Jessica's Wedding

We had an amazing time at my cousin Jessica's wedding. She was such a beautiful blushing bride! The ceremony was perfect (minus her putting out the wrong unity candle, yeah, she put out the one they had just lit, the one that symbolizes them going from 2 to 1) and the reception had amazing food, drink and entertainment! Tobbie loved the dj and she literally danced for 3 hours straight! My little flower girl walked down the aisle and did her job and said so when she made it to the end!

Enjoy the photos and videos!



jessica and her two brothers dancin!




tristan was happy to be with all the bridesmaids!

Flower girl duties

Ok, here is a little video clip of Tobbie practicing her flower girl "duties" for our cousin Jessica's wedding that is today. She loved throwing the petals down and was worried about them just laying there on the floor. She wanted to pick them up and do it over and over and over again! I can't wait to post video and photos from the wedding that is tonight!!!!

T-Bone in the tub

Just a cute little video of our T-Bone in the tub!

Swim Lessons

Ok, we didn't exactly learn how to swim during our two weeks of swim lessons, but Tobbie did learn how to tread water and she can bring herself up for air. That has to be pretty darn hard when you don't have an ounce of fat on your body and you just sink!

The beginning of lessons started out a little rough, she just wanted to play and not pay attention, but hey, she is only 3. At the pool they have a slide and at the end of each session, the kids were allowed to go down the slide (that is all my kid wanted to do). Eventually she overcame her fear of jumping into the water and by the last day, that was a major thing for her to do. All in all, I am pretty proud of her.

Umm, except for the day that we had to leave early because she hit me, the instructor and then splashed water in both of our faces. Since Daddy is gone, I will blame that attitude on him and I am sure he would say differently.

Enjoy the cute videos!

coming down the slide


the tantrum we had in the pool


Miss Shannon throwing her up in the air

jumpin into the pool

and this is Tobbie and her little friend Jena going down the slide

OMG!

I moved up to level 2 today on the shred. Well, I had to stop during the first circut, but I did it ALL after I put the kids down for bed. I had better be HOT when this is all over!!!

But I do have to say that I am feeling AMAZING! My endurance is building so fast and I am amazed at the strength I have built up in like one week!

Yeah Me!

Stroller Rama

I was mistaken thinking I had six strollers, I only have 5! Why do I need 5 strollers? Well, each one has its own purpose.

Ok, lets start from the top, our very first stroller.

We purchased the Chicco Cortina Keyfit 30 after Tobbie was born. It a very lovely travel system and it met all the requirements we needed to be able to bring our very fragile 24 week preemie home in. Plus, the undercarriage was large enough to hold her oxygen tank and monitors. We now use the car seat with Tristan and if I am out shopping alone with just him, I use this stroller. It really simplifies life for me.



Our next stroller purchase was a BOB Revolution. This is by far my FAVORITE stroller ever made! It is like butta rolling down the street. I bought this stroller to get into shape when Tobbie was about 1 1/2. Michael uses this stroller to take out Tobbie for runs and I will use this stroller for Tristan when Tobbie is in school during the school year.



The third stroller purchase was another Chicco. It was one of the unbrella strollers. I too love this stroller. It is perfect for traveling with one child. It comes with a dandy little canopy that can snap on or off and a lovely little carrying bag. If you have traveled on airplanes and know how the airlines can eff up your baby gear, you will know why that lovely little bag is so awesome!



The fourth stroller we bought when Tristan was born. I NEEDED a double stroller, but I couldn't get just any double stroller because the Chicco infant carrier will only attach to a very select few strollers out there. So, we ended up with this beauty of a boat. I love this stroller for shopping with both kids. You can face them any which way you want and use the seat adapter for the infant carrier. Plus, it has a HUGE undercarriage basket and side handlebars for older children to hold on to.




And last, but not least, we just purchased a double walking/jogging stroller. I couldn't quite bite the bullet and purchase a double BOB, I figure I can do that when I get into better shape. We bout an InStep Surburban Safari. It isn't a BOB, but I like it. I just wish the sun shade would go down a little further.

Ok, that is my stroller review! Maybe my next BLA GUH will be of my baby food stash, and it ain't homemade!

AGHHHH! FUNNY & GROSS!!!!

ok, I have become a fan of texts from last night.

I have also become a fan of youtube.

Here are some funny/gross videos from youtube!!!

For Anderson

We heard that a little boy named Anderson was loving watching the Shamu (or Sham-POO as he says) videos, so here are a couple more for him!

Enjoy them Anderson!

Mother Effer isn't even the word that needs to be used...

OH. MY. GAWD! I could feel the pain from the shred last night, but I swear, I have never, ever hurt like this before from a workout. The little muscles around my elbow hurt. Did you know you had little muscles around your elbows? Well, start shredding and you will freaking find out! I am going to have to wait to do day two until I stop by Walgreens and pick me up some Tiger Balm or Icy Hot to coat myself down.

Oh, and I bombed a little last night at our Mom's night out. I already consumed my ONE drink for the week and I ate chocolate covered strawberries, 7 of them and some spinach dip with chips. I think it will be ok with the amount of LACTIC ACID swimming around in my body!

I WON'T GIVE UP!!!!

Mother EFFER!

I hope and pray that what I vomited up was "fear leaving my body". Oh, I pray that it was fear that came up and about 25 pounds!

Ok, I just did my first attempt at the 30 Day Shred. She kicked my ass, ripped it off and then fed it to me to vomit up. For realz. I will have to do it again tonight because I couldn't finish the last circut for vomiting.

I really like this workout and I will do my part, but damn, all I want is a little tiny second for a sip of water. But stopping for water is what has made my ass huge (there is no way it is from Ronald McDonald).

Well, to hold myself accountable, I will post daily my food/exercise diary, just in case you were interested. I am going to list my measurements, weight and a before and after photo. I am not going to weigh myself again until the end of 30 days (I am going to have to hide the scale) and at the same time I will remeasure and post an after photo.

Did I say that I am only going to have 1 drink a week? That is going to suck, but it will be worth it!


Measurements:

Bust 40"
(I am breastfeeding and have not fed the little man as of yet, so this can vary)

Waist 35"

Hips 41"

Arm 12"

Thigh 24"


and I weigh *cough*1*cough*7*cough*8*cough*

I did weigh fully clothed w/ shoes on. I don't live in a nudist colony so me weighing myself naked is silly. I want to know what I weigh with clothes on, and I still haven't fed Tristan yet (he is still sleeping).

I gained 12 pounds on vacation and that ain't no joke!

Photo (I have severe bedhead and this was post shredding)

Attempt to become a Shred Head

After downing a Big Mac, french fries and a for real Coke for dinner that is being nicely washed down by a delicious raspberry martini, I decided to join a few on-line friends and start "shredding". Yes, shredding and that means that I want to become a "Shred Head".

I strutted my full gut along with my two adorable kiddies into Target and picked me up some hand weights (I already have some, but I wanted some new ones), picked up Hottie Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred video and off I went, with about $100 worth of other stuff too. I swear, I can never make it out of Target without spending atleast $150!

So, tomorrow morning I will begin shredding. Wish me luck, I hear that I will need it!

Vacation Fun

Well, we got back on Monday night from a very LOOONNNGGGG vacation! It was fun, but very long for two little ones.

We first went to New Smyrna Beach in Florida. We were there with Michael's parents and grandmother. It was so wonderful having GG there because she was able to stay in the condo with Tristan majority of the time. It was too hot for him to be out there like we all were.
The condo complex was really nice. Notice that I said "complex". Our particular unit however looked like it had been decorated by a gay man that couldn't afford a place in the Hampton's, so he decided to show his "flare" off in this unit. Not just that, but it wasn't that clean. Diane and I have already discussed this and she says she will not get her feelings hurt over me blogging about it. She said she just wanted me to show the photos of some of the rooms so everyone can know what I am talking about! GG (Michael's grandmother) wanted liquid hand soap so she didn't have to look at the two men on the soap dish and on the back of one of the bathroom doors were three horses drawn in pencil. Still, I couldn't get over the wallpaper in the room the kids and I were in. I'm not a homophobe, but come on, if you want your condo to rent and to have return renters, make it pleasant!

The complex was on the beach (what other way is there to go?) and it had two nice large swimming pools and kiddie pools that were side by side. It had tennis courts, shuffle board and a nice huge grassy area that overlooked the ocean so that kids could play on it in the evenings.
We ate wonderful food dinning in and out. Don, Diane and I took turns cooking, we ordered pizza a couple of times from this fabulous little joint down the road (I swear, they must use ocean water in the dough, it was yummy!), we went to JB's Fish Camp a couple of times (we also got to watch the dolphins at this place), and drove up to Daytona Beach to see and have dinner with Don's aunt and cousin. Oh, the steaks Don grilled were wonderful, Diane's grits, steak and eggs were too die for, and my shrimp burgers were not too shabby themselves!
One of the major things down where we were, were the sea turtles. I guess it is hatching season for the baby sea turtles and they had a $5,000 fine if you caused the baby sea turtles to venture to mainland and not to the sea. This is to include digging large holes and not filling them when you leave the beach. Tobbie has now decided to become an activist to "save the sea turtles"! She also "learned" to fly a kite.
And, Michael joined us on the last day at the beach. Check out the video, it is a little long, but the beginning of it is so sweet.


The day after Michael joined us at the beach, we drove over to Orlando for a mini family vacay. We got there hours before our hotel check in, so we decided to head on over to GatorLand. If you don't already know, Tobbie is an animal freak. She loves all animals and this was right up her ally. We witnessed gator wresteling, feeding gators, jumping gators, cranes riding on a gators back, flamingo's, snakes, lizards, spiders, and homosexual tortoise's.

The next day we hit up Sea World. Loads of fun, but not for a short three year old that just wants to ride the roaster coasters. Tobbie kept calling the roller coasters, roaster coasters. I think her favorite part of Sea World was none other than, Shamu. She learned to hold her little hands up like his hind fin and chant: Shamu, Shamu. Her little squeals on the video are so cute. Well, at least to Michael and I they were cute, other people probably found it revolting or annoying.

Our hotel in Orlando was amazing. We stayed in one of the Lanai suites and they showed a movie every night where the screen hung over the pool and you could sit pool side or in the pool to watch the movie. Well, the way our window was to our unit, we could have easily sat in our room to see the movie. They also had a manager's reception every night with all you could drink beer, wine and cocktails with all you could eat appetizers, FREE. Then for breakfast, you had a full on hot breakfast buffet. It was kind of Shoney's style, but you could have cooked to order omlets/eggs or whatnot.

We had an amazing time and are now sad that Michael had to go back to Kansas. He did give us a little bit of good news, he will be home in 3 weeks for the 4th! Then he will be home 3 weeks after that for the last time before the BIG ONE.



Thank you Mimi and Papa for the FANTABULOUS trip. We all had a blast!

Ok, this is video and photo heavey, but please enjoy, we sure did.

Ok, there is a LOT more, but I am tired of uploading, but you get the picture, I hope!

NOTICE

There will not be any blogging this week, we are too busy getting sand between our toes and consuming delicious beverages that require cute little umbrellas! But you had better be prepared in a week, there will be photo overload. Oh, we will also be seeing Shamu and Daddy too (it is going to be a total surprise for Tobbie)!

So, in the meantime, just be extremely jealous of us!

LOADS of FUN!!!

We have been having loads of fun this week. We have been to the pool a good bit and I think I have a little fish on my hands. Tobbie is really loving the pool. They have had the kiddie pool closed up until yesterday and she has been sporting a life vest (with some big orange goggles that cover her entire face) and loving every minute of it. Here, take a looksie:
And this was her telling one of her friends at the kiddie pool that she couldn't take her toy fish home. I love how pre-schoolers interact with one another!
And last night we went to see Sesame Street Live! Tobbie loved it and a HUGE thanks to Grammy for the dinner and show. We had some GREAT seats. We all loved it!
check out the man working that is sitting beside the stage, he looks like he is LOVING his job!

And can you believe they charged $8 for a freaking Elmo balloon? Thanks for the balloon Grammy, she has played with it today!

He can...

sit up! He has been doing this for several weeks now, but I just figured out how to upload a video on here. Hey, I never claimed to be the smartest tool in the shed.

The world must...

be coming to an end!!! But first let me explain my darling 3 year old's eating habits.


As a smaller child, ages 1-2, she ate pretty well and would eat what was put in front of her for her meals. I have never required her to eat all of the food on her plate, but she is expected to eat a decent amount. I have tried to space her meals and snacks to proper times and I have also tried to offer her "healthy" options.

Maybe it is her age or her strong willed personality, but she has been a pill to deal with the past year regarding food. She and I literally have arguments over it and she has landed her fanny in time out more than any child should go to time out.

Fast forward to this past week...

The child ate an entire hamburger at McDonald's yesterday! Some may find it repulsive that I feed my child fast food or even bizarre that it is a big deal that she ate a hamburger. But this little lady had become a chicken nugget girl and that was about all she would eat.

Last night she ate beef and broccoli stir fry with RICE! The kid hates rice. She has also eaten mangos, grapes, and bananas. Oh, and drum roll please.... she ate mac n cheese! She would never touch mac n cheese, now she loves it!

I am praying that we have made a permanent turn in our diets around here (hers). My goal while at the beach next week is for her to eat shrimp.