My Boys

I love my boys. Every day they are getting more expressive and just plain fun to be around. And Nathan regularly sends me picture text messages while I'm at work so I can see the fun things they're doing when I'm not there. It helps me feel more connected...thanks babe!

These are the ones he sent me last night. You know it's summer when....

Asher

Levi

Levi and Asher being guys in Daddy's chair.

What was it I said about them not being babies anymore? Oh yeah...they're not babies anymore.

Sad.

Kind of.

He's HERE!

Yes, yes, this is a week past due, but (as always) it's been a busy week.

Without futher ado, meet our nephew James Sebastian Grasso!

Thanks to my parents watching the boys overnight, Nathan and I were able to make a quick trip down to Springfield to meet Baby James. He is so very sweet, and I only heard him really cry once when he was super hungry. The rest of the time...he slept. And ate. And slept. And ate. And slept some more. Ah, those were the days. It was fun to watch Kate and Eliot grow into their new roles as parents, even for as short a time as we were down there. And it was so wonderful to hold a newborn again! I kept offering to let other people hold him, feeling guilty for monopolizing him, but not minding in the least when they let me keep him! Ha ha ha.

I'm sure other people have had this same experience...but holding a newborn makes it glaringly obvious just how big our boys have grown! When we came home, I was brought face to face with the fact that my boys are no longer 'babies'. Sad in a way, but you couldn't pay me enough to go back to twin infants. No siree.

I did have the opportunity to do a couple mini photo shoots of Baby James, although he only lasted about five minutes after being put down before deciding it was chow time again. Hopefully we'll go down there again very soon and we can get our timing a little better. Thanks, Kate and Eliot, for such a cute model! I'm hoping to get those photos edited during my weekend (Monday & Tuesday), so I can get them to the proud parents and show a couple of them off on here!

On the weight front, no, I'm not at my goal weight yet. I went up a little bit after eating so much salty food during our trip to Springfield, and ended up not going to my Weight Watchers meeting this morning because I simply couldn't sleep last night...I was up until about 5:30 am. Ick! I'm hoping to reach goal this week, so I'll keep you posted.

The good news is that I made a quick trip to Old Navy while in Springfield because my jeans were getting way too baggy and I kept having to hike them up every few minutes. Ladies and gentlemen, I now fit into a size 8 jeans!!! To give you a little perspective, I was in a size 18 jean when I started this journey.

And then I ducked into Goodwill this afternoon to find a cute dress to remake into a skirt, and found this little number.

Size 6. SIX!!!

I honestly can't remember the last time I fit into a six of anything, let alone a dress.

*Side note* Six is a very odd word. Look at it for more than half a second, type it a couple of times, and I promise you'll start wondering if you're spelling it right.

I did find a dress made of really cute fabric to turn into a skirt; size 14, perfect for a redux. Here's the before and after.

I'm not 100% happy with it, I think I'll end up shortening it a bit to make it hit right above the knee. But I love the fabric! I bought half a yard of white stretchy cotton knit fabric to create a wide top band, attached it to the skirt portion that I cut off the dress, folded the band over in half, and there you have it...a comfy skirt with a little built-in tummy support.

Ok, bedtime. It's so hard to force yourself to go to bed only an hour or two after you get off work; 0100 is avery awkward time to go off shift.

But first, a dose of cuteness...well...you'll see:

Levi rockin' the Mariners hat at Toys R Us.

Asher being...Asher. What a goober.

New Dress!

I'm on a little bit of a dress kick, have you noticed? I saw this dress on a blog and absolutely fell in love with it; from then on, I was on the look out for a pattern that would make this bodice.

I finally found one that I could modify to look the same. After that, it was just a matter of finding a fabric I liked for the bottom half. I'm still not 100% satisfied, but it will work! Here's the finished result!

The main difference I can see is that there aren't any gathers at the top of the skirt, where it meets the midriff. But that's ok by me! My second go at sewing with a pattern was much easier, and went much more smoothly.

Oh, and an update from my 5k extravaganza...no, it was not poison oak or ivy - all of my welts are completely gone. Thank God! But in exchange, I'm barely able to walk down stairs because my thighs and knees are so sore! No pain no gain, right?

5k!

Well, I did it! Not in an official race, but Linfield College has a great bark path around a pretty field, right next to Albertson's. Two laps around that puppy and you've ran a 5k. I woke up from my nap this afternoon full of motivation; at our Weight Watchers meeting this morning, several people got 5k charms for having walked or ran a 5k and my thought was, "I can do that, darn it!" Of course, not one to do anything half way, I wanted to run the ENTIRE THING.

So I did. In 30 minutes.

Not figuring in the fact that this is the first day we've had sunny weather in WEEKS. According to our digital thermometer, it's 79 degrees...in the shade. I thought I was going to die for the last 1/4 of the run. But I managed to run the ENTIRE THING. Afterwards, I walked into Albertsons, bought some water, and stood in the freezer section for a while. Go ahead, you can laugh at me.

The other mildly comical, mildly annoying aspect was that there were several parts of the path that were muddy, forcing me to skirt the path into the grass a bit. I've been known to have some pretty extreme rash reactions when tall grass hits my sweaty legs, and this time is no exception. Either that, or I had a run-in (literally) with some poison oak/ivy, since I wasn't keeping an eye out for it. Bummer. :( Thankfully, Nathan's mom gave us a great first aid kit that she put together herself, and included in that kit is a Benadryl Itch Relief Stick. I have a feeling it's going to be my best friend for the next few days!

I haven't updated you guys on my weight loss journey lately, mostly because I've been so focused on getting solo at work that my weight loss has kind of been on the back burner. But now I'm focused and ready to go! This last week, I tracked ALL of my points, and after a three week plateau of staying at the exact same weight, I lost 1.4 lbs! Here's the stats:

Starting weight: 174.4

This week's loss: 1.4 lbs

Current weight: 131.4 lbs

Total loss: 43 lbs

Left to goal: 3.4 lbs!

So hopefully I'll be reaching goal in the next week or two! I'm determined! And you better believe I'll be asking for that 5k charm at my next WW meeting!

And now I have two children who just woke up from naps and are squawking for lunch!

Been A While...Sorry 'Bout That

It's been a pretty wild past few weeks. Not to mention stressful! I've been looking down the barrel of finishing up my training at work, something that has quite literally been almost a year in the making. Kid you not...I started last July. Yes, that's a normal amount of time, but it was getting...old. Tiring. And after having it pushed back a couple of times I wasn't going to believe it until I got the "Congrats, you're solo!" email from my boss. Today, I got that email!!! What a relief! I feel like I can breathe again.

The boys have been a ton of fun, of course, but a total handful! They're so adventurous that they want to touch, taste, smell EVERYTHING. Funny story. Last Sunday we all went up to Nathan's dad's to hang out after church. The boys have become incredibly adept at feeding themselves from plates with forks; in fact, they pretty much refuse to eat without some sort of utensil. Well, we were eating hamburgers and macaroni salad, not exactly a clean combo; the boys had macaroni salad all over their faces and hands. Levi, who was sitting next to me, saw me wiping my mouth with a napkin and held out his hand in a rather demanding way. So I gave him one, helped him wipe of his mouth, and showed him how to wipe off his hands. He got it immediately, so cool! Of course, Asher wanted to try it too! They're such smart boys! The kicker was when we found Asher crouched behind his grandpa's recliner, pulling kleenez out of the box. He would pull one out, wipe his mouth, pull another one out, wipe his mouth, pull another one out...you get the point. It was pretty hilarious!

Nathan's sister's baby is due in three days. THREE DAYS! I can't even tell you how excited I am to meet my little nephew...although I'm sure it's nothing compared to how excited Kate is to not be pregnant anymore, ha ha ha!

My parents were good enough to agree at the last minute to watch the boys overnight on Sunday of Memorial Weekend, so Nathan and I could get away for a night to celebrate our fourth anniversary. At Kate's recommendation, we booked a room at the On The Beachfront Inn in Lincoln City, splurging a bit on the Ocean Room which came with a hot tub on our own private balcony overlooking the beach and ocean. It was a minor miracle that there was even a room available! The inn is actually a collection of four different inns, all catering to romantic getaways, going so far as banning children under 12 years old except on two floors. Love it! We stayed in ALL day and night, only going out once for a walk on the beach, and even brought stuff for fondue and wine so we could eat in. I know it was the most relaxed I've been in...years? I heartily recommend this hotel for anyone looking for a getaway with your hunny!

Other than that, I almost broke my arm on Sunday. We got back from Nathan's dad's house, I picked up Levi to take him upstairs to bed, and tripped over the boys' riding car. Both my feet went out from under me, and the only thing I could think was, "Don't let Levi hit the floor". So I caught myself with my left arm locked at the elbow. It was by far the most pain I've ever felt; I literally was rolling on the ground, almost unable to breathe, for a good five minutes. Fortunately, nothing was broken. I have almost full movement, but still some pain whenever I try to lift or push/pull, and I'm undecided as to whether I need to visit an orthopedic surgeon. It's so hard not being in Baker where I know all the docs! Where's Dr. Sandefur when you need him?!?!

But really...life is good! I was going to leave you with a cute video of the boys, but it reveals the "Welcome to the World!" present I'm making for our little nephew! So once he's arrived, I will post it. Now I'm going to head upstairs to bed. Night!

In Remembrance...

I've never had to worry about my loved one not coming home from a war zone.

I've never laid awake at night wondering where my husband is...whether he's safe...whether bullets are flying.

I've never been alone for months at a time, struggling to keep a home and family together while my other half fights for freedom.

I've never been an 'army' wife. Selfishly, I thank God that I've never had to bear that burden.

I thank God for those who have made this life I enjoy possible. The husbands, wives, sons, daughters, brother, and sisters who leave behind comfort and love to protect the freedoms of their fellow countrymen and those who are unable to protect themselves. The husbands, wives, sons, daughters, fathers, and mothers who are home with a piece of their hearts missing. And those who have given the ultimate sacrifice.

To all of you...thank you.

Ask me if I support war and I will say no.

Ask me if I support our troops...

And I will say...

Always.