New View

I forgot to tell my parents I got new glasses. yes, they are a little loud and have a little "bling" and no, not normally "me".... but I LOVE them! You know, I'm getting older.... so, one day I wanted to get my haircut like a girl at church. I loved what she wore, how she did her hair, her jewelry.... then I realized, that's not me. So who am I? I started looking on the net at different hair and clothing styles to see what "I" like, not what everyone else likes or what's "in". So, that's my new resolution... to be "me" If I like it, I'll get it. I felt a little self conscience in my new glasses, but I just had to realize that was me worrying about what others think. I just have to change my mind frame to be comfortable with me.

On another note... the Summer Wellness program is soon ending and I have so far lost........ 17lbs. YEAH! I am at 10% loss. I hope to work hard this week and lose 3 more lbs and then I will have 20 more to lose to reach my goal. When I do, I found these great retro 40's dresses at our local thrift store and I think I'm going to buy them for that size. (They are only 25cents so I can spare the change right?) I feel great and have been able to play so much better with the kids and do things I used to do without dying. I'll keep you posted next week on my total loss and inches.... oh and a before and after picture. I'm so glad Dianne put it together. It's been a fun adventure.

Happy 4th!

We had a fantastic weekend. We worked hard and played hard and for the most part, everyone was in a good mood. On Friday we did our grocery shopping and hung out around Statesboro then we played outside and got our indoor chores done and Brian mowed (how can a jungle grow in a few days?) Saturday we started out by cleaning out our garage. Ok, so our garage has been neglected for probably a year. We go in it, but only fast enough to get what we need and then out again. It's detached in our backyard and spiders were multiplying in it. I mean tons! Everything had eggs on it and it was just... you get it. Well, we emptied everything out and in the mean time a humongous spider was under something. I mean huge.... we decided it was a brown recluse. Our exterminator told us last year he thought some of the webs were from some, but we had cleaned it out then and the only ones we had seen were tiny little ones. It freaked us out. Brian was lifting boxes, each of the boys had golf clubs and Mollie was holding the can of bug spray. Thankfully we got it and don't have to ever wonder. The garage looks GREAT! I should take a picture of it.... well, afterwards, we went to the park and played football and basketball and I taught the kids four square. After being hot and stinky we all got showers and got ready for fireworks in town. They were GREAT! The show was quite long and not one single kid cried... YEAH!!! Every year we've had scared kids. They loved the fireworks and Jonah couldn't stop pretending HE WAS a firework. (cooky kid) Oh, and it only took 45 minutes to get out. Much better then the hours last year. It was a great day!

Well, today we enjoyed church and then we came home to get ready for our party. Benjamin and I have been planning what we were going to do for our family party today for a week. He chose what we were going to eat, do, decorate, everything. We had layer dip, layer trifle, had a bike parade and did fireworks at 5pm. (they couldn't wait). We did have some tired kids toward the end, but all in all this was a very enjoyable weekend.

I am so grateful to live in such a wonderful country, to be able to worship how I wish to and to be able to raise my children how I want to. I am very grateful for our Founding Fathers and for their faith in God to be able to build up this country, and even though our current situation is not what I wish it were, I am very thankful for our freedoms we have. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend too.

Eeeks it was hot!

Well last week we went to Charleston to go camping for the week. It didn't start out so great, but we had a great time in the end! On Saturday night the kids went swimming in a hotel and I just knew they shouldn't have.... Jonah and Amie got some kind of stomach virus. They were sick on Sunday and some of Monday. And man, it is so much fun having sick kids in 100 degree weather in a tent. But, after they were done, we had a great time at the beach, the water park, the beach again, and just riding bikes through the great trails they had on the grounds. We really enjoyed our stay and will probably go back next year. Although, I am trying to convince them to go when it's not so hot.

Party, sickness and more....

Mollie's Birthday Party was last weekend and I think she had a blast. We had a Western Hoedown Throwdown and she had 13 girls over at the house. We cleared out the furniture in the LR and the girls line danced the night away. We also had a table with old fashioned candy and bottled rootbeer. Oh, and you can't forget the watergun shoot out.

Poor Benjamin. He has had a fever for a week. We took him in on Tuesday and his Ped. couldn't get him in so we went to the urgent care. The doc took a strep test which tested negative, but still thought it was that, so Benj was put on antibiotics. Well, this morning Mia had a well visit and Benjamin was still not better, so I took him in to his ped. He ended up having a viral infection in his lungs. When we was 2-4 he was all the time getting croup. Well, it was similar to that. So, we are back on the nebulizer. Amazingly, after just a few treatments, he's already doing better.

My summer wellness challenge is going great. I'm down 12lbs and feeling so much better. Still can't fit in all my old clothes, but that's not my goal... I want to be much smaller. So this week's challenge was NO WHITE OR BROWN SUGAR NO WHITE FLOUR. It's been pretty easy because we did this 2 years ago for 6 months. I think the only thing I really miss is Peanut Butter. I won't be ready for my 5k this week. I will be ready though by July. There is a 5K I may do in Atlanta. That is my goal!!

Well, check out www.forsalebyowner.com We put up our house for sale. If it sales, great, if not, well, that's fine. We just want to get it ready in case we find another house or finally take that leap for our own business. I've been pretty busy painting and hanging curtains. The girls room looks so pretty. I wish I had done this 2 years ago. It always goes that way.

Anywho.... I will post some more later.

Summer Wellness Challenge

This past weekend we went to Augusta and Atlanta for a mini trip. I'll post more about that as soon as I get some pictures downloaded.....

I have been doing pretty good. Another 2lbs lost and I am slowly fitting into a few more pieces of clothing. I think another 5 will get me into my 12's. Yeah! Then another 10 will get me into my 10's. So come fall (bummer not the summer), I should be in my 7/8's. I ran a little more last week, and doing better with running. But, I'm kind of tired of it. I'm in a little slump. I'm doing it right now because I have to not as much as I want to. I just need to get pepped up again. Maybe I should buy me new running shoes ....Well, here is this week's challenge. It' pretty easy, except the snack part. I usually use that time to escape my children and read or play on the computer... I'll have to do that some other time.

"ELIMINATE FOOD DISTRACTIONS

How many times have you sat down to watch t.v., read a book or check your emails while munching on chips, popcorn, M&MS or whatever and before you know it they are GONE and you hardly remember consuming them, let alone what they tasted like? Well, that's what we are going to try to avoid this week.

This week we will strive to eliminate ALL food distractions, by putting more focus on what we are eating when we are eating it. I can't possibly list all food distractions, but here's a few good examples: watching t.v., on the computer, reading a book, driving/riding in the car, playing games, standing rather than sitting, preparing food for others, walking to class, working, etc, etc. Try not to just focus on eliminating the distraction, but ENJOYING the food you consume. I believe that well prepared, healthy food can and SHOULD be enjoyable. Try sitting down at the table with your family/friends when eating meals AND snacks!! Yes, snacks. Put your portion on a plate/bowl, take it to the table, sit down and take pleasure in it! Take time to notice the colors, textures, smells and flavors of the food that fuels your body and mind. In this busy world we live in, it won't hurt us to take a few extra moments to savor the things we enjoy." (Summer Wellness Challenge Program, Dianne Nichols)

Girl Scout Camping

Oh, I didn't write about our camping trip. We had a great time a few weeks ago camping with Mollie and the other 2 Juliettes. I'm loving not having a troop because we can do these kinds of things without all the adult trainings needed. The girls have earned 12 badges so far and many of them was from this camp out. They spent weeks planning and learning safety in order for them to go. It pretty much went without a hitch although paddle boating was extremely HOT!!! We didn't plan that one very well. Next time we'll go later or much earlier... not in 90 degree weather. Mollie succeeded in staying up until midnight and I think she was the first one up. Just girls (plus Kamille's brother) got along all right!! Here are some pictures.

Week 4 -Summer Wellness Challenge

Wow! 4 Weeks down and 8 pounds lost. Slowly but surely. I was super proud of myself this week.... I used to be pretty athletic and loved sports, but always hated running long distance. Well, I've been wanting to do a 5K and have been having a hard time even conquering a mile. I started reading a website couch to 5K and I've been doing it wrong. I've been trying to run by distance. This site has you run by time. So, I started this week. Since I've been exercising for 3 weeks, I skipped a few weeks. What I did was run for 7 min. walk for 1 and repeat until I got to 30 min. Amazing!! I did it! And when I went to measure the first night, it was 2.2 miles. To me that was fantastic. Now I just have to work up to doing 3.11 miles in 30 min. This week I up the min running. 8min run 1 min walk. And then I'll up every few times. I am actually enjoying this much more than I was when I was running and wanted to give up after a mile. Anyways.... I ate great this week even when we went to Ryans and I even fit into a skirt that I bought last year when I was 25 lbs lighter. I lost 2 inches in my waist and 2 in my hips, .5 in arms, 1 in thighs and 2.5 in bust. I am very happy. YEAH! It's coming. This week's challenge is:

"1. You must email/blog at least one teammate your "exercise log" each day.
I think people tend to choose more difficult workouts and try harder when they know someone is going to ask what they've done for exercise that day. Seriously, who wants to own up to being a slacker?

2. At least one workout this week must be done with a "workout buddy" (this buddy does NOT need to be a team member)
I believe we work harder, faster, longer and with more enthusiasm when we're next to someone else who is right there encouraging us to finish one more set, who tells us we can do more than we think possible, who won't let us stop when it starts getting difficult, because they know and understand our goals and ambition!" (from the summer wellness website)