project sort of 365 {days 49-53}

so lots has gone on in our world this past week and a half...mostly involving sick little ones, which is never fun. {so you know by "lots of stuff" i mean, throw up, medecine, snuggles, whining, crying, liquid forcing, and oh yes, don't forget the hot dinarenas} so, again, not a lot to take pictures of, but still gave it a go.

once again...in reverse order :/ i swear i'll get it right next week!

{day 53}

this is such an incredibly rare occurance..both kids asleep on the couch at the same time...yeah, we know they are both still not feeling good. bo was so sweet and ran to grab the camera, something he never does. i am so glad he caught this moment for me...love these babies so much and just wish they were feeling better.
{day 52}
ava sleeping on the couch...never happens, she's totally sick. but looks like such an angel.

{still day 52}
total angel.

{day 51}

happy first birthday sweet boy. isn't he a doll! had so much fun out on his grandparents farm this past sunday! he is a total oudoorsy boy, just like my kids!

{day 50}

max. such a good boy.

{day 49}

hello squirrel...again. in her favorite "wish bear" shirt. the stars definitely make it a "wish bear" shirt. i decided our bedroom needed some major attention, so while hollis was napping i set ava up with the laptop and an instant movie from netflix while i worked! the light is so pretty in our bedroom. i am ready to get it all in order so it can be my "haven"...isn't that what the oprah says?! yes, this was before the sickness crept in on her...i miss that wild girl...ready for her return.

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WW update.

No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good

~ C.S. Lewis

yep, it's that time again! WW update!

things went pretty well last week...still trying to get more water down. gonna have to bust out my old giant cup i used to drag to school when i was teaching and keep on my desk all day to make sure i got enough water. i had it so together back in the day :) so, mom and i hit our ww meeting monday night...and i am down 3 more pounds!! yipee!! so total, since i started trying to lose weight, i am at a total of 10 lbs!

i am so happy and am trying not to think about the 30+ left to go. i'll get there, and for now i just want to celebrate feeling so much better about myself! and yes, keep trying very hard to be good!

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ww update...

hit weight watchers with my mama yesterday. lost a little bit, .08 to be exact. hey, i'll take it! as long as i'm losing, i'm a happy girl. i was a bit surprised it wasn't a little bit more though, i really watched what i ate and made lots of concious decisions to pass up some very yummy treats {think girl scout cookies, checken fettuccini alfredo, slurpee....could have had any of those, but decided not to...} going to continue on this journey and hope by my birthday i'll be feeling fab in a red polka dot swim suit!

plan for this week: work on cutting out more of the snacks.

work on adding in some exercise

drink.more.water {why is that so hard?! i love water!}

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project 365...sort of

didn't do so hot on the 365 this week...still going to continue...just try to pick up where i left off! not sure why this past week was harder..probobly because we didn't do much of anything, so i didn't feel like there was anything really exciting to take photos of. there were definitely a few special moments {ava writing her first "a"}, but they passed quickly and the camera was too far away to grab in a hurry. so i just got to enjoy them, which is nice, too :) so here are a few shots from the past week...

{day 45} valentine's day of course! one of ava's rocks. she has a knack for finding heart shaped ones. so she has her own heart shaped rock collection. this one is my favorite. maybe i should let her paint it....
{day 44} from a sweet family session. this home was full of love soaking in all the beauty of a new life.

{day 40} coldest.day.ever. seriously, my fingers froze from the walk from the car to the rec. center where ava's ballet class is. bbbrrrrrrrr....

{day 39} poppy swung by with the puppies. such a fun surprise! the kids love walking them :)

xo,

a

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l.o.v.e. ~ love

so valentine's day didn't quite go as planned...spent the morning at the doctor with hollis, his 18 month check up! he is perfect, we are so lucky. we did get to go to a movie and then i went to weight watchers with my mom...it really just felt like another day. sort of made me sad, but at the same time, i don't know why i feel like this man needs to go out and buy me stuff or plan some elaborate dinner lit by candles to show me he loves me when he shows me every day and has given me more than i ever could have hoped for. i think it scared me more than anything because i felt like maybe we were losing that spark...because we didn't feel the need to go out and do anything extra special or "romantic"...on the other hand, maybe we are comfortable and happy and that is a good thing...no amount of floral arrangements or fancy dinners could ever equal what our love has created. he can look at me and i know he loves me with every bit of who he is.

this is a photo from wwaayyyyyy back...probobly within the first two months bo and i started dating {i'm talking circa 2000, ya'll}. you know, when the butterflies are fluttering around in your belly and things can even be a little akward at times...but in a good way ;) we took a trip to the river with some of our friends. all i know is i am more in love with this man than ever and when his keys jingle in the door around 3:30 every afternoon, my heart still skips a beat.
xo,
a

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work in progress

Do not wait; the time will never be "just right'. Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along. ~Napoleon Hill

so many things about my life are a work in progress...especially my weight goals. but, i am on my way! oh how i wish i could go back to that fit 25 year old and slap her in the face, tell her to enjoy it and not worry so much.

i weighed in at weight watchers tonight, down two more pounds! yay! it felt really good! i was so glad i didn't gain. our scale has been broken so i had no idea where i was. i have been writing down everything i am eating and tracking my points, but a few of my days involved chocolate covered strawberries, pizza, beer, and friend pickles {so yummy!} i didn't go over my points on any day, but i do know that some of these things may not have been the healthiest choices. however, that is one thing i love about weight watchers. i can plan for these things and make them work into my plan. have a nice evening out, eat what i want and still manage to loose a few pounds! hoping this week i can do even better. i am really going to focus on working in even more healthy foods and trying to stay away from too much junk {even if i have the points}. this is really working for me and even though 40 pounds feels a little overwhelming, i feel like i am on my way!

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project 365 {day 31-35}

{day 35}

both kiddos in the snow...lasted all of five minutes...started with excitement and smiles and ended with both kiddosin tears because one wanted to go in and one wanted to stay out! lovely! snow is so much fun, but i am so thankful we don't have to deal with it on a daily basis in the winter time down here. it's really messy!

{ day 34}

my crazy girl in the snow. one of the new facial expressions i get when i ask her to look at the camera. lovely. {i guess it's better than sticking her tongue out at me...when flipping through shots, i usually have a few of those...stinker!}

{day 33}

yumm. arrived on my doorstep in the morning...totally derailed my diet for a few days. but oh so good!

{day 32}

ava in the snow. another new "pose" she strikes when i am taking her photo.

{day 31}

when hollis gets up from his nap i always change his diaper and then we spend a few minutes looking out his window. usually seeing what kind of mischief max and roxie are getting into. he loves watching them run and play in the backyard.

so yeah. lots of down time this week since we were stuck inside and lots of snow. uneventful, but nice to slow down and just be together.

xo,

a

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ice, ice baby...

it has been one crazy week around here...snow and ice came late monday morning and we haven't left the house since. {well, bo has to go to work, but the kids and i have been housebound} It has actually been pretty nice. I love looking outside and seeing the snow. it's so beautiful. i stocked up on groceries so we've had plenty to eat and honestly i feel like all i do all day is make meals, clean up meals, make meals, clean up meals....which i guess is how i usually feel, but the day is broken up by some outings. tuesday night was the coldest night in 15 years, 7 degrees with a windchill of -13...yes that is a negative sign people...so cold! i know that shortly the sun will come out, melt away the snow. temps will rise and before we know it we will be running around in shorts and tank tops sweating our buns off! so, i'm enjoying every single second of this frigid weather {and it's getting us ready for our minnesota trip, anyway! a little cold weather boot camp! ha!} just a few silly shots from this week...both over exposed, but the only ones i got of these fun moments...so you know, just enjoy :)

this child and his paci's! he cracks me up. this was the first time i've seen him perform this double paci stunt. cracked me up...and he thought he was pretty tricky!
the only shot i've gotten of both kids in the snow. just imagine, moments before i snapped, we had just gotten all layered and bundled up to go outside {yes, i see that hollis is in desperate need of some cold weather gear! as soon as i can get out i'll be getting it...but don't worry, i think he had on about 5 layers of clothes, he was nice and toasty}, as soon as we get out, i ask the kids for a picture and ava pushes hollis down in the snow...actually they both end up in the snow. hollis doesn't like it one bit and his fronyard snow venture is over. they both need some waterproof mittens...as soon as they get a little wet those little hands get pretty cold.
we only were able to stay out about 10 minutes because the wind really picked up and it started snowing again. we were all popscicles by the time we got inside...so then we had hot chocolate and some yummy taco soup to warm ourselves up!
so, that's been a little bit of our week. hibernating for the winter.
a

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