Detoxing

I get a new blog makeover and then it goes quiet...

The holidays were awesome and crazy.

Today I am detoxing my mind and body from all of it...

Quiet office.

No sugar or crap.

Long run on the treadmill later.

Be back soon...

New Design

Thanks to Hubby Jack I finally upgraded the blog design!!

It was 2.5 years old!

I am loving the new clean feel...

And the awesome number tree up there!!

Seriously LOVE IT!

Thanks Chris!!

Now back to work, present wrapping, prepping, running with my brother, house cleaning, & mental preparation for the next 5 days!

The House Update: Part 1

Last year, a little after moving into our dream house, that we plan to grow old in, I did a little house tour.

I thought it would be fun to do these periodically to see how the house changes as our family & style grows.

You can catch part 1 HERE.

Now let's see where we are at...

The Kitchen...

Yep, still only 1 stool!

I have been keeping an eye out for deals on new stools in general... maybe some white ones to brighten up the house, or ones I could paint a fun red or something...

I am not great at keeping an eye on CraigsList but I am trying to be better so I can find something. 

Id rather spend the money on other things that buying brand new bar stools... or 100 dollar matching black one. 

Still no backsplash...

Brian thinks we can do this this spring and I actually took a look at Home Depot this past weekend.. 

We have ALOT of area to cover, and I have expensive taste... 

Below are a few ideas I have..

I have a thing for the glass tile...   

I am thinking the white to try and lighten it all up some...

And I am thinking that I really want to do something like this below the bar... 

Next up is the office... 

Alot has been done here!  

This time last year it was our junk room of all the stuff that still needed a place to go... 

Its coming together but I still have alot I want to do to it... 

The pictures on the wall are hung so high because I plan to put in some board & batten on the wall like this... 

And the back wall will eventually get built in book shelves like this... 

someday.... 

Hall bathroom.... 

Has not changed. 

We do need to repaint it. 

The house was painted in a pretty, nonwashable paint... AKA you are unable to get any marks off of it! 

So there are horrible water lines on the wall from washing your hands and turning to grab a towel. I have painted over them but we really just need some better paint. 

I hope to do a fun color too.. any suggestions?!

Next time Sherwin Williams is having a big sale, its on! 

The Mudroom... 

I originally had a table under the board, but I decided to move it to the entry way. 

As soon as Leah came home and saw the table was moved, she removed EVERY SINGLE THING off the board and put them in a drawer. 

The calendar, pictures, coupons, 30 tacks... 

I still have yet to get them back out and up on the board... 

I also am in search of a perfect bench to go here... 

When we were building the house we originally had them doing a built in bench here, but we took it out at 600+ dollars for it.  

Now I am kind of regretting it... 

And the final "room" for Part 1... 

The Laundry room. 

Which I am sparing you from a picture of. 

Nothing has been done. 

And its a major laundry day for me so its a jumble of clothes right now... 

It still needs a lot of work. 

Looks like we will be keeping Brian's cousin's husband, our handy man, busy! 

Hopefully I can knock out alot of these projects in 2013!! 

Stay tuned for Part 2 & 3... 

Body After Baby: Photo Dump

Warning: These are all off of my phone and I am too lazy to put them in any sort of order...

First, to get your in the holiday spirit... here is a photo from Christmas past.

I am the big kid sitting on Santas Lap.

Can you guess how old I am?

Bc I am HUGE sitting on his lap!

Um... I would be 8!!!

My brother is in the background at 12...

Too cool for school.

And my sister is about 14 months.

This weekend I hit up Old Navy because Leah was in need of a new winter coat (she broke her zipper and I LOVE Old Navy coats for the girls).  Saturday they were having an extra 30% off everything too...

10 dollar coat for Leah!

And 2 new pairs of jeans for me...

Jeans that are two sizes smaller than my usual!!!!

I honestly cannot recall ever having anything this size! 

That of course makes me feel good... 

But there is this weird thing happening... 

When my clothes are all too big, I know I have lost weight and can see a difference.

But now that I have some jeans that fit really well again, when I look in the mirror, I do not see any difference that what I used to see when I was two sizes bigger... 

strange right?

I guess its just one of those tricks the mind plays... 

Saturday night Brian had the idea of dropping the kids off at my parents and having a nice dinner at Kirkwood Station Brewery.

It was a fabulous idea with awesome food.

And the 11 beer sampler.

It is equivalent to a little over 4 beers, and  Brian and I shared...

But still alot of fun!

We headed home with a growler of the Scottish Ale. Yummy! 

As for the 100 miles in December, after my 5 mile run today, I am about 0.1 miles behind schedule (3.1 per day)

On day 17, I have ran 52.something miles!

I might actually be able to do this...

I finally became brave enough and tired running down the scary road...

scary = no shoulder on a road that goes between 2 rail road tracks.

Its about 1.5 miles long too...

I make pretty good time on this stretch because I am jut trying to get thru it with cars coming... 

I head thru old town Eureka, then head over to the Legends... 

And the hills... 

Yep.... this is not even the first bad boy... 

By the time I reach the first hill I have already done a little over 3 miles... 

I am tired... 

But they are getting easier! 

From my house and back its just at 6 miles. 

And the last time I did it in exactly an hour! 

...

Leah and I had a fun Sunday afternoon. 

It really amazes me at the things she is beginning to be able to do... 

I figured she would help me put stickers on our Christmas Cards... 

But she ended up sealing them for me too! 

Brian and I may have had the following conversation about it too... 

Brian: Make sure she doesnt get sick from it... 

Me: Are you thinking this is an episode of Seinfeld?

And then I thought she might enjoy helping me make little pretzel & Kisses sandwiches...

I thought I would be unwrapping the candy while she placed them on the pretzels...

Nope.

She did it all!

And because we cant forget about my girl Emie... 

This girl has been fighting a 103 fever and keeping mommy and daddy from any sort of sleep since last Thursday night... 

But I'll take it any day. 

A Photoshoot

What I Wore & 3 Year Olds are Crazy

Wore this Tuesday to work...

It was a wake  up late,

Throw a sweater, jeans, shoes on...

Hair in a pony tail kind of day.

Sweater: Loft

Jeans: Kohls - Lauren Conrad skinny boot cut... had to buy another pair because I love them so much. 

Boots: Kohls - A2. 

And Leah... 

This girl's new favorite phrase is "[insert name] said yes!" 

Anytime we tell her no, she responds with "My daddy said yes!" 

"My mommy said yes!" 

"My Grandma says yes!" 

And when you tell her she is lying she responds with a very angry...

"I am not a lion!" 

Funny girl. 

6 Months

Half a year already.

This month brought a new little girl out of Miss Emily.

She got back to sleeping thru the night.

Sitting more confidently.

A sudden love for spoon feedings.

Figuring out how to get onto her hands and knees but unable to figure out what to do next.

And today, a her first tooth!

Finally!

I feel like her little personality is suddenly shining bright!

She is no longer a little blob that I have to feed and hold.

But now she is this little gigglie, toy loving, wigglie little girl.

Love her!

Length: 27.5 inches (96th percentile)
Weight: 17lbs 12 oz (76th percentile)
Head: 11th percentile

Still slightly smaller than her big sis... by about half and inch and half a lb.