A little TLC

Adam definitely knew something was up with me. Maybe it was my "little" (okay, big) freak out session about not having a job yet and not being at my prepregnancy weight and not having him here for 5 days while he was in Tacoma job-searching and having the sinus infection from he** and not getting enough sleep... okay, you the the idea I'm sure.

So yesterday he surprised me with this, a one hour Swedish massage and a one hour relaxation pedicure set for this Saturday morning. I was so surprised I cried, mainly because it sounded so utterly relaxing, for lack of a better word, but also because Adam doesn't usually do things like this. He is very practical and doesn't think about things like flowers and massages and stuff. All I can say is Saturday morning, come rain or shine (or snow), I will be the most relaxed gal. Thanks honey!

Dieting is no fun

I have very little self esteem. There, I said it. I don't show it that often, but those who know me well (i.e. my family) know that I don't think too highly of myself. Part of that is from my past and part of it is that I am my worst critic and part of it is being a triplet where I am constantly compared to my sisters. Don't get me wrong, I love myself and think I have some great qualities, but I want to strive for more in order to be truly happy with my appearance on the outside, not the inside.

I am on a quest to lose a certain amount of weight by Adam's graduation, May 17. I am working out twice a day, either on the elliptical machine at home or using one of two DVDs- Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred or Biggest Loser's Weight Loss Yoga. My abs are killing me and I feel some more energy, but after one week of this and trying to eat a little better, I haven't lost any weight and only 1/2 inch off my hips and none anywhere else. I'm seeking out your advice!

My problem is I hate dieting with a passion. I can't follow any specific diet, like South Beach or low carb. What I'm looking for is any advice on how anyone out there who actually reads my blog has lost weight in the past, with YUMMY food, not cardboard. I have no will power so I can't do the "no carb" or "no sugar" diet.

By the way, I will definitely NOT be posting my tracking online. I don't update my blog that often anyway, but I will try and post updates every now and then, so I'm obligated to someone out there on how I am doing. Will anyone out there help me with weight loss advice? Thanks!

Okay, so I'm a blogging slacker

Sorry to the couple of faithful followers to my blog. I have been busy, overly exhausted, a little spacey and kind of forgetful these last couple weeks, so the last thing on my mind was updating my blog. I figured while I sat my lazy self on the couch and watched American Idol, I could update a few pictures of our last few weeks. Madelynn started smiling a couple of weeks ago and I learned that it is her social smile, not gas! She smiles every morning when she sees us and always has big smiles for Jack and Olivia.

This past weekend we had my mom and dad as well as my sister Kelli and her family come into town for Madelynn's blessing. It got a little crazy in the house with 6 adults and 6 kids four-years-old and under, but we had a lot of fun. On Valentine's Day we took the kids to the Children's Museum.

The kids and their cousins had a lot of fun playing at the Big Red Barn, the sand area and the water table. Jack loved the grocery store and Olivia loved the house where she could play "mommy." I loved trying to get all the sand off of the kids (it was everywhere!). I guess it's good that we played in the sand and then the water, not the other way around! The kids loved climbing on this little contraption and Hayden and Olivia were pros at climbing all the way to the top, so Jack and Roman tried to do it too. Roman did fine as long as someone helped him and his short little legs up. Jack, on the other hand, freaked out a little because he was stuck and couldn't figure out how to get up or down. In fact, Adam had to squeeze in and get him! Every one in the museum was watching the drama unfold as Jack screamed and Adam climbed! Sorry, I had to document the whole thing because he was so cute when he was scared!

Okay, this looks like fun... I think... Adam trying to help him down from the outside, but that didn't work.
Isn't is sad how he is reaching for help but stuck in that net?!Adam finally squeezed through but Jack didn't believe me when I said that it was Daddy's hand that he saw.Finally Adam just pulled him down and he saw that it was Daddy. He got a little confused a couple times on the way down and would start to climb back up, but Adam held on to his foot and pulled him down until he was out. It was pretty dramatic!

We had a good Valentine's Day. Kelli and I made a yummy dinner of chicken marsala, wild mushroom risotto, a yummy strawberry and feta salad and rolls. For dessert we did lemon pudding souffles and then watched Madacascar 2 (so funny!).

On Sunday we blessed Madelynn. Her blessing dress was handmade by my sister Celeste's mother-in-law. It is seriously a beautiful dress and I wish that it was okay for her to wear it more than once! It is a shame to only wear blessing dresses one time, isn't it? The blessing was beautiful. Adam blessed her to be strong in the gospel, and have a strong mind and body. He let her know how much we all love her and blessed her to marry in the temple to a worthy man.