Hurray Easter!

Last week was the week from hell. Without getting into too much detail; we not longer have a dog, Marlee was nicknamed Satan, and I was more excited to go to work then what is humanly possible. And it was not because I like my job.

Yet, with all the negativity going around, I decided to be optimistic.

I was able to get cheap gas, I squeezed fit into a size 10, the sun was beautiful on Easter, and I was able to catch the oatmeal before it exploded in the microwave!
I make and explode a lot of oatmeal.

Yes these are super lame to be excited over but I am old and excitement doesn't exactly take a whole lot of effort now a days.

And it's optimism people! Get on board!

Even though I had to work Easter night (which is not a paid holiday! wtf?), the day could not have been more perfect. We (well Marlee allowed us) to sleep in until 8am and we did the whole Easter basket/egg search thing. The whole things annoys me but I don't even have time to touch the edge of that topic. Marlee and Isaac were so excited though and the pictures make me smile.

"For me! Thank you!"

Isaac gave up candy for Lent so this was total bliss for him.
And of course, Marlee raiding her brothers basket.

We then had enough time to get all done up for the day - which started with church. The homily was so perfect and so fitting. It really spoke to me and made me take a moment to be grateful for the things and people in my life. Sometimes we need a quick moment to put things in perspective. We even took a couple pictures outside of church.

Hough Family 

After church, we did lunch at Grandma Farris's house and we were able to get some more pictures. Marlee crawled all over the place and enjoyed all the company. Of course, Marlee ate and ate and ate. She even enjoyed a little bit of candy. The beautiful girls of the Farris/Carbone/Hough family (minus one) were able to get a quick picture before on to the next stop.

Family is Everything

Then we headed to the Tozzi house and were able to spend the afternoon eating, laughing, and watching the boys play whiffle ball. It was a wonderful ending to the busy week we had! Marlee was a little cranky because of the lack of nap but she perked up with all the cousin loving going on. We were able to get some more family pictures that are all frame worthy!

Hough Family

Cousins Minus One

Dark Haired Cousins
Marlee was thrilled - ha!

And thank you Bri for this beautiful picture of Marlee - my heart.

So overall, the lesson learned is that the sun always comes out after a storm. Easter was definitely full of sun and it was the light at the end of a dark week. Now on to another long week and trying to stay optimistic. Luckily, I am able to surround myself with fantastic family and friends.

Happy Nine Months Marlee

Marlee did not want to cooperate with pictures this month. 

Or any month for that matter.

But today was extra difficult. She was in a bad mood and was not afraid to show it. 

And add in the fact that I put shoes on her, total meltdown mode.

I did get to put her in these cute little jean shorts which made my day. I am trying to convince summer to hurry the heck up!

Marlee has reached the fearless stage in her life. She likes to jump off the couches, dive face first into hard objects, and just let go of the furniture - even though she does not know how to stand without support yet. So far she has a scratch on her chin, a bruise on her cheek, and a cut on her lip. And this all happened this week! 

Future boxer? Possibly.

Still no teeth! I swear she has been teething since she was four months old. The drool! The fussiness! The chewing on everything and anything! Yet, no teeth. She is going to be gumby forever. I have to admit that I am terrified for these teeth to finally come in. She is going to chew holes in everything we own. Kinda like a sweet little, bad puppy. 

She actually really is like a puppy. She now crawls all over the house pretty efficiently. She will follow me wherever I go. Which is good and bad. I always have creepy little eyes following me no matter what I am doing. Pee in peace? Not anymore! But at least I don't have to carry her from room to room now. Unfortunately, she is now destroying every room of the house. I found a bottle of wine just sitting in the middle of the dining room the other day. When did this happen? No idea. She is a sneaky little girl. 

And has good taste, obviously.

Ok now for the real reason everyone reads the blog: picture time!

"What are these things on my feet mom?"

"Ok mom, you get one minute to take my picture."

"Times up! Mickey Mouse is on!"

"I am over this mommmmmm!"

"Ok, I am out of here."

Happy nine months Marlee! So excited to see what the future brings. 

More stubborn personality and beautiful smiles, I am sure. 

Fun at the Park

The weather is finally starting to warm up!

Keep in mind it supposed to snow tomorrow but we are not going to talk about it.

It was gorgeous yesterday and we were able to get out of the house and head to the park. The sun is good for the soul!

It was Marlee's first time on the swing and she did not care for it. It was pretty funny. More for Nick and I but we didn't leave her in it for long. Just long enough to get a few pictures and push her a couple times. She just looked so uncomfortable.

Then we gave the slide a try and it was not much better then the swing. Once again, we took a couple pictures and moved on. 

We decided Marlee was still a bit too small for the park and went for a nice walk in Magnolia. We have been giving her a little more independence by leaving her unbuckled and she enjoys being a 'big girl' and sitting up without having to be strapped down. 

Of course, this added independence means she wants to be a daredevil.

She rode like this for quite some time and it was funny to see her so excited. I think she liked the wind through her hair. 

I did have to strap her down eventually. She tried to jump out and that was the end of her independence. 

With the upcoming snow (ugh), it was nice to get out with the family and enjoy the spring. Hopefully it warms back up soon because more outside time would be fantastic. And I want to get started in the garden!

Cry It Out

Everyone needs a good cry. 

In this case, we decided Marlee needs a good cry. 

I have always thought the crying it out sleep method was terrible. And part of me still does. It is literally like she cries because she has been abandoned and so one is coming to claim her. 

Dramatic I know, but it is so sad!

We were at our wits end though. She would fall asleep in our arms and instantly wake up after we put her in her crib. Even if she would stay asleep, she would wake up 3 or 4 times a night and need rocked back to sleep. And we would start the cycle all over again.

Needless to say, we were exhausted! And we could tell that Marlee was exhausted. She would wake up fussy and be visibly tired. So something had to give. 

So for the last week and a half, Marlee has been crying it out.

And sleeping like a baby. 

It started out to be a little more for me to handle so Nick did it while I was at work. He gave her a bottle, rocked her a little to relax her, and then placed her in bed. She cried for a half hour. 

The next night, she cried for twenty minutes but I was at work for this night also.

The third night, I was home. And I literally had to go outside to avoid the crying. It was the saddest cry. We had committed to this though and we had to wait it out. She only cried for ten minutes. If you have heard the cry of your child though, only ten minutes is such an understatement. 

So what is the positive side of the cry it out method? She does eventually fall asleep. And she sleeps. Soundly. All night long. 

And she wakes up in a great mood, ready to play.

Baking Fun

I hate admitting when my husband is right because he reminds me of it time and time again, but he was right. She actually fell asleep without any crying last night. I covered her with a blanket, kissed her forehead, and closed the door. Not a peep out of her. She did wake up once with a little whimper, but she fell back to sleep on her own within minutes. After doing a little research, this is the premise behind the cry it out method. Teaching babes to put themselves back to sleep. Adults wake up numerous times during the night but are unaware because we naturally fall back to sleep. Marlee needs to learn to fall back asleep without a bottle, rocking, singing, holding etc. If not, we are going to be doing this well into her toddler years. And if we ever plan to add to this family, we need at least one good sleeper. 

So everyone does need a little cry. It is good for the soul. And good for a sleeping Marlee. 

Busy Family Weekend

Somehow I was able to get a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off!

And let me just say, it still did not seem like it was a sufficient amount of time with my family. 

Can I please just win the lottery and spend everyday with Nick, Isaac, and Marlee?

Friday was Burgers at Midnight and it was another great turn out. Nothing better then meat at midnight on a meatless day! And of course, it is nice to have family over and get some good laughs in after a long week. I even made my burger debut and made up some balsamic vinegar, cheese, and celery burgers. Yum! Now I am racking my brain for Good Friday which will be the next Burgers at Midnight that I will be able to attend because of work. I am thinking a pineapple burger? Or maybe jalapeno popper burger? I mean the possibilities are endless.

Saturday was our big day. After searching for what feels like forever, we found a car! Ok so we were only searching for a couple weeks, but we were very specific with what we were looking for. We needed a car to grow with us. Grow with our family. Safety is imperative. Low mileage. And of course the price had to be right. And after seeing and test driving the Chevy Transverse, we both fell in love. After a couple minor repairs and recall issues taken care of, we are very proud owners of a new car. 

Enough room for four more children! Ha just kidding. 

Or am I?

So after our big purchase, we decided we needed some food. We literally sat in the dealership for about 3 hours. Ugh. At dinner, we also decided to get some new piercings. Obviously Nick and I are a bit too old for any piercing and Isaac is another obvious no, so Marlee Jo was the winner. I could sense her excitement when I told her the plan. 

Let me just give you the low down on baby girl ear piercings in case you have not found yourself in this situation before. I will say that God forbid these did not take or were to get infected for whatever reason, I would not take her again. It was just as bad, if not worse, then getting her immunizations done. Mostly because Marlee does not like to be cuddled. She does not like to be snuggled, or held tight, or swaddled, or ANYTHING that has to do with being constricted in anyway. So with that being said, this was the worst part of the piercing. Having nails jabbed through your ear lobes, no big deal. Having someone hold her down while this all happened, big deal. I sat down with Marlee on my lap, took my right arm and held down both her arms. I then took my left hand and held her forehead firmly against my chest. All this while two people were all up in her face trying to line up the holes perfectly. Pure torture for Marlee.

And then it was all done. I stood up and released her arms. She cried two big tears and was fine. Such a brave, strong girl. 

And such a mean, mean mom.

If we weren't in the mall, I would have cried more then her. 

She looks so beautiful though and I am so happy with the results. 

I have been trying to get a better picture of her but she is not one to hold still for very long. 

Sunday, I was able to relax with my sisters which is always so nice. I love to share the madness that is Marlee with them. I am really happy that Marlee will have Aunts to be close with her as she grows up. 

After all, family really is everything. 

Results from 21 Day Fix

21 Day Fix

So I have officially completed my first round of 21 Day Fix.

I hate to sound like I am a selling the program but I am really thrilled with my results and would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting fast and easy results. Honestly, there is no secret to the program. It is basic fitness and nutrition. Apart from drinking Shakeology everyday, it is exactly what anyone trying to loose weight should be doing to get lasting and solid results.

Eat clean. Exercise daily.

Let me just say that as soon as I ordered the 21 Day Fix, I started eating clean. I did not have the portion sizes yet but I knew that I had to cut out sweets, fried foods, and heavy snacking. I lost 5 lbs that first week that I wasn't even on the Fix. If that does not stress the importance of diet, then nothing else will. I always read that diet was 80/20 to exercise and this really proved it. Yes, I am sure a lot of this was water weight, but the weight loss continued after I officially started the Fix.

While on the 21 Day Fix, I lost a total of 6 inches (which includes 2.5 inches from my waist) and 4.8 lbs. So combined with the 5 lbs from the first week I started purging my diet, I am down 9.8 lbs and finally over the 150 pound hump that I have been stuck on for months. And I honestly feel great. More energy, clothes fitting better, and even had a couple girls at work tell me that I looked thin! Is there anything greater then hearing that? I think not.

Don't get me wrong, I had every intention of eating apple pie for breakfast my first day off the Fix but was craving an english muffin with peanut butter and bananas... same thing I would eat on the Fix. Is it possible I am changing my ways!? Not entirely, (I do love my sweets) but I am definitely more aware with how many carbs and sweets I consume. The last thing I want to do is gain back everything that I just lost.

Apart from the number results, I also took before and after pictures. I have to admit that I am not going to post them. Trust me, it is for the best. Don't get me wrong, the results are very visible, but I still have some way to go. And putting my underwear clad picture up for the world to see is just not a top priority at this moment. It is the internet after all. 

I plan on doing another round after Easter and hopefully after that be down to pre-baby weight! 9 months to put it on and 9 months to take it off! Depending on how I feel, I might even do another round after that. Just to make sure I am nice and toned for vacation in July. 

So bottom line, if you are interested in a Beachbody program, I would definitely recommend the 21 Day Fix. I loved Autumn, the workouts, and even the meal plans. It was easy to follow and results are visible! It is hard to ask for more from a program. 

Week 2 of 21 Day Fix Complete!

This is actually a really late post considering Thursday is my last day of the 21 Day Fix but with work and becoming ill for a couple days, I have not exactly given the blog a lot of priority. 

I am feeling so much better though and the sun is even shining! Shining! I was starting to think we moved to Alaska in my sleep. Even my mood has improved at the sight of the sun. It is nice to actually want to be productive and get off the couch. 

Ok but back to the 21 Day Fix. Week 2 was 100% better then week 1. I can tell that I am getting better at the meal planning and it really helps. My meals are more balanced and actually look/taste delicious. For example, on Friday I had salmon, brown rice, and green beans for dinner. All portioned. Topped with lemon and a little hot sauce. 100% 21 Day Fix approved and it was fantastic! I was not hungry afterward and it really made me feel like I was making progress. It also helps that the hot sauce makes me extra thirsty which increases my water supply. Water was definitely key in week 2 also. I was drinking a TON. And it showed.

I lost more weight (and inches!) during week 2 and I honestly felt better. I don't know if it was necessarily thinner but  my clothes were a little more comfortable and I felt I looked more tone. I take my final pictures on Thursday and am really interested to see if I have really changed or its all in my head. 

I have plans to do another round after a short break and I am hoping this will put me at my pre-baby weight. How exciting is that! Probably not so much for you but I am thrilled. 

I did a handwritten meal plan this week but once I get it on Excel, I will post it. 

One more week!