Our Fun Week

My life is a big blur right now. I'm loving it, but I have no idea where my time is going! I can't complain though...life is good:)

Matt's bank helped sponsor a 5K for Junior Achievement walk/run this past weekend @ Tempe Town Lake & it was a lot of fun! We had a great time pushing Parker in the stroller & there were lots of fun activities(bouncy castles, massage booths & more) & delicious food(Jamba Juice & Texas Roadhouse). The weather was beautiful & it was nice to get out and get some exercise!

They didn't have any shirts in his size, but I thought he looked pretty cute in it anyways:)
And he got a medal when he crossed the Finish Line!

He LOVED the Jamba Juice! Just sat on the grass & ate & ate:)

Here is Matt's boss, who decided to put a shirt on their dog...I thought it was funny:)

We celebrated my little brother's 19th Birthday last week! He will be leaving to Honduras on his mission in a couple of months & I am so excited for him!
Happy Birthday Tate!!!

My adorable niece, Mia, turned 1 this weekend & we go to celebrate her birthday too!
She had SO MUCH FUN eating her cake!
Happy Birthday Mia!!!

It was a FUN week!!!

Gift for Gavin

My cousin Bethany's BEAUTIFUL baby boy, Gavin, is on the list for a liver transplant & there will be a charity yard sale held in his honor this SATURDAY!!! Medical bills aren't cheap & they just keep adding up...if you have anything that is laying around the house that you would like to donate, PLEASE let me know! You can take it to the address below or I can even come pick up your stuff! Also...if you just want to come and spend money on Saturday, I know it would help their family so much!

Feel Better Soon

Dear Grandma Allen,
When I found out you had to go to the hospital,
I was sad.

Then today mom told me you got to come home.
I was glad!

I'm sure it was because you were trying to hurry & recover, so that you can play with me.
Because I'm so cute.

Love,
Your favorite Grandson
I'm not being cocky...I'm allowed to say that until Grandson #2 comes along in June!

FREE ART GIVEAWAY!!!

Love FREE stuff?
Me too.
Want to win this BEAUTIFUL piece of art PLUS a frame from my brother's AMAZING custom framing store?
(It would make a perfect Mother's Day gift)ALL you have to do is continue to help him spread the word, by adding a post about his giveaway & you might be the WINNER of "Mary's Heart"
Click on the Logo below for Contest Details.
Go for it. What do you have to lose.

Biggest Loser

We held a FAMILY BIGGEST LOSER competition over the past 3 months(actually this is Round 2 because we all wanted to keep going).
My BEAUTIFUL cousin Stephanie WON this round & received a SHOPPING SPREE!
(*To enter this round, you had to give the winner a $20 gift card...so she could have her very own shopping spree)
She has LOST 30 POUNDS in the last 3 months! Incredible!
Speaking of Incredible...Round 1 was from Oct. 1-Jan. 1st & this one has gone from Jan. 5th--April 5th.
MY DAD has LOST 70 LBS since OCTOBER! That is AWESOME!

Here is the winner...or loser...Steph with her husband Casey---showing off her gift cards!

We went to Inn-N-Out to CELEBRATE with her for being the BIGGEST LOSER!
I know, not the "healthiest" celebration choice for a "Health" competition...but she DESERVED a big hamburger & fries after the past 3 months!

We had TOO much fun @ Inn-N-Out! The girl cousins always have such a GREAT time together! We laughed & laughed & here we are in our most "natural" poses.

Way to Go Stephanie!!!

My Baby Brother...

Has been Called to Serve...
in the Tegucigalapa, Honduras Mission

He has lots of friends...

and family...

that are SO excited for him!!!
He will be a GREAT missionary!
He had the RARE opportunity to receive his call in HIGHSCHOOL! My mom didn't start him in kindergarten until he was 6, so he turns 19 this month & I'm sure will be the 1st of his friends to leave. Hey...he'll be the 1st to get back & see if any of his highschool girlfriends are still around:)
Tate-We are so proud of your decision to SERVE a Mission!

Our Vacuum DOES NOT WORK....it makes a long rattling noise when I vacuum & it doesn't suck anything up. I have been asking for a new vacuum for Oh...about 2 years. But unfortunately it hasn't fit into our budget & so I have been patiently living with it. In our 1st condo...I would vacuum EVERY day...or ate least every other. It didn't even need it, since we didn't have kids yet...but I was a little OCD about it. I LOVE clean carpet.

Well...our carpet in this house is DISGUSTING. And it is OUR fault. When we moved in, it was very clean. Then we had a child. And that child spit up A LOT. We cleaned up after him, but slowly spot after spot appeared & I got sick of cleaning spots, to just have another one appear. On top of that...our vacuum broke. I'm still a bit OCD about having things clean, so every now and again I would get down on my hands & knees & scrub those spots & I got used to sweeping...yes sweeping our carpet, if I wanted the crushed goldfish & graham crackers to ever get picked up.

THEN...a miracle happened.
Matt came home with this...

Still not in our budget.
But he LOVES me.
It made me SO HAPPY.

And to think...the reason he decided to splurge...
was that HE tried vacuuming(1st time in 2 years) & said, "Does this vacuum always sound like this? It doesn't even work"
Me: "Umm...yaaaaaaa....I know...I don't even bother vacuuming anymore"

And Wahlaaa...the NEXT DAY, he brought home a new vacuum on his lunch break!

Had I known it would be THAT easy...I would have asked you to vacuum a LONG time ago.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
I love it.

Our Little Monkey

Hear No Evil...See No Evil...Speak No Evil

Parker HEARS NO EVIL

SEES NO EVIL

SPEAKS NO EVIL

We didn't even prompt him to put his hands in certain spots...he was just being goofy!

Muffin Top

I was watching that commercial that mentions a girl that is a "muffin top" and her friend says something like, "I WOULD let you borrow this top, but I just don't think it would fit you." I don't even know what the commercial is about & they just have these random stick like cartoon figures...but that Muffin Top girl is ME.

I decided that it IS TIME.
Hopefully this isn't YOUR PICTURE that I found when I Googled "Muffin Tops"...I wouldn't want to offend anyone.
In reality, I could have taken a picture of my own waistline & posted it, but I think that would've made me feel worse.

It is REALLY TIME FOR ME to get rid of my muffin top!!!
Every day when I get dressed lately, I find myself changing about 5 times...ending up in one of those "maternity" tops. Yes, they may be in style. But they don't LOOK GOOD when you ACTUALLY LOOK pregnant..and you are not.
Don't get me wrong. I LOVE the style of the long shirts/baggy/baby doll shirts/etc and think they look GREAT on girls that don't LOOK pregnant and on girls that ARE pregnant. Not on girls that ARE NOT PREGNANT...but JUST LOOK IT...like me. Get my drift.

Ok. So yes, I have been working on my weight for awhile now & I go in spurts. I will lose 5lbs to REWARD myself by eating WHATEVER I want for a week and gain it all back. I have been going up and down for quite some time now. I THINK that if I WRITE MY GOAL DOWN, I MIGHT actually take it seriously.

So there you go. You are all my witnesses.
Feel free to ask me how I am doing on slimmin up my mid-section.
I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to wear that 90% of my wardrobe that I haven't touched in oh...3 years! I actually have a box of jeans that I have designated for a JEAN QUILT...but wouldn't it be fun to wear them again BEFORE I turn them into a quilt!

Do any of YOU have any good Exercise/Eating Healthy Advice?
I'm not a good "dieter" I have a sweet tooth...so kill me.
So none of those "all meat...no sugar" diets.
Something that might ACTUALLY work.

PRESCHOOL

I am LOVING teaching PRESCHOOL this year & I have decided I will be teaching again NEXT YEAR! I still have a few openings & if you would like more information, please feel free to contact me @ stacki11@yahoo.com

*Held on Tuesdays/Thursdays from 9:30am-11:30am
*3 & 4 year olds (MUST be potty trained)