Words

It's been a week tomorrow and I still don't have the right words. I just - I just...I don't know.

My heart is broken.

I am trying so hard to savor each moment and recognize it's beauty (even if it's hearing my kids argue and complain - at least  can hear them - there is so much beauty in that).

One thing I believe is that God is still good. He is just and loving and faithful and righteous and there is no bad in Him. He loves each and every one of us. Yes, we (as flesh beings) make bad (horrible and unthinkable) decisions sometimes and that hurts the heart of God, but because He gives us free will - bad stuff still happens - but HE is still good. He is here to cover us with his love and see us through the days where we feel like we just.can't.go.another.minute. He'll carry us.

I choose not to live my life in fear even though it is my first instinct when something like this happens but to trust that my mighty God will bring good out of every single thing that happens here on His earth. Because He promises that He will (Romans 8:28). I trust that. I trust Him.

Even though there are countless unanswered questions, I will not doubt the goodness of God and I will be grateful for my days, working as diligently as I can to bring (through Jesus' presence in me) glory to His kingdom through each of them.

Those Grandparents, I swear.

This is what happens when I leave my kids alone with my parents:

No, Fischer is not wearing capri pants, his overalls were just riding up. {Add here all the other (countless) stuff I could say about this picture...}

Might Have Monday (on Tuesday)

I might have stashed all the Christmas presents I've bought in the back of the closet (starting in September) and the closet might  be full. I should probably start taking inventory wrapping!

Photo Credit

I might have reheated a stack of pancakes that were sitting on the counter from breakfast for Jack's lunch today. Don't judge me they hadn't been eaten on or anything. It's been a long morning month.

I might have cried a little on the inside when I found out that the Bunco party I was going to go to this Friday night was cancelled. I was so looking forward to a night out - I might not tell my family about the cancellation and still pretend to go.

We started Fischer (almost 7 months old) on a little bit of solid food this weekend. After his first solid-food-poo I might have realized that cloth diapering has just gotten REAL. (And I might feel like I should get a medal after every rinse-out.)

Photo Credit

What things might you guys be up to lately?

Little Pieces

Jeff's Grandma makes these for everyone on their side of the family. You get one for your first Christmas in the family. They make my heart SO HAPPY. I just love his Grandma so much!

Last week we got two fish (our first - technically they were Natalie's fish) and they died in less than 24 hours. She made the (rookie) mistake of naming one of them "Lucky". Neither of them were too lucky.

I turned 32 on Sunday. Some days I can't believe I'm "only" 32 (with a 10 year old and having been married for 11 1/2 years it sometimes feels like I should be...older) and some days I can't believe I'm already 32. Crazy how time flies.

Our family was asked to do the Advent Candle "ceremony" (for lack of better word) at church on Sunday. The fact that the kids are excited to read in front of the church makes my heart happy and makes me feel less guilty for giving them the LONG passages and saving the short one for myself.

I got our Christmas cards done and ready to mail off this morning. I ordered them on Wednesday morning (online) and they were dropped off at our house via FedEx on Thursday afternoon. FAST.

This is the picture we used for our Christmas cards this year. (I KNOW. I love it!) :)

We're going to be in a circus parade tonight. Weird, I know. One of Jeff's best friends works for a tractor company (the green and yellow brand) ;) and they're having a "float" in the Junction City parade and asked if our family would like to join them on it. It's going to be so much fun! The kids were stoked when we told them that we were going to GO to the parade - I wish I had video taped their reactions when they found out they were going to be IN the parade. Priceless. (I'll take pictures tonight to share with you.)

 Fischer had his 6 month check-up last Thursday and besides the Bronchitis he was diagnosed with (which was no surprise to me), his doctor said he had all the indications of hip dysplasia and ordered an ultrasound for the following Tuesday. We were not excited at the thought of the hip dysplasia (Jeff had it as an infant). After praying all weekend for it to miraculously turn out to be nothing - it did! Praise God!

Fit Friday: (I know - it's been a while.) I've lost 2 pounds over the past 3 weeks. Honestly, the scale was at a stalemate for 2 weeks (between Thanksgiving and my birthday - just - UGH) and then finally moved this week. I've been working out at least 3-4 times per week and keeping up with my calorie counting and it finally showed on the scale this week so I'm happy about that.

Total lost: 48
Still to lose (to ultimate goal): 12 (This includes a LOAD of toning, which I've been working on, and can see a huge difference, but seriously I feel like I have a long way to go.)

Post workout. Obviously. ;)

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend.

(I'll have a "Might Have Monday" post on - you guessed it - Monday.) :)

Boys.

While shopping at Target yesterday, Jack inevitably had to go potty because their 'dollar section' is strategically placed right next to the bathrooms. 

When we got into the stall, I realized that he had on two pairs of underwear.

I asked him why he was wearing two and he said, "Because this morning you said I *have* to put new ones on...so I did. I just chose to put them on over the pair I already had on." 
  
Boys. I swear. 

Fit Friday

JUST KIDDING!

It's the day after Thanksgiving and if you actually thought I was going to step on that scale today YOUZ CRAY-ZEE!

{I did manage to get a workout in on Thanksgiving morning though which, I have to admit, was a first for me...so at least there's that, right?}

Be thankful.

It looked a lot like a Sunday morning around these parts today. On Sunday mornings we're all scrambling to get dressed, fed, grab our Bibles and head out the door to be to church on time. Usually we're running late, the kids are fighting and I'm yelling at everyone to "Just ignore them and do what *you're* supposed to be doing!" By the time we get to the car we're already running late, half of the kids are in tears, and our coffee is cold. Everyone is frustrated and it feels pretty convicting to be headed to church to praise the Lord who laid down his life in forgiveness for the very behavior we were just demonstrating.

Even though I really blew it this morning (it was a bit howdoIsayit...crazy around here) I'm ready to focus on what matters. I'm making my heart be obedient to what I know I need to do, and that's simply letting it all go. I'm choosing not to stress out about the dozen or so things I forgot to get at the store. I'm not worrying about the weather and the flooding that is taking place on our property as we speak. I'm not going to dwell on how exhausted I am because of a certain baby boy who has been awake more than asleep at all hours of the night lately.

I'm choosing joy today. I'm choosing peace. I'm choosing to thank my Lord and Savior for all the blessings He's so graciously lavished on me even though there is simply no way I could ever deserve even a portion of them. Even though when he was dying on the cross he knew that I would never be able to repay him for what he was doing, he chose to do it anyway because he loves me. When I think about it THAT way, I realize I have no reason not to be thankful.

Be thankful.

Oh. Right.

I was on a run the other day (you know the day - it was the only nice one in the last few weeks) and this truck passed me. I didn't recognize the young (about my age I'd guess) guy driving which is a little odd since we live in a super tiny community and I was running on the road we live on, but whatevs.

So anyway, he passed and we cordially waved at each other. After a few minutes he starts driving back down the road that I was still running on the side of. I had a brief oh-crap-he's-slowing-down-and-rolling-down-his-window moment that was quickly replaced with is-he-going-to-try-to-talk-to-me panic thinking for a second that he actually might hit on me.

He stops his truck and I stop running as he finishes rolling down his window. I'm about ready to blurt out, "Um, I'm married." when he says, "I think you dropped your baby's hat back there on the bridge."

Oh. Right.

: : Humility is a beautiful thing. : :

Um. Awkward.

...that moment when you're doing the laundry and pull a condom out of your husband's jeans pocket and have a mental melt down/heart attack right then and there since you had your tubes tied about 6 months ago...

...eventually you gather your senses, look down at the package in your hand to realize that it's not a condom at all, but a Ramen Noodle spice packet that your husband picked up off the ground in the parking lot of his work.

In review: My husband is a good man - he is faithful to the vows he made and he picks up litter.

genius

Our kids are normal. This means that they fail to clean out their backpacks after school, they forget to put their dirty laundry in a basket, when they put their folded clothes "away" they often merely shove most of them under their dressers, the books on their bookshelves are stacked horizontally and not vertically, usually their beds are not made, and equal portions of stray papers and broken toy parts in the toy boxes.

(This is *not* our home, but honestly, it's not too much of a stretch some days...) {Photo Credit}

: :  Someone please tell me this is indeed "normal."  : :

After I spend hours cleaning the whole upstairs with my children, organizing our spaces (granted it's limited space these days), I always end with a mini lecture on the importance of keeping our things clean and organized and how it shows respect blah blah blah.

So far my tactic hasn't worked well (shocking, I know).

Well tonight I could hear Jeff in the kids' rooms while I was nursing Fischer in our bedroom. He was in there for quite some time and when I was done with the baby (feeding/changing/putting to bed) I went to check on him.

I found that Jeff had cleaned (like really cleaned) their entire rooms; folded every piece of clothing and organized every.single.square.inch. of their spaces (it really looked nice!).

{Photo Credit}

 Before I could even yell at the kids to come and say, "What do you guys tell Daddy!?" Jeff pulls out his phone and starts taking pictures from every angle of the room (which, honestly, made me wonder WTHeck?), but I said nothing (see? I'm learning!).

After taking these pictures, he calls the kids up who immediately ooh and aahh over how great it looks and then he says to them, "I had a feeling you were going to appreciate your rooms looking all cleaned up like this...so I took some pictures of it for you. Tomorrow I'm going to print them off and hang them nicely on your wall so that every night before you go to bed you have a visual standard of what they need to look like. Mom and I expect you to take the time every.single.day. to bring them up to this standard before you crawl into bed so when we come in to do devotions and pray with you before you go to sleep you'll have a great space you can be proud of and we'll have nice clean rooms to come in to. You think you can do it?"

They said they could.

Genius.

this and that

Carter convinced me the other day that he went to school without underwear on (he was kidding - but I did not know this for quite some time).

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Jack is at his friend's house right now. Like a "hang out" time. He's not even 5 yet and he's already got a best friend. I love that.

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On Tuesday Jack turns 5, on Wednesday Natalie turns 10 (someone hold me), and Fischer turns 6 months on Thursday, so obviously I'm pulling out all the stops and heading to Pinterest to make the coolest decorations and food/cakes for a HUGE party and it's going to be so much fun!

Oh, wait, I just remembered... No I'm not. We're having a small family party at my in-law's house on Thanksgiving evening and we're sticking candles in pie (don't worry - they get to choose what kind of pie and Jeff's Mom is making them special for each kid). So, I'm not getting Mother-of-the-Year this year, but that should not come as a shock to any of you, amIright? Plus I'll probably go to the dollar store and get birthday decorations so it feels party-ish... (Don't judge me. I'm tired...or lazy something.)

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I'm less than five pounds away from being what I weighed when I graduated high school.  HOLLA!!! However, I feel that it should be noted that I was not exactly thin when I graduated. So there's that. But I'm still stoked because I've not been this weight since then, so I don't mean to brag, but...it's kind of a big deal.

That being said - I lost 2.2 this week (and .6 last week) for a grand total of 46 pounds.

(Still to lose: 14 lbs.)

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Welp, Holly, even though they were really great tips, I'm pretty sure that on my first post "back" I failed at following any of the helpful hints for blogging you gave. I'll try harder next time. Pinky-swear. ;)

Family, football, and FUN in the fall - my favorite!

As always we had a super busy weekend (emphasis on "super"). It was fun, but it was BUSY.

Saturday started bright and early with leaving the house before 8am to get the kids to the first game of their soccer tournament.

Carter is the goalie in the orange and Natalie is next to him (telling him what to do).

We spent the better part of Saturday at the games (the kids played 3 that day and after losing 2 of them, were out of the tournament and didn't need to go back on Sunday thankgoodness). After we finished up at the games we ran home to do feed all the animals and bathe the kids and then headed down to Jeff's parents' place where we had dinner and watched the football games (GO BEAVS!!!). ALL of Jeff's siblings were there with their families, so it was great having everyone together.

We got home late that night and got up early Sunday morning to head to Jeff's parents' church where they were holding a fundraiser breakfast (for missions I believe). Again, all of Jeff's siblings met up there and it was so fun to see the pride on his parents' faces to have all their kids and grandkids in one place for a meal. We had a great time laughing it up and hanging out.

Fischer and Xyla

I think this is the first family picture since Fischer was born...oops.

After breakfast we headed to the service at our church. Since it was such a (rare) gorgeous day, after church we grabbed some super healthy lunch corndogs and fried potatoes and headed to a local park to enjoy the sunshine, falling leaves, and some more time with family (Jeremi, Shane, and Micah).

Uncle Shane (Jeremi's husband) and Jack. This picture just melts my heart!

It was Jeremi and Jeff vs. the kids. Still not sure who "won". ;)

Jeff jokingly said, "This one's for FB!" (So I obviously had to make a ridiculous I'mtryingtolookskinny face because that's what you do for FB pics, amIright?)

After the few hours at the park, we went home. We changed into our "farm clothes" and loaded our guns. (Yes, you read that right.) We loaded our guns and nailed some paper plates to tree stumps (because we're classy like that) and had fun with some target practice. I got to shoot my new handgun (that has a totally bad-a$$ built in laser grip)...and then I shot Jeff's crazy gun, too. Whew. You need a stress reliever - this will do the trick.

This is what I plan to carry with me on my runs because there have been so many cougar sightings around here lately.

Jeff just got this gun this past week. It was amazingly fun to shoot.

Needless to say, after this weekend I did not have any trouble falling asleep last night.


 

A little awkward.

Every Thursday night my sister in law (AKA: one of my best friends) and I take our kids to our church where they attend AWANA (kid classes that teach them more about Jesus and God's Word etc.). We love the classes (and not just because we it gives us 2 hours without having to answer to the name, "Mommy").

So last night was no exception. We drop the kids off and head to the nearest Dutch Brothers (on our way to Target - obviously) to grab our Americanos with cream (Y.U.M.). Since I'm off refined sugar and artificial sweeteners, I always carry Stevia in my car with me and hand a little packet of it to the baristas to add to my drink. It was a guy/kid working there last night (is it sad that I consider someone about the age of 19 a "kid" now? I'm old.) and after we ordered he asked us what we were up to (pretty sure they're required to do that) so I told him we just dropped the kids off at church and were headed out to run some errands. He's stirring our drinks and then he opens up the Stevia packets and as he's pouring the white powder into our cups he asks, "So what is this stuff anyway?" Without skipping a beat, I jokingly (!) reply, "Cocaine."

Two things.

1) I have no filter.

2) Seriously. I have no filter.

My sister (who had joked earlier about it) reminded me (while laughing her head off at the crap that just flies out of my mouth in public I blame Jeff) that not 30 seconds earlier I had told him that we just got done dropping our kids off at church. What a witness I am.

Luckily the man child kid laughed and ribbed us right back (and luckily, at least I think, he didn't write down our license plate number or call the cops on us as we were driving away or maybe they just didn't look in the Target parking lot?).

Okay. So we leave there and have a blissful time in Target and then head back to get the kids. By this time Fischer is sleeping in the car and so when we get to the church Jeremi says she'll stay in the car with the baby while I run in and get the older kids.

I send the girls (Micah and Natalie) out to the car while I go to Carter and Jack's classrooms to pick them up. As we're heading out the door the leader of AWANA (Brad) says (in reference to my kids), "You got em' all?" I'm walking past him and say, "Yep! Thank you!" And he puts his hand up and sort of waves as we're walking past. Only since I'm in my social-awkwardly-weird phase after the Dutch Bro's incident, I look at his hand up in the air (waving) and for some reason interpret it as an invitation to give him a high-five.

He just sort of takes his hand away as I'm mid-high-five and I slowly bring my jumpthegun hand down to my side and dart my eyes away from his face (so as not to make the whole situation worse by actually making eye contact?) and take off to the safety of my car lest I be mortified by doing something else involuntarily before my brain kicks in and says, "Notagoodchoice."

Must be all the drugs in my coffee.

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Oh, and for future reference: A hand waving like this one? Apparently it's NOT asking for a high-five.

Photo Credit

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And for Fit Friday:

Down 1.2 this week!

Total lost: 43.2

Still to lose (to ultimate goal): 16.8

Pinterest Fail.

This was my inspiration for a fun snack for the kids (for our Harvest/Halloween Party last night):

Photo Credit

And this is my result:

TOTALLY NAILED IT.

Note to self: Walk a little further in the apple orchard and pick yourself some RED apples. Apparently it makes a difference because "no one has green lips." Whatever. Also? Chunky "healthy" peanut butter just doesn't work here. For the love of crafty snacks - live a little and buy crappy peanut butter! Oh, and spending more than 30 seconds to make them look nice might help, too, but only if you want your kids to actually be able to identify what the snack is supposed to be next time. Just some food for thought (buh-dum-cha!).

Kid Quotes

It's Monday and I needed a pick-me-up so I went to my archive of funny stuff my kids have said (that I actually remembered to write down!) to lift my spirits a little. I figured since it's Monday where you are too you might feel better reading a few as well.

Oh and also? My kids are awesome.

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October 21, 2011:
Jack (while playing in the living room with Natalie and
Carter): "Hey you guys! Pretend I'm a gyno-saur!"

July 28, 2011:
Natalie: "When I get a little older am I
going to grow hair everywhere?"
Me: "Yes, but you can shave it off if you don't like it. Like your armpits
and legs - I can teach you how to shave that when you're older if you don't want the hair
there."
Natalie: "But won't I grow hair... you know... down *there*?"
Me: "Yes, you will."
Natalie: "How in the world do ya shave that!?"

 July 27, 2011:
Carter: "Mom, did it hurt the first time you got nailed?"
Me: "Uh, what did you just say?"
Carter: "Did it hurt the first time you got nailed? You know... what I
mean. So, did it hurt?"
Me (literally sweating): "I'm not so sure I know what you mean..."
Carter: "You know, the first time you were trying to hammer and you hit
your finger instead of the nail - did it hurt?"

April 25, 2011:
Jack (looking at the little bit of Play-Doh left on the
table): "I'm sorry, Mommy."
Me: "It's okay buddy, I'll help you clean up the rest."
Jack: "No, I'm sorry that I ate most of it and these crumbs are all that's
left..."

(I literally have hundreds of these. My kids are...special.)

The Common Catch-Up

Okay - where to start?

This past week we had school conferences and the kids are doing great in their classes. Carter's teacher told us that he is holding his own in reading and spelling (where he goes into Natalie's class - a grade above his for those subjects) and is doing really well (and working hard which is all we ask). We are so proud of that boy! We asked his teacher how he's doing as far as speaking out of turn and being respectful and she sweetly says, "Well, he always has plenty to add to group discussions" and Jeff and I laughed - sounds about right. :)

Natalie is doing great in all of her subjects as well and (as always) is simply a joy and "a pleasure to have in class as she's a natural leader and always so helpful to those around her". We are so proud of our kids!

Jack is continuing to do the homeschool program with me every couple of days when we actually remember and life isn't too crazy. He really does enjoy it and is picking up on everything so fast! He's going to do great in Kindergarten next year if I don't have a mental breakdown and actually let him go.
 
Fischer is officially in his crib now. My heart breaks a little even as I type that. UGH. He just plain outgrew his co-sleeper (he's over 18 lbs and was almost touching every side of the co-sleeper when he was laying in it....it was time) but I just want this baby-stage to last forever - it's my FAVORITE. So him being in the next room (I know, it's not that far) is just...sad. As I was packing up his co-sleeper and cleaning out the pockets I found some evidence of how I survived the first few weeks of his little (sleepless?) life:

Don't judge me.

He turned 5 months on Monday:

{NOM NOM NOM}

Yesterday morning we hung out outside, and while my Dad and I made apple cider with the press, the boys built us a fire (under supervision):

Carter is definitely my son (safety first with the hard hat because really, you just never know). Ha!

Carter took this shot yesterday morning. I saw the first one he took and then deleted it and asked him to back up a little bit (too close for an "I just woke up" picture). You're welcome.

I have zero pictures of Natalie because her cousin (Micah) was over and they were off playing (at the barn) pretty much the whole day (love those girls and how close they are!).

Fischer chillin' outside while we work.

Random post #286 over and out.

Oh - wait! I forgot Fit Friday for this week and last week too, actually...

I'm down about 4 over the past 2 weeks (after the last gain). Very pleased. I'm not obsessing over workouts (that means I haven't been doing that many) but I've been intentional with my eating and still managing to get a few circuit training workouts in a week - so not too bad.

Total lost: 42 lbs.
Still to lose (to ultimate goal): (About) 18 lbs.

Okay - over and out for reals.

Fit Friday

I've been slacking the past two weeks on the exercise. Well and on keeping up with my food log too, if I'm honest. I've just been having so much fun (it's FALL!) and since I tend to be an emotional eater I'm realizing that when I'm happy about something - that excitement turns into something good to eat (sans any sort of portion control) and then I'm left with the scale telling me exactly what I honestly already saw coming.

I was up 1.4 pounds this morning.

I didn't go crazy at all this week, but I haven't been working out like normal (honestly my crazy schedule got in the way) and I haven't been drinking as much water as normal (averaged probably about 72oz/day as opposed to my usual 128/day) - see? Not terrible, but I've just slacked in being intentional with my choices.

My goal for this week is to journal everything that goes in my mouth and drink at least 96oz water/day.

On a side note (and to make myself feel better about the scale today) I forgot that today was Friday and I ate a half bag of popcorn at the kids' soccer games last night and then had a (homemade) enchilada at 9:30pm when I got home....so there's that.

Any little "tricks" you guys have tried that help you stay motivated in the weight loss department (besides the presence of muffin tops and needing to rubber-band your jeans together when the button just.won't.quite.make.it to the loophole)?

Now I'm off to press out some fresh apple cider from the beautiful apples on our trees and hopefully not drink my body weight in ounces of apple juice.

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Total lost: 37.4 pounds

Still to lose (as I got closer to my goal I decided to add 5 more pounds to lose because I could see that my original "ultimate goal" just wasn't going to cut it...): 22.6

My name is Karey and I'm a Mom-blog stalker. (And other randomness.)

The first part of this post is a little risky in the fact that I don't want to come off as more creepy than I actually am. I'm writing it because when I find something good (ie: something that makes me laugh so hard I pee my pants) I want to share it. (You're welcome in advance.)

This is one of the blog Mom's I've never met in real life but stalk online my friend Holly (her name is a link in case you can't see the color change on the word and want to actually "see" her). She is stinkin' hilarious and her blog leaves me in stitches pretty much every time I read it. Yesterday was no exception only she didn't write it...her husband (Chris) was a guest poster (is that the right word - "poster"?) and lemme tell ya if you don't follow her blog - DO IT. You won't be sorry! Here's a link to his guest post that is all about us blog Moms and he calls us out of ALL of our "stuff" that makes us part of this unique world of, well, blog Moms!

Okay, in other news...Fall has finally hit around these parts (like for real). The weather is in the low 70s and we're actually expecting rain this weekend (yay!).

I went for what very well could be my last run outside for a while this morning. It was beautiful. I just wish that I had speakers on my sneakers so I could hear the actual sound of my feet hitting the pavement instead of the sound of my I'm-about-to-die mouth breathing that makes me want to gag just listening to it (in related news I really need a new iPod so I can hear music).

Our garden is producing right now like crazy. It's gorgeous! I love making dinners that consist mostly of food we've actually grown (and by "we" I obviously mean my Dad).

Anyway, I hope your guys' week is going great!

Catching up.

Wow. What a weekend. Remember that I was going to Portland for the Women of Faith conference? Well, it was good, you guys. Good friends (GREAT friends, actually), good food, and a GOOOOOOOD God (who really showed up in a big way).

I am blessed.

I came home late Saturday night to a husband who had done all the laundry (folded and everything ya'll - he's freaking amazing), cleaned out the car, bathed the kids, managed the farm and still had a smile on his face and a, "Welcome home" on his lips when I walked through the door now that's what I call 'foreplay'... AmIright, ladies?. I'm that kind of blessed.

More on the weekend later, okay? I've just got to process it all a bit more before I can purge what's on my heart.

Okay, onto the Fit Friday stuff that I didn't write earlier.

I weighed on Friday morning before leaving for P-town and was down 1.8 pounds. I was stoked! I did not get in much exercise (still riding that lazy crazy train) but I've been accountable with my food intake most of the time, so I still feel great about a loss (the fact that it was almost 2 pounds is a major bonus!). I'm still struggling with getting motivated (again) to workout, partly because I'm just being lazy and partly because my to-do list for inside the house is freakishly long (and yet, here I sit typing away instead of actually tackling it - but as my peeps, I'm sure you understand). I won't be surprised in the least if I stay the same this week (or gain a little) - possibly because of the Italian Restaurant we ate at on Saturday night that served me Chicken Parmesan against my will, but I ate it so as not to be rude {side eye}... and maybe because of a few other food choices things as well.

Movingrightalong.

What's gone on this weekend that I missed? I've been trying to catch up on all my favorite blogs , but I usually do that on Saturday when I've got tons of stuff to do but am avoiding it by sitting on the bathroom floor behind the locked door with my computer on my lap reading away while I drink coffee and pretend that I've got IBS. (Oh - don't even try and judge me like you've never done it.) I've missed you guys!

Where I'm At.

Tough start to the week yesterday.

By the time I kicked the kids out of the car dropped the kids off at school at 8:02 am (late as usual) I was already spent. I was not feeling very optimistic about the week ahead because my list was long, my patience short, and glancing at the logistics there simply wouldn't be enough time in each day to get everything done.

At 10am I got a phone call from my husband (who knew I had to run into town) asking if I would meet him for lunch. I had to scramble at home to get my other stuff done (to allow enough time for the stop for lunch) but it was so worth it to take the time. He knew it was exactly what I needed to regroup, calm the heck down, and just sit and discuss and de-stress a little. Man I love that guy. He is definitely my lobster (and honestly, if you don't know what that's from I'm not sure we can be FRIENDS).

So anyway, I cancelled a dentist appointment for today (they wanted to pop out 2 fillings I got when I was a kid and re-fill them because they look loose, but, um...nothankyou) because I just needed a day at home catching up. We've got a sick calf who's taking a lot of my emotional energy (and time), we're low on water (we have a spring, but it gets low every fall) so I'm spending tomorrow doing a buhZILLION loads of laundry at the in-law's house - don't know what we'd do without our parents - seriously. Soccer game tonight and Thursday night and then Friday I leave for Portland to attend Women of Faith over the weekend. I just feel like I'm constantly behind and/or playing catch up.

I find myself super frustrated (most of the time) but I'm also trying to just appreciate these days because I'm constantly being reminded that I will miss them someday and I don't want to look back with regret that all I did was rush through them on my way to the next activity. My desire is to be intentional with the kids you know, when I'm not yelling at them. I'm taking time to sit with them while they do their homework instead of hollering instructions from the next room while I'm stirring spaghetti sauce and mixing up calf-bottles and write notes to put in their lunches reminding them of how awesome I think they are. I want to smile when they walk in the room (it's embarrassing that I even have to think to do that!) and compliment them on what they have done instead of criticize what they could do better. They are my heart and they need to know it. All the time, not just when I'm feeling "caught up," ya know?

So anyway, that's where I'm at.

Fit Friday

My scale was all over the place this week. I know, I know... I shouldn't be weighing every day (blah blah blah) but the thing is I probably ALWAYS will, so oh well. Anyway, like I said, it was all over. Mostly in the "UPward" end of all over.

However, when I stepped on it this morning it read a few different things. So I did what any normal (notice I didn't say "rational") woman would do - I changed the batteries (and you're darn right, I would have put the old ones back in had the number not been in my favor - ha!).

With the new batteries I got the same reading 3 times in a row (that's what I always "need" before declaring an official weight because obviously we need to keep it at Olympic standards around here) and it said I was down 1.2 pounds. I was actually shocked because all week I was just hoping it would be what it was last week (it was up about 2 pounds for most of the week).

BUT I did work out this week (went for a run on Saturday, a run on Monday, did Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30 on Tuesday, 45 minutes of a cardio video on Wednesday and was busy walking all.day.long yesterday). I didn't go over my calorie goal for each day at all. So, in the end it worked out (see what I did there?).

My favorite look these days: Post-workout.

How did your guy's week go? Any new goals for this week?

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Total lost: 36.8

Still to lose: 18.2

I almost forgot!

The littlest little around here turns 4 months today.

FISCHER MICHAEL (oh, how I love him!!!)

I wasn't sure if you'd heard...it's a pretty big deal.

This is the life.

Sort of.

I love living on a farm most of the time, but at 7am on Saturday morning...notsomuch.

However, seeing how enthusiastic my kids are and how willing they are to put in the time and effort to take care of the animals we have (dogs, cats, bunnies, chickens, pigs, and cows) makes me feel both incredibly proud and a little lazy. (Ha!)

I (finally!) remembered to bring my camera with me to the barn this morning to capture a couple shots of the kids doing what they do best (being awesome). They are such hard workers and never complain I could learn a thing or two from them, really.

Here you go:

Just so you get a visual on how BIG the calf bottles are! Crazy, huh!?

This is this morning at about 7am (so forgive the farm I-just-woke-up look, mmkay?). :) Left to right - Fischer, Jack, Carter, and Natalie... pretty much pieces of my heart all lined up outside my body.

Natalie and the calf she named "Jeremiah." (...can't make this stuff up.)

Carter and "Jason." (I know.)

Fischer didn't exactly stay awake through the whole process. Can't say that I blame him.

Unshowered and sporting yesterday's make-up. Jealous?

Ohmyheart, I love this little boy!

Hope you guys have a fantastic weekend!

Fit Friday

Obviously, since I tooted my own horn yesterday, I would step on the scale this morning to see the smallest loss since starting this gig two months ago, but whatevs.

Down a half pound this week (but since I'm still on a high from the jeans experience I'm not even a little bit disappointed about it and no, I did not eat a whole cake in celebration). 

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Total lost: 35.5

Still to lose: 19.5

Alert the press!

I just tried on all (ALL!) my pre-pregnancy jeans and I kid you not, I can button every.single.pair! Like, I could actually wear them in public without a horrible Costco-sized muffin top spilling out (how's that for a visual?).

This is record breaking news, you guys. Fischer isn't even (quite) 4 months old (and to be honest, I gained 42 pounds during the pregnancy)! It took me a year to lose the weight with Natalie, with Carter I never really did, and with Jack it took about 7 months...

I. AM. STOKED.

{Disclaimer: I still have a long way to go to get to goal, but I'm officially the same size/weight that I was this time last year so that's reason enough for me to celebrate without eating a whole cake.}

It's a miracle, I'm being domestic!

Since I've been home from my trip I've gone all crazy with the home life. This week I feel like a total country chick home-maker rock star.

I've made dinner every night (like real dinner, not just eggs and toast like usual) using tons of food from the garden (and meat from animals that my manly husband killed). Yup, that's blog worthy for this girl. I know, it's pathetic, really.

Oh, and we've been canning! This is new for me. Definitely out of my comfort zone which is more facebook and coffee, if I'm honest. On top of that, I have also been doing a home school curriculum with Jack for pre-k and he loves it most of the time.

So you know, I should definitely get a sticker or something for all that.

Honestly though, all this new stuff has been fun surprisingly! I feel productive all.day.long. and have zero problem falling asleep at night much to Jeff's dismay.

It's going to start getting even more busy though because we've got soccer practice the rest of the week and games start next week which will fill up our evenings quickly. Also, AWANA starts tomorrow night at our church (which is a half hour away from home) so we'll be busy with that as well. All good-busy stuff, but busy nonetheless. (On the positive side, having all this stuff to do should help me be too active to want to eat everything in sight like I have been craving, no?)

Jack and I made banana bread. (I heard it was really good.) ;)

We canned apples, green beans, beets, and blackberry jam. Now I'm exhausted.

Elderberries for making wine. Because obviously.

One of the boys enjoys home school time more than the other. (Any guesses on which is which? Ha!)

Anyway, there's a few pictures from the last couple of days. Hope you're all having a fantastic week! (The weather is FINALLY turning fall-like here, so at least there's that, right?)

I'm baaaaaack!

I had the BEST time on my trip! I don't mean to brag, but seriously, it was AMAZING.

I know we're weird, but we sure have a good time!

I was a little nervous about the 3 1/2 hour plane ride with Fischer (especially after a 2 1/2 hour drive to the airport) but you guys? He totally rocked that whole trip like it was his job. Amaze-balls.

Even if he didn't do as well as he did, how could I ever be mad at a sweet face like this?

Since the whole trip was a surprise we didn't really have anything "big" planned, but that's sort of the way I like it these days. Low key. Relaxed. Lots of coffee and chatting and girl time.

The night after I got in, we had a slumber party for Renee's birthday (it was planned long before I got there, I just happened to be there when it was scheduled and I was so happy to join in!) which was a total blast. Wine? Check! Hot-tub? Check! Taco's for dinner? Check! (See? Perfection!) She's got the most awesome family and friends up there - they're so much fun (and they love Jesus, too, AWESOME!)!

The weather the first few days was gorgeous! It was mostly sunny (after the frost melted off) but was still in the mid-50's so it was crisp fall weather, my favorite kind. I did get a couple of workouts in which was great. While Renee mowed their lawn one evening, I ran on her treadmill for about 40 minutes and on another day we did a 4 mile run outside in the beautiful weather. Ohmygoodness, it was so...perfect!

See? PERFECTION.

 On Renee's actual birthday we went out for coffee and shopped around the town of Palmer where I found some books to bring home to my kids and had a super yummy salad for lunch at a sweet little shop in town there. Another super fun laid back day.

At Kaladi Coffee for some caffeine before heading to Palmer.

Lunch in Palmer.

Fischer did amazing the whole trip. I was so proud of him! He slept well, wasn't cranky (too much) and was a model traveler both there and back. (Thankyou,Lord!)

Sporting Alaska fall gear. Cute? YES, yes he is.

Glad to be back home with my kids and husband (so, so glad!) but had SUCH a great trip. Loved every minute of it.

LOVE THIS GIRL!!! So thankful for our friendship!

OH!!! And, as promised I stepped on the scale this morning (even though I really had to talk myself into it, and if I hadn't promised I would I probably would have waited a week)... I am so glad I did!

Down 2 more pounds!

I was STOKED! Granted, part of it could be that I traveled all day yesterday (we were in "travel mode" from about 8:30am until we got home at 10pm) and I didn't eat that much but I'm still chalking it up as a win. I'm so proud of how I did while I was gone (and I'm thankful that Renee's allergies keep her from eating crap - and thus kept me from eating crap I might have had she done it, too - haha!)  but I'm taking it either way. Yay!

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Total lost: 34 pounds