I'm officially an obnoxious baseball mom

Levi played T-ball last year and I have to admit, other than seeing your child dressed up in their cute little uniform, it is pretty boring.  ;-)  This year, we have progressed to PeeWee ball.  This is more like it!  It's faster paced and they actually play with rules!  Last night was our first game -- OPENING NIGHT!  

Our church just dedicated and opened our new Sportsplex and it is AWESOME! 

There are four new fields, complete with dugouts and everything. ;-)

There is also a pretty awesome concession and restroom building!  There are tables and seats on the top floor so that parents can hang out and watch the games.

Since last night was opening night, everything was new.  The stripes were bright white.  The grass was nicely laid and a pretty green.  The rocks were all even and hadn't been ventured upon yet.  

Insert a bunch of six and seven year olds!  You can't put a bunch of boys on a field and expect them not to play with the rocks or slide in the dirt, can you??!!

Since Eric is coaching, we got there a little early so I could be obnoxious and take 50 pictures and get a front row seat to pick out a field.

I was nervous for a couple of reasons: 1) because I wanted Levi to do well AND to have fun! 2) because I was afraid Eric would lose his temper with the kids!  Kidding.  Not really.  ;-)

Maggie only cared about two things.  Wallering in my lap...

...and conning Papa into taking her to the concession stand!  Ha!

While they were there, it was time for the Star Spangled Banner.  Dad taught Mags how to put her hand over her heart.  PRESH!

Alright - prayer time and then the game is ON!

Levi up to bat -- he hit an awesome hit!

Off to first base!

 Unfortunately, Bubby got out at third base. :-(  It's sad when you want to yell at a little six year old for "outing" your son.  Kidding.  Not really.  ;-)

Next time up to bat.  I think my mom was yelling harder for Levi than for me!  I had to tell her a couple of times that at this age, we kind of root for both teams.  She just gave me a "whatever" look!  Ha!

He hit it, seriously -- way out in the infield!  SO PROUD!

AND HE SCORED A RUN!!!!  

 Levi also played 1st baseman.  He caught the ball twice and got two different kids out!  Woo hoo!

 Both teams did a really great job!  I can't wait to see how things progress as the season goes on!!  Giving their high-fives...

Such a really great night at the ballpark!  I cannot wait for his next game!  I am one proud and obnoxious baseball momma!!!

Motivational Monday

I love bacon.  Like seriously LOVE bacon.  It is one of my favorite foods.  Bacon and pancakes, bacon cheeseburger, bacon on my salad...you just can't go wrong with bacon.

I would die for this shirt.

One of the substitutions I've made in my diet is turkey bacon.  Not quite the same, but still good. ;-)

Last week was a good week.  I went to Zumba twice WITHOUT MY WORKOUT BUDDY!  She was in Vegas and it would have been easy for me to skip those two workouts!  But, I took this motto:

I'm really glad I did!  The ladies there seemed excited that I came, even without Natalie.  They were very encouraging to me.  It's the little things that make a huge difference!

Okay, I've been pretty honest on my other MM posts about struggles, frustrations, weigh ins, losses and gains.  I'm going to be honest about something else now.  Mirrors.

I have not owned a full length mirror in years.  YEARS.  There will be times that I get a new outfit or need an opinion on something and Gretchen will tell me to just text her a picture.  I will do the best that I can, but then our convo usually ends up with her yelling at me that I need a full length mirror.  (I know she is yelling because it is usually in all caps!)  I don't like looking in a full length mirror because, well, just because!  I'm sure if I went on Oprah or Dr. Phil, there would be some big reveal about my mental state and how being overweight affects my view of myself...and I would cry, and they would show close ups of the audience crying and nodding their heads and it would be a breakthrough.

So, Friday night, when I went to WalMart, this was my cart...
  

I bought a full length mirror!  (Pretend that you don't see the Chips Ahoy!  Those were for Eric!)  I feel like this was a small little breakthrough for me.  Getting a little more comfortable in my skin. ;-)

On Saturday, I was able to text this picture to G.  (It wasn't hung on the wall yet, but hey...baby steps!)

I weighed Thursday morning and didn't have a loss, but just stayed the same.  Instead of running to a bag of Oreo's and grabbing a glass of milk, I just went on with my day and tried to stay consistent.

I thought this was hilarious!

Sometimes, the small things are HUGE.  Yesterday at church, THREE different people sought me out after 1st service to ask me if I had lost weight.  That made me so happy!  One of the girls said, "I don't know what you've been doing, but keep doing it!"

On a side note, those people have been added to my will.  ;-)  

The Belle of Louisville

This week has been a little abnormal for me.  If you've been around my blog for a while, you know that I watch two little girls part time and my neighbor/friend/workout buddy Natalie watches them the other part of the week.  She was in Vegas this week for her husband's job.  This means that I had the girls all week.  Lemme tell you something -- it's a good thing I didn't have triplets.  They wore me out!  I'm very glad that next week, we resume our normal schedule. ;-) 

Levi had a field trip yesterday and thankfully Eric was able to go!  They took a trip up river on the Belle of Louisville and then had lunch at KingFish.  

Levi was THRILLED that his dad was able to go.  Honestly, I could get quite jealous of how much this kid loves his dad!!  But, since I love his dad, too, it's okay with me!

  

Love those boys!!

On a random note:
YOU GUYS -- does anyone else go into panic mode when you schedule family pictures?  We have an appointment in about 3 weeks and all I can think about is what we are going to wear!  I think I have it narrowed down and then I start to second guess myself.  Gah!  I'm sure it will all come together in the end, but getting there is quite annoying.  :/

Sweatpants are good, the batting cage, and our new addition

It's raining today and this is exactly how I feel!  It made me laugh out loud!...

On a whim, we ended up meeting up with my brother and his fam last night to let the boys go to a batting cage near their house.  Levi has never practiced with a machine pitch before.  He did such a great job!  We only coach pitch in our league.  Griffin's league has machine pitch.  It's crazy how fast that ball comes at them!  Of course, Travis had to get in on the action. ;-)

{Travis, Griffin, and Levi}

In other exciting news, we got a new addition in our family.  We've been looking for a new-to-me vehicle for me for several months now.  I had my Honda Odyssey for about six and a half years.  I was NOT a van person, I didn't want one and didn't think I would ever own one.  Eric talked me into it and I have to say, I was not disappointed.  That's why we decided to go with another Odyssey.  I love the space and they are just really great vehicles.  {Sorry for the garage pic!  It's raining, so that's all you get.}

It's not all that different from what I was driving, just a lot more bells and whistles!  Our old van was a 1999 with 232,000 miles on it!  Can you believe that?  This one is a 2008 and has more buttons than I know what to do with.  Ha!  The kids are ecstatic because it has a DVD player.  I am just happy that the cup holders that will hold my large diet coke.  Oh, and I have seat warmers now.  {{{spoiled}}}

Isn't it funny that when you get a new vehicle, you just want to drive?  Even if it is just around the block! ;-)  Guess we will make a mid morning run to McDonald's!

Motivational Monday

It's Monday and I'm actually encouraged!  What a great feeling. :-)  I don't feel like beating myself up because I ate too much this weekend.  I don't feel discouraged because I didn't exercise.  I feel happy because I stuck to my plan and lost another pound!  My total is 11.6!  I just have 3.4 more until my first small goal...how awesome!!  

A Facebook friend posted this earlier in the week and I LOVE IT!  

I'm not "training" for anything, but I do try to make the most of my workouts.
I don't always eat "clean", but I find that I'm making better choices every day.  I choose nuts over chips.  I choose grilled over fried.  I stop eating after 7pm.
I know my weaknesses.  I can't keep junk food in the house.  My willpower sucks. ;-)
I am figuring out my strengths. Making the first good decision in the morning helps set my day straight.
I am ready to "beat" the old me!

Maggie got sick on Thursday and was sick ALL.WEEKEND.LONG.  Ugh.  Breathing treatments, non-stop coughing, and just plain fussiness.  Just when I thought it would be easy to throw in the towel out of frustration and eat everything in sight, I stuck to my guns and stayed consistent.    

While Maggie and I were spending some serious time inside on the couch, I am happy to say that Eric and Levi had some nice boy time together yesterday and Levi caught his first fish!!

So proud of him!  He had the best day fishing and shooting with his dad. ;-)

That awkward moment when your pants fall down during your Zumba class!!  Yes, that was me.  Seriously. Two good things:  I was in the back row and my undies were black, the same as my pants.  So, hopefully no one noticed!  But, I will be in need of some new workout pants - ASAP!

"...One is that you do it.  The other is that you continue to do it."  Consistency is the key.  That is my sermon for the week.  Oh, and something that Jami told me a few weeks ago just popped in my head!  She told me whether I lose 15 pounds or 50 pounds, the benefits of exercising far outweigh not exercising.  So, just do it.  Thanks, JLL!  Love that.  :-)  Here's to happy eating and moving...

Grandparent's Day

Friday was Grandparent's Day at Levi's school.  My mom and dad went to watch the little program that the kids put together.  I'm pretty sure that they wanted to gouge their eyes out by the end of the program.  Each student got to read a story they wrote about their grandparents.  Oy.  ;-)  But, I'm so thankful that they went and were a part this special day!

{Levi and Grammy}

 {Papa and Levi}

After the program, my mom brought Levi home.  He was dying to spend the night with them, so I packed up some clothes and sent him on his way.  It's always so quiet when I just have one child home with me!  Later, I received this pic: 

He sure knows how to sweet talk his grandparents!  ;-)  I was a little concerned that he wouldn't want to stay.  Last time, I ended up picking him up at bedtime because he had a "belly ache" a.k.a. "I miss my mommy and daddy"!  Much to my surprise, he stayed all night and even had pancakes in the morning from Papa.  Cute!  Love that little guy and I love the memories that he is making.

Motivational Monday

Are you ready?  From SparkPeople.com, here are 10 more reasons why you should work out:

These are probably the 10 that speak to me the most!

1.  Because you are tired of starting over. 

2.  Because if you can do this, you can do anything.

3.  Because you're tired of being tired.

4.  Because not working out is not going to get you very far.

5.  Because not working out isn't working out for you.

6.  Because it boosts your metabolism.

7.  Because everyone has at least 10 minutes to spare.

8.  Because it beats sitting on the couch.  {I could argue that!}

9.  Because you made a commitment to yourself.

10. Because there will always be another wedding, vacation or reunion.

****************************************************

 I saw this on Alicia's Facebook page last week and thought it was hilarious!
And, very true.

YOU GUYS -- I'm excited!  I weighed this morning, which isn't my official weigh day, and I have lost another 1.4 pounds!  So, that makes the grand total a whopping 10.6 pounds!  Woo hoo!!!  It is a slow process, but every little bit encourages me that much more!

I've got less than 5 pounds to lose and I will treat myself to a reward.  :-)

This week, I have been trying to focus more on moving while I am outside.  The weather has been so nice and my kids LOVE to play outside!  Usually, I grab my camping chair and sit down to watch them.  But, this week, I've tried to be intentional about 'moving' with them.  Levi and I played tennis in the cul-de-sac one evening.  Maggie and I played kick ball one evening.  And, while it isn't a sweat-breaking exercise class, it's still moving!  Not only am I burning a few calories, but it also makes the kids feel good that I'm playing with them.  ;-)  I saw this on Pinterest -- and my favorite is #4.  Sunshine is awesome!

My encouragement for the week - go out and enjoy some of the nice weather!  Take a walk, ride a bike, just do something outside.  I'm still focusing on being consistent: staying under my calorie count and working out at least 4 days a week.  It seems to be working! 

Until next week!  Thanks for hanging in there with all my MM posts. :-)

Rock Party Birthday

My sister doesn't do anything half way.  So, when she has a birthday party for her girls, she goes all out!  Last night, we celebrated Bailey, who turned NINE and Casey, who turned SIX.  Bailey was the first grandchild -- on both sides -- and she was a child in demand!  ;-)  We all wanted to hold her, feed her, rock her, dress her and then give her back to my sister when she cried or pooped.  Life was good.  Ha!  I was blessed twice by being able to be there with my sister when both girls were born and I will never forget it.  Precious times!  

The girls wanted to have a ROCK STAR birthday party, and that's exactly what they got!  Everything was pink and black zebra...right down to the cake! 

Lemme just say, the cake pops were AWESOME!  I didn't try the cake, but I'm sure it was fabulous.

And, I trust that these were good too!  Microphones made by baking a cupcake inside an ice cream cone and then lots of icing and sprinkles on top!  So cute. :-)

Oh, and did I mention that she hired a band?  Yes.  She did.  And they were good!  It's a local band called Black Friday.  They looked to be around 10 years old and seriously rocked it out!  Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Poison, and some current day stuff.  I loved it! 

I mean, how cute are they?  They do a lot of local gigs and have their own promotional people.  So fun!

I was excited to see my childhood friend, Lisa.  She was one of my very first friends and it is awesome that we still keep in touch.  I miss her.  :)

And, this is Maggie #1.  Yes, both of our daughters are named Maggie.  They are six months apart and while we don't see them that often, they really enjoy playing together.  It was funny to watch them both whip their heads around anytime anyone called out, "Maggie?"  

Couldn't resist a shot of these two cuties together.  G-man is so stylish! ;-)

And, of course, we came home with lots of loot!  

Such a fun night with family and friends!  Love my nieces and I hope they know just how blessed they are with such a wonderful mommy!!  Happy Birthday, Bailey and Casey!  We love you.