving to a child in need. 

Charlie is just an example of a little boy in need who managed to bring a whole community together last year around this time.  There are so many kids in this area in need of just a toy, or just a bite to eat. Think about it... 

Just sayin....

What will you be doing to help this holiday season?

Holy Cats....

Smoke Free for 6 weeks yall...

Seemed like I wouldnt make it past the first day, and I am now almost 2 months through.... Holy cats that is insane....
Guess it is a good time to start a new challenge....

1....2....3.... GO...

Is any one even watching this?

So I did it.  "what now" you may ask.  I took those dreaded before pictures and oh my god.  I want to cry, in fact I did cry.  I will not be posting them if that is what you are thinking. No way, so it will be okay to scroll down this page.  But yeah NASTY. How did I let it get that bad? I have lived my whole life eating whatever I wanted and never gaining a pound. In fact I was so skinny that I was always asked the question if I had an eating disorder. No way, I was just skinny.  I think that now I have an eating disorder.  I can not stop eating.  I love to eat, and when I do, I do not stop when I am full, I keep going untill it is gone, sometimes I even go for more....So what am I doing to change this?

WEIGHT WATCHERS.....

Yeah I did it.  I didnt want to spend the money but I did it.  I have bene doing it for three weeks but it has been a struggle.  I havent been as dedicated as I could or should be...NO more...Tomorrow I go hard core Weight Watchers.  Even when I struggled I seemed to lose two pounds.  So please stay tuned and follow my journey.  I am also starting C25K again tomorrow.  This time there is no slacking...My goal is to lose 30lbs in the next few months...Or atleast fit my clothes comfortably....:) STAY TUNED.....

New job/ Field Trip/ Running and um yeah....

Okay so I have realized I am not good at writing in here.  I really need to add that to my list of things I need to get accomplished.  Anyways, GOOD NEWS ALERT...
I got a job.  Well I got that job bartending some Saturdays of the month but they offered me to run their banquet hall.  I had to think about it, and think about it hard.  I swore off working in restaurants but the more and more I think about my life I realize, I never struggled with that line of work.  I was good at it and didnt have to worry about my contract being up and losing my job every year.  My bosses rock.  They are pretty laid back and are open to all ideas, which makes everything easier.  I am super excited. I can use my personality that got me fired from the last job and make money doing it.  This will be an amazing and fun experience and I can still stay home with Ayva...Score.

Field Trip
Graci had her very first Girl Scout field trip this weekend to a farm.  It was fun, a bit stressful but fun.  Andy went to a Packer game so I had to bring Ayva with, not again will that be done.  She was tired.  Pretty well behaved just tired and crabby.  All in all it was a great trip. Fun to see Graci having fun with her girlfriends.

RUNNING....
Ahhh.. I was doing so well following my Couch 25k program but finished week 2 last Monday and slackedoff the rest of the week and today.  So tomorrow I start back up.. 

On another exciting bit of news.  Saturday was my two week mark for NOT smoking...Wow, I made it two whole weeks. It hasnt been to hard.  I still want to smoke every single day and think about it all of the time. But I have been able to not do it...I do not notice any changes in my body like everyone said I would.  But maybe running will be easier after a little bit longer.  We will see and time will tell.
Okay well enough for tonight, Nighty night..XOXO

First week and a half down....

Well, the first week and a half of being a stay at home mom is over. We all made it and we are all adjusting well. A gigantic shout out to Ms. Beth and Ms, Sherry for allowing Ayva into Preschool LATE.  You two rock.  I was sad this summer knowing that Ayva was not going to be able to be in the best preschool program ever because of my new job. I felt like she was going to be missing out on all of the fun things Graci was able to do when she was this age.  So maybe losing my job was a blessing truly.  Yeah I was sad but with two weeks to deal with it, I realize that it wasnt for me.  Full time in a horribly stressful field raising a family is horrible on the body and mind.  I havent taken care of myself mentally in a LONG time and that was not working out for myself or my family.  I feel free now.  I feel like it is time to be the old me, the fun and very energetic person I used to be.  Those of you who know me know that I have crazy low self esteem, well this is the time to change it.  Yeah staying home hoe isnt always going to be glitter and rainbows and it will be very challenging but I am up for this challenge. I GOT THIS...

I started the Couch to 5K program last week and did pretty well.  I didnt die, and i really didnt hurt to bad.  Well yesterday I decided to do this outside with my dog.  It went pretty well, I actually felt pretty good and crazy proud of myself.  But today, let me say OMG...I feel like I was ran over by a truck.  It doesnt help that I am sick and my chest is killing me either.  My legs feel like they are going to give out on me at any moment and my ankles pretty much hate my guts as well.  Oh well, back at it tomorrow.  I am hoping to start the P90X program here soon too, but well one step at a time here.  I fear if I do to much right away I will hate it and not return to it, because lets face it, if I fail I give up.  Any tips out there for work outs please comment and let me know...I love to hear it all...~ XOXO

Hello

Yeah so. I know that noone follows this and thats not really why I am starting this blog up again really. I guess it is so I can show myself how my pregress is through this new life journey. I am a new stay at home mom, omg what am I thinking? Am I insane? Can I do this? The answer is yes to the last two, I am insane and I can do this. I am also starting a new and healthy life style. By this i mean I will be using the Couch to 5K program and P90X. Oh yeah, the laziest person you know is going to get fit..Ahhh. Here is to a whole new life. With alot of organization and creative ideas this will be fun. So here goes nothing...