Blast from the Past Mondays

OK, so these are not SO Blast from the Past...but the differences in my kids are phenominal to me! I cannot believe how fast they grow up! It amazes me to watch them learn and grow!! These pictures were from 2004.

Kylee was 7 years old! She LOVED that guitar she got for Christmas that year! Kylee is now 12 years old...looks like she is actually about 16! This will be her last year of Elementary School and next year she plans to try out for the Softball, Basketball, and Volleyball team as well as being involved in the drama club!

Bowe was 9 in this picture! So cute in his fleece hood, ready to go snowmobiling with his uncle Jade! Bowe is now 14 years old and in his last year of Jr High! On to 10th grade in HIGH SCHOOL next year...only one short quarter of school away! Yikes! He is a terrific athlete - won MVP in football this year, is a great wrestler, and is just starting the baseball season now...with hopes of aspiring to be a professional baseball player when he is older!


And here is Kaitlyn! She was 4 years old in this picture! She is now 9 years old and is finishing up 3rd grade! She is a beautifully gifted little dancer and will be competing her solo dance in competition in less than 2 weeks!! She loves to please people, clean (other people's houses!), and do math! And I love that she still calls me "mommy"!!
I love all of my kids and being their mom (and step-mom) is one of the most challenging, rewarding, inspiring things that I get to do in my life! I would not trade it for the world!!

Is this what is called Yo Yo dieting...

I am frustrated to say the least! I have been attempting to lose weight and get back to a healthy weight - seriously - since October of last year. I have cut WAY back on my intake of carbs, sweets, pop, etc...and started spending some time on the treadmill (although I know that is one thing I can still improve upon) anyway...so in doing that I was able to lose 20 lbs! Yeah! That is a start I say to myself...so I keep going with it and what happens from there...NOTHING! I stay there! UGH!

So I have decided to try something a little different to give my body a kick start back into the losing side of things (since I am still overweight by my height standards!) So I decide to try the HCG diet. My friend did it and lost 20 lbs in 3 weeks...my co-workers husband did it and lost 20 lbs in 3 weeks...PERFECT! This is what I need to jump start my weight loss again!

So my husband, my co-worker Becky and I decide to all do it together...morale support and all!

$90 a person for the HCG drops...done

50 calories intake a day for 3 weeks...Meal Plan

• Breakfast: black or green tea only sweetened with Stevia


• Lunch: 4 oz of lean meat (like chicken, albacore tuna, crab, steak) in a bowl of lettuce, add in some cucumbers, tomatoes, and a homemade vinagrette dressing made with vinager and stevia (not too bad), one fruit (either an apple, an orange, 1/2 red grapefruit, or 6-9 strawberries), and a melba toast


• Dinner: Same as lunch, but cannot consist of the same meat


• Drink 1/2 gallon to one full gallon of water daily

So really it has not been too bad to stick with the diet for me...sure I crave the mac & cheese that I am fixing for my daughter at night (because she does not like grilled onions and zucchini alone as the side dish!) And all this Easter candy is a little tempting...but I have done it fairly easily since Monday!

Now the premise is that you should lose 1-2 lbs a day.

So my husbands progress has been: 2nd day loss: 4 lbs; 3rd day loss: 2 lbs; 4th day loss: 1 lb=7 lbs down!

Becky's progress has been: 2nd day loss: 2 lbs; 3rd day loss: 2 lbs; 4th day loss: 1 lb=5 lbs down!

My progress: 2nd day loss: 0.2 lbs; 3rd day loss: 3 lbs; 4th day GAIN: 0.8 lbs=2.4 lbs down

SUCK!! And to make matters WORSE...my husband and Becky have both CHEATED! Yesterday, my husband ate 4 estra pickles, a handful of sunflower seeds, a COOKIE and who knows what else! And Becky cheated with a tortilla last night and eggs this morning! And here I sit, following the diet and I not ondid not lose...but I GAINED!

Now I am not one of those 125 lbs women that site and say how fat they are and that they need to lose weight! I am technically, by medical standards, 50 lbs overweight! It is disgusting...embarassing...depressing...not the life I want to live!!

So anyone out there that has suggestions, sympathy, advise, please...let me have it! :)

Today I am doing the HCG diet's official "apple day"...I get 6 apples throughout the day and only enough water to quence my thirst! Supposedly this is supposed to shout to the HCG in my body "Hey buddy, get to work and flush out that fat!!"

Here is hoping that it works!!

April Fools Day!

Happy April Fools Day Everyone!!

I really really like April Fools Day, I just wish I was more creative and inventive for the day!

Yeah, I know how to create and invent cutsie things...but jokey things are not really me! But I am so envious of those who are sneaky like that!

Like the one who put post it notes all over their co-workers office space...

Or the one who made a Jell-o mold with their co-workers stapler inside...

Or the one who switched all of the keys around on their co-workers keyboard...

Hillarious! My friend Becky, also told me of a co-worker of hers that brought some really yummy looking brownies, all moist with frosting all slathered on top...so yummy looking that your mouth watered looking at them...until you took a BIG OLE BITE OF...sponge! Ha! That cracks me up and I am definitely doing this one next year for my kids! Along with the chocolate covered cotton balls! Can you imagine biting into a ball of cotton...YUCK! But I love it!

I did trick my son into eating a chocolate that was not a chocolate once! It was a little heart shaped Scentsy candle wax sample! It smelled like a raspberry truffle and once he took a bite of it, he dropped it and yelled ** "THAT"S NOT CHOCOLATE!!"

The pranks at my work today consisted of swapped keyboard keys, tape on the computer mouse, tape on the telephone receiver, unplugged mouse and keyboard, tape over water bottle(under lid), shortened height on chair, loud speakers, a ton of overnight bags stuffed in the night drop (yes I work at a bank) with easter grass in them, easter grass in and on top of desks...we had a fun day today!

But I need some good ideas for next year! So I am leaving it up to you all...tell me pranks that you have pulled or have been pulled on you...or stories of pranks! I need new chances to prank my co-workers!

:)

Post it Note Tuesday - Diet Woes

Here we go...the woes of dieting!!

Go check out Supahmommy for more post it note adventures!

Family Easter Party

This weekend, I had my family over for some Easter Egg decorating and thought it would also be fun to decorate Easter cupcakes! It turned out to be so much fun! I love having all of my family over! Everyone really loved the cupcake decorating as well! All of my family is so creative! And I also got to hang out with my brother and sister and their little ones! So much fun!

First...when I was taking the pics off of my camera...look what I found! What a HAM!!

OK, here we are at the party! Let's get coloring some eggs!!

Mom is looking really intense on her decorating!

Bowe was on one that day!!

C'mom, Jason give us a little smile!! :)

Beautiful eggs, Kylee!

My brother Jordan, hard at work on his egg....

And whalaa...who needs stinking egg decorations from a kit...just cut out some dude's face off of the newspaper! Perfect!!

For the cupcakes, I decided to make the batter all different Eastery colors!

And here are all of the cupcake decorations...this should be fun!

My sister Melanie made this one with the letter A for her baby, Alexis...we laughed because they kinda looked like purple worms!

My peep had so many eggs under her butt they were falling out, I guess!

The kids love when I let them use my cake decorating tips and bags! Kaitlyn looks so professional!

And here they all are! Beautiful!

Good work everyone!

This was my favorite one that I made! Such a cute little bunny!

Then we had some time to play with the babies! Emilyn is only 4 months old...but she wants to walk SO BAD! While grandma was holding her up, she just kept putting one foot in front of the other and took 9 steps! Silly, you need to sit and crawl first!! :)

Little Alexis getting burped! I wish I got a picture of the front of her shirt, it had a cute little bunny on it! She is getting so big already! I cannot believe she is already a month old!

Emy hates to not be awake for everything - so she only took about a 5 minute nap...but later, she just got too pooped and zonked out while Kyrtin was holding her! What a cutie pie!

I love my family so much and am so glad that they could all come out and decorate eggs and cuppies for Easter! (My brother LOVES the word cuppies so I had to say it!!) Love you all!

p.s. I also did a hamburger birthday cake this weekend - check it out on my other blog...here!!

Blog Header Problems

So I am really liking the blog template that I picked up today...but I am not loving the blog header! I am not one who knows a ton of stuff about computers...I learn as I go! But my headers that I made before only cover part of the already templated header and it just looks funny! I am also not too sure on the size of my signature. I know that I should use a better program, but when you do these things from work (ssshhhhh...) you cannot just download Picasa or one of those other deals that would probably make my job at this blog beautifying much easier!

So if anyone has any ideas or options for me, I would appreciate any help I could get!! :)

Spring Blocks

Just wanted to post my new SPRING blocks that I made for my living room! I love them, the colors are perfect! Happy Spring!!

So...full...of...milk...

Post it Note Tuesday

My Thoughts for the day!