Jennifer

Year Full of Changes Number One

January 7, 2009 by Jennifer 13 Comments

Over the next few days, I am going to be writing blog posts of the changes we are making as a family in the New Year. I am very excited to make 2009 a GREAT Year!

Number One:

I actually made this change in 2008, but stepping it up even more to make my goal by my birthday in May. I am very excited to share with you my weight loss over the past few months. I treated myself to a new hair do last night since I have done so well with my weight loss. I told hubbs back in November that I wanted to go shorter with my hair but wanted to lose some weight in my face first. TADA my new hair (I just love it):

Drumroll now…. Here is a picture of me back last August, 2008. We were at our local theme park. I honestly couldn’t believe this picture but glad I had it to show off my weight loss.

Here is the before of me 25 pounds heavier:

Here is me now 25 pounds lighter:

I can tell my legs, my stomach and my face are definitely smaller. I am very super excited to continue my weight loss and be to my ultimate goal in May :).

Bringing In The New Year with Pneumonia

January 2, 2009 by Jennifer 11 Comments

I just wanted to post a quick update. M and I had walking pneumonia which we are pretty much over with thanks to wonderful medicine. Unfortunately L got it Monday night when I was so hoping she wouldn’t.

Ever since she got RSV at 2.5 months old, it really did a lot of damage to her lungs and she just cannot fight things off well. We took her in Tuesday and they started her on medicine and breathing treatments ever 4 to 6 hours.

We took her back in today because we noticed her cough was not getting any better and she was really pale. When we got there her oxygen level was only 89 but by the time we left it was 95. They have put her on a new steroid that will go in her breathing machine and a new medicine, on top of her breathing treatments every 4 to 6 hours. They believe now, it has worked itself into full blow pneumonia :(. Just say a prayer for her that we can get this under control here at home and she will not have to be sent to the hospital. I have faith :).

Believe me, I have lots to share with you all of changes we are going through so stay tuned. 2009 WILL BE A GREAT YEAR despite the sickies!

Eco-Friendly Projects for the Whole Family

December 24, 2008 by Jennifer 7 Comments

Everyone knows that children need projects to keep their little minds occupied. Sitting in front of a TV all day will do little to help your child grow as a person. It’s important to find projects that you can participate in with your child on a regular basis to help nurture their growing minds. With that in mind, it can sometimes be difficult to find activities that the whole family can enjoy that aren’t expensive or hurtful to the environment. Not to worry, there are plenty of activities that the whole family can benefit from that are cost effective as well as eco friendly.

No matter what the age, no one likes cleaning up after themselves and others. Chances are your child isn’t above leaving his or her toys scattered around the house. Why not help make organization fun? Build storage bins and toy boxes out of recycled and found materials such as cardboard and wood. Even if you’re not particularly handy, there are hosts of tutorials online to help teach you how to construct eco friendly furniture. You can even use arts and crafts books to create eco friendly toys to store in your new toy boxes.

Consider growing a garden. Tilling soil, planting seeds, and maintaining a family garden is a great way to spend time with your family while also helping the environment. Your child will also learn the value of patience as they watch their seedlings blossom into flowers, herbs, and vegetables. Seeds are usually inexpensive and dirt is free! A garden is a wonderful opportunity to help teach your child the importance of nature as well as the benefit of a hard day’s work.

Now that you’ve grown vegetables and herbs with your family, why not put these items to use? Teach your son or daughter how the fine art of cooking, while supervising them of course. Knowing your way around a kitchen is an invaluable lesson for any person to learn and the sooner the better. Share your family recipes with your child and they will relish the chance to participate in a grown up activity such as cooking with their parents.

Take Time To Unglue from Online World

December 22, 2008 by Jennifer 39 Comments

These past few months, I have really put in some hours working to help keep our family afloat. Even though I have been a work at home mom since early 2003, it doesn’t mean we are eating bon bons all day ;). You are actually trying to keep up with work and your family. So essentially it is two full time jobs.

Well this weekend, was my full weekend off. I shut off the computer from reality and just spent time with my family. I stayed away from the computer so I would not get sucked in. I needed this reconnection with my family and disconnection from work. Let me tell you it felt sooooooo good. I would look over and see my computer screen black and it just would bring a smile to my face :).

Friday night we celebrated my big girl’s 6th birthday with just the family since she had her friend party last weekend.

Here was her cake from her friend party. I bet you can’t guess what it is? 😉

And mommy dearest here made the family cake. Let me tell you… It was a fat free cake from a recipe I had from weight watchers. It was a HUGE HIT. Madisyn would not even eat her birthday cake from last week and she ate 2 big slices from her mommies. What does that tell you? 🙂

All in all, I think she had a wonderful birthday. She said it was the best. That definitely warmed my heart :).

Saturday, we headed out with a BFF and did some last minute Christmas shopping. It was sooooo crowded but so worth it to get away for the day and just relish in the wonderful Christmas Spirit. We all had a good time I believe.

The night was ended with my little family all curled up on the couch watching the DVD Christmas Shoes. We all did not move the whole movie. It was intense but really great movie to watch this time of year. I just love my little family.

Sunday was spent just baking goodies for the big Christmas day, cooking a deer roast that my hubbs was oh so kind to get for us this week ;). It turned out delicious. We ended the night with going through our town’s resort of Christmas lights.

You know I feel like my family needed this reconnection from mommy working so much. We need to unglue from the online world every once in awhile and just focus time on our families. They need us more than the online world needs us. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the online world and do miss when I am away. It’s just good to take a break as well.

Merry Christmas to all my online buddies. I do love you all and Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas filled week!

Parents Look At Me Camera

December 19, 2008 by Jennifer 3 Comments

Did you know that Parents.com has their own line of toys? They are sold exclusively at Target.com

The Parents toys have garnered over 52 awards so that shows you they are a real treat in the eyes of children. We had the opportunity to review the Look at Me Camera from their toy line.

This camera is actually great for children 12 months and up, but I have to tell you my 4 year old is just loving it. She loves taking pictures and since it has the realistic shutter sound, she just thinks she is the hottest new photographer. She will go around and say cheese, say christmas tree, say chicken nuggets all the while cracking us up.

Since children 12 months and on love to imaginary play, this is a great toy for them so they can act just like mommy. You know our children look up to us so much.

The price is great at $9.99 and it already includes the batteries. You cannot beat that ;). So go grab one now and use them as great stocking stuffers.

Jennifer

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