Uh oh...7 pounds!

When I worked...it was very easy for me to monitor what I ate. Mostly because I did not have time to leave my desk so I had to eat what was at hand. My lunch box usually included:

2  large water bottles (by large I mean at least 30oz each)
1 greek yogurt
1oz of almonds
2 pieces of fruit
1 diet coke
and sometimes a granola bar
On a day that I had time I would make a salad
Not to mention any coffee that made it to the office that week

I usually had coffee and a piece of toast for breakfast if anything. Dinner was usually rice and beans, rice and lentils, or grilled chicken. Easy,healthy, fast, and affordable.

This of course made it super easy for me stay healthy and slim.

Now that I stay home.......

I have time to cook yummy delicious meals and bake yummy delicious treats.....and eat them. Don't get me wrong, we still eat very healthy. No chips or really processed foods for that matter. But...its all about moderation right. When the food is that much better....you want that much more.

So I jumped on the scale today because my size 6 shorts were feeling a little snug. Sure enough I had gained 7 pounds! YIKES! This does not seem like much...but it is enough to make your clothes feel uncomfortable.

To my credit...it has been 100 degrees outside so my walks with Parson have been few and far between.

So here is to salads, lean protein, almonds, greek yogurt, veggies, and fruit...oh and lots and lots of water. Oh and...yes...my least favorite thing... exercise.

This is going to be a challenge since we are about to be on vacation...but I know I can do it.

Here is to a healthier and clothes fit better me.

Love,

Patty

Our life lately

We have been a busy bunch of people lately. This of course is the reason why I have been a bad blogger and have not written in a few days. So here is the scoop about whats going on in the Jones household:

- Aaron's boss has been on vacation. He has been working his cute butt off running a company, all while being a great daddy and hubby
- I am busy chasing around Parson, who is almost 16 months old by the way. This of course while trying to keep our home clean livable.
- We are getting ready to go on vacation. Vacation to Michigan to be with our wonderful family and friends. We are beyond excited to get back for awhile. Though the 12 hour/2 day road trip is a little much for this very consistent, likes things to go according to plan Mommy.
- We are getting our home  "market" ready. This has been daunting. Since most of the work is painting, it has to be done after Parson is in bed...aka after 7pm. We have had some late nights...but our master bathroom is looking fantastic.

Parson is busy trying to talk , communicate, and be totally independent. He communicates so well now. He still dose not say eat or drink. He says "Aaa-wuaa" (Agua) when he wants water. He walks over to his high chair and says "Up" when he is hungry. Oh and if he wants milk...he just goes to the fridge and waits for me :P  AND this is my favorite...when he is tired he says "Nuh Nite" and goes to his bedroom door. This on top of who knows how many more words.

He is running...I mean really running. He is so fast...I have to run after him. Not the "Oh come and get me and I will take really small steps really fast" run....but the "holy moley there goes my toddler" run.

Aaron and I were talking (and watching old YouTube videos of Parson) last night and we just said "Oh my gosh...he is not a baby anymore?! What the heck happened?!"

We also are having a grand ole time living off of one income. This of course was by choice and almost by need. It by far has been the best decision we have ever made...ever. Sometimes it is challenging and sometimes it is a breeze. I was having a moment of  "we are terrible parents" because so much of society has told me (us) that if our kids don't have this kind of toy, this kind of health insurance, this kind of smile, this kind of diapers...blah blah that they don't have anything. Well folks....they are wrong. We don't care if we shop at Aldis, we don't care if we shop at Goodwill, we don't mind not driving brand new cars (though one with 4 doors would be nice), and we certainly don't care if the lady down the street thinks we need to fertilize our lawn.  Guess what else? Parson does not care either.

Then you know what my amazing, supportive husband said to me? "Honey, don't worry about all that stuff. Parson has us fighting for him and loving him, and providing exactly what he needs...he doesn't need any more than that"  Inst he wise...I am one lucky gal.

Our life when it was just Aaron and I  and our life when Parson was 1 week old, 1 month old, 1 year old, and 16 months old are all so different and all so wonderful and challenging at the same time. One thing is for sure, we are absolutely crazy about each other.

Wait, did I say crazy or crazy about each other? Probably both.

Love,

Patty

Mommy Spa Night In

I love company...I love hosting...it is one of my favorite things to do. Because of this, I tend to go a little over board in preparing for guests arrival. After a week of preparing then a few days of being a host, and  clean up after guest leave...all while being a wife and Mom to a 15 month old. I was beat. I am not a light a candle and take a bath kinda gal...but that is exactly what I did. 

Since I don't have the time or money to go to a real spa...I made my own at home. You can have one to...here is what I used. 

Madi Diaz's Pandora station gave me nice relaxing tunes

A good book...I love it so far

Brown sugar face scrub

Candle light and yummy smell

Lavender and Vanilla bubble bath

This was the first bubble bath I have taken in years. I have to say...these Mommy Spa Night In evenings are going to be on my calendar more often. I will be adding a bottle of wine to the list for the next spa night in. :)

You don't need hundreds of dollars for a spa night in...chances are you have everything you need at home.

Love, 

Patty

I am addicted...to sewing!

For my birthday Aaron let me buy a used sewing machine off of Craigs List. It is a Singer 7422...not the best but not the simplest either. I have to say at first I was scared of it. I mean really I had never sewn anything but a button.

My first challenge was learning how to thread the machine. This seams seems (I know bad joke) easy, but if you are not familiar with a sewing machine it can be difficult. So anywho, after reading the manual and watching some YouTube videos I got the machine threaded and I picked up the bobbin thread. (threading the bobbin was a whole other adventure) My first project...bean bags.

The bean bags turned out terrible...I mean real terrible. My seams were not straight or even...it really felt like the sewing machine had control not me. They are so bad...I wont even show a picture... I will leave that to your imagination.

So then I made a pillow cover for Parson. It turned out okay (after all it is a square). I even got "fancy" and sewed velcro on one end of the pillow case so I could remove it and wash it.

After this success...I got brave prideful in my sewing abilities and decided to make a pull on cloth diaper cover...HA who was I kidding. It took me two sections of the PLU fabric before I even cut the pattern right. The finished product was a little crooked in places but was functional and it did not leak! After a few washes the casings that held the elastic for the leg holes began to come un-done. My next go around I am going to use a zig zag stich instead of a straight stitch to see if that holds better.

My next adventure was a team effort. My two of my girlfriends from MI came to visit and we decided to make maxi skirts. Oddly enough...they were pretty simple. After the first two skirts (which we made to big) we got the third one perfect. I ended up adding a slit in the back of mine because I did not make it wide enough at the bottom. All three skirts turned out super cute, mine is in the picture below. I made the elastic at the top way to big so instead of sitting under my bust it sits more at my natural waist. I am to scared to take it in...so that's a future project. 

Next was pillow covers. We are in the "lets get our house market ready...cheap" mode. So I made some pillow covers for our bedroom. Again turned out pretty good if I do say so myself...but again its a square :P

The thing I decided to try today were bibs. Hold on to your hats folks because second to the diaper cover...these things are hard to make! The first one I made (pictured on the left) turned out really tiny...like for a brand new newborn tiny. So I tried again. The next one turned out bigger and probably would fit an infant for awhile. The bigger one did not fit Parson but he is my little chunky monkey...so I don't use him for size purposes often. The tiny one is just a simple bib with fleece batting in the middle. The second one I tried to get fancy and did some flower/leaf stitching across the whole bib. Both of them have velcro closures. It turned out pretty cute...it has a quilted look to it. I am not good at these yet....my bib bottoms are not round or even at all :S 

My goal here is to get good at this...real good. Like I could open a store on Etsy good...but we are a loong way away from there.

Practice makes perfect right?

Love,

Patty

Childs Play

I decided a long time ago that I was going to do my best to remain Parsons Mom aka Parent and not try to be his best friend. Though me being his best friend rather than parent may have its perks, I have watched that scenario not work on a few different occasions. Anywho...while trying to be a "parent" and guiding Parson into good behavior while learning to speak, understand his emotions, and become a healthy 15 month old, we try to have a little fun around here. Lately...fun has equaled messy...

Parson LOVES playing with toilet paper, instead of just saying "No No Parson" every time we were in the bathroom. I decided that I would give him a roll to play with in the loft. He had a BLAST and giggled non stop. Though it was kind of a pain to pick up all the paper bits...I don't regret letting him play with it at all. A perk to this...he dose not want to play with it in the bathroom anymore. 

I got an email last week saying an easy way to entertain a toddler is a few small containers of water and dish soap. The email also said, "if your worried about a mess, lay a SMALL drop cloth" Well as you can see here...I had two blankets and two bath towels...which I thought was bigger than  a "small drop cloth" Again Parson had a blast. Water was every were... cupboards, oven, microwave, stove, floor, table, high chair, himself, and I. I almost regretted this one while I was cleaning up...but the giggles and smiles made it all worth it. 

Have fun, make messes, and most of all make memories...the clean up is worth it.

Love, 

Patty

Hokie pete...I made a diaper!

That's right you heard me...I made a prefold diaper cover! I made it from PLU (waterproof) fabric so this will replace my Bummies whisper pants (well one pair at least) which are just plain old fashioned plastic pants! I got the pattern from the Dana Made Blog.

Don't look to close...this is only the third thing I have ever sewn, so my details are rough. The first two things were a pillow case and a bean bag :/  so I don't think that was sewing at its finest. 

I went to Joann Fabrics to pick up fabric for a bibs, receiving blankets and burp cloths. I know to ladies who are expecting little girls, so this Mamma to a boy had a blast picking out all sorts of girly fabrics! While drooling over all the cute girl (and boy) stuff, I came across a section all for cloth diapers! That's right you heard me right again, Joann Fabrics has a specific section for crazy Mamas like me who want to make (er try) their cloth diapers to save a penny or two. 


Here is a picture of one kind of super cute girly fabric that I bought for my lady friends who are going to have daughters :)  

Isn't it so stinking cute....don't judge me if I make a diaper cover with blue flowers for Parson. Just kidding, but seriously...we are going to be in trouble if we have a girl next. :s


Love, 


Patty

Me

Today I realized I needed to make a run to the grocery store. This of course has two outcomes:

1.) I take Parson with me and hope that there are no meltdowns and run through the store hoping I don't forget something

or

2.) I go after Parson is in bed and enjoy a decaf skinny vanilla latte

I think you know that I chose option 2.

So we did just that. We bathed Parson, read him his two stories, and said our prayers. Then I ran down stairs to change my tank top that had who knows what from the day on it. I brushed my hair for...dare I admit the first time since it had been dried, re applied deodorant and applied vasaline on my lips. As I did this, I glanced at my reflection. I grabbed my license, debit card, coupons, phone and put them in the pocket of my shorts. That's right you heard me...no purse or bag.

As I was driving to Kroger thinking about how I was going to reward myself with said decaf vanilla skinny latte. I got to thinking about my get out the door routine went. This made me think of my getting ready routine in the morning and realizing how different my opinion of "decent to go out in public" had changed.

Before I was pregnant/gave birth it took me about an hour to get ready. I would shower, shave, blow dry my hair, curl my hair, and do my makeup. Then of course try on about 12 different outfits and then pick accessories. Then spritz perfume.

After giving birth it takes about 30 min for me to get ready, including a shower and shave! I then grab something that is modest, comfortable, and toddler friendly. Brush my wet hair so it can air dry, brush on translucent powder, mascara, and lip balm. On a good day you will get eyeliner and a splash of vanilla body spray.

Do I think I look much different...maybe. Am I sorry that I am not "in style" or "made up"...nope. Am I presentable and do the two men that matter most in my life approve...yep.

So there ya have it. If you see me in the store or at the park and my hair is wet, I am not made up and I am wearing clothes from 2002, I don't mind and neither does my family...because we are happy.

I think maybe we should all take a look at how we spend our tiem and see if the line up with the verse below;

1 Peter 3:3-4

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.

Love, 

Patty