2013 was GREAT!...Part 2

To continue with what was awesome for the remainder of my 2013 year I will begin here in Part 2 with-

August
~ More crazy house searching, and we FINALLY FOUND ONE!!!! 
~ Back to work- new sitter for Allie...LOTS of changes
~ This house stuff is CRAY (I can still say that for a few more days, cause I'm not 30 yet)

September
~ Getting everything in order financially to buy a second home
~ We cancelled our membership at our amazing gym- seriously it was $125/month, but it was freaking AWESOME!!!  (We don't have dish/cable so we can justify splurging a little here and there) I am still sad we had to leave the gym...
~ Final walk though- cue my FIRST panic attack ever!! (Because of a moldy, wet, carpeted bathroom...that we were getting ready to buy in 2 days)
~ 5th anniversary, we closed the day before.  The traditional 5th wedding anniversary gift is wood- I'd say a new house is pretty much as good of a gift as you can get!

October
~ Moving, fixing up the house a little
~ I started a second part time job (it was temporary and I LOVED it!)
~ Dealing with the change of moving, having a toddler, and said toddler is overwhelmed and not napping- STRESSFUL MONTH!  I never want this month to happen again...and I LOVE October
~ We did take Allie to a pumpkin patch, and apple picking. As well as to the trunk or treat at our new neighborhood Clubhouse

November
~Things are calming down a little- Scott got renters in our old house
~ Getting things organized at home
~ I lost a little more weight from the stress and move  (I have since found it again)- but I am a solid size 10...I've never been a size 10, not even in highschool!  My goal is an 8.

December
~ Things are starting to fall back into place
~ Still so much to do to the house
~ Had a girls night out with a bestie from Kindergarten!!
~ My house is starting to feel like a home...now that I am finished with my 2nd part time job I can focus a little more on Allie and continue nesting in our house. 

I'm hoping for an amazing 2014!  Can't wait to see what fun things are in store, and I hope each and everyone of my friends/family members have a great year!

CHEERS!

2013 was GREAT! Part 1...

This past year was filled with so many fun happeneings.  Here are my monthly highlights.

January
~ I turned 29...cue panic attack, only 1 year left in my 20's
~ Annual trip to Fast Eddies- it was the first time I saw a picture of myself, and could SEE my weightloss in action
~ Ice carnival at the Delmar Loop- hottest day in January of course...

February
~ Mardi Gras- this maybe my last one in Soulard friends....
~ I won a cute little Valentines day outfit on Facebook and had Allie's pictures taken

March
~ Celebrated Easted with the CREEPIEST bunny ever
~Scott began prepping the house to go back on the market with a new relator

April
~ TOUGH MONTH!
~ Put the house back on the market, trying to keep it clean while having an "almost" 2 year old is impossible
~ Took our first vacation without Allie- NOLA

May
~ This month was a blurr....finishing the school year at work, house on the market...I don't remember doing anything but crying and being anxious...
~ Oh yea- it was Mother's Day and I wore my first Kiki la 'Rue dress
~ SLUGFEST 2013

June
~ Busy month of running around, the Zoo, Grants Farm, Food Truck Festival at Laumier, the Magic House, the Butterfly House, and a few trips to the pool.  It was kind of cool this summer with REALLY bad storms.
~ We also decided at this point to take our house off the market, refinance, and just go buy a new house without selling.  We were hoping we could just rent it out instead...we HAD to move on.
~ Once we were finished refinancing we also began looking at houses and areas we wanted to move to.  We finally decided on Fenton (Rockwood schools), and found an awesome house we just HAD to HAVE!  While going back and forth on the bids for the house they disclosed a HUGE foundation crack...HUGE, with a big section of the wall about to fall out.  We decided to walk...and that caused lots of stress and tears on my part. 

July
~ ALLIE TURNED 2!!!
~ Fireworks in O'Fallon
~ More running around, the History Museum, the City Garden, blueberry picking, the Botanical Gardens, and Kirkwood Park.
~ Me and Scott took an adult trip to the Lake and it was SO MUCH FUN!!!
~ More house searching, and nothing coming up....so frustrating.  We began looking in other areas- Ballwin, Ellisville, Des Peres, Manchester, Chesterfield, Creve Couer...really anywhere in Parkway/Rockwood school districts.  We looked at SO.MANY.FREAKING.HOUSES it was ridic.

I'll stop there for now...Part 2 will be in the near future when I have a few more spare minutes...

Five on Friday

Five of the most random things you will read today....

{ONE}
I forgot to add a goal to my New Year Resolution- I am going to take 2 more graduate classes so I can bump up a level on the pay scale at work (hey- working part time only pays so much).

{TWO}
My list of "wants" is endless these days... You wanna hear?...well really you have no choice, here I go- a new bed (ours is basically broken- oops), new couch for our family room (currently we are using these 4 "leather" chairs we had upstairs at our old house), TV mounted on the wall, my house painted (we're getting there...), some kind of curio cabinet for the dining room, new kitchen table, some kind of furniture for our "message center" in the kitchen, some kind of furniture for our nook in the entry way (not sure what to put there at all), another baby, a new wardrobe, and a money tree...ok, I'll stop there ;-)

{THREE}
Allie is hilarious these days!!! The connections she makes and the things she says. Every day is a new adventure.  This past week being home with her is totally SPOILING me!!  She has also asked lately that I cuddle with her and rock her before bed.  Which I gladly do, because she will only be this small for a little while.  Ok- not going to lie, she has THE WORST meltdowns...I mean flailing, kicking, screaming, falling down, can't catch her breath melt downs, and I tend to think they are pretty funny...but it makes her even more upset when I laugh :-/

{FOUR}
I went to The Nest today in Frontenac with some of my mommy friends, and it was so super cute!  I ordered a mocha latte for me, and french toast, a fruit skewer, and fresh pear/apple juice for Allie.  Allie loved her fruit skewer and juice- she didn't really care much for the french toast, but I thought it was awesome.  My mocha latte was YUMMY- tasted more like hot chocolate, and it wasn't very hot, but it was good.  The 3 story tree house sounds a little misleading.  It was 3 little houses, about 8 ft tall, that lead up to a SUPER fast slide.  Allie enjoyed it there, although the play areas were a little smaller than I expected, the decor was super cute, and they had a lady supervising the play areas.

{FIVE}
We celebrated Christmas with my family on Christmas Eve- I got some cute new clothes, a crock pot, a gel polish kit, and so much more.  Allie got 2 outfits, a tea-pot set, and ton of Bubble Guppies and Lalaloopsy toys (which is fitting because she has recently started asking for Umi Zoomi instead).  She LOVES her new vacuum and sweeper set- if only the vacuum really worked.  On Christmas Scott helped me take down more vertical blinds (the ones in the family room- the BIGGEST ones), and put up 3 wooden blinds instead.  They look AWESOME!!!! Santa brought us a new TV, and a new coffee pot :-)

Our house is slowly becoming a home, and I can't wait to take down all the Christmas decorations.  Well friends...until next time!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

I'm not going to lie. I have been so busy and lazy with some things lately, I just have to let it go.  Tomorrow we are celebrating Christmas with my immediate family, and then on Christmas day we will celebrate with my in-laws.  However I still have no gift for my mom.  For the past few months I kept thinking I was going to find the "perfect" gift.  But who am I kidding, I bought Oreos for "treat day" at work, and a bag of Gardetto's for a friends holiday party.  I feel like I have been working so much, and trying to get to a store and buy something that is a not a necessity is beyond me at this time.  Having a feisty 2 1/2 year old is all consuming, as well as updating a new house, and trying to having something edible in the house a few nights a week. 

I have 10000 blog ideas per day, and I just wish I had more than 5 minutes to throw some thoughts down.  I am excited to spend time with my family the next few days, and I will miss my family who I have not seen in a while (some of them years- which is silly because they all live here in StL). 

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas- enjoy the time spent with your family, and please don't be offended if I did or did not get you something extra awesome for Christmas.  Someday I will have my life back in order.

Oh yea!  Santa came early at my house!  Scott and I bought our very first TV!!! We had never bought one before.  We were using a 32 inch tube that he bought from a friend for like $75.  Now I officially feel like I have joined the 21st Century. We also bought a bigger coffee maker- I guess I like a little caffeine these days. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!

New Years Resolution Time!

First a recap on how I did last year...

1) BE PRODUCTIVE...YET CALM - this is my number 1 goal for the year, take a deep breath because these moments will not happen again....

Ehhh...kind of...buying a new house, renting an old house, and having a 2 year old are all very tough. I could have done better...

2) continue to be healthy and loose more weight- this year I met my goal (one day before New Years).... But none the less I met it and surpassed it by .4 pounds :-) 

I lost 20 more pounds this year!

3) meal plan- really because I like it.....and dabble in freezer meals- instead of going to Time For Dinner

Did pretty well with this until the last few months..buying the new house and working a second part time job kind of wore me out! 

4) try a couple new gym classes- I was thinking 1/month, but that seems lofty as of now, considering I do 0. 

I did a few...Barre3, kettle bell, and swim boot camp...they were fun. But we cancelled our gym membership in September when we moved...

5) sell our house- can I make this a goal if I have NO control over it? 

We didn't sell...but we rented it in 1 week! Why didn't we do that years ago?! Would have saved so much stress!

6) talk hubs into adding to our family {am I allowed to say that?}

Ehh...not sure where we are on this...I'll just say. "Not much progress here"

Oh and I had a secret #7 goal...floss everyday! Seriously I thought it was gross and weird that I didn't already, but now I can not go a day without it! Sometimes I even floss a few times!

Now for next year!

1) loose that pesky last few pounds...typical right.

2) wear earrings more.

3) more dates with just me and DH.

4) look into running a half...there I said it....yea yea...they girl who "hates" running. It just seems like 13.1 miles is a BIG scary goal, so I should probably do it. 

5) buy less...in general.

6) do not feel guilty about choosing what makes me happy.

7) blog more.

The extent of my TV watching :-D

I have a 2 year old...so we have plenty of cartoons in our home. I wish we had less...but some times momma needs a break.  We cancelled our cable about 1 1/2 years ago, so I don't spend all my extra time watching DVR'd shows that rot my brain cells. In fact we don't have a DVR at all, so if I want to watch something it has to be on regular local TV, or Amazon Prime.  (Or the iPad- which is where I usually watch TV) 

I used to watch everything from The Kardashians, to The Little Couple, Sister Wives, and 19 Kids and Counting...as well as a ton of other silly shows. (Extreme Couponing, Hoarders, Real World). Ok, so you basically have an idea that I was totally obsessed with stupid reality TV. Well now I only watch 2 shows...Grey's Anatomy, and Switched at Birth.  They are both in between seasons now, and I have to wait until January for more Switched, and February for more Grey's...boo! I guess I will paint with my spare time....

Anyway...just to share with you the reason I watch Grey's and why you should watch too...

Yup...that's it....short and sweet blog today...I don't have the brain power to think of what else to write, and I am using my iPad to post this, so I can't do a super cool link up right now.  Enjoy the picture and don't say I never gave you anything good! 

Take 2...

I just wrote an entire blog post and decided not to post it...sometimes you just need to put your thoughts down and sort them out for yourself. 

Here's an idea of what I wrote about.

1) I love my friends and I had an awesome MUCH NEEDED weekend with so many of them. That needs to happen more often. 

2) I am learning what is most important to me, and what I want from my relationships with others.

3) I will buy and wear what I like and (try) not to care (too much) what others think.  Wearing pants that are 2-3 sizes too big everyday does not make me feel good anymore. 

4) I will stop saying "sorry" for silly little things. (Look it up, women say "sorry" too much). And I will say "No" when I do not want to, or can not do something.

5) I will not apologize for my taste in music, and I will dance how I want too- no matter how silly I look. (I'll spare you all in the singing department though ;-) ) 

6) I wish I could stop loving "social media"... But I'm pretty much addicted to it.  I feel like since I don't watch TV or read anything, social media is my outlet. (that totally makes sense right??!!) ok really though, I'll cool it on the selfies :-P 

7) I can't wait to be a "normal age"- I mean 30!!  

(Her shirt reads: "Most likely to change the world"- I have no doubt she will) 

FIVE on Friday!

Linking up again!!!!  (I just realized there are like 400 bloggers who link up each week for this!!)

{ONE}

I seriously do not know what I would do without my husband.  He pays the bills, is the landlord for our first house, deals with ALL the service people, and still has time to love on Allie and I each night. Here is a funny story- last night the water company messed up our payment (they are confused that someone can own 2 houses or something), so they turned our water off to the house we are living in!  I was working my other job (late) and he was home with the kiddo.  Instead of heading up to the store to grab a gallon of water- or even going through a drive thru to grab a couple bottles of water- he just melted ice for them to drink.  Good thing the water company turned us back on before 7pm.  RESOURCEFUL I SAY!!!  Just like a caveman :-P  SMH.

{TWO}

Remember how I've been saying we will just paint our house ourselves instead of hiring someone...yea, it's not that easy. I don't know how to "cut in" on the wall where it meets the ceiling.  And it takes SO LONG!!!  Also- we have a 2 1/2 year old, so time is at a premium.  We basically have to put her to bed, set up, paint, and clean up before we go to bed.  Then get up and do it all again the next night, and the next night, and the next night....you get the point.

{THREE}

We have 2 playdates this weekend...so I expect everyone's kiddos to make me feel better about Allie.  My family just keeps telling me how crazy/busy/sassy she is...not making me feel too great.  I tend to think she is on the sassy side, but not too CRAZY.  She is 2 1/2 ya know...

{FOUR}

I keep telling myself we will continue to work on the house forever to get it to look/feel how we want it.  But the other 1/2 of me REALLY wants things to be done NOW!  Paint, window treatments, new bed, new TV, new family room furniture, you get the point....

{FIVE}

I had a panic attack (self diagnosed) 2 days before we closed on our new house.  I was going to write a WHOLE post about it...but that seems extensive.  Lets just say we had ALL our ducks in a row to close on our new house, and when we did the final walk through there was water ALL OVER the master bath.  Good thing the floors had carpet- so it could SEEP into the floor.  (We are assuming the jacuzzi tub had not been used in YEARS, and when one of the inspectors turned it on something broke (gasket) and leaked water for a couple weeks) I had this idea that EVERYTHING was ruined! Who knew how much water damage there was- and it had been there long enough that mold was growing on the vanity.  I FREAKED OUT....then Scott told me we were going to buy the house and deal with whatever damage there was.  Good thing he is so reasonable (see melted ice above)- as soon as we closed we came "home" ripped up the carpet, and had the tub removed.  NO SERIOUS damage!  It was probably the best scenario ever!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!! 

FIVE on Friday!!!

Another link up!  That must mean I am {avoiding} working right now!!! If you wanna join, click the image below copy the link and BLOG!!

{ONE}
Allie was so good for Halloween last night! We only got a couple pics- but it was raining, so we just went around and met a few of our new neighbors, and then drove up the street to 3 of our co-workers house.  Allie was pretty shy- even though we had been practicing "trick-or-treat" and "thank you" ALL WEEK!!  But once we got some sugar in her she loosened up!  Here is her pic from the Trunk or Treat at our Clubhouse last weekend.

{TWO}
I had the beginnings of a Christmas list in my head, and today I totally just went out and bought some of them myself.  I can't pass up a good deal!!!  Bath and Body Works has buy 3 get 3 free of their signature collection, and 5/$15 of their soaps!  I'm a sucker for a good deal!!  I am also OBSESSED with Twilight Woods scent right now.

{THREE}
My co-worker and I totally brought out kids shopping today and let them run around crazy like while we tried on clothes and smelled lotions.  It only resulted in a few tears- and Allie taste testing some of the new scents at B&BW...But we got some really cute tops, for a pretty good deal!!!!  Style & Co at Macy's!! I'm going to have to look more at their line of clothes.

{FOUR}
It is absolutly BEAUTIFUL outside!!!!

{FIVE}
Remember how I mentioned in "So What Wednesday" that we were going to pay for some one to paint our whole house?...well holy STICKER SHOCK!!!!  $5,500-$7,500 for 75% of the house painted....looks like I'll be picking up some of my own paint and doing it myself!!!  We will save THOUSANDS OF $$$$$  That's CRAY!!!(Yes- I said cray...cause I'm cool and lazy all at the same time.)

So What Wednesday 10.23.2013

I've been wanting to do a link up with some of my FAVORITE bloggers for a while, but I blog from my phone or iPad...but NOT TODAY FRIENDS!!! I busted out the lap top (for work purposes...and I'm totally working right?!).

So WHAT IF....

{ONE}

I stayed up WAYYY too late one night watching THIS VIDEO ...I'm obsessed with Miley...but I don't get the video at all...

{TWO}

I drank a little too much wine, grabbed a drill and took down an entire walls worth of canning shelves in the basement.  I'm getting things done!!!

{THREE}

I like beer...more than wine.

{FOUR}

I gave my daughter marshallows for breakfast?!  We totally make it out the door in 10 minutes yesterday!

{FIVE}

I want to hire a painter for my entire house....less work for me!  That's what I work for!!  (Oh yea...and because we still own another house...)

{SIX}

I bought Halloween candy and it is almost gone...

{SEVEN}

I try not to watch the Cards games because I feel like I am bad luck- and do far tonight it is true....ouch 

Conversations with my 2 year old...

Yesterday I gave Allie a slice of apple for lunch, I had the other slice for myself...here was our conversations.

A: I need your piece of apple mommy.

V: You have your own piece of apple Allie.

A: But I need yours now mommy.

V: Why Allie?

A: Because it's probably mine...

V: {hands her the apple slice}... What just happened...

A: mommy you want my pretzels? K...

 {hands me a few pretzels}

V: No thank you, mommy is not hungry right now.

A: NO, KEEP THEM MOMMY!!! I have plenty. 

V: o...k...

Allie walking around...toots... "Somebody stinky on me" 

Mimicking daddy...

A: "What the Hell..." {insert creepy smile/smirk} 

Oh there are so many more I can not think of right now... She's a riot... When she's being good :-) 

5 on Friday

Since I don't have an AWESOME computer to blog on I can't link up...so I'm going to do my own "5 on Friday" blog post.  It's 5 random things about my life that you get to know ('cause I'm gonna tell ya).

1) I had a total geek out moment earlier this week when 3 of my best friends; I mean bloggers that I stalk; started following me on Instagram! I feel so popular! They have a podcast that I've started listening to as well as blogs. My only thing is that it covers a lot of current TV shows and I don't watch much TV :-( 

2) Tomorrow we are going to talk to an interior designer to help us pick out paint colors for our house! Eekkk! I can't wait! I hope we find some good ones, and then a good painter who can have this done ASAP :-)

3)  I feel like ALL.MY.FRIENDS.ARE.KNOCKED.UP...enough said (imaybealittlejealousjustalittlebit) 

4) I am loving my 2nd part time job! Getting back into the swing of things, and getting to know all the clients! It is so much fun! I missed working in the water, it is helping me to see OT activities in a different way than I have been for the past 5 school years! And we get to play with a pumpkin 'cause its Halloween time, and they float...and they are heavy, so it is good for strengthening too! 

5) I'm nervous for Halloween...I think Allie is going to hate her costume (pink bunny outfit- it was $4 at Goodwill- new with tags on!) Last year was bad, Allie ran around the street crying and finally we figured out it was because she wanted a lollipop. There's no telling how this year is going to go, but at least we will be in our own neighborhood!

Two weeks in!

We have been in our new house for 2 weeks now! That's crazy to think! We have done so much, but still have so much to do.  We love taking a walk around the block after dinner with Allie. She can pull her wagon, ride her bike, or just run with us. We attempted to try a stroller walk a few days ago, but that ended with Allie pushing the stroller :-) {in reality the walks get a little frustrating when Allie stops every foot to pick up leaves, or 5000000000 acorns...but i have to just take a deep breath and softy push her along} The street is so quiet, I've almost forgot how loud the old street was...almost. 

We are finding the little quirks of the house, popping water pipes with temperature change, the sound of the sprinkler system, and where the few creeks are in the floor. I'm settling into my new space, cleaning this much space with a 2 year old is a little crazy, but I will get used to it over time.  We have changed out the old curtains in the dining room and  formal living room finally! But still have a slew of vertical blinds to get rid of in the kitchen, eat in area, bathrooms, and family room (and on a door! Who puts vertical blinds on a door?! That's cray! We also need to get on the painting bandwagon and get this bad boy in tip top shape! All in good time. 

Speaking of good time, I was able to start another part time job as an Aquatic OT! This was a job I previously had before moving to the schools, and it was so good to get back and see some of my old clients! A lot has changed in about 4 1/2 years! It is such a fun job, very physical, as I am swimming back and forth and physically assisting individuals to maintain good body positions in the pool for about 9 hours. (I don't workout on that day right now :-) ) I'm so glad I can help the company, and it was perfect timing with buying a new house and having to find rented for our old house. I'm hopeful that soon everything will fall into place. 

Hope you all have a wonderful week! 

We're here!

It's official! We now own two houses, and live in the BURBS! I always thought I would live in a cute little "city" home...then I had a kid and everything changed. Needless to say here we are today! I feel so lucky that my husband and I both have amazing jobs (with of course the college degrees and loan debt) that allowed us to, without selling our old house, go out and buy our "dream home".  I'm not saying we're rolling in the dough...but we are comfortable, and will hopefully be more comfortable once we can rent our old house.

Without further a-do lets talk about moving...I.NEVER.WANT.TO.DO.IT.AGAIN!! Seriously I don't know how you all do it...it sucks! We have so much stuff! (Including quite a bit that we need to get rid of...that we had to move to the new house to go through) We hired movers, thank God! But man that was an ordeal! We have had such great support from our parents, helping watch Allie, and our friend Liz helping me paint Allie's room! It turned out so cute! 

So far we have replaced about 1000 sqft of carpet and the flooring in the master bath, had the jacuzzi tub and surrounding wall tile removed (cue my first panic attack...but that's a story for another time), fixed all 3 toilets, 2 shower heads replaced, bought a new fridge (with crazy stupid dimensions), had electric "things" brought up to code (evidently 3 inspectors over looked something that an electrician saw as soon as he walked into our garage), electric outlets added, plumbing added for fridge/utility table, replaced 2 light fixtures, replaced 3 ceiling fans, and began working in the backyard. Whew! This is on top of just cleaning the heck out of EVERYTHING! The house was a little more "dirty" than I expected. We cleaned all the windows, cabinets, pantries, got the carpets cleaned, scrubbed shower tiles, walls wiped down, and just a basic overall disinfect. My fingers were raw from all the vinegar and dawn dish soap! However I was glad we could be fairly "clean" with our cleaners. No scrubbing bubbles or comet over here! 

I've been out walking around the block with Allie multiple times a day and it is amazing and fun! (Until she stops for 30 minutes and collects everything that's on the ground) She enjoys the freedom of being able to walk "on the sidewalk" like a big girl. I went on a run, but got a little lost...and my phone wasn't turned up so I couldn't hear how far I had run.  When I thought I had gone far enough I headed home (it was 2.75 miles...so not bad!) if I would have known I would have went the extra .25 to round out 3 miles.  I haven't been working out like I was...but hopefully now that we are settling in a little I can get some more workouts in...my alarm is set for 5am...wish me luck! 

Allie is learning about the new house, but she is pretty much a crazy girl trying to get into everything and test her limits. On top of the move and everything being different she had been with "babysitters" and grandparents a lot lately, so Scott and I could work in the new house. Now it is up to Scott and I to do some "behavior cleanup".  I can see us entering the phase of terrible 2's (I thought it was starting like a year ago...but this is getting tough!!) And I hear 3 is even more difficult...yay...

But anyway...I will stop boring you and show you some pics :-) Allie's new room, our spread at "closing" on our new house, we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary somewhere in there..., and a cute pic of my scrumpy-roo (wearing a handmade outfit from her grandma L). 

Woah there...

Slow down! 2 blog entries in 1 month! That just doesn't happen! ... Well lets face it the house is destroyed and I need a break while the toddler naps. 

It is "mostly" official! We will be closing on our new house in 1 week! This process has taken wayyyy tooooo long to get here! But it's almost go time! I just wanted to share with you today some things that I will miss and not miss about my current home (which we still own because we could not sell...we are going to rent it), and things I am looking forward to at my new home.

Going to miss: 

*My great neighbors - except that motorcycle guy across the street, you might have big muscles but the fact that you get your motorcycle out for the night right after we put the baby down makes me hate you. 

* My gym- J you have helped me loose 40 pounds, you have awesome amenities (I have barely had to wash towels in 3 years), and your child care is far superior to anywhere I have ever seen.

* My cute little old brick house- so many little quirks, original stained glass pocket windows, and a great backyard. 

Things I will NOT miss:

* Busy street! Between motorcycles, stupid orange Mustangs, metro busses, and everyone else I am so tired of being scared to walk out to my car because A might run out into the street.

* Squeaky floor...o.m.g...enough said.

* Crazy steep indoor stairs...really we should say we have a ladder to get up stairs and down stairs.

* One car driveway/garage- ever heard of musical cars...we play it often and I hate that game...the other option would be to park in that street...until you park your new car in the street and it gets hit and towed while you are out of town for the weekend...but that's another story. 

* Lack of good floor plan/space 

Things I am looking forward to:

* Chopping 54 miles off of my daily commute, and 40 off my husbands!

* Being in a good school district!

* Having a neighborhood clubhouse, tennis courts, workout room, and pools! 

* Living on a quiet street!

* Having closets! Seriously! There are 2 "coat" closets and a pantry on the main floor!

* Adding 1 1/2 more bathrooms...more to clean maybe...but I can't wait! 

* Having the feeling that this house is "mine" - I have always felt like I am living at my husbands house...I know it sounds weird, but he had been here before me, bought all the furniture, painted all the walls, and designated areas for certain things. Sure I came along and "helped" shape the house into what it is today, but I am looking forward to having more of a say in the decorating/organizing of the new house.

* Having more space!

I will say my biggest fears with moving is that my family will not come see my as often, 15 extra minutes in the car, and that we will have a 2 story house. I know that's a weird fear, but I've not really ever been in a 2 story house! 

Our new house is younger than me, and has only had the original owners since being built. It needs a little updating but with some new carpet and paint I just know it will look great! 

Enjoy some pics...old house vs new. We're movin' to the burbs! 

GYSTS...IT'S GO TIME!

Ok friends! I follow quite a few bloggers these days. I like it so much more than watch TV or reading magazines, and I feel like I have gained lots of new BFF's. 'Cause let's face it, if I read your blog it's like we hang out every day! (Really they don't know me from Jane, but I can pretend!) 

A few of the bloggers I follow are starting a GYSTS (get your $h¡t together September), and I am in! This month is going to be crazy for us! Closing on our new house, cleaning, moving, renting, on top of working and caring for a 2 year old. I need to have my life in order so I don't loose it this month. I might not sleep, but I hope to have dinner on the table most nights, and workout as much as possible (mainly for my own sanity). I want to have a happy and fun fall, and a happy family through all this chaos. Also, if I could loose these last 6 pounds I would be a happy camper!

So, here are my goals:

Meal plan- and make extras for lunches

Limit soda to 1x/week

Stay close to my calorie allotment for the day

Utilize the gym as much as possible, because come October I will be working out in our new basement and new clubhouse, no more gym membership :-( 

Keep up at work, and keep work at work- plan hard and work efficiently  

BE PRODUCTIVE, YET CALM!!!! (Is it possible to be calm when you buy a 2nd house and have to move?!) 

Hope everyone has a wonderful September! Why not work on getting your self together too!?

Oh, and if you want to meet my blogger friends check them out:

Amber- mother of twins who's lost over 100#- http://www.craftyhealthymommy.com/

NerkyMeg- single mom who has lost a ton of weight also- http://www.nerkyblog.com/

Holly and Hubby Jack- my local bloggers that are hilarious- 

http://www.thestanfieldclan.com/

http://hubbyjacksblogattack.blogspot.com/

My journey this past year...

I'm not sure if I can write everything I want to say in 1 blog post, but this last year has been life changing for me. On the surface I may seem like I have most things together, but inside I used to feel like chaos. Like there was some control missing in my life, and having a baby only magnified it. I had to re-learn my new "norm" adding mom to my list of duties. My house was out of control, because 1/2 of our stuff was packed up and moved to storage to try and sell, we had no schedule, and lack of sleep. At any time my house had to be staged and we had to leave for a showing, which disrupted naps and most dinner times. Needless to say nothing could be planned, I was tired, angry, and not in a good place emotionally. My number 1 issue with myself was my weight. Yea, I had a baby just a year prior, and I had lost all the baby weight, but everything looked and felt different.

On August 1, 2012 I downloaded the LoseIt! App and by tracking my food intake and limiting the amount of calories I ate each day I began loosing weight. I never knew where this journey would take me, but I slowly lost the weight by limiting calories (1500-1700/day, and having a cheat day each week) and working out. I lost an average of 1# per week, and hit a couple plateaus, some mental some more physical. I kept hitting my "goal weight", and my final goal was my lowest high school weight. Today I am happy to say I am 5 pounds lighter than I was in high school! (I'm middle school weight) talk about nuts! I am 37.2 pounds lighter then when I got pregnant back in 2010, and 15 pounds lighter then when I got married in 2008.

I'm not sure where I'm going from here...of course I feel like there is always room to improve. I already plan my meals a little better, continue to track daily calorie intake with MyFitnessPal, and workout daily. I wish I could curb my sugar addiction, and eat more "clean"... But those things will come over time. I recently started to use the HIIT workouts like 30 day shred, and Insanity on my "off" days (days I can't make it to the gym). I lift heavy weights, and am able to run a 5K without blinking an eye. My core feels strong, and I feel comfortable in clothes- and I can shop at any store! 

I have had a lot of support and motivation this past year and it has helped tremendously! Thank you to everyone who has sent me positive notes and messages you all know who you are. Lets keep up

 this healthy lifestyle and see where we are in another year! Until then, I'm going to apologize in advance for all the "selfies" on IG 😁 enjoy some selfie pics of me from over the past few years 😉

I have a 2 year old!

Whelp! I can not believe it! Seriously, when Allie turned one it was no big deal...she was only 1. Now she is 2....oh man is she 2. And really it happened so quickly I am in denial. She can't keep growing up like this! I can only imagine what my parents are thinking as I am less than 6 months from turning 30.. Eek! I suppose I am an adult now....maybe....

Last night when I couldn't sleep I thought of all these things to blog about, how much selling our house for the past year sucked, how I hate having my stuff in storage everywhere, and how I hate all these things about where my house is, and I just want to move....but I could go on and on...and no one really cares. I keep hoping our lives will get a little easier when we have a place with all of our belongings that we can live in, decorate with OUR family photos, have friends over, and just relax. Without the threat of cleaning or staging for a house showing, or dropping all our plans and driving x amount of miles each night looking at houses we might be interested in living in. This sucks...it has been our life for the past 16 months, and it will continue to suck until it is over...and I'm sure by then something else will suck. So for now I am done with this rant. It is what it is. 

In other news Allie is super cute and funny as always. She is doing an awesome job at signing songs, learning how to ride her tricycle, and asking questions. Oh the questions...I can only imagine this will get worst over time too. She picks up the weirdest words and phrases and uses them accurately which just impresses us each day. Her favorite toys right now are baby dolls. She puts them to sleep, in strollers, reads them books, feeds them, and changes their diapers. Her need for being more independent is becoming stronger and she has a VERY strong personality. A few of the workers in the kid zone at the gym have told me that. I'm just assuming she will be in a leadership position of some sort in her future- she is not a follower. 

We celebrated on her birthday by meeting up with her cousins at the City Garden, it was so much fun and Allie loved running through the water fountains.  Then we went and looked at a house (imagine that) and had dinner at Applebee's. On Saturday we had a BBQ at our house (i never thought we would have another birthday here...man was I wrong), most of  our family came to celebrate. I decorated with chevron and polka dots with fun colors.  We had basic BBQ fair with cupcakes and my sister in laws awesome cookies.  Allie got some pretty awesome gifts, a basketball hoop, a table and chairs set, an easel, a cash register, clothes, a baby doll, a mommy and baby matching apron, and some cash $$.  I hope this second year slows down for us all...but especially for Allie. I want to take it all in and enjoy letting her be messy, creative, and have fun at her own house. Which hopefully we will find some day...until then, enjoy the pics :-)