Bye bye 2013 hello 2014

I can't believe another year has passed! 2013 has brought our family a lot of ups and downs. It has been a wonderful wonderful year and I'm sad to see it go, but so excited to see what 2014 has in store for us. This is probably the first year that I haven't really set New Years resolutions and I have definitely thought about what I would want as my 2014 resolutions. All that I can come up with is to just be happy, focus on the now and continue to enjoy the simple pleasures. No matter what the year brings practice those and 2014 will be an amazing unforgettable year. Happy New Years and I hope you guys all have a fantastic start to your 2014!!!!!

Thankful November

Ok so I decided to jump in on this little "Thankful November" thing going on BUT I'm going to try and avoid the cliche posts. I think I have made it known how thankful I am about my family and friends throughout the year! At least I'm pretty sure I have made that clear to them:) So here we go!

Day 1 

Im thankful for my families health. I believe your health is taken for granted a lot of time and sort of forgotten about. Going through my tests I went through for my gallbladder I was surrounded by many cancer patients and my heart ached for them, but they are the most appreciative people that seem to not take anything for granted. They appreciate everyday like it's their last! Which brings me to 

Day 2

I'm thankful for those people that do live everyday like it's their last, no regrets and truly know that life is wonderful. They help me remember what life is all about, that you only live once and to live it with no regrets. To enjoy every moment good or bad! I'm so Thankful for those people, they are inspiring and make me want to become a better person.

Day 3

Im thankful for bad days. It's the bad days that make you appreciate the good days even more! They are good lessons that make you a better person. They help you grow stronger than you were and make life lessons just a little bit more clear.

My day

Feeling so blessed to be able to spend my day coloring with this cute girl on this cold, windy day! I could sit and play with this girl all day every day!! Oh wait I do ;)

My little soccer girl

Oh this girl and soccer! I'm not really sure I can say she loves it nor hates it. The first game she played she didn't really know what to expect and after she realized that there is only 1 ball and 12 kids trying to get it, she cried! "People are pushing me, or running into me mom and I don't like that." I guess it's safe to say my child is a lover not a fighter;) After her first game we had to explain to her that people weren't doing the pushing and running into her on purpose. By the second game she was a pro and decided that a little push or shove wasn't a big deal in a game. 

I love seeing her in her soccer uniform! She looks so big yet so little still. Of course I can't for get seeing the hubby out there as a coach just melts my heart. He is such an awesome dad! He is so active in his girls lives its unreal. You don't see that very often nowadays! He gets off work early 2 days a week to be able to be here with Rylee and his little team. Rylee and Ryann say jump Dad and he jumps, HIGH! He was meant to be a Daddy of girls:)

Enjoying life

I'm loving these fall mornings and nights we are having! One of my most favorite things to do is wake up and go sit outside with my morning coffee and taking in that perfect crisp air. Fall is by far my most favorite time of year! I love going from shorts to leggings, tanks to sweaters and a good cozy scarf. Of course we can't leave out EVERYTHING pumpkin! I will take anything and everything pumpkin!! 

Life is good!!!

I ran across a really great quote today. 

I won't lie, I have for the most part always cared what people thought of me. Physically and emotionally! It has taken time to realize that being that way isn't healthy and it just slows down your happiness. I have definitely noticed the past how ever long, that I do enjoy my life a lot more when I don't care about what people think. Who cares if I have a small house, outdated things, less expensive stuff, grey hair (still working on excepting that one) or some extra chub. If people want to look at me and judge the cover of my book then so be it! I don't care. I have 3 amazing people that are going to love and accept me for the way that I am! That's all that matters in life, nothing else. Because I have realized that I enjoy it more and I'm a much happier person! 

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”

John Wooden quotes

Life as I know it as of this morning

I can breath, finally!!! The last several months have been so stressful with Job searches and after having a person I thought would/should understand my situation, that treated me unfairly and very poorly made me feel even more stressed out. This morning though I woke up finally feeling at ease! Aaron so desperately wants to become a police officer and can I tell you it is a LONG hard process. A 4 month interviewing process is crazy! Once you spend a whole 4 months interviewing and don't get the job 4 months have passed and then you apply for another department and there is another 4 months. It's a cycle I just want to end! I know in my heart it will and I will be so proud of Aaron once it does! The guy works his butt off working (when there is work with his current job) AND going to school! The guy has dedication. On top of all that he comes home and takes care of 3 sassy girls;) He's amazing and I definitely picked a good one!! Still hasn't landed the job, but he will! I know it:) Even if we have to go 4, 8, 12 more months of this battle I will be proud and stand by his side with no regrets.

So life as I know it this morning... it's stressful, hard, but it's worth it!!  

Can't help but think...

I have said it many times that I hate a bully! Not only a child bully but an adult bully for that matter. After my recent experience I can't help, but think how much I wish my children never have to meet one. I know fat chance right!? They seem to be everywhere now days, any age. I am shocked by how many! Name calling, talking down on people and judging someone for how they chose/choose to live is not my style and honestly hurts me right down to my core when I see it. I will defend the other end no matter what they are doing because nothing is worse than the person being a bully! All I know all I can do is raise my children to ALWAYS treat one with respect whether you agree or disagree with what they do. I won't be that Mother who sets an example that words and stuff like that is ok! I don't want my children to treat people like that so why would I? 

Blog is officially private!

I have once again decided to make the blog private. I have been asked several times why I decided to do that. The past few weeks I have come to realize a lot of the people that follow me on here (along with Instagram and FB) could really careless about me! It's almost like they want to follow so they can just see how I am living. It can get really frustrating because I have known a few for years and years (school, jobs and so forth) and you think they are truly interested in me but in all reality they aren't at all! I have had my feelings hurt thinking I have met new friends but In the end or maybe in reality they really weren't interested in being a friend and just wanting to be nosey. Who knows honestly! Pretty much I need to take myself out of the situation and stop fooling myself thinking some people actually care. If that makes any sense at all? So now I know who follows me on here and know its not a bunch of randoms just wanting to have stalker sessions:) I'm still figuring out what to do about Fb and Instagram and eliminating those people without hurting people's feelings or more like living in a small area and running into them and having one of those REALLY awkward run in moments! Haha!!

New before pics will be posted soon for the start of my new workout journey!! Yes another workout but this one is the one!! I'm officially a weight lifting girl. No more of the cheesy workout videos! Don't get me wrong they kick your ass but that's it! Results come from the weights and are fast results. I have seen it a lot and I was always afraid that lifting would make me huge. Yep, not the case at all! Girl muscle is what's sexy now not skinny! I am learning so much with this body building stuff that I really enjoy and can't wait to see some results!

2 years later!

Finally after 2 years our gym is finally finished!!! It went from an area of the yard that never got used,full of weeds to a 200 square foot of greatness!! This project was Aaron and I thought it was so stupid, but in the end it turned into OURS! We also got a new treadmill for me, but I can't use it for 4 weeks!:/ I hit a point in my original workout and diet where I wasn't getting the results I was wanting so I researched and decided to try something new! It's going to be very different! It's 3 phases, 1st phase is endurance for 4 weeks. Phase 2 is adding in cardio and intensity and Phase 3 is building strength.
Not like my normal workout routine at all!! Along with this, I had to change my diet. No more full blown Paleo, now it's just clean eating and adding whole wheat, oats along with 10 eggs a day!!!!! With at least 116g of protein a day. Sounds crazy but I'm done being in this weird stage and not progressing. I'm really excited about it and hope to start showing some progress again. Perfect timing for summer! I WILL look good in a 2 piece by summer, I WILL!!!

Random 1am thought....

As I'm getting in the tub (yes a 1am tub sesh) I see Ryann and Rylee's toys and of course I have to ALWAYS have clean them up before I get in and have "me time" the first thought that comes to my mind is I literally can't imagine being able to just run the water without having to clean up toys first, walk in a room without stepping on a toy or having furniture that isn't kid friendly. I can't imagine it because I don't want too!!! The thought of walking into my home and not see a toy or a mess that my children have made scares me. Having my children have opened my eyes to a whole new wonderful world and realize that there is more to life than just Aaron and I. I have been blessed to the fullest and of course there have been stress and tears BUT it has been worth every grey hair that has popped out and every tear that has fallen. These 2 girls I have been blessed with have made my good life into a perfect one!! Just a late night thought I wanted to share:)

Made in the kitchen!

So I have been asked a few times about what ab workouts I do and was told to blog about it, so here I am!
First thing you have to remember is, abs are made in the kitchen! If you are eating shitty the first place it's going to show is in your belly! You can do ab workout after ab workout, but if you have a bad diet they won't show through! Veggies, lots of water, complex carbs and low fat protein are best for your diet! Body fat is also a number you should be watching on your scale. I have heard (not sure if this is right or not) but having a body fat of 20 or lower is about when abs will start shinning through:)
Ok on with my workouts! I usually will run 3 miles (about 20 to 30 mins depending on how fierce I feel) after my 3 miles are done I continue to run or jog to keep my heart rate up, but jump off the treadmill every so often and do different types of abs. I usually start with crunches end with some sort of plank then back on treadmill for a few mins. Then repeat with a different ab exercise:) Here's my routine.......

Treadmill 3-5 mins
Crunches
Plank
Treadmill
Bicycle crunches
Side plank hip lifts (R)
Treadmill
Leg lifts
Side plank hip lifts (L)
Treadmill
Oblique v-ups (R)
Plank
Treadmill
Oblique v-ups (L)
Plank
Treadmill
End with Russian twists

I know I know it's a lot!!! Do as many reps as you can and the moment you feel the burn and want to stop do 5 more cause those are the ones that count!!
I don't only do those for abs though! I will add in Ab Ripper X by Beach Body when I don't do that routine. Abs are my favorite to workout so I tend to do those A LOT!! (Probably more than i should) Once my gym is finished I will be doing lots of arms and legs:)

1 week down!

Well it's been a whole week since I started eating healthy!! The hardest days were probably day 3 and then day 6!! I have always been a sugar addict so when day 6 rolled around for the bridal show I failed a tiny bit with a couple bites of sample cake and it was probably the best cake of my life:) I also ate some pizza and got sooooo sick!! That pretty much tells you how crappy some food is for you!
I got a wonderful head and chest cold half way through the week so of course that means working out is on the back burner till I get better. I have been doing my abs though, but no cardio:( I think after today my body will be 100% ready to start my full blown workout program again!! My plan was to continue to drink coffee BUT I haven't touched my press for a week. Which also means zero caffeine for a week!! I'm so proud of myself! That's VERY unusual of me to not have caffeine or coffee. Aaron says, "you're being too obsessive girly." Which he is probably right! One cup of coffee with creamer isn't going to screw up the results I want! In my opinion I think this week has gone very well. I have lost 4lbs even with my mess ups and not working out, 1 inch in my waist and 1 inch in my hips!!!!! Can't wait to see what this next week brings:)

It's time to get in shape!

I have decided that NEED to get back into shape and lose this body shape I have going on! After Aaron took this picture......


I WAS GROSSED OUT!!! Yeah I might not be fat, but things sure aren't toned and could be a little tighter! Now my boobs, that's and easy fix so we wont go there ;) This is the heaviest and flabbiest I have ever been (Other than when I have been pregnant) Honestly I like my weight and prefer to stay where I am at weight wise. I would rather not look like I used to look "anorexic" btw I was NEVER anorexic!

SO I have decided that I am going to make goal and progress public to whoever reads or wants to read! I personally feel like making it public for everyone it will motivate me more and keep me on track. My plan is to check back at the end of every week and 'journal' what has happened so far. Still deciding if I should do a picture at the end of every week or not. I'm not sure if that will cause disappointment or excitement. This is also going out of my comfort zone showing people unedited pictures of my body and telling people my measurements! Please don't make fun of my arm size I KNOW they are grossly skinny!! Ok here we go.....

Weight is 120lbs

What to see some good abs!

Could use a lifted butt:)

And holy crap look at those love handles!!! Ahhh!!

So I'm really excited to start this and really hope to see good progress made! I have a strict diet I will be on and diet meaning healthy food. No sugar and soda! Minus my coffee creamer:) I'll be working out 6 days a week. This is going to be tough, but way worth it! I wont continue looking at myself and not be happy with what I see when I know I can change it. Have to start somewhere, so here is to getting RIPPED!!!:)

4 months!!

Okay okay I am a couple weeks shy of posting on here for her 4 months. I don't get very much time to actually get on my computer! I say this every month though 4MONTHS??? Wow time is flying by like crazy and will fly buy even faster within the next couple months! Ryann is getting so big I can't even believe it! Well my arms can believe it that's for sure! Toting around an almost 20lb chunker can get very tiring especially since she LOVES to be held. I can set her down for maybe 10 mins max in her bouncer, floor or couch and when that 10 mins is up she wants to be in my arms again. She loves seeing the world from up high and interested in everything!
Within the last few weeks she has started to grab at everything in sight and LOVES her toys. You can't have anything in your hand and not have her grab it. I'm not talking these sweet little touches, I'm talking full on grab. Food is the biggest thing she will go for! The other day I had my plate of food and the next thing I knew she had a handful of it and headed for her mouth. Literally like the next day Aaron was eating a cookie and she decided she wanted it so she leaned right over and it went straight in her mouth! At that point I gave in went and got my baby food maker, made her up some peas, gone within mins!! My little 4 month old was officially ready for food:(  Rylee was ready at 5, but 4 really!! She will eat 2 meals already that are then followed by her bottle. Can we say chunky monkey!!??
Sitting up is another thing she has discovered. Of course she is still a bit rusty on it, but I think by the end of 5 months this girl will have sitting up down to a T. She will sit up for about 10 mins on the floor and play with her toys until she gets distracted or tries to grab a toy a little further from her, but as soon as she is on her back she gives us a little freak out session till we sit her back up.
Knowing that Rylee was army crawling at 7 months and that possibly Ryann could be doing the same thing freaks me out, but I honestly can't wait till that stage comes cause it is so much fun! She definitely has her Mothers sassy attitude still, but I wont lie, that makes me proud:)

Peas what!!??

Such a big girl!!


Oh my goodness I can't even explain to you how proud I am of Rylee! She comes to me and says, "Mom want to see me write my name?" So I got her a dry erase marker and she went to writing her name! I couldn't believe it! She couldn't remember how to do the letter L, but after I showed her she knew exactly what she was doing. I was so proud and happy for her:)

Wahoo!!!

Seriously my girls are the best!!:)
 


 

HALLOWEEN!!!

I don't know what it is about Halloween that I love so much! Pretty much anything and everything that has to do with it. Seeing my child's face collecting candy is priceless. It's funny how one little piece and make a child's face glow with excitement.
Our family every year always dresses up together which makes it even more fun! It's funny cause the day after Halloween we are seriously thinking about what our next costumes will be. We had our costumes that we wore this year already picked out last year!! For the most part we usually make our costumes cause we aren't big on spending a ton of money on them. I wish I could take credit this year but it was all Aaron! He made every bit of our costume out of fabric and he did an amazing job!! Minus the logo that was me:) Rylee loved all the attention we got! I swear anywhere we went in our costumes we were getting stopped a lot!!! Everyone at boo at the zoo was talking and pointing and Rylee was so cute she would look at me and say, "mom everyone loves us." Made my heart melt everytime! By far this was the best Halloween and I'm grateful I have such a wonderful family to share it with:)

More good karma on our side!

When you drive Aaron's car it tends to want to go over the speed limit. I don't care who you are if you drive his car you WILL have a heavy foot!! (Only Subaru owners will understand)
As we are driving home there were those pretty light behind us so we pull over and a very wonderful cop comes up and asks us if we know what the speed limit is? Aaron says 75 even though we both knew it was 65. The cop replies with nope it's 65 and you were going about 80 *Us thinking* Actually we were going 85....The cop goes back to his car does his thing and comes back WITHOUT a ticket!! Seriously, our minds were blown!! Lesson of the day... When a cop asks you if you know the speed limit ALWAYS say higher than it is!! Ok you know I'm kidding:) Yay for positive Karma on our side!!

Things I have learned.....Yet still am working on day by day

 

Judging someone for the things they do is not okay at all and I feel is something people should really work on! Just because they do not live the life you live or approve of does not make them a bad person. I can't judge someone for the way they have acted because I am sure at some point in my life I have acted that way. I can't judge someone for their habits they have because once again I have my own habits. There is a difference between judging and not agreeing with!!! Which leads me to my next thing......

 

If you can't say nice things then don't say anything at all!! I am all for constructive criticism, but the main thing I am referring to is name calling. You see more and more of it these day and it makes me terrified to send my children out into the world when the time comes. Not only are children mean these days ADULTS are just as bad if not worse! The words that people can say about other people are awful. Calling people stupid, retarded, ghetto and so many more just makes me sick! I know I wouldn't want my child to call another child stupid or retarded for something or have them call someone ghetto for what they are wearing so why would I do or say those things. So many parents bash children for the way they treat people these days. Well guess what they are learning it from somewhere!!! Cough cough* Mommy and Daddy

IT'S REAL!!!!

Golden rule you treat people badly it will eventually come back and bite you in the ass and hard!! Yes this includes judging and name calling! Sometimes people get karma confused with revenge, another thing that will just bring bad karma your way.

Forgiveness is SO important! Forgiveness not just for them, but for you. When you forgive you get rid of all those repressed feelings and put you at ease. Your negative feelings about that person will disappear and you can continue to move forward with those good thoughts which bring good Karma:)

LOVE....I think the quote pretty much summed it up:)

 

 

I believe in these things and will continue to practice these thing no matter how hard it can be at times:)

 

 

 

 

 

2months and Rylee's new activities

Holy cow 2 months!! I can't believe it has already been that long. Honestly though it still feels like yesterday that she arrived. I feel like she gets bigger and bigger everyday as time just continues to fly! I haven't taken her in the doctor for her 2 month check up yet, but soon enough she will go. Can you tell that I am avoiding it for as long as I can? I hate to have to see her go through shots! I told Aaron that I cannot be there when she gets them, It hurts my heart way to much to see her cry in pain.
Ryann weighs about 13 pounds and can pretty much fit in 6 month clothes! She is my little chunker that's for sure. She is such a happy yet sassy child! One min she is all smiles and then the next she is giving you some nasty dirty looks. Aaron and I are so excited for her to start laughing and have bets on who she will laugh for first. She wants to laugh so bad, but hasn't figured out how to just let it out.
Ryann is an amazing sleeper just like her sister! She will go to bed around 10pm, 12 at the latest and sleep till about 7am then go back to sleep for another 3 hours or so. I wish I could say she had a nap schedule, but she doesn't at all. She is only up for a max of 2 hours and then is ready for another nap that will last quite awhile and will do that through out the day. Some days she will be up all day with a nap here and there, but most of the time she is sleeping away. I wont complain though:) Her is my sweet little firecracker at 2 months!

 

 

Other than Ryann turning 2 months my life has gotten crazy busy! OK maybe not way crazy busy but a little bit. I was constantly told I was going to be SO busy with 2 kids and honestly I was a tiny bit freaked out about it. Now that I have 2 kids I still didn't feel busy! It can get a little tough at times, but I wouldn't say bottles, diaper changes and playing with a 3 year old was busy. I was starting to get bored and a little crazy just sitting at home so I decided to make my self a little bit more "busy"

I got Rylee into preschool on Tuesdays and Fridays. Dance on Wednesdays and then Gymnastics on Saturdays. At Rylee's school they send home homework that is due the next day she goes to school, Dance is all the way out in West Jordan and then Gymnastics is all the way out to the University of Utah. Now on top of babies, house work and entertaining a 3 year old I do a lot of running around most of my days during the week and honestly I LOVE IT! I finally don't feel trapped in my house 24/7. I feel like I can finally say I am busy, but still have time for other things or just laying around if that's what I choose to do:)

Rylee loves all her activities too! She gets so antsy to go to Preschool talks about it for an hour before we have to walk out the door and then continues to talk about it the whole walk home from picking her up. Seeing her at dance is so fun! She goes with her best friend Kelsey and they have a blast together! I can't wait for their dance recital to happen:) Gymnastics is by far my favorite to watch her do. I love seeing her on the balance beam and watching all the little girls do their stretches before they hit the floor! I am so glad my MIL talked us into the UofU. Tiny bit on the expensive side and it was so sweet of my MIL to pay for it!

Having kids is way too much fun that's for sure!!!!!!!!

 

 

 



It's just an excuse!

"I don't have time to workout." "How do you have time to workout with 2 kids?" I had that mind set until one day I was sick of my clothes not fitting properly! Now I realize it's just and excuse and there is always time to do even just a small workout. I am about a week in on working out and feeling so much better! I will normally workout when my girls are sleeping in the morning or night and if I am feeling lazy I will skip the morning workout and do it in the afternoon and have Rylee do little workouts with me and little Miss Ryann will sit in her bumbo and watch. Its possible to workout with kids and be able to get everything else done in the day that needs to get done. No more excuses for me, my butt will get some kind of workout everyday even if it's just a few crunches:)
My goal is to get to 120 or 115 pounds. Before I got pregnant I was 108lbs which I felt is too small and would prefer to be at my goal weight. Bonus for me I wont have to lose all my baby weight I gained! As of right now I am down 30lbs and only have about 5 to 10 pounds more to lose. Honestly if I stayed at 125 I would be satisfied as long as these love handles and tummy pundge went away:)

I'm excited about my new life of working out and can't wait to see some big changes in my belly!!:)

Rylee is starting Preschool again on Sept 4th two days a week for 2 hours and we are so excited! I think she will finally be ok with being away from me and meet new friends. The awesome thing about it the preschool is literally walking distance from us:) Not only that she will also be doing dance on Wednesdays and then Gymnastics Saturday mornings! We are going to be one busy family,but it will be good and fun for all of us. 5 days a week of activities is going to be a good time:)
As for Ryann she is getting so big!! About 12lbs of solid chunk! I can't believe how chunky she is, but I love it so much. She has become such a smiley girl and has the sweetest smile ever. Still sleeping through the night, but I'm almost 90% sure she is teething already!! Rylee started this early and had 4 teeth at 4 months so this doesn't surprise me if that is the case with Ryann. You can tell she hurts and it breaks our hearts. I just hope they come through asap and not just hang out under there and give her crap for months:( I'm going to have another Daddy's girl on my hands that's for sure. She loves Aaron and is always watching him. Not only does she love her Dad, but she is crazy about Rylee! Rylee can always get her to smile huge! Rylee is such an amazing big sister:)

So thankful!

I don't even know how to put into words how loved I feel! I have been going through a rocky patch recently and today I have been swarmed with people's love and support. I am so grateful for that and for those of you that messaged or text me just to give me words of encouragement or to check on me I can't even express enough how wonderful that was for me. It definitely helped and I truly appreciated it!