Elf on the Shelf

POST 2 of the day!.....I had all these grand ideas for the elves arrival well....that didn't happen instead I was running around the house like a mad woman to pull out the few Christmas decor and the kids trees...What happened...

What happened? Well since we got back in town on Saturday I was too tired to do a breakfast on Sunday, so I was going to do a surprise dinner....well we went over to Wes' parents so they could see the kids since they didn't see them at all the week before. Guess who arrived at their house. THEIR ELF. Guess who arrived at my nieces' house. THEIR ELF. CRAP!!!!!!! I knew I had to make a mad dash before I got asked "Where's my elf?" So I went home and prepared while they watched the boys. Told Aiden he got caught in a storm ;-) Regardless there was no food. No grand entrance just a present and decorations for the playroom tree. (Presents: New pjs, Christmas book, and candy. Aiden got an extra paint book.) In the end Aiden was SUPER EXCITED! WHEW!!!

So finally (2 years later) they have names. Without hesitation Aiden called the Red/White one "Fred" and the Red/Green one "Tinkerbell". Ehhhh that's a boy elf honey, let's call him "Tink". "No it's a girl, see shes smaller than Fred but I like 'Tink'" (Can you tell we have neices?! haha) And apparently Tink is Aiden's elf and Fred is Brody's. Well alright

Aiden is really into it this year and it's beyond adorable. Whenever he finds them he's so excited!

The Grinch wanted to play on Day 2.This is when Aiden claimed that Tink was his not Fred.

 The elves found the candy cane stash and were trying to make a getaway on the reindeer.

 Needed a night to relax.

Let the battle begin. Elves VS. Avengers 

 Guess we know who won...GO AVENGERS!!! But don't worry Brody came to the rescue and tackled the avengers and ripped the elves off the walls......guess he didn't get the "no touching" memo ;-)

 This will be a yearly tradition. The elves will bring an ornment to paint/color or supplies to make an ornment. They also brought an ornament of their own so when the boys get older we will always remember their elves, Fred and Tink!

 Our tree arrived so Tink and Fred started by reaching the high up spots and were nice enough to hang all the breakables for Aiden.

 Aiden & Daddy's milk wasn't in the Christmas spirit apparently. Aiden requested we color Brody's red (Brody drinks whole milk)

The elves wanted their own stockings and gladly left the boys a note to LISTEN after a horrible night of NOT listening to Mommy!!! Santa needs good reports...

Christmas Spirit

I'm back! Our house has been filling up with Christmas spirit over the weekend as we battled an ice storm. Wasn't really as bad as predicted (didn't lose power, but I know some that did). But it's definitely COLD here!!!! Which I don't mind. I love me some sweaters and UGGS (yes you might be hideous, but you are so warm!!)!! We decided to not really do anything outside this year...again...just because it's too cold now and the perfect weekend we did have we were coming home from Florida. So that kind of makes me sad, but at least I have hung my flag and wreath! Compared to our neighbors we look like the Grinch haha! Oh well!

Our tree is AMAZING this year!! Best one yet. No holes and perfect shape....only problem either I put the lights closer together or our tree is bigger, because I ran out! AHH panic. I bought these lights 4 years ago. I really didnt want to buy all new lights. Luckily Lowes had some just like ours. WHEW!! I bought 2 sets, and after Christmas I'm going to buy 2 more sets....learned you can't have enough back ups!!

I hung the lights while the kids were sleeping and sorted the ornaments pulling out the special ones, glass, and the heavy ones. I got all those on the tree and put Fred and Tink on the tree so I could say they did it! ;-) (POST ON FRED AND TINK TO COME) Aiden woke up bright and early Sunday "MOMMY LETS GO HANG THE ORNAMENTS.....HEYYYYYYY YOU ALREADY DID IT!!!" Once he realized how many there were left that frown turned upside down. Man he was a great helper! As you can see the bottom of our tree is BARE. Only a few bells or nonbreakables down there.....Brody well. LOVES ornaments!! 1st thing he did when he woke up was inspect the tree and went right for a bell. Crazy boy!

I dont decorate a lot for Christmas but I have a few pieces that are a must and that I love. Like my grandmothers ceramic tree! Or as Aiden says "Mommy's tree, so don't touch it!" haha I told him I would cry if it broke, which is true. I added a few items this year to my buffet...Target never lets me down. As much as I love rustic, I love bright colors and when I saw the deers I was in heaven. They are plastic so they won't break, perfect if little hands grab ahold of them. The Milk and Cookies plate was inexpensive and PERFECT!! I snagged the mailbox from Walmart so Aiden could write letters and color pictures for Santa so Tink and Fred knew to take them back that night. And if the cold weather Kleenex is a must and they have the cutest little house boxes this year (bought 3). The wood piece on the shelf says it all...Christmas is about being together and that is important to me.

Lastly our little monkey is SOOOO close to walking. We can get him to stand but we won't take that 1st step. Instead he will start to fall to his knees and we go "No No!" and he will grin and pop back up...Lets just say he is a squatting machine working on his booty! ;-)

Time out

I've kinda taken a little timeout from social media. Deactivated my FB. Pinning less and less. Been almost 2 months since I've blogged last. Whoa nelly!! 

Catch up. I've been super swamped at work like every year.....our year end freeze starts Dec 9th so everyone is trying to cram in everything now. On top of me coordinating our Disaster Recovery testing for the year. I am one busy lady.

Then when I'm not at work I'm using all my free time to work on relationships. My bonds with my boys. My bond with my hubby. My bond with myself. Equates to one happy family. The 1st two were always there but I often neglected myself. I always felt so guilty bc I try to put others before me, but at times and in moderation you have to put yourself first. So I gladly take timeouts to go get my nails done, run errands alone, go to the gym, etc. Just have ME time. So that kinda explains my absence. Will I blog more? Yes. Let me get to Dec 9th and I will be playing major catch up. 

On other news. My fitness progress as of today I'm down 25 lbs!! Getting closer to my 2nd goal!! Slowly but surely. 

When I hit my ultimate goal (4th) I have a major reward I'm gonna treat myself to. Will finally look into having my varicose veins removed behind my right knee. What is your drive?!

I am currently prepping for Brody's birthday party, Christmas card pics, traveling down to FL for thanksgiving, and little elves arrivals....always planning. 

Lots more to come.....

Update

I promised I would update what supplements I'm taking...previous post

• Multi Vitamin---ON Opti-Women
• Omega 369---NOW
• Glutamine---ON
• Preworkout mix---Muscle Pharm Assault (Love the Raspberry Lemonade. If you like sweet Watermelon, but I wont be getting that again.)

I will be adding to the list this coming up month a protein shake for post workout since I'm lifting a lot more weights and my body needs it.

Progress? We all want progress. 4 weeks

12.1 pounds

These were super tight on me 4 weeks ago. Muffin Top anyone?!

My super fast go to dinner when I have no time that is SUPER good and healthy is.....

2 eggs. 1-2 egg whites (depending how hungry I am), and 1/3 cup of cottage cheese

 

Holy cow is that good!And when I'm in the mood for some carbs I'll cut up a sweet potato, drizzle some oil, sprinkle some oregano and bake it. Another good recipe. Berry Marinade.

3/4 cups of strawberries or raspberries (I used strawberries)

1/4 cup of white wine vinegar

1/4 cup of agave nectar or honey (I used agave)

1 1/2 Tbsp of spicy brown mustard

Mix in the blender, and best if left soaking overnight before cooking. (I used about 7 tilapia fillets for this recipe.) Wrap the dish in foil and bake for 30 minute at 375.

I pretty much determine my side items whatever I can get cheap, since healthy eating is a lot more expensive! ugh! Thankfully Kroger always has a few veggies marked down to 99 cents every week.

Say hello to $5.94 worth of broccoli!!!  I prepped it by already cutting it up, and dividing in quart bags enough for a meal and leftovers for lunch the next day. The containers were going in the fridge and the others in the deep freeze. Well over 12 meals.

 Carlos' party

 

I'll try tomorrow to blog about Aiden's soccer and his very first dentist appt......and maybe I'll get caught up on Brody's monthly statuses....hahaha yeah right!?!