Our BUSY Weekend!

What an EXHAUSTING weekend!!!! I don't think we stopped for a minute!
Saturday Derek, Lexi, and I went shopping for a Christmas tree. We found one and a train to go around it. Lexi LOVES trains, so we just had to get it. We got home kind of late, but Lexi wanted to get that train out of the box, so we decided to put the tree up so we could put the train around it. Derek and I ended up staying up till about 1:00 in the morning decorating lol...but Lexi LOVED the train and didn't want to stop playing with it.

Sorry this isn't a very good picture of it. The camera on my phone is crap. I really should start using my camera, but I'm lazy and my phone is more convenient.

Sunday was even busier...we finished decorating the Christmas tree and set up the nativity scene and a few other decorations. Me and the dogs jogged 6 miles...BTW the weather has been SO nice for running and I'm dreading going back to the gym when Winter finally hits :/ I don't want to be stuck inside. Then Lex and I got ready, picked up her cousin, and headed to Springdale for Ashur Bug's Birthday party! And what a fun party it was! It was at a gymnastics center. I never was in gymnastics as a child so I didn't really know what to expect, but the kids had a lot of fun! They jumped on the trampoline, played in the foam pit (which is pretty awesome BTW), flipped around on the bars, etc. Even the adults had a blast...it was a great idea for a B-day party!

Toy Story cake from Sweet Boutique - YUM!!

The Gym (After the party)

Playing in the Foam PitThe Birthday Boy opening his presents

I'm ready for a relaxing weekend sometime SOON!!! But it looks like we have another very busy weekend ahead. Hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

~Laci

I Hate This Day...

Two years ago today I lost my brother. Someone who I had never known life without. He was 2 years older than me, we shared just about every childhood memory together. We fought like cats and dogs when we were kids. He beat the crap out of me lol NO he didn't have any mercy on his little sis. Without him I wouldn't be who I am today. He taught me to be tough, to not let people walk all over me, and to never give up.

He was a free spirit and wasn't scared of anything life had to offer. He definately lived on the edge, which scared the hell out of most of us, but he didn't live life with fear. I honestly don't think he was scared of anything...which is a scary characteristics for anyone to have. He used to wear those "No Fear" brand of clothes when we were younger and how fitting that was. Good or bad he lived life to the fullest and didn't hold back for a minute. Some may say it was wild and wreckless and quite frankly he worried the hell out of us, but it was his life and that's the way he chose to live it. Eric Church's song "Young & Wild" reminds me so much of him.

Boy he loved this girl! So sad she will never meet him on this Earth.

It's been 2 years and it still feels like it's not real. It's crazy to grow up with someone your whole life and then BAM! they're gone. It's weird to think I'll never see, hug, smell, or hear him again in this lifetime...it's too heartbreaking to think of really. He will be missed more than any words could ever express and as long as I live, there will always be an empty place in my heart for him. Our family was forever changed when he left this Earth and will never feel complete again. Love and miss you "Butter" <3

*Shopping & Sunday Funday*

I hope every one had a great weekend. Ours was great, but seemed to FLY by with the days being so much shorter. Derek was in the woods all day Saturday, so Lexi and I went shopping :) This seems to be a theme this year. Hunting season is getting puuuurdy spensive! We had some birthdays to shop for...BTW OMG we have 6 birthdays to celebrate this month!! I felt like I was Christmas shopping, but nope it was Birthday shopping. We shopped ALLLLL day...seems like shopping takes FOREVER with a 2 y/o. Even though it can be stressful at times, it's fun for just the 2 of us to spend the day together...we always stop once or twice and play at a play place and she loves that! And Daddy got a deer, so it ended up being a good day for all of us!!

Sunday I went grocery shopping as soon as I woke up...I love going early Sunday morning that way I miss the crowds lol...crowds tend to make me cranky. Then I went for a 5 mile jog. It was SSSOOO beautiful Sunday and the dogs were loving our run, so I just didn't want to stop. Then Lexi's buddy A came over to play! She LOVESSSSS A!

(Intently watching Toy Story 3! Their Favorite!!)

Last Sunday my sister and I took the girls for a play day! We had SSSOOO much fun! First we went to the Monkey House...it's an indoor play place that has tons of those blow up bounce arounds and slides...Lexi wasn't having it though...too many kids and the bouncy things just kind of freaked her out, but she was just fine when mommy did them with her, so needless to say I was WORE out by the end of it! Then we had lunch at La Huerta!! YUM YUM! Our favorite! It was absolutely gorgeous that day so we went to the park...the girls had a blast! Then to top off a perfect day, we took them for ice cream :)

Being silly...a little too much sugar at this point :)Lexi gets SSSOOOO excited when she gets to see her cousins/friends. So I'm going to try and make it a point to have a cousin/friend over or out for a play date at least 3 Sundays a month.

(Then I cooked this for dinner)

...along with mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob. This is a healthy spin on fried chicken fingers. They were pretty good, kind of dry though. We put them on hamburger buns, with olive oil mayo, reduced fat swiss cheese, and salt & paper...it was pretty tasty that way. I got the idea from http://www.hungry-girl.com/chew/chewdetails.php?isid=1065 It's 1/2 c. Fiber One cereal smashed mixed with 1/4 tsp. garlic salt, pepper to taste, and I add a little creole seasoning to give it a lil' kick. You dip the chicken in egg beaters then dip into the breading...lightly spray strips with PAM then bake them in the oven at 375 for 10 mins, turn them over give them a little spray and cook for another 10 mins. They're only 240 calories and 3.25 grams of fat for 5 strips, so you can't beat that!

Today I'm meeting a couple of friends for sushi to celebrate another birthday! Can't wait to see them and YUM YUM I LOVE sushi!! Does anyone else love sushi, if so what's your favorite kind? I love trying new ones! A. Pat no negative comments please :P

~ABC's and an Easy Dinner~

I got the day off yesterday for Veteran's day!! I spent the entire day with my baby girl! It was F.A.N.T.A.S.T.I.C.!! It makes me wish I could work a little less. The day was simple, relaxing, and we got to share a lot of laughs...so much better than my usual days during the week when I come home after working all day and an hour and 1/2 at the gym and I'm just exhausted tired and have a million and one things to do before going to bed. It's nice to get a break from that every now and then to get to slow down and enjoy my little sweet heart. OH!! And something HUGE happened yesterday!! I'm standing in the kitchen making us some breakfast and Lexi is playing with her ABC magnets on the fridge (yeah I always said I'd never have that "junk" on my fridge, but it happens muh friends, it happens lol) when all of a sudden she just starts saying the alphabet...THE ENTIRE ALPHABET!!!!! So I start freaking out! OMGOMGOMG!!! She thought I was crazy! We've been working with her on it and she'll say bits and pieces of it, but never the whole thing. So it was kind of crazy to hear her just start saying it out of no where.

Wednesday night I cooked this for dinner

(That picture doesn't look to appetizing lol but I promise it's good)

I am not one to cook out of a box. I've never really liked anything from a box, but these Macaroni Grill dinners are DELICIOUS!! The Creamy Basil one is my favorite...

Normally I don't get home till about 6:30 or 7:00, so quick dinners are key these days! This is super fast and easy, so it works great for me! One serving (1 cup prepared, which fills me up) is 300 calories and 11 grams of fat. It calls for butter and milk, so I replace real butter with Parkay no calorie butter spray and I use about half skim milk and half whole milk. I've tried using just skim milk, but the sauce is too thin. So once you substitute those ingredients, the calorie count is even lower and it tastes great! The hubs loves it and even Lex gobbles it down...and for those of you with kids...I'm sure you know how picky a 2 y/o can be! Try it! I'm sure you won't be disappointed!

I was thinking about starting a new workout routine in the morning instead of after work, so I have more time to spend with my family and get things done. I woke up around 5:30 this morning and me and Rambo went for a jog. Rambo LOVED it, but I'm fixing to fall asleep right now and my body is pretty sore...so I don't know how this is going to work out... :/

~Laci

Welcome to the 21st Century

Okay I finally bit the bullet and created a blog...the new age of journaling to the E.N.T.I.R.E. world...yeah it kind of scares the h*ll outta me.

I don't even know what I'm doing or where to start. I'm not a very entertaining writer, so if I bore you, please feel free to move onto to the next blog...no hard feelings. I'm basically creating this blog because I suck at keeping up with a scrapbook of memories for my daughter, so I figure maybe I will have more success with a blog of memories...psshhh we'll see. And also because I read a lot of other people's blogs on a daily basis and am starting to feel a little stalker-ish, so now this way I can start leaving comments as myself and not as the creepy anonymous commenter :)

I have no clue what I will be writing about, but I figure it will probably be mostly about what makes my lil' world go round...Little Miss Alexis and my hubs...oh and maybe food...maybe a healthy recipes blog or healthy food "ideas" I should say...because I don't get much time to cook big meals, so simple, easy, healthy meals are more my style these days. We'll see. I know I have tried a countless number of healthy recipes and they normally taste like dog crap...not necessarily because I can't cook, but because you have to omit all the good stuff (butter, sugar, cheese, etc.). So if I find a yummy healthy recipe, I would be thrilled to share! I've recently lost a bit of weight and I have people ask me all the time "How did you do it?" Like I'm going to have this big secret or something. Sorry I've tried for years to find that next big secret, miracle drug, fad diet, etc...and I finally came to the conclusion that good ole' fashion diet and exercise is the best medicine muh friend. What my mother has been telling me my whole life *rolling my eyes* juuuuust kidding mom, I wuv you :) So anyways if sharing a healthy recipe from time to time will help someone become a healthier person, I would love to!

My blog will probably be under construction for a while as it may take me a while to figure out all these little gadgets and gizmos on here, so bear with me :)

~Laci~