Weight Loss Tracker Craft

I found a craft through Pinterest to help keep track to meeting your weight loss goal and I thought it was super cute. The cool thing is that you don't necessarily have to use pounds like I did. If your goal is inches, body fat %, or any other quantifiable goal.

What you will need:

Used candle jar
Oil-based Sharpie
Marbles
Printer

The Process:

I started with a candle. My favorite from this fall/winter has been Fresh Apple Butter (but that's irrelevant). Take off the label (The Better Homes ones peel right off with no residue. Once you're done with the candle and it is cooled, put it in your freezer for a couple of hours. I believe it was weeks before I decided what I wanted to do with the container, so it was way cooled down.

Once it's frozen, tip the jar over and the leftover wax/wick will slid right out. Because my jar's top was smaller than the bottom, I had to poke the frozen wax with a knife to break it in two piece.

I then just used glass cleaner to get the soot and any wax residue out to make them perfectly clean. I used the two smaller ones for this project (but will be looking for another one for the larger one.

From Hobby Lobby, I bought oil-based Sharpies. The regular Sharpies can be washed off and I wanted it to be permanently fixed onto the glass. I also bought clear marbles, but you could use anything for the inside. I found a font I liked on Microsoft Word and printed out the words in a gray ink (so that I didn't use much of our ink since it won't be used for long).

I then taped the printed words into the inside of the jar (that's why the jar needs to be clear). Sorry I don't have any pictures of this, but you literally just tape it on the inside. Then you trace over your printed paper with the Sharpie.

I used two jars - one is "Pounds To Go" and one is "Pounds Lost". I put the number of marbles of pounds I would like to lose in the "Pounds To Go" jar. I've put them in the bathroom on the counter next to the scale so that I can move the marbles each week when I weigh myself.

The Result:

It's All Adam And Kirby

This week has really all been about Adam and Kirby. Their relationship has just blossomed and they love playing (and getting in trouble) with each other. We spent a good portion of the week just playing at home and enjoying each other's company.

This weekend my parents came over and spent some time with us.They originally were only going to stay a couple of hours and get back home to cook dinner for my brother who was going to visit. However, they were still over when my brother left work, so we just invited him over too and all had dinner at our favorite BBQ restaurant.

This morning we decided to go visit Nana (my mom) at her preschool, have lunch, and list the old prom dresses online that are in their basement. These dresses are from my sisters and my proms between 8-12 years ago, so it's about time they get out of the basement, so we're hoping to sell them since they've literally only been worn once. Anyway, we spent the entire day her and got home in just enough time to cook dinner for Rusty.

I've been planning on finishing up several of my craft projects the next coming weeks... so expect some posts about that in the near future.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

What a beautiful week it turned out to be! It has seriously rained or been cloudy for weeks. I feel like everyone in the entire state has been in a grumpy mood because of it too! Well, lucky for us the sun decided to come out this weekend and it has been between 50-60 degrees - and I love it!

Adam learned to wave last Thursday and it is one of the cutest things I've ever seen. It's like he can't believe he's doing it and just looks at his hand.

Saturday, Rusty and I attended a wedding for a friend that Rusty knows from college. The bride seriously couldn't have chosen a better dress. It fit her like a glove and the ivory was perfect with her skin tone. The reception was at The Trolley Barn - with BBQ for dinner and a hot chocolate bar. We enjoyed ourselves so much and got to see a lot of friends. Memaw watched Adam, so we didn't have to stress about him and getting home for bedtime.

We got to go to church, which we haven't been able to do for a couple of weeks. Adam wore a shirt he got for Christmas and he looked so much more like Rusty, if that's even possible. Sunday afternoon, Grandpa and Grammy came over to spend some time with Adam. For not having a morning nap, Adam was in a great mood and loved being in Grammy's lap.

Because of the fantastic weather and we had a holiday on Monday, we all went to the park. Rusty and Kirby (along with Keith and Chive) went down to the dog park portion, while Adam and I went to the toddler playground and Adam got to swing for the first time. He really didn't enjoy it much...

Today, Adam and I met a potential babysitter. Check out what we asked her and how we found her here. I really like her and think she will work out as our occasional babysitter when the grandparents can't do it (which is very few and far between). Afterwards, because we were right down the street, we visited Papa at his work and he was so loved.

Choosing A Babysitter

Even though one of my goals for January was to worry less... I can't help but have anxiety with the thought of leaving my baby with someone other than family. However, Rusty and I decided we should have someone lined up in the event that a family member isn't available. Low and behold, we realized that when we go see Wicked at The Fox for my birthday, we'll need to leave before all of our family members leave work and may want to stay out later than they want to stay out on a weeknight. That gave us a tighter deadline to find someone.

Where I began:

I decided searching on Care.com for a stranger just wasn't for me. I understand they do background checks and reference checks, but because of all the negative publicity they've gotten recently, I was uneasy. Our church doesn't have a college group and with a baby, I wanted a college student, not a high schooler. My brother suggested that I contact churches around me, since there is a college very close to us. I reached out to two churches and a Christian group on campus... I got one response back, but nothing after I followed up with them again.

Next, I went to Facebook and asked for recommendations. I didn't do this first because I didn't want to be bombarded with suggestions or other moms judging me (because apparently being a mom is a competition). My Facebook friends had some great suggestions of some girls who attend and live at the college next to us. I chose a couple of girls from reliable sources and messaged them to see if they were still interested. Two seemed very enthusiastic, so I offered to meet them individually at a Starbucks (I know. I don't even drink coffee, but I assume everyone else does.), just to talk and get to know each other (and to make sure their not insane).

What to ask:

• Tell me about yourself.
• If she didn't hit these, ask:
• What is your major?
• What year are you in?
• What are your goals?
• Tell me about your babysitting experience.
• If she didn't hit these, ask:
• What ages have you babysat?
• How long have you babysat?
• Do you know baby first aid and CPR?
• Are you comfortable with changing messy diapers?
• Are you comfortable with giving a baby a bath?
• Do you have experience putting a baby to bed?
• How late do you feel comfortable staying out?
• Are you comfortable being around a dog?
• Of course, this is only pertinent if you have a dog.
• What is your availability?
• What is your hourly rate?
• If they don't say, ask for a range. Definitely get her to say something because it will give you an indication on how she values herself.
• Could you give me any references?
• Do you have any questions for me?

I tried to let the conversation flow, but did have a set of questions that I wanted to make sure were answered - to make sure the person I chose was competent and would work well with Adam. You will definitely need to edit the questions depending on the age of your child and the older your child, the more questions about activities and maybe question on how she handles misbehaving.

I hope this helps all the mommies out there who may be seeking a babysitter and may not know what to ask and how to do it. Good luck! We found one that I believe will work out and I hope that you do too!

Nine Months In, Nine Months Out

Well, our baby boy has been out in the world as long as he was in my belly, and I'm proud to say that he is thriving!

The poor little guy still has a stuffy nose, a cough, and isn't sleeping all that well. Here's how I found him Thursday after his nap. He is completely asleep, folded over in the seated position with his hands holding his feet. You've got to be exhausted if you can sleep like that!

Other than a bit of a cold, Adam has been doing great! The doctor says he's perfect (like I didn't know that). His developmental skills are fantastic! He's in the 30% for weight, 10% for height, and 33% for head circumference. We aren't having to stress so much about his weight now, which is great! He had to get a shot and two finger pricks - which he was absolutely NOT happy about, but got over it pretty quickly. I'm so glad Rusty and I were given such a beautiful, healthy, and happy little baby.

Jump back to this past weekend. Rusty attended a bachelor party for a college friend (we'll be going to the wedding this weekend). Adam and I attended a reception at my home church for Dr. James Burdette. Pastor Jim (as we called him) was my pastor from fifth grade until I graduated college - after which Rusty and I found a church that catered to young married couples more than my home church. He also married Rusty and I. Pastor Jim retired at the end of 2014, so the church hosted a reception for all the churches he preached at. It was fantastic getting to see him, his wife, and tons of other people that I've known for years and years. Hopefully, this wasn't my last time seeing him, but it is kind of like an end of an era with him being gone.

Sickness Has Struck

We've been very fortunate that Adam hasn't been sick at all since he's been born, until this week that it. Sickness won out in my household and every last one of us caught it. Rusty actually went to the doctor on Tuesday and he's got respiratory pneumonia. I decided not to go to the doctor. I wasn't coughing as much as Rusty and I'm pretty sure I just have a common cold. Adam has been coughing a bit and has a very stuffy nose. I called our pediatrician and after talking for a while, he suggested that I get a cold humidifier for his room and baby vapor rub. As long as Adam doesn't get a fever and doesn't start wheezing, he should just have a common cold too.

Rusty took a couple of days off of work and then worked from home today, so we've all just been laying around, resting, and taking medicine.

Here's a pre-stuffy nose picture:

 Here are also a couple of pictures from the wedding we went to at the beginning of December. The bride recently got her photos back and posted them online. There were two of Adam looking oh, so cute!

New Year, New Goals!

So we went out of 2014 with a BANG! Ha ha, just kidding, we did it very quietly, with a fizzle.

The last week or so has been pretty quiet overall. Adam has been playing with all of his new toys and wearing his new outfits. Kirby has been confused as ever as to which are his toys and which are Adam's. I kind of just let them both play with each other's toys.

One present that wasn't in last week's photo was a car that was given to us by Rusty's aunt in Alabama. Adam just loves it! We can put him in it and he is fine, rocking back in forth, for thirty minutes without needing attention from anyone else.

Rusty and I were featured in a "Year In Review" from my sister's photography FB page. Can't really believe I was so huge. It was of course during our maternity pictures.

Anyways, last night we were going to have a small get together for the New Year with the Sullivans and the Koons. Unfortunately, Mr. Sullivan and Mrs. Koon were sick and they decided not to be near the baby (very thankful). Rusty and I figured it would just be the two of us, doing what we always do, but Jon Koon decided to come over once he helped his wife put their kids to bed. The Koons live in San Francisco, so we only get to see them once a year or so. Jon and Rusty have been best friends since middle school, so he came over and the boys caught up on life. We all then started to play Nintendo Land (really easy and really fun games for a small group since they're quick games) and none of us even realized midnight hit until it was past.

I've been really been thinking about goals for this next year. I haven't completely decided everything, but Rusty and I are hoping to make one healthy, lifestyle change each month. We're hoping that small changes will lead to bigger results. For the first couple of months, I'll be focusing on nutrition (because it's something I struggle with and because I can't take the baby out to run in the cold weather).
January's goal: no caffeine, no desserts, less worrying