Lovopoly

Last week I was surfing the web trying to find creative gift ideas for the upcoming holiday. Yes it's a big deal. I think gifts given for Valentine's Day should be personal and full of LOVE. Since I LOVE Valentine's Day. I'm a sap for any kind of romance. I came across http://www.lovopoly.com/. I think this is such a cute idea! However I just couldn't bring myself to order a 12 x 12 board game for $80.

I've kind of been on this kick lately of making everything myself. It's always cheaper that way. So that's what I did. I made my very own Lovopoly game! Well, to be given to Dustin for V-day of course. It turned out awesome. We have/had a Monopoly board game sitting in our cupboard unopened from 2 Christmases ago. I thought I would put it to good use. I'm pretty proud of this one. It took me about a week and half and many hours on the computer, but I think he's going to LOVE it. He better. 

And yes, this post is safe because Dustin never looks at our blog. He doesn't think anyone ever reads it, and that I'm wasting my time. I know that I have a few friends out there that care.
So, this is for you. Let me know what you think.

The Time Has Come

Kael turned four months old today. I was thinking that he might be ready to start eating rice cereal so I broke it out for lunch. Needless to say he was MORE than ready. This cute little guy kept grabbing my hand and shoving the spoon into his mouth. He's so strong and I was afraid he was going to choke on it. When I would pull away to scoop up more he would start screaming like I had just took the best thing away from him. I'm just glad he took to it as well as he did. One less thing I have to worry about. He's such a good eater!

For the LOVE of sewing

Watch out everyone! I think I have found my new hobby. Santa brought me a really nice sewing machine for Christmas this year, and I finally found the time to put it to good use. I love it! It was my plan to make a baby blanket for my dear sister by this weekend, and well, I ended up making two.

One for Kael

and one for baby Asher.

I'm pretty proud. This is the first time I have attempted to sew anything since 7th grade Home Economics. So, they are not perfect by any means. But I am going to stick with it. I need to be good at something for the sake of my children. Most of us know that cooking definitely is not my forte, so maybe sewing is. I hope so, because it's so much fun!

Once I was finished I was so proud of what I had accomplished that I started to make a list of the many other things I want to sew. Next on my list is a bag. One for church that I can carry my manuals in, as well as a few diapers and things. Oh sure, I already have one, but I want to see if I can MAKE one. It might be a little too advanced of a project for the amateur sewer. You'll just have to wait and see. I went to the store today to look at a few patterns and found so many amazing things in the sewing section. I want it ALL. Let's see how good I am at sweet talking my "Oh So Handsome Husband" ;)

The 20 lb. Challenge

I've noticed that Dustin and I are always comparing who has gained the most poundage since we've gotten married, and there is constant talk of losing weight and feeling great! We've started several weight loss programs over the past year and a half, but to no avail. Not that these programs don't work, we just have a hard time sticking with it. I find it hard to have self-discipline when I'm not seeing instant results.

Lately the pregnancy pounds that I'm still lugging around plus the added weight from the delicious holiday food is just getting me down. So we came up with "The 20 lb. Challenge"! (I'm not informing everyone of this so you can all watch me fail and add me to your List of Hopeless Causes. Hopefully, it will be more pressure on me to succeed.) And it's exactly what it sounds like. A challenge between me and the hubs to see who can lose 20 lbs the fastest. The first one to meet their goal weight gets a prize! Yeah! And I'm not talking about some dinky little thing you'd find in a cracker jack box. A REAL prize. I have chosen  . . . . drum roll please. . . . . a trip to anywhere I want (as long as it's within our means of course), and well Dustin is still deciding on his.

So, I hope you're all rooting for me :) Because so far I have lost a total of 6.5 lbs! Woot! DB's tally still remains at 0 lbs lost. He claims to be waiting until all of his Christmas candy is gone.

Stay tuned to track our progress and see who gets their PRIZE

First Haircut

Tonight we gave Kael his first haircut. I was kind of hesitant. He's not even 3 months old. But he was looking pretty shaggy. His hair had grown over his ears and already reached the bottom of his neck. So Dustin got out the clippers and gave him a little trim. I have to say he did a pretty good job. He looks like a little missionary.

          

Santa at the Mall

I never had any intention of taking Kael to see Santa at the Mall. He's too little to even know who the guy is and the pictures that they take are way over priced. However, I did happen to be at the mall when Santa started his shift on Friday. As I walked by I overheard one of the ladies that worked at the 'North Pole' say that you can take your own pictures. Good news. I also happened to notice that there were only 3 people in line. More good news. Ok, I gave in and Kael got his picture taken with Santa FREE of charge. I love FREE. And it turned out to be pretty darn cute.

Cheesy, But It Works

With Christmas coming up on us so fast and Dustin and I still trying to adjust to having only one income, paying to get family pictures taken just wasn't feasible. So I opted to take them myself. As you can see I tried to get creative with Kael. Most of them turned out pretty cheesy, but I did get a few good ones. And our Christmas card was put together and sent out BEFORE Christmas, which was the ultimate goal. Have fun laughing at my attempt.

P.S. Kael's favorite pastime is eating, and it shows. We've nicknamed him Chunk.

The End Result