My pants are too tight...

Time to get back into the swing of exercising again after a couple of week hiatus.

I'm also joining the Sugar Detox revolution again. I know it works and mama's been eating WAY too many leftover birthday cupcakes!!

Next week will be Diet Coke and caffeine, but can't do it all at once!

Have a good day!!

Back in Action..

Hi all!
I've been horribly absent from my blog the past several weeks but I'm BACK!!
We were on vacation in Michigan for a week and then we were whooping it up for about two weeks, celebrating Mac's birthday.. so, unfortunately for you, you are about to get photoBOMBED!!!

Vacation was good. Gone are the days though where a vacation is relaxing for this mama.  Mac was sick with some sort of stomach bug the first couple of days we were there and then he became the world's clingiest child!! Would not go to anyone but me.. it was a little overwhelming for him to be around all these people who are his family but he doesn't know too well b/c he doesn't see them that often!!  Overall, it was a good trip and we did some fun things!

• Went on LOTS of walks in the stroller and Wagon (and spent some time with Nana and Chief) 

• Went to Mackinac Island for the day

• Went on the boat a couple of times and one day spent over at a little area on the lake called North Fishtail, where we all swam and celebrated my cousin Karen's life by spreading some of her ashes at one of her favorite spots! We then lit up a MSU sky lantern and let it loose.. so beautiful! 

• Bonfires

• and Birthday Parties!! ( a few of my girlfriends from Chicago came up for the day to help celebrate. As usual, it was just what I needed!!) 

We got back from Michigan last weekend and it was full force into getting ready for Birthday Party #2. I have to admit that I went a little overboard but in my defense when am I going to be able to do another 1st birthday party again?? We did a baseball theme and rented a hot dog machine, had a popcorn and cotton candy machine and then served all ball-park foods. It was really more for the adults but a really really good time was had by all!! My bestie Shannon came in for this party as well and then our good friends Angela, Ian and Delaney came in from LA. SO MUCH FUN!!! 

Gotta admit though, I'm so glad it's all over and we are back to normal!!!  Now, I have Cabo and BOOBs to look forward to!

Speaking of boobs, so excited for the challenge! For some reason, when I have a challenge to focus on, I tend to do well in the weight loss department.. maybe I should just tell myself all the time that I'm in a challenge, b/c kind of technically, I am!  I lost 3.7 for the first week. I know it's mainly stopping eating that I was doing while on vacation, but I did try to pay attention to everything that I was putting in my mouth. WE will see how I do next week now that I'm back in the daily grind. 

My working out while on vacation was virtually non-existent!! I maybe walked twice and then we did what we call the "Big Swim" we do it everytime we are up there. Basically, we swim from a cottage that is on one side of the lake to the point of an island on the other..  we have no idea how far it is but it's a challenge.  We did it in 42 minutes this year which is pretty good! I didn't feel like I was going to die!! SCORE! 

 Don't mind how bad we look, it was 7:30 in the morning!!!

The tip of the island we swam to.. this is a picture of our starting point. 

Overall, really good couple of weeks! Have missed you all and have been trying to catch up! 

One last pic! I put on my "skinny" jeans today and had to take a pic, b/c I love the way my legs are shaping up!  don't  mind that messy room or the bad lighting.. I'm just happy when I see myself in a not so negative light every now and again. I know I have  LONG way to go, but I'll keep on keeping on! 

xo,js

***sorry for all the photos!!! Thanks for staying with me!***

Friday's Letters!!

1.  Dear Self:  listen, you could write a whole blog about this, but for now, let's start working on growing a backbone.  Quit allowing yourself to be continuously taken advantage of by people who only care about themselves. You are a good friend and if people can't see that or appreciate that, then you need to let them go. Quit allowing for it to be ok for people to walk all over you and treat you less than you deserve to be treated.  And while you are at it, quite committing to things you don't want to do just to please people. Because, in the end, it only makes you miserable. Oh, and keep wearing stripes, they look good on you!

2. Dear Etsy/Groupon/Living Social Addict (that would be ME):  ENOUGH! You don't need three different pairs of the same earrings in different colors. You don't need to go to 5 different places for Pilates.  1 is enough!! Mac has plenty of monogrammed shirts and PLENTY of "1" shirts for his multiple birthday parties! (oopsie, just bought another Groupon for 2 classes to the Dailey Method! WOO!)

3.  Dear Arizona - why must we keep discussing this??  Are you envious of Florida's humidity? b/c you need to make a choice, hot and dry or hot and humid??  If I had to choose one, lets go with Dry.

4.  Dear Mac, please stop growing! I can't believe you are going to be 1 a week from today. You are most likely going to be our only "baby" ever so please slow down time. BTW, you looked super cute on the 4th of July!

Dear Blog Friends:  I hope you all had a good 4th of July and a great upcoming weekend!

xo,js

Swimming, Circuses and Vacation Readiness!!!

Hey all!  Hope you had a great weekend and are gearing up for the 4th! It's again hotter than balls here but it's supposed to cool down into the high 90s tomorrow!  And Rain!! Honestly won't complain about that!
We have a few plans for the 4th - our friends are staycationing at the Fairmont Princess which is about a mile from our house so we are going to head over there for some swimming and then we always spend the 4th with the H family so we'll head over there as well!  Hoping the rain stays away for part of the day but since it's in the middle of the week and on a work night, I'm not sure how much of the fireworks we'll see this year!  I think the majority of places are doing something tonight instead of tomorrow night so maybe we'll catch a glimpse from our backyard b/c we have a lot of resorts around us that usually light up the sky!

Don't think I mentioned it last time I blogged, but Mac is in swim class. The first class he took was a little iffy.. he literally screamed every time the instructor would go near him!  We practiced a little at home last week and I'm telling you, after one week, he's going to give Michael Phelps a run for the gold!! (Maybe in like 19 years or so!! ) he loves it now! Thankfully, our pool is super warm right now so we are spending LOTS of time in it!

The circus was in town this weekend.  After going on Sunday, I've decided that I'm not sure I remember ever being to the circus before!!  I thought I had but maybe that was just a "Water for Elephants" Flashback... Mac LOVED it!  It could have gone either way and we sat down and as soon as that music started and the clowns started dancing in front of us, he started dancing and moving his arms up and down like a maniac!! I think the best part of the circus for me was just watching Mac enjoy it and especially Kennedy's little eyes light up at all the sights!!  I don't have any pictures on my phone but really don't have much since Brandon proved my theory that no man should ever be armed with the camera!! He took a picture of me, Tim and Mac from his seat looking up at us.. Um.. not a flattering shot at all. No worries, that one got deleted quickly.  

I'm doing really good on my workouts!  Last week, I did Yoga, Pilates 2x, and Hydro Training!  I gotta tell you, I may not be good at a whole lot of things, but I OWNED Hydro Training (could have been that I was almost the youngest person there and I was lapping those seniors like no  ones business) I think it may be my new favorite exercise! I'm going again tomorrow morning and then again on Saturday!!  I have BIG plans for this week's workouts: 

Monday - Yoga (check) 

Tuesday - happy hour.. what? lifting a beer bottle is just like working out! 

Wednesday - Hydro Training

Thursday - Pilates

Saturday - Hydro Training 

Sunday - big walk 

We are heading to Michigan next week and I seriously can't stand the wait!! I keep thinking it's this week so it's making it much worse that I still have to work every day until next Thursday!  I'm ready to pack and go now! 

Have a great 4th!!!