Friday the 13th

I've got my fall decorations out, it really cheers up the neighborhood!
(I tried to upload pictures but the site isn't working right apparently)

Catherine is 6 now, and with Halloween coming up she wants to watch her first "scary movie". Do you remember the first scary movie that you watched? We'll get one that's a kid friendly spooky movie like Casper or something. Bobby suggested that we get her the one with the headless horseman that rides around with the jack-o-lantern on his head....I can't remember the title of it right now. She's growing up that's for sure!

Bobby's been away on a business trip all week. I'm ready for him to come home (which luckily enough, he will this afternoon), we've missed him. The house is nice and clean for his return. It was so easy keeping it clean while he was away. I don't know why exactly, he's not a total slob! :)

I've been working out really hard at the gym and watching what I'm eating and I've lost 18 lbs already!!! I look and feel so much better! I need to go shopping for some new jeans & slacks! :) That's such a nice feeling! My motivation was to loose weight before I turn 30 next year. I'm so glad I made this decision. It's not that hard, and the rewards are so satisfactory....I don't know how I ever let myself go before! :) LOL Okay, I do know how, having 2 kids and being busy hard at work and play all the time, and frankly just not caring...plus it's cheaper to eat less healthy!

Today I got my hair cut and colored, it feels so light and fresh...I'm a whole new ME! LOL

I'm watching my friends two girls today, they spent the night last night...I feel like all I do is make meals and snacks....they're so hungry all the time...they must be growing! I don't keep a lot of snacks in the house so it's been tricky!

I smell FALL!

I bought a cute pair of new brown boots & matching purse, and a gorgeous new chocolate brown cord jacket!!!! I'm ready for FALL and I can smell it in the air!!! I'm ready for hay rides, pumpkin patches, Halloween, apples, etc... I'm normally a spring girl but this year I'm really digging FALL!

I've joined a gym...A fitness center to be exact. It's exclusively female, has a ton of classes, modern equipment, hot tub & sauna room, spa & nail salon, smoothie bar...It's exciting!!! It's the first health club I've joined. I lost 12 lbs before I joined just by altering my eating habits and working out at home & getting on our treadmill. My clothes fit so much better (I can wear a few tops that I almost gave away to charity earlier this year....I'm so glad I hung on to them!) and I FEEL GREAT most importantly! I got my best friend to join too, so we car pool and encourage each other...We go 5 days a week M-F, I'm really proud of ourselves because we've really been sticking to it. I've lost weight in my face and arms which makes me feel great. I can't wait until I shed more pounds off my belly and thighs...But I'm not discouraged. It's taken a few years to put on the weight and I know it won't come off in just months.


The girls are doing great. Abby gets to play with friends while I'm at the gym, they have their little mini classes (Tumblin' Tikes, Pee-Wee Yoga, and Jr. Jam), as well as her play group while I have MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers), both girls have their church club AWANA on Wednesday nights. Catherine's been busy with her Brownie group, Soccer practice and games, and 1st grade!

Bobby's doing really good too, he's lost 25 lbs so far, and hitting the gym a lot, I can see & feel his muscles again (just like when he was in the Army......So sexy!). :)

The exciting news? We're going on a trip to Baltimore...Just the two of us! :) YEAH!!!! I've really been looking forward to it. We're staying at a really nice hotel, planning on taking a cruise of the inner harbor, perhaps hit a few clubs! :) The only down side is this week we both got hit with sinus infections...So hopefully we'll both feel better by this weekend. I already feel better, just not 100% yet. I'm up to 80% so that's manageable! ;)

School is going great for Catherine, she's made some great friends. The PTO is keeping me very busy, but I'm really enjoying it. The new principle was impressed with how well we handled the all school picnic especially considering that two of us were new in our positions (the President & Secretary, which we were mostly responsible to pull it off).

After MOPS today, I gave away a couple Halloween costumes (lady bug & bumble bee), snow pants, toddler clothes and some toys...It felt so good to give them to someone I know will appreciate them! It also feels good to free up space in our house! :) A couple weeks ago, I organized the hall closet with Bobby's help (so much camping stuff!)....We bought those vacuum seal bags (LOVE THOSE) and now it's so organized plus lots of extra space!!!!!! Wohoo that's a good thing!

Brand new doll & First day approaching

Catherine has been saving her money up to buy herself a doll (because I can't see spening $40 on a doll - I know I'm mean and terrible!). We were going out shopping today and she really wanted to buy her doll today.
She was $10 short, so Bobby and I decided to forward her the money so that she could buy it today.

She was a lucky girl this doll was on sale! So we picked up an additional one for her friend (Birthday party on Sunday). This doll is by Mattel - it's a Teen Trend doll and she is Gabby. Now we're on the lookout for more outfits and her puppy. :)

She's a really cute doll (I wish that her hair wouldn't tangle so easily though). Catherine is so excited. Now, the reason I think this is so cool is because Catherine is so much like me - but with one exception - she's never cared a whole lot for playing with dolls. When I was a little girl, I loved playing with dolls (I still have several from my childhood at least the ones past 8 yrs since our house burned when I was young) and I would have loved this doll. Infact, when I put Catherine to bed tonight we sat and brushed her hair together! :) Something I've waited to do with my daughter for years! :)

School starts monday and I have a first-grader that will be away from me all day. :(
Today we went to the mall and got her first day outfit, shoes and earings. Why the last minute? Because this girl of mine has over 35 outfits not counting any dresses (which is probably near 2 dozen) I wasn't planning on buying any new clothes until the fall....but you know how it is, you have to have the perfect first day outfit! :)

Last Thursday was the back to school night for us parents. I was there to help out with the PTO. Then we got to go to our childrens classrooms and meet the teacher and find out some info for the upcoming new year. (This year will be tough for the 1st grade because PA has decided that the K shouldn't know 30 sight words but 130, so they have to make up for it, since they didn't learn those extra words last year)

Anyways....Catherine gets to sit by the boy that she likes and she's so excited.(well, he likes her too, I saw his mom and she couldn't wait to get home to tell him who he'd be sitting by! Too cute!) :) So she's looking forward to the first day...favorite teacher, favorite boy, best girl friend, she get's to eat lunch there, etc... :)

Scrapbooking

Scrapbookers will enjoy this....make sure your speakers are on! :)

I've been scrapbooking (something I haven't done in a LONG time) these last couple weeks. I created an altered lunch tin a long time ago, so I'm working on the folders inside. I'm working on an AAM album. I finished my LO in the last CJ and mailed it off last week, I'm creating some cards, etc. I've kept the house clean and laundry up to date so it's easy to find a few extra minutes to play and create.

Bobby hung two braketless shelves above my desk and I got it organized. It's so much easier to work in an organized space! I'll update with some pictures soon. :)

School News

Catherine will be entering the First Grade this year! It's exciting for her - now she'll be gone all day. This will be so different for us! She is ready though. She toured all three 1st grade classrooms and got to meet one of the teachers during the Open House at the end of last year. (The other 1st grade teachers were busy talking with other parents/students and we didn't stay long enough for her to meet them all.)


We had a quick lunch at McD's then we went to the school because they posted the class list. Catherine and I could hardly wait to find out which teacher she would have and which friends would be in the same class as hers.

We found the list, and she's in the class with the teacher that she was hoping to get and is so excited about that! She's also has lots of her friends in that class (including a certain little boy) ;).

There are a few friends that are in other classrooms which makes her a little sad but she understands that this is how it works.

We have to go shopping for the first day of school outfit. :) School starts soon!
I'm busy today running some errands to pick up things that we need for the PTO to help get packets ready and for the all school picnic! :)

Next year Abby will be in Kindergarten - until then she's keeping pretty busy herself with different classes, playgroups, story hours, etc...

What a Busy Summer!

We have had such a busy summer and I've negleted giving updats. I'm so sorry about that!
We've traveled, we've done a ton of day trips, and have done so much this summer!





It's been a very busy summer for all of us here. The girls have had a lot of fun with vacations, seeing the circus for the first time,
sleep overs, swimming, going to the park, playing video games, watching tv, hula hooping, birthday parties, dancing to music, having friends over, going to amusement parks, etc...



I've been busy with all of their things plus working with the PTO for the upcoming school year, going out with friends, birthday parties, not to mention lots of cleaning and laundry, etc...

Abby turned 4 this summer. My baby is so big, and almost all her "babiness" is gone. She has the sweetest little voice though, which is my only cling to her babiness! :) She had such a fun birthday party - it was a nice twist to not have the normal character party - she had a polka-dot party. It was really cute if I do say so myself! :) I was out of batteries for my digital, I still need to develop the prints from the roll I took.

I had a birthday too. I was going to throw myself a birthday party since I was turning 29 but I didn't. :) Bobby and I went out for the night and had a great time instead.

We've had a great summer!!!

Quick Update

We travelled from June 14th to the 26th through 8 states, and visited all of our family.

I can update more on that later, but right now Bobby & I are going to fly back to TN and be in KY for my brother-in-law's funeral. He passed away Wednesday, July 5th due to the rare form of liver cancer he had. We're all heart-broken, and I really feel bad for my sister Tammy, she's so young to loose her husband!


-Heather