What a difference 25 lbs makes!

As I was going through Nate's photos today, I found this one of me. Not a pretty picture! I have been hitting the gym now for over a month and have lost around 25 pounds! Woohoo! Unfortunately, I still have quite a bit to go. I was quite shocked to see the difference in the photos! You can see my eyes when I smile lol!

Nate's New Bed!

For months, Sean and I have been considering getting Nate a slide bed. His friend Ian has one and the first time Nate saw it, he was in love! Unfortunately, the beds are not cheap! On Friday night, I found this bed on Craigslist for $80.00! Unheard of! It has had one owner and is in excellent condition! Woohoo! After the Zoo, we went to Del City to pick up the new bed. Nate was beside himself with delight! Our original plan was to paint the frame a more manly color; however, when Nate saw the bed he proclaimed quite emphatically, I love my purple bed! Needless to say, the bed is still purple, white and blue!

Sean, being the wonderful husband and father that he is, put the bed together when we got home. Unfortunately, the contraption was far to large for his current bedroom! We were very sad seeing as we had just put in a new closet organizer! Oh well, Nate is now in what use to be our spare room. The bed fits perfectly! Sean designed Nate a new closet organizer for his new big boy bedroom!

Off to the Zoo with Dad!

On Sunday morning, we started our day very early in order to get to the OKC Zoo before it got to hot and to pick up Nate's new bed I got off Craigslist (more on that later). It had been awhile since Sean had been able to go with us to the zoo. We had a fabulous time!


Nate "forgot" he liked the carousel.

It did not take him long to remember!

It was so close.

This monkey was adorable!

Every time we go to the zoo, I take a picture of little man on this. It's a great way to see how much he has grown!

A Kid, A Dog, A Marker........Do The Math!

Yesterday while I was doing the dishes, Nate and Ella decided to play on the couch with an open marker (thankfully I buy the washable ones)! Surprisingly, the couch sustained minimal damage

Fun with Paint

Thank God for washable paint!

Happy 2nd Birthday Charli!

On Saturday, we went to our friend Rikki's house to help celebrate her daughter Charli's second birthday. The kids swam in the pool, played in the sprinklers, destroyed a pinata and gorged on sugar; it was fabulous! She had the most amazing decorations, I wish I had snapped some photos of them. Happy Birthday Charli! Thanks for having us over to help you celebrate your special day!



Nate's card to Charli. He did this all by himself! Way to go big guy!







No, that is not his soda! LOL. His is the H2O!

That's right folks! My kid ran straight for the candy braclet!

Sliding with friends!

Somehow, we always end up with the odd dog in the litter! Ella loves to go swimming with Nate and we have just learned that she LOVES to go down the slides at the local park!





Nate loves that he has a buddy to go sliding with!

Family Portrait

While we had Sean's parents here, we decided it would be nice to do a family photo. Yes, we could have gone to a professional photographer but opted instead to pull out the trusty tri-pod and do it ourselves! This visit was the first time in several years the whole family has been able to get together. We had a fabulous time and are excited they will be returning at Christmas!

Bowling with family!

Bowling is one of Nate's favorite things to do! The whole time his grandparents were here he kept asking "are we going bowling today"? Last week, Nate got his bowling trip. He was so excited! Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Kevin and Uncle Brian came with us on our adventure. In the past, Nate has used the ramp to launch his ball; however he informed us on this trip that " I'm bigger now and don't need that launcher anymore"!

Nate and Grandma

The release

The stare down

The happy dance

Still waiting for the ball to strike the pins.

Slumber Party and Pancakes!

Thursday afternoon, Sean and I jumped ship and went to OKC for an overnight adventure while Nate had a slumber party with Grandma and Grandpa at our house. What a fabulous time we all had! Sean and I had a lovely dinner at The Cheesecake Factory and then hit Penn Square Mall for some shopping. While browsing in my absolute favorite store, Williams Sonoma, we found the neatest pancake molds for little man. Yes, I know he is only three and should probably not be anywhere near a stove but he has been cooking with me for quite some time now. Sean and I decided to buy Nate the molds and his own lion spatula! After shopping, we headed over to Riverwind Casino and gambled the night away. I am happy to report I hit a jackpot and financed a large portion of our new refrigerator! Woohoo!

Nate loved his new utensils and was so excited to help mom flip the pancakes! Here are some pictures of our pancake making adventure...........

Nate showing off his new lion spatula!

Measuring out the ingredients.

Yes, that is little man cracking an egg! He is awesome at it now and keeps all the shells out!

He loves to smell the vanilla extract!

Finally dumping it in.

We make a ton of muffins and Nate has learned that you have to make a well for the liquid ingredients. I was going to skip this step but he was having none of that!

Pouring it into his well.

Dad showing Nate where we were going to cook the pancakes and what areas were off limits to little fingers.

Nate flipping his first pancake with mom! Surprisingly, he was not a big fan of the process. He didn't like the hissing sound the batter made when it hit the hot grill!

Nate enjoying the fruits of his work!

A Pigment Of Your Imagination

As many of you know from previous posts, I do not have one creative bone in my body! God knows I try but for some reason, my portion of Nate's craft projects never turn out. We have tried homemade bath crayons, molding clay animals, etc. and the result is never pretty! Last Tuesday, Nate and I met a few of our friends at a fabulous store called A Pigment Of Your Imagination. The establishment offers a wide variety of ALREADY COMPLETED pottery pieces that you can paint. After browsing for a very long time, Nate chose a small jar for Ella's snacks. Here are some pictures of our adventure.............


Mom and Nate

Nate and his best friend Winston picking their colors.

Nate fake smiling for the camera. He was getting a little tired of saying cheese!

Nate developing his artistic talents. I am praying he does not take after me!

*** I am picking up his jar tomorrow (they have to bake it for a few days). I will post a picture of his masterpiece!