a first for Maggie

We had a pretty laid back weekend, which is nice considering there are only FIVE WEEKS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!  We are SO EXCITED!  Our Thanksgiving is just as big as our Christmas, so at our house, it's a non-stop party 'round these parts!  

Back to the weekend.  Eric and my brother had plans to take the boys to the gun range.  It's safe to say they were pretty giddy...more excited than a kid in a candy store!  Levi and Griffin were, too.  ;)  It was cold and a little rainy, so what's a girl to do?  Pedicures, of course!  Jenny and I took the girls for some pampering.  This was Maggie's first pedicure and she loved it!

I love that she was "reading" a magazine AND had her hands propped behind her head...total relaxation!  Ha!  She was pretty pleased with her choice of purple polish and a sparkle flower on her big toe.  Too cute!  I think she was proud to be initiated into the girly club.  

a day with some of my favorite people

 Levi has been begging me to come eat lunch with him at school.  If you've never had the privilege of eating with three 7 year old boys before, let me enlighten you.  Here's a highlight from our engrossing conversation:

Boy 1: I have a dog.  It poops in the back yard.  I've stepped in the poop before!

Levi: Mom, I want a dog!

Boy 2: I have a dog.  It pees on our carpet.

Levi: Moooom, when can we get a dog?

Boy 1: I have a hole in my pants.  My dog bit my leg.

Levi: Mom, can we get a dog for Christmas?

Boy 2: Have you ever eaten poop?

Boys in unison: Ewwwww!  Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha....

I have to admit, I loved every minute of eating with Levi at school!  It is precious seeing him interact with other kids.  Even when they talk about poop.  (Eye roll)  I drug invited my mom to go along with us.  She didn't bat an eye at their choice of conversation.  I guess that comes with years of experience teaching first graders! Ha! :)

Such a fun morning!  I want to freeze my kids at these ages!!

The day only got better...I got to spend some time with these beauties --

Gretchen came in for a quick visit over the weekend, so I forced her to go to dinner for an early birthday celebration!  I had to twist her arm pretty hard when I mentioned Kansai.  ;)  I'm so, so thankful that Jami and Melanie were able to join, too!  Girl time was perfect and just what I needed.  {Disclaimer: that bottom picture was our dessert.  I meant to snap a pic before we ate it, but our instincts took over and the Monster Cookie never stood a chance...}  My friends are such a blessing to me!  I don't know why God chose to bless me with such a wonderful family and with the best friends on the planet, but HE DID.  Even though we don't get to spend a lot of time together, the time we are able to sit back and chat is perfect, quality time!  I love every minute of it.  Love those girls to the moon and back!

Motivational Monday

It has been a while since I've done my MM post.  A long while.  So, I think a progress report is due!

I'm pretty sure the last time I chimed in, my weight loss was at 19 pounds.  Then Disney.  Then the rest of Fall Break.  Then Halloween candy.  CURSES on that stupid Halloween candy.  

Despite all the candy life happening, I'm proud to report that this morning, my loss is at 24 pounds!  I'm still trudging away.  I still have great days and not so great days, but I'm determined to KEEP MOVING.  

The week after we got back from Disney, Eric and I started on this meal plan.  My sister-in-law shared it with me.  It seemed doable and I really don't mind it!    

Meal 1:

• 6-8 egg whites
• 1/2 cup oatmeal (measured dry) - no milk (add cinnamon and honey to flavor)
• 1 cup fruit or 1 med banana
• 1 oz almonds

Meal 2:

• 4-6 oz chicken breast or fish
• 4 oz red skinned potatoes
• 1 cup green veggies

Meal 3:

• 4-6 oz chicken breast or fish
• 4 oz sweet potato
• 1 cup green veggies

Meal 4:

• 4-6 oz fish or ground turkey breast
• 4 oz sweet potato
• 1 cup green veggies

Meal 5:

• 4 oz ground turkey breast
• 1 cup strawberries, mixed berries or an apple

(**I still haven't needed meal 5 yet.  Some days, I only do 3 meals, some days I do 4.  Depends on the day and if I have been to the gym.)

There are some rules to follow along with it.  Grill, bake or pan fry all your protein.  Stay consistent, drink lots of water, limit salt...that kind of stuff.  My favorite rule is "treat time"... 1 day per week, for 3 consecutive hours, you can cheat.  So, I can plan ahead and cheat on a Friday night from 7-10, or on a Sunday when we eat out with my family.  I have had a few days here and there where I haven't stuck to this, but for the most part, I'm staying with the plan and, ahem, liking it!  

My biggest obstacle was the oatmeal.  I'm a super picky eater and have never eaten oatmeal.  Ever.  But, I thought, if my brother could do it, then I could too!  He is W.A.Y. pickier than me!  Since we started this, Eric and I have almost gone through a whole large container of oats.  Yesterday, we picked this up from Sam's Club. 

Yes, my friends...that is 10 POUNDS of oats.  Oh sweet Jesus.  And, it's not the brown sugar and maple kind.  Or cinnamon roll.  Or any other of the numerous flavored oatmeal they have out there.  It's plain ol' simple oats.  Gag.

My favorite way {and the only way I can manage to get down a whole bowl of oatmeal} is to dice up an apple and add some cinnamon and a teaspoon of sugar.

I actually kind of crave it now.  SO WEIRD.

I'm eating a lot of things that look like this...more good-for-you stuff and less carbs.  Hard to get used to!

I'm happy with my progress!  It's slow, but steady.  I still enjoy special things I want to enjoy, but am getting used to a "cleaner" eating style.  And, the best part is that people are starting to notice.  The last two weeks at church, several people asked me if I was losing weight.  THAT makes me happy.  :-)

Gotta keep at it with the holidays quickly approaching because the other option is to give up and gain it all back and THAT'S NOT HAPPENING!!!! Happy Monday!

Happy Halloween

Wednesday night, the kids got to dress up for church.  They called it "favorite character" night, or something like that.  I'm not sure that Levi dressing up as an inmate really counted as a "character", but, we went with it.  ;-)  Maggie opted out of the inmate costume and wanted to be a kitty cat.  

I think she made a pretty cute kitty cat, if I do say so myself! 

This was the weirdest Halloween!  Our whole county actually MOVED Trick-or-Treating from Thursday (actual Halloween) to Wednesday due to storms that were predicted.  Um, okay.  It is what it is, so we went out for just a little bit on Wednesday night after church.  The kids had fun, that's all that mattered!

Today was the Fall Party in Levi's classroom.  I'm the Room Parent for his class this year.  I am so thrilled that I get to help out in his classroom.  I loved all the party planning stuff -- picking out the games, food, crafts...it really was so much fun!  However, because I was kind of "in charge", I had to be on my A game today and didn't really get to see Levi participate in anything during the party.  That stunk bad!  I didn't get to follow him around and take pictures.  All I got was this one lousy picture...

Several parents were there taking pictures, so hopefully if they are good and flattering I can post more later!  On the way home, Levi said he had a great day and he loved every minute of his party.  THAT was enough to make all the hard work worth it.  Period.  What a great day to kick off the Fall season!