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Wednesday, February 15, 2012

been a lot going on, continued....

So,
as I said before we've spent a lot of time with family lately.  Then, of course, when you are around a lot of family (or people for that matter), you will of course pass germs around.  And boy did we get some GERMS.  It started out as a lovely little sore throat and sinus/cough thing we all had.  THEN it morphed into a stomach bug...with my poor little Isla getting the worst of it.  I swear the already skinny little thing looked like she was in a concentration camp for a little while there.  Thank goodness for whole milk and it's ability to make you fatter :).  She's looking much better now.  Finally....FINALLY! we are all better.  So if you've been sick, know that I love you....but STAY AWAY!  at least for a little while so we can bask in being healthy for a short time.

 Other than that, it's been back to business around here.  We didn't do much for valentines day.  We never do.  I wish I could be better about it and go all out with the crafty valentines decor, etc.  Maybe someday....just not yesterday....  You know, to me (and I imagine it's because I have four small children), but it is just too soon after christmas and new years and all of the back to back holidays.  I'm still worn out from all of that.  So my big thing lately has been organizing and purging.  I've decided that I can't jump into any big projects until I have this place organized.  First of all, there is just no place to work.  That garage of ours is craaaazy.  I want it to become a lovely workshop for all of my new tools, oh and a laundry room (new plan is to move the washer and dryer out there to make room for something really great that I'll tell you about later....stop it Anna! getting ahead of yourself again!), and then just space....ahhh SPACE!  Anyways, so I've been working on room to room to room getting things in order...and catching up on a mountain of laundry (yikes).  So!  I know all of you that really want to see Isla's bed hurry up and get finished since I went on and on about it (what maybe three people that read this blog, lol) sorry....I've told myself that it HAS to wait until I have a organized place to build it in.  I do have all of the materials though...and it's just KILLING me to not get started.  So that has actually been a big driving force for the new found motivation I've had.

In other news, I've started a diet.  I mean full blown diet.  before I was just doing my best to change my and my family's eating habits for the better...but was never strenuously restricting myself.  Now I'm full blown on phase 1 of the South Beach Diet.  I know it's an oldie, but I've always used it when I wanted to drop some weight and it's always been a miracle for me.  I have made it through two days successfully (that's a lot seeing as how the first day my husband tried to sabotage me by BAKING COOKIES...really, Brent!  and the second day was Valentines day....I hid my chocolates!  lol.  So, I'm happy with my will power.  Really, I am very glad that we've been "eating right" for about three or four months now as a family, because it makes the hard stuff a lot easier.  I feel like I have successfully changed our lifestyle instead of just doing a diet, and then stopping and going back to eating crap.  Hello yoyo!  I will post more about some of the other stuff I've been trying as well...but I think if I continue talking about all of that, I'm afraid the three of you that will read this...will be asleep :)

Would you like to see some pictures of me through the years yoyo-ing?  that sounds like fun, right?  Keep in mind, I've been having four babies too...
1998


 1999
 1999
2000 - in love and getting fat
 2001 - just married and getting fatter
 2002- whoah, am I ever fat!  lol, that's chase growing in there :) Halloween and little cousin Cassidy with me there...
 2003- yoyo....skinny again
 doing alright in 2004
 prego again in 2005

2006 -after baby and hiding from the camera but you can see I'm pretty hefty
getting better a little later- 2006


 2007--yoyo again
 me and grandma the end of 2007 (miss her!)

 2008- geez I want to get back to this size...
 2008 in the fall....was pregnant again

 2009 after having Isla- look at her cute frog feet!
 2009 a few months after baby....fat people should NOT wear shiny shirts...wow, anna...wow...
 2010-Isla's first birthday.  Had lost some weight, but not all....and was secretly pregnant in this picture.
 2010 after having Sophie...double the baby weight!
 Christmas-time 2010 not much better
 2011 still really fat....and with a bum knee, beautiful...
 Easter 2011
 Christmas time 2011- most recent picture of me that I can find...yeah, finally losing a little weight
Will post a picture once I've been on my diet a while and see what I can do this time.
NO MORE YOYO-ING!!!!  I'm ready to be healthy and fit :) I want to last to see my grandkids grow up.  Hope that was mildly entertaining.  I realize I went a little overboard with the pictures, but it was fun going back through all of them today.  I re-lived some great memories :)

xoxo
Anna

****disclaimer****
I just wanted to add that I am not getting down on myself.  I love myself the way that I am and am completely happy in my own skin.  I thought it would be an entertaining idea to have a look at how I've changed over the years.  It was fun, I enjoyed going over my adult life in succession today.  I'm obviously more interested in being healthy above all else.  I'm comfortable in my skin no matter what size (something that's taken years to arrive at, I'll admit).  I just didn't want anyone to think this was a pity party.  I'm trying to get in shape and blogging about this is a way of holding myself accountable.  So, hope there weren't any misconceptions.  Thanks!

Been a lot going on...

Hello!
I have not abandoned thee, Oh Blog!  There's just been a heckuva lot going on.

 First let me start off by saying that a lot of our time and energy has been suddenly diverted towards our family for the past several weeks.  The world lost a amazingly wonderful man in late January.  My father-in-law passed away after a long battle with cancer.  He has certainly left a very large hole in our world and our hearts.  I am forever grateful to a man, who I loved as much as I love my own father, for raising a son just like him ;).  Without that man, my husband would not be the amazing person I love so very much.  He taught him how to be...pretty much, the perfect man (well at least the perfect man for me).  He has truly left an indelible mark on the world around him...one that will never be forgotten.  I'm so happy to know that such a man is part of my Forever Family. 
John Thomas Carter, Sr.
With Isla when she was about 1 year old.  She loved him so much....just sat and stared when I took this picture for like 30 minutes :)  

We all loved him so...




I'll end with this tribute here.  I don't feel like adding the rest of the stuff I wanted to say is appropriate, so I will post another post with all of the other stuff that's been going on with us. 
xoxo
Anna