Breakfast Smoothie

I'm all about easy, delicious meals...especially breakfasts. Morning time is the busiest time of day at our house so I don't typically spend too much time on breakfast. One thing I love to make are smoothies. This morning I made a good one and it was super simple!

1 cup Vanilla Almond Milk
1/4 cup Pineapple Chunks (I used canned because that's what I had on-hand) plus 1 tsp pineapple juice
1/4 cup Frozen Strawberries & Bananas
1 tsp Ground Flax Seed

Blend it all up in your Blender or Magic Bullet and enjoy!

Being a Mom of Boys

When we first found out we were pregnant with Hunter I was over the moon excited!! I had it set in my mind that we were going to have a little girl and she would be girly and prissy and I would put bows in her hair, put her in petty dresses and everything would be glittery and all sunshine and rainbows...
Until that ultrasound at 16 weeks confirmed it was a BOY! Now don't get me wrong, I was still happy but I will admit I was disappointed that what I had planned was not the reality. I think it took about another month after that before I really accepted the fact that we were not having a girl and that I was going to have to learn to love cars and trucks and dirt!
It didn't take long to discover that I love being a mom to a little boy! They're easy as pie. Not only are they 12 times easier to dress since everything pretty much matches and goes together but there is no hair to fix and put bows in!
But, there we were 4 years after Hunter was born, sitting in the ultrasound room waiting to hear the verdict of the sex of our second little miracle. This time I thought for sure I would get my girl. NOPE, another boy. Once again I was stuck in the middle of a bit of disappointment and the joy that this pregnancy was totally healthy because we had suffered a very emotional and difficult miscarriage just a year before.
I can now say that I love my boys and the thought of having girls scares me. They're sassy and moody and expensive lol!! Plus with boys, I am still Queen of the House. And boys love their moms forever and ever no matter what! I think I was made to be a mom of 2 sweet little rambunctious, messy, adorable men.

First time on the road

This past weekend I ventured out on a "real" road on the bike for the very first time. I'm surprised I didn't pee in my bike shorts because I was so nervous! There were cars and stop lights and road kill and all of that fun. I know I have to get used to it at some point since in just a few months I will be riding 150 miles up to Austin but I wasn't sure that I was quite ready yet.
The hubby kept assuring me that I was doing great and I will pat myself on the back because I did manage to keep up with him. I think next time I should be slightly more comfortable but for my first time on a busy road I guess I didn't do too bad.

Only 81 more days until the MS150!! Ahhhhh!!!

Finding my Happy Place

Ever since I can remember I have had one goal when it comes to my body...to lose weight! I can't remember a time when I didn't want to drop a few or more pounds. It has been a constant battle and one that has brought on many issues with my health, both physically and mentally.
Most women also share the urge to want to be thinner. It's just the way society works these days.
I am embarrassed to admit it but as a little girl I worshiped all of the models in fashion magazines and wanted to look just like them. Sad, I know, but I just thought they were so perfect looking...while I was sitting there with buck-teeth and acne and an un-dying LOVE for food! I mean, I. LOVE. FOOD! I love to eat it, cook it, smell it, watch cooking shows, find new recipes...I think you get the point lol! The only thing I don't like about food is the fact that it has calories and such.
This love/hate relationship with food had plagued my entire teenage and most of my early adult years. It wasn't until a few months ago while in the process of losing my baby-weight from Ethan that I realized that I had been going at it all wrong my entire life!! After reaching my "goal weight" I noticed something...I was still not happy with my appearance. I had been chasing a number on the scale thinking that once I got it then everything in the world would be right. But I was wrong. I realized that I needed some muscle on my puny frame and the only way to get my body to look the way I wanted it to would mean I would need to eat to gain weight from my muscles and change some old habits.
So now instead of "dieting" and feeling miserable I am loving the fact that I have learned that I need to properly fuel my body so I can get it to perform at its best while I'm breaking a major sweat in the gym. I've finally found my happy place and I'm never leaving it! :)
This brings me to my next venture in life...but for now I'll just keep you guessing what it is. Stay tuned ;)

Wedding Bells

The older I get the more and more weddings I seem to go to. I love seeing the differences in all of them and how you can see everyone's personalities in the smallest of details.
This Friday my cousin got married! Her wedding was beautiful and simple and slightly country-chic. From the burlap table runners to the LSU groom's cake it was the perfect representation of how I thought her wedding would be :)

We decided to bring both kiddos and I honestly prayed the whole way there that they would behave during the ceremony. Not only did they both do GREAT during the ceremony but Ethan stayed awake and in a good mood the whole night. (Which is a lot to ask of a 7 month old once it gets past their bedtime!!!)
AND we even got a family picture!


Congrats to the new Bride & Groom!!

Baby Scootin' Boogie

Ethan has been trying so hard to crawl lately but bless his little heart, he's a bit on the chunky side! We've got a lot of experience with "healthy" babies here at our house...Hunter was a big boy too...so I knew Ethan might take a little longer to crawl like Hunter did.
But over the last few days he's started the baby scooting...BACKWARDS! Poor thing gets his arms up, gets his legs ready and then just pushes himself back, and around in circles. At least he's getting somewhere I guess ;) Progress is progress and we'll take it!

Party Planning Time!

It's hard to believe that in just a few months Hunter will be 5 and Ethan will be 1. Where the heck is time going?!
One thing to know about me is that I absolutely LOVE planning parties. I start getting ideas months in advance. This year Hunter has decided he wants a Star Wars party. Now ideally, I would love to be able to bake a cake like this one...

...In all actuality it would probably end up looking nothing like that if I did it. I found a local bakery that can do a cake like this one but it's a bit pricey...so it's on to Plan B. I'm just not sure what Plan B is yet...thank God for Pinterest! I'm sure I can find a good idea there ;)

Now for the little, it's Cat in the Hat and I'm so very excited for that. (Yes, I'm rhyming) I found the cutest printables on Etsy!! And how adorable are these Fish jello bowls?!

The hubby is going to hate me before the parties are even upon us...I've been spending hours pinning up a storm but hey, they only turn 1 and 5 once, right?!?