Sewing Project: Tulle Skirt

I got a sewing machine for Christmas from TJ which is probably one of the best gifts I have ever received! The first project I used it for (which actually barely required the use of the machine) was to turn an old tulle skirt of mine into a maxi skirt for Eva. I bought it online a couple years ago and it looked terrrrrrible on me. I held on to it because Eva always liked to wear it and have me tie it up one her. So I finally took in the elastic then cut off a couple inches so it goes to her feet. She LOVES it and wears it all the time!

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Biggest Loser Competition Results + Info for Round 2

Our biggest loser competition finished this week and two winners lost 7.92% (Way to go to my cousin Cordelia in Australia!) and 6.64% (Nice work, Lisa!)! Each loser is getting $120! I wish I could say one of those scores was mine, but I’m still content with my month and happy we all did it together!

After seeing all the results, it has motivated me to host the competition for another five weeks, so if you want in, read the details below! We were sick for the majority of January so I didn’t work out much nor did I have the energy to keep up with all my meal planning since we were taking care of sick kids so much. But this is the month. We can do it!

  1. It will be on the honor system (so, honest people only, please 🙂 ).
  2. To enter, send $10 to my PayPal Account by Monday, February 22.
  3. Personally record your starting weight on Monday, February 22.
  4. I will post how many people entered the competition on Tuesday, February 23, meaning you’ll find out how much you could potentially win-giving you the motivation you need to lose!
  5. Personally record your ending weight on Monday, March 28.
  6. Calculate your weight loss percentage by dividing the number of pounds you have lost by your beginning weight, and then multiplying this number by 100. For instance, if your starting body weight was 200 pounds and your present weight is 180 pounds, subtract 180 from 200 to get the total sum of pounds lost, which in this case is 20 pounds. Now divide 20 by 200 to get the 0.1. Then multiply 0.1 by 100 to alter it to a percentage, which in this case is 10%.
  7. Email me your percentage by Wednesday, March 30.
  8. I will announce the top two winners on Thursday, March 31.
  9. Winners will receive their money by Friday, April 1 through PayPal.
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January-February Photo Dump

I’ve been trying to play catch up on here since November. I was going to post about my new years resolutions and a look back on 2015 but I’m skipping past those and moving on to life in 2016. The first week of January was great since I was at home but then when I got back to Utah, we all got colds, viruses, and coughs! I’m pretty sure we got every cold possible, but finally are on the mend.

Here’s a glimpse of what we did these past couple of weeks. If you’re on instagram, sorry for the repeats!

  • Thanksgiving Point Farm

    We had a warm day this week, so I took the kids to the farm. It’s amazing how a little sunshine can brighten up life!

  • Play-date Fun

    We visited my friend Erin and the kids wore these funny/cute hats!

  • Redbox Kindness

    We’ve been catching up on movies and one of them last week had this note with a $5 bill inside!

  • Saturday

    One Saturday in February, I met up with some old friends for Brunch to celebrate Galentine’s Day, then we celebrated Baby Reese’s birthday, and to wrap up the night we had a date without kids to see the movie Brooklyn.

  • Jersey Friends

    We had dinner with some old friends from Jersey!

  • Curiosity Museum

    We went to the museum at least three times and set up a play group at the church where Eva got to ride her bike.

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Newport Aquarium

When I was in Kentucky, we visited the Newport Aquarium and had a great time. We’ve been a million times but I think this was the first time we had the place nearly to ourselves.

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Dance Showcase

Back in December, Eva had a little dance showcase at her studio to show what she has been learning. It was so cute! She was a great little dancer and got the “Cheerful Dancer” award at the end. I’m so proud of my Eva bug!

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Eva’s Birthday Celebrations

I’m still trying to catch up on old blog posts! Eva turned 4 back in December, which I did post about. But here are the photos and video! On her actual birthday, we got up early before TJ left for work so she could open up presents from us and from family. We ate donuts, sang Happy Birthday and started playing with her gifts right away! Later in the afternoon, her cousins came over for a play date where we decorated cupcakes. That evening, we took her to see The Good Dinosaur, so it was a fun filled day! Later on the weekend, we took all the kids to the Provo Rec Center! It was such a great time, it was our first time there and the kids didn’t want to leave! We will definitely be going back again.

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Kentucky Trip

The Monday after Christmas, Finn, Eva, and I headed to Kentucky to visit my parents. It was the first time I had flown with both kids, I was a little nervous but it went pretty well. I lucked out both flying out there and coming back by my original flights with a connection getting delayed or canceled so they put me on direct flights each way!

The first week I was there, my mom was still on Christmas vacation. We ate a lot of treats (my Aunt from Greece sent Baklava), played hard with the kids, and celebrated on New Years. For New Years Eve, we turned on the ball drop from 2015 on Youtube at 7 pm so Eva could celebrate with us! We had a little dance party and even let Eva drink sparkling cider from fancy glasses. That girl loves a good party. We were party animals and caught up on Good Wife that night together!

On New Years Day, we had a couple people over for sour kraut and ribs to ring in the new year with good luck! And then over the weekend, my mom gave a great lesson in Relief Society about setting goals, so it was fun to be there for that.

While I was in Kentucky, my dad and I took the kids to the Children’s museum and then the next day we all went to the aquarium together. My mom had Friday off of school so we took the day to shop up at Kenwood, which we always enjoy doing together! The kids were perfect that afternoon and Finn was in my wrap, smiling at everyone he passed.

Let’s see other highlights…

  • My dad has an office now at the Levee so I got to check that out! It’s a great space and very exciting!
  • We visited with my uncle and aunt, along with my sister Ashley, at Larosa’s
  • Ashley spent a couple days with us and played tons with Eva. She taught her how to play “Family” or “House” where Eva called her “sweet pea.”
  • We got to meet Ashley’s scary cat, which made us all laugh so much afterwards.
  • I met up with my friends Lelia and Kelly. It was nice to catch up with old friends from High School!
  • We made a gingerbread house together.
  • I ate all my KY/Cincinnati foods while I was there… Skyline, Larosa’s, Busken cookies, Graeter’s Ice Cream

We had a fabulous trip and miss them so much!

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When you are just too tired to carry on…

Last week Finn got ear infections and a respiratory infection. He was inconsolable at times, up tons in the night, and only wanted to be held. At times I thought I was just too tired to even get out of bed. But here’s the thing. I also have an active four year old who wants to play all the time and also needs attention. I can’t just lay in bed watching Netflix all day long. So, I figured out a couple things that helped me wake up and get into “mom mode” every day.

  1. Wake up and immediately take a shower. On the days I shower and get ready for the day (even if it’s just to throw on a clean set of sweats) it helps me feel so much better!
  2. Drink tons of water and a big breakfast.
  3. Make your bed. Not only will it make you get out of bed physically, you’ll feel like you accomplished something and won’t want to mess it up by getting back in.
  4. Going along with number four, accomplish a couple things off of your to-do list so at the end of the day you feel like you actually did something. I mean, we tend for our kids all day long and that’s a huge chore in itself. But by accomplishing something like vacuuming or emptying and loading the dishwasher, then you’ll have some physical evidence of your work!
  5. Get down and play with your kids. Once you start to get out of your rut of laying around and being lazy, you just feel better. Even if it’s just for ten minutes!
  6. Drink a diet coke, duh.
  7. Get up when your husband gets up. It probably varies from family to family, but TJ wakes up a little earlier than the kids to get ready for work, but always has about twenty minutes of extra time to eat breakfast and such. This morning I had him take the kids downstairs for breakfast while I showered. Usually, I just lay in bed and savor those final moments of sleep, but then I don’t have time for a shower and I feel gross all day. So, use the time your husband is home wisely!
  8. Pray, pray, pray! I’m so terrible at saying my morning prayers. Nighttime I’ve got down. But usually I wake up to Eva by my side with so much energy, asking for breakfast, and Finny Babe begging to nurse. Well, this morning when I got in the shower and the kids were downstairs, I actually used that time to ponder and pray. I prayed for patience, and most importantly, the energy I needed to be a good mom for the day! It may not be as good as praying down on my knees as soon as I wake up, but at least I got an uninterrupted prayer in!
  9. Ask for help and set up a schedule. If you have family around, ask them to help tend your kids. About once a week, we crash at my in-laws help for a little break. The help is so great and I have a chance to recharge physically and mentally. It also helps to set up play dates and co-ops so you can have something fun for your kids to do and possibly take a nap if they’re at someone else’s house.
  10. When all else fails, when your house is a wreck, you watched a whole season of Sophia the First, and the kids just ate cereal all day (this never happens in my house…….), tell yourself you’ll do better tomorrow. Sometimes you’ve got to give yourself a break!

 

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To the Homeless Man in Jersey

When we lived in Jersey, we saw homeless people every day. I remember one of the first few days of being in NYC when looking for an apartment, there was a homeless man, laying on the ground while the rain poured on him. He looked so dirty, it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever seen. But the sad thing is, you end up seeing so many homeless and needy people every day when living in NYC/Jersey, that you almost become numb to the fact and stop noticing them. It just becomes part of the everyday sights.

But there was one homeless man in Jersey I saw nearly every single day. He had crutches, always was holding the door outside the Newport mall, and generally always had a smile on his face. It started hitting me that I was seeing this man more than my family. He literally saw Eva more than her grandparents saw her. So, I kind of had a change of heart towards him. If I was going to see the same man every single day while I was out walking, I thought I should try and make a small difference in his life. Try and make his day a little better. I rarely gave him money, but I did start carrying extra granola bars or fruit snacks to give to him. Mostly, I tried to just tell him to have a good day, while making eye contact. We never look homeless people in the eyes, have you noticed that? I think it’s because it makes us uncomfortable.

Well, months have passed, we moved away and I’ll never see that man again. I haven’t thought about him really at all since moving. But the other day, I was driving to the grocery store and there was a man asking for money on the corner, a typical sight. I really doubt he was homeless, he’s just a man looking for handouts. Usually out here in Utah, I’m so negative towards these panhandlers. “Come on, go get a real job! There’s a McDonalds RIGHT there!” So, I drove by and didn’t do anything. And I definitely didn’t make eye contact. But when I came out of the grocery store, there he was again on the corner. Suddenly, that homeless man in Jersey City popped into my mind, out of the blue. He taught me that we should be kind to those we come across everyday. We should be sensitive towards those around us. And we should spread God’s love, especially to those in need. I thought to myself, “Look, who cares if this man is not homeless. If he’s in a place where he is on the side of the road asking for money, he definitely isn’t in a great place.” So, I handed him a protein drink I had just bought from the store, smiled and told him to have a good day.

It wasn’t much and I definitely am not saying to give handouts to everyone you see. But I am grateful for the chance I had to serve that man back in Jersey and for the lessons he taught me. When we feel a prompting to do something, to help out in some way, or just smile and look someone in the eyes, we should do so. You never know what impact you can make by just stepping out of your comfort zone a bit.

“Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.”

-Acts 10:34

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Christmas Video

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