I would punch Jillian Michaels in the face if I could still lift my arms.

So I have about 10-12 pounds of pregnancy weight still hanging around my midsection. (and my stupid thighs)   And I've decided that since Emma is like 20 months old it's probably time to stop blaming it on her, and start actually working on it.  Of course it's still absolutely her fault.  Adam and I didn't get more than three hours of straight sleep for about 14 months? That pretty much means that I spent the last year in some sort of sleep deprived semi-coma.  I apologize if you had to interact with me in any way. I promise that I used to be smarter and more coherent.  Smart enough to graduate college anyways...

But back to the point I was going to make.  Which was...??? Oh yeah! I think I hate Jillian Michaels.  Look at that super smug picture on the DVD cover.  Don't you just want to punch her in the face?  I kind of want to after what she put us through this morning.  So this is a 50 minute workout, which means that if Adam and I want to do it together every morning (which we want to, except weekends) than we have to get up at the buttcrack of dawn. (otherwise known as 5:30 am)  And then once we have managed to roll ourselves out of bed, we are subjected to a torturous routine specifically designed to make it impossible to move for the next couple of hours.  But of course we have to move because Adam needs to make us money and I need to keep a toddler alive (which requires a lot of moving and chasing, mostly chasing)

Of course if Jillian Michaels is as good as she promises she is (and she darn well better be or I'm going to be very angry that I sweated my butt off needlessly) and can make Adam and I all hottified than I might change my mind about hating her.  Although somehow I doubt it. 

On a more serious note, my goal is to lose ten pounds by mid September; which means losing one pound a week. I'm going for attainable here, not ambitious.  I don't plan on dieting, just eating sensibly (and occasionally not so sensibly as I have a Godiva Date coming up that I'm pretty excited about)   Also we don't actually own a scale and are probably too cheap to buy one, so I will be going by how I feel in my clothes.  I'm not sure if that's a good idea or a bad one... Thoughts? Encouragement?

Welcome TTA friends!  If you like what you see be sure to follow us.  And we love discovering new blogs so just leave me a comment with your blog name and I'll be sure to follow you back!

How to Spend a Day Indoors

Eat a bowl of ice cream naked (watch out for the brainfreeze!)

Give Mommy a brand new hairdo!

Put on a fashion show!!

Oversized tanktop: hand me down

Bracelets:  The Dollar Store

Necklace: Mommy's High School Honor Society Medal

Hat:  A Huggies Swimmy Diaper turned sideways

Style?:  A la Emma-Jean

Take Goofy pictures with Mommy :)

Read Lots of books over and over again

                                                               Finish with a nice cool bath!

And that is how you spend a day indoors here at the Roys!

Also after Emma went to bed, mommy and daddy baked and decorated cakeballs. Now that is a good way to end a night!

Puddle Jumping!

Create a free picture collage

New Stove and new recipes!

On the top you have my old crappy stove that required me to halve all baking recipes and still gave me iffy results.  Apparently the top coil of the oven stopped working (my guess is that it's been on it's way out since we moved in)  On the bottom you have my brand spanking new oven!  That is clean and shiny and beautiful. 
We have amazing landlords who ordered us a new and better stove 15 minutes after hearing ours was having trouble!  How's that for service?

Oh and here is another picture of  part of the rest of my kitchen in case you are interested.  I am super nosy and love to look at other people's houses.  So here you are fellow nosy people. Not huge, but I love it because there are so many windows so it's always bright and sunny!

If you look closely you can see my daughter playing with the scissors mommy accidentally left on the table.

I never claimed to be parent of the year....

So of course we need to bake up something yummy to thank our wonderful landlords!  Here are two recipes I've got my eye on:

Red Velvet Cake Balls by Bakerella.com  Actually any of her recipes look amazing!  I'm thinking a chocolate cake inside with white chocolate outside would be delicious as well!

Irish Carbomb Cupcakes by Smitten Kitchen.  My friend Kat just recently blogged about them, and a few months before her brother and sister in law brought us some to share! They were amazing beyond words!  So good.... they even made a "virgin" one for Miss Emma-Jean.  I can't wait to try them myself!  Although I might just try a chocolate cake with that awesome Bailey's frosting and skip the ganache (I don't think I'm that skilled yet)

Ok, did I make you drool?  Because I know I'm  drooling over here just looking at these pictures! Now if it would just cool down enough to turn on the stove....

Shutter Love Tuesday

Daddy and Emma had soooo much fun together at the playground that day!

Good Morning Gorgeous!

Well it's been about a week since I last posted!! Shame shame... Self discipline was never my strength.  (Ask my mother, she'll tell ya) 

 Anyways... we had a crazy busy Father's day that I will probably tell you all about in a future post.  But for now I will leave you with pictures from that morning.

Here is what my beautiful little angel looks like first thing in the morning.  She is full of grace, charm and sophistication (as always).  She greets the world with a smile on her face and a song in her heart, grateful for just one more day with her loving, doting parents.

Or at the very least she makes us start our morning with a good laugh :)

Our Very Own Blooper Reel

Wonder where she gets it from? ;)

Always Kiss Me Goodnight

"In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,and do not give the devil a foothold."

~Ephesians 4:26-27 NIV

On our honeymoon, Adam and I decided to splurge  a little and bought ourselves two presents for our new apartment.  The first present was a mirror stand.  Very pretty and practical, we still have it and love it.  However, the second present we bought was a little bit more meaningful.   We bought a sign very similar to the one pictured below with the same phrase because it reminded us of that verse in Ephesians.   I know that this sign is everywhere now and you might be sick of seeing it, but I fell in love with the sentiment. 

That is after all, one of the highest goals I have for our marriage, to never go to sleep angry at the other person.   Unfortunately, that is not always the case.  There have been a few times that I have gone to sleep still angry over something Adam did or didn't do, and it really sucks.  Those are the worse nights.  We are both very stubborn people and it really shows when we argue.  Neither of us are necessarily quick to apologize.  Adam's temper tends to flare up and burn out while mine is slow burning.  As a result, he wants to talk it all over right away and fix it, while I want to go analyze why I'm really angry, cry about it, and then talk after I've figured out what I really want to say.  We don't fight very often, thank goodness, but every couple fights once in a while! If you don't, then I'm convinced that you must not ever talk to each other, because it's impossible to live with someone day in and day out and not encounter things that really annoy you!

 
But I am proud to say that there have only been one or two nights over the last three years that we have not managed to at least kiss and say "I love you" to each other before going to bed. (I'm not counting the times that we have been physically apart from each other) And sometimes despite the kiss I still go to bed feeling a little annoyed, but there is something magical about even the act of kissing your spouse that takes the edge off the anger.  It is almost impossible to be really really angry at someone that you've just kissed.  And there is also a certain safety to it. I know that no matter how angry we are with each other, there is still love and that is not going away.  And that is why this sign has hung in our bedroom in each of our three apartments, and will always be featured prominently in any future bedrooms!
 

Give me a kisse and to that kiss a score;

Then to that twenty, add a hundred more;

A thousand to that hundred; so kiss on,

To make that thousand up a million;

Treble that million, and when that is done,

Let's kiss afresh, as when we first begun.

     ~Robert Herrick

Oh, and these kisses never hurt either!  ;)

Love you Adam!

Shutter Love Tuesdays

This was a Christmas photo shoot that didn't turn out quite as well as I had hoped, but still pretty darn cute! She really loves that teddy bear, although it is currently wearing one of her old cloth diapers. Poor Teddy! He looks a little lonesome in this picture, but I assure you he is a favorite.

Is there anything sweeter...

... than a sleeping toddler?
We've really been wearing her out these last couple of weekends, with a visit to the Children's Museum, a trip tp the zoo, two birthday parties, several play dates, a parade, and a couple BBQs thrown in there.  I love it when she's so sleepy she just can't even keep her eyes open one second longer.  Makes for quite a peaceful ride home!

Tueday Tag Along

Here are the instructions:

Create a new Tuesday Tag-Along blog post. Include the Tuesday Tag-Along button by copying and pasting the code above. (You are also welcome to copy and paste these instructions in their entirety, or any portion of this Tuesday Tag-Along blog post!)


Add your blog name and the URL of your TTA post to the MckLinky below.


Follow Twee Poppets, the hostess blog listed in the first slot. Twee Poppets will follow you back! (Note: If you want Twee Poppets to follow you back, you MUST leave her a comment saying that you are a new follower and leave a link to your blog!)


If you can, please follow the blogs in the three slots before you (e.g., if you're number 20, follow numbers 19, 18, and 17). This is not mandatory, but it will help ensure that everyone who signs up gets a few new followers!


Follow as many other blogs as you want. The more you follow, the more that will follow you back! Be sure to tell them that you're following from Tuesday Tag-Along! You may also want to leave a link to your blog so they can return your follow more easily.


When you get a new follower through Tuesday Tag-Along, be sure to follow them back! It's just common courtesy. :)
 
 
To anyone who decides, to follow me today, welcome! I'll be sure to follow you back as soon as I can!

Why I love PBS

     I don't know about you, but I love it when my apartment is clean.  This pretty much rarely ever happens around here. As anyone with an 18 month old will tell you, it is nearly impossible to clean when they are awake!  There are only a few ways that I ever manage this feat.

 Method 1:  PBS.  Seriously, thank the Lord for a channel that shows educational cartoons at pretty much anytime during the day.  This is how I cleaned my kitchen this morning.  Hooray for Sid the Science Kid!  Hooray for Peep!  And most of all hooray for mommy knowing what these shows even are....

Of course, I can't just plop peanut in front of the TV all day long and still feel like a good mother. But I honestly do not feel bad about a show or two while mommy does the dishes, or runs downstairs to do laundry.  I know there are people who are totally against this, but I am not one of those mommies.  Although I have recently decided that Adam and I should not watch any of our shows in the evening before Peanut goes to bed because she is starting to understand a whole lot more and repeat things!!!  CSI or Family Guy may not be the best choice for her anymore....

Method Two:  Get her involved in the cleaning.  If mommy is sweeping, then Emma is swiffering.  If mommy is wiping the kitchen table, then Emma has a baby wipe in hand and is taking care of the cofee table.  Of course if mommy is vacuuming then all bets are off, and  Emma is standing on the couch screaming like I'm hurting her.  (We're working on this one...sigh)   Of course, this has it's drawbacks.  My neat little piles of dirt are often swiffered away all over the floor, and I have to summon a lot of patience in order to not scream and throw a fit.  After all, they're never too young to encourage cleaning right??? I'm really hoping to have a neat teenager some day. (Go ahead and laugh at me, I deserve it)

Method Three:  Food, food and more food.  And this one only works if she is buckled into her booster seat.  And if this happens to be mealtime then it does mean that I have chosen to clean over making myself any sort of good lunch, and will probably have to settle for either waiting for her afternoon nap or snacking on whatever I can grab while she's not looking.  Am I the only one who can't eat in front of her children without having to either share or endure full out tantrums in front of the refrigerator?

(this picture is from July of last year, so cute!)

And that's pretty much all I've got. Those are all the tricks.  And now you can see why my apartment isn't always as clean as it should be.  So how and when do you manage to get your cleaning done?  Let me know if I'm missing out on some good tricks!

Fire!

This was taken from my front window at 10:45 last night when my neighbor's garage became engulfed in flames! Scary right?  Adam and I had just gone to sleep when I was awakened by shouts of "GET THEM OUT OF THERE! GET EVERYBODY OUT!"  My first thought was one of anger since we are often awakened by angry drunken shouting (we live right down the street from a bar)  But when I went to my front window to see what the shouting was about, that is what I saw! And since we live really close to the fire and ambulance dispatch stations there were like four firetrucks and two ambulances as well as a volunteer fire-fighting group.  The fire appeared to be done within ten minutes, but then when we thought it was out, it blazed up again! Luckily, they had the fire completely out within 15-20 minutes.  Nobody was hurt, although the garage and a car were completely destroyed. And according to the news they still haven't figured out what caused the fire to start in the first place. 

  But I know that I will sleep a little sounder tonight knowing how quickly everyone responded to my neighbor's distress!  It's  nice to know we're in competant hands here.  And thank you Lord that everyone made it out unscathed.  It's a densely populated area with lots of multi-family houses and young families.  This could have been so much worse!  That's enough excitement for the week thank you!

Oh and also, Emma slept through the whole thing! And her bedroom window (which faces the steeet) was wide open! How is that even possible that she could sleep through that but wake up if I creep open her door to check on her?

Creepy Parade Souvenir

Is it just me, or is this thing Bates Motel creepy? I fell asleep on the couch the other night and found this floating close to my face when I woke up.  I almost peed my pants, I kid you not.

Also, just so you know we are not the kind of parents who would pay $12 to own this grossly oversized thing.  We are the kind of parents who cheer when the vendor goes by and this gets stuck in a tree.  And then I am the kind of mother who sits by and watches while her super kind neighbors repeatedly try to get it out of the tree, and thank them profusely when they present it to their little peanut.  (who of course doesn't get excited at all, even though she screams ELMO every other time she sees him on anything)

And now we're both a little scared of it... so it lurks in our living room and not her bedroom because I think it would be child abuse to send her to bed with this thing.

ps. I had six followers as of yesterday afternoon and now I have 15!  Does that make me seem more legit? I do feel a little bit of pressure to write better now that I am subjecting more people to my rumblings (a mix of ranting and mumbling?)  But then of course the first post I come up with is this dribble about a creepy balloon.... do you guys still even want to be my friend?  I hope so :)

Tuesday Tag Along

So I'm relatively new to all this, but I'm hoping that it works properly and I get to meet some new friends!

Here's how it's supposed to work:

Create a new Tuesday Tag-Along blog post. Include the Tuesday Tag-Along button by copying and pasting the code above.

Add your blog name and the URL of your TTA post to the MckLinky below.
Follow Twee Poppets, the hostess blog listed in the first slot. Twee Poppets will follow you back! (Note: If you want Twee Poppets to follow you back, you MUST leave her a comment saying that you are a new follower and leave a link to your blog!)

If you can, please follow the blogs in the three slots before you (e.g., if you're number 20, follow numbers 19, 18, and 17). This is not mandatory, but it will help ensure that everyone who signs up gets a few new followers!

Follow as many other blogs as you want. The more you follow, the more that will follow you back! Be sure to tell them that you're following from Tuesday Tag-Along! You may also want to leave a link to your blog so they can return your follow more easily.

When you get a new follower through Tuesday Tag-Along, be sure to follow them back! It's just common courtesy. :)

Young Love

This is Emma's boyfriend. His name is "nonah" (known to the rest of the world as Jonah) Emma is obsessed smitten with him. She talks about him all day long and is constantly running to the door to see if he's there. He has in the past been known to grope her innapropriately (a LOT) , but since he's only two, we'll forgive that temporarily. If this is still a problem in a few years, he will have two sets of very angry dads to contend with. But in his defense, Emma has been stealing his pacifiers and toys since she could crawl. Also sometimes she plays coy and totally ignores his smooth "moves". But not yesterday. Yesterday she was totally into it!

Isn't he dreamy?