No Use Crying Over Spilled Milk

So, I was pouring the munchkin a sippy cup of milk.  She was really cranky and tired and wanted her milk for nap time.

I poured it all in...

I grabbed the cap from munchkin...

She impatiently reached up for the cup...

the cup tipped...

and milk spilled.  EVERYWHERE. 

The splash radius is the entire kitchen.  and all over mommy.  not a drop on the munchkin.
Naomi started crying because she really wasn't going to get her milk...  and my first thought is:

"No use crying over spilled milk!" ... Unless I have to clean it up with a crying, tired munchkin who still hasn't gotten her milk and needs a nap.  Then it's ok to cry.

A Weekend of Celebrations!

This past Friday, Brad turned the big 2-6!  He's officially more than a quarter of a century old. 

Happy Birthday, Brad!!!

And Sunday was Brad and I's 3rd Anniversary!  It's been a wonderful past 3 years, and Ii'm looking forward to spending the rest of eternity with the love of my life!

Family Pictures!

We have family pictures taken a couple weeks ago.  Here's a couple of our favorites.  And here's a link to our great photographer-- Rachelle Olmos.

Thanks, Rachelle!  We love these.

Munchkin's 1st Birthday!

Munchkin is official a 1 year old-- that's toddler territory.  We celebrated by taking her to the aquarium-- we were going to go to the zoo, but it was kinda chilly outside and threatening rain, so we went to the aquarium instead. 

Munchkin loved the fishies!  Sort of... at first she was terrified of them.  We figured she didn't realize there was glass seperating those huge floating creatures (that were sometimes bigger than her) from her.  She clung to her Daddy's shirt for dear life.  After the first few exhibits, though, she figured it out and really started to enjoy herself.

Her favorites were the seahorses, and the octopus.  She tried to touch a string ray's wing, but the water was too deep for her little arms to reach, so she just splashed lightly in the water for a bit.

Then we hung out by the penguins and watched them shoot poo into the water... munchkin wasn't impressed. (Sorry, we don't have pics of the aquarium; we forgot out camera.)

We had lunch at Arby, and Munchkin got her first kid's meal-- chicken tenders, applesauce, and juice. I think her favorite was the BBQ sauce. Then we came home and had cake and ice cream. 

Wish our families could have been her to share this special day.  Know that we love you and miss you. 

Oh, and munchkin wanted to give you something...

I'm at it Again!

But this time, I had a running buddy!  Brad joined me in my 2nd ever, his first ever 5K.  He set a personal goal to finish in 40 min or less-- his official time was ***39:57***

Way to go, Brad!  I'm so proud of you!

My time for my first 5K back in November was 59:29.  My goal was to beat that time; and my official time was ***49:30***

Yep, you read that right-- I beat my last time by 9:59!

And it was snowing the whole time.  I pushed Naomi in the stroller while she was bundled up like a human burrito with a bottle.  Munchkin has now been in two 5Ks with me, and she can't even walk yet!  Way to go, Munchkin!

Oh, and on a side note: Brad has lost 19lbs since February.  And I've lost 21lbs.  And our munchkin has finally gained weight-- she's 17lbs even, at the 3rd%ile!  The Neeley house is definitely feeling good right now!

Story Time with Munchkin

One of Naomi's favorite things is to read with Mommy.  Her favorite book is Llama Llama Red Pajama. We read it at least a dozen times a day.  I have it memorized.  If I say "llama llama" she crawls as fast as her little munchkin body can crawl and finds the book and brings it to me to read to her. over.  and over. and over.

Another one of her favorite things is to get caught on camera.  This combines story time and the camera-- what could be better?

Dress Up!

So, my wonderful friend is teaching me to sew.  It's kind of addicting.  Once I started learning, I've kinda become a blog stalker for crafty sewing blogs.  One of my favorites that I've been perusing is http://theadventuresofroryandjess.blogspot.com/.  So much fun!

My latest project was a baby dress made from an old women's skirt.  I got a skirt at DI for super cheap, and using this as a guide, I made this...

Sorry, most of the pics are blurry.  My munchkin likes to "move it, move it" as King Julian says.

I Like to Move It, Move It!

I've started participating in races... I might be crazy, but here's the story.

November 14, 2010 I participated in my first ever 5K.  It was a benefit for a family friend who was diagnosed with Stage IV Melenoma (today, after many chemo treatments, he is in remission!).  Since it was November, and quite cold out, I mostly speed walked.  I ran for the first minute, then had to walk the rest while pushing Naomi in the stroller.  There were a couple times when I wasn't sure I could make it; it was very hard to breath.  But when I saw Brother Teemant running, I knew that I could do it, if I would slow down, use my inhaler, and let my pride and embarrassment over needing to use my inhaler go.  I finished with a time of 59:29.

This past weekend, I participated in my first ever BYU Splash and Dash.  I was in the Beginner's heat, so I did a 1/4 mile swim and 3K.  I'd also lost over 17 lbs. between these races.  The swim was first; I shared my lane with a woman who has competed in this event the last 3 or 4 years.  She beat me soundly in the swim, finishing her 8.5 laps before I had reached 5 laps.  I was the last one out of the pool with a swim time of 12:58.  It was a running clock, so it kept running while I was changing from my swim suit into my running clothes.  My stuff was in the locker room; but apparently most people just put on a pair of shorts and t-shirt over their swim suit by the door where they ran out of the pool area and started the race.  Oops.  I changed as fast as I could, and met Brad by the start of the 3K and we stared out.  About 2-3 minutes later, I told Brad I couldn't keep going or I was going to wet myself-- who knew swimming could make you have to pee so bad?-- and in my haste to start the 3K, I didn't use the bathroom.  So we turned around, I used the bathroom, and we started the 3K section over again.

My action plan was to listen to my body, and most importantly, my lungs.  I took my inhaler right after getting out of the pool before changing and starting the race.  I started the race at a light jog, setting distance goals for myself along the way.  Brad was at my side to coach and push Naomi in the stroller.  I would look ahead and tell Brad my goal, "I'm going to jog from this turn to the next crosswalk," and such.  If I couldn't breath, I allowed myself to stop and use my inhaler, no matter who could see me.  Breathing was more important than being embarrassed that I couldn't run without stopping.  According to Brad's time which he started when I started the 3K the second time, I finished it in roughly 28-29-ish minutes.  The official time on record is 45:57.  My total official time was 58:53 for the whole thing. I had the second to last place time for swimming (3rd to last if you count the person who did the swim, but didn't finish the whole race), and I was dead last for the whole thing.

But...
I FINISHED!!!  I never thought I would compete in something like this.  It was so much fun!  So what if I was dead last?  I had a great time; I accomplished something that even only 3 months ago, I NEVER thought I could do in my life.  It feels so good.  I feel strong.  I am so grateful to my Father in Heaven who has heard my pleas for help to become healthier.   I know my prayers are heard and answered.  And I'm looking forward to improving upon my times in future events when financial circumstances allow.  And this is me after the race, about 17 lbs lighter than my 5K in November.

I've got a long way to go, but I know I can do it.  With prayer and a loving Father in Heaven, and a wonderfully supportive husband-- I can do anything.  (And no, the 17 lbs lost wasn't because I chopped off part of my leg... I guess the angle is just weird...oh well!)

Getting Domestic

A good friend is helping teach me to sew and make really awesome stuff.  So far, I've had two projects-- making the munchkin a pair of pants and making munchkin a peas in a pod toy.  I finished her pants yesterday, and I think they look fabulous.

I think it's like a flannel fabric in dark blue, with yellow ribbon with flowers on it around the cuffs of the pants and the waist band.  The onesie was a gift from Brad's Aunt June when Naomi was a newborn.  (it's a size 3-6 months, and she's 11 months old in this picture).

For my second project I've been working on the peas in a pod.  The peas are done, but the pod is about to go in for attempt #3-- I've made it too small twice!  But here's a picture of two of the peas (one has gone missing already) and the too small pod...

and a non-sewing project... I'm decorated some letters to put in naomi's room that spell her name.  Found some white ones at hobby lobby on a 50% off sale,  so I painted them all pretty like, and hung them in her room.

I'm quite pleased with my projects lately. 

Beautiful Munchkin!

I LOVE this picture!  Munchkin looks so much like her daddy in this picture, too!

She just threw her toy out of the crib.

A Little Bit of Bragging

I want to take a moment to revel in a little bit of success.  I'm going to brag for a bit.  Two months ago, I looked like this...

and today, after losing 17.3 lbs in the last 9 weeks, as well as 5 inches around my waist and 3 inches around my hips, I look like this...

I also competed in BYU's annual Splash and Dash. This is right after I got home after the race. I did the Beginner's biathlon, which is a 1/4 mile swim and a 3K (Standard would have been 1/2 mile swim and 5K, and the Elite would have been a 1 mile swim and 10 K). More to come in a later bragging post that details the race.

I will give a lot of credit to an online program called MyFitnessPal.  It's like a guided nutrition plan that I make.  I can input my weight, goal weight, lifestyle, and body measurements.  Then it helps me figure out how many calories I need each day.  Each day, I log the food that I eat so I know how many calories I'm getting and from what macronutrients (carbs, fat, protein).  I can also choose to watch certain nutrients like fiber, sodium, cholesterol, iron, etc.  I can also enter what exercise I get each day to track my calorie burn. I even got a heart rate monitor!  I've stared Zumba, and for the first time ever-- I'm enjoying exercise.  I look forward to it; it's not just a chore.  I feel healthier; I feel happier. I'm losing 1-2 lbs per week, but it's staying off and I haven't gotten discouraged or hit a plateau.  And since I'm happier with me, I'm a better wife and mom for my family.

I'm worth feeling strong and beautiful.  I'm worth the effort to lose my excess weight, even at a slow pace.  Even better, I'm worth it even when others discourage me.  This is the healthiest approach I've ever had to weight loss.  I've always been afraid to count calories and weigh myself, but not anymore.  I'm not obsessive; ok, maybe I am, but in a healthy way, right?  My weight on the scale can't tell me my worth.  I know I am a daughter of a loving Father in Heaven.  I know my body is sacred, a "temple" for my spirit.  I know that as I strive to be healthy and take care of my body, the Lord will continue to bless me in my efforts to be healthier.  I've never prayed for weight loss and health like I have the past 2 and a half months.  It is a great source of strength to me.  I know that with help from Christ and from the tools I have been shown that I can eventually make it to a healthy weight.  I look forward to that day, but I'm smiling NOW.  I'm not waiting to be happy until I am at my goal weight range-- I'm going to be happy all the way there.

I love this quote:
"love yourself no matter what you weigh.  If somebody comes up to you and tells you you’re fat or if somebody comes up to you and tells you your beautiful — that has absolutely nothing to do with who you are and everything to do with who they are.  And remember that.” -Kai Hibbard (Biggest Loser Runner-up, Season 3)