Happy Birthday Leigh!

FYI:  By reading this blog you agree to pretend that it was actually written last Monday on the 16th of July.  Otherwise...your out! Stop reading immediately!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEIGH!!!  Today is my sister-in-law's birthday and I just wanted to take a minute to wish her a great day.  We were able to get together a couple of weeks ago...ahem...I mean days, to celebrate.  Last year her hubby threw her a Kegs & Eggs birthday party and it was a huge hit so we decided to go with that again.  So fun!  I wanted to be sure to share a few pics from the day.

Birthday girl

Brynnie

Abbykins

This picture totally captures his personality...love it:)

Henry

After the party we even snuck in some "sister time" and worked on Patty's wedding make-up. 

And we had a very peaceful dinner.  Thank you Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for keeping the kids entertained.

Clam Bake Dinner.  This is a bit shocking but I tried a clam...and I liked it!

Working out With Jillian: Week 2

I feel like such a slacker but as you know on Monday and Tuesday I'm still on my break because my sister is in town.   In fact, I feel so guilty that I'm planning to double up workouts a couple of times this week.  That didn't work out so well last time but we'll just see how it goes.

I mentioned in an earlier e-mail that this workout system comes with a full Jillian meal plan.  I opened up the plan knowing full well that it was going to tell me to eat things like bugs and bark.  I mean how else could she possibly get a body like that?!  The very first thing that I see is a statement from Jillian directing me to quit "alcohol and caffeinated beverages".  I almost threw that meal plan right out the window.  I mean seriously...those are my two favorite vices!!  I could probably cut out one or the other but cutting out both would quickly lead to Evil Biotch Aimee.  I'm not talking just plain old evil.  I mean the full head spinning, psycho, mean kind of evil!  In spite of that...I read on.  There were things on the meal plan that I didn't even recognize.  There are some great ideas and recipes but in the end I just don't think I'm fully prepared to adopt the bugs and bark lifestyle.  So, in the interest of full disclosure I should tell you that I'm following the Weight Watchers Diet and working in some of Jillian's foods, ideas and advice.  I am limiting my caffeine intake to once a day and alcohol to once a week. This should help make me a slightly lesser version of Evil Biotch Aimee.

Monday:  Sister Time:)  I ate like crap.   Jillian would NOT be pleased.

Tuesday:  Last day of sister time:(

Wednesday:  I'm secretly afraid that Jillian knows about my last few days of slackerness.  Onto the program tonight...

Tonight's workout was Workout 1 (Shoulders, Triceps, Chest, Abs, Quads). I found it slightly easier tonight.  I don't think it's because I'm in any better shape than  last week but  maybe it's because I had an idea of what was coming next so I was able to relax a bit.  I took some time to admire the bods of Jillian and her biotches (I feel certain that she secretly or not so secretly calls them that)....not an ounce of fat anywhere!!!  Sigh...

Thursday:  Up at 5:30 am to get in my workout.  Imagine my total shock when I woke up and my muscles did not feel like someone was trying to rip them out of my body.  Go me!!!  The workout was "Workout 2:  Back, Biceps, Hamstrings, Glutes and Abs".  I did pretty well but did have to take a break on the "plank".  A plank is when you hold yourself up in full push-up position (no girlie push ups...I'm talking the beastly man kind).  Jillian's Biotches hold it up there like they are about to take a nap.  Seriously, they have smiles on their faces.  WTF?  It looks a little different when I do it...arms shaking, face bright red, forehead vein bulging, sweat dripping....not pretty.  My plan is to do another workout tonight to make up for my slackerness on Monday and Tuesday but I'm slightly concerned that my thighs may protest loudly later from the thousands (possibly a slight exaggeration) of squats I did this morning.

Second workout is not going to happen tonight.  While I'm not miserable (yet) my quads are definitely feeling the burn!  I feel certain that a second workout would turn me into the zombie-like creature that I was last week.

Friday:      5:00 am workout....Cardio 1.  I HATE Cardio 1 with a passion that burns like the sun!  I want to smack Jillian in her perky little face every single time that she says it's time for suicides.  AND...the hunk of muscley hotness behind her that looks like he can and does run suicides all day long...I could strangle that man regardless of his perfect washboard abs.

BTW:  Yesterday's decision to not do a second workout was a very good one.  I was pretty sore in the morning.  Not zombie sore but enough to know I made the right choice and wasn't just being a slacker.

Saturday:  I did Workout one in the morning.  I'm not saying I'm smiling through the routine like Jillian’s Biotches or anything but I just may be getting the hang of this.

I did Workout 2 in the afternoon...and even upped my weights for some sections...feeling great.

Sunday:    Cardio 1....grrrrrrr!  I have yet to make it through this one doing every single suicide.  As much as this one sucks it makes me really scared to find out what is in Cardio 2 (thank God that I still have 3 weeks before I have to discover the joys of that little gem). 

Week one down...only 11 to go...gulp.

She Said it...

Brynn has a little game that she likes to play during our nightly snuggle time.  She will rattle off several letters and then I will tell her what she spelled.  She then tells me whether or not that is a real word.  We giggle at the silly words she creates and cheer when she spells a real word.  Last night we played the game and our conversation went something like this:

Brynn:  H-L-E-L-S-T
Me:   (I made a sound that sounded something like a person trying to talk Chinese while under water)
Brynn:  (Giggling)  That's not a word.  Okay...how about H-A-S-T?
Me:  That spells hast.
Brynn:  Like...I hast to go to the bathroom?

At this point I could not stop cracking up.  All I could think of was my cousin, sister-in-law and I playing Banagrams at camping.  Those are exactly the kind of words that we were trying to get away with.  You just can't take the Sussex county out of a girl:)

Working out with (aka: Taking a Beating From) Jillian: Week 1

Okay...so last week I was not officially on the program yet.  My friend Misty lent me the first few weeks to try out but I don't have the diet plan or full work out plan.  I have been playing around with it though so I thought I would share my thoughts:

Monday:  It may seem ironic but the first day is also my first day off.  Lol!  You are supposed to have Sundays off but Sunday night is officially "Aimee night".  Dan is usually not home until late.  I put the kids to bed early and spend my evening sitting around watching Bachelorette all by myself.  Bachelorette is only two more weeks so I may have to change my night off to coordinate with Big Brother but I will keep you posted.

Tuesday:  Didn't start...this is not going so well.  I had to teach dance tonight so I just did a walk/jog between work and dance.

Wednesday:  I set my alarm for 5:00 am so I could get up and do Work out 1 (Shoulders, Triceps, Chest, Abs, Quads).  I did it!  HOLY CRAP this is not really going to be fun.  This is hard.  I kept telling myself that the video is only 30 minutes...I can do anything for 30 minutes.  Jillian is pretty motivational though...at one point she threatened to break through the tv screen and kick my ass (don't judge...it works for me).  I felt really good all day so I decided to double up and do the first cardio video (Cardio 1...such a clever name) that night (in hindsight this was probably not the best idea).  Uhhhh....HOLY CRAP!  It's hard and it is supposed to get MUCH harder a few weeks down the line (gulp).  When I learned that Jillian was going to require me to do suicides (yes...suicides) I may or may not have told her she was an ugly biotch.  Anyway, I did survive.  It sucked but in the end I feel good about it.

Thursday:  I was planning to get up at 5:00 am again and do Work out 2. However, when my alarm went off every single muscle in my body protested loudly.  As I lay in bed trying not to move anything, I decided that today's workout will be an evening one.  Everything hurts!  I mean seriously....I'm walking like I was up all night having a wild evening of "bomp-chick-a-mouw-mouw" and putting my hair in a ponytail isn't even an option because that would require use of my arms, shoulders and chest muscles (who knew that chest muscles are required for ponytail making?!).  I have to teach dance tonight so hopefully I will be able to stretch out my tortured muscles a bit then.  Bound and determined to do Workout 2 tonight still.

I had some time to kill between work and dance today so I decided to go for a walk.  My theory was that the heat and movement would actually help loosen up some of my muscles that were screaming at me not to move.  It was a good theory but I'm not sure how much it actually helped.  Maybe there was some progress because my muscles did not scream at me for the entire walk.  I made it through the tortuous process of stretching in my dance class.  I should mention that I am teaching a bunch of 4 year olds so this should have been a breeze.  All I can say is, I didn't cry.

I seriously dreaded doing Workout 2 more than I dread going to the dentist (and if you know me, you will know that there are few things that I would not do to avoid the dentist).  Workout 2 is back, biceps, hamstrings, glutes, and abs.  I'm not sure what I did wrong yesterday but all of those muscles and then some were already sore.  Anyway...I went into it with not the greatest attitude.  I just told myself that I didn't have to look like Jillian doing it (Seriously, does she even sweat?!).  I just needed to get through it. I did get through it and would go out on a limb and say that I killed this one.  I felt really good and was secretly thrilled to learn that I am way more flexible then Jillian.  Take that biotch...I CAN do something better than you!  Oh God...I hope she did not hear that!  What if she DOES jump through the screen and kick my ass?!  She is diesel you know....if anyone could do it she could!

Jillian's motivational message of the day was something along the lines of:  "You have to work your butt off!  I'm going to kick your ass for the next 90 days.  HARD!".  Yea...I believe her! (insert nervous laugh)

Friday:  Up at 5:00 (ahem...5:15) am to do today's workout.  Still sore (is there another word for sore because that just doesn't seem to accurately describe the pain?).  I trudge downstairs to my torture chamber and learn that today's scheduled workout is "Cardio 1" again.  NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!   More suicides...bleck!  I actually did better this time.  I didn't have to take as many breaks and while my body certainly doesn't feel any better, at least it doesn't hurt more.

Saturday:  I'm feeling very guilty but there was just no time for Jillian today.  We made a day trip to MD to celebrate my sister-in-laws birthday.

Sunday:  I gave my self off for the next three days.  I realize that this sounds like a lack of motivation but this time I have a great excuse.  My sister and her family are in town for the next 3 days so I will be spending every single minute I can with them.  I know, I know...Jillian is going to kill me. 

The entire program as arrived in the mail so on Wednesday it's time to fully adopt the program.  Dear Sweet Baby Jesus...please be with me!

It's the Little Things...

My kids LOVE to cook!  Both of them can stay entertained for hours (okay minutes) if I give them a job in the kitchen.  Both kids love to bake and help peel eggs for deviled eggs and will do just about anything I ask them too if it has anything to do with cooking.

Awhile back I had a craving for homemade chicken & dumplings.  When I say homemade chicken & dumplings what I really mean is chicken & dumplings from the Felton Fire Hall that someone else has made.  Those things are seriously the best thing I have ever tasted.  Unfortunately, the Felton Fire Hall only makes the chicken & dumplings on certain occasion so that just wasn't an option.  Now, I can make Chicken & Dumplings but generally choose not too.  Let's face it...it's kind of a lot of work.  However on this particular day I REALLY wanted them and the kids were kind of restless so I thought why not...I can entertain the kids and get my Chicken & Dumplings and everyone will be happy.

I pulled everything I needed together and chaos ensued...

And this was only about halfway through:)

Little flour footprints leading down the hallway to the bathroom

Some of the aftermath

flour face...I love the white eyebrows:)

There was flour EVERYWHERE!  This may have been a bit of an ambitious undertaking for a 5 and 2 year old.  They were literally covered head to toe in flour as was my entire kitchen, foyer and bathroom.  The kids thought it was all hilarious and even though I knew that I was going to be spending the rest of my evening cleaning it made me so happy to see that it really is the little things in life.  I LOVE my little things:)

Confessions of a Fat Girl At Heart

Truth:  I'm always going to be a fat girl at heart.  I LOVE food and I don't mean the healthy kind.  I believe that given a bag of Doritos and no one else around to see me...I could easily down the entire bag (hence the reason Doritos are banned from my house unless there is a party).  I love burgers, sodas, pizza, cheese, pasta, bread...you get the idea.  I HATE veggies!  I have developed a tenuous relationship with spinach and lettuce but that pretty much sums up the entirety of my veggie intake (unless of course you count Ketchup!). 

A little over a year ago, I decided that it was time to do something about my weight.  I was tired of not feeling good about myself, I wanted to be a better example for my kids and I realized that when my youngest child was a year old it was just too late to blame "baby weight".  So, I joined weight watchers, started working out and lost about 50 lbs.  Since that time I have gotten a little lazy.  I'm not eating all that healthy anymore (though still better), I'm not working out nearly as much and as a result I have been putting weight back on.

Losing 50 lbs was HARD work so there is just no way I am going to allow myself to get to that point again.  It's time to step up my game! I have a bachelorette party coming up, my birthday, I'm a bridesmaid in the fall (and all of the bridesmaids are bean poles), and of course the mud run...the time is NOW.   I had decided to start doing P90X videos.  I'm a goal oriented person so I thought those videos would help me get back into shape for the Mud Run (in October).  I did the mud run last year with friends (and had a blast).  I did okay and made it through the entire thing but it was also obvious to me that I need to start doing some work on my arms.  I have NO arm strength.  I was all set to start and then a friend of mine (who had done P90X) told me not to do it.  She explained that I would bulk up and I wouldn't be happy.  True...the last thing I want is bulk.  I'm just looking for definition (and weight loss obviously).

She started telling me about the Jillian Michaels Body Revolution Program that she was doing.  (Side Note:  I have a major girl crush on Jillian Michaels.  That woman is H.O.T!!, What I would not give to have her arms...sigh.).  My friend really likes the program and is getting obvious results.  I decided to check it out.  This is what the website says:

"Jillian Michaels Body Revolution has one purpose: To maximize your diet and fitness potential so you'll get dramatic results at an accelerated pace. Jillian delivers a complete set of compact, super-effective 30-minute workouts plus a healthy eating plan that will enable you to transform your entire body in just 90 days."

So...I'm going for it!  I have decided to take the plunge and do it.  My plan is to do the program and blog about it each week (on Monday).  Hopefully, this will help keep me accountable.  If I don't blog about it...it means I'm probably not doing it so I fully expect you to call me out!!!  I NEED you to call me out!!

I have ordered the complete program (Happy Birthday to me from my hubby...relax I asked for it and told him it is what I REALLY wanted).  It should be in tomorrow.  In the meantime, My friend lent me the first couple of weeks so that I could preview it and get started.  I'll let you know on Monday how I'm doing...

Yes please!!

Killen's Pond 2012

It is officially my favorite time of the year...camping season!!!  Every time we get a few free days we take full advantage of it for some fun in the camper. Every year we go on a camping trip to Killen' Pond and this year was no exception.  My Brother and family, and Cousin and family also attend this trip which means that we have 7 little ones (and one on the way) on hand to entertain us and each other.  Despite it being the hottest days ever (seriously...110 degrees!) we managed to have a blast. We came home with about a million bug bites, the dirtiest feet I have ever seen and lots of great memories...

Our little rednecks<3

The best things that ever happened to me<3

My brother with the yummiest dinner EVER...shrimp boil.  Mmmmmm!!!!

Some of us were able to forget that we are old:)

The men and their meat...

Going fishing

Smoked ribs

This is what Patrick spent the bulk of his trip doing...emptying the water tank.

Picking teams for kick ball

Work that belly Boquita.  Denise is 15 months preggers and hung in like a champ!

This is my favorite picture of them all.  See how hot, sweaty and dirty Ava looks?  Yup, that pretty much sums it up the KP.  Lol!

My oldest nephew fanning me.  $8 for 4 hours was not a bad deal.  He did make it about 45 minutes:)

Sea Isle

Yea, yea, yea...I'm a blog slacker again.  The whole point of this blog is for me to write things down so I can keep the memories for Dan and I and the children (because I suck at updating things like baby books and photo albums).  We have had the chance to do so many amazing things already this summer that I really want to blog about.  The problem is that I keep getting behind and then the process of catching up just seems so overwhelming that I just avoid it all together.  Lol...who knew that this would start to feel like work?!  Anyway, if I blog everyday for the rest of the week...I SHOULD be able to catch up.  I'm going to give it the old college try but don't judge if I become a blog slacker again:)

A couple of weeks ago we took the kids to Sea Isle, NJ.  It was a quick weekend trip but one that we try to take every year because we all just adore it.  We stay with Aunt Carol and Uncle Doug (aka:  best hosts in the world) who have a permanent campsite at a campground that Dan has been going to from about the time he was born.  It was such a perfect little get away.  We took the Ferry over after work on Friday.  I love the Ferry and it has become a tradition to put the kids in little sailor outfits every year for pictures.  I wonder how many more years they will let me do this?

Colton is not wearing his sailor jacket because it was just too darn hot! 

The campground also has a huge lake that you can swim (or boat) in.  Both kids LOVED the lake.  They enjoyed swimming, playing in the mud, throwing mud (Colton of course), finding rocks and catching tadpoles. 

Saturday night Dan surprised me with an evening out.  As you know Dan and I's Anniversary was on June 26th.  It was a Tuesday night and Dan and I made a half-hearted attempt to celebrate.  We put the kids to bed early and ordered takeout from our favorite local restaurant.  We ate takeout in front of the TV while watching "America's Got Talent".  I know...we are party animals!!!  Lol...it was simple but we were happy.  But in order to "officially" celebrate Dan arranged a Surprise Anniversary Dinner/Dolphin Watching Cruise for the two of us. In my opinion "dolphin watching" sounds kind of boring but it was so peaceful and ended up being really exciting.  We saw a bunch of dolphins and some of them were right along our boat showing off.  We had a few drinks, dinner and watched the sunset from the boat.  We were SO relaxed!  We finished off our evening with an ice cream cone.  Pure Perfection!

Checking out the convent and lighthouse from the boat.

While we were cruising the kids were kept entertained by Aunt Carol, Uncle Doug and Kristina (cousin) (THANKS A MILLION!!!).  They had a blast!  They rode the tram, did some digging, made smores and had a post smore bath before bedtime.

Ocean View Tram....the kids think this is the best thing in the world!

SMORES!!

Post Smore:)