One H-E-Double HockeyStick of a week kind of Adventure

Okay, So this week has been a not fun, terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week. (you like my book reference?) It started out with a whiny, 2 and 1/2 year old (I know, shocking right?) and has pretty much doubled in intensity. Everything that could go wrong (aside from someone dying or getting severely injured) has happened! Mark was out of a job for 3 months. It's been rough, but thankfully he has started work with a new company. I agree with Bilbo Baggins when he said " I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread." The stress just never seems to end! Bills come due, babies need to eat, I am on a  diet that just makes me want chocolate all the more, my husband is hardly ever home for dinner due to his new job. (I am thankful he has a job!!!) I guess at times like this I just need to count my blessings.

So here I go:

My blessings 

1) I'm alive

2) I have a home that keeps me safe and warm

3) I have a loving family with a kind husband and two sweet girls

4) I have a car that I can drive to get where I need to go

5) I have food in my refrigerator

6) I have a phone to use

7) I have health insurance

8) I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints

9) I have access to horses. (Hey, I'd probably be mental if I didn't)

10) I have good friends who care about me

11) I have use of all my limbs

12) I have the use of all my senses

13) Heavenly Father has given me beautiful clouds to gaze at and breathtaking sunrises and sunsets to view

14) My family and Mark's both live in Georgia

15) I have two beautiful children who love me and who I have the great honor of raising.

I think from now on, I will post at least one blessing I have whenever I post on my blog, to remind me how blessed I am!!!

Losing Weight is a Whole Different Kind of Adventure!

So, here it is. I have officially decided to shred some extra baggage (weight that is.) I have discovered a website called myfitnesspal.com through my mom and I really am going to stick with it. I really want to look nice for our family vacation next year so I'm really going to do it! Wish me luck on this whole new adventure!  I need all the help I can get! I am going to try my hardest to resist my delicious and delectable nemesis, CHOCOLATE! I have already adjusted my breakfast foods to this yummy oatmeal called Oat Revolution. It's pretty tasty. Now to find some better choices for lunch and dinner. Any suggestions for a healthy meal?

Stressful Adventures

Can I just say AHHHHHHHHHH! Being stressed out is so awful! There are so many things contributing to my stress that I should win an award! I'm thankful for my husband's new job, but they having him work so long that I don't see him til after 9pm and the girls never see him because he's gone before they wake up and back after they go to bed. We have no time together except the weekend. We just got two new kitties who are so adorable and sweet but chasing after them to make sure they don't shred the couch or curtains is tiring and annoying. I need to get a squirt bottle. Potty training is going well, that's a plus, just another thing to focus on . The house always seems to become dirty a day after I clean it. Why is it that bills never just go away by themselves?

Right now I guess it is important to focus on the positive. I have a beautiful family that loves me. I have a home that keeps me warm and safe. I have a car to drive. I have good friends who care about me. I have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. I have been blessed with countless blessings! I read something the other day that has started to help me put things in perspective. "Be not weary in well doing." So I shall try not to be weary.

A Post-Birthday Lunch Adventure (and more from the Potty-Training Chronicles)

So, yesterday was a good day! I met my mother at the horse barn where she keeps her two horses (an Arabian named Ahsha and a buckskin named Cheyenne). Anna got to watch the farrier put new shoes on Ahsha. And afterwards she was so excited to help my mother muck out the stalls. Now you know a girl is in love with horses when she loves mucking the stalls too! And Lyla got to sit on a horse for the very first time! She's only 4 1/2 months old and sittin' on horses!! After the barn we went out to lunch at Rafferty's. May I just take a moment to say that that restaurant is so YUMMY!  I ended up spending the day at my parent's and had a delicious breakfast dinner made by my fabulous mother! She is an amazing woman!

  Today was another awesome day too! Anna is doing wonderfully with potty training! She has not had one accident today! And most of the time she has been telling me "it's potty time mama!" I am so proud of my Anna!! And I was worried about potty training being hard! HA! She is making it a breeze! Let's just hope this attitude continues!!!

My Sweet Girls!!

My yummy Birthday cake Mark made for me!

Happy Birthday to me!

Me and my Lyla Grace!

Me and my girls!

A Pay it Forward Birthday Adventure

So, Today is the day before I turn 26. I can't believe I'll be that old tomorrow. I never thought of me this age when I was younger!! Anyways, so today my sweet family took me out to lunch for my birthday. We went to Cracker Barrel. Oh how I love me some Cracker Barrel. But now I love it even more. We had an amazing experience there! So we were eating and Mark had told our waitress that it was my birthday. So then of course all the waiters and waitresses gather round' out table and tell all of Cracker Barrel to sing Happy Birthday to me! Well, then, a little later our waitress came by with our check and as she was putting on the table she crouched down to be at our level and she said " This is on me. I always try to do something nice everyday for a customer. So feel free to get dessert too, because your meal is on me." After she left I started to cry! I have never had a stranger show so much kindness to me! What a wonderful example! That made my pre-birthday day so much better!

The Beginning: A Potty Training Adventure

So, here I am. I have now officially joined the throng of people who do this sort of thing. Hopefully this will be therapeutic for me. But As much as I know about technology, finding my way around this blog stuff is kinda confusing! 

Today is Day number 2 of potty training my dear sweet wild child Anna. She's a 10 year old in a 2 1/2 year old's body! She did really well today. (after all it's only naptime right now, so we'll see how well the afternoon goes!) No accidents. She decided she wanted to run around without panties on today so I let her. Hey, I'm not gonna fight her on that. I'm so proud of her. She pee'd 3 times and pooped once in the toilet. Lots of high fives, hugs, and of course, chocolate and gummy bears! Here's hoping that this afternoon and tomorrow will have the same success!!!