"Give your sister a bite if she fusses..."

Famous last words...

First day of Joy School

For preschool this year, Eliza is doing Joy School. It's a program that teaches the kids in the home. We have 7 kid participating and so I teach every 7 weeks. Don't you just love Eliza's sense (or lack there of) of style? I'm totally in love with the dress (especially since I got it for $2) but her obsession with belts can fade any time. Ah well, it fits her spunky personality.

Being Silly With Grumpy

Another adventure for Mommy

My friends and I had planned a joint party for our little ones that all turned 1 in August. It was suppose to be super simple, at a park. My job was the cake. Which would have turned out great if the knife hadn't slipped and nearly cut off my thumb. My poor body has had a rough year--kidney stones, being hit by a car and now stitches--to name a few. And while it is healing, it is not healing fast enough for me. I will never take my left thumb for granted again though! I can't believe how much I actually use that limb. Who would have thought?

Oh, and in case you are wondering...I did NOT get any blood on the cake. Yeah, I knew what was important. :)

The Loose Tooth Club's Newest Member

Xander has had a loose tooth for awhile. The day we figured out that it was loose, Xander was beyond excited! We celebrated with ice cream. And then for months we would hear Xander say things like, "Well, this is the first time I've ever jumped on a trampoline with a loose tooth." Or asking about when Ben & I had loose teeth. The tooth was loose forever! And then as it got looser, I asked him to let me take one last picture of his baby teeth . Good thing too because Xander came home with a tooth in his hand that day! He lost it while eating his apple at lunch! Which was super cool because the school gave him a super cool treasure chest to put the tooth in. Xander is so super happy now that he has finally lost a tooth!

A Little Miracle!

I love orchids! Ben has bought me a couple throughout the years. But we have NEVER been able to get it to re-flower--until now! Check out this beauty! This particular orchid was bought as a new home gift--I guess the flower likes staying put--and so do I!

Look Who Turned 1!

We made it through the first year! Whoo-hoo!
Abigail made it to her first birthday happy and healthy!

Some fun things to know about Abby at one:
*Abby loves to TALK and SQUAWK and GROWL (she rarely stops)
*I can't walk yet but I can JUMP on the trampoline and DANCE with the best of them
*I'm 21.6lbs (55%) and 31" long (80%).
*I'm a little overly obsessed with my mom but I love my Dad too. And I LOVE my siblings
*I love swinging at the park or playing at the park, ok, just being outside!
*Abby is our first child with allergies--she is allergic to corn and maybe milk. it has changed our whole lives!

Abby has added so many smiles and laughs to our family and we are so grateful that she is part of us-no matter how crazy it is!

oh, And we had NO problem adding cake/sugar into this little girls diet. She's been begging since she could sit up.

Priorities

I told Ben that our bedroom was the only room I cared about and that I felt that as a couple we needed to put ourselves first (for once) I want it to feel finished. We've been working on it since. We added a door between the master bedroom & bathroom--so much privacy now! LOVE IT. We put a chair rail in and love how it makes the room feel so room-ier. We also finally got some paint on the walls. Finishing touches are still not done but here is a glimpse of what we are working with now
Any suggestions are welcome as this whole house decorating thing is seriously one of my biggest weaknesses. And if you really want to come just do it for me--I'll pay for that too!

First day of the First Grade!

I cannot believe that it is time to start First Grade! We spent the weekend before school getting ready for the big day. Nana scored big points when she called saying she'd found this: Not only is it a super cool lunch box but it came with sandwich/cookie cutters of the Millennium Falcon and one of the fighter planes. Super awesome for a boy who was so excited to eat lunch at school!

Walking into the school on the first day!

We walked into Xander's new class only to find out that his desk was RIGHT NEXT to his good friend. Like super good friend of 2 years who is also on the soccer team. We (the other boys mom & I) kindly told his teacher that she might want to know that they are very good friends.

It was a good day though and Xander had a blast eating at school!

I cannot believe what a difference it makes in my day to have him gone all day! No kidding! It changes everything--I feel a little more relaxed even.

So far school is going well and Xander is enjoying his new teacher and new classmates. We attended Back to School the other night and are also excited for the upcoming year. I felt like "that" parent though when I got my turn to talk to the teacher. I just wanted to talk to her about her strategy for challenging students-especially since I went through the 1st Grade list of high frequency site words for the year and Xander is well beyond them. But it turned out well and she has reassured me that Xander will be challenged. Meanwhile, he has begged long enough and so he started reading Harry Potter to me this week. He is beyond excited!

Ms. Personality

This little cutie is truly emerging as a child. She is no longer a baby. Ben and I realized that we've been treating her as such recently--that we expect less from her and more from Abby, instead of letting them be the ages they are we've kind of merged them together. But Violet has her own ideas and desires. While sometimes this is hilarious, sometimes it isn't. :) One of her favorite things is getting dressed. She wants to wear "ballets" ALL. THE. TIME. We went around in tutus for about a week--now a skirt will do. She loves sweaters. We've tried to explain 100 degrees to her but she doesn't seem to care. Somehow all the sweaters have disappeared? She also loves hats! It's really cute. Anyways, it's super fun to see her grow and become a little person.

Winning All the Way Around!

In December 2011 I saw a Groupon for "Hotpants". They claimed that I would be able to lose 2 pants sizes in 2 weeks. I scoffed at the idea. However, the price was right as I figured they looked like good workout shorts for that price. I mentioned them to Ben and he laughed at me and said, "go for it."

I got my hotpants about a month or so later--I was a size 10. After reading the reviews I was surprised how little I sweat. I got more skeptical. I was exercising at least 45 minutes with a Biggest Loser DVD that I had bought years ago--and it wasn't easy. I even emailed the company and said, "I don't think they are working for me, am I doing something wrong?"

Time wore on and everyone kept telling me not to worry about my weight. I wasn't in any way obsessive-but being pregnant 4 times in the last 5 years, and gaining a lot of weight each time, had made me VERY uncomfortable in my own skin--not to mention I couldn't fit in my own clothes. I might have looked relatively skinny to those who have known me throughout the last 5 years of my life but I was 40lbs overweight for my height and myself
Very slowly, I started to notice my pants were fitting differently. First, I realized how easily I could get them on after drying them in the clothes drier. My 'hotpants' started getting loose. Then I had to wear a size 8, then a 6. Then I won a pair of Hotpants and got the SMALL's! I started watching what I ate and exercising and I hit a 4. I've still got a few pound to shed but my baby is turning one next week and I'm still nursing her once a day so I'm on a break until she's weaned. Probably won't take too long though because I LOVE feeling like ME again! I love pulling on my jeans, shorts & skirts! I LOVE people's reaction! Soccer season just started again for us and my son is on the same team as last year--one of the Dad's came up and said, "WOW! You just look amazing! I had to tell you that! You look amazing!" I don't think I stopped smiling the rest of the day. I FEEL so good!

I know the pictures aren't great but I'm usually the one snapping pictures so it'll have to do. The best part of the whole thing-I feel STRONG. I have learned that I can have control over some things (as I sit here, watching the Olympics eating a bowl of ice cream for lunch--not a good example). We went to Yosemite a month ago and did a 3 mile hike up to Vernal Falls--not an easy hike-I killed it! I felt like I could have run that mountain. I am actually tempted to start running (which I have never liked) because I want to feel more empowered-I want to race!

Anyways, HOTPANTS worked for me! Check them out if you have a chance. I have a personal code you can use (WEWEBSTER) if you want to get 10% off of their products. You will be AMAZED at your results.

No longer Private

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