Monday, September 30, 2013

31 Days To The New Me

Here we go again!!!!
This time last year I was going through some changes. I was packing up all of Alyssa & I's belongings and making a big leap of faith, right down here to Louisville, KY. 
I will be joining my sister Ashley & The Nester in this 31 Days Challenge!

This year I am stepping out of my comfort zone and battling an issue that I have had for the past 3 years.......my weight!

My 31 Day Challenge is......

31 Days To The New Me

I am feeling strong, motivated and encouraged!!

This year I am tracking my exercise and work out routines, my diet plans, as well as pictures of my progress (don't worry all of my pictures will be fully clothed ).
There also might be a couple pop up posts about what keeps me motivated and how I am feeling about everything!
I will also be posting my favorite music and Pandora Stations to listen to while working out!

Starting Oct. 1st I will be blogging everyday taking these steps to a better and healthier lifestyle. Then as it concludes on Oct. 31, I will then be ready and willing to start on a new journey in fitness! 
Hey maybe I will even run a 5k or something!!

Please join me in my........31 Days To The New Me!!

Day 1- About ME
Day 10- Busy Body
Day 15- I'm A......
Day 16- Week 3
Day 18- Zumba
Day 19- I'm Soo Sore
Day 28- Week 5

I appreciate all of you checking out my blog and keeping up with my posts! 
Definitely makes a girl feel special! I did write a It's Over post so please check it out and continue to stop by my blog when you can! Thank you for a great October!!

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

**Stitch Fix # 4**

Here we go Stitch Fix #4 and I have to say I am just loving it more and more every Fix I get!

Exciting news I have also turned one of my friends on to Stitch Fix so now its extra special because we can try on our clothes together which makes it even more fun!

Usually when I get my Fix my sister & I sing in unison "FASHION SHOW"

Now we can all 3 sing with joy!

It is awesome to be able to do this but even more awesome to be able to do it with friends!

I will recommend this to everybody......you have to try it at least once!!!

Please feel free to use the link below if you are interested in trying Stitch Fix for yourself!

https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/3053526

Now lets get started!!!

Option #1
This dress was so pretty! I love the cut and the style but unfortunately it did not fit very well!
I wish it would have fit because I loved it!

Option #2
This infinity scarf is so adorable! The fabric is very light weight and super scarf! 
I am in love with it!!

Option #3
This sweater is a beautiful bright purple and I love it!! It is also very light weight!
I love it more with a belt but would probably wear it both ways!

Option #4
This shirt was awesome!! I love everything about it but......it was a bit snug!!

Option #5
This cut and style is gorgeous! I am loving the stripes!!
It felt really good on, but as I'm looking at this picture I am just not sure if I like it!!


So....what do you all think? What would you guys keep??

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Exciting News!!!

I have decided to join in on a 31 day blogging series. This October will be my second attempt!! 
Give me grace!!
I find it very hard to blog on a regular basis due to the fact that most days I'm not even sure where to begin.
How are people able to devote that much time to there blog? What do people even write about?
Those are the questions that I say to myself. I have to remember a lot of big time bloggers do this for a living.
I definitely can not even measure up to them...maybe someday!
So, for me this 31 days series is about devoting time into my blog and trying to both make my blog more relate-able and more popular! 
I would like to get comments on my blog and get a good steady audience reading my blog. 
I do really enjoy blogging it's just a lot of work. 
So this October I will be disciplining myself........here is a sneak peek of my 31 days series!


I have been talking about working out with a couple of my friends for weeks now and finally I decided the only way to do is by myself and for myself! I can not just sit around and wait on others to do it with me! I need to do it for myself! 
I actually have started running a little here and there and have been doing pretty good but my main problem is I lack motivation and accountability!
This is pretty much perfect because in order for me to succeed at my 31 Day goal I will need to be discipline and actually put forth all of the effort! 
I am going to track all of my exercise and work out routines, my diet plans, as well as pictures of my progress (don't worry all of  my pictures will be fully clothed).
There also might be a couple pop up posts about what keeps me motivated and how I am feeling about everything!
I will also be posting my favorite music and Pandora Stations to listen to while working out!

My goal for this challenge is to gain self discipline, tone up my body, get healthy and most importantly have FUN DOING IT!!!

So stay tuned people this is going to be quite the adventure!!


Thursday, September 12, 2013

Alyssa's New Big Girl Bedroom

So we did it, it is done! My baby girl has been upgraded to a Big Girl Bedroom!!
I am both happy and sad about this!!

So like I said it yesterdays post I was sharing a bedroom with my 3yr. old daughter! She was in a toddler bed (her crib with the front rail removed) now she is in a twin bed!

Here are the shots....

Our Bedroom Before
 This was Alyssa's half of the bedroom. So she had her cute little bed with her dressers on either side and we even found some awesome sticker decals at Target to match her Owl obsession.
 Directly across from her bed was my bed shoved into the corner there!
This wall had a wall mirror, 2 plastic bins from Walmart (that served as dressers for us) and a clothes rack so what needed hung up was able to be hung up.

Alyssa's Bedroom After
 So when you walk into Alyssa's bedroom her dresser is immediately to the right, at the foot of her now twin size bed.
 Here is her new twin size bed!!
Next to her bed she has her stuffed animal basket with her bookshelf and her new "Reading Nook" with her bean bag chair!
Next to her bean bag chair she has her toy box, the plastic bin that we were using as a dresser,and her actual linen dresser.
This is probably my favorite part of her room   haha!
This is her clothing rack for her to hang up all of her dresses.

What do you think??

Honestly, I love it! Alyssa loves it too!
This first thing she did when I showed it to her was run over to her dresses and hug them!
Probably because they are at her level now, so she can pick out her outfits!

Although I am sad to not be sharing a room with Alyssa, I am just really happy to be moving forward in our life!
She is becoming such a big girl!

Now we both have this new found freedom!!

I am no longer sharing a bedroom with my daughter!!!
This feels great!!!  :)

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Moving On Up.....Or Just Into The Room Next Door

So I have been thinking a lot about Alyssa and how she is growing like a weed! 
Currently she is sleeping in a toddler bed that I converted from her crib. 
So basically I took the front rail off of her crib so she can crawl in and out. She has been sleeping like that for about a year and a half maybe more. 
She looks like such a big girl!

Well since Alyssa & I moved into the basement of my sisters house we are sharing a bedroom, one half is hers and the other half is mine.
I am worried that because we share a room there is not a lot of room to work with, and since Alyssa is pretty tall for her age she will grow out of her toddler bed within the next year or so. In that case I just don't think there will be enough space for her to have a twin size bed in our bedroom.
So with the help of my sister we have came up with a plan!

I am moving into the living room!!

I don't even know why I didn't think of this before! I am never even in my living room except for when I am on my laptop in which I have a desk area set up so I'm still not sitting on my couch or love seat. I am always upstairs with Ashley and her family. So why not just get rid of the stuff that is occupying up a lot of space and that I don't even use!

Part of me is super excited to have my own bedroom again! Honestly, I have not had my own bedroom since Alyssa was born!! So you can imagine that the other part of me is somewhat feeling sad and reserved about this big move!

Well guess what the big day is TODAY!!!

I will be making some big changes in my basement to make it more livable for the next year or so as my baby girl is a growing! Don't worry I will be posting before and after pictures for you all to enjoy!

How old was your child when you moved them from a toddler bed to a twin bed?
What advice can you give me for making the most out of your small spaces?

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Alyssa's Eating Chart Week #6

Okay everybody, so a summary of the past six weeks has been challenging and frustrating.

Going back to week one...

"Alyssa is an extremely picky eater and honestly I have no idea where she gets it from both her dad and I eat anything and everything!!! Since she turned 1 year old she has never ate mashed potatoes!What toddler does not like mashed potatoes??Even Macaroni and Cheese is a hit and miss in our house!! I honestly don't remember Alyssa eating any type of red meat EVER!!
Even Chicken is iffy!! 
I'm telling you she is the most frustrating eater I have ever known!!

So here is what it looks like.....
Smiley Face- Alyssa ate all of her food that was given
Straight Face- Alyssa didnt eat all of it but some of it
Sad Face- Alyssa did not eat any of her food"

I came up with this eating chart to keep track of her eating habits in hope that it would help me see where her strengths were. I thought that maybe it would give me more of an idea of what she likes to eat or at least what she would eat. I am not sure that this eating chart is helping her but at the same time I don't think it is hurting her either. 

Well here is week #6

I have been researching picky toddlers and the different type of diet and foods that they try. I have gathered some hings from Pinterest that I am thinking about using that hopefully will help her more.

My sister and I came up with a couple ideas......

1. Drinking juice plump full of vitamins like a V8 for Breakfast! 
-I really want her to start her mornings off on the right foot and maybe adding a little bit more vitamins and nutrients will help.
2. Instead of expecting her to eat 3 meals a day I am now downing that to 2
-Now before you guys get crazy let me explain....She does not eat good for Lunch or Dinner so I thought maybe giving her a smoothie for lunch would give you an extra boost of fruits and veggies and would keep her satisfied until dinner in hopes that she would be a little more hungry and be willing to eat better for dinner. That kinda sounds a little crazy now that I am typing...so there may be a few changes with that one!
3. Stop pressuring her into eating. 
-The doctors have told me since Day 1 she will eat when she is hungry. So that is what I am now doing...I am going to let her eat when she is hungry and I am not going to pressure her.

With all of this being said I am now closing this chapter in my life there will be no more "Alyssa's Eating....." posts from me. I will probably touch base with it a couple times but it won't be full dedication like it has been. 

How do you think I handled this whole picky eating thing? 
What would you have done differently?
What advice do you have for me moving forward?

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

I Dropped the Ball

So I kinda dropped the ball on Alyssa's eating chart for Week 5.

Honestly, I forgot to do it....many times! 

I had some days done, but some days were only partially done and while trying to fill in the blanks I could not even remember what we ate or how much Alyssa ate. 

This chart is good when you do it everyday if you don't do it everyday it becomes a bit tedious!

So I have decided to take this week off I will return with Week 6!

Sorry I feel as if I am somewhat inconsistent with my posts! 

Sorry!

Also look out because I have another Stitch Fix scheduled for mid September! 
That will be fun!

I'm already looking forward to it!!

In the mean time.....

Are you looking forward to anything happening this month?? 

How are you adjusting to the new school year??

Do you have any pointers on staying consistent in your blogging?