Isaac and Owen

These cute boys were my test subjects, and aren't they so stinkin' cute? My friend Mandi let me practice baby pictures with her twins. I learned so much about taking baby pictures but it was super fun! They are so cute and little they make Boston look like Godzilla!!

Fun at the park

We decided to take advantage of the nice weather (and my finished homework) and go play at the park. Days like this make me so excited for this summer when I can just be a Mom and play with my little boy!


This is Boston's new pose. Most of the time he does it while waiting for me to throw him his ball. I'm so glad I caught it on camera because it cracks me up every time he does it!


Is there anything cuter than this smile? It seriously makes my day!


Patty-cake is his new favorite thing to play. All you have to say is "Patty-cake, Patty-cake" and he'll start clapping his hands and smiling. His favorite part is mark it with a B.


I love my little guy!

School is winding down. Field was horrible. The kids were fantastic, and my partner was fantastic so does that tell you anything? I'm debating posting the ranting post I almost published while in the class, but just saved it as a draft. Regardless, I'm almost down to two semesters left!! I can't wait! This summer I plan on learning about photography as much as possible.

PS. If any of you are looking for a book to read I just finished White Like Me by Tim Wise. This book really made an impact on me. It's all about white privilege, which I didn't know existed, and really opened my eyes. I hope you all read it. :)

What if...

What if I were an ice cream sundae?
Would I be vanilla or something more daring?
I would definitely have hot fudge
And caramel is a MUST.
Nuts? It depends on the day.
My whipped cream would be perfectly set (yeah right)
No cherry, only strawberries please.

What if YOU were an ice cream sundae?

Sick of being Sick

Being sick blows. Being sick and being a mom blows. Being sick while being a mom, a wife, a student, and having to finish out the week as a teacher really blows.

Just in case any of you were wondering, I wouldn't recommend pairing those all together at once.

Going on day 6.


On the bright side I did get new contacts and I can finally SEE again. It's heavenly!

Exciting Stuff!

Maybe not for you but it's super exciting to me! Last October I was a size 22, almost a 24. Yeah I know. But yesterday I went shopping and I discovered I was a size 14 or 16 depending on the pants I tried on! I was thrilled beyond belief! And my shirt size is a large with room to spare! So needless to say I'm super excited and thought I'd share with my friends!

Useless ranting...or Pity Party?

I'm about to rant...so if you don't want to hear it don't read.
Why in the world is losing weight so hard? Sometimes this being skinny thing is no fun...although I wouldn't condsider myself skinny, but I'm trying to think like a skinny person. You constantly have to be working out, like an hour a day and your favorite unhealthy foods become a once every few months treat and then when you do eat that food (i.e. Ice cream and a cookie) you get sick.

Whew. Ok. I got that off of my chest. I have been working really hard to be healthy and really change my body. It's working and good changes are happening, but there are days...or weeks...where I want to quit and go back to my overeating and unhealthy ways. This week has been one of those weeks where I want to throw in the towel.

I think normally what keeps me going is being able to work out. Working out gives me more energy, helps me feel better about myself, gives me a sense of accomplishment, and makes it easier to eat well. The last two weeks I've probably worked out 4 or 5 times, which for me, is not good. My will power to resist temptation goes right out the door. This week I helped myself to pizza, cookies and ice cream (big mistake) as well as cheesy enchiladas and Cafe Rio. All of this has set me back and it's been frustrating. I've worked so hard to get to where I am today, literally 6 months at least and now part of me feels like I've thrown it all out the window. Now, I know that based off of what I've eaten this week I'm not going to gain all of that weight I've shed back, but Even a couple pounds is frustrating. Mostly because I could have done better.

I've been waiting forever to have a big juicy burger at red robin, and if I had stayed on track I could have had it this weekend. But now I'm back to a couple weeks away.

I know that compared to all the real problems people have my overeating and lack of exercise is super lame, but to me my weight has been a huge (no pun intended) trial in life. I'm tired of being limited because I'm not taking care of my body, but it's hard undoing all of the bad you took years to do in the first place.

I started at 225, and I NEVER want to be there again. I'm now at 187, and I still have about 40 pounds to go before I reach my goal. I just wanted to throw myself a little pity party before I suck it up and keep going.

In all honestly I feel great. Better than I've felt in years. I'm amazed at the strength that my body is gaining each week. This is my new way of life and I've never been happier. It's just hard saying goodbye to all of those old habits.

I love food. I still love it, I just have to change my relationship with it. :)

So that's my post. It's out there, and now I can get back on the saddle and keep going forward. :)

Birthday Bash and Weekend Crash

Ok, there was no weekend crash so to speak, but I'm not creative enough to think of anything that rhymed with bash that fit with the post. So if you are more creative than me and can think of something that fits and rhymes with bash, keep it to yourself. lol.

So my birthday was at the end of February and my sweet husband really outdid himself. At the stroke of midnight we were laying in bed watching forensic files (is that weird?) and suddenly out from under the covers he pulls out a little gift. First of all I wasn't expecting any gift, other than flowers maybe, and second I definitely wasn't expecting a gift to be pulled out of nowhere. So I opened the gift to find something that fulfilled my every birthday present desire. It was...



An Ipod Nano! Heck yeah baby! Not only is it small enough that I can easily take it running and work out with it, but it also has a fantastic video camera (which I have been using daily) as well as live radio! After a year of silence in my car I finally have something to listen to again! For those of you who are asking why I have had a year of silence in my car let me tell you. Two days before we moved here my car wasn't broken into...ok fine...they may have just opened the door I didn't lock...and stole my radio.
I'll admit silence is nice, and I still find myself just enjoying the quiet, but it's incredibly nice to have the option of my own music, my favorite radio stations, or silence. LOVE IT! So it's pretty much the coolest gift ever!
That day we also got sick of our computer and bought a new MacBook Pro. I'm using it to make this post right now. We love it. It's so nice to have a computer that works!
That night my parents came over and I cooked for them. I know most people like to be cooked for on their birthday, but I love to cook for others so that was really a present to me. I made amazing grilled chicken teriyaki and vegetable crepes. They were amazing! Chris said they scored a 10 out of 10, which is a rare score. Usually I get a 7 or 8. Since I don't really love cake I decided to continue with the crepe theme and make raspberry crepes. I also had the options of Nutella and bananas in case they didn't want raspberries. The combination of two and even the three are to die for. Here is a picture which doesn't do it justice at all.




And here are my very full parents



And because it was my birthday I refused to clean up and wouldn't let anybody else either. So here's the mess I woke up to the next morning.



And just to make this post even longer...
This last weekend we went with my family to Wolf Creek. It was so nice to just relax and get away from it all. I had every intention of using it as a good opportunity to do some homework and get a jump start on this next week. The only problem was that I left the books that I needed in order to do it. So I took it as a sign and didn't do anything but play with my family. Here are a couple pictures of my two favorite boys enjoying just hanging out.




This last one is just for fun and makes me laugh every time I see it.

New Favorite

My new favorite evil/wonderful indulgence?

Red Grapes dipped in warm Nutella

Trust me. It will change your life.

I found a cd with my bridals on it. I haven't seen these for a really long time and I thought I'd post a few...or many:)

So that you all think I'm not just about me there are some with Chris and I before we were engaged!

*Disclaimer* After I posted them for some reason they are squished and make me look fatter than I was at the time...I still like them though. I just thought you should all be aware of that fact...not that it really matters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

People amaze me.

Not in a bad way (though that happens sometimes too). People amaze me in a good way. For example I have this friend who I saw today (you know who you are) and I would love to shape my life after her. She is always such a positive person. She's on bed rest and will be for at least 7 more weeks...:D. She is not allowed to even sit up. She is on her side all day and she is finding projects to keep her occupied and has the best attitude. I'm sure she has moments where being on bed rest isn't her favorite, but I bet all she has to do is think of those adorable twin boys growing inside her and she's excited to be on her side again. She's even hand sewing them quilts! Amazing, I love her positive outlook on life and her ability to not let herself get down.

Another person that I try and model my life after is my husband, Chris. He works so hard, and it's incredibly rare if a complaint ever escapes his lips. I find myself complaining all the time. I wish I could naturally be more like him and just keep my thoughts to myself and press forward, but sometimes I get stuck in complaining mode. Once you start, the complaints become like a thick mud and you really have to make an effort to get unstuck from them...then you complain about your lost shoe in the mud or how dirty your feet are and POOF you're back where you started. I know that he gets annoyed by things, but he keeps it to himself and tries to look at the positive. If he can't find the positive he just puts his head down and gets to work.

Another one of the people that I try to model my life after is my mother. She is the most hard working person I know. She just keeps moving forward and works her tail off. She is constantly going. In the process she manages to touch many, many people's lives. I have had many people come up to me and tell me what a positive influence my mother has had on them. I would like to have people say that about me someday.

So these are my thoughts as I go to bed tonight. I have been blessed to be surrounded by so many people who I respect and admire. I would name all of you individually but that would make for an incredibly long post. I'm thankful that Heavenly Father has blessed me with so many people who are better than I am in so many ways so that I can look to their positive examples and try to pull out the good so that I may become a little better...or a lot better.

Anyway. Thanks to all of you.