I'm back!

It has been a long time since I have posted on my blog and I apologize (for the few of you that read this)...
So much has happened since I last posted and here are the exciting events:
*Aspen is going to be starting preschool this fall...three days a week! She talks about it daily! I cannot believe how big she is getting, and how much she is learning.
*I have lost 8 pounds since I started a weight loss challenge with my friend Erica back in February and still working hard at it!
*I will be running my second 5K in May, on Mother's Day, the Race for the Cure
*Titus is no longer a baby, he is a big boy that can walk!
*Zac was home with us for a month while on break from school and we were able to go to Breezy Point with my parents for a wonderful time away...a whole week...where we had lots of fun swimming, exercising, making yummy meals, watching Titus learn how to walk (he is so good now), and just enjoy spending time with family.
*Watching Aspen and Titus play together is such a treat...I definitely need to catch this on tape next time because it is simply ADORABLE, but it is so wonderful watching them interact...she is such a great big sister

So many things have happened since I last posted and I PROMISE that I will post pictures. At the moment I am on my husband's work computer because my computer has a virus, so I do not want to do much on that computer until I figure out what I am going to do with that. Once I get all of our pictures on a zip drive I will post them on my blog for you all to see!

I am off to relax right now though...it's been a long day and I need to get some rest so that I can go for a run and work at a garage sale all day tomorrow!

*Pictures to come soon*

He did it!

So tonight I went to a movie with some friends of mine and on our way to the movie theater I mentioned that after the movie I have to go home and make Banana Cream cheesecake for MOPS tomorrow. My friend Beth said, "Wasn't there a time when you needed to make cookies and you came home and your husband had already made them?" I said, "Yes!" She then said, "Well maybe he will have your cheesecake already made when you get home tonight."

She was right!

Tonight when I got home and walked through the door, the smell of cheesecake filled my nostrils up and I immediately smiled, said thank you, and gave my husband a kiss!

He again wins the Best Husband award!

What a week!

It seems like every time my husband is on break from school, something happens to one of our cars. Just this Sunday our van was sounding fine, as Zac drove both kids to church...but later on that day while we were out and running errands, every time we stopped our van was so loud...and I just could not handle the grinding noise. Immediately we said, "Well if it was going to happen, at least it happened now while both of us are home." For the next few days we put the car seats in the car and drove everywhere together as a family, to the gym, to my work, etc... We made it work, but we needed to figure out what to do. Our friend Ben, from college, cameover to visit yesterday afternoon for lunch and he offered to help look at the van to see where we should go with it, he couldn't do it that day...but he came by today and he said it was definitely the brake pads and could also be the rotters (I know that I didn't spell that right). We decided to take it to the shop just a few blocks away from our house because we knew that he would have the best price and he is such a nice guy...he has helped us with many of our car problems. We took it there and for the price that he gave us we decided to have him do the work. A couple of hours later our van is as good as new...and so we are just praying that we will not have to deal with a car problem for awhile!
This week has also been one of those weeks where I just do not want to go to the gym, but know that I do need to get there because I am not where I want to be yet. Yes, I am proud that I have lost inches as well as 6 pounds, but I still am not at my goal and I do need to work on working towards my 5K goal. It is hard and this week has been hard as far as running goes, but I know that I will get there.
I am looking forward to tomorrow night...getting together with some girls and going to a movie! How fun! I haven't been to a movie in awhile and I am just really needing some time with great friends.
Then Friday is MOPS and I just cannot tell you how much I look forward to MOPS days. I love these women and this group truly has blessed my heart in so many ways.
Saturday is a down day and then Sunday we are going to see Chris Tomlin and we just cannot wait! We are going with some friends from our church and are just excited about a wonderful night of praise and worship!
This week has had lots of to do's, but has also been fun. I love having my husband home and it's nice to have more "breaks" during the day and it is just nice to watch the kids and there daddy. I am not going to complain that it is nice to have the two of us at home because more can get done and I have help in the middle of the night if either Aspen or Titus choose to wake up. I also just enjoy having him home on break because he can just relax and have fun without having so much school work to focus on. I definitely cherish these weeks that he is at home with us and definitely miss them when he goes back to work.
I must get going though...it's time to lay on the couch and relax from a busy day and watch a fabulous movie, "Facing the Giants"

*I will definitely post some pictures, but for now I cannot because I am on Zac's computer for work and all of our pictures are on our computer upstairs!*

Down 6!

So on February 18th I posted a blog that my friend Erica and I were on a challenge to lose 5 pounds by April 1st. If we achieved that goal we would reward ourselves with a girl's night out that would include dinner and movie and our husbands would watch the kids! I was pumped and very excited and could not wait to get started.
Since that day I have been working out 6 days a week, still sticking to my no sweets, watching my calories, and making sure that I drink MORE water.
Workouts have been great doing an every other day system where one day we do one hour of cardio, the next day 1/2 hour cardio and then lift, and continue that throughout the week and take Sunday off (at least I do). It has been so much fun seeing the improvements that have been made. Back in the fall I was training for the Turkey Day 5K and I started running the 5K at 45 minutes, the day of the Turkey Day I ran it in 34 minutes and now I am running it at 32 minutes! I am increasing my weights during lifting and it is so much fun! I have really enjoyed this challenge and will continue to challenge myself.
So if you are wondering what "Down 6" means in my title...it means that I have met my goal of losing 5 ounds and 1 additional! I am so happy and excited! I am still going to continue to push myself each day as I workout as my next goal is to run the "Race For the Cure" 5K in 30 minutes!

Before and After

This past weekend the kids and I went away to my parent's house so that my dad and hubby could work on the main level of our home! When we first moved in we weren't crazy about our white kitchen floor or our white carpet (especially with kids) and so it had to go. Finally what was now our polka dotted carpet and scratched up lenoleum is now beautiful wood laminate flooring! It was a lot of trips to menards, staying up late, cutting, and working hard to get it done in a weekend and now it is done! I must say that for there first time of putting in flooring they did a great job! I am so proud of them and so glad that it is finally done!

It's definitely still weird to me to walk in our home or just come downstairs, but I love it! It's beautiful!

What a fun birthday!

Today I turned 27 and what a wonderful day it was!

Even though it was a blustery and very cold day, I still had a great day!

First of all, my husband and I both took the day off from work. My husband did this so that I could enjoy the day however I wanted to. What a great guy!

I got to SLEEP IN! Erica, I did not get to the gym, I enjoyed my sleep too much!

We enjoyed a nice breakfast and then ventured out to get a tour of a preschool for Aspen next year and fell in love with it and will definitely be enrolling her, she loved it so much that she cried when we left! Too cute!

After that the kids went home with Zac and I met up with two of my best friends that I have known since junior high. We met up at TGIFridays and it was so much fun. We just talked, enjoyed great food, and just had a blast! After our meal we went to the Mall of America. We grabbed some Caribou and just enjoyed chatting while walking around the mall...however, what was annoying was always getting stopped by the kiosk people, "Excuse me miss, let me try this product on your hair...it was straighten it in no time." Well if you already know me, you know that my hair is already very straight (and the same goes for my friend Rachel who was with me). It was so annoying and there was no way we could avoid these people, but it definitely added humor to our shopping experience. Even though I did not buy anything, it still was wonderful!

When I got home my husband had made a wonderful homemade lasagna and a banana cream cheesecake...both were super yummy! *And if you want to know...tomorrow I am back to no sweets and definitely will need to work out HARD tomorrow*

Now to end my birthday my hubby and I are going to watch a movie, my choice, and I get to enjoy another night of not having to get up!

Thank you Zac for being such a wonderful husband and for making my birthday so great! You definitely deserve the Good husband award! Love you!

It's time to be challenged!

Since I have joined our gym I really haven't changed at all as far as losing inches or pounds, and to be quite honest, it's down right frustrating. The same thing has been happening to my friend Erica...and we work out almost everyday every week! It's really wrong!
Today while we were stretching Erica and I talked about a challenge and if we met that goal that we would reward ourselves with dinner and a movie, and leave our husbands with the kiddos! It's very exciting and I am so ready for this challenge.

The challenge:
To lose 5 pounds by April 1st!

I know that 5 pounds may not seem like a lot, but considering we really haven't been losing anything for awhile now, this is quite a challenge that we are both hoping to meet, we would even like to lose more...but we are setting our eyes on 5 right now!

So it is time to really buckle down and count those calories, make sure I am getting all the workouts in, and just being very aware of what I am doing and I will definitely be using the blog as a way to hold me accountable!

The challenge starts today!