Goodbye 180's hello 170's!!

In 2 weeks I went from 187 to 177. That is 10lbs in 2 weeks!! That was after Thanksgiving dinner.

Brandon also went from 266 to 256. 10lbs for him too.

It is getting easier and easier to watch what we are eating.

Thanksgiving was busy, but we had a great time. We got a lot of shopping done, in fact it is almost all done. Except for my mom and my sisters. Their gifts won't be available until the 4th. We have my in-laws to shop for, and Lacey's Santa Claus present. We bought it on Friday and then put it in the car and realized there was no way for us to get it back to JC without Lacey seeing it so we returned it. Brandon and I got 3 dates!! It was so nice. We went on a lunch date 1st, we went to Subway where we could have a healthy lunch. After lunch we went to Target and did some Christmas shopping. We got Miles' Santa Claus present, and some other stuff. Our 2nd date started on Friday morning at 4am. The kids were still sleeping and my mother in law stayed with them. We hit up Target 1st got tons of stuff and at great prices too!! We went over to Kohl's and got me a pair of black boots, and my mom's Christmas present. Over to Best Buy and got 2 SD cards for Brandon's step mom and Dad's Christmas gifts. We hit up Sears and got Miles some clothes and a winter snow suit. We went back to Target and returned Lacey's Santa present...at 8am we were exhausted and went back to Brandon's folks house. Friday evening Brandon's folks took us to Outback while Brandon's cousin Sarah came over and watched the kids.

We left KC around noon yesterday, got home and started cleaning up. Laundry laundry and you guessed it more laundry. The Christmas tree is up and hopefully some time today we can finish decorating. We are also getting family pictures taken today. I can't wait!!

Brandon's Christmas present is off getting framed!! It looks AMAZING!!! Thank you so much Liz!!

T-Tru-Truck, Keep on truckin' all the way

It was been a week since we started our weight loss journey.

Brandon weighed in last night at 262.0 his starting weight was 266.6, he has gone done 4.6lbs! I am so proud of him!!

I weighed in yesterday at 182.0!! That is a -5 since last week Thursday!! I am so excited!!

Counting calories, eating what I want, just not going over 1500 calories a day works! The only working out I am doing is some cardio or walking on the treadmill. I have decided to start the couch 2 5k and this time I am sticking with it!!

Last night and this night I had a hamburger. Yes a hamburger. I have my 1/2 cup of ice cream every night, a snack size snickers bar. I am not giving up anything I like just cutting back how much I eat.

Standing

So my little man is standing by himself....
He doesn't do it for very long but he is doing it.

We had some fall fun today we played outside in the leaves. Brandon raked them up into piles and Lacey and her friend jumped in them!! Then we went to the park for a little bit.

Losing weight

Last week my friend and I read an article about a man who ate whatever he wanted just watched his calorie intake and lost 27lbs. We figured we could do it!!


On Wednesday Brandon and I started counting our calories. We are both set at 1500 calories. We both have been doing great. I stepped on a scale 2 weeks ago at my parents and figured I would use that weight as my starting weight.

My starting weight was 187. My goal is to lose 3lbs a week. I lost my 3lbs from last week bringing me to 184. My goal weight is 155 only 29lbs to go!!

With Thanksgiving coming up I am scared, but know that portion control is KEY!! I figure I need to blog about it to keep myself motivated to lose the weight.

Brandon and I are having our Church wedding 11-5-11 and I need to look GREAT! I don't want to look at my wedding pictures and be disappointed because of my weight.

I want to be healthy for me, my kids and my husband. I want to be around to watch them grow. So ladies keep me motivated!!

Christmas Cards

A friend of mine blogged about Shutterfly giving away 50 free Christmas Cards if you blog about them.

Last year we got married and had wonderful family pictures taken and got to use those for our Christmas Cards. Which we ordered from Shutterfly. I have used Shutterfly for TONS of pictures. This year my best friends mom is going to take some Holiday pictures for us. (She took my maternity photos, I ordered them all off of Shutterfly.) Our 1st family pictures as a family of 4. We will use Shutterfly to print them off. I love holiday cards, I love receiving them and I love sending them. So now I need help deciding which one we like the best. Maybe if I like them all I will just order one in every style!! Yes, I am that indecisive. In 2008 we took pictures of Lacey every month and used them in a cute calendar. EVERYONE loved them. It was kinda the gift that kept on giving all year. 12 months of Lacey!! Maybe this year we will make some from Shutterfly and they will make great Christmas presents. http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/wall-calendars

Now on to the Christmas cards
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this one. I love the black and white picture and the only thing in color is the lights and the word Holiday!!
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/bright-colored-lights-christmas-card?sortType=1&storeNode=93491

I love this one too!! I love the black and white picture and the simplicity of the card!!
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/holiday-window-christmas-card-5x7-flat?sortType=1&storeNode=93491

With this one I can get a really good family picture for the top, a picture of each of the kids by themselves and then a picture of Brandon and I!!
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/cool-collage-holiday-5x7-folded-card?sortType=1&storeNode=93491

Why Oh Why does Shutterfly have to have so many cute cards?? This will make deciding on Holiday card shopping so difficult!!

Thanksgiving

What I am thankful for....

I am thankful that I have an amazing supporting husband who loves me unconditionally, who supports me 150%, who works hard so I can stay at home.

I am thankful that I am able to stay at home with our 2 wonderful amazing kids.

I am thankful that I am able to have children, for the stretch marks left behind, for my body never going back the way it was.

I am thankful for Lacey and Miles who are keeping me young and giving me gray hair. I love you both more than you will ever know. Even though I get frustrated that you won't sleep in a bed by yourself, or that you talk back and don't listen, I love you, and I am thankful God gave you to me.

I am thankful that my kids are healthy, that I am healthy, that my husband is healthy. We may get the common cold, a few ear aches nothing that is major.

I am thankful for my parents, who raised me in a loving, safe, home. And put up with my rebellious ways and didn't kill me....

I am thankful for sisters. We may not always get along but I support them no matter what. They are my only link to the past.

I am thankful for my Grandparents. Without them I wouldn't be here. My dad's parents for giving us a house to live in, and my Mom's mom for paying for Lacey's preschool, just because you want to.

I am thankful for my in-laws. They are super amazing!! People talk about how they hate their in-laws, and coming from a 1st marriage where my in-laws were not kind people. I am grateful for the wonderful in-laws I have.

I am thankful for my friends!! Old and new you are truly fabulous people!! You make me smile and help me laugh, you give me a shoulder to cry and pick up my broken pieces and still love me.

I am thankful for God, without him none of us would be here. I am thankful for the constant reminders he gives us that he loves us, and is watching over all of us.

I am thankful for my little brother Clayton who is in Heaven watching over me and my babies. Sometimes I can feel his presence and I know that he is gone but never forgotten.

I am thankful for my part time job. I love that you are flexible with my hours, and give me an outlet. Who knew folding clothes and re-folding clothes could be so relaxing?!?

I am thankful for my husband's job. Even though I think he works too hard and too many hours, he loves what he does and he still has a job in this rough time.

I am thankful for this beautiful weather we are having in November. I love being able to be outside without a jacket in November.

I am thankful for my Aunts and Uncles. They are the only link to my parents pasts, and share the secrets my parents won't tell us. LOL

I am thankful for coupons and great sales! I love being able to save more than I spent!!

I am thankful for the money that we have, that we are able to support our family. We may not have a lot of money, or the newest coolest things but we have enough to provide for our family. We may not have it all together but together we have it all.

I am thankful for my Ex husband leaving me. I don't think I would have ever left and I would have been miserable the rest of my life.

That is all for now....I am sure I will think of more and will add them

Happy 1 Year

Happy 1st Anniversary to my Hubby. I must say I am so blessed to have such a wonderful man. My daughter and son are both so blessed to have him as their daddy.

We had a great 1st wedding anniversary. My little sister's boyfriend came over and watched the kiddos so we could have an evening out without the kids. We went to Manhattan and our 1st stop was Target. We picked up Toy Story 3 for Lacey for Christmas for $5.99. It is $15.99 but we had a $1o gift card we got for buying 2 packs of diapers. We also bought TONS of Halloween stuff all 75% off. Some decorations for outside, some decorations for inside, and some coffee (we had a coupon). Our grand total was $39 and some change after the gift card.

Next we were off to dinner at Olive Garden. I got a glass of some yummy yummy wine and

Grilled Shrimp Caprese for dinner. It was wonderful!! We actually got to have adult conversation without interruption. I gave Brandon some hints about his Christmas present and he is so lost, but my clues were AMAZING!! After dinner we discussed dessert but we were both stuffed!!

After dinner we went to Bed Bath and Beyond where we picked up some K-Cups for one of my sister's for Christmas. I had 2 coupons that were expiring so we figured we could purchase the coffee now. We then headed to Starbucks for some coffee, and came home to 2 kids that were excited to see us!!

I am so blessed and truly have a wonderful life!!

Christmas Presents

Yes I know it is only November 3rd, I know Christmas is 51 days away however I am trying to get a head start on Christmas shopping. I did some shopping for the kids in July or August when Target was having huge clearance sales. I got tons of stuff and only spent around $30 on Christmas presents. Brandon and I are buying Toy Story 3 for Lacey at Target for $15.99 just for the DVD and we have a gift card for there that we got for buying diapers, making the DVD $5.99!!

We get points with our debit card, Brandon had over 18,000 points so we got one of my sisters a gift card for iTunes that is worth $25 for free and a $100 REI gift card for my dad that we didn't have to buy!! That is 2 gifts out of the way that were FREE!!

The one gift that I am looking the most forward to getting and giving to my husband is a gift that I am having one of my friends make!! She is going to take pictures of the letters of our last name and then have it framed. I'm sure my husband will love it, I know that I will love it!! Thanks Liz you are the greatest!!

The good with the bad

It is only Tuesday and already this week my emotions are shot!!

Sunday I got mad at Brandon for choosing to go work the Haunted House instead of going Trick or Treating with the kids and I. He has been working the Haunted House for years and it is something he loves doing. It is for a good cause but I wanted him home to celebrate it with us.

Monday I posted all of our babies items up for sale. The swings, the jumperoo, the bumbo, the bouncy chair....Kind of confirming that we are done with babies. We aren't doing anything permanent yet, but we both have agreed that in 5 years if we decide we want one more we will be in a better place financially, and can buy all new stuff for our baby. However in five years both of my babies will be very independent kids, and we probably won't want another one.

Tuesday was Court day. My daughter is not biologically my husbands. He has been raising her since she was 9 months old and they are inseparable. She calls him daddy and he will tell you that he has 2 kids. It is actually funny how many people say she looks just like him. Her biological father has not been a part of her life since she was 3 weeks old. Maybe seeing her a handful of times the 1st year she was born. When we got divorced she was to remain with me and he would pay us child support. We have asked him numerous times to sign over his rights and each time he has said no. He was put in jail for domestic abuse and child endangerment and while he is in jail he didn't want to pay child support....Luckily I have the world's best In-Laws that found and paid for a lawyer for us. Today at court it was settled that her biological father is to pay child support until January and we will go back to court then to discuss the matter again!! Here is to saying our prayers and hoping that by January he will want to sign over his rights!!

Wednesday we are meeting with our Parents As Teachers lady!! I am so excited!!

Thursday is Brandon and I's 1 year wedding anniversary

Friday maybe I will be able to relax.....

Halloween

The kids and I had a good time on Halloween!! My little pumpkin didn't really enjoy the evening but Lacey did!! She loved going around to the houses saying Trick or Treat. It went by so fast. We ended the night by going over to Briana's boyfriends house and enjoying dinner with them. I am excited for next year when Mile will be able to enjoy it more!!