In the past few months my blog traffic has zoomed and to keep up with the times and be able to customize my own themes and such I have purchased a domain where my new blog will be stationed. It is still under construction, however, seeing as how it too nearly two months in the making to get some of the kinks worked out with the hosting and exporting etc. I will be working (in the next few weeks) on a new header and layout so I ask you to bear with me through the design process. In the meanwhile I will still be posting on the new blog so be sure you change your links/blogroll/google reader to the new url. DO IT! DO IT NOW! pweaase??

Here’s the new site:

www.themommyproject.com

In honor of my baby girl (Kayla’s) 3rd birthday which is TODAY I am doing this week’s TT on Thirteen Things Kayla LOVES! 1. Favorite foods: Ramen noodles, hot dogs, cereal, eggs, cheese, bologna, Popsicles, bananas, and olives! 2. Favorite Colors: Blue and Purple 3. Favorite movies: Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas (yes, still even into April!), Monster’s Inc, Happy Feet, Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo, and Dora the Explorer: Dora’s Halloween (Yes she is a very big holiday movie fan)! 4. Holidays! Christmas is her favorite holiday and not for the reason’s you’d think a toddler would. Her favorite? The Christmas tree! She loves decorations of and kind. She is one big celebration packed into the form of a child, why wouldn’t she love holidays? 5. Favorite inside activities: Coloring, jumping on the bed, hide and seek and tickle time! 6. Favorite outside activities: Swimming, drawing with chalk, going to the park, watching kids play (I know, she’d rather watch then play). 7. Bath time! She loves bath time, especially if mommy, daddy or sissy get in with her (and yes, we’ve all gotten in at the same time!) 8. Favorite books: Any of the Olivia books by Ian Falconer, Elmo: Babies, any book about animals 9. Favorite toys: Blocks, squirty bath toys 10. Favorite thing to do EVER: GO TO GRANDMA AND PAPA’S!!! 11. Favorite songs: Anything on Yo Gabba Gabba, Ring Around the Rosie, Wheels on the bus, Head, shoulder’s Knees and toes 12. Favorite thing to do with her sissy Ava: Tickle her, push her nose, hug her 13. And talking on the phone to grama, papa, uncle Chris or Auntie Nini!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

 For this weeks edition of  Wordless Wednesday…

Your 3(!) big years of life in 15 little pictures.

You started out life so rough. Sometimes it’s hard to believe you are still here with me. I’m thankful every day for you.

I loved you from the begining, with a love so strong it sometimes suffocates me.

I never wanted to put you down, you were always in my arms. My little ladybug.

I loved your baby rolls, those chubby cheeks I loved to kiss.

I am so proud of you, baby girl.

You’re the best of both worlds; so gentle and so sweet with so much energy and spunk.

I wish I could see the world through your beautiful brown eyes.

You make me want to be a better person.

You always make me smile. From the inside out.

You’re so goofy. Just like your mommy.

You have your father’s will.

We’ve been through some tough times, angel.

I’ve been there through every tear.

And every time we’ve laughed together.

You Are My Sunshine
My ”little” sunshine.
You make me happy
When skies are grey.
You’ll never know, dear,
How much I love you.
Please don’t take my sunshine away

I love you, baby girl. Happy early birthday to my everything.

  So today I think I drank 2 TONS of water. Needless to say, my toilet has never had so much company. I also did squats while cooking dinner, push-ups while Kayla brushed her teeth and a few crunches while holding Ava in airplane position (an have completely convinced my children that I’m one screw loose). I didn’t have time to get a walk outside today, Kayla had occupational therapy and we had to finish cleaning up after the mess we made while spring cleaning (yes, somehow cleaning made our house messier then before…NEVER MESS WITH THE SHIT IN THE CLOSETS!).

I felt kind of sad today, saying goodbye to a lot of our old baby stuff. A lot of those items hold so many precious memories. We gave Kayla’s favorite swing to my bro and sis-in-law. Ava never really cared much for swings but Kayla LOVED hers. I remember seeing her little baby chubb all tucked into it, fast asleep. I used to put her in it and set in in the bathroom while I took a bath. She would coo and babble at me and every once in a while I’d splash a little water at her and she’d laugh.

Sometimes it’s hard for me to realize that the objects don’t hold the memories, I do.  Perhaps why I’m still holding onto the burned chandelier from the dining room of our old house (It burned down in the San Diego wildfires last October-if you’re new to my blog). It’s terribly charred and distorted and looks nothing like it used to when it hung over our dining room table, but every time I see it, it’s feels as though I’ve lost this huge chunk of me. The hubbs was trying to convince me to throw it out yesterday while we were doing our spring cleaning, but I just don’t think I’m ready for that. Maybe next Spring.

I guess another reason it was so hard for me to part with all our old baby stuff is it just seems so final. Like this means for sure I am not having anymore children. If we did then we’d have to go out and buy all new baby stuff! I don’t want to be done having children. I loved being pregnant, I love kids! I just can’t have anymore right now. Now, if I won the lottery tomorrow, I’d be singing a different tune! I’d be knocked up by summer! But sadly, due to money problems (and the fact that I already have my hands full with a disabled toddler and clingy 7 month old) we just can’t live out our dreams of having a large family now.

I loved that baby stuff, but it’s just stuff. And even though I could still smell what Kayla smelled like as a baby on it’s cloth, that doesn’t mean I can’t smell it forever in my mind.

Okay…I’ve gone and made myself cry over a baby swing now. What a tard. Anyway, moving on…I know it’s going to hold my little baby niece or nephew in a few months and I know all of it will be appreciated. Then one day when their little one has grown and they have to get rid of it, they’ll know what I’m talking about now and won’t think I’ve just completely lost it!

Blah. What a weird post this is. Now going to get back to watching my Tivo’d shows like “The Bachelor.” Don’t be jealous. Haha!

Started by Jen @ One moms world

   I have decided to participate in Jen @ One moms World’s Spring Weight Off Challenge. It’s a very good idea, and although she is offering some very neat prizes, I will be doing this for me more than anything else. I decided in January to start trying to lose weight. A few months have passed by with no effort on my part. I keep making excuse after excuse to start exercising but I always end up being too tired. My list of excuses may include all or more of the following;

• I have to clean the house instead
• I am too tired
• I have a headache
• My hip hurts
• I did enough today
• The baby won’t let me
• I didn’t sleep well
• I’m having a bad day
• But I just TOOK a shower
• I have WAY too much to do today
• And what will I do with the kids while I do this?
• I can’t find my shoes
• It’s cold outside
• It’s hot outside
• It’s humid outside
• How will I get a stroller and two kids down three flights of stairs by myself? We live on the third floor!
• I’ll do it tomorrow

So, in light of the fact that I will make an excuse for damn near anything, I am going to give this a shot.

I have battled with my weight all my life. I get it off, it comes back. I get it off, it comes back. Lately I am starting to think it s here to stay. So TAKE THIS FAT! YOU ARE LEAVING ME NOW! …i hope.

The skinniest I have ever been in my adult weight was 135. Of course that was when I was 17 and not exactly an adult, but hey, it counts! I weighed 150 when the hubbs and I stated dating again. I was happy at that weight, I don’t look too bad at that weight! But afer a few months of dating I started getting comfortable and the weight crawled up on me. I weighed 160 when I got pregnant with my first. The day I went to the hospital to give birth, I was weighing in at 198. I vowed to never reach the 200 mark. I knew it was all down hill from there. So, after a few days of labor followed by a few weeks of the “NICU diet” I stepped into my house for the first time with my baby and hopped on the scale to find myself weighing in at a whopping 172. That’s right, in just a few weeks, I had dropped 26 pounds and she was only a seven pound baby! (I don’t recommend the NICU diet, although it produces excellent weight loss results you subject yourself to many tears, sleepless nights and an altogether absent appetite.)

By the time she was 6 months old I was back down to my pre-pregnancy weight of 160, but I was still overweight and would continue to gain until I got pregnant again with my second.

Second baby, I began the pregnancy weighing 175. Yikes! I had gained 15 pounds that year. During the pregnancy is gained steadily until I saw that 200 mark creeping up on the scale. Still trying to avoid that 200 mark, pregnant or not, I avoided the scales for the following weeks until after I brought my baby home to find myself at 194. Now, the baby is 7 months old and I have manged to get my weight down to 179. Not quite my pre-pregnancy weight and DEFINITELY not where I want to be. My goal is to get down to 140 or possibly 135 (I’m 5′4, so it’s not that unrealistic!)

So check back every Monday for my weigh-in to see how much I’ve lost. I plan to pretty much continue eating the things I eat now (minus the cookies!), add a whole lot more water, take out soda (even diet), and walk/jog daily. Hopefully I will be more inclined to follow his now that I know everyone that reads my blog is watching.

Starting weight: 179

Goal weight: 140(ish)

(Can you believe I just put my weight on the froocking internet?? I can’t…going to bury my head in a pillow now.)