Been so busy!!

Yikes...it's been too long since I have touched this blog!! Sorry!! I know that there are some of you checking...only to be disappointed with the same o same o!!

Well July has been hot...not just hot but HOT. The other morning I wanted to get out early to run errands...my goal was to get in the car before the temp got to be 100...it was 92..sheesh. By the time we got home, it was 97!! Talk about melting. By the time I buckle the kids in the car, get in the front seat and turn on the vehicle...their little faces are rosy red and they are miserable!!

The cool thing is, there have been some awesome thunder and lightning storms almost every afternoon. The other day we actually got some rain too...that lasted almost all night!

Last weekend my brother in law and sister in law came over. Hubby's brother helped him clear the backyard of tumbleweeds...yes, we get tumbleweeds in these here parts :) And while the boys worked the land lol lol...us ladyfolk embarked on a crochet project. We were going to make an afghan "in a day" like the pattern said. And it was true!! Here is mine:



After seeing these pics, some of my photographer friends asked me to embark on a prop making journey..Oh my!! I have been crafting all week...One asked for a pixie type hat for newborns...All I have seen are the knitted ones...I saw a few patterns for crochet ones but didn't like them too much. I created my own version!! :) I need to make the tippy top a little longer, and figure out a better tassle...but other than that...not too shabby, right??
Another friend asked for this crazy cute two pom pom hat made with chunky handspun wool!! The wool is in the mail...and I can't wait to get my hands on it. She also asked for a tassled blanket to lay in a basket...this is it so far...
My boy has been very imaginative lately...such a cutiebug. We sang the "Happy Birthday" song I don't know how many times yesterday as he made birthday cake after birthday cake with his sister's ring stacker...He's fun!! :)

My little Lady is just a blast too. I LOVE "Goodnight Moon" and have been reading it to her for the last couple months...and she is really into pointing everything out for me. I even forgot to ask her where the mouse was on a particular page...she wouldn't turn the page and said, "mohse" Oh ya!! :)

And South beach progress...well..we really feel like we have made a wonderful lifestyle change...I haven't lost any for about a week...which is okay because I was bad last weekend and ate pizza...but otherwise....loving eating this way! :) (As a side note...did you know you should be eating 30 grams of fiber per day?? You should be sure to drink a lot of water too...ya know...they work together)

Extreme Diggers

It's amazing how much censoring you do as a parent, trying to protect your little one from hearing, or seeing things that would harm their little, impressionable minds.

I remember when our little man first started paying attention to what was on tv...we realized how quickly we would need to change the channel...or mute it...or even turn it off... (And that was just for commercials!!) I never realized how many scary movie commercials come on in the 7pm hour on fox than I did while we were watching American Idol last season.

Try as we may, something inevitably will slip by...even the most innocent of things can become a scary ordeal for your child...
Case in point:

My son LOVES tractors, loves them. He sees them before I do, he points them out as we pass them, and he always acknowledges that the tractors are "workin' so harrrd." So one Sunday maybe two weeks ago, we had the tv on, watching as a little family, and we tuned into Extreme Home Makeover. There was a large tractor on screen, you know, the ones that demolish the houses...we call the ones with the long "necks" if you will, Diggers. And he pointed it out to Daddy. Then it began to demolish the house.

A few days ago, as Hubby was changing son's diaper, Little Man goes, "It's not gonna get you..." Daddy says, "What's not gonna get you?"
"the big digger. It's not gonna get the house."
"Oh no Son, it's not gonna get the house. You're safe."

Then yesterday, I was changing his diaper and he says to me, "Digger's not gonna get the ceiyying (ceiling)."
"Oh no, baby, it's not gonna get our house."
"It's not gonna kill me."
"Oh, Baby, you're safe. It only gets houses when no one is in it and they want it to knock it down."

Oh my goodness...I can't believe my little man is afraid of the tractor coming to "kill" him like we kill the random fly or spider in our house. (That's the only way he knows what kill means..)
And we do, we try so hard to shelter him from scary...and the one thing he is afraid of is a tractor.

Did you know???

You can be a facebook fan of Jenster76??
All you need to do is go to http://www.facebook.com/jenster76 and become a fan! :)

South Beach update

So we've been on it for a little over two weeks now. The first week and a half we were extremely rigid with the "detox" portion if you will. No sugar, no breads...then the fourth of July weekend kinda threw us a curveball...but ya know what?? I have still lost a solid 5lbs! :) YAY. It is coming off a lot slower than when I have done any other diets...but something else is happening too.

My mindset has changed. I have learned to eat more balanced, and I am not craving sugar like crazy as I usually do.

We are slowly reintroducing carbs into our diet this week. A typical breakfast for me now is the usual omelet of sorts with lots of veggies and I am adding a whole grain cereal to that as well. Still trying to remember to drink LOTS of water, and to really pile on the veggies...

What I like about this diet is that it has opened my mind up to different snack ideas and dinner ideas...and they are lowfat, nutritious, and really quite good!

The other added bonus to this lifestyle is that we have really started to feel better! We have been walking almost everyday...(helps get your mind off food!!) and just have more energy.

So, that's the latest on the SBD adventure! Now I am off to cook some SBD Morracan Lemon chicken!

Our Weekend in Review

This was a very special weekend for us, not only because we were celebrating our freedom and liberty as Americans, but because on Sunday, we were celebrating our six year anniversary!

We went to a sweet little small town parade in the city I grew up in.
Since CARS is big in our house, Little Man said this was "Red." from the movie!

Gramma and the girly.

Later that evening we were going to head out to see fireworks, and saw this beautiful double rainbow. It arched all the way from one side to the other, but I could only capture a tiny bit.

We went to see some fireworks...and I tried to take pics...haa hahaaaahaha quite laughable...but I will share anyway!! I was amazed that the kids enjoyed them as much as they did. Last year little man was screaming and crying and this year he was oooohing and aaahhhhing. We walked over to the street above the park where everyone was gathered to watch. (We definately avoided the crowds) and set up our chairs on a landscaped street corner to watch.

And lastly, on Sunday we celebrated our anniversary by taking our annual stroll to the botanic gardens where we were married.

They have this awesome miniature train garden...the kids can control one of the trains with a push button.

There's a fantastic children's garden where you enter and everything is larger than life...you can enter a giant pumpkin, go down a log slide, and even...squash a huge ant or be hunted by a giant spider!

And lastly the moment we were pronounced husband and wife six years ago.

Busy Weekend

Lots of activities, lots of fun!! Busy busy with a couple custom orders. I have so much to post, but for me, my weekend isn't over yet. We are planning a fun day with the kiddos today. I will update with pics and info very soon!!

And another Happy 4th

Check out this awesome 4th inspired treasury!! My white sunhat is featured here. I do have more to post...non etsy stuff...so I will see you soon!

A happy 4th of July

Treasury. Thank you to Southerncharmquilts.etsy.com for placing one of my items into another treasury. (My red sunhat!) You can view it HERE . Please comment and click! :)

a few things...

Things I am waiting for:
~a big box from the UPS guy *crossing fingers for an early arrival*
~my hubby to finish Thursday so we can have a 4 day weekend
~4th of July fireworks...I really want to see them this year...as long as the babes don't panic and scratch our eyes out...
~Monday so we can eat some good carbs again...(But it hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be to avoid them)
~an etsy sale...of course!

Things I am not waiting for any longer:
~a key to our mailbox. That's right....after changing the lock on our mailbox without permission and without giving us the key...endless trips to the post office with two tots in tow quite a few phone calls, and finally an ugly email to the USPS yesterday (not too proud of myself...) The doorbell rang this morning and I was handed the keys to our box.
That's how I roll.