Florida- The simple things I don't want to forget...

The beach vacation was awesome! Three full days of water, sun, and sand....and my family! No cell signals, no chores, no practices, no work.... Just me and time with my family! Totally priceless! And I am so thankful that God had this nice trip planned for us!

I thought I would take the time to jot down a few things I don't want to forget... Mind you, these things may mean absolutely nothing to you, but they are very important to me! They are all SIMPLE but made me smile each time I witnessed them!

1. Gabe- He is always cautious and wants to stay safe...and wants other safe too.
***EX: We rode seados for two hours one morning. Gabe sat in front of Todd and Zander rode on the back. Todd said that Gabe asked every minute or so..."Dad, is Zander still hanging on? Dad, did Zander fall off? Dad, could you check to see if Zander is okay behind you?" LOL
***EX: There was a "outgoing" little 4yr old boy...who was quite the challenge for his mother playing near us on the beach. The little boy snuck off and Gabe came up to me and said "Mom, that boy's momma needs to go get him! He is going to drown. Could you please tell his mom about our boobie rule?"---We had a rule for our kids, don't go past your boobie marks (nipples) while playing in the water or you will have to sit out for 20minutes." LOL













2. Zander- He is sooo funny! Such a wise crack...especially with his daddy! They are so funny together. But one thing that Todd pointed out was the way he would laugh at himself the end of his sentences as he told us funny little stories or statements. I love his laugh!! The boy gets his wittiness from his daddy for sure! I really enjoyed just sitting back and watching Todd and Zander. I can see there is a special bond between the two of them. Love watching them joke around with each other and love watching them play Paddle Ball...which they did alot of!!!
















3. Addison- This could be the last year that my little girl looks like a little girl, as I have noticed she is growing so fast. She is changing quickly. And before too long she will be more of a lady than a girl! YIKES! But she still loves being around me...loves time with me....and thinks I am the best! We spent lots of time floating out further than the boys would like to go! But it was nice...just being with my daughter! Playing, singing, and laughing! I know this may never come to an end, but I also know that with the teen years fast approaching, there will be much less of that happening! So sad:-( She is such a sweet and caring little girl! And did I tell you...she loves to shop too:-) LOL


















4. My husband- He is just GOOD! Love that man so much! And I know he loves me too! I can tell...:-) This trip, I was reminded of what first attracted me to him physically---those BLUE EYES! Being near the blue water and sky, boy-those eyes sparkle! But my man seems to always impress me with how he enjoys the simple things! I loved every minute of sitting on the beach with our feet in the sand together, as we looked at the beautiful beach and our kids who played on it. And those evenings when we went down to the beach before sundown....just to put our feet in the water, needed no chairs or towels....and then watched the sun go down as we talked and walked along the beach with our babies! Simple things...but such good things!!!












What a great three days I had to be able to slow down and really absorb my family in! Thanks to my God for having this trip planned out for us! Thanks to my God for showing me your love...

Vacation and Two Piece Bathing Suits

Tomorrow about 10am, we will pull our kids out of school early and head to............DESTIN, FLORIDA! YAE!!!! I am so excited! And guess what, I went to Dillards yesterday (twice, as I drove all the way there to realize I left my wallet at home :-/, and had to drive all the way back home to get it). I went straight to the bathing suit area and felt soo stressed just looking at all the cute suits.

See, they are all cute on the hangers, models, and posters all over the place. But somehow the mirror never reflects the same images:-) LOL! Anyhow... I seriously tried on at least 50 suits. But guess what???? I actually found SEVERAL I liked...so $250 later and 1.5 hours later, I had bought...not one suit, not two suits, but THREE SUITS!! LOL But they all mix and match really well. I bought two two pieces suits, one with a skirt and another with short/brief bottoms, and then one tikini:-) I even bought a cute LUCKY brand bikini top.....but didn't get the bottoms to match. Those days are LONG GONE! LOL!

I came home to LOCK my daughter and myself in my bedroom in front of the full length mirror and had her PINKY PROMISE to tell me the honest to God truth. And she will! She gets her honesty from me! LOL! But she loved them all.... She even told me I was gonna be the best fit mom at the beach! I assured her that was probably wrong, but I am a heck of alot closer this year than I was last year!

Can't wait to post pics of our vacation:-) Bring on the sun!!

Sweet Chicken! Took measurements today:-)

So....I have had hit a plateau on the weight loss in the last 3weeks... Frustrating but still not about to give up. I know my body needs some time to adjust to the new SCHEDULE of becoming a long distance runner and eating right!

But, I have downloaded a GREAT APPLICATION for my Iphone called MyNetDiary which I think is AWESOME! You can get it online, as well! With this tool I am not only journaling what I eat and how I exercise, but it also will analysis my eating pattern and tell me what I need more of and eat less of. I am not "nutritional savy" when doctors talk about saturated fats and such, but I do think this tool will slowly teach me more about these foods and what they are made up and what all this really MEANS?!?! I don't want to be so focused on the weight loss that I don't truly learn how to eat....which means learn how to maintain once I hit my goal!

But I as I was checking this application out, I noticed it asked for measurements...which dawned on me that I had not done measurements in quite some time....

I was THRILLED with the results! Made me realize how far I have actually come:-) And these measurements weren't even at my heaviest... Matter of fact... I had lost about 15lbs at this point doing the elimination diet! But within two months I was back up to 182lbs! YIKES..So keep in mind, I was close to 165 with these measurements

Weight Oct. 165lbs (when I did the orginal measurements)
Dec. 182lbs (weight before thyroid)
May 144lbs
So...keep in mind these measurements are my October measurements....at 165lbs!
Neck 13in---12.75in
Chest 36.5---35.25
Bust 38.5---37.25
Upper Arm 12.25---11.25
Waist 12.25---11.25
Hips 40----39
Thighs 22---21.25
Calve 14.75---14
bicep 12----10
tric 14---14
back fat (had a fancy word I cant spell) 23---15 AMAZING!
iliac 24-23

BMI...25.1---23.1

HALLELUJAH!!!! I am so excited. I still have some work....but looking back and celebrating from where I come from sure gives me a big boost!

Tomorrow----I face the dressing room and must remember this!
It is time for me to buy the dreaded bathing suit! WISH ME LUCK!!! This always makes me sad:-) LOL But if I play my cards right, hopefully before summer ends, I will need to downsize my bathing suit one more time!

Spontaneous Vacation

Well....we have had a "somewhat" of a vacation planned for the last two months. Grant it, it was based around my oldest son's baseball team! But it was time away...time in a hotel, time in the sun, time not CLEANING! OR COOKING! and just being away from responsibility! But today, we got news that our Oklahoma City Weekend Tournament did not make! Hotels were canceled and some 8yr old boys hearts' were broke! And yes, so was mom and dad's heart!

So today....we are searching! My husband and I have already taken a few days off for this planned vacation, so we don't want to lose it. But we also don't want to waste it by staying home doing HONEY DOs. Even though, there are plenty of things TO DO here:-)

A few things we are discussing and looking into:
1) Meet my sister in law halfway like somewhere in New Mexico!?!?! They live in California and we are here in Texas? But where and what would we do?
2) Go to Destin, FL, the place we went last year. The little cabana is available and it still priced right?? Sounds good to me!
3) Sea World and San Antonio??? HOT! HOT! HOT!

WHAT WILL IT BE? HUMM!!! STAY TUNED!

Getting Rid of the Checklist

FOCUS MANDY! FOCUS!

It seems life has been completely and utterly NUTS since Spring Break. Not sure how it happened but all of a sudden I find myself living by checking off my checklist! YIKES! Who wants to live like that! Now grant it, the checklist does help me get things done, but it doesn't allow me to live the life GOD had planned. Just a life I seem to plan with checkmarks. From work, to household responsibilities, to health/fitness, and yes even to time with God. Now....my list consist of far more than just those things I mentioned....just like your checklist must look too. But today I woke up and said to myself. ONLY making a TOP 5 List for each day! And the first three things are a must...
1) Spend time with God (in His Word or prayer or even an Iphone application while working out)
2) Make it a priority to spend "QUALITY TIME" with at least one person from my family each day. May not be all day affair but even a uninterrupted 2 minute talk or walk with a child...or even my husband could make a huge difference!
3) Keep my workout/eating habits in check---
And then #4 and #5....are my TO DOs....which will most likely be work and house chores.


Now...guess what.... this is still a list!!! URGH! But I have to taper myself away from it first! RIGHT???

The LAST TIME..... So sad:-(

Today, it dawned on me that I will never again have a kindergartner. My baby boy, Gabe, who is now 6 years old, has two more weeks of kindergarten. Really, I know its not that big of a step (cos in Texas, kindergarten is fulltime)....but it really is for MOMMY! Kindergarten still sounds so young but the thought of never again having a child in kindergarten just seems so unbelievable to me (and makes me feel old too:-) ).

Today was Gabe's last regular season game of peewee U6 Coach Pitch, too. And yes, I kept looking in the dugout and thinking....wow, look how little and dang cute these little boys are. Luckily for me, I have seen these little bitty boys play ball together the last two years. They don't come any cuter or any smaller. And to see these little guys get up to the home plate, with a helmet that out weighs their body weight, and a bat that takes all the muscle they have to just swing it....and then to see everyone of them hit these little hits and run as fast as their little bodies will carry them.... it's just the cutest little thing you have ever seen! These boys are having fun. In matter of fact, they don't even care who won or lost cos they are having so much fun!

But...those days are slowly coming to an end. My Gabriel will never again be this small or play peewee5/6 coach pitch again.

But he will always be my BABY---no matter what he thinks or says.

Oh---another sad thing and another post....my oldest baby will be in middle school next year. But I am still in denial about that! I will post on the first day of school when I CRY after I drop her off with all those mean preteens:-) LOL

More pics...some kind-of CRAZY!!!