Catching up

Boy did I miss you all while I was out and about for the long Thanksgiving weekend! Sorry I am so behind in reading all your post and everything but hopefully I will get caught up sooner than later.

Anywho, Thanksgiving was great for our family, hope it was for yours as well (if you celebrated it this past week) We had lot of fun and food for many days! At times we even had a little too much family time. I know they say you can never have to much of a good thing but I am here to tell you my friends that indeed 4-5 days nonstop with extended family can in fact be a bit much ;) Here are some pics during our Turkey Day Extravaganza!

*Miss priss was dancing while helping cook (she was dancing so much she felt the need to take off her tights ;)

*She never cooperates when its pic time with me

*See why I am asking for a new camera for Xmas.. this one stinks!

* Emma and my lil bro Elliott

Thanksgiving night I headed out to brave the crowds for Black Friday. Toys R Us was opening at midnight so my little sis and I headed out at 930pm! It was freezing cold but lots of fun and we scored some great deals. I even scored the most coveted toy around this year... A Zhu Zhu Pet! (Not real sure what to do with it.. Emma is a bit young. May sell it or something.. what do you think I should do with it? Giveaway? Perhaps)

*Yes we both looked very rough and silly.. but I mean what do you expect after inhaling wwaayy to much food for a few days and going to stand in the cold for hours on end ;)

On Sat we headed up to the mountains to hang out for a night and get our Christmas tree! Other than the fact Emma cried the ENTIRE way up the mountain *ahem* we had a great time. Here are some more grainy pics of our mountain/tree adventures

*Emma (she didnt get the nickname baby yoda for nothing ;) and her godbrother Landon

*You will notice she still has some bruising from her fireplace accident last week on her cheek

We made it to the Tree Farm!! I sure did get my cardio in looking for a tree..LOL

We had an awesome time and yes we did find our perfect tree... but that is a whole 'nother post. Maybe tomorrow? Sorry such a long post... we had a lot of catching up to do!!

Tyler

5 Question Friday

Five Question Friday with Mama M

Its that time again!! YAY!! I love reading everyone's answers to all these fun questions. It has been a week jam pack full of fun, family and food!! I will post about all of that later for now lets get to the fun stuff.

1.Do you do a real or fake christmas tree?

Real! A fake tree just isnt the same IMO. We will actually be leaving tomorrow around lunch time and heading to the mountains to cut down our tree :) So excited! We found a Christmas tree farm this year with a barn, hayride, lots of trees, and free hot chocolate! Sounds like our kind of place. Dont worry I will be sharing plenty of pics when we return.

2. What is your fav. christmas tradition with your family?

Well since our little family is only on its third year (second year with a baby) I wouldnt say we have a specific tradition yet. I am hoping to start several traditions this year. One of them being "Elf on a Shelf" neat book if anyone is interested!

3. Do you celebrate Thanksgiving in your neck of the woods? And, if so...how many calories do you think you consumed yesterday?

We def. do celebrate turkey day! Boy oh boy was everything so delish. I would hate to even imagine how many calories I consumed over the holiday... it was so bad in fact that I am just skipping right on to the next question.

4. Have you started decorating for Christmas, yet?

Yep we are ready to go! Just waiting on the tree and to hang the stockings. Then I will be able to sit back and continue shopping. My fav. part of the season

5. What is your favorite Christmas cookie?

Christmas cookie??? Ummm dont know that I have a fav. christmas cookie. Maybe I have been a little bit sheltered just give me any type of cookie any time of year and I am good to go ;)

Cant wait to hop around and read all of your answers! Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving and got some good deals today out shopping! I know I did!

Tyler

Hot and Healthy wk 4!!`

Its that time again! Time to check in with everyone and myself! How did you girls do this week? Is everyone feeling hot and healthy yet? I must say I did much better this week! Not near as well as I would have liked but better than last week. That has to stand for something right? So lets get right to the questions this week and let me account for myself ;)

1. Are you in a good work routine that you are able to stick too?

ummm... no! I do try to do 30-45 min of walking daily (depending on weather...and lets just say I should have built an ark the past few days it has been raining so much) I am attempting to work on the abs by trying the "Hundred" .. which never really turns out to be the whole one hundred. I bet I could do it if I really pushed myself and did it daily.. but I dont ..so ya know!

2. Did you try the pilates exercise?

I didnt try the new one yet but I did do the "hundred" that has to count for something right? Better than not doing any of them?!?

3. Did you get all of your cardio in?

Not quite but I did pretty decent I think... we will just leave it at that!

4. Did you have any fast food? If so did you make healthier choices?

I did have some fast food this weekend and I can honestly say I still had some MCD's fries :(  I am so sorry MamaM and I am sorry waistline. I will do better.. I will not eat any fast food this week!! Just mac and chz and pie and turkey and gravy and... yea you get the point! I will be all about the smaller portions tho ;)

5.Last but not least are you feeling Hot and Healthy?

I def feel more healthy since I have been trying to do more cardio through the week but I am so far from hot its crrraazzy. I was looking at wedding/honeymoon pics the other night and I was like "Holy cow! Where did that girl go!" I will bring her back! I will! I will!

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I also just wanted to let you girls know I will be checking out of posting for while..possibly until next monday (unless I sneak in a 5QF this week) because my dad will be coming home from FL today and I will be spending as much time with my family as I possibly can get. My dad has been very ill for a little over a year now and I havent seen him in a couple of months. He has been doing much better the past couple of months and has even gained 11lbs (this is major!) Please keeps his visit in your prayers if you will. Please pray that he is able to remain healthy (no colds or anything) while visiting with us and that his stay will be pleasant. It is often very hard on me after I visit with him because it makes the situation fresh in my mind. Its easy for me to get lost in the day to day shuffle and not realize just how scary his situation has been. I know that is very selfish of me but it is just mentally how I have had to deal with things..crazy I know!

I hope each and everyone of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving... I hope to still be able to stop by and read your blogs and check in during the week :)

ABC's

My bloggy buddy Laura over at The Bignell Family did this neat little post earlier this week and I thought I would steal borrow her idea. Actually I asked her and she said it was totally fine. So be sure and check hers out it was super cute :) 

So here it goes... a little more about me!

A-age- 25
B- bed size- King.. we decided to move up a size when I was pregnant and like bigger than a house.. LOL
C-chore you hate- maybe we should change this to which chore dont you hate...I dont know.. I really dont enjoy house work at all... but if I had to pick just one I guess it would be.. laundry!!
D-dogs name- Scooby doo.. I think this one calls for a pic ..(of my crazy...thinks he is a human.. dog)

E-essential start your day item- Coke! Not really a coffee girl so I have to get my caffine somehow!

F-favorite color- Pink

G-gold or silver- Silver.. or white gold

H-height- 5'6 pretty average

I-instrument you play- Nothing...nadda thing! I took piano lessons when I was younger and played for a couple years and nothing really came of it.. to bad huh?

J-job title- Nanny

K-kids- One 15mo old little girl Emma

L-living arrangements- Right now we are renting and waiting to buy our first home. Just not sure exactly what we want and want to be totally sure of ourselves before we make such a huge investment

M-moms name- Cindy

N- nicknames- hmmm... I dont really have one.. my late Grandmom used to call me TyTy all the time?!

O-overnight hospital- Until I got pregnant with my little one I had never even been to the hospital. My pregnancy sure changed that! I was in there off and on for the last six weeks for pre-eclampsia and then my placenta had a small rip..UGH it was such an ordeal

P-pet peeves- I have so many..hard to narrow it down! I hate to come home to an unmade bed..nothing drives me more batty than messed up sheets..ugh the thought of it. Also I dont like when people dont have table manners.. that is enough to gross me out! OK off my rampage... see how easy I get started?!

Q-quote from a movie- I am not really a movie person. I think thats where my ADD kicks in!

R-right handed or left handed- Leftie baby!

S-siblings- I have two brothers and one sister. I am the oldest of four and boy was our house a circus most days

T-time you wake- when my little alarm clock starts to yell "MOOOMMMMYY" LOL usually around 6:30 or so.

U-underwear- I dont know what to write about my panties..lol ewwww just not granny panties

V-vegetable you dislike- Brussel Sprouts. Those are like the nastiest thing ever!

W-workout style- Walking. That is about as exciting as it gets these days... I do have me a pilates DVD in the mail so maybe just possibly I am going to give that a shot.

X-rays you have had- my knee when I was being diagnosed with all this arthritis junk I have going on

Y-yesterdays best moment- Getting a big sloppy kiss from my baby girl. She gives the best open mouth sugar :)

Z-Zoo Favorite- I enjoy all the animals but def. the monkeys!!!

Wow that was super long.. kudos to you if you made it through it! Thanks for reading and stopping by to visit. Have a great rest of the weekend :)

Tyler

5QF

Five Question Friday with Mama M

I wish I could say "Wow! I cant believe its Friday already" but that is soooo not the case this week. It has been such a long week at work. I thought I would never make it to Friday!! So now that its finally here lets skip the whining about the week and move on to something fun.. like 5QF!!

Lets get right to the good stuff

1.Are you a Black Friday shopper?

YES!! I love it!! I am so one of the dorks out there with my reindeer antlers on and super excited about the whole five dollars I will save after being up since the crack of dawn. To me its just the kick off of the christmas season!Did I mention is was alot of fun esp. if you get a good bunch of girlfriends to go and fight it out with ya! Toys-r-us is opening at midnight.. plenty of time to shop and then make it to the front of the line at the next store... whos game ;)

2.What was your fav. childhood toy?

I loved me some cabbage patch dolls but I would have to say the most memorable to me was my Teddy Rupskin (not sure if thats how you spell it)! He was super cuddly teddy bear and he had a tape player in his belly. He would read stories to you and you could follow along in your book...oh how I loved my Teddy Rupskin!!

3.What is your fav. Christmas movie?

I do love all the usual classics. I cant wait for Frosty and Rudolph to come on TV. I would have to say my favorite was the Grinch when I was little. Loved me some Who's! 

4.What is the "must-have" item on your christmas list this year?

Dreaming.... I would love to have a mothers ring, a new camera, lots of clothes and a Honda minivan :)

Reality.... Just the camera and love of fun times with my family and friends. I would rather Santa be extra special for Emma than have a huge list myself

5.Do you go all out with your Christmas decorations or keep it simple and classy?

I used to be a little more simple and classy but since becoming a mommy we are going alllll out this year! I cant wait. Just hoping little hands dont topple the christmas tree. Any tips anyone?!

I hope you girls have a fantabulous weekend!! Cant wait to read your answers :)

Tyler

Thankful Thursday

I decided with Thanksgiving only a week away that this would be a great time to join in on Thankful Thursdays with Lisa over at The Nuthouse. Geeze I really still cant believe that Thanksgiving is so close.. that means its almost time to get the Christmas tree!!! WOO HOO.. anywho on to Thankful Thursday

*~* I am so very thankful for a very happy and spirited little girl.. who my husband and I totally adore

*~*for a wonderful church family

*~*for great friends

*~* I am so thankful for a very tight knit family.. they are my backbone and strength

*~* for all the food we will be consuming next week ... realizing how many out there wont be eating a Thanksgiving day dinner with their family

*~*for the freedom to worship how I choose and when I choose and where I choose

*~* for all the men and women out there fighting for OUR freedom

*~* I am thankful for a job.. even though I would prefer not to have to work.. I am realizing I should just be thankful that I am able to help my husband with our financial situation

*~* Lastly but def. not least I am thankful for my sweet husband who is so wonderful to me and a wonderful father to my little girl :)

Thanks for  listening reading and stopping by my little blog! Hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and cant wait to see what you all are thankful for.

Tyler

WOO HOO Thanks so much!

Thank you so much to Laura over the The Bignell Family for sending this lovely award my way!!

I am loving this award because its so frilly and pink and all things girlie :) Like all awards though this one comes with a rule or two. So lets check those out!

Rule 1: List ten interesting things about myself.... alright I can handle that

1. I work full time as a Nanny for two little girls

2. I desire nothing more than to be a full time SAHM

3. I am not crafty or a baker or for that matter even a good cook

4. I have a very crazy, funny,cute,and naughty 15mo old little girl

5. I am married to my best friend and have been for a little over 2 yrs

6. I am really starting to love blogging and some great bloggy buddies I have met

7. I enjoy being really active in my church

8. I am super excited about the holidays this year

9. I have 2 brothers and 1 sister.. it was constant chaos in my house growing up!

10. I am battling with systemic arthritis right now but hoping we will find some meds that work soon.

Rule 2: Send this award to five great bloggers...

Keely

Kate

Crayon Wrangler

Bellis mom

Mama M

That was fun... thanks again Laura!!

Favorite Things!

Favorite Things!!

Keely Is having a neato blog hop going on and everyone is sharing their favorite things! She is also having a super yummy give away so be sure and check her blog out for all the details!! I decided to join in because I thought it would be a great way to get christmas gift ideas... soo here it goes

I dont have one of these yet... but I totally want one for all the baking I do (umm not really a baker.. but I so would be if I had this bad boy to help me out :)

Yummy... enough said!

Great book I have been reading to help me learn to cope with my...umm...lets see here.. "VERY strong willed child"

I lloovvvee me some Victoria Secret lipgloss! They have great flavors and really seems to stay on well.

Well girls this was fun! Cant wait to read what each of you have on your list. Make sure you head on over to Keelys blog so you dont miss out on the great giveaway!!

Hot and Healthy... week 3 and 1 day ;)

Hot And Healthy Week 3 (and one day because I am slack ;)

Alright ladies its time to check in and see how we all did this week!! How did you do? Did anyone get all of their extra cardio in? Snacking and lots of water? I know I didnt do as well as I could have. I didnt totally blow it but always room for improvement. Check in with Mama M and Keely to see how everyone else did!

This week the girls wanted to know.....

1.We bumped up the cardio last week.. did you meet it? exceed it?coulda done better?

This week I sucked to put it nicely on the cardio end of things. Last week I was on team Keely.. not so much this week :)  Unless you count a day full of shopping on Friday... walking?! Yea I think I will def. count it

2.How about snacking? snacking less or snacking smart?

I am really working on the snacking part of this because that seems to be my biggest downfall. I did have a brownie or two this weekend but besides that I did pretty decent if I do say so myself.

3. How the water consumption going?

I am drinking more than I usually do but still not meeting the goal... working on it!

4.Have you been trying the Pilates?

Not this week...oops

So there ya have it... I did pretty lousy this week!! Hoping for a better week and a little more cardio. Good luck this week girls :)

Thanks So Much!!

You girls made my day!! I have recieved an award! Thanks so much to Keely and Lisa for passing on this great award.

I cant tell how how much it means to me that you all would want to read my thoughts jotted down on this computer. Thanks again girls :)

This award does come with rules so lets just go ahead and get those taken care of:

1) Display the award logo - check

2) Nominate up to 9 blogs that make you feel comfy or warm inside

3) Link to your Nominees and leave a comment on their blog telling them about the award.-check

4) Link to the person whom you received the award - check
 
There are so many wonderful blogs out there that I read and you girls know who you are.. I wouldnt "follow" you if I didnt find your blog uplifting and heart warming!! Not to mention many of you have already recieved this award so I am just going to say thank you so very much girls you rock and skip the passing it along part. Not to mention I did follow three out of four rules... not to shabby I would say!
 
Have a great Monday!! Check in with you all tomorrow :)

Who are you?!

This my friends... was my sweet little baby girl when she was about a month or so old. Very small and sweet and super cuddly. She was usually content and very easy to handle. Just plain precious!

Yummy... doesnt get much better than that!!

Now I have this crazy, naughty, climb-aholic, no telling, running toddler!! Who are you and what have you done with my baby? Take a look for your self... this is her new skill she learned yesterday...

(sorry for the grainy pics...thats a cell phone for ya)

So this along with alot of other naughty things that have been going on in this house... I think its time for some intense redirecting and/or discipline. What do you suggest discipline wise for a 15mo old? (and I will let ya know she def. knows when she is doing something wrong so I think it is fair to say she is ready for some consequences with in reason). Has anyone ever read the strong willed child? What did you think of it?

Now dont get me wrong I know most if not all of this is totally appropriate toddler behavior and I am enjoying her new found spunky self.. but just would like to hear your thoughts on what you think is age appropriate discipline?!

Have a happy Thursday everyone!! One day closer to the weekend :)

Wordless Wednesday

Some Daddy Love

Hot and Healthy Check In #2

Hot and Healthy Through The Holidays

Alright girls... the momment of truth is upon us! How did you do this week? Was it easier or harder than you thought? I know for me I knew it was going to be very hard and I proved myself right. It was incredibly hard!! Check in with Mama M and Keely to check out the goals for next week.

1. How did your first week go:
 It was hard. Soo hard! I am a snacker and a fan of anything sweet... so it took alot of restraint for me to avoid things like that. I finally got rid of all the Halloween candy on sunday after I realized I had totally ruined the whole weekend by eating it. I did decent during the week but totally blew it this weekend. I will work on it! I will do better this week... just going to keep telling myself that!

2. Did you get your cardio in?
 Actually I did get in most of it! Surprising huh? I usually walk for about 45 min a day pushing a double stroller around the neighborhhood. That has to burn some calories right? I would like to get a diff. type of cardio in as well... I will be working on that next week.

3.Did you try Mams M's snacking tips?
 I did try... but this was my biggest downfall. I eat when I get bored... and that seems to happen a little to often. I did try at least (other than this weekend ) to eat healthier snacks if I felt the need to snack.. So we will call this one mission halfway successful (glass half full kind of girl )

4. Did you try the pilates One Hundred:
I did!! YAY! (thank goodness she didnt ask if I completed the whole one hundred ;)

5.Are you taking this as serious as we are?
I am really trying to be serious and work hard at this. I wasnt as good as I would have liked to be last week.. but I am in it for the long haul and really hoping to see some great results from it!


Thanks for checking in on me girls... cant wait to hear how you did this week!

Its that time again!!

Five Question Friday with Mama M

YAY!! So glad its Friday today! (esp after the wicked witch of the west-my boss-is forcing me to add about seven hours a week onto my schedule-UGH) Ready to kick back and relax this weekend with my little family and enjoy some football.

So lets get on with the questions:

1. What is your dream job?

 

 My dream job most def. is to be a SAHM! I am just not a risk taker and scared of going to one income. I want nothing more than to be able to stay at home and take care of my little one while she is a baby and do fun things with her and be able to not be so stressed by having to take care of someone else children! OK I will get off my soap box.. on to the next Q.

2. What song could you play over and over?

 Hmmm... I am a huge music girl. I love me some country music! Hard to narrow it down to just one song so I will say my fav. artist right now is Keith Urban. He is nice to look at and fun to sing along with ;)

3. Do you prefer to talk on the phone, text, or email?

Text. With miss priss running around usually I cant get a quiet minute to carry on a decent phone convo so its just easier to txt. I dont have email on my phone yet or that would prob have been my choice. Verizon just came out with their version of the Iphone so maybe I will get the hook up at Xmas time?!

4. What is your must have beauty product?

I , like Kate, am not a huge make up person. I mean I will put some on if I am going out or something but most days I go the natural route. One thing I must have is my mascara though! A girl cant be running around with blonde eye lashes and no mascara :)

5. What is your favorite MJ song?

I cant say that I am/was a huge MJ fan. I know I know but he was the best.. yada yada yada. Its not that I dislike him its just I didnt really listen to most of his music so I dont have a fav... sorry girls

Enjoyed 5QF this week! Hope everyone has a great weekend! We will be hanging outside this weekend in the cool fall air watching football while Emma plays in the leaves :)

Hot and Healthy Through The Holidays!

Alright ladies here goes nothing! I am going to give Keely and Mama M's Hot and Healthy Through The Holidays a shot! I am doing this for 3 main reasons....

1. I am about a pound shy of my prebaby (at my 6wk app) weight but I am about 10 lbs from where I was when I got married... where I feel comfortable in my own skin... where I feel confident being me! I want that confidence back and I want to do it the healthy way and not just some fad diet.. ya know?

2. I want to be a good example to my little girl. It is really hard when I am drinking soda and eating candy but wanting her to drink water and eat fruit ya know? Seems a little hypocritical of me. I want her to be aware of healthy choices and we all know they mimic everything we do and want to eat or drink anything we have! What better way to teach her (and my husband for that matter) than by example.

3. I was recently (about 3mo ago or so) diagnosed with systemic arthritis. They are still running some test to figure out exactly what kind and how to treat it. They have told me the best thing I can do is low impact workouts and maintain a healthy way to slow down the progression of the arthritis. I want to be able to play and do fun things with my daughter and not feel like a 90 year old woman anymore. Hoping and praying between the meds and the healthy eating I can at least slow the progression down some (they have told me any damage already done isnt reversible unfortunatly).

BUT.. I will totally need you girls support. I am a choc-aholic for sure! I also enjoy my sodas and my fast food.. so I have a ton of work to do. Glad I have such a fun great group of girls to hold me accountable and make me stick to this commitment!

Good Luck!!!

Halloween Pics... and other stuff!

 First off lets talk Halloween. We had a blast! Emma was so much fun and so into it. Way more than I ever thought she would be. We had a little hayride thing with friends and went around the neighborhood. Every time we stopped she would start pointing to the houses and get excited. It was too cute! Here is a pic of my little bumblebee... even though none of them are great because she was wwwaaayy to busy to stop and pose for mom :(

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Alright now that we got the cuteness out of the way... I have a question for you! Some advice needed. Since none of you really know me IRL I thought yall would be a great way to get some advice from someone who isnt really emotionally involved ya know?! So feel free to chime in and let me know what ya think.

Background:

I am a nanny and have been for a little over two and half years. I was offered this job as I was A's daycare teacher and her mom asked me if I would be willing to quit my daycare job and come and be A's nanny full time. SURE! Who wouldnt want to take care of 1 child vs 12 children and make more money doing it?! Count me in! I started working with the family right away and everything was wonderful. Well the following winter the lady I worked for became pregnant and about a month and a half later I was suprised to find out I too would be a mommy. The lady... we will call her K. K had told me (even when she knew I was pregnant) that I would be getting a 200 dollar a month raise when her baby was born... because then I would be taking care of two children instead of one... yada yada yada. Ok great... I was a little scared about taking care of two newborns and a three year old but I was game to try anything.

Here and Now:

Alright so the "babies" are now a little over a year old and A.. is off to preschool for half days and things are as crazy as ever. BUT here lies the dilema that I need your advice on... she is trying did change my schedule and it now includes about 7 hours more work per week! which really sucks! but the kicker is she is trying to not increase my pay at all. (Im salary not hourly) So I am looking at this as a pretty big pay cut and she is saying well I never adjusted your salary when your baby was born and I probably should have... (why should I get a pay cut for having a baby ya know... not affecting the way I care for her children at all) Would you go and try and find another job even though I have the huge perk of bringing Emma and still having an income? would you just quit all together and really skimp by (we could prob make it finanically but it would be VERY tough and would be a lifestyle change to say the least )? Would you just bite the bullet and work for less money? The problem is I just feel like she pulls be around by a leash because she "knows" I prob wont go anywhere?!

So feel free to leave me your thoughts on it all. If not I felt better writing it out..thanks for reading and sorry I just laid all my negative thoughts out there today.. not usually one to spill like that.  Hope  you girls have a great week!!  :)