Operation Love Handles... Week 1

Rachel here.  Now normally I would NOT post ridiculously unflattering photos of myself... or photos of myself at all really, but I'm hoping that this will hold me accountable on this whole "baby made me fat" thing. :)  

Here's the rundown: 

PRE-BABY WEIGHT 125 

DELIVERY DAY WEIGHT 155.9

~ Wk 1 (8 wks pp) 140.8 lbs (Now don't get me wrong... 140 is NOT an awful weight by any stretch of the imagination... HOWEVER... I'm 5 ft 4ish, and it's just not cute.)

~ Points allowed per day 30 (This is based on the OLD WW point system.  I paid for the on-line version after I had EG... once you get the hang of it, there is no need to pay. :) )

Happy eating! :)

Emma Grace turns 3!

UPDATE:  At EG's 3 year well visit she weighed in at 33 lbs and was 38.75 inches tall!

Rachel here.  Last Tuesday, while we were in Iowa, Emma Grace turned 3!  Happy Happy Birthday to my sweet girl!

On the big day, we started with brownies for breakfast.  The girls were thrown off a bit and demanded fresh fruit first.  HA!

She opened and played with gifts from us and my Gma Nita.

And then there was cake...

And it wouldn't be an Iowa birthday without our favorite pizza place in the world... Happy Joe's.

I'll post more about the birthday girl in a bit... we're still trying to get back to some normalcy around here... which I'm convinced will NEVER happen. :)

Iowa bound

Rachel here.  Last weekend we ventured up to Ohio for Bryan's cousin Nancy's wedding.  The girls had a blast, and the cake was pretty flipping yummy as well. :)

 Because we were practically half way there, we thought it'd be nice to turn this into our annual Iowa trip.  The wedding was in Cleveland, which caused us to go a different way into town... through South Bend.  I'd never been to Notre Dame, so we thought this was a great place to stop for lunch and be a little touristy at the same time.

 After visiting Touchdown Jesus, we stopped in Le Claire, Iowa to visit Antique Archeology.... made famous by the American Pickers.  It was really neat!

While each of these visits was A BLAST, one event would prove to make me regret stopping at all.  More on that to come when I can muster up the words to share.

Operation limbo...

Rachel here.  Oy.  I want to start by saying how blessed I feel to have 3 healthy children, a wonderful husband, and a roof over my head.  I am thankful... I swear... but I'm currently having issues.  ISSUES!  Yep... a whoa is me post, and it will be bulleted. :)

Things that are currently ruining my bliss:
- Reese is out of preschool for the summer.  Sick I know.  I wish so desperately she was in preschool right now, so the house was just a little bit quieter.  In general, she's getting used to our current situation and it's madness, and her attitude has improved.  But she still isn't nearly as pleasant as she was.  Still picking on her sister... in fact yesterday she bit her.  Awesome.  We're working on it... daily... every waking moment of every day in fact.  We'll get there. 

- Our living situation.  We're currently in an adorable little house, with GREAT landlords, in a really sweet neighborhood with AMAZING neighbors.  So, what's the problem?  It's not ours.  Stuff is everywhere still, and I feel horrible about it.  I get nervous when the girls spill something on the floor or bang something close to the walls.  I just want something that is ours that I won't feel like a nervous wreck living in.  We can't break ground quickly enough.

- My weight.  With both Reese and Emma Grace, I bounced back pretty quickly.  I'm a 30 lb gainer while pregnant, and it's always been easy to get back to previous habits and not have to worry about fitting into my clothing.  Here I am 6 wks later... still holding my breath while attempting to fit into my jeans.  I'm older, 3rd pregnancy, but most importantly... I'm unmotivated.  I'm just trying to stay afloat with these three little ladies, creating a temporary home, and keeping everyone entertained long enough to brush my teeth.  Losing this last 15 lbs is proving to be difficult to say the least.  The easiest way for me to lose weight is through my diet, so I'll be jumping on the Weight Watcher's wagon once again.  I LOVE WW.  I don't have to change my diet... just my portion sizes, and I don't have to find time to exercise everyday.  I've had a lot of success using it and can't wait to get started... after vacation. ;)

I know I have to make the effort to change each of these things, and I'm more than ready.  Operation limbo... BEGIN!

EG's Birthday Wish List

Rachel here.  We took Emma Grace window shopping for her birthday this morning at the Target.  Here's the link to her Wish List (<-- click)... which is HILARIOUS... for anyone interested.  I'll also be posting it to the right -->.

So long... farewell... I can't spell that next word :)

Rachel here.  We're out... done... finished... no longer residents of 311 Cedar Hill Drive.  We closed yesterday, and it was bittersweet.  I didn't cry.  I have A LOT to look forward to in the coming months, and I can't help but be excited... I think that's why I didn't cry.  I was sad though.  Someone else will be living in my home... and I hope they enjoy it as much as we did.  Here are a couple of fun pictures for your viewing pleasure.

May 2005... 7 years ago... a family of 2.5.  Two newly weds buy their very first grown up home.

June 2012... 7 years later... a family of 5 (yes, the dog is still alive but has found a new home with the grand-parentals as he's not very child friendly.)  Two not so newly weds sell their very first grown up home in hopes of building their very first grown up dream home whose goal is to contain their growing brood of overly emotional little ladies.

311, we will miss you!

School's out for summer...

Today was my last day of preschool.  Of course I'll be back in the fall, but it was my last day nonetheless for the year.  Each year we have an end of the year picnic, and it was an absolute blast.  It's really nice to visit with all of my friends and their families one last time before summer officially begins.

Emma Grace has become an unofficial member of the Montessori family, which will make for an easy transition for her in the fall.  She'll do great!

 The BABY sister worked her charm to impress the other fellow babies of the group... no one can deny her cuteness in those baby leg warmers.

 Oh yeah... I WAS THERE TOO! :)  Here is a photo of me from the first day of school... and then the last day. 

 And then the last day of school last year and then again this year.

 While we're very excited for it to be summertime, we can't help but love these two ladies like crazy and will be anxious to get back to them in the fall. :)

Once Upon a Dream... the performance of a lifetime

Rachel here.  Saturday was Reese's dance recital.  She did AWESOME.  She didn't seem to be the slightest bit nervous and was soooooooooooooo excited to get a trophy at the end... she could have cared less about anything else. :)  Dress rehearsal was Friday evening and that's where these top photos come in.  I knew it would be impossible to get decent photos/video (which I'll upload later) during the actual performance, so I loaded up the night before.

 

  

The weather was beautiful the day of the recital, so we attempted to get a few shots outside before showtime.  Thank you to Grandma and Grandaddy for coming and for Grandpa and Pearl (who drove a total of about 10 hours for 3 minutes of preschool shenanigans!) for making it to the big show!

The show was an absolute hit, and I think we all enjoyed ourselves.  Emma Grace fell asleep before the show even started and woke up about 1/2 way through... missing her sister's performance of course. ;)  Berkley nursed/slept the entire time, so I was actually able to enjoy the entire show.

Here's little miss performer herself with her trophy and flowers from Mommy and Daddy.

Emma Grace was so excited to see Reese, she ran right up to her and tried to give her a hug... it was sweet... Reese was less than thrilled... perhaps embarrassed?

Ms. Rebecca, Reese's teacher, and a friend from her class.

Next year Emma Grace joins the production... Lord help us all. :)

Wee little chunkster

Rachel here.  The numbers are in... the conclusion... Berkley is a beast.  Out of all of her measurements from this morning's peds appointment, the only impressive one was weight.  Baby beast was born an even 7 lbs.  Two days after birth she weighed in at 6 lbs 10 oz.  A mere month later... 9 lbs 6 oz!  Little chunky monkey... I heart her. :)  She also grew an inch and some change... blah blah blah. :)