So I finally broke down and got real professional pictures of the kids for Easter. In the past we've used Portrait Innovations, and while they were good, it just didn't work well for us. I debated on a real photographer because well, I didn't really want to spend a fortune. Then I came across Lauren Atkins Photography from a good friend. She was doing Easter Mini Sessions for $50.00, which included a 30 minute session and 10 edited pictures on a CD. So I caved, and signed the kids up.
Of course, it was a rainy weekend, so we had to move our outdoor session inside. (She had offered to reschedule, but I knew we couldn't do any other time, and quite frankly, I just needed pictures).
I warned Lauren that Owen, my 5 year old was HORRIBLE with pictures and we would just take what we could get.
A few days before I talked to Owen about taking good pictures and how he could take pictures with a bunny and ducks if he would like, but didn't have to if he didn't want to.
Well, from now on, we will be having Bunny's and ducks in all our pictures, Owen was a HAM, I'm pretty sure she got 100 pictures of just O.
Brynnleigh on the other hand, was HORRIBLE. She screamed and cried and wouldn't let me sit her down. She didn't even want the sucker that Lauren had. We tried with and without the animals in case they scared her, she wanted nothing to do with it.
Luckily Lauren was kinda go with the flow, so we kept trying, and eventually I gave in and let Brynnleigh play with her favorite toy of all time....and we got at least 1 good picture of the kids together...
So, here's our Easter picture....Owen, Brynnleigh, and the I-phone!
I haven't gotten the other pics yet, but I'll be sure to share once I do!
So...I re-did the blog and in doing so, I think I have a spot where I can offer advertisement space off to the side. I know I like to find new blogs/shops etc. and thought this might be a good way for you to promote your site.
I'm going to try it out for the month of April and see how you and I like it and then decide if we should continue.....so, for the month of April, all advertisement is FREE!
I'm still playing around with sizes and what looks best, so right now, it's first come first serve and you get your choice of size (not to exceed 250x250).
I received a copy of the Copy-Kids Eat Fruits and Vegetables DVD to review. I'll be honest, I was a little skeptical. I though that Owen might be too old (5) and Brynnleigh, well that child won't eat anything unless it has syrup on it (yes, we call her Little Buddy from Elf).
The DVD is the simplest of ideas...so simple, I'm kinda kicking myself for not thinking of it myself! ; ) It shows kids eating and enjoying a fruit or vegetable. They talk about it, eat, and laugh, it's really cute.
Here's a glimpse:
I stocked up on some of the fruits and veggies featured in the DVD and prepared myself more for this review than the kids.
When I picked it up to start it...O was totally against it. "I'm not going to eat this stuff, lets play a game." I explained to him that we were asked to review it, and I just needed him to sit and watch the movie with his sister, and he agreed.
I started with carrots, something that O eats already, but Brynnleigh will not. We had just finished lunch and O kept telling me he wasn't hungry, so he was just going to watch...
Yep...he ate all of his carrots! Brynnleigh did not eat her carrots (just her hand in her mouth), but she did pick one up at one point. I'm pretty sure if we watch the carrot section again, she will go for it. She was so engrossed in the DVD.
Next, I was going to do a fruit but O was begging for broccoli...not something either of them will eat (O used to, then stopped and never went back). How can you argue with a kid who wants to try broccoli?
Now might be a good time to explain how stubborn Brynnleigh is, especially with eating. She doesn't "try" foods, she either eats it, or throws it. So the fact that she's even picking an unknown food up is amazing! And she may have confused the broccoli with an ice cream cone, but I'm not complaining! ; )
O didn't try it, but he loved watching the video, and I think with some more time watching he may cave. Don't worry, Brynnleigh (you know...the child that won't eat ANYTHING), took his broccoli!).
Next up...apples. B LOVES apples and O used to eat them, but has recently stopped. No worries....he ate his plus B's...because she refused to drop the broccoli!
O was telling me which fruit/veggie he wanted to do next...so he picked strawberries. Both my kids eat strawberries hands down...but I LOVE the fact that their eyes did not leave the TV.
We quickly moved onto cucumbers. O likes cucumbers, but hasn't eaten them in a while. I'm not sure the DVD had even started before he was re-trying it..
Brynnleigh even tried it right away. She did spit it out, but I'll take it!
We finished up with a green pepper. I didn't expect the kids to eat it since neither my husband or I like them, but both were super excited, so...
we went for it, and it was a success. O didn't try, but he was interested in it. He wanted me to cut it so he could see inside, and even smelt it. I think he licked it, but I'm not sure. Brynnleigh picked up this strip, and picked up a bite size piece to try.
Owen has already asked me to watch the DVD again...and wants me to go to the store and get the other items on the DVD so he can try those too! Both kids were laughing and engrossed in watching the other kids eat.
We did all this yesterday afternoon, and this evening, Brynnleigh ate a regular dinner, meat, veggie, bread....that has NEVER happened. I'm pretty sure that Copy-Kids helped her open herself up to at least try something. I have already ranted and raved to my friends and they are excited to check out the DVD themselves!
Do you think this would help your kids/grandkids/friends etc? Copy-Kids has graciously offered to giveaway a copy to one of my readers! If you can't wait for the giveaway, you can purchase this DVD directly through the Copy-Kids website for $19.95 with free shipping.
5. O has his goodbye routine that we have to do at every goodbye...I have to write this down teach my grandbabies one day! Of course every few days O adds a new piece, but for now it's
Hug, Kiss, "Roar", Boo, High Five, thumbs up (touch thumbs), pound (and blow it up), tickle tickle (yes you tickle), clap, honk (squeeze your nose w/both hands), peek-a-boo, "aah" ("Home Alone Face"), pinch pinch (fake pinch), and then blow (it was raspberries, but momma can't blow raspberries)...I promise this doesn't take 10 minutes
4. Brynnleigh has now started O's goodbye routine!
3.Recently, while riding in the car, I've noticed that Owen and Brynnleigh will start holding hands, it is precious! I'm still trying to get a picture of it.
2.I had a Tupperware party on Sunday and asked O if he wanted to come with me. His reply once he found out it would be all "ladies" at my party.... " it's okay Momma...we (him & Daddy) are going to have a man party while you are gone...only one girl is allowed...and that's Gracie (the little girl across the street, who he fights w/like they are married already). Call her Momma and let her know she's invited to the man party!"
1. The other morning I decided to try Brynnleigh's new dress....well, after we struggled to get it on, I realized it had bloomers attached to it....oops! (FYI - I never had this issue w/O!). Don't worry....it didn't phase her...she kept "go going!"
I'm so excited for this event that I signed up for!! There are still spots too for all you blogger peeps, and it's free to participate. I am hoping this event help me create more relationships and gathers some more readers for The BOAT!
I am trying to find some awesome companies to sponsor my blog in this giveaway, so if you would like, or know someone, please let me know. Best way is email - thelacksboat@hotmail.com.
This is open to maximum of 125 blogs and sign ups will end on May 4th (or earlier if all spots are filled). Sign up quickly, as of today there are already 77 bloggers signed up. I've seen some of the giveaways too and you will not be disappointed!
My friend Amy posted her results from her 90 Day Fitness Challenge and I must say she looks fantastic! While reading her blog, I started thinking...90 days from today begins bathing suit season...and this body I have right now, is totally not bathing suit ready.
So I'm challenging myself, to see if I can complete the 90 day challenge and have at least 1/2 the results that Amy had.
Anyone want to do it with me? I think this would be great way to stay accountable and motivated.
My biggest challenge is going to be finding time to complete the workouts (30-45 minutes long each), but I'm going to figure it out. Since I already get up wake up at 5:30 I really can't squeeze anything else in the morning. We don't get home until 6-6:30pm on a good day, and then it's dinner, bath, and bed for the kiddos, so I"m thinking 8pm will be my workout time. Any TV shows that we typically watch (for me, just Idol really) at 8pm, I'll just dvr and watch when I'm done. That way I can fast forward all the commercials and should still be done around the same time.
I'm 80% happy with my weight right now, but not my body shape. I really need to tone, and this is perfect for that. Not only that, but with it being a 90 day challenge, it will help me get into the habit of working out on a daily basis. A good friend once told me, it takes 21 days to form a habit.
So who is in with me? We can make this a weekly update post so we stay on top of each other. You can purchase the ChaLEAN Extreme video's through my friend Amy HERE (or maybe me....should I sign up to be a coach?). There are a few different options. You can get just the videos, the videos with resistance tools (2 options), or the Challenge Pack which includes Shakeology.
I am still weighing my options as to which set I will purchase, but I will let everyone who is interested in the challenge aware of which I decide to go with. I will decide this week, I want to get started right away.
And because I always need a bit more motivation...what should I treat myself to at completion? I'm thinking a new bathing suit...but since my awesome hubby just got me 2, I might need to think of something else.
I've been thinking about doing this for awhile now, just never followed through with it. Now I am...because well every time something funny happens....I think, I should totally put that in my Top 5 post! I also know that I will enjoy looking back on these once the kids are grown.
5. O likes to go to the coliseum to see the Arena racing - he calls is the "Car Lo Seum" I guess since he sees "cars" there, that's how you pronounce it!
4. The Little Einsteins were coming on - B started running around the house screaming "eyetine eyetine"...it was sooo cute!
3. When B wants to see something...she asks to see it....in her own words "Sheee it?" over and over again!
2. I was wearing a brand new pair of pants on Monday - at the end of the day I realized that my pants were sticking to me and could not figure out why. A few hours later, I decided to "check" it out....yeah you know those little plastic bags that hold the extra buttons? Totally still attached to inside of pants, and stuck to my skin!
1. While riding in the car :
Owen - "Momma...remember that time I lost my tooth and the Tooth Fairy didn't come?"
Me - "No Owen, what tooth did you lose?"
Owen - "My sweet tooth Momma....but don't worry, I got a new sweet tooth!"
I know there were some others (especially w/my crazy kids) but I didn't write them down. Hopefully this week coming up I'll do a better job at remembering!!
I've attached a linky, so please link up your cute, silly, funny top 5's! I'm linking up with The Mommyhood Chronicles
Brynnleigh was given this car from her good friends MG, TG, RG, & EG and since the day she got it...she loves it! Every time she sees it (which is every morning & evening coming in and out of the house) she says "Ca Ca" and off she goes! It's so cute! Thanks G's Gang!
3/13/12
Am I the only one that thinks she looks so much older in the top picture than the lower picture? There's only about 2-3 weeks between these pictures.
2/23/12
Oh....and guess who also likes it?
Don't forget to check out my Updates post, "Ask Amy", giveaways, and sponsor opportunities listed.
Not sure I want to share this with the world....but here is what our pantry looked like Saturday morning (and a lot of days before that!)
Before
I knew that I needed to reorganize, and go through and pull out the expired items and the items that I realize we just won't eat, I just never tackled it until now. I really didn't think I would find a ton out of date....I was right, but the things that were out of date...were really out of date...
2003? Really?
Yes...you read that right...2003!! What I don't understand....we moved to this house in 2009...how did it even make the move? On top of that....wanna know what it was....it box of tea bags...something that would have been super cheap to replace! No worries...it got tossed!
I also came across this box of cereal....make sure you check out how much was left...too
Yep...we kept it an extra year and a half just in case we wanted that one 1/2 a bowl of cereal!!
I also came across a bit of a stockpile of a few things...
Tea anyone? I'm pretty sure I can share since I have 5 boxes! I only make tea every now and then too...it's not even a monthly thing!
I also found:
That's right...three boxes of Capt Crunch Berries....bad thing, all three have the same expiration date. That would be because we made two trips to the grocery store the other week, Troy bought one box, and a few days later, I bought two. (They were 2 for $5.00....when can you get cereal for under $3.00 these days?). We will eat all three of them before they expire...this is one cereal that all four of us will eat!
This took me a lot longer than I thought it would, but I had a little help from Brynnleigh off and on. She was lost without her brother to play with. He was busy helping Troy out in the yard...
But, us girls got it done, and I'm so happy with the results..
Done!
We threw out 3-4 regular trash bags and one big trash bag. I had one grocery bag of stuff that I was giving to a friend (it was all in date and nothing we would have used anyways...I just kept it because I thought we would "try" it). Now we know what we have (and don't have) so when we go to the grocery store, we don't over buy!
I hope to to go through another area and clean out and organize this week or weekend (I'm thinking the foyer closet). I also went through Brynnleigh's drawers and pulled out the things that were getting small, faded, or just out of season (we kept a few just in case we have another cold spell). The spring stuff I set aside to give away...the winter stuff I put up in the attic to give away next fall/winter.
Sunday was beautiful here (still a chill, but so nice) so instead of working on the house, Troy and I stopped by Kohl's and had a great date lunch after church (the kids went home w/his parents). We picked up the kids, played outside for an hour, and stopped by and saw some great friends! So much better than straightening the house! ; )
How was your weekend?
FYI, just had to share this with you...I thought it was soo cute. Saturday evening Troy was talking about the work he & O had done outside....looks at me and says "Shoot, I should have taken a "before" picture outside so you could put it on the blog!". Thanks for being so supportive love!
First off, I'm so excited to have so many new followers! If When I get 75 GFC followers I will do another Mary Kay giveaway!! This time I'm thinking a Cream Highlighter...but I'm open to suggestions..what would you like?
I hope to add a few things to the blog in the next few days - an email subscription, RSS, and Google +, any other requests? ( I promise some tabs too...we are getting professional)
Lastly....with so many new followers....lets do another Ask Amy....so ask away. You can ask through comments, tweets, facebook, or email (all are posted on right hand side). Also....you can ask Troy if you would like...just make sure to say who your question is directed to. (If not, I'll assume its for me!)
Oh...yeah...one other one...sorry...any blogger peeps interested in doing a Mary Kay Review and/or Giveaway? I will offer your readers a 40% off discount for anything purchased as well.
Brynnleigh took Troy's old Cabbage Patch doll "Steven" to bed with her one night. This is what I found when I went to check on her. No staging what so ever...promise!
Do you participate in the lent challenge? You have to give something up for 40 days. I never participated in lent in the past, but last year I thought I would give it a shot. I gave up fast food, and I have yet to go back. I couldn't even tell you the last time I had it...but it was sometime in February of 2011. I have no intentions to go back either. I'm so afraid that once I go back that I'll start to crave it again.
Was it hard? Yes and no. The first two weeks were pretty tough, but I was able to feed my cravings with similar items from restaurants or at home. After about 2 weeks, it wasn't even an after thought. Now the only issues I have are when we are traveling (you really can't take a 5-6 hr car ride and expect the kids to sit down and eat), when it's nasty outside (who wants to get out of the car?), and when we are running errands & short on time.
So exactly what do I consider fast food? Anything that has a drive through in the majority of it's locations. So Subway & Jersey Mikes are still good! ; )
This year I wanted to stick with the same type of health kick, something that would be better for me to cut out of my diet. So I picked soda...all types. My drink of choice...Pepsi. It's my morning coffee, and my 3pm pick me up. It's my stress release and my treat to myself.
I did not think this challenge would be that hard. I actually had given up soda right before Troy and I started dating...but this time is different. I don't drink a ton of Pepsi, but I do have a little each and every day. I normally have a few sips in the morning before work, then every few days I'll have some with my lunch or around 2-3pm. If I haven't had it during the day, then I have it with dinner. It normally averages out to 1-2 drinks (12-16 oz) per day. It's more the habit than it is the craving.
So, on day one of giving up soda....I got this at Target:
Seriously? I mean you NEVER get coupons for soda. I wanted to burn it...but instead I took the picture and immediately threw it away. I didn't want to feel like I should use it! ; )
It's been almost 2 weeks and I haven't even had a sip of soda (and yes I considered a sip) but it's still hard. I think this is a lot harder than the fast food last year. At least with the fast food, I could get the same food at home or at restaurants. With soda, there is no replacement.
I do drink a lot of water....a minimum of 2 of these a day at work:
I've been drinking sweet tea when I just can't have water anymore...and I also have the water drink mixers. They are super sweet to me, so I only use 1/2 of one in my big water jug.
I'm not sure I'll give up soda forever but I'm determined to finish this challenge. I'm very competitive so I know that will drive me until the end.
So, what about you? Did you give up anything for lent? How are you doing with it?
Good luck to those who are going through the lent challenge!!
Owen got his very own fish aquarium and decorations for his birthday from his MeeMaw and PawPaw (Troy's parents). He was so excited. We had to open it and put it together right away!
O & T setting up the aquarium
So excited!
We set it up on Sunday afternoon/evening and promised O that we would take him to pick out his fish Monday night (on his actual birthday). He was so excited and couldn't wait to go get his fish. On Monday we took him to Toys R Us and then to Petsmart. He decided on a beta fish and we thought it would be a good fit. O named his blue/red beta fish Thomas the Train Owen Lacks Todd Lacks Owen Zoey...which was Thomas for short! (Unfortunately I was unable to take pics at the fish store since my camera was dead and I couldn't find my phone).
Thomas
A few hours after we put Thomas in his new home, we realized that the water was getting very foggy. We were stumped....we had washed the entire tank, all the rocks, and all the little decoration pieces 24 hours before purchasing Thomas. We also put in the water treatment and the Beta treatment (we didn't realize we were getting a Beta at first). We had a filter so there was no reason why his tank should be blurry.
Troy messed with the filter, and it got better...Thomas wasn't a big swimmer, but had started to swim a bit more while Troy was out of town the weekend after O's party. I thought we were in the clear...but Monday evening, I noticed that Thomas wasn't very active.
By Tuesday, he was barely moving, but was still moving. So we waited. Wednesday morning, he was 100% still. So we had to send him to fishy heaven.
I'm still not sure what happened with Thomas, but it just didn't work. I never did see him eat anything, so maybe he just wasn't happy in a nice big tank with a soccer ball. We had to explain to Owen (which sucked by the way) and at first he took it great, he wanted to flush Thomas and we thought all was well.
Then as we were getting ready to head downstairs to leave for the day, we realized that O was still in his bathroom looking at his toilet. I'm pretty sure he was waiting for Thomas to swim back up and say "Gotcha, I was joking". He just looked so heart broken and lost. It totally sucked. O was such a great care giver to Thomas, he made sure to feed him, and was very careful not to give him too much or too little.
We promised Owen an new fish once we got his tank straight and made sure there was no problem with the filter. Thomas the Train Owen Lacks Todd Lacks Owen Zoey, we are sorry that you were only with us for 1 week and 1 day, but we enjoyed every minute of it.
Today, a few days later Owen seems to have overcome his grief and has moved on. We think his tank is good (still not sure what made it so cloudy) and hope to have a new fish soon. I'm pretty sure our new fish, may share a great name with our old fish, only time will tell!
