Gifts!

I had the pleasure of going to a baby shower this week... and this little girl is going to be a Diaper Diva!

Trying to make the most of a buck... I whipped up a flannel receiving blanket and 2 burp cloths. I absolutely loved working on this! The colors were gorgeous and really made me think how lucky I was to have little boys... if I had girls, I'd be spending waaaaay too much at the fabric store... story of my life!

I am finding out that working on crocheted items and using my embroidery machine is actually my way of escaping. It's my little release... and I think that's what causing me to work harder and improve on my previous skills... who would have thought that 4 years ago, I was sitting on my friend Liz's couch as she tought me how to crochet! And, just experimenting is teaching me new things about my machines that I thought I never would be able to do. :o)

I am loving making my little difference... I have 4 little newborn hats that are underway... soon to be delivered to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center as donations! It's the little things...

Body After Baby, Week 4

Whew... can you believe that we are already at week 4?! I know that it seems to be flying by for me... and I am trying my hardest to keep up! Thankfully, I am seeing a difference on the scales... boy does that feel great!!

So far, here are my point totals:
Week 1 Water: 50 points
Week 2 Walking: 20 points
Week 3 Food: 21 points

This week, the challenge is sit ups. Crap. I hate those things... but I need to do 50 a day. I have been working out with Jillian and let me tell you that those sit ups don't get to be any more fun. But, as Jillian says, Abs like that don't come for free! So... I will be on the ground this week!!

Don't forget to check out Mamanotes to see how everyone else is progressing this week!

I also did something big... at least for me... this week! I bought me a pair of tennis shoes!!! Ok, I am about to embarrass myself... but I honestly have been working out wearing an old (read, bought before I was even pregnant with Ryan) pair of RocketDogs. I loved them... to death... and they really are dead. But today, I went to the store and bought me a pair of Adidas running shoes. They aren't top of the line, but they are a billion times better than what I had, and now I have no excuse to not up the treadmill to a jogging speed at the least!

One last thing... I will admit that I am terrified of the Holiday Season coming up. Cookies and weightloss don't mix... any suggestions for keeping the cheer in my holidays without gaining a belly of jelly?

MyLittleDifference

Shameless plug... but yeah.. here is my etsy shop. You knew it was coming... and it's still a work in progress... but I wanted to tell you that I am doing tons of custom work! Let me know if there is anything that you would like for this holiday season!

Also, for every item sold, I am donating a newborn hat to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center. It's my way of giving each of those little babies a cozy little hug. :o)

Anyway, check it out. Heart me. Make a request. Thanks!

Why, Oh Why?

I have a gym membership. I know... I am someone who definetly shouldn't. But I do. I am lousy about going... in fact, it's been on hold for the past year. Oh geez... did I just admit that? I have been paying $10 a month for the gym to hold a space for me... boy did they see me coming.

Well, the hold is off. I found out when I had the $67 charge hit my bank account. And then I said, welp, if I am paying, I better go. And what better time than right now, in the middle of my Body after Baby and 20 in 20 challenges? So, I donned a sports bra and packed the kids up and headed to the brand spankin' new Mountainside Fitness. There was a treadmill calling my name.

Back when I was a billion years pregnant, Dustin bought me an iPod that he loaded up with soothing music that I could listen to while I was in labor. I never really needed it after all, and I never learned how to use it. And since I don't even own 2 cds to rub together, I didn't really get it. But then I learned about podcasts. I am in love... with podcast talkshows! It reminds me of my commute I used to have... and my morning radio shows. And I am really INLOVE with Manic Mommies... you can find them on iTunes or on their website at http://www.manicmommies.com/. They make me laugh and are so fun to listen to. Plus, with each podcast about 1 hour long, I can hop on the treadmill and walk until it's over! Painless workout! Check 'em out!

But... I have just one little question... why, oh why, must every.single.cardio.machine face north... out the windows... and stare right at McDonalds?? Seriously? This is going to make me seriously consider a cycling class... ::sigh::

OH! Getting things added to the etsy shop... it's a slow process but a process none the less! http://mylittledifference.etsy.com/

Work Smarter...

So, I was supposed to come in here and tell you all how great I am doing on the Body After Baby Challenge... but I slacked yesterday. Well... "slacked" is relative. I didn't make it into the blog world, but I worked my tail off!

Dustin and I decided that one area of our lives that we refused to argue about anymore is the housework. I try my hardest to keep up with a very lively toddler and have decided that it really is ok for the house to not be perfect because that means that we live here and that my kids are having fun being little! However, my husband doesn't agree with this thought process... so he's willing to give up other little luxuries so that I can have a cleaner come in a couple times a month to do the deep cleaning that I NEVER get to! And so... I must clean for the cleaning lady. One of lifes ultimate mysteries is why we do this... but I am doing it... so there. :oP

One thing that I have found that I think is utterly amazing are Febreze vacuum filters! I tried finding them online to show you, but you are just going to have to venture into Walmart and see them for yourself. I have a bagless vacuum, so I replace the filters to keep the dust nice and trapped! But these Febreze filters also make my rooms smell WONDERFUL! The Hubs always tells me that he likes the smell of vacuuming (which is just dust in the air, IMO), but he is a new fan of the Febreze filters too... clean floors and a nice fresh smell... plus no plug-in freshers that are fire hazards or too exciting for little hands!

Um, but I have been making progress. As you can see by my little ticker on the right, I have lost 7 lbs. I still have 13 more to go in the next 11 weeks. I know I can do this... I did great on my water last week. 3+ water bottles a day (over 64oz a day) so that means that I got my 8 points each day for the challenge. 56 points. I also signed up for the ning.com message board with the challenge... so that's another 5 points.

This week, we have to walk... 15 minutes of walking is 1 point, and we can max out at 4 points a day. I am getting the boys up and at 'em each morning to walk around the neighborhood for at least 30 minutes... and we are doing it again after dinner and before bed for the boys. :o) So far, I have 6 points for the week... doing good... and I'll update later. I am also going to keep up on the water although I don't think the points count anymore. :o)

I hope your day is going as great as mine... back to the laundry!

Reasons I Can

All too often, we come up with reasons why we can't... We are too busy, we are tired, we don't feel good... whatever. And the truth is, we come up with these reasons no matter what it is. Need to come up with dinner ideas? We are too uninspired. Hubby wants a little personal time? We have the proverbial headache. Craving the Snickers ice cream bars in the freezer? Too lazy to actually get up to get it... right? Ok... maybe I lost you on that one... :oP

But I think it's time that we all made a little change... let's start coming up with Reasons We Can!

I am particularly feeling this one with my weightloss challenge I am doing. I can drink more water because I care about my body. I can get out in the morning, pushing my two beautiful kiddos in the stroller, because the weather in AZ is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS right now! I can get up and get dressed... shoes, make up, everything... because I want to look sexy! I can come up with 1 great meal a week because slowly and surely I'm gonna be a Domestic Goddess!

It's my hope that this little change to a bit of optimism will start having a great effect on the rest of things around here. Who knows... maybe it's contagious. :o)

List making

::sniff:: That's what you'd be hearing around here as I am nursing a cold... and trying to keep the kidlets from getting sick. And since I can't do much while I am feeling like my head is inside a gold fish bowl, I am working out a bunch of plans for the month of October... Oh my... can you believe it's already October?!!?

So, I have my Body After Baby Challenge that I am working on... so I gotta clean out the closet and organize my awesome fall/winter clothes! I cannot wait to wear my knee boots and comfy sweaters. I am sure a lot of my fellow Arizonans agree with me that it's so awesome to be able to have sweater weather, but not have You-Better-Wear-4-Layers-With-That-Sweater weather. ;o)

I also need to get my Etsy Store up and running... well, it's up. But definetly not stocked for the holidays yet. My goal is to have at least a dozen things listed by this weekend... I'll post a link to the store as soon as it's stocked!

I also have to share some pictures of the handmade holidays that are in full swing here... you are gonna love this stuff! :o)

What is on your lists for fall?