Weight Watchers

Tweet If you know me or have read my blog for awhile you know that I struggle with my weight. It is a constant battle that I always feel I am loosing. I loose it and gain it. You all know the cycle. Last week I got a flyer in the mail for free registration for Weight Watchers.

Today, I decided to give it a go. I went to a meeting and really enjoyed it. I also like the new way that they do the points system. I had tried Weight Watchers years ago on my own and had zero success with it. I think that I am missing that vital component of support. I am praying that the structure of Weight Watchers paired with the support of the meetings will be what I need to finally shed some of this weight.

Have any of you used Weight Watchers? Were you successful with it? Did you go to the meetings or try it on your own?

Easter Recap

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What a blessed Easter we had! We kicked off our weekend on Saturday when Hub's Momma came to visit. Little Bit had a fantastic time playing with all of Grandma's new train apps on her iPad. Grandma got to watch as Little Bit dyed his first Easter eggs! It was messy business. We tried using the whisk to avoid some of the mess but it wouldn't fit into the cups, boo! It actually worked out because Little Bit LOVED dying the eggs. We started with a spoon but the eggs were nearly severed so we went to full on hand in the dye.

On Sunday morning we woke up to see that the Easter bunny had been to visit! Little Bit pulled out each thing and investigated it. He took so much time in fact that we had to leave for church and he didn't even get to go through the whole thing.

We had a fantastic service at church. It was a blessing to watch Pastor explain the passover and the visual teaching was fantastic!

After church we headed to Nana and Pop Pop's house.What do you know? That bunny had been by their house as well!

Little Bit pooped out a few hours later. Hubs is such a great Daddy and husband that he took him home while I stayed and visited with my family. There was huge quantities of food including a brie that I made compliments of my new found French cooking classes. The rest of the kids had an Easter egg hunt. I was so sad that Little Bit couldn't be there for it but he needed some time to decompress. Here is a picture of my beautiful niece. She was feeling bad but you would never be able to tell. She has a sweet and gentle spirit. I love all of my sweet nieces. They are such a blessing.

It was such a wonderful day that was filled with numerous blessings. A fantastic celebration of our risen Lord. How was your Easter? Did you do anything fun? Did you make lots of yummy food?

A Broken Vessel

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Do you ever hear a sermon that brings you to your knees? That shakes you to the core and leaves you sobbing? This happened to me on Sunday.

I have been feeling broken lately as I had shared with you all last week. I have been praying, having devotional time, and going to church. Why am I not fixed? Why am I so sad? Clearly, I SHOULD feel better.

Pastor brought forth a clay pot and a hammer. He gave his testimony about how little things in life had broken his vessel. He used the hammer to chip away at the pot until only a little piece was left. At the end of the sermon he told us how God could now rebuild the spoiled vessel. In the hands of the Potter we can be beautifully remade.

The tears flowed and I sobbed in my husbands arms. I am a broken vessel. Many little nicks to my pot have left me shattered. Here I am standing in the rubbish but the wonderful news is that God will remake me. He will put this broken vessel back together. I trust in His divine will and can take comfort in His guiding grace. As strange as it may sound I can be happy in the fact that I am a broken vessel!

Howdy

Tweet Howdy guys and dolls! I've miss you all and I've had quite the week. Little Bit is still feeling a bit under the weather and I think I will try to get him to the doctor this week. I live in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia which is a gorgeous place but it is also HORRIBLE for allergies. See my beautiful weeping cherry tree? Lovely but it makes for nasty congestion.  I think Little Bit may need to go on Zyrtec or Benadryl. I have him on Clariton but he is still pretty icky.

Hubs is taking some time off from work this week. We are heading out on a date to see The Hunger Games tomorrow. I love it when he takes stay-cations. Even though he works from home he still has to work. It's nice when he can officially take a day off and we can have family time.

I've been doing a lot of praying and soul searching during my little respite. I have been burdened with a huge amount of Momma guilt for some time now. I can feel the claws of sadness on me. As I prayed about it this week and when the point was driven home by the Pastor on Sunday.

I know the problem lies within my own heart. Now that I feel I have started to scratch away the surface of the problem I can see the little crack where the devil is easing his way into my life. Satan will NOT steal my joy. I end this now. Only through the love and grace of Jesus Christ am I saved and freed from the bondage of sin. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

What have all of you been up to? Did I miss anything Earth shattering while I was away? Are you to caught in the bondage of allergies and pesky attempts by the devil to steal your joy? 

Taking A Small Break

Tweet Little Bit is in the midst of a cold/teething/allergies episode. It's not a pretty sight around here. My head is aching and my nerves are strained. I am going to take one stress away by taking a blogging and social media break. Have a lovely week everyone!

Pyrex, Fire King, and Milkglass Oh My!

Tweet Saturday was a fun day! My Momma took me out for a day filled with craft fairs and flea marketing. I got tons of Pyrex, Fire King, and Milkglass goodies. It was so much fun to hang out with just my Momma for the day. We had such a good time laughing and digging through piles of junk to find the treasure buried underneath.

I love the start of what I call festival season. There are so many fun activities every weekend and the outdoor flea market will be starting up soon. Do you enjoy hunting for vintage goodies? Do flea markets make you jump for joy or scream and run the other way? Is festival season under way in your area?

Concussed

Tweet Here is a little tid bit about me, I am clumsy. To the point that on Tuesday night I knocked my noggin so hard I gave myself a concussion.

After I did it I came very close to blacking out. My vision went dark and I went to my knees. I did this late in the evening so I thought I would sleep it off. On Wednesday I was queasy all day, tired, had blurred vision and I even drooled (eww!).

Needless to say Hubs and I spent several hours in the Emergency Room yesterday evening. Good news is there is no bleeding on my brain, yay! Bad news is I have a concussion. If my posts start getting strange and there are weird words here or there I am totally going to blame that on being concussed.

Tell me dear readers, are you clumsy? What is the most serious injury you have inflicted upon yourself?

Iced Coffee and Cabin Fever

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Little Bit is coming off yet another round of ickiness. Poor guy. This morning he still wasn't eating but was certainly heading in the right direction. We played, he drank some milk, and he still had a case of the grumpies. I even tried laying him down for a super early nap. It was a no go.

I was out of ideas. Then it came to me. Perhaps he has cabin fever? I asked him if he wanted to go bye bye. He said "bye, bye" and headed towards the door. We grabbed our stuff and headed out. Where to? Target of course!

One of the Targets in town has a Starbucks. The perfect solution to soothe my frazzled nerves after a long morning of whining. I tried to bribe Little Bit to eat some oatmeal. Alas, it was a no go. We did however have a nice time out and Little Bit was much happier.

Do you and your kids get cabin fever? Where is your go to spot to cure a bad case of cabin fever?

Happy Valentines Day!

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It has been a wonderful Valentines Day. Hubs gave me Dance, Dance Revolution for my Kinnect. I have been shaking my groove thing. Little Bit gave me some flowers yesterday, thanks Nana and Pap Pap. 

We had a sweet morning together. Little Bit played with his new toys that we got him for Valentines Day. Then Little Bit headed out with Nana and Pap Pap for the day. Hubs and I had a yummy lunch together at Panera, a quick trip to Hobby Lobby, and added a new line to our cell plan for Nana. 

This evening we ordered some yummy Chinese. Little Bit and I watched the movie we got him for Valentines, Kung Fu Panda 2. It was so funny! Then all three of us wrestled on the bed until it was bedtime for Little Bit. 

These sweet family memories are what Valentines is all about. Celebrating love and cherishing each other. From me and my little family I wish all of you out there a very happy Valentines day!

Tractor Birthday Party!

Tweet Little Bit loves tractors. L.O.V.E.S. Tractors! Naturally, we had a tractor themed birthday party. The colors for our party were green and black.

Here are the invitations:

Handmade by the Birthday House

Then I got to work making a homemade pinata. Look out for a tutorial on that in the near future. It turned out pretty cute!

To have a proper tractor themed birthday you must of course have a tractor t-shirt with a number two on its smoke stack and your name embroidered on it.

Thanks so much to A Chic Boytique for this adorable tee! She also made Hubs and I  "Momma and Papa" shirts to match Little Bits.

There was a cake but Hubs and I kind of ruined the decorating on it so there were no blackmail pictures and cupcakes in green and black wrappers. I had also purchased adorable little tractor cake toppers which I forgot to use, boo! A few black and green balloons completed our tractor theme. 

Lastly, here are the thank you cards that are all finished and ready to be mailed.

Also made by The Birthday House

I went for simplicity this year and I'm glad I did. I spent the most on the shirts but, I will turn those into a quilt one day so they are memory investment. 

Two Year Old Boy Birthday Gifts

Tweet Little Bit will be turning two in about three weeks. His birthday is way to close to Christmas. Christmas was excessive to say the least. We are a family of givers so you can imagine the implications of that. What to get a two year old who has everything?

My plan is to buy him a few things but also to make a couple of unique presents.

 

I am totally inspired by these I Spy Robot Bags. I bought some of the things to make my own today. I need to hit the Hobby Lobby for the rest tomorrow. Stay tuned for a tutorial on these guys.

The other idea I came across was a clothing book. The idea is to use old clothing to create a book for toddlers to practice buttons, zippers, snaps, or anything else you can think of that is commonly found on clothing. Pretty cool idea huh?

If your interested in how I found these ideas, I perused Etsy for the robot and stumbled on the clothing book via Pinterest.

As for the purchased presents, I have gotten him a Shake-n-Go Mater for his racetrack. I also want to get him a slide. He is about at that age where a slide is just about the coolest thing ever. Plus, I can move it outside in the spring and renew his interest in it. 

What have you gotten your two year old's for their birthdays? Do you often make gifts for your children or do you stick with the store bought items?

Merry Christ mas!

Tweet As many of you know my beloved church was blessed with a new pastor about a month ago. He is trying to start a very cool fad. Instead of saying Merry Christmas you focus on the reason for the season and wish folks Merry Christ mas! Keeping in that spirit, I want to wish all of my bloggy buddies a very Merry and blessed Christ mas!

More of the sickness

Tweet I am mostly on the mend but now Little Bit is ill and Hubs is starting to show signs of ickiness. What a horrible cycle this is! Little Bit has never had a fever before. He is almost two years old. I know, I've been one lucky Momma. When his fever hit 100 you better believe I was on the phone getting an appointment.

We are so blessed to have a rockin' pediatrician. I absolutely adore him. He is great with Little Bit, very realistic because he has loads of his own kids, and a brother in Christ. We got in right away and Dr. Robertson said Little Bit had double pink eye and an ear infection. It has not been a fun few days in this house.

Little Bit is slowly getting better. He was pretty happy most of today and he actually ate a little something. Now if Hubs can just stave off whatever he has perhaps we wont be a family of disease spreading Grinch's come Christmas morning.

Does this cyclic sickness stuff happen to all of you? Any advice for how to minimize it?

Sick

Tweet Okay on the verge of sick. You know when you start feeling achy all over, get a little cough, and a pain in your back where your lungs are? Yep that's what I have right about now. I'm loading up on zinc and taking Tylenol for the pain.

The thing that makes it super duper cruddy is that Hubs is on travel this week for work. Fantastic timing. I've been praying for enough strength to get me through the rest of the week. You see, I'm spoiled. I am blessed with an awesome husband who helps me with things like childcare and housework. I'm a lucky girl. I know it. The only bad thing is that I am don't know how to get by on my own sometimes. I guess the Lord is showing me *again* how blessed I am. Thanks God! I got it. Can I feel better now?

Pumpkin Patch

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One of the things I love about fall is the Pumpkin Patch. This year the draw wasn't the pumpkins but the tractors. The Pumpkin Patch has tractors everywhere. Little Bit has become the world's biggest tractor fan. Every day there is a steady chant of "tractor, tractor!" As soon as his feet hit the ground he made a v-line for the three antique tractors. All of the chanting ceased. He gazed on them with a speechless wonder. Mom and I laughed and delighted in his awe. So much pleasure from something so simple. What an incredible blessing to behold.

We spent a large amount of time admiring these mighty machines and of course pretending to drive them.

When Mom and I finally drug him away from the fantabulous tractors guess what was on the porch of the gift shop? Yep, a small toy sized metal tractor.

He did eventually see most of the sights at the Pumpkin Patch but the tractors were revisited multiple times. What are your fall traditions? Does your Little Bit have a strange fixation like mine?

Are You Ready For Some.....

Tweet Fall is my favorite time of the year perhaps because I was born on the first official day of fall. All of my favorite things happen around this time of the year. Everything sort of settles in. The temperature drops and the humidity heads back south. The days grow shorter and the leaves turn gorgeous colors. The fair comes around. Actually it is this week and I always think of it as the start of fall. There are wonderful festivals most every weekend. Of course the most wonderful thing of all... FOOTBALL! The college teams charge the fields on Saturdays and on Sundays the pros duke it out. I love fall and I am so very glad it is that wonderful time of year once again! What is your favorite time of the year? Are you a crazed football fan as well? Who do you root for?

An Earthquake in Virginia?!?

Tweet Mondays and Tuesdays are Momma's days off. My parents take Little Bit so I spend these days being the maid. I love watching movies while I clean. I like to watch them VERY loudly. I have a bit of hearing damage so I really like to be able to hear the movie when I go into another room.

Today I rented "Priest" on Amazon (we have the TV plugged into the computer) and I turned the volume waaaaay up. I was happily cleaning when the walls started to shake. I thought, that's odd and wondered if the washing machine was off centered. It got worse and the pictures on the wall shook and my whole house vibrated. I have never felt an earthquake before but when the pictures started shaking I figured it out.

Because of my affinity for loud movies I was spared the extra fear from the quake. See God likes that I watch scary movies, well that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Have you ever experienced an earthquake? Did it do anything more than shake the pictures on the wall?

Fun Stuff For A Toddler

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I am always trying to think of new things that interest Little Bit. Often times the simplest of things are the most entertaining. Today we played a few fun games that I created from things I had around the house.

1. Take a metal cake pan or cookie sheet and give your toddler some magnets. Loads of fun and it helps to teach them about cause. Little Bit was quite entertained by my bottle cap magnets. They were small enough for him to hold and they were not terribly powerful so he could easily manipulate them.

2. The second game we played involved a milk jug and some beads. I had gotten the beads in an attempt to let Little Bit start learning how to thread. It is a little beyond him at this point. I wanted to re-purpose the beads so I thought he might enjoy shaking the beads in the jug. He promptly took the lid off the jug and poured the beads out. I quickly scrambled for more containers. He had a very good time picking up the small beads and putting them into various containers. A great way to encourage fine motor skills.

I love simple games that I can create from objects around the house. Have you come up with any creative diversions for your Little Bits lately?