Big Changes are Happening

When I last posted, I stated that I was getting ready for my brother and sister in law's wedding. After reading Skinny Meg's blog, I got connected with Annie who is a Beachbody coach. She started a challenge group on June 10th and I joined. As part of the challenge group, I started drinking Shakeology and did the Shakeology 3 day cleanse. I was super hesitant, but after trying a few samples I decided on Greenberry. I know a lot of people who love the Chocolate flavor, but I am not a huge chocolate fan. I also started Turbo Fire. It's a kickboxing video that really kicks my butt!

In the picture above the top row is June 10th, middle June 24th and bottom July 8th. I am super happy with my results and am going to keep going. I signed up to be a Beachbody coach and will be doing a challenge group starting August 5th with T25. T25 is awesome! It is a 25 minute work out that you complete 5 days a week. That is totally doable, right? Let me know if you are interested. I would love to have you join the challenge group! PS These results were after 30 days. I wore my bikini for the first time in front of others this weekend. I can not remember when I wore a bikini before this.

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Getting Ready for the Big Day

I could not be more excited that my brother is getting married. I absolutely love my future sister in law and am so excited for both of them. When they told us that they were going on a cruise and getting married on the beach, I was hoping that it would work out for us to go with them. Luckily everything has worked out and we will be leaving at the end of November for 7 days.

In March we went and picked out bridesmaids dresses and her wedding dress. It hit me that day that I had to get back in shape. After 2 babies, this mommy had let her self go. I was so focused on providing for both of them that I stopped thinking about myself. Well that day when we got to ring the bell because Meg found her dress, I decided it was time to get serious.

I did really well for about a month. I started using the MyFitnessPal app, stopped drinking everything but water, and started kickboxing as well as the 30 day Shred. I think I took on too much, so I got overwhelmed and a little discouraged and slowly starting reverting back to my old habits. I lost about 15 pounds and have really seen that it has made me feel better. I follow several blogs and SkinnyMeg  had a guest, Annie, to post about her fitness journey. It inspired me and I am jumping back on the "get fit" bandwagon.

Today I started the squat, plank and crunches challenge. It is 30 days and I can't wait to see the results. I will also be starting TurboFire on June 10th. It is an at home video that I should be able to do once I get the kids to bed. My goal is to wear a two piece bathing suit on the cruise and feel good about myself in it.

Hopefully I will be blogging more throughout this journey, so stop by and hold me accountable!

Not so Fun Soccer

One of Claire's best friends at Mothers Day Out is Mason. So when Mason signed up for soccer, Claire begged me to sign her up. Her first practice was rained out, but she was so excited about soccer and was telling everyone about it. We bought her a cute pink and white ball, white and pink socks and of course pink shin guards. What can I say...my girl loves pink! When we woke up Saturday morning, she was eager to get dressed and out the door to head to soccer. The soccer field is about 20 minutes away and she talked my ear off the whole way there. We pulled up to the field and there were tons of people there. She was still excited, but I could tell she was a little hesitant getting out of the car. We picked up her cute yellow Happy Feet shirt and waited for the practice to start. The first 15 minutes Claire had a blast. Then it came time to play against another team. As they started the game, the ball came close to Claire and she reached down and touched it. Her coach politely reminded her that she could not touch the ball. That was it! She ran off the field into my arms crying. She kept repeating to me that her feelings were hurt. Her sweet friend Mason came over on the water break and tried to encourage her to get back on the field. She was not having it. I gently slid her down my leg and made her stand and watch the game. She continued to have tears run down her face and would not let go of my leg. My heart just broke. A few minutes earlier she was so excited and was all smiles and now she was telling me she never wanted to play soccer again. Being a mom is tough! When the practice was over, we headed home. She quietly begged me to not make her go back next week. Part of me wanted to tell her she had to go back next week, but another part of me wanted to tell her she could stay home. I told her that I would have to talk to her daddy and would let her know. Harry and I decided that we would let her stop soccer and we will try again next year if she wants to. She is 4. We have plenty of years ahead of us for her to play sports. Before she fell asleep for her nap, she asked again if she was going to have to go back to soccer. I felt so bad. It was almost like she could not rest until she knew that we were going to let her quit. After I told her she would not have to go back, it was like all her worries went away and she fell asleep.

I am so glad I got a few pictures of her on her first and only day of soccer this year. Maybe next year she will be ready to play again.

 She was the cutest soccer player on the field!!

We start swim lessons at the end of April. She loves the water, so I am hoping she enjoys it a lot more!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

For November, I decided to do an "I am thankful for" on FaceBook. I thought it would be neat to capture on here too.
Day 1- I am thankful for a night out with my sweet princess getting manicures and pedicures.
Day 2- I am thankful for a fun filled night at Stix with my family including my brother.
Day 3- I am thankful for God and his beautiful creation.
Day 4- I am thankful for my sweet little man.
Day 5- I am thankful for my husband who is an amazing father and my best friend.
Day 6- I am thankful for my right to vote.
Day 7- I am thankful for my friends and a girls night out.
Day 8 and 9- I am thankful to be home from a work trip and seeing my family.
Day 10- I am thankful for Union's MBA program.
Day 11- I am thankful for a day with my mom, mamaw, aunt, cousins and Claire.
Day 12- I am thankful for tomorrows.
Day 13- I am thankful for my helpful husband, a sinus cocktail shot and a zpak.
Day 14- I am thankful for a warm house on this cold night.
Day 15- I am thankful for a night at home with my family.
Day 16- I am thankful for sweet smiles on my babies faces while they sit on Santa's lap.
Day 17- I am thankful for a night with my husband and friends.
Day 18- I am thankful for our church and the sweet giggles during the service.
Day 19- I am thankful for a craft night to make a Frosty for our front door.
Day 20- I am thankful for the teachers at CUMC PreSchool.
Day 21- I am thankful for my job.
Day 22- I am thankful for all of my many blessings and spending the remainder of the Thanksgiving holiday with my family.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our family. On Thursday for lunch we went to Harry's parents and enjoyed spending time with them, Amanda and Aunt Shirley. It was beautiful outside, so we were able to enjoy some fresh air before eating together.

After lunch, we headed home for naps and to prepare to go to my dad's side of the family. We had a great time visiting everyone! Claire was in heaven playing with baby Eli. I am so happy we were able to capture everyone below. We missed my brother, Meg, Ali and Demi!

Once we got home from our Thanksgiving feasts, it was time to put up the Christmas tree. We blasted the Christmas music and decorated the tree. I just love Christmas and am so happy my family does too!

 On Saturday, the kids and I loaded up and headed to Iuka, MS for Thanksgiving with my mom's side of the family. The kids had an absolute blast. They stayed bundled up and played outside a ton. They loved playing with their cousin Carrie and really enjoyed the tractor.

It has been a special past few days and we have enjoyed every minute of it!!

What have we been up to? Photo Dump

This spring Claire had her first manicure and pedicure. We had so much fun and she absolutely loved it. She has been back mutiple times since then and just loves to be pampered.

We decided to get a Children's Museum pass and the kids play so hard that they all ways pass out on the way home.

Claire has really taken off on riding her bike. She is getting so big!!

 We had a blast flying our angry birds kite. Hopefully this fall we will be able to get the kite back out and take turns running with it.

 Claire and I went to the Orpheum to see Super Why with our friends Kate and April. Both of the girls loved the show. I think there will be many more girls outings to the Orpheum in our future.

 We just adore the Collierville square. A visit to the trains is a must!

Summer time shades and popsicles

We were a little late planting flowers, but the kids were great little helpers.

In early July we headed to Lake Junaluska. This is one of the trips that we look forward to every year. We get to spend several days relaxing and enjoying being together with family. I love the picture above. We decided to go to a craft fair one day and Claire insisted that she needed her baby and baby stroller. Lucky for her, there was a booth selling baby clothes. Finally we have babies with clothes on instead of them all being naked.

 Family trip to St. Louis. You have to stop at Lamberts!! The kids enjoyed a train ride after.

Claire's favorite part about Grant's farm was bottle feeding the goats.

 Grant's Farm

Grant's Farm

We had great seats at the Cardinals game. I am not sure how much of the game we were actually able to watch, but it was lots of fun!!

The beautiful view from our hotel room.

The kids absolutely love Johnson Park. We have gone to the spray park a couple of time this summer too. 

The zoo is always a blast and we can't wait to go more this fall when the weather is cooler.

 What's a summer without home renovations? Our projects this summer included new windows, new carpet and a freshly painted front door

Harrison started out the summer unsure of the water, but now he really likes it. He would prefer not to wear the life vest, but we have had 2 occasions where he decided to hop right into the pool and thank goodness his life vest was on.

Claire is my water girl. She loves the pool and would swim all day if she could. Next summer, we are going to swimming lessons.

I can't believe summertime is almost up. Both of the kids start preschool next week. This year is flying by.



Tubes

Since March of 2011, Harrison has had an ear infection every month except one. We went to see his pediatrician on MLK day and she set us up with an ENT. After visiting the ENT, we scheduled surgery for the following Thursday. Harrison was relatively happy the morning of his surgery. It was such a quick procedure. His doctor was wonderful!! We went home and took a long nap after the surgery. When Harrison woke up, he started talking and wouldn't stop. It was so cute! His doctor said that his hearing is now 4 times better. And the best part of the surgery is that he has slept so much better.

Cake Pops

For Christmas, we gave Meg a cake pop maker. Luckily, she wanted to use her new gift to help us make cake pops to send to school with Claire to celebrate her 3rd birthday.

 Claire loves helping cook. We do not use our mixer very often, so she was thrilled when she saw it sitting on the counter. I love how serious she looks. She was so sad when the timer beeped for her to stop mixing.

 Once the cake pops cooled off, it was time to dip them in white chocolate and cover with sprinkles. Ali and Claire both loved the sprinkles.

I thought the cake pops were so cute and they were so Yummy! Thanks Meg for sharing your gift and for helping make what seemed like a thousand cake pops.



Birthday Party

December is a crazy month for our family. Having 3 out of our 4 birthdays in December and add in Jesus' birthday, it makes December a little hectic. Harrison had to have a minor procedure a few days before his birthday, so I wasn't sure if he would be up for a party that weekend. We decided to have a joint birthday party for the kids. It was so much fun! Claire was still sleeping when all of our family arrived, but slowly woke up and was excited to open presents and eat cake. We had a blast celebrating Harrison's 1st birthday and Claire's 3rd birthday with all of our family!

Jason, Ali and Meg Come to Visit

We really hate that my brother and his family live so far away, but it sure does make for an awesome visit when they come in town. They arrived late Thursday night before Claire's 3rd birthday. When Claire woke up on her brithday, she was so happy to see Uncle Jason, Meg, and Ali. We made breakfast and let her open her presents.

Claire got an Innotab and pretend make up for her birthday.
After presents, we got ready to go take pictures. Recently Meg got a new camera and we were so happy that she was dying to take pictures. 

I love how to pictures turned out! We took a candy break half way through the pictures to keep the kids happy.

After pictures, we headed to Chick Fila (Claire's request). It was insane, so luckily Claire decided that Burger King would work. The kids played so hard on the playground that Claire and Harrison both fell asleep on the ride home.

We continued the birthday celebration that night and got ready for the big party on Saturday.

Happy 3rd Birthday!

Claire,
     I can not believe that you are already 3. It does not seem that long ago that I was on bedrest anxiously awaiting your arrival. This last year you have grown so much. You have taken on your role as a big sister and absolutely adore your brother. You are still very independent and super head strong which I remind myself daily is a blessing. You love to take "big baby" aka Nockey or whatever her name is for the day everywhere. Usually you pretend to be her mommy or her babysitter. It makes me smile seeing how sweet and loving you are to "big baby". You are such a blessing and we love you so much!!

Christmas in the Country

Every year the Autry's have "Christmas in the Country" the weekend before Christmas. It is so much fun and a wonderful tradition that I am glad to be a part of. It is an all weekend affair, but we made a day trip of it on Saturday (the best day).

We rode on the hayride and sang Christmas carols. Claire enjoyed the ride in Shelley's lap.They stop the hayride and everyone ventures out to find the perfect tree. Once the tree is selected, everyone helps cut it down. Claire loved swinging the ax with Darrell.

We decorated the tree and then Santa made a visit. Claire and Harrison both sat on Santa's lap. Claire asked for a baby doll with a paci and she told Santa that Harrison wanted a dump truck.

Harrison and Mamaw took a little rest after Santa's visit. I am so glad my kids have great grandparents to love on them!

We definitely enjoyed "Christmas in the Country".