Ashes, ashes...

Both of my girls can't stay out of out stinking fireplace, lately. Brandon put Brielle down for a nap a bit ago and i noticed this on his back!

I am constantly urging Aria to get out of the fireplace and she gets so offended(as i call it) when i get the Low voice with her and say no. She just wails for about 8 seconds then tries for it again and again. Well, recently she's been pretty good and has kept out of it. 

Until two days ago when i went upstairs for about 2 mins to change into my gym clothes, I came down and this is what i saw!!!

(minus the cookies, i gave them to her so i could get a pic!)
Luckily, i didn't put her fully into her white and pink dress before i went upstairs. I normally change last and have them all ready to go so, i can just load them up and go when i' done. So, glad i didn't that day!
This pose was just so cute. I guess it's time to start looking for a cool fireplace screen!

So Far so good.

So this is what's up with Me and my weight loss.

I have now lost 68 lbs total. 

Since training with Nora, a period of a little over 3 months, i have lost about 22 total inches around my entire body. My waistline has decreased by 7.5 inches, my arms by 2.5 inches, my thighs by 3.7 inches and so on. 

My body fat % has dropped a full 10 percentage points in only 3.2 months.

and I'm now in a size 8 and some of my tops are smalls now!

I still plan on losing more and getting to a size six before July 24th (Aria's first birthday)

and I want to continue from there. 

To give you an idea of what i came from before pregnancy, i was a 10/ 12 in size and mostly medium size tops. So, i'm smaller now than i was before i had her. 

Still many more lbs and BF% points to go but, so far so good.

Sad news, Nora moves at the end of June. I Cried when she told me and I'll forever miss her but, know i will see her again and keep remembering what she taught me!

Some Family pics!

So this shoot was rough for us but we got a few good ones. Sarah did a great job but our kids were tired, we were rushing, i wore a maternity style shirt and Brandon kept squinting. So my advice DON"T DO ANY OF THE ABOVE. Make your family pics better by picking a day that is stress free and everyone is generally happy and not hungry, hot or tired! Wear stuff that's slimming, and OPEN YOUR EYES, nice and Bright!

 

I'm Back in action

SO as most of you know, I've been a bit busy. But now that I've had the boutique, made the wedding cakes, and visited the cousin(Jamie), I'm finally HOME and ready to DO NOTHING!(yeah right like that's gonna happen). No, really, I won't be making commitments to anyone for a while i really need a brake and i need to get my house back in order and so on.

So, this is what you missed so far...

Brielle CUT HER BANGS at Gma's house, while there for a visit. Betty does hair all the time and Brielle was just imitating her. It was inevitable and i find it funny. I'm not mad at all b/c it was three days after her Pediped Photo shoot(luckily). Brielle has also increased her vocab 10 fold. She's way too opinionated for me right now. I ask her to do something or give her the two choice options and if she doesn't like it she says things like" not right now, mommy" "i'm waiting" "No thanks, mommy" At least she's not yelling when she refuses. She's very polite when she's being a stinker! She also is
obsessed with swimming everyday but, we only swim a few times a week. Last week we swam and then came in and made melted chocolate chips with a touch of oil to made fondue! We dipped marshmallows, pretzels and strawberries in it and what a mess it made! Here's Our girl and YES, i added the smile to her cute belly. She thought it was so cool. "My Tummy is happy- It says MMMM, mommy" she says.

When i was gone Brandon told me that one morning He was asking her to get on his back so, she could have a piggy back ride down the stairs and she replied

"I, I Captain!" and jumped on his back.(sorry for the grammar error on I, I, i think it's Aye but, i'm not sure)

ARIA is doing great! She pulls up on anything, traverse furniture and her favorite place is the sliding glass door! she likes to watch the dogs and birds and it's her favorite thing to squawk at! She loves screaming in excitement and singing little songs. She's a loud baby and she so much fun. She now can Click her tongue and blow raspberries to you if you ask! She hold herself up with one hand and pushes Brielle's Ikea chair across the floor a little. I hesitate to give he the walker thing b/c i'm afraid she'll fall flat on her face once the wheels move! we shall see. 

She did great up in ID with me. She was so much fun to enjoy and tote around going store to store. Here's Aria at Jamie's Shower.

I'll post more on that later!

Our Big Girl and Our Busy Lives!

Sorry this is so short but i have to let you know what we've been up to. Besides the daily grind(eat, workout, errands, lunch, nap time, chores, wake up, get dinner ready etc..) I've been busy with getting all this stuff ready for The Boutique Market that were having at our place. I have so much still to do and on top of that, i have a 3-tiered wedding cake as well as 2 sheet cakes i have to bake(wednesday), decorate(thursday) and deliver on Saturday. Also, Brielle got a modeling job for Pediped Shoes( pronounced PEE_D_ PED). I guess i pronounced it wrong for the last two years. Oops! The photo shoot is tuesday afternoon. Then on Wednesday i start baking and it goes on. Aria is standing and traversing like nobody's business and she's getting the bumps to prove it too! Brielle is great but getting her last top 2 yr molar in, so, she's a bit whiney! I'm tired and ready to stop being busy for a bit. I probably won't blog for a while b/c i'm going to ID to see Jamie on the 14th but, if i do then great. More later(hopefully) 

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Love you Mom!

~C

Just plain Funny!

So, Brielle surprises me with how much she knows and i wonder, often times, what the kids at the gym play room are teaching her!

As, you know we've been potty training and i totally think that the naked method works for most kids. Brielle just wear a skirt or dress when were home w/ no bottoms so she can get used to the sensations and such and  yesterday i walked around the corner for minute and i came back to see brielle feeling "down there" and i asked her "whatcha doing , Brielle?" She candidly replied...

" I'm just wiping my butt with my hand!"  

I was RoLLinG!:)

what's up w/ me?

Lately, i haven't been feeling so good b/c my body is getting back to the Normal girl thing so, i've been a little tired, grouchy and the like. But, i am still working out hard and going 5 days a week, sometimes 6. Some of my friends are wondering when i'm going to get out of my gym clothes and my old pre-pregnancy clothes too! (b/c they are floating on me:) i'm sure everyone is tired of me showing up to things all sloppy b/c i come from the gym normally, that's my only time i have to run around before lunch and nap time. So, sorry if my life is a little disconnected and random. I'm just doing about 3-4 things, workouts, mommy stuff w/ the girls, boutique stuff for my shop and our upcoming party, and blogging on MommaSassy!

I am spread a bit thin these days and my life is totally unbalanced, my house isn't perfectly clean but, i'm getting done what needs to get done and trying to remain sane. I often wonder if other moms go crazy like i do but, then i look at my friends blogs and i realize, i'm not alone! We're all crazy-busy mommas!

So, if anyone needs something from me, show up at my house b/c it won't get done otherwise.

i just took on a Wedding cake Client for May 10th and i'm stoked to do another cake but, not really looking for new business in that field( she was a referral, repeat business)(no, not aseond marriage, another daughter, silly). It will be a beautiful 3 tiered cake with swirl details and chocolate ribbon and salmon/ coral colored flowers. I guess those are the stylish colors now. It's like the 70's are coming back. My friend who is the Wedding planner said her colors were Lime Green, Coral and Brown and that was in the 70's!!!

I am learning how to make these cool Baby Bouquets that feature 2 onesies, a boutique burp cloth, a pair of baby socks, 2 hair flower clips, a bib(or third onesie) and 2 hair bows!

here's the pics of my first one!

I guess they retail from 36-100. on some online stores and theirs don't include hair clips or bows and are packaged in some plastic or paper container.

I was thinking of selling mine for about 40.00 and i could offer Organic cotton bouquets, Fair trade bouquets, Brand name clothes bouquets and Boutique quality ones too! I

 will get better at making these and wrapping them and figure out hard prices before i put them on my Etsy store. It should be fun. Heck what's another project?

I finally put my clips on cards and i made about 20 clip sets this week. I really wanted to start sewing my goods but, i got satin Fabric labels instead of the Cotton/poly ones i thought i was getting. Hopefully, this company can ship me the right ones fast! they did a great job, i just didn't imagine i'd be getting printed ribbon labels. that's way too slippery to sew and i hate sewing Satin ribbons! And it's not as durable!

So, that's what i've been up too.

Now, here's a shout out of sorts to people i need to THANK this week...

Thanks to Irene for being such a great Friend and workout partner and her mom Virginia for watching Brielle while i napped on Saturday. Brielle woke up for about 3 hours Friday night and kept us all up. Then we all went to sleep around 3 and Aria decided to wake up for the day at 5:30. Needless to say, Saturday morning was a blur.

Thanks to Melyna, for taking Brielle to the park while i established my new bank account for my little store and the other things 

i do.

Thanks to Sharlin, for helping me with the Hair clip cards and for just being you. You are an amazingly kind-hearted and beautiful friend. I need to see you more!

Thanks to Kiersten

 L. and Hayley for your listening ears and being willing to send stock down to the Boutique Market. I'm so excited for it.

Thanks to Stephanie

for watching both the girls while i went to the post office. Now, i know about Click n Ship so, hopefully i can steer clear of that vortex!

Thanks to my Sweet Husband for doing so much yard work, weeding, sweeping and the like as well as helping me w/ dishes and putting up with my grouchy self lately!

Thanks to Nora, for pushing me when i want to quit! keep pushing me!

Thanks Loran, the electrician for turning our power back on last Sunday night when i tried to turn on the A/C, our house went black! It was only our for 40 mins but, it felt longer and it was the same night we took Brielle's side off her crib. We went throughout the house lighting all the candles and Brielle kept singing and saying Happy Birthday and blowing them out! It was adorable and funny. She called them Can-elles." It's a berfday party momma? i blowd dem out. them my berfday can-elles!" She is so much fun!

And thanks to all my friends who share their lives with me and all the stress/ struggles/ laughs and heartfelt talks. i love you all!

This week i look forward to making more jewelry to add to my store and for the party, working out, going to Talmage's 3rd b-day party, visiting with Steph and Cynthia, Kathi and Lisa and going to the RS birthday party , seeing Mindi and kids, Going to another awesome Lotions class by Free L. and talking with all my other new friends and old ones too!

~C

Brielle, as of late!

Brielle is almost 2 1/2 years old and EVERYDAY we hear her say something new and something funny or cute! We love spending our time with her after Aria goes down for the night, just playing games like Tickle Monster, dog pile, birdie, or just running around crazy! It's so fun to be her parents and I love this age, despite the potty training stuff. 

Some funny things she's said lately are:

While holding a tiny screw to her mouth "look mommy, i'm playing my bitty flute" I was fixing her doorknob so some screws were around her.

During prayer tonight, i told her to say "please bless me to go potty in the toilet and not in my pants" But she said " please help me not go poopoo in my princess pool-ups"

When she gets a boo boo she often says" i need a treat in my tummy, mommy, to make me better" and she says it with an adorable pout on her face that is sometimes irresistible.

She loves to say everything is Beautiful or amazing or delicious! When i was looking in my gmail inbox at plain old letters Brielle remarks" wow, mommy, that's beautiful!" i think she's used to seeing pictures on my computers all the time. Maybe it was just force of habit!

While in the car, she remarked to herself today by saying: "you talk good for your age" then she said to her other self " yes, i do talk berry good"- I guess she's heard that a lot!

She loves to help Aria out when it's feeding time and she will try to spoon feed her and gives her instructions: "Open big  Aria! No, like this, AHHH!(she's already bossy)

She also gave me instructions on how to change her today" Mommy, watch your fingers, you don't want to get all icky. Move the pool-up. Did you get it all? No more poopoos left, mommy?

Thanks for the play-by-play little sassy Girl!

Here's her playing in the Frinklers. She also calls sparkles Farkles!

We recently took the side off her crib and got a lock for her door too! Now that she can get out, we'd rather her be safe while she's sleeping. Who knows if she would be up in my craft room after waking, playing in needles and scissors and such while I'm downstairs vaccuming or something!
The lock is to keep her safe from all that kind of stuff. She's vocal and let's us know when she's up and done! 

She has been having tons of fun with her friends, playing at the park or in the gym playroom, with Aria and with me and Brandon. She went in the bitty pool (spa when it's not heated) with me and we had so much fun practicing some swimming techniques. well, i'm about ready to fade. I'll write more later!

I'm a little nervous but here it goes!

So, i've had my ETSY store for about 2 months now and i was really scared to announce it to all my friends and family. That
might sound weird to some of you but, it's the people i love the most that REALLY value what they think. So, I want to give a disclaimer right now... I'm not perfect and i won't proclaim to be! But, here's what i love to do(aside from all the other stuff) and here's my little store. Check it out and tell your girlfriends!

Since Brielle came to our family, i have been learning, re-learning and refining some of my crafts.

My shop will soon feature fabric items such as Burp Cloths, a few pouch and ring slings(not many), Hair Bows, and Baby Bouquets! As for now it just has Jewelry, Pacifier clips, and Hair Flower clips! have fun looking and please tell everyone (especially those who don't craft but love to buy things that they can't make). 

Tell me if you think it's retarded or not or what i can improve. Remember, I value your opinions the most!

also, I'll post on Brielle soon(too lazy to edit photos tonight!)

~C

Aria 8.4 months!

She's still growing but, slowly! I have to laugh at everyone who measures their baby's health by the dang percentile system. I get it already, my baby is small for her age! Who cares? She's just perfect and the way God made her to be. SO, all you new moms and moms to be- Relax, your kid will grow at his or her own rate and own time! Don't over analyze your instinctual maternal feelings about your baby!  And don't compare your kid to all the other babies and charts out there. Back in the good ole' days moms didn't sit around asking "what percentile is your baby in?" 

Well, my Aria is in the 100 percentile! Yep, she's 100 percent HER!

Here's her in her bouncy swing . Thanks Mom and Carl for getting her this last Christmas! She goes Nuts in it and, i love that i can just hang it in the door wherever i go! I love it that she's finally crawling and getting around and she is just blossoming

into this little person. She SINGS all the time when she plays and such and I now know WhY we named her what we did! I'm not just saying that either, ask anyone- she squeals and hums and sings all the time. It's a hoot!

Other than that, she's your normal baby with about 4 top teeth coming in and when she's not teething she's loads of giggles and cuddles. Brielle wasn't such a cuddle bug until she was about 1 year old. I wonder if that has to do with nursing or not. Either way, they are both cuddly and getting a long great, with the occasional mood swing. 

I'll post next all about Brielle! ~C

Easter Pic and so much more!

Yeah, so obviously i've been a bit busy with my many things that i do and with kids and working out and what-nots. I've been re-connecting with ton of old friends from college and making new ones sporadically. I know i have the gift of gab but the people have just been coming out of the woodworks lately. I've met all kinds of great peeps and i'm so grateful that they been put in my life to teach me something( i must need a lot of teaching:) Anywho, Easter was great and Brielle and Aria got cute toys

and Brielle loved egg-dying and finding all the plastic eggs with treats that fling everywhere b/c she would shake the living daylights out of them. Or just stop during the Hunt and eat out of one. 

She is doing great at using the Big girl potty with no extra seats and things and she tells us when she's went and 50% of the time she asks for Shocklit, the other time she forgets. So, it's becoming very routine. So, i won't mention it much anymore unless it's funny or crazy or something. Enough Potty talk, right! 

Aria finally army man crawls forward, which is great progress since she used to crawl backwards. She is doing so good with foods and getting around and all that fun baby stuff. She still has her two teeth and her hair is getting way lighter, almost Brielle's color. She's still small(16 lbs.) and she still wears her newborn shoes and booties and 3-6 month onesies or smaller if they are Gap or Children's place( not many of them in her wardrobe) I stick with the general stores that run good for the girls- Old Navy, Dillard's( baby gap runs skinny and a few other brands there), Target, Nordstrom, and H&M on occassion. I went to one of my favorite shops when I was up in UT two weeks ago. I found it when Brielle was about 6 months old, when i was up to visit my sister, It's called Naartjie (nar-chee). It's a New Zealand/ Australian brand that has such fun styles. colors and lots of fun layers. Aria will have Brielle's hand me down's from last summer to wear this year from there, as well as all the new stuff i got last trip. They have two stores up in Sandy and salt lake and other than that, i haven't seen them other than online. 

I'm still busy as ever and i decided to start doing a bit of Photography (a couple families and baby pics)again and i took on a wedding cake client for May. I just don't want to be too busy with all my many artsy things. So, i'll do a little here and a little there now and again. I made a sling for my girlfriend and some boy burps for another girlfriend and a nursing cover for me. It was a good week for sewing! 

Brandon has upgraded in his career. He's now working for Luxury Mortgage Group!

He interviewed with them a few weeks ago and now it's official- he will be handling Jumbo and Super Jumbo Loans- primarily! He's so determined and driven and i respect and love Brandon for his ability to achieve anything he sets his mind to. I love it that he supports me in my hobbies and interests and the fact that he'd do anything, if he had to, to make sure i could stay home with our kids- even work multiple jobs, if he had to. Thankfully, he doesn't have to and he continues to amaze me daily. He's an amazing daddy and we have so much fun together.

This last weekend we went to the Monster Truck Finals with Joey and Cachay and we had a blast! I've never seen trucks like that before and such a diversity of people as well. i only saw a few mullets and bad hair cuts- the rest were tolerable. The air was filled with dust, gas fumes, burning rubber and beer. The Sam Boyd Stadium was full to the brim and we even sat a few seats down from one of Las Vegas's local celeb-reality stars from A&E's KING OF CARS!  Chop ( the man with us) took his two sons there and a most kids, they were eating it up. I never knew trucks could jump like that. Also, a CHICK won the freestyle round- Dawn Creten who drove the Scarlet Bandit! she made the boys cry, she was amazing and she looks like a kid! btw she's a mother of THREE! Beat that!

Anywho, it was a great time had by all. 

*Thanks Cachay and Joey for the tickets and Gma and Gpa Christian for watching our girls. We'd rather have you watch them than anyone else. We love you! 

What a weekend!

Hey everyone! So,we had an event filled weekend attending the Mountain West Conference Finals Men's Basketball games, watching Brielle and Aria in a mini fashion show at Nordstrom, and trying to get our stuff together at home.  Here's a few pics. (Thanks to Kylie,Stephanie, and Betty and Clair for watching my girls! we totally appreciated it!)

 And YES i am glad BYU lost! UNLV has been rebuilding and has worked hard and both teams will play well in their brackets(hopefully). Sorry, BYU fans that you won't have much to talk about this sunday at church! Also, the annoying guy sitting next to me on Saturday- I hope you learn to not argue with everyone around you and keep your unwanted thoughts to yourself!!!

Brielle did great in the little fashion show and I held Aria down the little runway. Both had cute outfits on that i did not purchase! ( i got other clothes though) Brielle did a few ballet style leg lifts and a threw her arms in the air as she kinda sorta walked down the runway with her friend Evan P. They were both adorable. 

The down side is, it was at 8:30 in the morning and the store wasn't even open so the show was just for those whose children were already in it. And they only took a crappy Polaroid when i was thinking they were going to do some portraiture. And the SILVER frame that we were supposed to get for being in the show, was no more than a piece of matting board with a silver trim on it!LAME! The kids all got balloons and cookies and I got 15% of my purchase that day but, I don't think we will do that again!

Anywho, i got to hang out with My friend Sharlin, on Friday and i got my craft room cleaned(thanks Shar) and i made some cute flower hair clips, hung out with my hubby, put stuff in the attic(brandon did it)and started a few new projects ,like making a highchair seat cover for Aria!

Here's a failed attempt at a family picture. I think i'm cross-eyed in it!

Now, i know how all my friends feel with 2 or more kids. It's nearly impossible to get a good one. My friend Sarah C. will be taking our new family pics in April. I'm stoked because she took our engagement photos! She has her own site now too so just go and click on lvcecils and her blog will pop up as well as a link to her photography site! 

Well, that's what we've been up too! BTW Brielle is still doing good on the potty! She trained in about 3 days and she just does it on her own and has about 4 accidents the whole week.

I'm going to UT on Tuesday, so, if i haven't called you yet, Call me and lets hang out! I'm there till Saturday morning!

Here' s the real deal!

Hey everyone, So here's the real deal... I totally thought i only gained 40lbs when i was pregnant but i gained about 48-50!!! Yep. that's the truth. i'll not do that again and i know what i can do better next time. I'm just grateful i don't have a controlling, jerky, critical husband like some peoples men. Brandon was along for the ride with me carrying Aria and all and i'm so lucky to have such a wonderful man. About 5 weeks after Aria was born we had a family reunion in San Diego and here's me then. Mind you, i had already lost 12 lbs from the day she was born. Look at Aria's little foot and see where my belly is sticking out(b&w Pic). Look at my face and arms and just all of me.

I hate looking at these pics but it's a good reminder of where i'm not going again! I wouldn't normally show ANYONE this at all. but i just want you all to know my starting point.

Now, this is me currently. I 've Lost 55 lbs or so( the numbers keep going down so fast i'm sure i'm off b/c i weighed myself last week). I achieved  my weight loss by eating better, getting a good night sleep and SWEAT! (also, stay busy- you'll eat less, even if it's just cleaning or crafting!)I work out all the time_ i mean 4-6 times a week. Sometimes i work out and feel so sick, like i'm going to loose my breakfast! but it's been so worth it. Nora is an added boost to helping me lose it and i'm grateful for her and her experience and encouragement. She's a killer and i love it. I do my homework and eat right- just ask Brandon!

So, needless to say it's a drastic improvement. AND i'm not even close to being done. This pic is now my new before pic! Yep, I'm currently already in my regular size pants/ clothes and such but i plan on being even smaller- like when i was first married! I'm not giving you all numbers of what i currently weigh but i will tell you, i'll be 20 lbs. lighter than i am now and have better body fat %. So, ladies and friends, If you're struggling with your weight... this is what it all comes down to... Are you so disgusted with your body that your willing to do something about it every day? Sacrifice is everything. Your body and your Spirit are worth the effort! If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got!

~C

Update on the Potty Training!

Brielle is doing GREAT! She goes all the time in her potty and on the one upstairs too! Yesterday, she was sitting on the potty chair and i told her she could go poopoo too and she said "i did, Mommy" I was shocked! She had no hesitation, sure enough, she totally did her thing! She doing great and i am so proud of her and she loves doing the potty dance.I will post more on MommaSassy about Potty training and i hope you moms will put your two cents in too!
~C

P-day (another meaning!)

Okay, so it's not Prep. day for us, it's Potty training day!(or Pee day, take your pick!)

So, Today i had the novel idea of giving it a test run. So, after Brielle woke up from her nap i decided to put big girl panties on and see what she would do. When i first put her in them, she said"we going swimming?" I said no and she ran into my bedroom and hid behind the curtains. It was cute and i imagine in her little mind she was a little confused as to why she was wearing such weird bottoms. 

Throughout the rest of the day, I gave her tons of liquids and she just would stand there and pee the first few times and as she was going, would tell me. She didn't like the feeling and she didn't seem to care too much at first. So, after three panty changes and letting her run around without some on but, with a dress on, She started to pee a bit and then said' mommy i gotta go potty, now" so , we ran to the potty chair and she WENT! We of course were so excited and she got a Chocolate(which she has developed into not Clock-lit but, Shock-lit!). She also got to wear her tinkerbell ones b/c she was doing pretty good. After that time she peed again on the rug and one of her chairs.
 It was crazy but, so far i think i'll stick with sundresses and bare bum it b/c she seems to be more aware of her urges that way (and maybe we will spare a few more home furnishings). She's getting there and I think we will go half days until i the 16th. let's see what happens.   p.s don't click on these words, i can't get it off the link to the picture on the right, of Brielle. weird, i know.

As for the rest of us, Aria learned to say Mama and she is still little and fits in her 3-6 months clothes(which are now too hot to wear). Brandon is closing MaNy Loans, Thank Heavens! And i'm getting thinner, doing my mommasassy blog, i started my ETSY store and i will tell you more about that the next time i post. Aria crawls backwards and she is such a giggly girl. I love my little family- pee days and all!