Which dress do you prefer?

The dress is for a wedding. They both fit nicely and they both cost roughly the same. August wedding.

The black and gray is only slightly more flattering, but they both looked pretty dang good I thought.

First day of school

First day of school for Ainsley and first day of gymnastics for Sully and Caelan. They LOVED it! Pictures aren't great because we were behind the glass watching but it was awesome. They were so happy to be jumping around doing all kinds of new fun stuff.

Ainsley was a little nervous about school because it was different than all the kindergarten stuff she was used to but she did great. Tomorrow will be drop off in the drive through lane so hopefully she's okay with that.

And then tomorrow Ainsley and Addie have their first gymnastics class.

Got a new calling at church....Webelos. Seriously? Scouts??? I'm a little thrown here so wish me luck.

Internet drama: we signed up with Elevate, a company my brothers were selling for. It was cheaper than my previous service so I figured why not? Save the money right? So things were okay. Jim was a little frustrated because the authentication was causing our service to cut out a couple times a day but we were dealing. They do this whole billing change drama and my service gets cancelled in the process. I spent a WEEK trying to get it back on. Elevate says it's Qwest's fault and Qwest says it's Elevate's fault. Elevate barely answers their phones. Takes two days just to get the losers on the phone, let alone get them to fix a problem! Finally we get Qwest ready to turn us back on only to say that they can only do it until after we get our bill current, the bill for which we were being automatically charged for each month. Elevate took our money for three months and never paid Qwest putting us in default! Um hello? Can you say fraud?

I've been a week and a half without internet at my house. My computer is set up at Hanna's so I can work and Jim's been working from my mom's dining room table for over a week. It's a disaster and we're still waiting today for Orbitel so we can switch our service back. The FCC and the BBB will be getting an earful from us.

Jim decided that I'm going to learn how to play tennis. For anyone that was in young women's with me as a teenager and remembers me in church softball, you may laugh hysterically now.

Nicoles wedding is in a few weeks. We booked our flights on Saturday and can't wait to go see everyone.

Patty sold her house on the cape so that will be different. I know she was ready to be done with that house but we're definitely going to miss it.

Found a photography class being offered out here in Maricopa, including a lesson on photoshop so I can learn to use my awesome software finally. That starts Saturday.

Same day as Ainsley's birthday party! She turns 6 on Sunday. Gonna hang and have fun at Peter Piper, nothing big.

Tomorrow is my 8th wedding anniversary. Is it still considered an accomplishment to make it through the 7 year itch?

I lost 23 pounds on the hcg diet and I'll be doing another three weeks next month. Hopefully I can shed another 15. I definitely feel better and it was not nearly as torturous to go dress shopping as it has been in the past (dress for Nicole's wedding).

Okay, I'm coming back

School starts Monday and I decided to quit being a blog slacker. I do have a lot of pictures to upload as well.

This summer seemed to fly by and drag all at the same time. Definitely ready for school and schedules and routines and structure though.

Ainsley starts school on Monday and Caelan starts preschool on Tuesday so at least two days of the week I might actually have some alone time, go me!

Internet has been out for a week so I'm here at Hanna's again trying to get some work done (though clearly I'm not trying as hard as I should).

same ol'

Hmm....where to start

I got the girls' flower girl dresses ordered for Nicole's wedding, they are SO cute. They are floor length and the sash will be blue of course.

I'm horribly anxious for school to start. Ainsley is bored and acting out and she just needs to have something else fill her day that does not consist of fighting and screaming.

Been working a lot. Made a little more this month than I did last month, every little bit helps right?

REALLY looking forward to the wedding next month. It will be fun to have a change of scenery for a short week.

I've lost 20 pounds on the diet. I wish it had been more but I cheated a couple weekends so it's my own fault. But still, 20 pounds definitely made a difference. At least I have clothes I can wear now. I'll probably do another 3 weeks in the fall.

Jorden has been busy with cheer and Caelan is doing great in swimming lessons...contemplating putthing Ainsley in dance for a month, maybe.

mundane

So usually I have nothing to report, but since it's been so long I suppose I have a few.

First of all, my sister-in-law is getting married in August so that means BOSTON BABY!

We are so excited to be heading back and can't wait to see our friends again.

Today I got a new vacuum. It's not my dream Dyson but it will do. A while back one of Ainsley's friends came over and she dumped all of Ainsley's jewelry beads on the floor. I'm happy to report that my vacuum can definitely handle thousands or tiny beads on the floor.

Diet is going very well. I just finished my bowl of chili that consisted of only 160 calories. Yay me!

I've been having fun this last week mixing it up a bit with the food. I was bored so I figured I would try. By pureeing our tomatoes (fresh from our own garden mind you) we can make a broth by adding some yummy spices and such. My favorite is chili powder and cumin and then adding some ground turkey. A little cilantro and pepper sauce make it even better. Today I made soup for my parents too and I think they liked it as well. My broccoli soup leaves something to be desired, but there are only so many options for broccoli soup when you can't use cheese. It was good though and it's definitely less boring than plain old broccoli. It's been good for me to do these things though because I'm learning to enjoy foods that aren't drowning in butter and cream but still taste rich and flavorful, things that I can enjoy in the future, just slightly larger portions of course.

My kids have had growth spurts of course, but I haven't done a weigh and measure lately (no, we don't see doctors anymore, haha).

Ainsley's birthday is coming up next month and I think she has settled on Peter Piper and her favorite family members. Works for me!

"Get Healthy" updates

http://dothesepantsmakemybuttlookbig.blogspot.com/

do these pants make my butt look big?

I wasn't going to make it public because I know it's a little extreme, but I'm on day 5 of the hcg diet. It's going well. Shots are no big deal. I'm creating good habits of drinking more water, enjoying organics, and learning how to do daily tasks without a brownie in my hand. I figure I'll come out the other end with a better ability to control what I eat and to be healthier for my kids.

And I won't be 30 pounds overweight anymore...

It's a huge lesson in self control that I never thought I would have the ability to do so it's also giving me more confidence in myself to do the things that are going to make our family stronger (insert long list of must do's here).

Jorden started cheer practice this week and it sounds like she is enjoying it.

All three girls have dance recital this weekend.

Swimming lessons started this week and Caelan is not taking to it well....screaming bloody murder.

Summer has been mild so far so I'm bracing myself for the nasty heat to come.

There is too much going on at the moment so I'm stressed which means my face has broken out horribly. I'm confident that after this week things will get better and I'll get more sleep.

I do have pictures so I'll try to upload this weekend.