Is it just me...

Or is time speeding up? It seems like the older I get the faster time flies by.

I can't BELIEVE it's almost December!

Power 90: The Results

We completed Power 90 about two weeks ago. I, unfortunately, do not have pre-Power 90 pictures thanks to Samuel, who has hidden that particular SD card and we still cannot find it.

However here are the stats and the after Power 90 pictures. (Please ignore the bad post-workout hair).

Total weight lost: 12 pounds
Inches off thighs: About 3 per thigh - woohoo! I can now fit into pre-pregnancy jeans.
Inches off stomach: About 2

I am... wait for it... drumroll please... now back down to my pre-pregnancy weight BEFORE Samuel! Happy dance. My only disappointment: still have my flabby, c-section tummy. Once I figure out how to get rid of it I will let the rest of ya know. (You have no idea how frustrating it is to be back down to regular weight and still have a poochy tummy!... well, maybe you do).





Carlin also lost a great deal of weight and is looking super hot. We are on "maintenance" mode right now, working out three times a week. We are still trying to stick with the diet, but have allowed a little bit of allowance for the "no eating after 7pm" rule. I mean, with the holidays coming up, it's really no fun when you can't eat past 7pm. We have decided we will pick it up full swing again in January and kick off the new year with a bang.

"Happy Hallowee-ee-een!"

Said in a goofy-spooky voice, please.

Carlin and I got very excited about Halloween this year, as usual.

Samuel didn't really care about Halloween or what his costume was, so I had one more year of free reign in my children's costumes.

I couldn't help myself...


A frog and his Lilypad (or Lilli-pad). Yep, I went completely cheesy and just HAD to make a costume playing off Lillian's name. And of course what's a lily pad without a frog?


Another really cute picture of Lillian.


Cupcake decorating with Lydia. Samuel was having a little too much fun, taking bites of his cupcake and then adding more frosting and sprinkles. At one point he got wise and grabbed the entire bowl of sprinkles and dumped them on his cupcake.

Overall, we've had a fun October full of cupcakes, costumes, pumpkin patches, and OSU homecoming. I can't believe we are already at November!

I bribed my child...

today. At Target. I told him if he was a good boy we would get a treat.

The worst part is I then treated myself to something too.

Stressed? Just a little.

Parts of me feel guilty. The other parts are screaming, "when you go to the store with two kids nineteen months apart who are both having a rather ornery week, then you can judge."

What have we been up to?

This and that. Samuel recently discovered he can have a say in what clothing he wears. It's a battle that most of the time I have no desire to fight (obviously he needs to dress appropriately for church) and so I let him choose whatever he wants.

We pretty much always end up with cars somewhere on his person. It can be, and is most likely, Disney Cars, but really any shirt with cars will do. Race cars, police cars... you get the picture.

Grandma W bought him a Cars swimsuit that he insists on wearing just about every day.

Way too happy about it if you ask me.

Passed out on the couch with his beloved football and a Cars t-shirt.

He also recently organized my Pyrex for me. (Those are the shelves from the oven, yah...)

Oh - and I found graham crackers stuck to the wall behind the couch...

Cute and innocent or plotting his next move? (And ANOTHER Cars t-shirt, yes my children are growing up completely Disney brainwashed!)
And what about Lillian you ask? Well, she just keeps us laughing.

Cooking and Cleaning...

The kids were playing really nicely and entertaining each other last night. So, I cooked my little heart out. I made homemade rolls, stuffed Chicken Parmesan, baked spaghetti squash, and a homemade tomato sauce to top it all off.


(Quick side note: I usually make this dish vegeterian with just the squash and marinara sauce and add fruit, sometimes fish). I'm telling ya, I was in the zone and didn't even notice what was going on around me.

I turned around from the stove and found a trail of debris starting underneath the microwave and going throughout the house ending in the chaos of what was once knows as the living room.



I really don't think the pictures do it justice. I serenely decided to ignore it until after I had completely enjoyed my dinner. Carlin wisely didn't say a word when he came home, just sat down and complimented my superb cooking.

Crafty me!

I often drool over wreaths at the stores. Especially ones that look like this:


They are so beautiful and so expensive. I can never bring myself to buy one.

Well, the other night we had a craft night at my house and I decided since I was hosting it I should probably attempt some craft. I went for a wreath.

And it turned out great!



Isn't it great?! I do need to tweak it a bit, but I was pretty pleased with it. I did what some of my friends and family suggested and looked at a couple of wreaths I loved and then tried to mimic the style on a wreath of my own.

It's so Fall-ish, I just LOVE this time of year.

P.S. You can find the store-bought wreath at Pier 1 for $44.95, mine was just a fraction of the cost coming in at about $12!