I used a plan thought up by Rachel (post is here) that has worked almost perfectly for us.  Within this month, we have essentially finished our entire list of projects, with the exception of our garage.  Everything that is leaving the house has been moved to the garage (or the trash) and needs to be loaded into the car for a trip to Goodwill this week.

One of the biggest fixes for me was one of the smallest things (funny how that actually works!):  I finally sat down yesterday and hemmed my living room curtains!  It took me all of 10 minutes to pin the curtains and run them through the sewing machine.  I’m obviously not a professional seamstress, but I was pretty darn thrilled at my quick fix…

Before:

And after:

Not too shabby, huh?  It was one of those small, needed fixes that made a huge difference in what my living room looks like.  I no longer cringe when I glance at the windows.

This wasn’t on my list, but because I am cheap and lazy frugal and creative,  I found these scraps given to me by my mom (these scraps are fairly old since I remember them being around when I was young!) and voila, instant curtain tie-backs.  They may not match, but I don’t mind.  At least the curtains are properly restrained ;o)

Do you have an organizing or cleaning goals/ resolutions for this year?  What are they?  Have you accomplished any yet?  I’d love to hear!  I can always use some extra inspiration :o)

The above photo is at exactly 4 years old (she’s sleeping, as she was born in the middle of the night!) 

Where have the years gone?

(this is the outfit she chose to wear in the morning, but she changed soon after since the straps kept slipping)

When she was first born, I held her in my arms, with so many hopes and dreams for a bright future.

Her intelligence constantly amazes me, her jokes keep me smiling, her creativity astounds me (in a good way!).

Happy 4th birthday, Princess :)

(Ariana told me that this picture “has to be there because my hair is silly!” Can’t argue with that!) 

Whether it’s breakfast with all three of my loves, just me and the girls or a quiet moment alone with tea or coffee, the best part of waking up for me is enjoying the calm, slow-paced, relaxing first hours of the day.  While I’m not a morning person, I make the most out of it each day, otherwise the day inevitably starts on a bad note and it’s hard to improve on it!

What’s the best part of waking up for you? 

I was feeling lazy, so my ginger cookies were larger than I’d normally make, but they are just as good!  The smaller you make them, the more ‘ginger snap like’ they become.

I know they look like peanut butter cookies, but that’s just how I prefer to make mine.

Preheat oven to 350*.  If you are making large cookies, line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper.  If you are making small cookies, you will need more than 3 (or you can rotate the sheets you have, I just happen to have 3).

Whisk together in a medium bowl:
*2 1/4c flour
*1t baking soda
*2T ground ginger
*3/4t cinnamon
*1/2t cloves
*1/4t salt 
After whisking, set bowl aside.

In a large bowl, beat together:
*3/4c softened butter (or 1/2c butter + 1/4c coconut oil)
*3/4c sugar
Beat in 1 egg.
Stir in 1/4c molasses + 1T water.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine.  Roll dough into 1/2 inch balls for small cookies or 1 inch balls for larger cookies.  Place on parchment-lined cookie sheet, about 1-2 inches apart.  Flatten gently with a sugared-fork (dip fork in sugar between each cookie).  Dust with sugar if desired.

Bake 8-10 minutes.  Cool on sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.

((Oh and try not to eat all the cookies in one sitting!))

Ariana’s months in the bassinet seemed to suddenly give way to a pack-n-play, crib & eventually a toddler bed.  I knew that her time in the toddler bed would be limited, but it was still too soon that we bought her a twin mattress and box spring.

This twin bed set (minus the mattress and box spring of course!) was my mother’s as well as mine.  Passing it down to my nearly four year old was very special to both myself and my mom.  Ariana picked sheets out of the linen closet and asked if she could have my old blue comforter as well as her pink toddler comforter.

It was hard to tuck my little girl into such a large bed, but she immediately snuggled down and slept solidly all night… an added bonus: she has even been sleeping in :)

Before I know it, Harper will have a big girl bed of her own… sigh! :)

After reading “15 New Year’s Resolutions My 2yo Should Make” at Mommy Shorts, I couldn’t help but dwell on and write the resolutions my girls should make.

Ariana’s Resolutions:

1. I will stop hiding dollhouse toys in my pillowcase in hopes that Mommy doesn’t notice before she leaves the room at night.

2. Instead of saying “I’m not hungry” after not taking a single bite of the food I insist Mommy make for me, I will try at least three bites.  I will also not try to hide food in my bib, since Mommy will notice after 2.5 seconds anyway.

3.  When someone tells me “let’s play a different/ quiet/ sit-down game”, I will listen to their suggestions rather than dramatically throwing myself on the floor or ignoring what they say.

4. The TV is not a mirror and I will stop hitting it as I pretend to clean it.

5. I will stop trying to have seven toys in the car seat with me when we get in the car for a quick ride to the store.  I will also not intentionally throw all my toys on the floor of the car and then holler that I don’t have anything to play with.

Harper’s Resolutions:

1. After touching a public bathroom floor, I will let Mommy and Daddy wash my hands rather than attempting to put them in or near my mouth.

2.  I will stop demanding to watch Cupcake Wars after being told ten times that it is not on TV at the moment.

3. Instead of following Mommy and Daddy into the bathroom and asking “what are you doing?”, I will give them a few minutes of privacy.

4.  I will stop insisting that Mommy do things for me when Daddy takes over because A. Daddy is just as capable as Mommy and B. I realize that Mommy likes to sit down for more than four seconds at a time.

5.  When I ask to have my hair done in fun ponytails and clips, I will leave it in for more than 5 minutes without touching, tugging or ripping it all out.

If your kids had resolutions, what would they be?

The best part of the group is the support.  Each post, each person gets plenty of encouragement, whether the post is about an accomplishment, a failure or a question.  Is it any wonder I love being part of it?

My assumption is that weight loss is in the Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions that people make each year.  Last year and the year before, my resolutions were to lose the weight that I gained over the course of my first two pregnancies (a total weight gain of 110 pounds).  There were only about 5-6 months between my pregnancies (the girls were born 14 months apart), so I didn’t have the opportunity to lose the weight I put on before the next baby was on the way.

Although I can’t do much about workouts until after baby #3 arrives, I can still offer support and encouragement to those who support me in all aspects of life.

So this is my big, shining moment, to offer my blog followers & twitter friends this bit of weight loss inspiration…

If the text on the photos is hard to read, the photo on the left is me at my heaviest, 253.3 pounds. Terry says I am hardly recognizable in the photo, but it is definitely me.  The photo on the right is 1.5 years later, 115 pounds lighter, at 136 pounds (side note: do you have any idea how hard it is to get up the courage to post this on my blog?!).

What worked for me won’t work for everyone.  It’s a process to discover what works for you, your body, your schedule.  But that doesn’t stop me from telling you what I did.  Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or professional by any means.  These are my methods and I do not recommend that you follow my plan without first talking to a doctor and determining healthy goals for yourself.

How I did it:

1. I set a goal weight for myself.  Originally, my goal was 145 pounds, but as I lost weight, I changed my goal to better fit my needs and desires.  I also set intermittent, smaller goals (i.e. 225 lbs, then 200 lbs, etc.) to help me focus on one bit of weight at a time.

2. I stopped procrastinating.  Instead of “oh, I’ll do XY&Z later”, I did it that day.  If I was planning to walk, I made it happen.  If I was planning to drink a protein shake instead of eating cake, I did it.

3.  I exercised.  I started by walking for specific amounts of time, then changed it to distance and gradually added more miles.  I eventually moved from walking to a combination walk & jog, then a jog, and finally jog/ run.  I was able to run 3.1 miles fairly easily after I got under 175 pounds.

4.  I was consistent.  I hung a picture of my skinny self on the fridge as motivation and reminded myself every day that I had a goal and I could do it.  There was no IF I lose the weight, it was WHEN.  I worked and worked and kept going, even when it was hard.

5.  I never expected perfection.  I ate cake, popcorn, cookies, etc.  I wasn’t going to deprive myself.  The key: moderation.  Instead of an entire bag of popcorn, I split it with Terry.  I stopped adding extra butter on top.  I had one cookie, not seven.  I let myself enjoy a treat here and there & I counted it as part of my calorie intake.

So there are the basics for me, from me.  That’s a good part of how I did it.  I’m sure I could write a novel on every detail of the changes I made, but this blog post is getting too long already ;)

For those of you looking to lose weight, I hope you find your inspiration soon! <3

I’ve read many blogs about “finding a word for 2012.”  The thought fascinated me- a word to live by for an entire year?  How can you possibly narrow down the possibilities to find a word that is all-encompassing for a full 366 days?

As I read, I considered some of the words that the writers chose:
Yes.  Breathe.  Happy.  Strong. 

All were good, but I can’t imagine saying “Yes” to everything over the next 12 months.  A reminder to breathe?  If my body can’t handle that without me telling it to, then I may have problems.  I can’t guarantee four seasons of happiness or strength.

I’m not one to give up however!  Certainly there is a word out there that I focus on, something that I can use in the rhythm of my (and my family’s!) life and path for 2012.

I realized that there is no single word that I can use, no matter how hard I try.  I was, however, able to come up with a list that I should be able to use in a variety of situations…

Focus.

Rhythm.

Calm.

Inspire.

Create.

Love.

Although I’m sure I could come up with a dozen more words, those are the ones that really resonate with me at the moment.

If you had to narrow it down to one word, could you?  What would your word(s) be?