Did I do it??

I know all 3 of you that read my blog are on the edge of your seats wondering if I made it the full 30 days of the 30 Day Shred... well... I made it!!! Actually, I can't lie. It took me 32 days to do 30 days of the Shred. We were traveling one day and the other I had a weird eye emergency. I'm now on Day 31 of what I like to call: Shred till I'm Dead! I'm a little upset that I do not have the 6-pack that Jillian Michaels kept telling me I'd have if I stuck with it for 30 days... nor did I lose any where near the 20 pounds it said I could "possibly" lose on the box. I did lose a little weight and I feel stronger. Let's face it, girls... Stronger is not what we strive for when we work our butts off! We want to lose POUNDS! So sadly, I'm still after my quest for a decent bathing suit body before the boating season starts. I think I may have to find some other training video that can whip my butt into shape. Or maybe I'll get back to the dreaded... RUNNING! I hate running!

I'm still doing Weight Watchers and I follow it really good which is why I don't understand that I gained a pound back this week. How is it I can go months eating jellybeans, fried foods and drinking Dr. Pepper - in moderation, of course - and not gain much, but when I start eating good things like fruits, vegetables, and lean meats I gain weight? Hmmm... I'm thinking I deserve a big, giant Dr. Pepper this weekend! I did do my measurements and I lost an inch around my waist, butt and thighs... so that's slightly encouraging. Guess I'll keep plugging away and hope the weight-loss fairy visits my house soon!

And in other news... Clay is still obsessed with Toy Story...

Can you tell? This is how Daddy let's him ride to school. Mommy is obviously a meany-head since I don't let him take the whole brood. That's OK... Mommy sings "What I Like About You" and "St. Elmo's Fire" at the top of her lungs on the way to school... beat that, Daddy!

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Day 25 - Almost There!!

Well, I really didn't think that I'd actually stick with the 30 Day Shred for anywhere near 30 days, but I just finished up Day 25 this morning!!! I can't believe the results I've gotten from it...

Ha! Just kidding... I LOVE Photoshop! Actually, that is the body that I wish I could have! I was really hoping to have lost more weight by now, but like my husband says... "Rome wasn't built in a day... or 30 days". I guess I'll keep plugging along! I will say I'm about tired of Jillian Michaels. I'm on Level 3 of the 30 Day Shred and she's not being very motivating when she's telling me that I should be seeing my 6-pack abs starting to emerge. Really, Jillian?!?! A 6-pack?? Maybe if I was following a diet of carrots and celery... oh wait... carrots are too starchy... LETTUCE and celery!

And speaking of diet, I did decide to do something about my eating and I've joined Weight Watchers online. My OCD has kicked in with that and now I'm obsessed with the whole points thing. The main reason why I decided to sign up for it is because a friend of mine who is also doing it told me that fruits are zero points!! I LOVE me some fruit, so that was all I needed to hear! There's a whole list of zero point food items... fruits, most veggies, salsa! Now if I could just find a veggie that tasted like a tortilla chip to go with that salsa, I'd be in heaven! Since starting WW on Sunday I've lost 3 pounds... Since starting the 30 Day Shred, I've lost 6.5 pounds. Hmmm... I think I'm going to stick with the Weight Watchers thing just a little longer since it seems to be helping.

Anyways, hopefully after my fitness endeavor, I will actually look like that picture... whatever! :o)

New Do

Someone had his 3rd haircut today and I think he looks mighty handsome!

We take him to the local barber and he does so good! We have to divert his attention by bringing the portable DVD player and playing Toy Story, but... whatever works!

The last few days, he's done a couple of cute things so I have to blog about them before I forget.

Yesterday he was sitting in my lap and put his hands on either side of my face and said "I love you, Mommy. I promise!". He's just starting telling us he loves us and it's so cute!! He got the "I promise" part from his cousins when they all stayed with their Nan last weekend.

Today when I picked him up from school, he was out on the playground and his teachers were laughing at something he had done. When I walked up, Miss Haley asked Clay to tell me what he found. He said he found "poconuts". I'm assuming he means "coconuts". He watches this pirate cartoon on Disney Jr. and the little boy on there always says "Aww, coconuts", so I think he probably got it from there.

The other day we were going over the alphabet and what words start with certain letters. I got to letter H and was trying to get him to say hat. I asked him what goes on his head... and instead of "hat" like he was supposed to say, he said "Ollypus" (octopus). I have a feeling this may cause some confusion for those who don't know why my child thinks an octopus goes on your head. Back before he turned a year old, there was this part of Sesame Street where Jake Gyllenhal did a segment on the letter "O" and during that segment he had a purple octopus sitting on his head. This FREAKED Clay out! He would scream until we fast forwarded through it. To this day, whenever he sees an octopus, he always says "On my head".

My silly, silly child!

Day 15 - Half Way There!

After you read this, you may think I'm TOTALLY insane, but I decided to take Jillian Michaels literally and I've vowed to do the 30 Day Shred for 30 days straight! I'm tired of the flabby post-baby belly and saggy arms and since bathing suit season is right around the corner, I NEED to do something immediately! I haven't said anything about my endeavor because I really didn't think I'd get anywhere close to doing it 30 days in a row... but today was DAY 15!!!! I've done this darn video for 15 days straight! I'm still waiting for the whole "Lose up to 20 pounds in 30 days" part of the video to happen, but I guess they covered themselves with the whole "up to" part of the claim. I have lost a little weight (not as much as I'd like) and I do feel like I'm definitely getting stronger. Let's just see if I can do it another 15 days! I think my big challenge is going to be this Thursday when I have to go to Birmingham. I have to get up at 4:15 and with the time change, 4:15 is really 3:15 to my body. BUT, I'm going to remain positive and get my butt up that early and do it!! Wish me luck! Hopefully in 15 more days, I'll be able to report that I accomplished my crazy goal! I'm hoping the whole habit thing kicks in... they say it takes 16 - 21 days for something to become a habit! This is definitely a habit I'd like to have!

2 1/2 Years Old!!!

My sweet, BIG boy! Where has the time gone? You are 2 1/2 years old and I can't believe it! You are now closer to 3 than you are to 2 and it makes me so sad!

So what have you been up to this month...

My most favorite thing you've done this month is call me "Mommy"! You've always called me "Mama" until just recently. "Mommy" sounds so sweet coming from your cute, little voice.

You are a very funny little boy and make me laugh constantly! One day you were talking on your play phone to your girlfriend Hailey and I said "Hey, Baby". Now when you see Miss Hailey at school, you always say "Hey, Baby" to her. She loves it! Just remember... it's cute coming from a 2 1/2 year old... not so much when you are 20.

You love to go to church, which is definitely a good thing. You still go to the nursery when we go to the church service, but you get to go to "class" on Sunday nights and can't wait to go! Your class is 4 boys and you get so excited when you get to see your friends.

We've got a list of 4 songs we listen to every time we're in the car: I like to Move It, You've Got a Friend in Me (Toy Story), the Spanish version of You've Got a Friend in Me, and We Belong Together (Toy Story 3). You know most of the words... even to the Spanish version. Well, we make up words to the Spanish version.

Speaking of Toy Story... you are still very obsessed with it. You sleep with Buzz, Woody, Jessie, and Bullseye every night and they always ride in the car with us. You love your Toy Story books and have them memorized. Every night while I'm rocking you to sleep, I have to tell you stories about each of the characters... always in the same order - Jessie, Woody, Buzz, Bullseye, Lotso, and Rex the Dinosaur.

You are still the BEST sleeper and we still have you in your crib. I'm pretty sure you can climb out, but I don't think you really care to. You always wait for us to come up and get you... never calling us and trying to get out yourself. When I rock you to sleep, after I tell you your stories, we always talk to Jesus and we still talk to HoHo... EVERY night. Poor HoHo! He's going to have a VERY long list of things to get you if we keep this up all year.

Your vocabulary has gotten so good! You jabber all the time and we can actually have conversations with you. You are getting to be a polite little guy... you say "please" and "thank you" and you always say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze. You've gotten so good with your letters and a lot of them you know words that start with that letter.

Your eating has continued to improve! Some new things you are eating now are carrots, raisins, and fish sticks. You still love your peanut butter and jelly Mickey sandwiches and your Mickey chicken nuggets. Your favorite candy is jellybeans... you call them "beans".

So the big 3rd birthday is less than 6 months away! Time to start planning :o)! I've asked you what kind of party you want and you always say "Toy Story", but then you follow that up with Mickey. Looks like I may have to wait a little while before I start the major planning.

I love you my sweet, little 2 1/2 year old and enjoy every new thing you learn each month!

Spring Fever!

This weekend was GORGEOUS!! We decided to take Clay to a playground at a nearby school to enjoy the "spring-like" weather. The last time I took pictures at this park Clay looked like this!

He was almost a year old! He was bald and chubby and absolutely adorable! He couldn't do a whole lot - not even really able to walk on his own, but he had a blast!
And look at how much he's changed!!

He loved the merry-go-round...

And now... he's all over the playground!

He's definitely not afraid of anything and insisted on climbing up everything!

But thankfully, daddy was there to help him up to where he wanted to go!

He got to cool down with a green apple slush from Sonic!

He had slide races with daddy...

He loved hanging on the monkey bars!

And he liked going up the slides the wrong way!

I'm so glad we got to get out and enjoy this beautiful weather!!

I know I've posted a video of Clay dancing to his favorite dance song, "I Like To Move It", but he's added some new dance moves to his repertoire. He does some cute little gallop-spin thing now that's hilarious! So please enjoy his official "I Like To Move It" video:

29 Months Old!

My sweet Clay... you are now 29 months old! So what are you up to nowadays?

Your obsession has now moved from Thomas the Train to Toy Story. You still like to play with your choo-choo's, but you L-O-V-E anything Toy Story! You've had your first bout with strep this week, so you've been home sick since Wednesday. You were going a little stir crazy, so we gave you your Valentine's Day presents a little early...

I think it's safe to say you like your gift!

You still have a weird obsession with hats and I love how you always put it on backwards...

You've gotten very opinionated regarding your wardrobe. It's usually a struggle to get you to pick out a shirt in the mornings because you only want to wear your Buzz t-shirt. If it's not the Buzz t-shirt, then it's got to be something with a character on it - Cookie Monster, Thomas, Mickey...

You are doing so much better with your eating. You will now eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (thank goodness!) - I have to cut them up in the shape of Mickey Mouse, but at least you'll eat them. You'll even eat lunchables which has made it much easier for me to pack your lunch for school. You LOVE raisins and would eat the entire box if I let you. I still make you "Elmo Cupcakes" - which are basically muffins in the Elmo cupcake wrappers.

Since you know pretty much all of your ABC's, we've been working on what words start with certain letters. You know "apple" and "Auburn" start with "A". Your words for "E" are "elephant" and "egg". You can sing the entire alphabet song and are very boisterous with the "Next time won't you sing with Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" part.

We've started a new bedtime routine recently... we've always read you books before bedtime, but now you like for me to tell you stories after we turn out the lights and I rock you. It usually consists of you going to Mickey's clubhouse or going on an adventure with the Toy Story characters. I'm running out of story material, though.

We've had a fun month and I'm sure the next month will be a blast!

Inspired

So, my husband called me out on the fact that I REALLY needed to give my blog layout an update. He pointed out that under the "About Me" section I had that I had been married for almost 11 years... and we're actually going on 13! That's how long it's been since I've updated my blog layout! He inspired me to completely rework my blog and bring it more up-to-date. So I did a little research and since I now have a fancy editing program (Photoshop Elements), I whipped out a new layout and header! I'm not sure if I'm giddy about it, but now that I know how to do it, there's no end to what I might come up with!

I'm also hoping my pictures will start to look better because I got me a new toy...

Oh, yes! That's my new DSLR camera!! I'm VERY excited about it! I have absolutely NO idea how to use it except to put it on auto and hit the button. I've got about 5 different CD's it came with that are supposed to make me an expert photograper. I'm sure I'll one day get around to watching them (hopefully it won't take as long as it took me to update my blog layout!). I did try to take some decent pics of Clay last weekend when it was nice outside. (Was it last weekend, or the weekend before last?? They are all running together for me.) Anyways... here's my attempt at "nice" pictures with the new toy!

At least it takes pictures REALLY fast so I can get action shots like this one... (he was jumping up and down in our fire pit - such a good mama)

Hopefully some photographer will take pity on me and give me some tips on how to use my camera... Until then, I'll just shoot on auto until I get around to watching the CD's.