Evan's Invites

This weekend I sat down and made Evan's 2nd birthday invites! I have always felt guilty since I have made most of Chloe's invites but Evan's have not been all home made. Evan does not turn 2 until May but hey, one less thing to do on my checklist!

Here is a picture of how the invites turned out. Evan LOVES trains so that is the theme for this year. This was certainly not my most creative endeavor but they are cute and they are DONE~



The invite verbiage starts out saying:
Choo Choo...
Evan is 2

I thought that was pretty cute! hard for me to believe my little man will be 2. Gosh these little ones grow too fast!

Cheers,
Beth

Valentines Dinner

Adam and I had a nice Valentines dinner at Pier 500 in Hudson! If you are in the area you HAVE to try Pier 500! It was a wonderful. We had a few drinks, good conversation and great food! It is amazing to believe that we have been together 10 years now. WOW

Here is a picture of us at dinner, this shows my bangs better too.

Remember: the best gift you can give your kids is a strong marriage!

That can certainly be a difficult thing to do! No one is perfect and no marriage is perfect but if you put in a sincere effort, and dig in deep through those hard times, marriage is a beautiful thing!



Cheers,
Beth

Belated Valentines Kids Crafts

At daycare they had a Valentines day party. Rather than buying ours, we made a craft out of it. I am sure it was cheaper but it was definitly more fun!

I cut out heart shapes and had the kids paste them and color and use stickers. It was a fun craft for the kids and they were proud to give their gifts to their daycare friends.

Here is how the Valentines turned out!


Cheers,
Beth

Healthcare trend...

This is an article that my hubby sent to me, I thought I would share. This is how his clinic is set up. I liked what I read.

Check it out:
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/02/17/cash-only-docs-a-promising-advancement-in-consumer-driven-health-care/

Cheers,
Beth

Cleanse

Well, tomorrow morning I am trying something new. I am trying a cleanse that Adam got me from work. I am excited! Here is the product I will be trying:

http://www.integrativeinc.com/Products/Detox-and-Cleansing/Whole-Body-Cleanse/78450-Whole-Body-Integrative-Cleansing-System.aspx

This will help to cleanse my insides, I am adding more water, more exercise, and leaning towards more veggies and fruit during this two week process. I have wanted to cleanse for a while now, maybe about a year!

I'll keep you updated with my results!

Oh, and also, I am at -14 pounds now! YEAH! I need to dog out some new clothes because the ones I have been wearing are getting pretty sloppy looking. Good feeling!

Tonight I am trying a new, running for beginngers running plan that weight watchers laid out. Crossing my fingers that I get through it.

Oh, and Adam started a blog, check it out!
http://adamdelaforestdc.blogspot.com/

Cheers,
Beth

Creativity Christ's way...

This was a devotional I read a bit ago that I wanted to share...I liked what I read and it is something that can be applied to everyday life!

God wants us to always be learning, "always listening for fresh insights." (Proverbs 18:15 MSG)

Contrary to popular belief, there is nothing mysterious about being creative. The basic principle of creativity is simply combining two or more known ideas in a new way to create a fresh idea. This is a skill you can develop and it starts with awareness:

Here are the five steps I use in the creative process:

State the problem clearly. What is wrong? Be as precise as you can. Vague problems are more difficult to solve.
Set a specific goal. What is it that you really want to accomplish?
Generate as many ideas as possible. The more ideas you have, the better. Force yourself to list at least 5 options. Brainstorm. Have fun. Use your intuition. Ask a lot of questions.
Narrow the list to the one best idea. One new idea is all you need to get unstuck.
Take action! Do it now. God has given you fresh insight, now act on it!
You must always be developing and growing and becoming what God wants you to be. Learning to be a leader takes a lifetime.

A Conundrum

My boss always tells me that I am a conundrum. I never know how to take this, but don't put a lot of thought into trying to figure it out...

While I was driving the other day I was thinking....I am kind of a random mix of interests. Many of my interests don't at all seem like they would "go" together in one person...

My Interests/ Passions:

Being a good mom, wife, and friend
Learning to cook, and cook healthier
Crafting of any kind
Scrapbooking / Card making
Decorating - all kinds
Sewing
Making my home beautiful
I am SO excited to plant a garden this year and flowers, I want to learn to can
I love horses and horeseback riding
I love pit bulls
I love to dance, any kind of dance (salsa, club)
I love rap music , AND praise and worship music (figure THAT one out)
I love to do missions work overcease
I love Jesus
I am passionate to help children - homeless and in orphanages
I love to volunteer
I love to entertain
I love to get dressed up and go out
I love to read
I love to stay in

I have to laugh at myself when I look at all of this...maybe I am a conundrum? Even if I am, it is me, and I am ok with my random interests.

Do you have any weird interests or interests you feel like from the outside looking in do not make sense?

Cheers,
Beth

My new Chalkboard!

I have been wanting a Chalkboard for my kitchen for about 6 months now. I bypassed a massage offer from my hubby, pocketed the money and bought a chalkboard!!



This is a handy, good looking tool that I have already gotten a LOT of use out of. I try to keep an inspirational saying on the board and then I write myself reminders and lists of things to do.

I have so many things on my mind and I get forgetful. Now, I can have my reminders right in front of me! YEAH!

Cheers,
Beth

Chloe's Curtains - A much needed addition

It has been a while since I posted something I have done craft/ decorating wise. I have so many projects in mind I need to work on making more progress!

A while back I posted pictures of the curtain that I had sewed all the buttons on for Chloe. I have really enjoyed looking at that curtain, it is so cute! I am all about things looking nice, but they also have to function well and the one downfall was that I needed some curtains that would block out the sun. When it comes to nap time on the weekends, it is hard to sleep in that room because it is so bright!

I devised a plan! While browsing through a Pottery Barn Magazine I came up with an idea to get some bright pink curtains (they would match a lot of buttons on the previous curtain I made) and hang them on branches over Chloe's window. In Chloe's room I decided to go with a kind-of nostalgic theme...so this idea fit perfectly!

The curtains went up this weekend and they add a nice touch to her bedroom! Now I just have to get the wall repaired, which is on my brothers list of things to do....I think I am just going to paint that a simple off white color.

Cheers,
Beth

When ‘life’ just gets under your skin

Do you have those times when ‘life’ just gets under your skin? I work hard to look on the bright side and to stay upbeat. For the most part I think I do a good job. I know that I have many things to be thankful for, many of which I have addressed in previous posts.

Sometimes ‘life’ feels stressful. I am consistently torn between my work and all the responsibilities and home and the vital role I play there. At work, the majority of the time I have more work to do than I can get done in a day and a less than sympathetic environment (which I will not get into). I am typically stressed and overwhelmed. At home I have a house to maintain and children which I want to mold into healthy, happy, productive adults. I feel pulled in so many directions!

With my work sucking so much out of me during the day, many times I feel like my children and my home get the leftovers….but my family is my #1 priority….my heart is at home. This leaves me feeling guilt-ridden, frustrated, and sometimes bitter.

Reminds me of the verse in Matthew 6: “No one can serve two masters.”

I work hard to counteract in of these feelings by counting my blessings, praying, and making it a point to spend all the time I can with my kids…but I am human and sometimes the compellation of factors gets me down. This week is one of those weeks; I had a rough weekend of running the house alone with a sick dog to boot, and then a sick little man Tuesday and Wednesday. Work piling up for me while I was out of the office, and the addition of some other factors I am not going to get into. I am just ‘feeling’ it all right now….

Not so cheers today,
Beth

Kid Recipe - Smilie Face Pizza

In my efforts to get my kids to eat a better dinner I made these smilie face pizzas. I used tortillas from the fridge, spray the bottom with cooking spray or olive oil, then put the oiled side down on a skillet. I put on top of the tortilla, pizza sauce, motz cheese and your choice of toppings. For the kids I used pepperoni that we had left over in the fridge. For myself I use olives. I turn on the stove and cook until the motz cheese melts. YUMMY.

This is fun for the kids to eat and for me on my weight watchers, I can make this and it is 6 points and it is SO good! Also, it is SO fast, for those nights when you need a quick dinner this is a great fix!

Cheers,
Beth

A New Look....

In April I will be the big 3-0 and to ring in the big occasion, I decided to get a new 'do'.... I tend to be the ultimate chicken when it comes to cutting the length of my hair so I decided to get bangs. They are long and 'fringy' I like them!

Of course the men around me didn't have the most complementary things to say, my boss and husband both said the same thing to me....what did you do to your hair and proceeded to go on but I didn't listen much. I needed a change.

Today was my first day really wearing my bangs and I liked them a lot! I need to get some length off and add in some layers to balance the bangs out but it is a good change, they;ll be around for a while!

I've been told by my female friends, my bangs make me look a lot younger, and I am all about that right now!!!

On another vanity point, since apparently this post is all about me. I have lost 12 pounds now! That puts me about 1/2 way to my weight loss goal! YEAH!!!!

Here is a picture of my new bangs, and please excuse the grungy clothes, I was lounging with the kids...



Cheers,
Beth

Crafts with Kids

One on one time with my kids is important to me and hard to squeeze in sometimes. On Friday night, I put Evan to bed and kept Chloe up with me so we could spend one on one time.

Chloe and I stayed up and made bracelets together. We had SO MUCH FUN and man-o-man Chloe was so into making her bracelet! I have never seen Chloe concentrate so hard as she did to string her beads. When we were done stringing the bracelet I put it on Chloe and she was so proud.

I loved to see Chloe's sense of pride and her enjoyment of having one on one time together.

Here are some pictures of Chloe and her bracelet.


Cheers,
Beth