Mama is Running again!

I got my Mojo back! I am so excited that I started running again. When I was a kid I used to love to run because I could beat most of the boys and then in high school I was involved in so many other activities that kept me physically fit that I didn't need to run often, so I kind of gave it up. Then before I knew it I was an adult and having kids and started doing aerobics and the stair step and running again wasn't happening. But after my 3rd child, Gabbie, I found that I really wanted to get back into shape and I was really watching what I ate and started to sign up for 5K's then 10K's and it felt GOOD! Then I got pregnant with my 4th, Olivia, and I still ran until about 6 months pregnant then life got really busy. I went into grad school and with 4 kids it was just life. Anyways in October I went on this life changing diet and have lost so far 20 pounds. Now the whole family has joined a local gym so we are all in this together, which makes me feel so connected to them because we are all getting healthy. They are being so supportive. My children are all fit and healthy, but it is so nice that they are helping me out because they know how much I dedicate my time to them. HAPPY MAMA!

Last week I was reading an article my son had to read for school and it mentioned being "heart healthy" and that doing some exercise for 30 min 5x week is what it would take to get this. Well I don't know about you but I want to be around for a long time to watch my children grow up into wonderful adults, so I decided that I am doing this 5 days a week. So this week I started to RUN and it felt so wonderful! I actually could keep up a good pace and was not out of breath. Then my shins started to hurt the next 2 days of running and I was told I need a new pair of shoes because my other ones a worn out, so that is what I did. I went shopping and found these adorable pink shoes. I ran in them yesterday and it felt like I was running on a cloud. I can't wait to sign up for a 5K and then maybe next year at this time I will run the Disney marathon! Who knows....

This is going to be my new motto! LOVE IT!

Valentine's Craft

So Olivia and I were sitting around the other day and of course I had a million things to do, but she only had one thing in mind and that was to play with Mama, so I thought CRAFT TIME! Love that time during the week when she is willing to craft with me and not play princesses for about 30 min. So I cut up some squares that are about 1x1" in colors of pink and red and drew a heart on an 8x8" white paper and had her clue them in the heart. Well of course my thought was to clue them in the heart, but her idea was to clue them anywhere on the page that she thought looked cute. I also found some red heart stickers for her to put on the card as well. I wrote "Happy Valentine's Day" on it and then she was set for her homemade card for her grandparents when we see them next week. Once I told her she was making the card for them she was so excited to make it so beautiful. So, here is the picture of the Valentine's craft and hopefully you are thinking of cute things to make for your loved ones too. 

Chalkboard Labels

These adorable chalkboard labels make me want to label everything in my house! I found them at World Market and they were just the thing I was looking for. This summer I started to try some new baking recipes and they all called for different flours. So now I have a collection of all-purpose flour, cake flour, self-rising flour, etc. but no place to keep them. I thought I could store them in individual jars but how do I keep them all straight- right because they all look the same, then I came across these labels and knew my problem was solved. They are really thick and durable so I thought they would be great for the kitchen & they even came with the chalk, which made it that much better. So I put cupcake liners in one large mason jar and the other jar has flour in it. I feel so organized and cute in my pantry now, so that makes me happy.

My new love- SMASH

I have been thinking for some time to get this cute notebook that you can actually go crazy with called a SMASH book. I tried to get my teenage daughter into it last year but she didn't really understand the concept of its cuteness but finally she wanted to get one after I was talking about it again. So I decided that I wanted one too. I hope that I can stick with it for the year because really it will be so cute after it is full to look back at all the things we have done this year. I got the 365 versions and the papers it in are festive and plain too so it gives me some options to work with. My cute little 7 year old also wanted one so of course I couldn't say no to a child who wants scrapbook so she picked out the cute mini version. They are all from K & Company and so is all the embellishments to go with it. The tape and cute pockets come separate and then we bought a couple of the quote tab books so we can share them. They are so cute because you can make a list of things that you are thinking about that day and this allows me to be so creative without really spending too much time on it. Here is some pics of the things we bought. Can't wait to get started.

Cute Notebooks

I have an obsession with a cute notebook. I just can't help myself when I see one I must grab it and add it to my collection. Over the years I haven't collected as many as I used to but I still have to stop myself before I pick it up. Right now this is my favorite I just picked up from Target. The cute little ribbons coming off the top are not my creation, even though I would love to claim them, they are paperclips with ribbon tied to them. I picked them up from Micheal's craft store. They come in several colors but I grabbed pink and I think I'm going back for blue and purple.

Anyways, you might be asking why do I need this cute notebook anyways, right! Well I love the way it feels to use a pen and jot down notes. I love to scribble down all kinds of good info like websites I want to visit or interior design ideas that I want for my house. I am not an interior decorator or anything but I love to look at peoples ideas and then incorporate them into my house. See thats called creative lifting. I'm not ashamed to say that is how I pretty much do all my creativity. That is exactly what Pinterest is and Tumble and Indulgy and all those other websites that we all use to share ideas. I think they are brilliant don't get me wrong I love them I'm just saying that we all do it. I have a birthday party to finish planning and baking for so I better focus on that. I will post pics of that later this week. You must see the yummy things I'm planning. 

Boxes

I love looking at interior designs and try to fit that into my everyday home. I just bought a new home in October so that was a very exciting time for me it was also overwhelming. We moved into the house and then came Thanksgiving followed by Christmas & New Years. Well now that everything is put away and clean I have been on a really deep cleaning spree. I was so over the boxes in the corners or hidden in the closets. It was embarrassing when I brought someone over to the house and then had to apologize for the boxes. Everyone was always so nice about it and understood but it brought me such anxiety. I hate that feeling. Anyways yesterday I promised myself I was getting rid of the boxes and so 30 went out to the curb for trash day tomorrow. It felt so good to be able to do that. My son was so sweet and helped me take them all out. I am still not done with removing all of the boxes but at least most are gone. I still have my craft room to organize and I can't wait for that to be done because I LOVE my crafts! The local scrapbook store by me is closing and everything is 40% off and I want to go so bad but I don't have a space right now to play with anything. I figured that means I really don't need anything new anyways. I'm sure there will be another time or maybe a sale online. So my goal this week is to take out all my craft supplies and throw out those boxes.

I have a list of wants for every room in the house. I have been searching Pinterest for ideas and I have found so many but the windows might be different or the layout of the walls and TV are different so that has been fun and challenging all at the same time. Pottery Barn is another great website that I have been searching for ideas because I have some of their furniture and that is my style, but the price can add up quickly. I am thinking about having an interior designer just come over one day and give me some pointers. My taste is simple & clean and I don't like a lot of clutter or furniture so I hope they don't want to add a bunch of stuff that I have to dust. Wink! Hate that!

I will have to take some pictures of the before and after shots too. Right now I am getting the front yard done and I will post pics probably next week when that project is complete. Like I said each room has a list of wants but I guess the yard needed it more because everyone can really notice the dead grass and the fact that the HOA has sent me a letter that I need to replace it. :) If you have any good design websites I would love to have them so please send me them in the comments. Thanks!

Happy New Year

I hope everyone is ready for this great year of 2013 that we are blessed with. My kids were so excited to ring in the New Year they didn't go to sleep until 1:30 AM! Can you believe it. Can we say party animals. We live close to all the theme parks in Orlando so we had so much fun sitting in our driveway and watching Disney's fireworks and then Universal Studios was on the other side. We had quite the show. 

So did you come up with your resolutions yet and are you sticking with it. I have a teenager and this year she came up with a resolution. I thought that was so cool because it shows some sort of dedication and thought about her life and how she wants to improve it. 

Well today is family day and we are off to have fun. I want my kids to be outside more and play. I would love to start this new year off right by being outside more and eating healthy. I bought a new cookbook yesterday too on the "Paleo" diet. So I have some reading to do but the facts are that its about you get out of your body what you put into your body. So treat it right cause you only get one. Well on that note have a productive day.