Lend me your ears.....

So, Julia somehow got something in her ear. Not sure when, not sure how. I just "happened" to be doing ears today and checked hers, noticing there was something in it. After 7 hours at the Naval Hospital - it's still in her ear. She will be going to an OR room later this week to have it removed by an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist. She had had about enough of people looking/poking in her ear and would not sit still long enough to get it out (about 3 seconds - according to the specialist). So, OR - here we come!! It better come out or else I think I will have a conniption fit! Ugh!! Due to all other circumstances, this was pretty much the only option we had left. Upon returning to the ER, the doctor that discharged us from the hospital was the same doctor that helped deliver Julia. Small world, eh? No wait... that's what happens when you never stinking LEAVE!! This next week looks pretty shot as far as my working out goes.... so ladies, you'll win the money this month... but next time - it's on like donkey kong!! (hehe)

Let's all keep our fingers crossed that Julia doesn't do this again... please????!!!

SALE SPOTTERS

on my latest adventure to find some sales, we (tara and I) found some good ones.


MILITARY MEMBERS - for this weekend only, you get 10% off your entire purchase at Old Navy, so if you aren't lucky enough to have an in store coupon, show them that ID!!

ALSO AT OLD NAVY - went to the one in Chesapeake, but the clearance sections (all over the store) are an ADDITIONAL 50% off lowest ticketed price. I didn't pay more than $3.50 for anything. (plus, if you are military you get an additional 10% - if you are lucky, you can get some AWESOME stuff CHEAP)

THE CHILDRENS PLACE - most of the store is $5. They have sweaters, jammies, shirts, pants, tights, etc. ALL for $4.99 (oh and brooke, don't get any accessories for that cute green sweater of Jude's - I bought a coordinating accessory for you)


GYMBOREE - they have their semi-annual sale going on and you can use your GYMBucks if you have earned any so far.

BATH AND BODY WORKS - their semi-annual sale is about to end. hurry in for your $5 wallflowers (which includes the aromatherapy versions that are NOT found with the other wallflowers. they have the same regular price listed, but are indeed $5) 4 for 10 soaps and a lot more.

I think that about sums it up for now, if you've found something great that we don't have posted, send us a line - we will put it up here AND we'll probably visit the store - we love a good deal. TTFN!

Blessing and Prayers

As a lot of you guys already know, my sister (not my youngest that most of you have met..) had to go in for an emergency surgery last night. She has two sweet little girls at home and a loving husband and was rushed to surgery last night upon finding out that she had an ectopic pregnancy that has been causing her pain for about a month. Unfortunately, she had an underlying symptom that caused the doctors to miss it at first. The pregnancy put strain on the fallopian tube which in turn pulled the appendix and moved her rectum as well which caused the intense pain she suffered at irregular intervals. They had to remove the fallopian tube with the pregnancy in it because it had ruptured and was completely irreparable. They also noticed that the appendix was under strain and therefore inflamed so they took that out as well to save her another surgery within the week. Her mother-in-law was blessed enough to fly out first thing this morning to be with her family to help with the girls. Her youngest daughter, Ella hadn't been able to take a bottle up until this time - but her grandmother worked her magic and she had her first bottle while her mother was still at the hospital. I know many of you have been thinking about her and praying for her - thank you so much! The power of prayer is an amazing thing and we are so lucky and blessed to have it in our lives and to be able to exercise and ask for His help. Once again, thank you so much to everyone! Those of you with younger siblings, you know how you feel as though you need to protect them - so naturally I was afraid for her to have to go into a surgery and basically have her life saved.

It's that time again......

Close to meltdown? Why? Oh, just because my husband is gone, that's all. It's amazing the things that will go wrong when my husband is gone (AND NOT EVEN FOR A WEEK YET!!). What broke down/went chaotic this time you ask? Oh, just my only mode of transportation. The "service engine soon" light came on on Friday night. Yup, way fun. The blessing of it all (and may I also add that with every crisis while my husband is away, there is a tremendous blessing that accompanies it) is that the problem isn't too serious. Unfortunately, it looks like the fix may be a bit involved which means that if that is the case, I will be donating some money to the Nissan dealership here pretty soon. Gotta love those forced donations, I really miss my wonderful "fix it" husband at times like these!! On a slightly nicer note, I still have been doing well with my exercising and weight loss goals. I'll have to weigh in on Monday to see how well I've done. Keep up the good work ladies, I know you all have been working hard.

Excited.... again!

More people have joined the group for a healthier 2010! I'm so excited. I just want to go run a 5K or something!! Ladies, we can do it! I hope that snow doesn't show up so that I can get to the gym tomorrow. Nighty Night!

Tooting my horn.....

Yes, sometimes in life, I believe that you need to toot your own horn. Why, you ask? Because I'm so stinkin excited!!! I have been faithful for a full two days so far on this weight loss journey. I feel amazing, I have stuck with it and I'm really proud of myself! Sadly, I'm even going to miss a special birthday celebration lunch because I don't want to go over my calories for the day. (sorry Deborah... hopefully I see you at the gym so I can give you your present). Yeah, pathetic huh? BUT... that's how I roll! I have to do it that way or I don't have a shot at winning. Well.... gotta hit that gym!

So excited

I'm extremely excited that you all are going to be seeing less of me very soon. I'm starting a "biggest loser" challenge with some friends tomorrow and I'm getting really excited. I think it will be a lot of fun and it will be awesome to achieve our goals together. I've been diving into quite a few books lately about eating and exercise and I have a few things that I want to try out. I've even gone so far as to print out some intimidating pictures of Jillian Michaels off the computer to put around my kitchen/house. Whenever you all come over, you're going to see all sorts of motivation up on the walls/cabinets. That's my defense to the wonderful (yet unhealthy) sugars and ice cream waiting to be consumed. I'm pumped to get pumped. YAY!!

I'm also really excited about the new YW personal progress program. Since they recently added virtue to the list, they have come out with some new books and guidelines. Now any woman can do this program! Mothers can do it with their daughters, non-members can do it, and I can do it! The medallions have changed a bit and are so exciting, that I HAVE to earn one! So, I will be working on my Womanhood recognition medallion this year as well. Oh... to achieve. I just have so much hope and look forward to this year. Clean slate, and I'm determined to stay on track! CARPE DIEM!!!

Happy New Year!!

Now to start our 2010!!! A new year, new beginning, better life. At least we are striving and hoping for a better life this year, after all, that is what I am constantly striving to achieve. I think 9-12 church will be a nice start..... ahhhh. Sunday naps.... here we come!

A few of my resolutions are:
* lose 30 lbs
* become more organized
* do better at saving $
* better at scripture study


Let's see if I can tackle these first - that will give me enough work to get the year started.

Patient Much???

Ok, I stumbled across this just now while trying to check that weather for the coming week. STINKIN HILARIOUS!!!! Be sure to notice the time in the bottom left hand corner of the video.

Merry Christmas!

After a day of hustle and bustle around our neck of the woods, we are VERY happy to be taking it easy today. A nice day at home, with family. I'm already up with Hunter (didn't I predict it?) and the girls should be up shortly to begin our present pandemonium. Last night's shepherd's dinner went well, even though it happened a lot later in the evening than I was planning. Most of all, I wish you ALL a very Merry Christmas. May you always remember the reason for this season and try to keep that with you all year long.

Christmas Eve Photoshoot

Our family had a quick photoshoot today to get some last minute gifts for grandparents and to make sure we have a family photo before Jeremiah ships off. If you want to see our mugs... click here. I know, my face doesn't look the best in some of them. I guess me and white don't get along much.

One more night....

Honestly, I don't know who gets more excited about Christmas time...me, or my kids. I think I'm going with me this year. Yes, they truly showed a bit more excitement this year for those "traditional" Christmas beliefs, but I sure do enjoy watching them open their presents and watching Jeremiah open his too - even though he usually already knows what they are. I love the Christmas Even Shepherds dinner, that really just makes it feel real (if you haven't heard about it already, you can ask me sometime). Then, sleeping that night is like the night before the first day of school or a Homecoming (Navy). You get all jittery, so stinkin' excited for what the morning will bring.
I'd like to say that the whole, matching pj's and robes thing is TOTALLY the picture you would capture on Christmas morning as we walk in our slippers (also matching) to open presents and have some REALLY AWESOME breakfast. However... that is still a big ginormous dream for me. One day we will look like a picture out of a Sears catalog, just not this Christmas. I foresee it actually going a lot more like: Hunter keeps us awake all night so we have black bags under our eyes by the time the girls drag us out of bed. Then, we hobble down the stairs and watch the girls open their presents WAY too fast, and end it bumping around the kitchen trying to scrounge up that really great breakfast. Sounds way too exciting, right? Well... I'm going to love it either way.

As a WAY awesome side note, I stayed on target today with my eating log. Hooray!!

Health Blip

My progress from my post awhile ago to lose weight after baby really hasn't gone anywhere. I'm pretty much stuck at the same weight from before - so I'm taking it a bit further by posting my game plan and maybe even starting an incentive for anyone else interested in losing weight with me.

Game Plan: I have my pieces of paper up in my kitchen to remind me to drink more water, eat more fruits and vegetables, and stop eating sugars. I need to remind myself that eating too much sugar leads to diabetes, that is something I definitely don't want to struggle with as an elderly member of society - so I'm going to try to pretend that I have it now. I will allow myself one SERVING of a sweet that I've been craving all day long. I am not going to give in to every craving I have throughout the day. Also, if I'm watching a movie with my kids/husband or just on my own....I'm going to do crunches while I watch as well as some other simple moves I can do in front of the Teley. I will stop eating foods at 7pm and only allow myself to have water. I am also sticking to a 1500 calorie diet to help me jump start my weight loss. I plan to burn a minimum of 500 calories at the gym 6 out of 7 days of the week. That way, I am burning close to 2 lbs a week. I am hoping to almost be completed with my weight loss goal by the time Easter rolls around. My goal is 140lbs - which puts my body in a size 8. I know for some of you that is bigger than you are - but for me that is a good weight/size. I envy those of you that are naturally thinner than that!! I wish I could have gotten a few of those genes =0)

As an extra incentive/push to stay on track - I am looking to enter the 14K run on February 13th for Valentines day in Virginia Beach. Yes, 8.67 miles. I am going to train (I know it doesn't give me much time - I am aiming to get as much training in as possible) Right now I have sick kids at home which doesn't allow me time to get to the gym - so I'm going to do my best with exercising around the house and then hopefully get a run in once Jeremiah gets home from work. I have two options that will still allow me to run wherever I have happened to train to by then.

My question for any of you that are on a weight loss quest. I think we should start a pool of money that someone NOT in the program holds on to for us in a jar - that is rewarded to the winner by the end of the period of time. For example: we go by body fat percentage lost in a 6 month period of time. Whomever has lost the most body fat will be awarded all the money. I think it would work best if we did an amount that most definitely is worth the work. I know 50 bucks is a little steep - but if 10 people do it, that's 500 in your pocket if you win! I like to think of it as a small wardrobe account for you to go buy some fabulous new clothes. Body fat percentage is the fairest way to measure progress simply because everyone is at a different fitness level. Anyone interested? We aren't stuck on the $50 investment...we'll talk about it if anyone wants to join in the fun.

These are our Devils Food Cake Crinkle cookies. Only one of the almost half-dozen cookies we baked this year.






Here's Melanie salivating over the peanut butter kiss cookies. YUMM! Yeah, we ended up having a TON of those!

December's Wagon

After 3/4 of a year of wanting to attend the Home Depot Children's Workshop, we finally got there for December's craft. The girls enjoyed making it - I think we may have to reinforce some of the pieces with real nails so that they'll keep for a bit. Mel whined at first but finally relented and joined in the building. Guess what their favorite part was?? The hammering of course! Hunter wasn't too fond of the outing and cried most of the time if he wasn't being held. Oh well. Hopefully we'll make it to more this next year!!

At it again...

So, one day I come upstairs to see this:

worst part was....I'm pretty sure the bandaid was Mel's used one for some minor cut I'm sure. The silly goose decided she was going to make a mustache out of it.







I tell ya.... some of the crazy.....disgusting things my daughter does. It would shock you!!

Thanksgiving

I know, Thanksgiving has been gone for almost a month now and here I am blogging about it. I was just too lazy to upload any pictures from the event and I really didn't get very many anyway! I was too busy keeping track of my little ones and trying to make sure I gave everyone a hug that I hadn't seen in years! Most of my cousins were there minus about 6 or 7. Here's the clan...



And then my little girlie decided to help rake leaves when we arrived.
>

Got around to....

I actually got some things checked off my list in the past Month! Hooray! Here's the VERY short list....

1. Making some hair bows for the kids. I loved it and look forward to making more. I couldn't get the best shots of them, so you'll have to settle for this.



2. Finishing a Project. Jeremiah found this sucker outside for trash and snatched it up. It really didn't appeal to me at first, but once we sanded it down and got it painted, it started to grow on me. Sorry, no before pictures, just this almost after one. I sanded the edges a bit to try to "antique" it - yeah... not as easy as it looks. P.S. Yes, the circle spot is from the sunlight, it wasn't on the finished project, promise!



3. Taking the kids to get a picture with Santa. We went to the Pembroke Mall and finally got our children in a mug with the jolly fellow himself. They were so excited for that this year. (It's the first year we took them to a mall Santa and get pictures at that!) To make a long story short, we waited for him over an hour (not because of a long line, we got there when he was going on break), Julia had an accident in her pants 20 minutes before he got back, then Mel had to go potty, then Hunter needed to be fed, oi it was crazy! Perks were that Santa was so sweet, writing down what they wanted for Christmas this year on a little notepad (i.e. ponies and barbies for Mel and ponies and Dora for Julia) and then autographed/personalized a little book for each of them.

Happy Birthday Me

So, happy birthday to me (yesterday that is). Thank you to all who sent me birthday wishes/cards/shared a meal with me. It was wonderful to know I was thought about on my "special" day. I'm finally a "Classic"! (Thank you for the terminology Tim) A quarter of a century has gone by. What exactly have I accomplished, you say? High School graduate, two broken wrists, 12 stitches (as a kid), a year of college completed, a temple marriage, and the delivery and raising of three children. Doesn't really sound like a whole bunch, huh? Yeah.... I'm thinking the same thing. Ugh! Boy do I have to make up for it in the next 25 years!! Hopefully I'll get to see a bit more of the world and do a few more things by then. Any ideas of some things I should definitely do by 50?

Finally December

Finally, one of my favorite times of year - well, my favorite month simply because it's the month I was born, I got married, and the month we celebrate Christmas! So many wonderful things happen during these 31 days. This year, it will be a bitter-sweet month. Jeremiah will be heading out for a while just after we have these wonderful 31 days together. The last few weeks before a deployment are always pretty hard on me.

Besides that, things are progressing. We have our Christmas tree up (which I finally realized - although practical for military families that move a lot - our tree sadly needs to be upgraded) along with our other few decorations for the house, we started (and finished) an entertainment center project that I think will end up being FABULOUS, and sorting through our "junk" is coming along nicely. Still way too much left to sort through, but we are getting there.

I dragged our little family out to see the "Beach Lights" last night. They were WONDERFUL! They had a section set aside for the 12 days of Christmas. Each light we passed represented part of the song. I loved it. Too bad Mel fell asleep and no amount of yelling or shaking could wake her up. She missed the WHOLE thing. Poor girl didn't even wake up until we got home. Julia loved the outing, she kept pointing out things that she thought were exciting and she tried to console her brother while he had a few crying spells along the way. Mark my words, Julia is going to be some sort of jokester/comedian when she grows up. It's just a little sad that most of the funny things she has/will pull are going to mortify her mother and maybe even scar me for life! I may never venture out in public again with her in tow.