VACATION!!!!

I'm so excited.  We leave tomorrow for Idaho.  We haven't been home since Halloween last year.  It feels like so long ago.  It is going to be great.  We have plans and lots to do.  It will be busy and probably stressful trying to get everything done in one short week but we will do what we can do and enjoy it. 

I also wanted to say that I put my shop on vacation mode.  When I get back I'll add the rest of the pullover bibs as well as some of the expired items I had listed on my shop.  I have also come to the knowledge that I will probably not add pullover bibs or sack holders unless requested.  I tend to be more enthused to sew table runners and quilts more so I plan to sew more of them.  I also got some cute frog material to make a quilt that I would like to sell.  I'll share pictures when I get back from vacation as well.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Such a big girl

My children are continually amazing me.  My husband and I just finished making another bed so Yana who is now 15 months old would have a bed to move into.  We turned them into bunk beds.  Sarah loves her bed.  She loves the ladder she gets to climb every day and the fact that she is just on the top bunk is just too cool.

Yana even loves being on the top bunk.  Scary enough she can actually climb the ladder.  She doesn't, however, know how to get back down.  She runs back and forth trying to give us a heart attack.

Well, we decided two nights ago to see if we could get her to sleep in her new bed on the bottom bunk.  Sarah was 18 months old when we trained her in one weekend in a hotel because we got tired of not sleeping because she was sharing a bed with us.  My husband lay down with her until she feel asleep and then left the room.  It took about a half an hour.   She was still in her bed at 8 in the morning when I went in to get them up.  It was awesome.

So yesterday I tried to get her to take her nap in the bed.  Ya, not so good.  She kept climbing off the bed and crying so I just put her in her crib.  She slept good.  Last night was a different story.  I lay down with her and an hour later she is still wide awake and has started trying to play.  I lost my patience and left the room.  She started crying and my husband came in to see what was going on.  He told me to go ahead and go for my run and he would lay down with her.  So I did exactly that.  When I got back he was downstairs but he didn't stay til she fell asleep either.  When we checked on them later she was asleep at the foot of the bed but still on the bed.

Now, for the amazing and hopefully not a fluke announcement.....I put her on her bed today for her nap and left the room and she cried a little, crawled around a little, but fell asleep on her bed.  Not at the foot but in the middle, with her bum in the air.  So cute and so awesome.  She is still asleep and I'm loving it.  I hope she is in that bed for good.  Right before we go on vacation.  This will either help us or vacation will hurt her big girl bed training.  We shall see.

Have a great day.

Biggest Loser

Well this is the last week of our Biggest Loser challenge.  Last week was a no challenge week or rather a challenge to get our heads back in the game and on track so we could give a big push the last week.

I asked my husband earlier today what he thought would be a good challenge.  I have been thinking about it all week trying to decide a good way to end this and he suggested that we run or walk 10 miles this week.  Then we added another option to ride your bike.  However, if you ride your bike it jumps to 25 miles since the miles go by so much faster. 

I'm really excited for this challenge.  I have an indoor bike trainer that I love.  I got it last weekend and used it everyday except Sunday.  We got road tires for the bike so it is quieter and can be used in the house now.  So I am challenging myself to run the 10 miles and ride the 25 miles.  I normally run 3 times a week and each time I run I go for 3 miles so I will just need to add one more mile on this week.

I also decided to add the challenge to drink 10 8 ounce glasses of water this week.  It is warming up here in Oklahoma this week so it would be good to drink that much water just for the 80 degree weather.

If you are doing these challenges with us please be safe and have a great week.  I hope we are all on track to reach our goals for this week.

Exercise

My husband bought me a bike trainer this weekend and it couldn't have come at a better time.  We set it up in the garage and then took it upstairs to our bedroom and put it in the nook but when I tried it we decided that it wouldn't work in the house.  It is simply too loud for me to do it upstairs without waking the girls in the morning.  So I decided to use the garage.  I set it up out there and set to work.  I rode Monday and today.  It has been raining a lot here so running isn't really an option.

I'm so thankful for my husband and the things that he does for me.  I feel great knowing that I'm still getting a good workout in each morning even if it isn't in the form of running.

I hope you are all working towards your goals.  I fell off the wagon for about a week and a half but feel like I'm back on again.  Sometimes that happens but we have to get up and get back on the horse.  Good luck to everyone.

Happy 4th Birthday!!!

Sarah wanted to have a CARS themed birthday party.  I thought it was awesome.  I'm not huge into princesses and things like that so CARS was a great idea.  Here is the cake that I made.  I used a funfetti cake and cut the top off and then cut it in half.

I then used the funfetti icing in the between the two halves of the cake.  I even put the sprinkles on it.

 Here it is sandwiched.

 This is after the first layer of icing.  It has been white washed as I call it.

 I decided to do the checkerboard on the edges.  What I did is as you can see iced the cake white but then I bought some black sugar sheets.  I cut them in squares and placed them on the cake after the second layer of icing.  Then with a second sheet I cut out a circle for the road.

 I put grass around the track and the on the bottom for a border.  Then I crushed up some graham crackers and spread them in the middle for dirt.  I bought the cars at Walmart and thought they were too cute.

This cake was a lot of fun to make and it tasted good too.  I had never used the sugar sheets but they were fun to work with and we couldn't even taste them.  They just blended right in.

 Our first activity was to pin (stick) the tail on the donkey.  They all had a lot of fun.  Yana kept trying to pull them back off.

They took turns spinning each other.

 Then they decorated some boxes as their cars.  They used coloring crayons and stickers.

 Then they had a "car" race in their boxes.  It was a lot of fun to watch.  Some ran easily and others struggled because the boxes weren't allowing them to move their legs.  It was so cute.

 She then opened all her wonderful presents from her great friends.

 Then it was time for cake and ice cream.  Sarah couldn't quite blow the candle out and I learned the graham cracker dust blows off the cake really easily.  It was fun though.

Here is what the dining room looked like.  That is where the decorations were.

They all had a wonderful time playing and visiting.  It was the first party I have ever planned for my children.  Normally we just invite friends over, eat, visit and let the kids play.  It was fun and turned out great.

Have a great day.

Happy Birthday!

March 13th might be just an ordinary day for most people but it is a wonderful day around our house.  Today my oldest, Sarah, just turned 4.  I can hardly believe it.  A couple weeks ago I posted how I had just signed her up for Pre K.  She is just growing too fast.  We wont actually open presents and have a party until Saturday but I wanted to make sure that she knew it is a special day.  So it was a day dedicated to her.  I mean that.  I didn't clean anything.  We did what she wanted.

She got what she wanted for breakfast.  If you know her you would know that she loves toast with peanut butter and honey.  Then we went grocery shopping because we needed to.  Then we went to McDonald's because I rarely take her and she wanted to go.  We took the food and the salad I bought at Walmart and we went to the "big" park.  She loves going there and we rarely go since we have one in our neighborhood within walking distance.  We invited some friends who brought lunch and we had a picnic.  Then they all played for an hour or so.

After that we came home and Yana took a nap and Sarah played on ABCmouse.  Then after nap time we walked around the block delivering birthday party invites.  Then we went to Braums and got some ice cream.  We took it home and put a candle in it and I sang to her and she blew it out and ate her ice cream.

It was a good day and she seemed to really enjoy it.  I am so happy that we were able to have such a wonderful day.

Happy Birthday Sarah!

The Challenges this week are.....

Last week I did better but I didn't get it everyday.  I struggled last week.  Besides the extra veggies I also ate extra animal crackers, cookies and other things I should have avoided like the plague.  So this week we are going back to the basics.

 

I plan my workouts every week and every week things come up and I don't get some of them done.  I never seem to have a plan B.  This week we are supposed to schedule our exercise and also a plan B.  So for me if I can't go for a bike ride then I will do step ups for 30 minutes instead.  Different things like that.  If I am just too tired to do them then I will walk in place or walk up and down the stairs for a few minutes a few times a day to get that extra calorie burn.  If I really put my mind to this I could be at my goal weight in two weeks.

 

The other challenge this week has to do with sweets.  I'm challenging everyone to not eat any candy, cakes or cookies this week.   Having said that I am also allowing 1 serving this week.  I say that because it is my daughter's birthday and I want to have a slice of the cake at her party this Saturday.  So I will not eat any other sweets until her birthday.  So look ahead in your week and see if you have any get togethers or appointments where you might eat sweets and plan accordingly.  There is nothing wrong with sweets in our lives, in moderation.  Also I figure 1 week of saying no to sweets will help us get our control over them back.

 

Did any of you join us last week for the back exercises and extra veggies?  If you did I hope you'll share with us.

 

Have a great week and good luck reaching your goals.

Brown and grey pullover bib

Here is the last one of the smaller pullover bibs.  This is made from a brown Target towel with grey knit as the collar.  It is very soft and very durable.  My girls have been using theirs for at least 2 years.  They are soft on the neck and easy to put on and take off.  My girls love feeling independent as they help.

They are small and cute enough that they can be taken out on picnics, out to eat and to your relatives.  They help protect the even cute clothes underneath from getting stains and needing to be washed so often.  They help prolong the life of their other clothes in the process.

These are machine washable.  Come check out the other pictures here.  You can check out my store here to look for other colors and to see what else I sell by clicking here.

I hope you all have a wonderful day.

Bright pink and black

Here is another pullover bib that I have added to my shop.  This one is a bright pink towel turned pullover bib.  The neck is black knit.  My 14 month old is the model still.  It fits well and has a little room to spare as she grows.  It is small enough that I can take it anywhere we go to help keep her clothes nice and clean.

It is machine washable and very durable.  Sarah, my oldest, who is almost 4 is still using some that I made for her 2 years ago. 

The knit collar is much easier on their little necks than snaps, velcro and strings that tie.  They feel independent as they put them on themselves and take them off.

They just come in so handy.  Come check this one out here.

I have more coming.  I have one more in this size that is brown as well as several toddler size pullover bibs coming in the next few days so keep coming back to see how cute they are.

Blue and black pullover bib

 You're thinking that it took me long enough, right?  That is what I am thinking.  Here is the first of several pullover bibs.  This one is blue striped as you can see from the pictures and has a black knit collar.  Where it is blue and black it is more boyish but could work either way.  As you can tell the model was my 14 month old daughter.  She was having fun posing.

Both of my girls love pull over bibs.  They are easy on and off and they are soft on the neck.  My girls always end up pulling the snaps and Velcro ones off and the ones that you tie they end up pulling off or hurt themselves in the process. 

These are machine washable and very durable.  I'm still using ones I made 2 years ago.  They are a great and easy way to protect our children's wardrobe.  Come check out more pictures and the rest of the information here.

Biggest Losers weekly challenge

Last week I didn't do to good with the crunches challenge.  I wanted to do them at night and would forget or get busy .  I managed 3 out of 6 since I don't exercise on my rest day. 

 

Last night I asked my husband what would be a challenge that he would participate in and I wont tell you exactly what he said but what it came down to was  - FIBER.

 

This week we need to eat more fiber and we are going to work on the back.  It is very important that you strengthen your back muscles so your abs don't over power them and make your back hurt.  It also works the other way around. 

 

So as for fibrous foods there are a lot out there these days.  Apples, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.  Here is a link to a website with a huge list of foods and their fiber count.  http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-fiber-foods/NU00582.  If you aren't used to eating a lot of fiber than gradually increase it so you it isn't hard on your stomach.  We each know where we are at with our fiber intake so I want each of us to increase it.  I you don't normally eat any fiber I would encourage you to increase it over the next few weeks.  It will help you feel fuller and shed the weight you are trying to get rid of.

 

As for the back exercises the couple that I know about are the swimmer pose.  You lie on the ground and arch your back bringing your legs and arms off the ground then then while holding that position you move your arms and legs in a swimming motion.  You can also just hold the position for a sets to help strengthen the back.

 

Here are some links for more ideas.

 

http://www.realsimple.com/health/fitness-exercise/workouts/4-back-strengthening-exercises-10000001722657/index.html

http://www.webmd.com/back-pain/features/back-exercises-wow-them-coming-going?page=2

 

I'm thinking we should do a couple back exercises or stretches every day this week.  They don't take a lot of time but will help in the long run.

 

Have a great week.

Super cute pants

 Well I told you guys a while ago that I had seen some really cute material and was going to surprise you with what I did with it.  Well here it is.  I made matching pants for my girls.  They both turned out to be a bit big but they will still fit in a couple months.  Sarah really likes hers.

 Yana is still at that stage where she doesn't care what she wears.  I had to safety pin the back because they kept falling down and they are too long.  I'm thinking about putting them in the 72 hr kit for a few months until they will fit her.

Sarah loves posing for the picture.  It is so cute.  I just love my girls.

I hope you are all having a wonderful Friday.  It is FLEX Friday for us.  We are trying to get tickets to go home for vacation this month and we are building a bed for Yana.  So I hope you all have a great day and a wonderful weekend.  See ya on the flip side.