Weigh in Wednesday link up starting 1/2/2013

Do you have a New Year's Resolution to get in shape? Lose a few pounds?
Join Shantel and I starting Wednesday as we are linking up for Weigh in Wednesday!

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Grab a button to share with friends! 

Green Mountain Coffee- Wellness Collection

Have you heard of Green Mountain Coffee's Wellness Collection?I hadn't until BzzAgent introduced me to them. Luckily I got to try out some k-cups of this great collection whenthey sent me 12 k-cups to sample!

 This coffee isn't like other coffee out there.

• Launched in September 2012 with two brews — Focus Blend^™ and Antioxidant Blend
• Focus Blend^™ contains 50mg of L-Theanine per serving
• Antioxidant Blend is a good source of antioxidant vitamins C and E
• Includes only Fair Trade Certified^™ coffees
• Is available for purchase online at GreenMountainCoffee.com/Wellness and Keurig.com

My thought on this coffee was that it was pretty good. I typically am a latte/flavored coffee kind of gal, so this wasn't amazing to me, but it was good. I was worried about it having a weird flavor, or an after taste, and it didn't have either.  But I made a cup for my dad, who likes his coffee black, and he thought it was great.  Disclaimer: I received this product free to review for BzzAgent. However, all opinions are my own.   

2013 goals

Last December I made this list of goals for 2012,
and I actually got a bit of them done
considering the busy year we had! 

I got several of my scrapbooks updated and/or finished.
And that is a big relief. But I have a lot more to do in that area.
In January I plan to tell you more about the changes I am making, and my goals for
scrapbooking... that's a whole other post! 

I tried so many new recipes, and you can find them up above in the Recipes tab!
Go check them out.

I got my sewing machine out, and threaded but it never went any further!

For 2013 I have the biggest goal I've ever created for myself.
If I want to stick around long enough to raise my kids,
and see my kids' kids. And their kids-
I have to start with taking care of myself.

In October I shared this post with you. 
The one where it got real and I shared everything!
I am making big changes in my life to make this happen
and in 2013 you will hear a lot more about it!

Also in the next year I plan to actually use my sewing machine.
I've always wanted to sew things for the boys, but
Now that I have a little girl I have to learn to sew.
I need to be able to make matching dresses for her and her baby dolls,
and all the other adorable clothes I find on Pinterest!

Since I am talking about Pinterest,
there are so many things I find on that site that I have to make.
Believe me, I have a big ol' board full of DIY projects titled "to make now!"
And I plan on sharing those through out the year. 

I also have more recipes than I can count that I can't wait to try.
And you'll be able to find those on Foodie Fridays.
So stay tuned!

And last but not least,
I am excited to see where my blog will go this year.
2012 was great for 'Life as I know it' and I made multiple new friends,
and gained a lot of new followers.
I can't wait to meet more fellow bloggers!

I really have so many things I want to accomplish this year.
And it really doesn't stop here, at this list.

I hope you'll follow along with me
and share your goals as well. 

Are you looking for a new YOU?

Are you looking for a new you in 2013?

Link up with me every Wednesday
so we can talk about what works
and keep each other motivated during our weight loss journeys!

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Feel free to share, the more the merrier!

The best of 2012

What an amazing year we are finishing up.

We started off the year finding out that I was pregnant.
Coming off of a recent miscarriage,  I was beyond excited,
but nervous and I didn't want to get my hopes up.
But anyone who knows me, knows that's impossible. 

The next 8 months flew by-
We celebrated mine and then Travis' birthday,

then Zachary's first double digit birthday!
A fabulously warm summer
Tyler's 2nd birthday
and a flawless pregnancy. 

Our big excitement came September 17th.

We went to the hospital that morning for my scheduled c-section

anticipating our babies arrival. 

Since we never found out what we were having, this was it! 

At 12:51 pm, our beautiful little Summer Lucille was born.

She was perfection. 

She weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces and was 21 inches long. 

I was lucky enough to have Travis at home with me for the next month while I got back on my feet, 

and into a routine with having three kids! 

The past three months have been amazing. 

Zachary is loving the 5th grade, his teacher and learning so many new things.

He is so smart and doing so good in school.

He loves spending time with his friends, and playing his 3DS. 

Tyler has been working hard to get potty trained. 

He uses his potty chair multiple times per day, and I'm hoping we will get him into training pants

as soon as we get into the new year, and get him out of diapers! 

He is such a bright boy and loves to read. He is doing great at counting and getting down his ABC's

Summer is absolutely amazing. 

She smiles so much, she sleeps (pretty) great and is just such a good baby!
She loves her swing, her big brothers and can really light up a room with her smile!

Travis and I are great. He works so hard so that I can stay home to raise our kids. I am so grateful every single day for him and the life we have made together. I love this man more every day, if that is even possible! I love that we are now a family of five. It feels like we are really complete and I can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for us.

This is our Christmas card that I made
Unfortunately -- half of my words got cut off, and Tyler got cut off at print!
So I'm hoping to have a new one in the mail soon.
In the mean time,

Merry Christmas and a 

Happy New year, from my family, to yours

 

Resolutions in Motion

I've only been working on this goal for 6 weeks, and basically, I failed.
My goal for Resolutions in Motion was to lose 5 pounds, and I lost 1. Not really sure I can even call it a loss. Down one day and up another doesn't really count.
I have struggled with many things and excuses over the past 6 weeks.
Excuse #1. I'm breastfeeding.Summer is just 13 weeks old and I am scared of cutting calories too much for fear of losing my milk supply. I'd much rather nurse her for as long as she wantsrather than having to switch because of something I did. 
Excuse #2. I'm addicted to food.I mean, I don't think it's a drug and I can't get away. But I don't make myself step away. I really am terrible at portion control. I will dish up a small portionand then go back for more. And more. 
Excuse #3. I'm lazy.I think I pinned more fitness tips and exercise ideasthan I actually exercised.
Here is what I did do:
I wanted to stop drinking soda. While I didn't completely stopped, I've only had a couple over the last 6 weeks. I've also slowed down my coffee drinking.Which is hard. Because as a mom of 3, sometimes that kick in the morning is much needed!
I've added some exercise to my day. I found a couple of things on Pinterest that I'm slowly adding to my day.As someone who hasn't exercised in a looong time, slow is good for me.And I'll continue to add on.  I really tried hard to drink a glass of water before I ate anything so I wouldn't eat as much.Sometimes it helped, and sometimes I stuffed myself into oblivion. 
I know it's a cliche, but after the first of the year, GAME ON!

A day of Silence for Sandy Hook

 

  

Blog Angel- Half way link up!

I'm keeping this short and sweet!My blogger has sort of been MIA! But I've been commenting on everything I can, I've made her a new blog button because hers does not work. 
I'm hoping for some more things to come together in the next two weeks...So we'll see! :) 

Summer is 3 months!

I sat down a couple of days ago to start this post and thought to myself, "I can't believe Summer is already 2 months old!". After a moment, however, I realized she's actually 3 months old! 

I feel like we all say this once we have kids, Where does the time go?

I mean, Zachary is 10
Tyler is two
and Summer is 3 months.
I just can't get over it! 

Some things that I want to remember from Summer at 3 months--
You love your swing (finally!)
You were not a big fan in the first month of so but most days that is where you take your mid day nap

You kick your feet all the time.
I love when you do this because it shows me how happy you are!

You smile. A lot.
You have this sweet little smile that is just contagious!
And when you smile, you usually close your right eye or else it's at least squinted.

You love bath time. And you do a lot of kicking your feet in there too!

You are still a great sleeper.
Most nights you sleep from about 10pm to 6am.
Sometimes you wake up about 3-4 to eat, but most nights you sleep all the way through.
(Thank you for that!)

You really don't cry much.
If you are hungry or dirty and we haven't noticed, you feel free to give a little shout!

You are wearing a size two diaper. You only wore size 1's for a couple of packages and then we just moved you right along to the bigger size. (Which was funny because Tyler was hardly in NBs and was in size 1 forever then pretty much skipped to 3s) 

You are now wearing 0-3 month clothes, yet they are huge on you. But your newborn clothes were just too short. 

You are about 11 pounds (10lbs 8 oz at your 2 month check up) and a little over 23 inches long. 

You are a long skinny girl with chubby cheeks.


~Summer was having a hard time keeping her hands out of her mouth during our little photo session~

This little girl just makes life better every single day. There are so many things that I can't wait to show her and do with her!
But not too soon, I want to get every last snuggle out of her that I can while she is a baby.

Cheesy Ranch Potatoes

These Cheesy Ranch Potatoes are super amazing

These are so amazing, they could possibly be the death of me! Super simple too! Here is where I found them!This is what you do:Preheat oven to 400 degreesGet together a bunch of potatoes . I prefer the red potatoes, or even Yukon gold,but any kind will work the same!Chop them up into cubes and put into a 9x13 panSprinkle with seasoning salt (I used Johnny's) and chili powder. Stir to cover all the potatoes.Put several dollops of butter on the top of the potatoesthen cover with foil. Cook for 1 hour.Remove from oven and sprinkle with shredded cheese.Then add ranch dressing to your liking.Put back into the oven for 5 minutes uncovered,remove and stir.Enjoy! 

Next time I'm adding some real bacon bits! Yum!

Macaroon Kisses

Let me just get right to the good stuff!

 

These cookies are amazing! And found on Pinterest! Here's where I got them! 

 

1/3 cup butter, softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1egg yolk
2 tsp. almond extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
5 cups flaked coconut, divided

Hershey's Kisses

 

In a large bowl, cream butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in egg yolk and almond extract.
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
Stir in 3 cups coconut.
Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until dough is easy to handle.
Roll into 1-inch balls and roll in remaining coconut.  

Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.
Immediately press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie.  Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Cool on pan for 2-3 minutes or until chocolate is softened. 

Enjoy!

S'mores Pizza

If you love the S'mores Pizza from Papa Murphies as much as my family does
then you need to try out this recipe!

 

I found it here on Pinterest! I've had it pinned for quite some time
and last night it sounded delicious and I had everything to make it!

Here's what you do-- 

First you need to make the crust. This pizza crust is perfect and I will use it again for sure!
(for regular pizza and dessert too!)

1 packet (1/4 oz) active dry yeast
2.5 cups of bread flour (I used all purpose flour and it was just fine)
1 tsp white sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup warm water
1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees
In medium bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.
Let stand about 10 minutes (until creamy)

Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let stand 5 minutes.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan or baker's peel dusted with cornmeal.

 

 

Next you get together the rest of your ingredients:

• 1/3 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 cup Oatmeal (I used Old fashioned Quacker Oats)
• 2 tbsp Butter (softened)
• 1/4 cup Flour
• Mini Marshmallows
• Semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. In a bowl mix together brown sugar, flour and softened butter.
2. Mix in oats.
3. Sprinkle this mixture onto your pizza crust. 

4. Sprinkle chocolate chips across crust (feel free to be generous!)
5. Bake your pizza for 10 minutes

6. Remove pizza, add marshmallows and put back into the oven for another 5-10 minutes
    (watch your marshmallows so they don't get too toasty!)

Let it cool for a moment because it will be HOT!

Enjoy!

 

Toddler french toast sticks

A while back I came across this recipe on Pinterest for toddler french toast sticks
and I finally decided to try it out.

30 slices of bread (I used 24 slices)
1/4 c butter, melted
8 eggs
1/3 c sugar
1 1/3 c milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c butternut squash puree (I used pumpkin)

 

Preheat over to 350. Cut bread into halves. In large bowl mix all ingredients except bread. One at a time, dip bread into mixture, laying them out on a greased cookie sheet. Cook for 30 minutes, flipping once after 15 minutes. 

 

Freezing directions: Let sticks cool completely or place in freezer for 15 minutes until they are partially frozen. Place in freezer bag and put in freezer until you are ready to eat. To serve cook in microwave for about 40 seconds.

 

 

 

(Since I used only 24 pieces of bread and cut them into halves, I got 48 servings rather than the original recipes which got 90 servings)

 

Tyler thinks they are delicious!