Memorial Day +

I Made this delicious Dinner, I think this may be my go to chicken recipe. All you do is saute a garlic clove in olive oil and then add the chicken. Cook it all the way through, then add some brown sugar on top, as soon as it melts, serve.  The Zucchini is just roasted with garlic powder, salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese.

Jake is getting to be such a big boy! He now sits in high chairs and carts. This was at Buffalo Wild Wings, all the waitresses swooned over him!

Memorial Day I went and visited my grandparents grave across the street. I never knew my Grandma, but I miss my Grandpa. And I try to go there for my Mom, since she can't be there to put flowers on their graves

It was so beautiful with all the flowers. There was so much love. You could really feel it.

Yesterday I took Lucy on  Mommy Daughter date. I let her choose where we ate lunch, she chose Chilis and then we went to  see The Lorax! It was fun to just be one on one with her. She is so smart and fun to talk to.

Tyler went out and bought a little grill to put on our back deck, so last night after the 3 hours it took him to put it together, he roasted us some Turkey Dogs!

This was just a fun picture of my two kiddos at Costco today. I love them so much! And everywhere we go we get at least 5 compliments about their red hair.... I am one lucky Mamma!

Tonight I caught Jake trying to stand up!! He fell over, but then he did it like 3 more times! HOLY COW... this kid is growing up way too fast!

I did it!

ONE FULL WEEK OF WORKING OUT EVERY DAY! That's right... 6 days straight! Can you tell that I am a little proud of myself? Well if you knew me, you would be too. I have NEVER in my life worked out for 6 days in a row. NEVER! I did it :) (even with shin splints) Starting Sunday I will be moving into PHASE 2 of Jillian's 30 day shred, which is also huge. I can't count how many times Tyler and I have started this program and quit before the 2nd phase (sad huh?)

AND. I have eaten very well this week. still no soda. I am not even tempted. I feel really good, but I have only lost 1 pound. That is a little discouraging, but I am trying not focus on the scale and just keep going with my eating and workouts.

Saturdays are my designated days off. I will still eat well, but I am going to give myself one workout day off a week. And I have chosen Saturday. BUT... tomorrow we are going to Rexburg to swim with Uncle Shane and Aunt Kate, so I will technically still get a little bit of exercise. AND Tyler promised me that if I worked out every day this week, I could go get a pedicure tomorrow, yay me!

Cheers to changing my life!!

diet update

Today marks my one week without Soda!!! Yay! I pretty much only drink water. Sometimes I drink cranberry juice or put crystal light in my water bottle. But so far so good! I don't even think I had any withdrawals either.

I have also started doing Jillian's 30 day shred. I have done this before but have only made the goal to do it like 3 times a week and that never worked because I only stuck with it for like the first two days. It was probably because you do get really sore after the first workout so if you wait two days to do another workout, you are screwed because you can barely move. This time I am doing it EVERY day (except Saturday) That way I won't take a day off and be out of the mood the next day, I just push through the pain. so far it has been 3 days in a row.

I FEEL AWESOME! I never realized before how much soda drug me down! I was lazy and fatigued all the time. I also think it played into my grumpiness.  Now I am up and going and I am a much nicer Mommy. I have a ton more energy.

In addition to no soda, I have almost cut out all sugar. Basically the only sugar that goes into my body is fruit (or juice). I have been eating a lot more veggies and about the same amount of protein.

A typical day looks like this: 
Wake up, eat 2 scrambled eggs w/cheese, maybe a fruit of some sort, drink a bottle of water (16oz)
Do my workout, drink another bottle of water, shower
Lunch: veggies and chicken (usually)
Snack: fruit and cheese or nuts
Dinner: varies... usually a protein and veggies sometimes a smoothie of some sort, and a bottle of water
Then before bed I down another bottle of water

 I haven't lost any weight yet, but I wasn't really expecting to the first week. I think my body is just in shock right now. It has been going through some major changes in diet.

I did however take all my measurements (arms, thighs, waist, etc.), and a before pic, but you guys may never see that ;) so we will see where I am at in a month. A month.... We will be in WA in a month! YAY! we are headed to Tyler's brother's graduation :) we are excited to see everyone.

6 Months!

I can't believe my baby boy is already half a year old! Time is flying by with Jake....

Today was his check up and here are his stats:

Weight: 18lbs 7oz (birth: 6lbs 15oz)

Height: 26 3/4" (birth: 19 3/4")

Head circ: 17 1/4"

Doc says he is for sure teething, he can feel four (2 on top, 2 on bottom) ready to come in

What is Jakers up to these days??

He is exploring his new sippy cup.

He is crawling all over the place

He still needs a little help sitting up by himself

his favorite foods are: Sweet potatoes, Bananas, Peas, Squash, and Applesauce

Foods he does NOT like: Carrots and Green beans

He loves to be held, but also plays well with his toys on the floor

He loves to be tickled and play peek-a-boo with Lucy

His eyes still haven't really decided what color they are going to be (I am hoping brown like his Mamma)  

Loves to smile, and babble at everyone

 I am really into orange and blue, can you tell?

 

Lucy's hair

This girl definitely got her Momma's hair. I had the most scraggely hair when I was a kid. Thin and red and semi curly. 

So I try my hardest to keep her hair contained, otherwise she looks like a little homeless girl! LOL....

So I thought i would share her hair do today!

As of late...

We have been spending some time at the park. Jake loves to be outside and explore the grass

I have been trying to eat healthier. I love asparagus!

last night I made this little ditty, It was DELICIOUS! fried up a zucchini, green bell pepper, garlic, and a chicken breast (small) in some olive oil. Mmm... so yummy

OUCH!

The cheese grater was not so kind to me this week,

And the plasma center people were not so kind to Tyler.  Yes that is one BIG bruise, covering most of his arm. I guess they poked all the way through his vein so when the blood was being returned into his vessels, it went into his arm, not the vein... ouch!

we did get compensated for this :)

 These are my Mother's Day flowers from my sweet husband... so pretty!

here is just a random picture of Jake, he is moving all over the place!

Grumpy Gus and Mean Mommy

This about sums up my day today.


I will tell you how it all started. Last night Tyler was hot, well the fan is on my side of the bed, so I let him switch me spots (to be nice) and then I couldn't for the life of me get to sleep. Now I was on the hot side of the bed, then Jake decided to wake up at 1:30 am. So who has to get up and feed him? me. Tyler was sound asleep. so I get up, make a bottle, take a melatonin (to help me get to sleep) and feed Jake. I get him back to sleep (in our room). An hour later I am still wide awake. I cannot fall asleep on the wrong side of the bed. So now i am mad at myself for being "nice" to my husband. I take my pillow and go out to the living room where I lay on the couch for another hour. Next thing I know Tyler is tapping me, I open my eyes, and the sun is not yet up, but it is lighter outside, maybe like 5am? He plops Jake down next to me. Really? He was kind enough to make a bottle and bring it to me so I didn't have to get up. So I fed Jake (AGAIN) and put him back to sleep in our room. Then I take my pillow and my now aching back into our room and push Tyler back over to his own side of the bed. I am so grumpy at this point that i was not concerned about being "nice".

Now when it was finally time to get up and ready for the day. I woke up to a messy kitchen, messy living room, and messy kids. Really? You were up 2 hours before me and you know that I got NO sleep, you couldn't have at least cleaned up a bit? nope.  So naturally everything that was built up inside of me.... EXPLODED! I was not nice at all. not to anyone. I am embarrassed at the things I said and the things I did. I admit I do have a little bit of a red-head attitude. It doesn't come out very often anymore, but when it does, WATCH OUT. So because I blew up, so did Lucy, and so did Jake. But, my sweet Husband never let his cool go. He is so restrained and reserved that he knows if he just stays quiet and lets me get it all out, it will eventually pass. And it did. But Lucy is like her Momma in that, if I am in a bad mood, it puts her in a bad mood. So now I am suffering the wrath of her, because Mommy was a meanie. And I am trying to let it pass with her.

I am sorry. I am sorry today that I got mad. I am sorry that today, I was a bad Mommy. I am sorry that today, I was a mean Wife. I don't like yelling, especially in front of or at my kids. There is no excuse for the way I acted and reacted. I am trying my best and sometimes that isn't good enough even for me. Sometimes I make a mountain out of a mole hill. Today I am not proud of me. I will be better tomorrow. I realize that I am the only one who has the power to change me. It was a choice to let the little things get to me. It was a choice to get angry, it was my choice, and it was wrong. I will be better tomorrow.

The moral of this long story is..... maybe get another fan? lol

Sorry for my rant... I am done now

Kale

These are going around the inter-webs so I finally decided to try them. KALE CHIPS! All you do is coat them in olive oil, salt them, and bake them at 350 for like 12 minutes. They are so good! and way good for you. Tyler and Lucy even like them too!

Try them. They are addicting so make a lot at one time.

No Soda

That is it. I am going off of soda. ALL soda. When I was pregnant with Jacob and I was diabetic i sorta got addicted to diet coke, cherry to be more specific. So this is one of the things that is keeping me from losing weight. I know it will make a difference. So starting today i am no longer drinking soda. this will also allow for more water consumption (hopefully).

Mom's Day

Tomorrow is Mother's day! I wanted to dedicate a post to my Mom. This has always been a hard day for my Mom, which I am sure has something to do with her Mother dying when she was a little girl and then growing up with a wicked step Mother. But now that she has us, we try and make this day special for her. But This year she was lucky enough to get away with her sisters and go to VEGAS for the weekend! I am so jealous, but I know she is having so much fun.

Mom, I just wanted you to know how much I love you. You are my go to gal! It is such an awesome thing to call your Mom your friend. And you are truly the best. You have always given me the best advice, or let me figure out things on my own. You have given me the courage to grow up and live my life. You are always so supportive of us even though sometimes you may not agree. You are smart, Funny, Kind, and hard working. Such an awesome example to me and my kids. Not only are you the best Mom, I couldn't ask for a better Grandma for my two precious children. For Lucy you gave up a Month of your life to come be with her when she was born. living in a strange place in a strange city, spending your days at the Hospital. I could not have done that without you. You know when to give tough love and when to back off. I appreciate all that you do. Raising 6 kids could not have been easy, but we all turned out so great. AND we still love each other, that is quite the accomplishment. a lot of families don't even talk anymore. I love you Mom and I hope this Mother's day you remember your kids and husband that love you so much. You mean the world to us!

Carolyn, I wanted to thank you for Tyler. You should be so proud of the Man you raised. He is hard working, kind, gentle, funny, and the best Dad. I know I owe that to you. You have taught him all of those things. You have also been a great Mother-in-law to me. We have grown closer this last year and I have so much love and respect for you. You are one tough chick! Thank you for loving my children and calling Lucy just to talk to her. She loves her Grandma Haas so. I wish we could be there to celebrate your day tomorrow, I hope Cody makes it all so special for you. Know that you raised wonderful Boys who will always find their way. They are strong and all so loving. You should be proud to know that you have done all that you can do. I love you and hope you have a great Mother's day tomorrow!

And to all of My sisters, sisters-in-law, NANA, and my friends with children,

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Summer Days

Today was perfect! Tyler had the day off and we woke up and went for a walk. All of us. I have sorta made it a goal to go walking for at least 40 minutes every morning. When I get home I do abs and stretching. Today I convinced Ty to come with! So we loaded up the kids in the Jogger and went. We ended up walking for an hour and 15 minutes! According to my calorie counter on my watch, I burned 1087 calories! Sweet huh? But the bad new is, it was hot. and although I sunscreen the kids, I failed to do my self.

Seriously!? Almost 25 years old. You would think I would have learned by now!

After our walk we came home and got ready for the day and then headed out for a BBQ with some of Tyler's work friends. I love that his work place is like a family. They all enjoy each other so much that they like to hang out outside of work on their days off! It makes it more pleasant for Him to go to work for sure!

So here are just a few pictures I took from the night.

It was a perfect summer day. Loved every minutes of it :) (even my sunburn)

This is hilarious, For a good laugh please check out this craigslist ad....  CLICK HERE

"Where is Jacob??"

Isn't he the CUTEST!?

PS... thanks again Natalie, totally saved me!

Recipes

THIS blog is seriously AweSOME!!! I have taken so many recipes from these gals in the last few weeks. Check them out! SERIOUSLY, do it. NOW

Videos of Jacob

So I am pretty frustrated with the way I have set myself up. My blog is set to a way old email, and I can't figure out how to change it to match my google email, which is what my youtube is also under. So I can't just search for my youtube videos and post them on here. So long story... long: I have to just post the links. Jake is going through some pretty awesome mile stones right now. And since he never sees his grandparents I am trying to catch as much of him on camera as possible for all you people in Bham. So here are a few videos that I have taken as of late. They grow up so fast and I want to be able to remember these precious moments!
 (and sorry to those who have already seen these on facebook)

Just click on the titles and it will take you to the video.

Jake scooting

Jake rolling from Back to front

Jake giggling

Mad Jake scooting   (and no he is not naked, his onesie is orange)


On the upside I am loving this new face lift that blogger has gotten! Now I can see just how many people are looking at my blog each day... 51 so far today, and NO comments??? Its ok. I forgive you because now I can actually see that you are stopping in :)