I may not be there yet, but I'm closer than I was yesterday.

So I've decided it's time to actually get serious about my fitness and my health. Not for "weight loss", exactly... that phrase implies that I could potentially "find" it again. Ha, okay- in all seriousness, I wasn't thinking long term and wanting results right away just isn't realistic with lifestyle goals. I don't want my kids eating foods with a bunch of preservatives and other (excuse me) crap in it!

So, I set a goal to only weigh myself once a week. I'm one of those crazy people who LOVES to see results and obsesses over "failure". Meaning if I have water weight or bloating and didn't actually gain weight, it -will- ruin my entire day. lol. The problem is that I'm using my wii fit plus again, and "she" insists I do a body test just about every day. I love being accountable and seeing when I go down.

It's never been a secret that I have a caffeine problem. Coca cola was my vice. I've now gone 10 days without it! I haven't lasted this long in a very, very long time. Just water and diet peach snapple... and this amazing blueberry pomegranate juice that's only 50 calories for an 8 oz glass and is loaded with pottassium. So I lost 4 lbs the first week, had a naughty weekend with my food choices at a movie and while we were busy (not binging, but just not healthy choices) and gained some back. So I weighed myself yesterday before spin class to see where I was at, and again this morning because class was VERY intense and then I made really good food choices. -7.5 lbs. uhhhh, I didn't believe it so I checked my other scale. Same number. Ahhhh! It was what I needed to keep going. I'm focusing on a healthier lifestyle for myself and my kiddos and just hoping that good results come with it. Once we run out of red meat, I'm going to try to cut it out (which is difficult, young kids and no beef?) I am really not a fan of ground turkey at all...I despise the texture, I hate how it feels raw. But, it's better than eating chicken every day and I doubt my kids will be able to tell the difference. Had lunch with the family on Friday before we went to the pumpkin patch and they had the flat, 100 calorie whole grain hamburger buns. SO good and not what I expected at all- think we might have to pick some of those up.

Long story short... I'm slowly cutting out the processed junk food and working towards a more healthy, natural lifestyle. There are more easily accessible natural grocery stores in TX too, which will help! Just waiting to find out where we'll be so I can search for a new gym home.

And I'm open for suggestions. Send me healthy recipes! Ideas on how to keep the kiddos active (besides indoor playtime at the gym) when it's freezing outside? I wish there were more indoor playgrounds in this town besides Mickey d's and the bounce house place- the only other option is driving a half hour.

For now, I'll be sticking to this:

#nostalgia.

Life is good.

Childhood is too short for me to not give them this happiness every single moment I can. I owe it to them to give them the best childhood they can possibly have. Realizing that Keg will be starting school next year is throwing me for a loop. How does it go so fast? I am already missing him. Imagine that. :) Life is short- even when kids are acting like monsters kids, even when it's tough- it's not time to be wasted. I'm not sure if I'm maturing, not sure if I'm just refusing to take my "job" for granted, but it's been an eye opening few weeks for me and my approach to parenting has changed greatly. We've always done things together, read stories, had our learning time, watched movies, etc. But I don't feel like I always enjoyed it the way I should. Or sometimes I'd be frustrated, tired, whatever and not take the time to really -realize- how truly amazing my kiddos are. They're smart and fun and creative. I don't just love them, I really like them as people too.

You have one chance to give your babies a happy childhood. Do it right, make it count. NO regrets. Once they're grown, they're grown and as I'm learning, you can't go back. I wish I could make my baby a boy a baby again (sometimes, and still potty trained, haha).

Feels like I snapped my fingers and we went from

Baby:

... to big boy.

And then we did it again, it went even faster.

Where do those babies go? I am loving their toddler years- watching them grow into their own personalities, develop differently. Sometimes I just want to hold them tight and demand that they stop growing up, just for a little while. :)

You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only option.

This is how we feel today. All 3 of us. I'm so grateful he's not in harm's way and that we had an entire month together. But it doesn't get easier with time. The stronger we become as a family, the harder it is to be apart. I feel so blessed with that- it was a great few weeks away.

So, tradition! We -did- get to go to the Pumpkin Patch. We did just about everything this year... pony and hay ride, pumpkin carving!

Last year, K wanted -nothing- to do with the inside of the pumpkin or the carving. Went a little bit like this:

THIS year went like this...

I think it was all the manly-man diggin in the dirt bonding time with his daddy. Either way, it was a blast with him!

Pumpkin carving with Em was like a flashback of K the year before. She looked at me like I'd completely betrayed her. Poor kiddo. Hopefully next year will be better, but because she's a girl... I won't hold my breath. After the "guts" were gone she came back around.

And the pumpkin patch itself:

Guess it was K's turn to close his eyes. I wanted this one as our family '11 pic!

K-monster took this!! We may have a future photographer. :)

It was an amazing family day. Looking forward to some fall fun with the kiddies- got some projects coming up. I am also excited for "The Lion King" on dvd and bluray tomorrow! I love sharing the classics I grew up with with my kids.

What're your favorite fall traditions?

I never met a pumpkin I didn't like.

I wish I were laying by the pool... since that's not possible at this moment, I wish I were sleeping. Cloudy, warm Texas day- could I ask for better PJ weather? I don't think so. Feeling a little sad to go "home", but I have a lot to get done and it needs to be back to reality. I don't know that I'm ready to face the season change. How is it possible that it's "summer" here, and people at home are wearing jackets and turning on their heaters at night? I will be honest, I'm looking forward to slow cooker hot chocolate, jumping into piles of leaves and the pumpkin patch... Oh, and halloween with the kids. None of those things is as enjoyable without the person you love though. We at least get to keep our family tradition and go to Red Barn Farm all four of us! Possibly our last time for a few years. Not to dwell on any of that, because the end of this very long separation is almost over AND we get to keep our tradition. Just to recap:

2007

He was so mesmerized by all the colors. He kept wanting to drool all over the pumpkin stems. This is when I fell in love with fall for the first time. Keg's first trip to the pumpkin patch!

2008

Just a year later and we're a family of four. THIS time when we went it was blazing hot and I came home red as a lobster. Em's first trip to the pumpkin patch!

2009

This is one of my favorites of our family photos. We took the hayride out to the large pumpkin patch and the kids had their first pony rides.

2010

Another gorgeous day in October, perfect for a family photoshoot. This was the first year I think they understood what was going on... they road in wheelbarrows and got to pet animals and choose little pumpkins. This was the year I think THEY fell in love with the fall. I wish we'd gotten a better photo though... I HAD to shut my eyes!

So you can imagine how devastated I was thinking we might not get to do this. My amazing husband worked it out that we'll get to squeeze it in during our busy weekend. Even though none of us (especially K-man) want to go back to KS, we have something to look forward to. I fully intend to carry this tradition till the kiddos are grown, even though the pumpkin patch will inevitably change through the years.

Other great shots at the RBF:

Must find her outfit this week, but his is all picked out. These are the photos I wait for all year long. And some of the most irreplaceable memories!

Princess Bash- the food and the play.

The Food.

Belle IS cake, walmart bakery made her. Em wanted "a big, BIG cupcake, okay?!" for her birthday.

The chocolate fountain went better this time than it did last year, but I couldn't get it level somehow. Either way, it was delicious and everyone loved it! I served the chocolate with strawberries, marshmallows, pretzel rods and rice krispies treats! In hindsight, I wish I'd had something not sweet besides the vegetable pizza. Everything pretty much had fruit in it, but there was a TON of chocolate!

I served these, of course! Which were also a hit. A little time consuming if you have other things to be doing though. My oh-so-awesome husband helped for a bit. :)

What would a princess party be without chocolate covered strawberries? I also served fruit pizza over a brownie crust and vegetable pizza. Wish I'd done something like a cheese, meat and cracker tray and put more effort into coming up with a royal punch. Saving that (and my raspberry ice cube trays-yes you put the fruit in with water and freeze it!) for future parties.

I am happy to share any of my recipes, but will have to ask to share the "heavenly fruit dip" (with grapes, strawberries, cantaloupe and pineapple)- which also got excellent reviews.

The icing on the cake is the fabulous castle created by our friend.

Playtime.

My little knight with his Pssshhh. face.

The girls had dresses and shoes to choose from that they could wear/change throughout the party. Unfortunately my child didn't want to just throw them on over her clothes.

Mom's turn.

Shirts I made us.

All the kiddos got into the Knight play!

Our beautiful birthday girl!

After the party was over, she pulled out and played with every single one of her toys.

Princess Bash- The decor, the cake and the favors.

The princess party was a HUGE hit! I could not be more pleased with how it turned out and most importantly, my princess had a blast for her special day! Applied a lot of what worked and left out what hasn't from past parties and it went better than I imagined!

The whole "dining room" view. I think the palace background does wonders for the room!

First I did the prep work for the food, the husband set up the outside!

I used some of my personal favorite photos of her as well as the photos I took for her 3rd birthday.

Photo banner! I took ribbon and braided it. and I bought a package of clothes pins at walmart for .97 cents and used some pink paint I already had. I'll be honest, I saw it on pinterest and then again when a friend did it for her sons birthday party! I would do it again for every single one. My love of pictures and family members who don't use facebook to see their updated photos. This was one of my favorite parts of the decor.

I feel I could've displayed the flags better, but I love how they turned out. I found them at hobby lobby on summer clearance. It was intended to be part of a "Castle" theme. I used pins to hold them to the table cloth.

Stagecoach place card holders and I used place cards I found in a big Disney princess cut out book in the party section at target (clearance price $4.50 from $12!) that included placemats and stand up princess decorations, confetti, etc. I feel like the stagecoach holders are what made it. Hobby lobby wedding clearance for $2! It helps to know the party theme well in advance. Since this will be the last year my daughter will probably "let" me choose her theme, I went all out.

And... the beautiful cake done by a good friend at church!

Walmart had the Wilton princess castle cake (which can also be used as a boy castle, apparently) on clearance. I gave her a beat up box of plastic pillars and some pink sugar and she created this. Not only is it gorgeous to look at, but it tasted AMAZING.

Table with the favors! I had lots of time to plan- but I am also always keeping my eyes out for things I know I'm looking for. The tiara's came from JoAnn's crafts, they carry them every summer for $1/ea. Inside the gift bags were princess ducks and .30 cent wands, Princess Pez, notepads, markers and lip gloss. Boys had pez, m&m lightsabers and various candy. It WAS a girl party and they got to take home the awesome swords, shields (I'll get to those too) and helmets. The helmets I'd had my eye on for awhile, but let's face it... $7.99 per kid for JUST boys is ridiculous. So I was walking through the toy section and happened to come across them for a little over $1/ea.

Before. I took a shield I found in a costume drawer at a thrift store on post. I bought it for a quarter even though it was flimsy and had marker on it. I used that as a template to trace onto the cardboard.

After I cut them all out, I painted them black. They naturally kind of bent in a way that a real metal shield would've.

Once the black paint dried, I used the gold to make a design. The original tutorial recommended put the names "Sir ____" on them, but I wasn't certain of who would all be there, and it ended up that the girls had a blast with them too!

Her big gift. My uncle is a carpenter and can build just about anything so when I found this on pinterest, I immediately printed it out and took it to him. He did a great job, so I just had to pick the colors and the phrase for the side. Love it and our princess was SO happy.

Our little Knight!

Our little Princess also wanted to be a Knight. No distress for this damsel!

And we rented the bounce house again, princess style! Our house is perfect size for us, not so perfect when you try to stick 20+ people in it. We were expecting rain, so I'm grateful that didn't come until literally the moment she finished opening her gifts.

.... More to come! Next, the food. :)