Can't wait to get there

                                                           This place is calling our name!

Beautiful, just beautiful!

The boys and I are excited to hit this place too! We are going to make lots of memories on this trip!

So thankful for a house sitter for the week, to take care of our place and our dog! Say a prayer for this lil guy he had a 4 minute seizure tonight, it broke our hearts!

                                 I will update you on Friday for my weekly weigh-in! Wish me luck!



Let's talk..............

DIET......................I mean LIFESTYLE change!

I am loving looking at the scales these days, I went for.ev.er before the scales would move down, they would ofcourse go up 2-3 lbs that I would gain over the weekend or a camping trip, then lose those same 2-3 pounds while dieting during the week. NEVER.ENDING.CYCLE!

My dear co-worker Shannon is also trying to diet and lose weight, so I like the "buddy-system" we walk on our lunch break and our 15 min. breaks too, sharing our stories of what our kiddos did the night before at a game or practice! We are pretty proud momma's!

Getting back to dieting, I started the Couch 25K program, that's not 25K, it's Couch to 5K program, loved the first 3 weeks, exciting to run again (or atleast try), I also measured my stomach before I started and my thighs, I noticed my thighs looked smaller, so I came home to find the measuring tape, it was nowhere to be found, (lil rugrats, I know they hid it)  :)  FOUND IT a day or two later, and wa-la, 2 inches off of my stomach and 1/2 inch off each thigh. AWESOME! So I really pushed thru a whole weekend and didn't cheat a day, tried to double my exercise and boom...........scales moved down 4 lbs, 2 that I had gained back and 2 additional pounds, so today folks that's a total of 32 lbs lost. I was hoping for 50 for my 1 yr. Lifestyle change Anniversary, but the entire time I've been realistic, if we have a b-day party I eat, if my hubs takes me out for our Anniversary I eat. So while doing it this way it does take longer, but I think it curbs the risk of binging and throwing my hands up in the air saying forget it!

We are going on vacation, super soon, it has came upon on me faster then I realized! So I'm trying to lose an additional 6 pounds before we go! I did find 2 super cute dresses a size smaller to take with me, and after I lose those 6 pounds they will look great! Lot's of motivation for sure!

Here are a few new foods I'm going to try today, first up is the Vita tops cran-bran muffins

 I haven't tried these yet, going to here in about 30 mins! I love the deep chocolate, but wanted a lil variety, so I'm hoping these have the same great taste the chocolate ones I have!

I typically eat the chocolate ones for breakfast, they are only 100 cals each, and loaded with fiber and protein. I heat mine in the microwave for about 10 secs, then add 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, and it fills me up until lunch (most of the time) These are also good to eat in the afternoon, simply because they will hold me over 2-3 hours, and when we have ballgames, they are great to grab and go!

Today for lunch, I'm going to try one of these, I couldn't find the spicy Marinara one, so I will add red pepper flakes to it, for that extra punch, I'm also known to add a packet of Splenda to my spaghetti sauce. Lots of friends think I'm crazy, but try it sometime, it takes out the acidic tomato taste. When I make my homemade sauce for the family, I always add 1/4 cup of brown sugar, try it your family will thank you for it!

And just for fun and a good laugh for all, this is what I look like when I have finished a workout.............

my lil cutie in the back, watching his momma! I'll keep you posted on the weightloss, if I can lose 16 more I'll be thrilled to stall there for awhile! That will total 48 pounds, and I will be more then thrilled with that!

We are loving.......

............us some Summer soccer!

EE team is The Chili Pepper's, and Bre's team is the Renagades, and they have lime green uniforms!
Both boys are loving it, EE isn't fond of new teams/coaches/people, but he has fell in love with soccer and is becoming quite good! He scored a goal his first game!
Bre isn't shy at all, he got out there his first practice and went straight into kicking the ball, loving every minute of it!

EE is Scientist of the Week at his school tomorrow, we have attempted 2 Science projects, one was a fail, and the other B*O*R*I*N*G................so I hope he does well with the 3rd project we came up with tonight! I'll keep you posted!

Couch to 5K...................it's going the first 3 weeks I loved, I'm currently on week 4 and STRUGGLING, not sure why, I think I'm bored running on the treadmill!

Good news............I lost an additional 4 lbs, I couldn't get down to the next weight bracket, but busting thru those 4 lbs put me there, exciting, lots more to go!

I've lost 1/2 inch off of my thighs and 2 inches off of my stomach, so I will take that! PROGRESS! :-)

Camping on the Elkhorn

We had a fun, fun time at Elkhorn Campground this weekend, it's a super nice campground, with all the amentities for children and adults, pool, game area, playground, fishing and lots more! We got to enjoy some time on the creek bank with Poc! EE caught his second fish, the first one he caught was 2 years ago, so it had been awhile for sure!

We also saw these cute campers, I had never seen them before but the Hubs had, it looks like they open up to a twin bed! They were pulled with motorcycles, and a few even had AC units in them! I was totally impressed!

EE learned to ride his big bike without training wheels, learned to swim better in water over his head, BC got sick Sat. night, but we made it thru the night, still un-sure what that was about, no fever and no compliants, but 3 bouts of vomiting, poor lil guy!

So I'm on Week 1 Day 2 of C25K-Couch to 5K, it has been awesome so far, I hate to say it, but the first workout I did 1.63 miles in 30 mins, that's very slow, each workout is 30 mins, but the jog time increases each week, so that you are jogging more then you are walking! The first workout, I really jogged and walked slow, so that I could finish the workout, after realizing it didn't kill me, I up'd my speed tonight so I was able to do 2 miles in the 30 mins. Hoping to finish the program before the Black Cat Chase in Oct. I did it last year, mostly walking with a horrible time of 46:34, so this year I'm hoping for 36 mins. that would equal a 12 min. mile, and I will gladly take it, however C25K, says at the end of the program you can do a 5K in 30 mins, I think that's pushing it for me, but I'll keep you posted!

A huge thanks to our house/dog sitter! Thanks Brooke for helping us out, so that we could have family time together!

Back to School Prep..........

So E-man starts 1st grade on the 15th, and before he started Kindergarten, I perpared 14 outfits, and no that's not a typo, for some reason I bought EVERY cute pair of plaid shorts and a polo shirt to match-Crazy, yes most likely! However I did like the idea of hanging matching outfits on hangers to prepare for the morning rush, 2 kids, in 2 different schools and a working mommy, so I do all I can to make my mornings easier.............here is a preview of about half the outfits he had last year, but it's a start!

Oh I was wrong, there is 10 outfits hanging there, these are all the "dressy" clothes for school, I don't hang regular tee shirts or athletic type shorts, he usually wears those on gym days! DON'T look at the dishes in the sink in the background, hey a girl can only do one thing at a time, and I cooked 2 dinners tonight = a sink full of dishes! :)

Speaking of 2 dinners, here is a good all in one recipe for you, and a picture too!

Chops N Lima's
2 bags of frozen fordhook limas
any type of pork chops-I use breakfast chops
3/4 stick of butter

Brown chops in skillet about 3 mins each side with some oil, about 3 tablespoons, lay on top of frozen limas-I spray my 9x13 baking dish also. Pour drippings in skillet over chops and cut up 1/2 stick to 3/4 stick of butter. Cover tightly with Reynolds wrap and bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 mins. SO YUM!

E-man starts soccer practice 2 nights a week this coming week, and we are waiting to hear from Bre man's soccer coach as well, and E-man starts baseball week after next. So lots of cooking and freezing on the weekend for weeknight meals! Let the fun begin, we LOVE every minute of "busy" with these boys!

And today at Church they had free flowers from someone's flower garden, my mom loves flowers and with Dad having cancer he can't spoil her like he use to, as soon as I spotted them we instantly thought of Nana, so look at this lil cutie, I told him to surprise Nana with the flowers so he hid them behind his back, I didn't know he knew to do that, it was soooooooooooooo cute.............check him out, button down and all, handsome lil fella!

Such a blessed mom!

Oh and I'm back on my diet, and exercise too! More to come on this, my head is right now, so that makes me determined, I will rock out my cute mini skirt at the beach in 9 more weeks! 

Revival Time............

Get ready for your invite...................................our church is having a revival the middle of Sept.
I'm super excited, and can't wait!
Revivals always kick me in the rear, and make me more aware of the person I need to be!

I'm thankful for our church, I love going and so do the boys!

Feeling extra blessed tonight, as always!

Decisions, decisions......

Gosh, has it really been nearly 2 months? Am I too busy to update my blog 5 mins every night?

These are questions I have been asking myself, I'm trying to decide to continue to blog or not to blog.

I really WANT to, but finding the time seems impossible here lately.

Not sure why we are so busy, baseball has been over for nearly a month, my team was runner-up in the tournament. I had a super fun season, but I'm done coaching E-man's team for now, I think he will grow and learn more from another coach, and it's Bre's turn to have mommy as a coach!

Both boys will be playing fall soccer, so it's been fun shopping for shin guards, new cleats and etc, so I have 2 boys, playing a total of 3 sports this fall,.............we will be super busy, but have a great time in the process! I'm thrilled they want to play sports, I encourage them every chance I get, I think it helps kid's in several different areas of life!

An update on Poc.................so far so good, the main tumor is still shrinking in his colon, he is tolerating chemo well, and still loving on all the nurses, and giving them a hard time, for some reason when the Dr. told him he was terminal, he thought that meant, flirt with every woman nurse you come in contact with.

The best news so far is...............mom and dad are moving to our town, I'm more then thrilled, mostly for my boys, they love their grandparents so much and they have a bond like none other, and I'm glad Poc can join us for our breakfast' that we have out on the weekends! (E-man's thing) E-man and Poc could be twins in their likes/dislikes, it's sometimes unbelievable, ha!

We have school shopped, had play dates, Relay for Life, visited the new frozen yogurt in town, spent many weekends at the pool, I could go on and on. I'm all about my boys, and making sure they have a great summer and memories that they can look back on. We are so blessed!

If you've read this far, congrats! It's a long post, a catch-up post I suppose.

We are excited school starts in 2 1/2 weeks!

I will do an update soon of pics for the last 8 weeks, we have had a really great time!

So thankful for all the Blessings in my life.