A Little Dose of Happiness ~ Special Smile Moments from 2014 ~ My Year In Review

When I started this series of posts, it was one of my most favorite things about my blog.  It kept me looking for the positive and fun little moments throughout the week or month.  It changed the way I looked at life and helped me stay very positive.  So I will definitely be bringing it back this year.

So in honor of that, I am doing a very large post to remember the fun and memorable moments of 2014 (since clearly I was in hiding).  These are in no particular order...


1.  My big brother got married in March!  The boys were the 2 ring bearers!  This was when I realized I needed an intervention for Willie's hair and soon after we cut it.  Sorry, Brian, that your wedding pictures will forever memorialize this bad parenting choice!

ring bearers and flower girl

so cute walking down the aisle

my side of the family with my new sister-in law

2.  Our yearly photo shoot around Thanksgiving and Christmas time.  The boys turned 3 and 5 this year!  Tyce's birthday actually fell on Thanksgiving.  During the photo shoot we got an awesomely awkward photo to use against the kids when they have girlfriends later on.  The photographer told the boys to look at each other and it looks like they are trying to kiss instead (and not in a cute way).

3.  Visiting the Wizard of Oz exhibit at Crown Center.

4.  Fun daycare pics in the spring! (still pre-haircut).

5.  An amazing trip to Florida with my mom and sister.....we were there for 2 weeks and the boys still have not stopped talking about it.  I thought Will was going to die when he saw the real Barney!  Tyce loved going on all of the rides and meeting the Disney characters!

Willie was scared of the costumed characters for a few days

Seeing Barney for the first time

6.  The first year we ever colored Easter eggs with the boys and Easter egg hunts!

Hunting eggs with cousin Haileigh

7.  Beautiful Father's day spent at Powell Gardens where we learned how to grow our own produce.

8.  Will and Tyce making build-a-bears to put their old pacifiers in.  This was a great technique to have Willie get rid of it for good.  We did this at the beginning of 2014 and he still sleeps with his "Binky Bear".

9.  A very special Mother's Day trip back to my old stomping grounds of Chicago.  We had lots of fun and the boys asked if we could move there.

Flight was so fun!

Dinosaurs!

No fear on the sky deck at Sears Tower (I was too scared to even step one foot out)

10.  March for Babies 2014

11.  Snake Saturday parade and Uncle Josh riding in his Jeep!

12.  Tyce losing his first tooth......not by choice, it was knocked out at school by an accident with another kid.  It will probably be a few years before the next one comes in.

Turning black due to a complete break....it had to come out

Tooth fairy pillow!

13.  Willie's surgery at the beginning of the year. It was not a fun experience for this momma, but I am very happy with the results it had (more on this later).

New Year and I'm Back!

Tea bags contain so much wisdom!!

 

Well, it's a new year and I am ready to get back to blogging! Clearly it has been well over a year since I have made an appearance. I started off my hiatus because I wanted a break from not really connecting to people because I relied too much on social media to "keep me connected". I deleted my Facebook account and tried to focus on enhancing real relationships most importantly with my family. Then a lot of other things took over last year that took my focus including health mysteries for both myself and youngest son (more on that later).  Needless to say, I miss blogging. It was a fun stress reliever for me.  So I'm back hoping to once again focus on health, gratitude, and any other crazy thoughts that pop up in my head. This is my journey continued...... Welcome to it!

Happy Birthday Willie!

All I have to say is WOW time goes by so fast!!  I just wanted to take some time today to show a little love to my youngest baby :)

Dear Will~

Happy 2nd birthday my sweet baby boy.  I just love looking at your big blue eyes and big dimples :)  I cannot believe it has been 2 years since we met you!  I remember how excited I was when I realized at work that I needed to get to the hospital because you were coming.  Since you are my second baby boy I was just so excited.  I wasn't scared and I knew in general what to expect.  I was just really looking forward to every little thing and I remember it much more clearly than the first time.  You are the last baby I will have and I look so forward to growing with you every step of the way.

There is so much that has happened over the last 4 months!  You graduated to a big boy bed and you do really well going to sleep.  However, you do love to jar Daddy and I out of our sleep by banging on your bedroom door as hard as possible bright and early every morning!!  Amazingly you don't seem to wake up Tyce too much by doing that but every once in a while you get him to reach the door knob and let you free.  I wasn't sure if it was going to be a good idea having you boys share the same room, but for the most part I think it has been great and brought you closer to each other.

You have been "talking" up a storm lately.  Most of your words are probably only understood by me, Daddy, and Tyce but that's ok.  The words that you say the most clearly are - Barney, Merlin, Elmo, Momma, Dada, Tyce, apple, blue, yellow, poop, book, shoes, hug, thank you, and night-night.  You like to repeat people and just today you finally said your name "Willie" and "two" your new age!

You have decided that you like watching TV in the last few months.  Your favorite shows are Barney, Mickey Mouse, and Dinosaur train.  Although it is a nice break for Mommy and Daddy, you are a little obsessed :)

I have been really impressed with your eating habits.  You are willing to try lots of new things.  You don't really like to chew on veggies but if I blend them up in a soup or smoothie you will devour it.  So maybe it is just a texture thing.

You are much more mischievous than Tyce ever was.  You will stare me down to try and get your way.  I can see those wheels turning in your head constantly and you have everyone fooled that you are so innocent.  I love it when your legs start running away as fast you can when you think you can hide what you have in your hands.

I finally brought myself to cut your hair a little bit so it was out of your eyes and shorter in the back.  I don't need you getting teased for having a mullet.  But Daddy and I both agree that your hair is you in a nutshell, wild and crazy with a little bit of cuteness, so it may be a while before you get a new doo.  Hopefully you won't hate us for it later :)

Love you Willie!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

P.S.  You really don't need to buy into that whole terrible twos thing...ok?

What a Difference a Year can make!

That's me on the left - yep - in the pink tutu - Color run 2013

So, it has been a year since I started my weight loss journey on the Metabolism Miracle.  I call this my "permanent weight loss story" since it has not been interrupted by having babies and such and it has actually worked for the long haul.

I posted pictures from the same run I was involved in (The Color Run) about a year apart.  I decided to post my "after/in-progress" picture first (above).  The before pictures are below.  That is me on the left in the first one before the run.  The second picture I am second from the left after the run, splashed in color, and pretty swollen from the heat and pressure on my body from all of the extra weight.  This is one picture that made me want to change myself and fast.

One year has really made a world of difference for me.  I have learned so many different things about myself and how my body works in this year.  I have gone a little off course this summer with crazy schedules and the local snow cone stand :) but I am re-committing to what I know works.  I am starting on a "step 1 detox" for probably a full 8 weeks.  I am excited because I know how good I will feel after that first week.  If you want to start along with me, pick up a copy of The Metabolism Miracle and head on over to www.miracle-ville.com!  And most importantly...believe in yourself!  It may take me another year or even 2 to look like my goal-self, but it's about the journey and feeling good!



last year before the run - me on the left - pre MM

last year after the run - me 2nd from left

A Little Dose of Happiness ~ What we have been up to lately!

So once again I have let a little time pass in my updates.  What can I say.... I have been enjoying life.... here is what we have been up to lately.

Having fun at the Curious George exhibit at Crown Center.

Watching trains bring us our food at Fritz's - always a hit!

Wearing out the kids at the bounce house

A little cousin and Grandma time at Deanna Rose Farmstead

All sorts of fresh veggies and peppers generously given to us by friends and neighbors this summer!  Hopefully next year we can start a small little garden of raised beds for ourselves...

Tyce starting Pre-school this year!

One of the last days that we were actually able to go to the water park now that it is actually hot around here!