Missing Socks Dilemma

Today, I had a meltdown....over socks.

Yes. 

I know, it sounds lame. But if any of you are OCD like me, then you'll appreciate the fact that it took me THIS long to finally go off my rocker about it. lol. 

So, I finally did something about it!

(sorry about the lighting...the light is RIGHT over that spot and there was no way to get a good picture)

I went to the store, got some fish-eye hooks, clothes line, and clothespins and hung up a clothesline....

Then I took it step further and busted out my black vinyl and my cameo.

The font I used was called Impervious, from Kevin and Amanda

The letters (the tall letters like the Ts and Ls) were 4 inches tall. I just googled "sock svg" and found this one...well, actually it was a PNG that I had to turn into an SVG.... and voila! Missing socks floating around the house issue is done!

The Dreaded Scale

I must admit, I'm OBSESSED with the scale. I weight myself EVERY day. I know..it's not healthy. I don't do it to obsess about my weight...I really do it JUST to make sure I don't go over a certain amount.

BUT, I can't help to obsess about my weight when I see my weight go up. I literally fluctuate between 4-5 pounds within a DAY! It's crazy! Like Monday morning I'll weigh THIS, and then Tuesday morning, I'll weight 4 pounds MORE. HOW in the world is that even possible!? I have to admit. It ruins my self-esteem.

BUT, I have to remember, my STRENGTH is really growing. I can SEE the muscles in my arms and legs (and BUTT! hehe) without even flexing. So I know that I have muscles, which we all know weighs more than fat. And my clothes still fit...which is good.

My friend posted this picture on her wall the other day. No, it's not me. and No, it's not her....but is a GREAT reminder to not take the scale so seriously!

This girl weighs almost 10 pounds heavier and is clearly in better shape. 

So, just remember....the scale is NOT the end all be all. 

Now...if I could take my own advice!

Daddy Love

I know I do a lot of complaining.... of all the things laying around the house, of all the things that don't get done while I'm at work, of all the things that I feel I do on my own. 

But, I need to remember that all in all, my husband sure does love his kids!  And it is VERY apparent that his girls love him SO MUCH! I can already see that they view him as their "hero" or "super daddy!"

This is one of the sweetest pictures EVER to me. Autumn was so excited that he stopped by when he was in the area while at work. 

It's just amazing to me how much Autumn loves her daddy, which is the way it should be! A father's love for his daughter, in my eyes, is so great! I am so thankful to have found a man that really does love his girls and would go to the moon and back for them!

Get Your Fit On!

So, I am lucky to have a lot of friends who are into eating healthy and working out. It helps keep me in my "mojo" of healthy living. And if you know me...(or "know" me) you know that working out has been a part of who I am for about the last 12 years.

We all know how EASY it is to just NOT think about what we eat...and take the time to workout.  If you've been following since I started this new blog, you'll know that I started T25...even posted about it. HERE,  I'm not going to lie. I didn't finish the program. I did really well for 2 months...even though you couldn't tell from my lack of blogging about it. BUT, I realized I just couldn't do it anymore. It was really hurting my neck from all the bouncing. I have a dislocated disc in my neck, so this really is a bonafide reason! lol

Well, I reverted back to my "roots"....what helped me to lose the original 40 pounds I lost many years ago (I'm only about 15 lbs from that weight...and I've had 2 kids since then, so I shouldn't be TOO hard on myself....right?! I went back to my Firm workouts. I actually really love them!

But I was wanting something a little more intense. I wish I could go back to my bootcamp, Wendy. She was so awesome! The times just don't work for me -boo! And I wish I could afford her as a personal trainer - that would be "tres" awesome!!

But, I can't.

So I went back to p90x. I really do like it! I like using weights...I LOVE strength training. I love strength training WITH cardio.

So I got P90x3. I love it! I totally feel like this afterwards....haha!

And then THEN I was talking to a few friends and I got THIS beautiful thing....

It's a PolarFT4. I LOVE it!

It measures my heart rate....and tells me how many calories I've burned. 

I don't know about you, but I'm a goals-kind of girl. So I REALLY like seeing those calories being burned. Keeps me motivated to keep going. 

Even when I have to START working out at 8:30 at night - blah!! 

Some days are just so crazy, full time teacher, full time blogger/creator, full time mother and full time wife. That doesn't leave a lot time left for my workouts....but I KNOW I feel so much better when I get it done, so I get off my couch and put on my shoes....and push play... or go for a run...or do some yoga (man, does yoga do a body good!).  So I leave you with this picture for tonight....yum!

Wild Things Party!

Today was my baby girl's birthday. My little Brooklynn Wynter turned TWO years old! Sniff, sniff! Although I have LOVED watching how she has just grown into such a cute (albeit, SPUNKY) little girl. Her giggles and laughs are enough to just make your heart melt.

The theme was "Where the Wild Things Are" 

Here is the cake and cupcakes I made. I'll get to the cake later :)

For the Wild Rumpus, I had a few things for the kids to play...first up, was a silly string fight! We had a break in the rain, so we headed outside to do that first.

I think even the adults had fun doing it :)

Then it was "Pin the Tail on Max"

And some balloon popping fun!!

Then it was cake time!

The cupcakes were just vanilla and chocolate, but the cake was zebra striped!

All you do is have 2 different batters, and then just add the batter on top of each other, one scoop after another. Don't play with or help the batter, just let it spread on its own. I used the left over batter for the cupcakes, so I had about 24 cupcakes too.

When you cut into the cake, it looks like this...

Happy Birthday to my little wild thing!!

Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate!

Supplies I ordered for this party

Getting Ready for Christmas!

We've been getting ready for Christmas in the Ross household.

Autumn wrote her first letter to Santa - I am so excited to keep this memorabilia! 

She asked for an airplane, beads, and a Strawberry Shortcake Doll.

If you'd like a letter writing template, I shared a freebie on my teaching blog, you can get it {HERE}.

She even sealed it, addressed it, and stamped it with a heart!

I've been told that our post office will actually write back so I'm going to make a copy of the letter (so I can keep the original) and then send it out tomorrow. I am excited to see if she gets one back!!!

We also made the first batch of Christmas Cookies!!

These are TECHNICALLY called Frosted Nutmeg Logs, but I call them Yule Log Cookies....they are some of my husband's favorite cookies!!

I found the recipe MANY years ago in a magazine that I ripped out to keep - but I found the recipe online. Click {HERE} to get the recipe!

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving break!

So much to be thankful for!

So it seems it's customary to profess what you are thankful for on Thanksgiving. I feel that it's a little odd that you only say the one day a year when you're supposed to...to me these are the things you need to let people know ALL year! It's kind of like Valentine's Day for me. I feel bad for boyfriends and husbands that are being trapped into finding a fancy and expensive way to tell you that they love you. Shouldn't they do that all year 'round???

With all that being said, I AM going to give in and profess what I'm thankful for....because I AM thankful.... and I'm a very lucky girl! It's not just today, but always....

I'm grateful for my little mischief makers

for my husband who puts up with me and my craziness

for my parents who may live across the country but never let a day go by where they don't let me know they think of me....

I'm thankful for my health...and I try not to take it for granted and keep it going!

and for my friends - for the ones that have given my children some of their best friends....

and have given me a great group of friends too!

 and the ones who have become more like family!

There are many more friends I am so thankful for - and so many other things, this list could go on forever!!

I'm thankful for nap time (for children AND HUSBAND) so I can cook Thanksgiving dinner quietly...hehe

I'm grateful for all the friends I have made through my life of my teacher blogging - they are some of the most kind hearted, giving, funny, awesome group of ladies!!

But most of all, I'm thankful for everything God has blessed me with!!

So today, and EVERY day, I am thankful and a VERY lucky girl!!