Magan's Party and My Cute Kids.

Meet my dear, precious friend Magan - she IS the life of the party. Each and EVERY time. I love her fiercely. She is an amazingly strong female. And we can never have enough of those in our circle =) Right, Mags???
A Jamie Sandwich.
Those two beside me look like they could be related, huh?

Me with Shansheree, Mag's and Steph. We decided our Destin trip should be a yearly gig.

I haven't shared that conclusion with my husband just yet but I'm sure in another year he will agree with me that I am in desperate need of a "Girls Weekend". Isn't that right dear?

Carley, Steph, Me, Cristina, Mags, and Shannon

Just look at my little Titan Cheerleader. We suited up for "Halloween at the Park" on Saturday but we did not last long there. It was HOT. Felt like July instead of October. Where's our cool crisp fall breezes? I'm ready to bust out the long sleeve t-shirts and jeans. Instead I'm sporting jean shorts and sleeveless T's. Unbelievable.

Look at my little hippie. Throwing up her peace sign. Now that is truly unbelievable. Seems like just yesterday I was teaching her to make that sign but it was to tell people she was "2". TWO!!! Plus 7. Amazing. Absolutely Amazing.

Small Update

Today I took Courtlyn to get some ice cream at Dairy Queen for "Mommy and Me" time. As you can tell by the pictures here....I don't think she enjoyed it very much!

Ordinary pic of Taylor eating cereal but looking at this picture, I am struck by how big my baby is and how grown up she is starting to look. S-A-D.

My pretty cute family...love them something fierce!

We took Courtlyn to the Pumpkin Patch last weekend while Sisser spent the night with Gram. She thought it was FANTASTIC. She picked out her own pumpkin to decorate and once we finished with that she wouldn't let me or Daddy hold it for her. She insisted on carrying it all the way to the car. She struggled the whole time but she smiled all the way!

CHEESE FACE.

We also went to Liz and Chuck's for a cookout on Saturday night.

Amanda, Jason, Gabriel and Adam joined us and that was so much fun!

I tried to be creative and make a collage from that night to post on my blog

but I could not figure out how to make that happen so......Jo or Liz feel free to send me instructions on how to make that happen! Thanks ahead of time=).

A little bit more everyday.........

Well we're gearing up for the hustle and bustle of Fall Activities so the girls haven't been doing much this past week or two. Prepare for TONS of blogs and pics coming up because we have something planned EVERY single weekend between now and November!

SO......since the girls haven't been too busy I decided to blog about me...again.
But only because I'm so dang proud of me! I have now lost THIRTEEN lbs!
As you can see in the pic above, Chad and I are withering away....now he has me beat at a whopping 25 lbs. but thats alright ( he started out bigger than me afterall ) =)
I say "withering away" lightly. Read into that and it really means : slowly working off fat cells and now not quite as fat as we were yesterday.
We went out for a date last night which is RARE and we ate at Carrabba's!
It was NOT waist friendly but I felt like I deserved a treat! And it was FANTASTIC.
I think Chad would agree....except he tried my Chicken Bryan which is topped with Goat Cheese and he gagged for a good 15 minutes. He said it was "nasty". I said he lacked culture.

I'm gonna keep trucking along and working towards my "Jessica Simpson" goal.
I still have quite a ways to go but I'm thinking its really gonna be worth it when I reach the finish line =) Thanks so much to everyone who has offered me words of encouragement, tips, and compliments. You all keep me going!

Update

August 17th, 2008

September 7, 2008

What a difference 3 weeks make. These pics were taken exactly 3 weeks apart. My changes are definitely obvious! At least to me! And I feel so much better!!!

EIGHT POUNDS and counting..........

Yep - I have managed to destroy 8 wiggly jiggly fat cell circulating pounds from my body.
Good Riddance!!!

I have been eating good and exercising - I even went to the workout center twice on my three day trip to the beach last weekend. And hmmm, anyone who knows ME knows that would have been a roaring joke in the past!!!

My recommendation this blog around:

Write down EVERYTHING you eat. It makes a HUGE difference in success rate!
P.S. Don't forget to write down the exercising you do too - take credit everywhere it is due!

Continuing on...............................

Miscellaneous Moments

Well since I'm behind in posting pictures I decided to throw several things all in one giant blog and kill a few birds with one stone!

Courtlyn turned two on August 2nd. I cannot believe my little baby is speaking in complete sentences and making her own choices - she wants to pick out her own clothes and decide what is on her plate!
Her favorite breakfast is Pop-Arts ( pop-tarts ) and she likes to wear her bathing soup ( bathing suit ).


Taylor and Hannah. Notice my little neices tiara....she is the princess she thinks she is =).

Look how serious she is. She can be so intense and then fall over laughing. Shes so cute!

We went to the fair Friday night and met up with one of my BFF, Lucy and her husband Chuck and little boy, Carter. In this picture they are stripping corn and grinding it into cornmeal. We decided now was as good a time as any for them to learn a trade and support us when we get old. They LOVED to play with this - it was pretty neat!

Daddy and Courtlyn on the Carousel. Daddy had a hard time holding her on the horse. She kept throwing herself backward and laughing hysterically.

Taylor and her BFF, Abby jailed with Carter and Courtlyn. Court kept hiding behind the two foot mouse - she said she lubbed ( loved ) her.

We put Courtlyn in the pumpkin ride with Abby and Taylor. Court kept hanging her head out the pumpkin window and crying. One minute she would smile like she loved it and the next minute she was reaching out for Mommy or Daddy and crying so sadly. Daddy intervened and told the guy working the ride to make sure he stopped it on Courtlyns car when the ride ended so she could get out first. I think the experience hurt Daddy more than it did Courtlyn~

Yeah ~ 9 year old girls are sure something! Never a dull moment when these two are together!

Courtlyn is now taking gymnastics. She has such a good time and as you will see below, the Foam Pit is her VERY FAVORITE PART!

On the obstacle course :

Learning how to do a front roll over :

Learning to balance while rolling:

Climbing throught the rolling hole:

THE FOAM PIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Look at her hair!!!

She jumps in over and over and over. NO FEAR!!

Props to my pal Lucy

A big thank you to my old school BFF, Lucy for keeping me talking on the phone tonight which helped me make it through one whole hour of treadmill torture.
Okay....thats dramatic I admit. It wasn't that bad but if it wasn't for her I would have probably succumbed to boredom at 40 minutes. Possibly 35.
I definitely am going to need a good pair of running shoes if I keep this gig up. I welcome any shoe recommendations since we all know running/jogging/fast walking is completely new to me. I mean really, we are talking about the girl who whines like a two year old when her husband parks too far down the Walmart aisle on our way in to pick up Ding Dongs and Frozen Pizza.
Which are now considered "Special Treats" in my dietary repertoire.
By the way, everyone try the Luna Sunrise Blueberry Bar. I highly, highly recommend this little yummy treat. If you are a Weight Watcher fan just know that is only 3 points. Makes a tasty breakfast treat. I've tried the Strawberry and Lemon Zest too which are also three points but the blueberry blows them away.
Official Standings* :
The Bronze - Strawberry
The Silver - Lemon Zest
The Gold goes to - Blueberry
*** The Olympics do not officially endorse this opinion - just little ( hee hee ) ol'me who knows good food!
Thanks for all your words of encouragement guys - it's been motivating and much appreciated!

My Ultimate Goal

Okay guys. I've had ENOUGH. I need your assistance and I'm clammoring for your support and bold face honesty in accomplishing a goal that is likely to take me down with it.

I am looking to look like this :

Ok so minus the blond hair and camo pants but everything else is a go..... well, I might go blond if I accomplish the rest just to see my husband's reaction =).

Now being as I am edjumacated in Dietetics we all know that I know perfectly well WHAT to eat. And as you all know me you know that doesn't mean squat. I like to EAT. And I like to tell you all about the wonderful new food I try so I can relive the moment and in my head cash the calories in twice.
SO - since we know I know better let's just skip that part and go straight to the "Hey as your friends who like to know we can share a seat with you if we need to could you please drop the doughnut? and the Venti Caramel Frappucino? and the Moo Shu Chicken? When I say " Hey guys, you wanna go out for ice cream?" You all say " No way Cottage Cheese Chicken Flesh Thighs - how bout going for a jog?"

I am 30 - I feel 50. So I'm attempting to do something about it. Last night I put the kids to bed and put my tennis shoes on. My dear cute husband says " Where are you going?" And I say "Outside to run on the treadmill." And he dang near faints.

Then I jog and run for 30 minutes - and I about faint. But I was SOOOO PROUD of me! I am going to make that a staple in my life. I'm hoping I run right out of Jamie and right into Jessica.

More to be revealed...... or less depending on how this goes........