Birthday Getaway

So we finished celebrating Little Love's Birthday by going to Atlanta for her Birthday weekend. She has been asking for another American Girl Doll so we decided this would be a great Birthday trip for her. We made plans to visit the American Girl Boutique and Bistro, The Lego Store and The Georgia Aquarium.

First things first, we went to the American Girl Boutique and Bistro. This is a MUST for any little girl who loves American Girl. Little Love received her first American Girl Doll after Grandpa visited New York a couple of years ago and they went to the store there. She loved the doll but it was never her favorite. She would play with her but most of the time that doll would sit in a toy box. When she started asking for another American Girl Doll I was hesitant but Little Love slowly started playing with the doll she already had more and more and the request for a new one became a daily thing. A friend of mine had told me that letting them pick out their own doll at the Boutique had a whole different meaning for a girl so instead of letting her pick one out of the catalog I figured this would be the best way to go.

The Boutique is amazing. It's really a little girl's dream come true. Every doll is there, every outfit. The Bitty Babies, the Historical Dolls, the ME dolls... it was amazing to see it all. They have a hair studio for the dolls to get all fixed up (expect long lines!) and they make every part of picking your special doll a big deal. Little Love set her eyes on a couple of dolls and wanted them but I made her look at every doll to make sure she was picking the right one and when her eyes met Julie, she was done! She picked out some outfits, matching pajamas for her and Julie, bathing suit and the special American Girl brush that every doll must have to tame that unruly hair! It was truly a magical experience and like I said, something every little girl who loves these dolls should do!

Julie and Little Love both received an American Girl Birthday button because after all, Julie was born into our lives that day and she truly has become a member of our family!

Little Love was so excited! 

Thankfully in the same shopping center this is a Lego store. We didn't know until we got to Atlanta that there was a Lego Discovery Center so we missed out on that this trip but have plans to return soon for that. Our Big Love (our son) needed Lego's (NOT!) so we headed over to stock up. If you've been to any Lego store you know how amazing it is to see all of the creations and how many Lego's you can find there. So Big Love got everything he needed (ahem... wanted) and we were on our way for more celebrating. 

After a yummy lunch and some Birthday sundaes we headed to the Georgia Aquarium. I have never in my life seen so many people. Even Disney World in the Summer didn't even compare and trust me we know Disney World in the Summer. After waiting in line for an hour just to get in, we were finally in the Aquarium. It's wonderful, it's fun and any kid would love this place. However, I feel like this one is one and done. Once you've seen it, your good and I wouldn't think that there would be a need to go back. Yes it's large but that also means it's crowded. Seeing things were hard because there are so many people in front of you. Lines are long and kids get restless. Our loves held up well and it was a nice day. This is something they have really wanted to do and see so it's 100% worth it. Just be prepared for crowds on a Saturday and very long lines.

I will say that the Shark Whale and Beluga Whales were amazing. I loved the sea otters, I have decided I want one of those ;) and Little Love was so excited to get to see the penguins up so close. 

After the Aquarium a Birthday dinner and cake (yes I had a piece as it's OK to cheat on days like this) were in order and then crashing at the hotel!

It was a great weekend and another Birthday is in the books. I did much better on this trip with eating and exercising. I had a plan (a more realistic plan) and stuck to it. Unfortunately, I got home and got sick. Bronchitis in the Summer is not fun! So, I'm a little off on my diet and month three weigh in has not been done. That will be done soon!

A Tea Party fit for a Princess

Our Little Love celebrated her 6th Birthday. Since she was a very little girl I have thought about a Tea Party but we always ended up doing something else as a different theme suited her more at the time. Well this year, she wanted a Tea Party and I was thrilled! Thanks to Pinterest, I knew the perfect type of Tea Party to have.... Vintage. The party was filled with feather boas, white gloves, pearls, vintage head pieces and hats for all the girls. The hubby and I stayed up late fluffing pom poms in the perfect shades of pink and teal. My friends and I went antiquing looking for the perfect tea cups and sets for the girls to use. It was perfection and my Little Love was thrilled! She had the best time and we are so thankful for all the love shown to her that day.

Here are a few pictures that perfectly describe that day:

 Let me add that the above picture contains my newest find at my favorite antique store. My new China Cabinet is by far my favorite vintage, repainted piece that I have found yet.

 My Little Love

I had this big post planned for this Tea Party but I decided to keep it simple. It was a perfect day and a perfect way for my Little Love to celebrate her special day. I wanted to share that on this blog but only in a small way as this is one of the very rare times that a picture of my children will be on here or that I share something outside of my healthy journey.

Happy Birthday Little Love! The celebrations are just beginning as we have another surprise for her this weekend :)

Catching up

Life has been a whirlwind. Between hanging out at the pool, enjoying Summer, working and keeping up with challenges, blogging has just not been on my to do list.

Since buying our house we've been working on redecorating, making some changes and adding new touches here and there. Tip of the day: never try to pick out fabric with your husband for new furniture! I wanted some custom made pieces for our living room and what that consisted of is hours upon hours of bickering with my husband digging through fabric to find something we can both agree on. It was the MOST frustrating thing. But finally, FINALLY, we came together and picked something out. It all came together quite nicely and I am so happy. We both are :)

We've also been busy celebrating our Daughter's Birthday. I can't believe how big she is and it's crazy how time flies. We threw her a vintage tea party for her and her closest friends and it turned out great. After we were done preparing and decorating I just wanted to lay there during the party and tell everyone to just have fun. It was beyond crazy but for her, totally worth it. I plan on sharing a separate post regarding this party because I just love it so much and so did she.

So, what's new for this month? Well I finally bit the bullet and bought the Les Mills Combat. I love, love, love Les Mills Body Pump but I have been kind of wanting to up my workouts a bit and after much debate decided to just do it. Thankfully, at the same time my Coach decided to do a Combat/T-25 challenge. This just made it so much more inciting to do because Challenges are great for motivation! We kicked that challenge off on July 8th and it's been...interesting! Combat is foot work mixed with... well, Combat. ;) I have learned through this that I am the most uncoordinated human being on the plant. My stances never feel right and I can never remember exactly how to put my hands. But practice makes perfect and you just have to keep pushing through!

I feel myself still going back to Body Pump and sometimes I will go back and forth or do both in one day. I am about 18 pounds from meeting my first goal so this is just pushing me more this month because I really want to get there!

I also decided to better my chances of getting those last pesky 18 pounds off (for the 1st goal). So, today I started the Shakeology Cleanse. Luckily a friend of mine wanted to do it as well so when I have been starving today and wanting to break, I have called her to keep myself in check. It's always better to have a buddy to keep you going. Hopefully this 3 day cleanse will get me over that hump of seeing the scale not move as much and well on my way to meeting my first goal!

Lastly, I am thinking of Coaching my very first challenge. A few people have come to me interested in what I am doing. I'd love to be the one to motivate someone and help them change their lives for the better but my own self doubt is holding me back. I would love to Coach but I feel like since I am not where I want to be, it's just not what I should do. On the other hand, Coaching will keep me accountable and push me through to show others how much this lifestyle can help you. I am proud of myself for how far I have come because usually I would never stick with something for this long, let alone change my whole life around a program to better myself and my family in the healthiest of ways. I am still thinking on this and my Coach is so encouraging so I just might have to give it a try. We shall see!

Month Two

I have been behind due to the Holiday and being busy. At the end of June I did my monthly weigh-in and lost 14 pounds bringing my total of pounds lost to 34. I am very happy with this although I know it could have been better.

Month two was a lot of downs with a few ups. Thanks to the encouragement of my Coach I pushed through and stuck with it. I of course never wanted to give up and still won't but the cravings and lack of wanting to exercise got the best of me. However, next week starts my new Combat challenge so I am hoping July will show great progress and I've already been great at staying on track with eating clean.

Looking forward to great results at my next weigh-in!