Slackin' on the Blog

I've been slacking.  Lately, I feel like my to-do list just gets longer each day instead of shorter.  Sigh.  Here are some of the things I've been working on.  

Last weekend, I had another Tastefully Simple party, so I decided to change some things up with my display and I made a 'My Story' board.  It took a few hours last week to put it together, but I love how it turned out and was well received at the party.  I had such a fun time Saturday and got 3 more fall parties booked.  It won't be much longer until Riley's weaned and I can get back to my 'normal' party schedule.  I cannot wait!  I've missed it so much.

On Sunday, the kids and I went to the pool while Jarrod helped a friend move, then we spent some quality time with friends at dinner and headed to Yum Yos for dessert.  We all love hanging out with them.  Our 'babies' aren't so little anymore and it was fun to watch them interact with each other and the big brothers.  Fun times.

Riley's birthday cake is ordered, and today I'm going to pick up stuff to make her birthday onesie and tutu.  I haven't decided if she's going to wear it to the party or just for pictures, but I'll be sure to post pics to the blog when they're finished.  My goal is to get most of the things done for her party this week because next week, I need to work on prepping clothes for a consignment sale.  Yikes....it never ends!  

I'll get back to the camera soon...

Computer Boy

 Gavin's love for electronics has increased over the past year.  Is it a coincidence that I got my iPhone last July???  I think not.  But he is really getting good at using the laptop.  He loves to play on PBS Kids and Disney Junior, and as a special treat, he gets some time to play games on Cartoon Network. 

 I love to watch his little fingers at work almost as much as I love watching the wheels turn in his mind as I can tell he's figuring out what he's supposed to do.  Yes, I'm biased, but this kid is such a smarty pants.  And, boy, do I love him!

These Shoes Were Made for Walking!

 We hit another milestone in our house....

 Now that Riley is spending the majority of her day walking around, we figured it was time to buy her a pair of shoes so that she could walk around while we're out and about.  She has some 'barefoot sandals' and a couple pairs of sandals that Mimi bought her, but they're not all that flexible for walking, so we headed to Stride Rite for her first pair of 'walking shoes.'

Seriously, how cute are these???  They didn't have much to choose from in her size.  The poor little girl is going to have tiny feet like her mommy.  Let's just hope they don't get wider.  So, we had two pairs to choose from in a size 3.  These, and a pair of cute pink ones.  In the end, we opted for these, hoping they'd match more things since they'll be her primary pair of shoes for a while.  And they are super shiny, and just so adorable.  

 

 

And you know what's ironic?  Now that she has her first pair of 'walking shoes,' she can't figure out how to walk in them!  She's slowly getting better, but you should have seen her in the store trying them on....it was comical.

Wordless Wednesday

Potpourri

Isn't that one of the mix-match categories on Jeopardy?  This is going to be a random post, just so I can feel caught up!

First, an update on my dad.  I've had a lot of friends asking what is going on with him.  My dad had surgery last Tuesday on his jaws; a surgery that was long coming and much needed.  He will have his mouth wired shut for FOUR weeks!  Can you imagine?  Well, after the surgery he was having a lot of trouble with his oxygen level, and after many tests, it was found he had a pulmonary embolism.  So, finally, after an extra four days in the hospital, things were looking well enough to release him.  He has one week down, and three more to go...  We love you, Dad {Beepa!}  

Next....Biggest Loser.  {This is info for you, mom...}   Thanks to Amy, I got enough motivation in April to start using My Fitness Pal.  The website and app allow me to log in my food and exercise to see my calories in and out, and I was getting my eating under control.  It was a huge eye opener for me to see my portion sizes, so I started using smaller bowls and plates as one way to control my calories.  Jarrod is exercising a lot more, and that was motivation for me, too, to start working out again on a regular basis.  Sadly, my shin still hurts if I do too much, so I haven't been able to run as much as I'd like, but I've been doing Insanity and 30 Day Shred DVDs and hand weights at home.  This weekend, I started using a heart rate monitor as well to better calculate my calories burned during my exercises.  Two weeks ago, I joined my Tastefully Simple team in an 8 week Biggest Loser competition.  I thought it would be the perfect kick in the butt to keep me on track to lose the weight I wanted to lose before Megan's wedding.  It's perfect for me, because I have to PAY each week if I gain weight!  I did great the first week....not so great this week.  Tomorrow is the weigh-in day, and it's looking like I'll owe a dollar or two (it's a dollar per pound) so it's my motivation to be good today.  My big concern is that I'm going to gain weight when I stop nursing Riley in the next month or so.  As a breastfeeding mom, I get some extra calories each day, so I'm going to have to be even more strict when she's not nursing anymore.  Yikes!

And lastly, I've been asked what we're doing about Riley's birthday party.  We weren't going to do a big thing, but then I started to feel a little guilty about not having the same type of pictures for her memory book, so I decided to just pick a theme and go with it.  We're just inviting a small group of our closest friends that are around Riley the most, and thanks to Big Day Invitations, we'll be having a Pink Ladybug party!  I cannot believe our baby girl is turning ONE!  We were just cleaning out the baby toys to store away and make room for new ones, and it was such a smack in the face....we don't have a BABY in our house anymore.  :(  

Alright...I have more to write about, but this has gotten long enough and the kids are finished with breakfast.  That's my sign that our day is ready to begin!  Busy busy day ahead...and I have two pounds to lose! :)