Dieting Once Again!

As of April 25, I joined the wonderful world of health and fitness again. This time by means of My Fitness Pal online. I have worked out with Jillian Micheal's 30 day shred for three days straight! I am so proud of myself. I have managed to attain my goal of 1620 calories a day. If I can keep this up for an extended length of time (this time) I can lose a pound a week. My goal is to lose 20-25 pounds. So hopefully, in 5 months time, I can scream it from a mountaintop (figuratively speaking of course) that I attained my goal. Help keep me accountable to this new regime by 'pep talking' me on Facebook every once in a while. That would be a great help. Keep me in your prayers that I can do this, not only to work off some unwanted weight, but to succeed in a healthier/longer life.

transitions

In the last couple of weeks, I have been adjusting to a change in schedule. Nathan has lovingly and willingly taken on the role of getting the girls off the bus and cooking the weekday meals. I have been working the afternoons Monday through Friday. The new job has been great! I get to work in a daycare located in Lebanon Missouri. The best part of the job is that I get to take my kids to work with me! Alexander has loved the new setting. It took Danielle a little bit, and its been a bit rough for her to transition to new napping times, but she is enjoying being around other kids besides her siblings. 
Makenzie turned 7 years old on April 4. And she has been a busy young lady in the first grade. She has completed Rocket Math all the way through Letter T. If she completes the worksheets through letter Z by the end of the school year, she gets rewarded with a root-beer float! She has been working hard all school year long to earn that reward! She got to go to Bennett Springs with her class last Friday and she learned all about Trout.
Ashely turned 6 on April 6. She will be graduating from Kindergarten next month! 
Alex will be 3 in two weeks! And he has mastered daytime potty training! YEAH!
We celebrated Easter with Nathan's parents, Mark and Jean; and Sarah and Travis. Nathan's first Easter services went well, and I am so proud to stand beside him and support him in his passion to spread the LOVE and WORD of Jesus Christ. 
 

Strange Happenings...

             It has been a while since my last post. But fear not, lots of things have been happening, so it's not because I have a completely boring life that I have had no current blogs. I took a week long trip to the Quincy area to visit my family and friends. And while there I tried corned beef and cabbage for the first time ever for St. Patrick's day, and found that I actually liked it. I visited some friends I haven't seen in a long time, and I just got to spend some good quality time with my family.
             Our first night at my mom and dad's house, my youngest daughter Danielle decided that she was tired of living in a crawling world. So she took those first actual confident steps in the dining room of my mom's house. AND.... hasn't stopped since! That was March 16 for the record. And you say I don't milestone my kids' accomplishments? LOL.
             I visited my friend Elizabeth Dock and her family in Bowling Green/Louisiana Missouri for half the time that I was in the Quincy area. We had a good time catching up and our kids had a blast playing together. My kids got more TV, sweets and soda during this week of Spring Break than they get in a month at home. Don't think it came from the Dock's house either. The majority of it came from dear dear Grandma and Grandpa Green! While there, Elizabeth got me into the world of Pinterest. Yeah, I said it, I joined the world of Pinterest! I have made a powder form laundry detergent, plan to make 3 different kinds of paint and make a 6-layer rainbow cake for the kids' birthday party all from that website. I have also decided to try my hand in composting. How's that for some creative inspiration? Thank you Elizabeth!
             I don't remember if I have already posted this, so I'll post it again. After Christmas we went hard core on our son Alex to get him potty trained. And after over a month of lots of tears and frustration on my part, I got him 90% potty trained! The other 10% is the bed time area. We'll get there eventually. Unfortunately I have 3 still in diapers/pull-ups during the nighttime hours. Hopefully that will be fixed soon. (fingers crossed)
             My good friend Michelle Schultz came to visit me this last week as well. She brought her daughter Piper. We had a good time taking the kids to the park and the library and just getting to see each other more often now that I don't live 8 hours away. While she was here, one of our baby chickens decided to fly the coop when we had let them come outside for the afternoon. It just so happened to be one of the Easter Egg chickens that got away. I was distraught to the point of repeating myself over the dumb bird. Michelle made fun of me with good reason of course ;) And that should have been the end of it. I of course brooded over the idiotic bird, OVERNIGHT! How pathetic am I?!!!! BUT... Loe and behold, the retarded bird was under the carport. She had managed to survive the night without a heat lamp and without the company of the other 15 birds.
             Nathan took me on a date night on Tuesday night. I got Mexican food, which is my FAVORITE! And he took me to see The Hunger Games. Which was awesome! I recommend everyone to read the books and see the movie!
            One more exciting tidbit of information. I got a job today! The daycare that I applied for like 9 months ago called me on Friday and offered me a position. I start on Monday April 2. I am so excited to be bringing in a little bit of extra money. Even a little bit can help and go a long way!

All I want for...Easter is my two front Teeth

We have hit another milestone in our world of parenthood. My baby, Makenzie, who will be 7 in less than a month, lost her two front teeth this morning. Er, rather with the help of Grandma and Grandpa Green, she got them pulled. :) A little traumatic during the whole ordeal, but of course she is perfectly fine after the fact. My little drama queen. So... barring no more loose teeth any time soon, our tooth pulling adventures should be coming to a close for the time being!

The 'Bunch'

The Great Leap Year Storm 2012

So earlier this week, (February 29 to be exact) the Conway area had a huge storm. It turns out there were tornadoes touching down not even 20 miles from us! And we were in bed, sound asleep. We got 1am phone calls from a few church members warning us. We were okay, by the grace of God! But some areas around us were not so lucky. A few businesses in Lebanon got some damage that is being fixed fairly quickly. Branson got hit, Kansas MO, as did a place called Buffalo. Nathan will be heading to Buffalo today to help assist with any of the people who may have lost their homes. Wish him luck as he does this, and continue praying that we don't get more or worse of what came through the area the other night.

9 Years ago Today!

Oh, I forgot to mention that today is a special day. 9 years ago today, Nathan asked me out while I was working on dish at Steak-N-Shake...And I said YES!!! I haven't looked back since!