Busy Week

Last Friday was our Ward Fall Festival. Everyone dressed up and we had a chili cook off, a pumpkin carving contest, and then a whole bunch of games for the kids to play. It was a lot of fun. Ben is on the activities committee and was put in charge of the chili cook off. It was crazy. I think only 10 people signed up to bring chili and we had about 20 different people bring some. So Ben was running around busy busy busy. Then we both were supposed to be in charge of the cake walk, but he ended up helping get things cleaned up so I was left on my own. Well, luckily a couple of ladies were there to help me and I'm sure glad they did because it was CRAZY!!! There were so many people and the line just wasn't moving (we had numbers line up in a circle and we'd play music while everyone walks around, then we pick a number and the person standing on that number wins a cake). We had to finally divide everyone into groups. That was a lot better. Anyway, we dressed Lilli up as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. She had the cute little dress and the red shoes, oh and a little basket (thanks Megan for letting us borrow the outfit. It was super cute!) Ben dressed up as a soccer player and I tried dressing up as a butterfly. Except I didn't try the little wings on until we actually got to the church. They didn't fit. When I FINALLY got my arms through the little straps, I couldn't put them down. Unfortunately, I couldn't wear the wings. It was a fun night. Lilli had a blast and looked super cute. I don't think the pictures do her costume justice.

My birthday was the next day, Saturday the 27th. It was okay. Ben had to work the night before, so of course he slept. He needs his sleep sometime. When he woke up, we ended up going to Dick's Sports (it's a sports store). That was good. Then we went for sushi. Lilli wasn't a fan (we didn't give her actual sushi, we gave her the cooked stuff). That's when she started getting sick. She had a runny nose and was just cranky. We got home, put her to bed, and then went over to our next door neighbors house for a Halloween party. We live right next door and we had the monitor. We sound like horrible parents, but it really was okay. Anyway, the party was fun. We chatted and played games. Then Ben had to go to work. Overall my birthday was okay. People called me and brought over gifts. It was nice to know that I'm cared about. Thanks for the birthday wishes everybody!!!!



Today is Halloween and we won't be taking Lilli trick or treating. Sad I know, but she's had a fever for the last 3 days. Not fun. She'll go down at around 5:30pm and wake up at 5am, then fall back asleep about an hour later and then sleep till 10am. At least that's what she did on Tuesday. We've just been giving her lots of juice of water. She's been drinking more than she's been eating, which is fine. I don't want her to get dehydrated. This picture is of her Tuesday morning. She drank a cup of cold juice and was just a shivering, so I wrapped her up in this big blanket. Ben gave her a blessing last night, and she seems to be doing better today. Her fever is down, but she's still congested. And she will not go down for a nap. She sat and cried and cried until I went up and got her. I can't force her to sleep. Oh well. She seems to be calm right now and is eating broccoli and mac and cheese. We'll see how the rest of the day pans out.

I haven't been able to work out the last couple of days. I feel like dirt, not because I'm sick but because I haven't been able to work out. With Lilli sick, I don't dare leave her to take a nap and have her crying the whole time I'm gone. I usually go work out during her nap. Ben is still here, even though he's sleeping, but at least he's here. I'm going to start back up tomorrow and get back on track. It's amazing what not working out does to your body, not just physically but in all aspects. So far my overall inches lost is a little over 10 inches and I've only lost about 3 pounds. So I still have a lot of work to do, but I really want to do this. Anyway, so these last couple of weeks have been really busy. Lots to do, and then a sick kid. Oh well. It's all part of being a parent. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Which Twilight novel character are you?

You're Jasper Hale - You have a calming personality and a simplistic way of looking at life. People like to be around you because you can help keep peace and are friendly to everyone. Although you do have a quiet side, you would be well balanced with a bubbly, spunky mate.
Take this quiz!

So I just took this quiz and this who it said I was most like. I think it's pretty accurate. Though I think Ben would disagree about the whole "you have a calming personality." He's always telling me to just relax. Just last week I told him that I wasn't a big fan of Yoga because of the whole "get in touch with your inner peace." So now Ben is always telling me to get in touch with my inner peace. I told him I'll get in touch with my inner peace when I want to. Duh!!! Anyway, what do you guys think?

Twilight Series

I'm finally done reading the Twilight series. I have to say that I absolutely love the story and I just think Edward continues to get dreamier and dreamier every book. But I think Jacob is so cute too. Anyway, I highly recommend you all read these books. The author, Stephenie Meyer, is a great writer and keeps you so enthralled in the story. She doesn't miss a thing. I can't wait for the 4th book to come out (Fall 2008). I know I know I'm a dork. I love these books. I've never really been so hooked to a series before, but these are awesome. I can't wait to see what's next.

Wight Loss Progress

As many of you know, I've been really trying to stay ambitious and lose some weight. Not that I'm super heavy, I'm just bigger than I used to be and I hate it. So I'm doing something about it. We get free membership to a gym and they have some awesome classes, so I'm going. This week wasn't so good though. I only went 3 times this week. My goal is to go at least 5 days out of the week for at least 45 minutes per session. Anyway, Ben's doing this whole weight loss thing with me. As part of our ambition, we've been weighing ourselves every Friday night, but not just weighing, we're also measuring our bodies to see how many inches we've lost. Remember I lost 4 inches 2 weeks ago. I'm not sure how many inches I lost this last time (I'll total it up, but I've definitely lost inches everywhere). Plus..........drum roll please................................................I lost a little over 2 pounds in this week!!!!!!!!! Yea!!!!!!!!!!!! I know it doesn't sound like a lot, but for me it is. That's the most weight I've lost in the whole 4 weeks I've been doing this. I'm very excited!!!!!!!!!!! It's nice to see my hard work paying off! I haven't just lost weight though, I've lost body fat too, AND definitely inches off my bod!!! Ben's been very encouraging and keeps telling me not to get frustrated. Hopefully I've hit my stride!!!! We'll see!!

Pumpkins!!!!

Lilli with Abby and Abby's little sister Emma

Lilli wanted to color the Halloween pictures she got at the pumpkin patch today.

Today I took Lilli to a playgroup where we went to a pumpkin patch and had story time. It was really fun. There were so many pumpkins and Lilli had a blast. Her little friends, Emma and Abby (sisters, who are our next door neighbors and who we see almost everyday) were there too. I stuck Lilli in the middle of all these pumpkins. She looked so small and petite compared to those pumpkins. We didn't pick any out, yet. I wanted to wait for Ben, but we'll definitely be carving some here soon. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures. When we got home, she took a 3 hour nap (break for mommy!) and then wanted to color the picture she got at the playgroup. They also gave out little teeny pumpkins. Lilli loves hers and carries it around everywhere. Sometimes she'll throw it down, but it just bounces like a ball. I didn't know pumpkins had that kind of spring.

Twilight Bandwagon

I have to say that I have now joined the Twilight bandwagon. It's actually a pretty good book. I was most intrigued to see what the hype was all about, and I have to admit that I couldn't put the book down. HOWEVER, Bella Swan absolutely drives me nuts!!!!!! I can't stand her. She's needy, and I almost (ALMOST) feel sorry for her. I've finished Twilight and have started on the second book, New Moon, and I have to say she's worse in this book. I sometimes feel myself getting angrier at her self pity and mopiness (if that's a word). Edward sometimes can be a bit weird and drives me crazy sometimes too. He's so wishy washy, but he's also kind of dreamy. I'm cheesy I know. Oh and Michelle, after seeing your blog and what you had to say about Jacob...........that was so funny!!!!!! Now I can't picture him any other way!!! hahaha Anyway, I do like the books and would recommend them for a good read. So jump on the bandwagon everybody!

Lost 4 inches!!!

So for that last 2 weeks I have been very diligent in working out. We're able to have free membership to a gym up on post and they have a lot of classes. That's the only way that I have found that makes me go and work out for a consistent 1 hour of cardio. In those two weeks, I haven't lost any weight (which totally sucks because Ben has been working out for 3 days and he's lost 3 POUNDS!!!! UGHHHHHH!). I was feeling down in the dumps, BUT I have lost 4 inches off my entire body in just 1 week!!!!! WOOHOO!!! I AM proud of that! So I'm no longer going to focus on my weight so much as my inches lost. I'm determined to get back into shape. I have felt a complete change in myself not just physically but mentally, emotionally, etc. I feel great!!! It also helps to have a very supportive husband who is so encouraging and who loves me no matter how big my hips are. That really helps and gives me a boost. Here's to working out and feeling good......................(I'm going to try to post my progress every so often; it helps to write down my progress so bear with me)