Will Run for Chocolate!!!

After Little A was born in November 2011, I kept telling myself I would run a 5K at some point in 2012. That was my fitness goal: to be able to run a 5K. I didn’t get serious about it until close to the end of the year when I saw this: 

This was amazing! If any of you know at least one thing about me, it’s probably that I LOVE chocolate.  I could combine my fitness goal AND my favorite sweet treat. 

Seriously? 

I’M IN!

The race wasn’t actually until January 2013, but better late than never, right? 

With this being my first race, I didn’t want to go it alone, so I told my little sister about it. 

This girl. 

I am so proud of her! 

She has lost 80 lbs and is an exercising fool! 

(I’ll actually be sharing one of her healthy recipes tomorrow!)

We downloaded running apps onto our Iphones so we wouldn’t kill ourselves trying to train for the race. We used the free app 10K for Pink. It’s very handy. It starts you out doing intervals of running and walking so you don’t jump right into running and give up. 

So race day came.  We arrived bright and early, or in this case, dark and early. 

We put on our race bibs and went to our race corrals!

There were close to 20,000 runners in the 15K & 5K. That place was packed!

We started at Turner Field, ran a 3.2 mile loop, and finished back at Turner Field.

It took us 38 minutes and 32 seconds to finish the race. 

I’m pretty proud of us!

After the race we enjoyed our finisher’s mugs! 

We got lots of tasty treats to dip in chocolate, and a cup of hot chocolate to go with it! 

Fitness Goal? 

Check! 

Tasty Chocolate?

Check!

Cool Race Hoodies?

Check!

Fun day with my little sister?

Check! 

I think this one was a winner! 

I’m gonna be doing it again next year! 

Summer Whirlwind

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind for me. I visited my family for a week. I came home for a few days, then my sister and two friends stayed with me for another week. We had fun times, but it was a relatively busy time for me. I thought I might owe my followers a new post.

My next adventure is going to be making homemade baby food for Little A. I’m reading a book right now called, The Wholesome Baby Food Guide. It is chock-full of yummy recipes for little ones. I think I’ll post a few pictures so you can follow along with me.

On a completely different note, I have been sucked into reading the Fifty Shades trilogy. I’m almost finished with the third book now. It has taken me less than a week to read them. I’m pretty sure I’m going to reach my personal goal of reading 10 books over the summer. That makes 6 for me so far!

Where Did Summer Break Go?

I feel like summer is just beginning, and really it is. Summer officially started only three weeks ago. Unfortunately for us (and the rest of our county) school starts in just 16 days!  AAACK! I mean, seriously? Who came up with this school schedule? This is not at all the calendar that I voted for last year. From what I can tell, based on quite a few conversations with other parents in our school system, almost no one voted to start school on August 1st. 

BOO! BOO, I say! 

We live in Metro-Atlanta. It’s freakin’ 100ºF outside during the summertime! Last I checked, August is STILL summer. Our kids are going to roast on the school bus and during recess.

Whatever. I guess they ask the parents to vote on a school calendar to give us the illusion that our opinion counts. 

__________________________

Stepping off soapbox now....

We have been staying busy since school got out. We had a week of Vacation Bible School, the girls and I visited my family for a week, we took a trip to Helen, GA. In between, we’ve had play dates, trips to the library, and trips to Six Flags White Water. Lots of fun! 

I’ve been slacking from my blogging because, quite frankly, my kids come first. Sorry, readers. If I’m wrapped up in doing something with or for my kids, that’s what I’m focusing on. I do have some new things in mind for my blog. I’m working on a weekly (or bi-weekly) video segment that Big A and I will be doing together, as well as more DIY projects and tutorials. I can’t wait to share my new ideas with you.

Meanwhile, I’ve already become involved in a new and exciting thing! 

I’ll be part of a group of blogs that will be reviewing books at the request of the authors,  and sharing them with our followers. I am super excited about this! I love reading, so I am absolutely honored to be part of a wonderful project that my great friend Sage has put together! My first book review will be coming in about a month, so keep an eye out for it! 

Abracadabra!!!

Something that you should know about me is that I’m a total Disney freak!

My siblings and I used to have Disney movie marathons. We would close the curtains in the living room, making it as dark as possible. Then, we would choose a line-up of movies to last us all day long, pop some popcorn, bring our pillows and blankets in and set up our spots (sometimes rotating who gets to sit where in between movies) and we would watch, sing along, and even recite the lines with each movie. 

Aladdin happens to be one of my favorite Disney movies. Unfortunately, I only owned it on VHS (before today), so we couldn’t watch it unless we put it in the VCR (what’s that?!?!) in Big A’s bedroom. When we were visiting my family last week, my little sister  found out that Middle A had never seen Aladdin. Being the Disney freak that she is (see? I’m not the only one!), she got onto the internet on her Kindle Fire, found it on DVD, and ordered it right then and there. It arrived today, so naturally we had to watch it. 

I know this isn’t technically using the word abracadabra in my post, but here’s one of my favorite songs from the movie....which coincidentally includes today’s word. 

Enjoy!

What’s the Word?

I know I’m supposed to find a creative way to include the words from ‘What’s the Word’ into my regular posts, but I have been incredibly busy lately, so I’m slacking in the blog post department. 

Since the word for today is bellybutton, I will share with you a favorite photo of MY bellybutton. 

My pregnant belly. That’s Miss Middle A inside!

Childhood Nostalgia

Today, the girls and I went to my grandparents’ house to visit and play.
We call their place ‘The Farm’ because it’s a piece of farmland, even though it’s not technically a functioning farm.
The photo below is just part of their property.

The view from our quilt.

As we were lying on a quilt under a pecan tree, I thought of the hundreds thousands of wonderful memories I have of my siblings, my cousins, and myself spending time there. A rush of emotion ran over me. It was a fusion of nostalgia, sadness, happiness, and longing.

Grumpy & Middle A sitting on a bench by the creek.

I have many wonderful memories of all the things my grandparents and I did together. I love my grandparents. They were a huge presence throughout my childhood. Their house was on the same bus route as ours, so we would ride home from school to their house and play all afternoon. In the summertime, my mom would take us to The Farm whether Grandma & Grumpy were home or not. We would play outside for hours, until mom said it was time to go home.

My siblings and I got this wagon for Easter when we were young. It has a new paint job, but it’s still in great condition!

I am saddened because I can’t just go to The Farm whenever I want with my kids. I learned how to ride my bike there. I caught crawdads in the creek. We played Pooh Sticks on the bridge. I helped Grumpy plant his garden....then helped him pick the veggies. We played hide & seek in the two barns on the property. I wish I could take my kids there more often so they can experience those same things I did. I know they’ll get to have these experiences at some point. It just seems more special to me to even think that we could share those same memories with my grandfather at his home....and yet we can’t, since we live four hours away.

Big A & myself, lying on the big quilt under the pecan tree.

I’m still happy that I get to visit when I am in town. I love taking my kids there so they can see a little slice of my childhood. Sharing my childhood with my kids is one of my favorite things. I love telling Big A stories about the things her aunt, uncles & I did when we were young. Luckily, our mom either took pictures of everything or recorded it. We have a great record of our childhoods. It’s so much fun to share it with my girls. I try so hard to create the same fun, carefree, creative and loving environment I had as a child.

Middle A making her, “Oh, you want to take a picture of me?” face.

I would like so much to be able to spend our summers at The Farm; to just lie on a quilt in the shade of one of the many trees Grumpy has planted (some with our help) and watch my girls play the days away. That particular tree we were sitting under today was one that I helped Grumpy plant. The memories I have of my grandparents will always be some of my favorite. I guess I just need to make a conscious effort to create more when we come to visit.

What’s the Word?

I know that technically it’s day five since it’s past midnight, but I have to post for day four since we actually did something pertaining to the word today yesterday.


Blowing bubbles is one of Middle A’s favorite things to do, so it’s no surprise that it was part of our day today.

She’s learning how to properly blow a bubble.

She is patient enough now to blow gently so bubbles actually come out of the wand. 

That’s hard for a two year-old....patience & control. 

She loves trying to catch them. Usually it’s with her mouth, though. I couldn’t catch her in the act, but I did catch this one of her trying to catch one with her hand.

Even little A got in on the action!

That moment when..... (for mommies)

That moment when you realize you haven't heard a peep from your toddler for 10 minutes and you find him creating his best masterpiece on his bedroom wall.....in permanent marker.

That moment when your child tells you she has to pee, you look down, and she's standing in a puddle.

That moment when you're holding your baby above your head playing with him.....and he throws up in your mouth.

That moment when you take the diaper off your baby and realize it's messier than you thought.....and there's only one wipe left.

That moment when your toddler is screaming bloody murder, so you rush to her as fast as you can.....and find out she's afraid of an ant.

That moment when you find out that your child has evidently learned how to remove his diaper himself.....because you're quite positive that stain in your carpet doesn't smell like chocolate.

That moment when you realize you just put the only diaper you had left on your child.....and it's 1:00am. 

That moment when you tell your child to be careful with her drink....and before you can even get the words out of your mouth, she looks like she's bathed in it.

That moment when your kid runs up to you and says, "Look, mom! Tattoos!" because he drew all over his arms, legs, & face with a permanent marker.

That moment when your child looks at you and says, "I love you," just because she wanted to.

That moment when you're snuggling on the couch and you can think of nothing that would be better than that moment.

That moment when you see your kid's face light up because he discovered something new.

That moment when your child comes to give you a kiss just because you're his mommy.

That moment when your child snuggles up close to you in your bed and it's like she fits there perfectly in your arms. 

I'm still going strong!

Do you remember this post from a few weeks ago when I vowed to give up chocolate for Lent?

It has been over a month since I last had chocolate. 

I have had zero. 

None.

Zilch.

I didn't even lick the spoon after stirring my daughter's chocolate milk. 

I stuck to my word.
I'm not gonna lie. There were moments when I was standing in the checkout line at Wal-Mart looking at the Kit Kat bars, fighting the urge to grab one. I wanted it so badly I could literally taste the chocolate in my mouth.
But I fought the urge!

Now......

I am counting down the days until I can have some chocolate. 

Only a few more left!

I've been missing out on my favorite piece of candy ever: Cadbury Creme Eggs. 

Of course, the grocery store I do all of my shopping at has them positioned right as you walk in the door. Seriously. You have to walk past them to get into the grocery store. 

Not cool, Kroger. Not cool at all!

All I'm sayin' is the Easter Bunny had better be leaving Mommy some super chocolatey goodies in mine & Daddy's Easter basket on Sunday. 

Easter Egg Hunts & Owls

This weekend I took Middle A & Little A to an Easter egg hunt. 

Little A is obviously too small to participate this year, but Middle A had fun!

The poor kid only got 4 eggs. Every time she bent down to get one, a bigger kid would come by and scoop it up before she could. I felt so bad for her, but she didn't care. She was just happy she got some eggs (or as Middle A says, "Aigs"). After the hunt was over, a little boy came over and put a few handfuls of eggs in her basket for her. Sweet, right?

Here is Little A hanging out with Grammy.

Middle A swinging and grinning!

This week is Spring Break. Big A has gone to Tennessee to spend time with my family. She loves being able to go by herself. I think it makes her feel big and independent. She has so much fun spending time with my parents and my siblings. I, of course, get picture message updates a few times a day to keep me up to speed with all of their adventures. 

Meanwhile, here at home I'm working on getting the house cleaned up and organized. I went to Hobby Lobby last week and bought some super-cute owl print PUL to make diapers out of. That's my motivation to get all of the cleaning and organizing done. I refuse to start sewing until the house is clean. It's my motivation. 

Look how stinkin' cute this PUL is!

Source

I'm gonna get my butt in gear and get the house clean tomorrow so I can get to work on those suckers! 

Excuse the mess. I have kids.

Do you ever feel like you're always behind and can never catch up? 

When I was growing up, my mom had this sign in our kitchen that said:

"Cleaning house while the kids are growing is like shoveling snow while it's still snowing."

I've discovered that there are probably no truer words than those.

I'm always thinking to myself, "If I can just get caught up on the house work, I can get started on 'x' project or 'y' project."  The thing is, I never feel like I'm caught up. I've tried different types of schedules and lists, only to fall back into a funk. I have a running list of projects I want to work on. As a matter of fact, I have an order of about 400 sets of plastic snaps on the way so I can make more diapers and replace some existing snaps that have gotten melted in the dryer. I want to be able to sit down and work on those new diapers without feeling guilty about not cleaning house. I want to be able to do that with any project I might want to do. I had David pick up two cans of spray paint a couple weeks ago so I could make something to hang in our living room (which will be shared in a later post) but I still haven't gotten started. 

I've heard that making yourself an hourly schedule really helps to keep you on-task throughout the day. I've tried making a daily outline of what to accomplish each day of the week by assigning a room and a particular load of laundry to a certain day of the week. That doesn't work for me. I think I need to be more specific. I also need to work in daily devotional time and time to exercise. 

Do any of you have suggestions? Websites? Cleaning outlines that work for you? 

Share with me! (Please!) 

I've been super-busy lately, so I'll make up for the lack of blog posts with a photo bomb. 

Deal?

These are the moments that I love so much.

Those simple, do-nothing times.

Just laying on the floor together watching a cartoon.

Or even playing some classic Candy Land with Nana.

Going to the park to feed the geese and the fish.

Washing the car on a hot day in March so we can stay cool.

Fairy wings evidently make you the water hose operator. Just FYI.

Of course, if mommy's car needed washing....so did Middle A's wagon.

We had to take her shiny new ride for a spin!

So we went for a walk.

Little Miss Sunshine here got the easy ride.

She was very demanding, and told Daddy which turns to take.

But in the end, no one can do the job better than she. 

This week is a crazy week. Our church has a huge consignment sale twice a year and yours truly is a team member. I love consignment sale week. Shopping for my daughters is one of my favorite things. Also, Mommy needs a little social time. I think it's a win-win situation. The girls get new wardrobes and I get to socialize with some of my favorite girls from church (while sorting clothes & toys, of course). 

Unfortunately, since I am volunteering more than 20 hours there this week my house is a wreck. I have no clue how I kept this sucker clean when D and I both worked full-time. Of course, we only had one child and no one was home during the day to mess it up. Yeah. That's it.

 Instead of cleaning, I've been sewing. Little A has outgrown her prefolds & covers, so I'm sewing new ones for her. Big A saw me sewing one of the new covers and liked the fabric I was using. She asked me to make her a headband. Now of course, big sister can't do anything without little sister (at least that's what Middle A thinks), so Middle A needed a headband as well. 

I am going to finish up my projects tomorrow or Friday and share pictures with you guys. I am seriously in love with the headbands. I make them reversible with coordinating fabrics. I need to make myself some. If I'm guilty of anything, it's not taking the time to make or buy myself new things. I do love seeing my girls in 'Made by Mommy' clothes, though!

Pictures will be coming soon, so sit tight!

February Fun

Yesterday was beautiful. 

 It was warm and breezy. 

 We spent some time outside.

 We graffitied the driveway.

 The girls were proud of their artwork.

 They worked very hard on it.

 We even played a little soccer....

 ....and baseball.

Middle A wanted to play tennis. Unfortunately for her, we haven't installed the courts in the front yard yet.

Hopefully more wonderful weather is to come!

Be a Sheep

I've noticed while looking at the stats for my blog that I've had people from Canada, Germany, Singapore, India & Indonesia taking a peek at some of my posts. I'm so excited that my silly little blog reaches that far out! I can rest easy knowing that even if I never make it to see some of those places, my blog has! 

Most of us have been told our whole lives not to be sheep. Don't conform. Be a leader, not a follower. Make your own path in life.

Well, now I am telling you...be a sheep! 

 Click, 'Join this site' right over there --> 

and become a follower of my blog!

Part of the reason I started blogging was so I could interact with others about things that I love to do. Don't be shy!  Leave me comments, feedback, opinions, whatever!