Needing some inspiration....

So, I get home from Hawaii, and hit a low note.... really low.  It was so great to see Charles, but having to say good bye again, the worries of the house, and the "I need a vacation from my vacation" syndrome all kicked into gear at once.  I reached out to my comfort zone... FOOD!

On top of that, my parents left for a week to visit my sister before school started, and I was home alone- recipe for disaster.  I ran out and bought every trigger food imaginable... Cheetos, Chocolate, Soda, and I hit the drive through at least once a day.  Thankfully, I stayed very disciplined with my gym routine, so one I snapped out of the damaging cycle two weeks later, I had actually LOST a pound!  Don't ever let anyone tell you that exercising doesn't make a difference.  IT DOES!

What helped me make the change back was this day- getting ready for the gym, and seeing my reflection in the mirror.  I thought I looked pretty good!  But no one was there to take a picture- so I did myself. It wasn't the best photography moment, but it served it's purpose.  I made this my screen-saver, so I looked at it at least 5 times a day.

Today, I got ready for church, and pulled on these white pants for the first time since I bought them 3 weeks ago.  They fit perfectly, and the tank looked great too.  Just 3 more pounds to go before I hit my next milestone- 40 pounds.  I know I can do this!

I hope this post isn't obnoxiously self-centered.  I just want to document the journey I am on, good and bad.  Thankfully, what I SEE is GOOD, and I want MORE of the same!!!!!

The cutest little popsicles on the planet!

I found these little popsicles quite by accident at Wal-Mart a couple of months ago.  They are called "Mighty-Minis" and are advertised as "slow melt for less mess".  Sign me up!  Well, when I opened the package, I was shocked at how small they were!

They are about the size of my pointer finger, and come in all different flavors.  Mallory loves them!  And I love their size.... perfect amount of sugar for a 3-year old, if you ask me!

It only takes her about 5 minutes to eat a whole popsicle, and they hardly ever drip!

I highly recommend these to all you moms out there!  They are great for dieters, too.... just enough of a treat without indulging too much!

Our slight Princess Obsession.....

With this new dress-up phase Mallory is in, we had to upgrade from the suitcase I was cramming everything into.  My mother had the perfect solution (as usual) and set up this tension rod under the clothes rod in Mallory's closet.  We hung all of her princess dresses (at least a dozen) and other tutus, skirts, etc...  Now, our little princess can select what she wants for the day all by herself.

Surprisingly, she is really good at making up her mind and only choosing one at a time.... thank goodness!

I am really lucky to have been given ALL of these costumes by friends and my sister.  I didn't pay for a single one!

And Mallory insisted on the shoes being placed underneath "just like in Mommy's closet".

Have I created a monster....?  Oh well, at least she's a cute, sparkly one!

Baking for our Daddy...

With the new diet I am on, I try to avoid putting myself in situations where I will eat badly.  So, baking has NOT been a priority for me.  But my mother has been the hero in sending Charles batches of cookies and brownies while over in Korea.  Mallory LOVES to cook, so I though Banana Muffins would be a good alternative to the tempting cookie dough, and we set off on a project for our Daddy...

Mallory loves her matching apron and hat from Nanny!

I love the sweet little cherry on top of the hat!

Mallory carefully lined all of the muffin tins with papers...

"I'm sending this box to my Daddy in Korea!"

...but this bed is just right!

The other day, I was having a lazy morning with Mallory, and decided to let her sit up on my bed to watch some TV.  She set herself all up with her blanket, friend, toys and snack.

Awesome..... but where is JD?  He usually sleeps in until 10am or later.....

I looked all over the house for him, and guess where he was- taking the opportunity to stake his claim on Mallory's bed!

He has been DYING to get in bed with Mallory, but she doesn't like the idea so much- he weighs just as much as she does, and tends to lay on TOP of her somewhere.  He was clearly thrilled with the idea of having her little bed all to himself!

So, both of my children were happily spoiled for the moment.  

Now.....where is Mommy supposed to sleep again?

The only thing cuter than a Princess... is TWO Princesses!

Mallory always enjoys when her friends Ian and Jillian come over.  The other day, we were "redirecting" them after a slight conflict, and I thought playing dress-up would be a hit!

It WAS!  And Jillian was just beside herself!  She was SO excited!

Jillian chose to be Tinkerbell, and Mallory chose to be Cinderella...

Such high-tech toys the princesses have!  A laptop and a microphone!

Their sweet little expressions were priceless!

And afterwards....popsicles for everyone!  Even Prince Ian!

Home Sweet Home... for sale!

The past month has been so hard on Charles and I.   Just a couple days before Our Hawaii vacation in July, we found out the renters in our home are divorcing and breaking their lease.  We were left with the decision to either hire a lawyer and take them to court, or suck up the deposits and seek new renters ourselves.  They had NO intention of trying to keep up their lease, and the JAG was probably going to have to get involved, so we decided on the latter.

How did we ever get into this mess, anyway.....?  Well, HERE's how....

In February 2007, I was 6 months pregnant, and up we rolled to Mountain Home, Idaho.  SO MANY people told us what a great opportunity it would be to buy a house in Mountain Home.  We had never been homeowners before, and were excited to be "grown-ups", and embarked on the journey of being first-time home owners.  With big eyes, we reviewed our options...

The base housing was an option at the time, but the housing area was old and more than 50% vacant at the time we had a walk-through.  Plus, seeing Idaho in February was less than appealing, with the gray lawns, gray skies and bare trees.  I cried, sitting in the middle of a base house- not because they were so terrible, but because the cold, empty neighborhood was so depressing!  We didn't want to rush into anything, but there was no way to pause my pregnancy, so we looked at a few homes on the market and we probably made a hastier decision than we should have.  By March 26th, we had closed on a new home... and thank goodness we had made SOME kind of decision, because little miss Mallory decided to come 5 weeks EARLY and we were parents on April 10th!

Looking at these pictures brings tears to my eyes for so many reasons.  As you all know, the housing market DIVED about 6 months after we bought our house, and we are now stuck with a home- make that a HOUSE that we are desperate to rent or sell.   The thing we hear most often is "Why in the world would you ever buy a house in a location you never had any intention of moving back to?" Good question!  We learned THAT lesson the hard way!

But this was the house we brought Mallory home to, and this is the house that I had one of the sweetest gifts in my life- the long-distance baby shower organized by so many of my friends.  I have been thinking about that day so much lately- this house will always hold a place in my heart for those two reasons.

Here it is.... 2364 Trinity Avenue.  A sweet little starter home- 3BR and 2BA.

I loved all the little details in the moldings and entrance ways.

Oh how I miss my furniture and decorations!!!!!

The kitchen was AWESOME!  It was the one thing so many people commented on when coming over to visit.

Charles, Mallory and I ate many meals around this table.  

The dining set was the first big purchase we made for this house.

And how I LOVED the bathroom- with the walk-in closet and giant soaker tub.  Charles even installed a cable wire and gave me a little flat screen so I could soak in the tub and watch all my "trash" TV!  It really was heaven!

And our master suite.... HUMONGOUS!!!  To be honest, I would have much preferred to have a smaller master bedroom and have a 4th bedroom, but it was nice to have such a luxurious "suite", too.

And here it is- present day.  The trees and bushes have grown so much in the 3 years we have owned it. Every winter, we joked about cutting down that pine tree and dragging it inside at Christmas, but never did- it was barely half the height it is now when we moved in!

So, thanks for letting me reminisce and cry a little more.  This is heavy on my mind these days, so as I blog sweet little moments of Mallory or my weight-loss success, this is the gray cloud looming above as I type.  I hope getting it out there will be a source of comfort and working through it so I don't lose as much sleep.  

Because the market is so bad in Mountain Home right now, we have decided to refinance and hold onto the house as an"investment".  Although right now, Mountain Home is a little stagnant with the 390th Fighter Squadron closing down and nothing coming to take it's place.  We can only pray for a resolution soon.  Thanks for keeping us in your prayers!

Nick Jr.'s "Story time Live!" with our friends!

I truly have never been a huge fan of Dora the Explorer, but Nick Jr. (formerly known as Noggin) has been a staple in our lives for the past 2 years (for obvious reasons).  As Mallory grew older, and started to have an OPINION about what she wants to watch, Dora Fever was inevitable.  I suppose there are worse things she could love....

So, when I heard Story time Live! was coming to San Antonio, I decided it would be a great first show for Mallory.  We were so excited that our friends, the Cranstons were able to join us, too! 

Here is Mallory- all ready for the show!  My mother had bought this orange tutu at Gymboree for Halloween last year, but we have used it quite a bit throughout the seasons- the pink leggings took it a whole different direction, don't you think?

Mallory was dancing and bouncing all over the house!

"I LOVE DORA!!!!!!!!!!!"

I made these signs for the kiddos to hold during the show.

Grandma got to come, too!  Mallory was SO excited!

Jillian and Ian liked their signs, too.  On the back of each sign, I made certificates that said "Jillian loves Dora", "Mallory loves Moose" and "Ian loves Diego"

Jillian and Ian are always so sweet and social!

Here we are waiting for the show to start.... I got both families aisle seats one in front of the other, and it was a SUPER decision!  We could turn around and talk no problem, and never had to crawl over anybody else!

Mallory and Jillian were mesmerized by the show- so was Ian... but I didn't get a good picture of his face!  Mr. Mike was so nice, and bought Mallory a shirt just like he got for Jillian!

The last song of the show was "Shout!" and they encouraged everyone to get up and dance!  

You didn't have to ask Mallory twice!

After the show the kids were TIRED... but fun was had by all!  Oh, the things we do for our children!

Meet the newest member of our household... Cho-cho!

Allow me to introduce our family and friends to Cho-Cho-

Mallory made this home-made "Chia Pet" at Sunday School a couple of weeks ago.  It is the toe of a pair of nylons, with grass seed in the toe, and filled up with hamster cage shavings.  They tied it off with a rubber band at the bottom, and also used a rubber band to make a "nose".  Then, they had the kids glue on eyes, cheeks and a mouth.  I believe Mallory was inspired by the works of Picasso, or at least that's what I like to tell myself!

We got a sheet of directions and a cup.  The directions said: 

"Submerge in water for 2 minutes, then place in a sunny window.  Germination will occur in 4-5 days."

That was it.  Okay....we'll see if this thing really works.  

And wouldn't you know.... here he was on Day 4!

I think Mallory came up with the name "Cho-Cho" because she kept hearing me call it a "Chia Pet".

He had more hair on the back of his head because it was facing the window.

We couldn't believe how fast it grew!

Here he is on Day 8.....

We kept turning him in the window sill so he would have more even growth!

We didn't water it daily- just that one soak!

Here he is on Day 10....

Mallory was so proud of her Cho-Cho!

And you know, kisses make it grow even more, right?

OMG!!!!!  Here he is on Day 14!!!!! 

 (Grandma gave him a little splash of water last night...)

He even has cute little curly "eyebrows"!

Mallory was too excited to hold still for a picture!

More kisses???!!!  How long do YOU think his hair will get?  

Try this craft at home, kids- it is fun for everyone!

Dora's Birthday Celebration!.... But Where's Dora?

For those of you who were out of the loop, August 7th was Dora the Explorer's Birthday.  I never thought days like that would mean anything to me, but what can I do?  When they advertise the event on Nick Jr. during every commercial break for a month solid, dates tend to stick in your mind!

The local Wal-Mart advertised a "Dora Birthday Party", complete with party favors, giveaways, free cupcakes and a visit from DORA herself!  After checking the internet for the meet-n-greet times, I got Mallory all dolled up (complete with tutu) to participate in the big event, and Grandma and I set out for our day of fun.

So, to begin the day, we stopped by our normal Saturday craft time at the library.  Mallory made this awesome sombrero from a paper plate and styrofoam cup- so funny!  Her favorite part was using the hole punch for the string!

We all love going to the library!

Mallory's awesome little hat!

Once we arrived at Wal Mart, there was NO SIGN of a Dora "celebration".  We ran into a couple other mothers in the bakery who said they had been all around the store, and no one seemed to know what was going on with the event.  The manager hurried back into the bakery, and they threw together these free Dora cupcakes for the kids who were waiting... The purple Dora symbol on top is a little plastic ring, so Mallory was THRILLED!

Very long story short, Dora was a no-show.  There were MANY irate mothers who had 2-3 kids apiece screaming and crying when they found out they wouldn't meet Dora.  Luckily for us, we had tickets to Storytime Live the following weekend, so I explained to Mallory we'd see Dora live on stage in a few days, and she was happy with that.  I was pretty ticked at Wal-Mart, but I figured the other mothers were going to make the management suffer enough, so we just focused on having a good rest of the day.

And, Grandma to the rescue!  I hardly ever let Mallory ride these little rides- I think this was maybe her 4th or 5th time ever..... so this was a super special treat for her (in front of the hair salon).  Mallory kept saying, "giddy-up, boy!"  

So, who needs Dora anyway?