I'll be back soon....

Hi Friends! I miss you all SO much (even though I have been reading your posts when I am able), but it's "month end" and in the mortgage business, particulary in my position (I fund loans), it is busy, busy, busy! It can be overwhelming at times, BUT busy means job security, so I'm not complaining (and yes, this is the same company where I was in jeopardy of losing my job a few short months back, but now that I'm working duel positions (Pricing Analyst/Funder) each day is busy! So thank God for that! :)

But anywho, I have pictures to share of our AWESOME time at Sesame Place, updates about my running (yes, I'm still doing it daily), updates about Manuel's camp, and updates about my "friend" (the wedding gift fiasco) but that'll have to wait (until porbably Friday).

I hope you all are doing wonderfully! Cheers to an upcoming 3-day weekend! :)

And for good measure (two of my fav pics from Sesame Place)

 Everyone in their bathing suits, ready to have some fun! :)

My sweet peas! :) (not sure why Mia looks like a toothless old man, but adorable nonetheless! ;))

Thank you!

Thank you all SO much for taking the time to comment on my post yesterday. It means, more than words can convey, that people would take the time out of their busy lives and schedules to read my really long post and share your thoughts/ideas/words of encouragement and advice.

Manny (my husband) picked Manuel up from camp last night and took a few minutes to speak with Ms. Kristen about what had been going. As many of you mentioned, she was not aware of any of it. They have been working on the older kids and their use of the word "sucks" (sorry! I hate even typing that word!) But as far as Manuel being picked on and teased, no, she was not aware. She told Manny that Manuel has a lot of friends and always seems to be having fun (which made me smile! Manuel is a very easy child to like, and does seem to get along with most children). I don't want Manuel being a "tattle tale" (because typically that can just exacerbate the situation) but Ms. Kristen told Manuel, in front of Manny, to make sure he came to her if he was having problems with the other boys. We pray about it everyday and I just hope that these children realize how cruel they are being, and would find it in their hearts to be nice. (I know that sounds very cheesy and like a scene from The Waltons ;) BUT I just don't understand why children nowadays are SO mean!) I hope today was better for Manuel. And just to clarify, Manuel LOVES going to summer camp and has no desire to stop, so that's where my mental tug of war was happening because clearly I want him to enjoy his summer and continue doing something if he likes it, BUT I was sad thinking about the other boys being mean to him. If I thought for a second he was in harms way or really unhappy (regardless of what he was telling us). I would have taken him out in a heartbeat! :) I will keep everyone posted. Thank you again! :)

And in regards to my "friend", to be honest with you all, I really have no desire to pursue our friendship. I think the wedding gift incident was just the straw that broke the camels back (so to speak). Her and her husband live a lifestyle that is not something I like to associate myself (or my husband or children) with (although I didn't know that was a lifestyle SHE lived up until VERY recently) so I think I'm okay with letting go of our friendship, being civil if we see one another out (because we share the same group of friends), and just being done. I would imagine that she'll e-mail/text/contact me in the future and at that time I will let her know how awful and out of place I thought her text was, and that friends (especially as close as I considered us) just don't do that! I'm glad you all agreed! :) After I pressed "Publish Post" I was scared that you all might think I was crazy! :)

And for good measure...

 My sweet little camper this morning (that's a shirt the campers have to wear on field trips, just to clarify! :))

 All decked out and ready to go to laser tag! :)

My little firecracker! :) (looking extra chubby faced! :))

We are off to visit Elmo, Big Bird and the entire Sesame Street gang tomorrow. Pics to come.

Have an awesome weekend!!!! :) 

What would you do?

Wh-wh-wh-what would you do? (I'm singing the song in my head right now). PLEASE tell me you know what I'm talking about and you've seen the show? Okay, maybe not! :)

But either way, on to a "serious" post and I'd love to hear your thoughts/ideas/comments...

Situation #1:
Manuel started summer camp on Monday. Okay, first a little background info...This camp is being help at his preschool. Months back when summer camp was first being talked about, EVERYONE (of course), in his class was going. Manny and I talked about it, and although it would be a tad more expensive each week and an upfront chunk of money for all the field trips, it would be fun for Manuel, it would give him a fun summer before the "real world" starts (aka Kindergarten! ;)) So we signed him up for it, paid for it, and as the months passed and summer camp got closer, guess what..."EVERYONE" had turned into TWO boys from his class (and they'd only be there part time because their moms work in the school system and are off for the summer)! UGH! I knew this was going to happen. That means that my sweet boy, not even 5 1/2 years old, would be spending his summer with children (mostly boys!) as old as 5th grade! (they do NO separation in this camp. ALL the children are together all day!) We asked Manuel if he still wanted to go and he said, "YES!" We made it clear to him that Mommy and Daddy wouldn't be mad if he changed his mind. It would be okay. And yet he still insisted upon going. (Yay to my little man for not caring that he wouldn't know anyone, that he wouldn't have any "friends" there, etc. I can say, with certainty that as his age, I would have NEVER done that! So yes, we are very proud of him!) Manuel is a very awesome little boy...he is sensitive, caring, really has a knack for people and their feelings (especially when it comes to his little sister which I LOVE! :)) and is also rough, tough, all boy, but of course the "sensitive" part opens him up for hurt feelings, tears, and not really the ability to let things roll his off his back as easily as others.

So back to the part where summer camp began....Manny typically picks Manuel up from school but on Monday I did because Manny was working a side job. When I picked him up he seemed fine, no tear stained eyes, no grumpy look on his face, etc. so I had assumed camp went well. So I asked how things went and his little eyes welled up with tears and he told me about the mean kid who told him, "You suck! You have boogers in your nose." (okay, so maybe he did have a booger in his nose, HE'S FIVE! At least he wasn't picking it!) Then he said, "I asked them (I'm assuming this "them" he refers to is a group of older boys) if I could play hide and seek with them and they said, "No! You're not a school ager" I started to cry (yes, I know, I shouldn't have in front of him, but this was my first experience with teasing and bullying!) I told him that Manny and I would not sit by and let him spend his summer being treated badly. We asked him if he wanted to get out of summer camp and go back to his other class. He said, "NO!" So that night we prayed about it, we prayed that the other children would be kind to him, and if they couldn't be kind, just not say anything to him at all." Manny and I made a decision to let the week play out and see how things went and if they did not get better we would take him, even if it's not what he wanted. I'm not setting him up to be bullied all summer, regardless of how much he wants to go on field trips, swim, etc. AND again, we were so proud that he did not let these kids get to him, and he still wanted to go back! :) Okay, so I'm not going to babble through each, but each day it has progressively gotten better. He's made a new friend or two, BUT there is still at least one incident/day that upsets him. So, my question for you is this...do we just chalk that up to normal "child's play" and let him continue to go? Or do we intervene, explain to him the unfortunate-ness (not a word, I know! :)) of what is happening, and we'd prefer he went back with his peers (all 5-ish years old) and take him out of camp? I can appreciate his perseverance and desire to go back each day, BUT at the same time, he's my baby and I hate knowing that these boys are being mean to him. Without getting into specific detail I did ask one of the staff yesterday (who knows Manuel from the school year) how he was adjusting because of being the youngest, etc. and she said great. Thoughts/ideas/advice? I know this is JUST the beginning and kids get teased, left out, and so forth BUT when it's YOUR child, it's a whole different ball game! Oh, and I also realize that I'm sure there have been situations when Manuel was the one being mean to another child (he's not perfect by ANY stretch!) but these boys are older. Shouldn't they know better? Who raises these sort of means boy!??!?! :( It makes my heart sad!

Situation #2
I was in a wedding at the beginning of the month, of a "good" (not so much anymore) friend. I had spent hundreds of dollars on various wedding activities over the months prior to the wedding (something I realize I agreed to spend when I was asked to be a bridesmaids and accepted) but hundreds, nonetheless. So the day of the wedding arrived and my husband and I realized that it was not in our budget to give a wedding gift that day (we have our family vacation next month that had to be completely paid for (the condo) by the 11th. Her wedding and it's expenses had come before many family things for the previous months) I have been in 7 or so weddings in my life, and attended many more, and I've come to know that proper etiquette is that you have up to one year to give a wedding gift. (NOT that we were going to wait that long to give a gift, but we just needed some extra time). Okay, moving on...the wedding comes, we have a blast, we head home (because I was SO sick with bronchitis), they leave for their honeymoon the next day and all is well. They returned from their honeymoon on Saturday. Sunday afternoon when I get out of church, I have a text message from my friend saying that she and her husband were going through their wedding gifts and realized that we hadn't gotten them anything and she wasn't sure why or what happened. UMMMMMMMMMMM, excuse me!?!??!?!? Did you REALLY just text me asking me where your wedding gift was!??!?! I shocked and disgusted. Honestly, I thought it was SO classless! Manny and I got married in the courthouse, so I never had an "official" wedding, so I thought perhaps I was overreacting. In my fit of rage ;) I called several people I knew who all had "real" weddings to ask their take on the text message and EVERY.SINGLE. PERSON thought it was out of line, classless and just plain rude. I text her back, explaining the situation, very short and to the point (with attitude via text, I'm sure). She text me back telling me she wasn't trying to be rude, etc. And I did not respond nor have I spoken to her since then. (I'm not a phone talker (I despise talking on the phone) so it's not weird that we haven't talked, but normally we would e-mail and I can't e-mail her. I'm furious! She's e-mailed me, as if NOTHING happened (asking me to put her wedding pictures that I took on a CD for her!), and again, I just can't respond! She knows our financial situation (not that we are poor, but our money tree isn't blooming this season! :)) and again, I just think it was SO rude what she did. Regardless of the reason why you did not receive a gift, would you EVER text someone (wedding, birthday, shower, I don't care what event) and ask where you gift is?!??!?!?! Please tell me someone out there agrees with me! :) Your thoughts? :)

And for good measure...

 My Aunt and Uncle bought Manuel and Spencer (my nephew) matching outfits so of course, we HAD to get a pic! :) Spencers outfit is a TAD big ;) but still, they are SO adorable! :)

They also bought Mia and Vivienne matching outfits! :) I typically don't "do" character clothing (just a personal choice! NOTHING against those of you that do! :) but I would NEVER tell someone who gave us a gift that, of course! :) I have class! ;)

NOT Wordless Wednesday ;)

I have a lot on my mind lately that I need to vent and share (and get your input on regarding my dear sweet little boy who started summer camp on Monday (and the "issues" that have come along with that), as well as "Should I be mad that my "good" friend....?" and get your input on that) but I will post about that tomorrow! :)

Mia is not a huge fan of sunglasses (I wish she was so she would realize that they'd be SO helpful in blocking the 5pm sun shining brightly in her eyes on the way home from daycare! :)) but I guess she likes to learn the hard way! :) Here are a few pics of her in her (and my) sunglasses :) And yes, they are upside down. That's how she likes them! ;)

*Please forgive the poor cell quality! :) My hubby is trying to convince me I need a fancy iPhone (Droid, or whatever their called! :)) but I'm a-o-k with my 1967 older cell! ;)

And for good measure...

I am obsessed with putting funny hat (or heck, anything for that matter) on my childrens heads and taking pics! :) 

miscellany monday: weekend wrap up

Happy Monday Ya'll! ;)

~I've been running for about 2 weeks now (NOT everyday! You will not catch me waking up at 5am on a weekend, unless my children think it's time to get up! ;) but I've been pretty proud with how committed I've been (considering I've never ran a day in my life (other than in school when you HAD to! :)) Today I decided to start Couch to 5K. I liked running and found it energizing, but I didn't feel like there was a purpose behind it. Now that I'm doing C25K, I feel like I have a "reason" I'll keep you posted!

~I turned 30 on June 2nd and I knew my hubby had something up his sleeve, but with weddings, birthday parties, etc. I wasn't sure when the "surprise" would be...come to find out, it was this past Saturday! :) I knew we were going to my sisters for a cookout, so I thought, "Ohhh, this is totally going to be my surprise party" and I was very excited. But my hubby really got me when we walked outside to leave for the surprise and there in the "courtyard" of our community, under the pavilion, was my family, friends, balloons, drinks, food, toys and games (for the kids), etc. It was a VERY sweet gesture, and in the end he really did surprise me! :) Manny slaved away all day on the grill and running around to get things ready without me having any idea! And to top it off, he was/is REALLY sick, so I was SO appreciative of the love and effort! :) Here's a few pics (I have a TON, but I'll save those for another day! ;))

 Clearly, Manuel REALLY wanted his picture taken! ;)

 Mia was slightly more cooperative :)

The party planner/cook/decorator/amazing hubby! :)

~Then Sunday was Fathers Day, so of course we celebrated my hubby! The kids and I went to church and Sunday school (Manny was still sick :( and then we came home and pampered him with some good ol' fashioned cards and homemade gifts! :) He loved it all, of course! And then he wanted sushi for dinner which was fine.by.me! :) I LOVE sushi! :)

Home Depot offers a free workshop for the kids the 1st Saturday of every month. In honor of Fathers Day, they had one on the 18th so I took Manuel (and Mia :)) so they could make Manny a tool box :) It was VERY sweet!

Mia watching and waiting patiently for her brother to finish his masterpiece! :)

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! :)

Happy Fathers Day

Tomorrow will be a special day for our family, as we honor my husband, Manny...one of the most amazing fathers on the planet! Manny grew up with no real father figure, and step dads in and out of his life for years, so the fact that Manny is SUCH an awesome father is really a miracle and a blessing from God! Manuel and Mia mean more to him than words could ever convey and they are SO lucky to call him, "Daddy"! :) I hope your day is spent honoring your dad, husband, step dad, uncle, or whomever you hold dearly as a father figure, whether they are here on Earth or in Heaven! May your day be blessed! :)

Although my dad is in Heaven, he will not be far from my thoughts tomorrow. I love him and I miss him. Although he wasn't always the best dad, he was my father and for that I love him! Here is a picture dump of the dad I love and how I remember him forever! :)

 My dad and Amy (my sister)

 My dad and I playing Barbies :)

 My cousin, Vinnie (yes, like the movie ;)), me, my cousin, Erik and my dad (he LOVED his nieces and nephews like they were his own children)

 My dad and Vinnie (his Godson)

 My dad and his girls playing Cabbage Patch Kids! (that was my dad, Mr. Funny Guy! :))

 My dad, Amy and I (not sure what was in that bottle! ;))

Amy, my dad, me and my mom on my 1st Birthday! :)

Our family :)  

 My dad and Amy

 Dad and I at Skyline Drive

 Yes, we're sitting on a trashcan, not sure why! :)

Again, my dad was always right up there with the kiddos! My cousin Erik's birthday party

Have a great weekend friends! :)

I'm a guest blogger! :)

Hello friends and HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!! :)

I hope you all have had a wonderful week and enjoy the upcoming weekend! :) I came across some awesome pictures of my dad from back in the day that I want to post (probably tomorrow) in honor of Fathers Day! I miss him dearly, but this Sunday will be spent honoring one of the most amazing fathers I know, my hubby! :)

I'm a guest blogger today over at Thrify Nifty Mommy where I got to review a great company called ScanDigital! Go take a look and enter the giveway while you're there! :)

And if you have a moment and want to vote for me, feel free! (and I promise, that's the last time I'll ask, maybe! ;))

If you're bored, feel free to vote...

Hello Friends!

First things first...I feel like a totally different person than how I felt yesterday, thank God! Those steroids (for my bronchitis) were doing a number on my mind and body and I felt awful! When I did my morning run today I prayed the entire time, and I really think that helped! I feel MUCH better!

Now, on to something more fun...A lady at our church approached me a month or so ago to see if I would be a participant in a Mary Kay Makeover contest she was doing (she's been a rep for 15+ years) I was game because I don't really ever wear makeup, I'd be helping her out, and really, what do I have to lose? Nothing! :) The submission part of the contest has ended and now it's time to vote. If you are bored, and want to vote for me, that would be great. Just a warning, my before picture is AWFUL! :) I look like a hardcore criminal in a mugshot! :) But it makes my after picture look even more appealing so I guess that's the point! :)

Click here to vote! Thanks friends! :)

It's STILL Spring...

Although last week in Maryland, the temps were skyrocketing into the upper 90's with extreme heat and humidity, it is STILL Spring, and will be for several more days. Spring is probably my favorite season (with Fall a VERY close second!) Spring TYPICALLY means beautiful weather, a cool breeze, flowers, graduations, babies, and birthdays! :)

With all the fun events that Spring brings, you certainly need your one stop shop for invites, photo books and more. We all know I LOVE Shutterfly (they did our Christmas cards  this past year and will again this year-yes, I realize it's only June, but Christmas will be here before we know it! ;)) and again, they are your go to place for all your stationary needs.

Do you need a birthday or graduation gift idea? How about a photo book for that special someone? I love looking through peoples photo books that have been made with love and customized to fit the individual. My cousin made one for my grandmother for Christmas and she treasures it! Shutterfly offers a wide variety of sizes, cover options and text choices.

I feel like there are SO many people around me pregnant. If you are like me and planning a baby shower for a friend, every other month, then why not check out their assortment of precious baby shower invitations. There are options to fit every theme, as well as gender specific or neutral choices.

I honestly can not say enough about Shutterfly and the awesome products they have to choose from!

Do you have a blog? Sign up for a chance at a free photo book from Shutterfly!

I'm here...

*Oh, and thank you all SO much for your sweet comments on Monday's post! You all sure know how to make a girl feel good about herself! :) *

Hi Friends!

I've been reading your blogs, commenting, enjoying your pictures, etc. but I've been quiet since my Monday post, and the reason being, this sickness has really thrown my body for a loop. Actually, I don't think it's the bronchitis itself that's whacked my body out, it's the steroids. I feel like a TOTALLY different person on these meds. My body is super sensitive to any meds (I have to even be careful with the cold meds I take because they make me loopy), so needless to say, these steroids, are making me a tad crazy (not really, but I feel like it! :) I'm edgy and even more emotional than usual (my poor hubby! ;))! I just want to feel normal and like myself again, and unfortunately that's not going to happen for several days...I had to take 2 pills in the morning and two pills in the evening for the first 4 days, now I have to wean down to 2 pills in the morning and 1 pill in the evening for a few days, and then wean down more and more for about 8 more days, UGH! It might sound petty, and I know in the grand scheme of life this is something totally ridiculous to worry about, but I want to be normal again! :)

The family is doing well and I'm super excited for the weekend...Saturday will be spent down on the water at my sisters house. It should be a lot of fun and make for SUPER adorable pictures! :)

And for good measure...(the kids at a friends birthday party earlier in the month :))

Rockin' the bump

Happy Monday! I'm still pretty sick and this bronchitis seems to be kicking my butt but I'm hoping that the steroids and inhaler will work their magic ASAP! Hubby let me rest a good part of this past weekend, but lets be honest, how much resting can actually be done with two kiddos running around!??! Not much! ;) So anywho, enough complaining, on to the fun stuff....



I absoultely LOVE Things I Can't Say (if you haven't visited Shell before (doubt it! ;)) but if you haven't, go visit :))

This week she is doing a super fun "link up" where women are encouraged to show off their baby bumps. As I've mentioned before, Manuel was pre-Facebook and pre-blog age (for me, at least) so although I have a million and one pictures of him, they are mostly hard copy (as in, printed from Walgreens, CVS, etc.) and our scanner doesn't work, so as much as I would love to show you all a baby bump from both of the kiddos, you're just going to have to settle for my Mia bump :) This was the morning of her birth (scheduled c-section)

Now go visit and link up too! :)

We're going to the chapel...

And we're gonna get married! :) Yesterday, June 10th, one of my best friends from high school got married. I woke up, VERY sick (I found out today I have bronchitis which I'm now on an inhaler and steroids for), but of course I put on my happy face, knew that I needed to just suck it up, and put a smile on my face for her big day, and that's what I did. It was such a fun, beautiful wedding. Mary has her own unique, individual style and the wedding fit her perfectly. She was a gorgeous bride! The ceremony was outside, and they were calling for thunderstorms....we started the ceremony a bit early because it looked like it was going POUR! During the entire service it was thundering and the second (and literallly I am second) the ceremony was over and we stepped on the covered back porch of the mansion, it started to pour down buckets of rain. Everyone couldn't get over how we JUST made it! :) Then the mansion lost power and it was H-O-T! (low 90's and humid) but we all made the best of it. The mansion did not have a generator on site so we ate dinner by candlelight (which was pretty neat AND HOT! ;)) Then eventually the staff got a generator on site, and then not too long after the power came back on. Other than that small ;) issue everything went off perfectly. We all danced, sang and partied the night away. Here are a TON of pics from the beautiful day :)

 The matron of honor, Dr. Read and I (one of my best friends in the world!)

 The bride getting her hair done

 Me, Veronica, Tara and I

 Gina and I

 Mar getting her dress on

 Mar and I

 A candid shot of Mary on the way to the wedding...she didn't know I took this and I LOVE it! :)

 My shot from the mirror on the roof of the limo bus :)

Tara, Mar and Selina

 Dancing

 Mar and my hubby :)

 The bride and her dad

 The groom and his mom

My hubby and Veronica, my friend for 22 years :)

The Mom Pledge...

Have you taken it? If not, you should! We should be out here supporting each other and being kind to one another, NOT bashing each other and leaving hurtful comments (I've NEVER understood that! Why would you ever repeatedly leave rude comments on someones blog!?!?!? If you don't like what they write about, don't read it! That seems simple! ;))

Visit The Mom Pledge Blog and commit to being a part of this awesome community of women!

Oh, and I'm being "featured' for today, so that's pretty neat too! :)

400th post: Me

Happy Wednesday Friends! :)
This post is #400 for my little ol' blog. FOUR HUNDRED POSTS!?!?! About what? Well, it all started on 11/18/08 when I wrote a post title, "Really? Am I a blogger?" (that's original, huh? ;) I started my blog, in all honesty, so that when I commented on other blogs, people could click on my name and see that I am normal, down to Earth, wife and mommy, and I wasn't some weirdo, stranger stalker commenting on their blog ;) And now look at me, 400 posts later about life. Some have been super interesting, honest, raw and emotional. Other posts have been pointless (to others :)). There have been celebrated milestones with my children and husband. There have been moments of sadness and hurt. It's pretty neat, to me, that I can go back and read about random days, thoughts, and memories. I hope that one day my children will read this and see how much they were loved, thought about and doted upon :)

In honor of my 400th post, I'm going to "celebrate" me, and get honest about me, personally. I've opened up about my dad. I've opened up about my husband. I've shared tid bits about me personally, but nothing super in depth. So here's a bit about me and my weight struggle...

I'm overweight. Plain and simple. I've never been small, EVER! I was a normal sized child up until about 2nd grade and then it all went downhill from there. My senior year of high school I sort of "slimmed down" (I'm sure the drugs had something to do with that), and even though I looked good, wore a normal size, and felt okay about myself, according to medical standards I was overweight. I wouldn't dare put numbers on here as far as how much I weigh (a HUGE kudos to those of you that do! I am in awe! No one knows how much I weigh. I actually made my husband step out of the room when I was in labor with Manuel and the nurse was asking me how much I weighed. No lie! :)) But anywho, I stayed "skinny for me" up until I got pregnant with Manuel in 2005. I gained 41 lbs with Manuel and stayed pretty big until I started to work out, eat right, lost weight, and got down 5 lbs shy of my pre-Manuel weight and then it happened...I got pregnant with Mia! :)) I gained only 24 lbs with Mia and was very proud of myself for that. Needless to say, the weight came off much easier (because there was much less to lose) and I sit here today, again, just about 5 lbs shy of my pre-Manuel weight. Again, still considered obese, according to medical standards, but normal and "good" according to my (and most peoples) standards. I get up an extra 30+ minutes every day to work out (well that's a lie, not every day, but typically Monday-Friday). For a long time I was doing Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred (for all of you Mommy bloggers doing that challenge, IT WORKS! Keep with it!) That got old after awhile, so I started doing OnDemand workouts that our cable company offers on "Fitness TV". And don't get me wrong, it made me feel good that I was doing SOMETHING, but I wasn't pushing myself like I did with Jillian and was at a total stand still. So, what did I decide to start this morning...running (or, more likely considered jogging). I've ALWAYS wanted to run, honestly. After seeing several seasons of Biggest Loser where 400+ lbs people are running MARATHONS, it inspired me to want to run. I never put thought to action though, until today. I woke up at 5am, put on my running shoes, grabbed my "protection device" ;) (I'm a HUGE scaredy cat! :)) and honestly was more worried about getting attacked by a murderer, than the act of running ;)) and started....at first I did a brisk walk for about a minute, and then jogged a huge chunk of my route, walked for about another minute, and then jogged the rest of it, until my door step! :) I'm pretty proud of myself. I hope I keep up with it. I have a ton of support from friends on Facebook who are avid runners (as in they run marathons) so hopefully one day, that'll be me. Running a marathon is actually on my bucket list. I'm excited to see how each day I get more and more "comfortable" with it, and how I'll slowly be able to go for longer stretches. Yes, I'm excited about running! :)

I feel like now that I've Facebook'd about it, and posted it here, it's going to help me be held accountable.

I'd love to lose these last 5 lbs AND MORE! Maybe jogging will give me that jump start I need. I feel "okay" about myself, but I'd love to feel GREAT about myself! :)

I'll keep you posted!

Here's to 400 more! :)

The Paper Mama Photo Competition: Your Best Shot

I'm not a photographer by any stretch of the imagination (actually, most of the photos I post on my blog are SOC (or is it SOOC? either way, I don't edit them! ;)) But I LOVE taking pictures of my children (and my family) so I thought, "Why not link up to The Paper Mama's photo competition?" I have thousands of pictures of my children so it was hard to pick JUST one, but without further ado, here is my entry for the photo contest....

I've shared this photo several times in the past, but I can't help it..I.LOVE.IT! From the sun reflection, to the dried food on her face (hence the reason why she was in the bath! :), her eyelashes, JUST EVERYTHING! :)

Visit the competition and link up! :)