Finally Friday!

This has been a quick week and I cannot believe it is Friday, but in the same breathe, THANK GOODNESS. I have worked out 3 days. I SHOULD have worked out today, but I will get a workout tonight when I chase the toddler around the high school football game and climb the stairs a dozen times. In the meantime, I feel bloated and nasty. I splurged and had a Chinese dinner out with some friends last night and then dessert was Cheesecake and Wine......what was I thinking??? Oh well, I am still craving a second piece of cheesecake, so go figure. I really need to join another Weight Loss Challenge, simply to motivate me. I don't need to lose a significant amount, but I need that motivation and accountability. I will start searching....well, until then, CIAO!

Back on the WORKOUT WAGON!

Okay, so it is 5:06 a.m. and I up, dressed, and headed OUT the door to the gym. It has been at least 4 weeks since I regularly attended the gym. WHY the break??? No reason, just pure and simple laziness. I could list a dozen excuses, but the bottom line is...LAZINESS. I have gained about 3 pounds, so I just feel sluggish, so hopefully I can rev up my healthy eating habits and pair it up with some exercise and be back to my normal self by October 4th! Why October 4th???? I am going to a FABULOUS wedding and I need to wear my 'little black dress'. Okay, I am outta here, otherwise I would type all day and have yet another 'excuse' for not working out!

Love ya! Jewely

Not to be complaining...BUT

Okay, so my birthday is next week. In my husband's attempt to make plans for my special day, he has called his parents to see when they would be available to celebrate this monumentous occasion.....you know, 35 is a milestone. At any rate, the ONLY day they can come to visit is my actual birthday. Not only is it a normal work day for me, but my oldest will be in school, plus my middle child has his first ever dental appointment that afternoon, PLUS, I am teaching the last session of a 6-week night course that will run from 6-9 p.m. So I guess we are going to squeeze in a birthday party for me from like 4:30 til 6 p.m. I calmly told my husband that it was fine if they came, but that I was NOT cooking supper for anyone and that it was already a hectic day and throwing them into the mix was only going to make it worse. They are planning on arriving at 7:30 that morning. Luckily my oldest needs to be to school at 7:30, so I will be leaving the house before they even arrive. They can spend the day with the two younger kiddos while I am at work, and then I can muddle through a short party between day classes and night classes. I am not trying to complain, as my husband is trying to make plans, which he has never really done in the past for my birthday, but spending a crazy 90-minutes with weeping Wanda and the Father-in-Law who is constantly telling me about his bowel issues....is not exactly my idea of a fun way to celebrate my birthday!!! A nice quiet dinner at Red Lobster with a mixed drink would be FABULOUS!!!

Seth's 5th Birthday

Well, we survived the Birthday celebration for our 5-year old. It was a fun-filled day, which started out with a small gathering at our house for Seth and a few friends from preschool. The kiddos played and also created a birthday poster for Seth to hang in his room to memorialize the occasionl. That evening, we had a family party which included the Cooper's, the Watts', and the Rathke's. We ate pizza, cake and homemade ice cream. Seth even helped mommy decorate the cake! Seth had a blast and received many nice cards and gifts. We also took the immediate family to Chuck-E-Cheese the Sunday before his birthday and celebrated with 3 hours of arcade games!!!

Happy Birthday to my Seth Ryan!!! Mommy loves you!!!

Daily Tip - Menu Planning

Disclaimer: I must first say that I am not a licensed professional. My tips and ideas should be implemented at your own risk. I cannot make you lose weight. I cannot make you eat healthier. I cannot make you exercise daily. What I can do is offer you motivation and perhaps a little bit of inspiration.

Menu Planning is MUST for me. Not only to aide in my weight loss ~ body transformation journey, but also because it gets pretty busy around the Cooper house and if I don't plan ahead, we would end up eating popcorn for supper. Now, I don't just plan for supper meals, I also plan for my lunch time meals because we both take our lunches to work. This is mainly to cut back on the cost of food, but also to help me have some control over what I put in my mouth. I basically have this HUGE list of meals that I know my family will eat. I have it written down and posted on my fridge. I normally do my grocery shopping on Sunday morning, so Saturday night I look through my cabinets and freezer and see what I have in stock that I could use for meals the next week. Then I cross reference that list with my huge list of meals on the fridge, and then write out on another list (can you tell I am a list maker????) what the daily meals will be. Then I can create my shopping list. I try and plan meals that will provide leftovers so I can take them the following day for my lunch, as the hubby does not usually eat leftovers. I also love to utilize my crock pot, so if can cook my meal or at least the meat portion of the meal in the crock pot, then when I get home from work, I can add a couple of vegetables and a starch and be ready to feed the family.

Now, if someone were really diligent, they could also track the coupons that are in the Sunday paper and plan their meals around the most savings they can find. However, I don't have the time to be that organized. I just usually buy the store label or generic brands when possible.

Poo-Poo'd on the POTTY!!!!

That's right folks....my daughter who is barely 18 months old, actually pooped on the potty. I seriously think she is a genius. I mean seriously, look at who her mother is!!! Check out this candid photo of the proud little girl!!!

Okay, so take a closer look.....she actually pooped on the toilet seat lid!!! Well, better than nothing!!! (yeah, kinda gross)

Preparing for a PARTY!!!

My middle child, Seth Ryan, will be celebrating his 5th Birthday on Tuesday, July 29th. I am in a mad rush to get the house cleaned up before the big party. On the morning of his birthday, we are having a small gathering with just a few friends from preschool. Seth wants a race car themed party, so I am going to decorate the house to look like a pit stop at the races and I am planning some race track themed activities. I am also serving chocolate chip cookies and juice boxes. After the guests leave from he morning party, I will be in a mad dash to get his Race Track Cake decorated and reorganize the house for the evening, family party. Both sets of grand parents will be on hand, so beware!!! We are having pizza, cake and homemade ice cream. All I can say is YUM-O. I will post photos after the big event.

Probably the MOST exciting thing about celebrating his 5th birthday is that our immediate family is making a trip to Chuck-E-Cheese on Sunday. That is all Seth asked for, so we are going as a family to let the kiddos run around. I imagine that Seth's head will just about explode when we enter those doors. Plus, I am certain that Karah Jo will be running around like a striped ass ape for the entire time we are there. Afterwards, we need to make a stop at Target and then back home.

In the meantime, I feel like a crazed maniac trying to get the house organized and cleaned up and some what presentable before the day-long adventure on Tuesday! Wish me luck!!!