wordless wednesday

project hatch: 8 weeks (AH)

just a little update on our bids. they are doing great and are such a joy to have around. the kids really love watching & chasing them around the yard. they are also a great conversation piece for when visitors come over. besides growing bigger and bigger each week there isn't much to report. i usually let them out of their coop when i wake up in the morning and they roam around the yard all day long pecking at anything that might resemble a bug or worm. we have thick bushes near their coop which the love to perch in and hide out from the kids/cat/heat etc. they've also decided that they love our neighbors bushes... i've talked to Mr. Bill and apparently he used to have chickens years ago so he doesn't mind the visits! so we are a happy chicken loving family, at least until they discover my garden. still waiting for those roosters to crow, that will probably be the next chicken post. more pictures here.

Mayden says

in the car the day after her 4th birthday...

"mama, am i 5 yet?"

ugh.

this is the most sun we've seen in a LONG time!

birthday extravaganza! -- we're turning two & four, come have a s'more!

one of the benefits of having your children's birthdays so close to each other (in my case, two days apart) is that you get to do one party and then call it a year. one of the disadvantages of this is that you're exhausted from all the birthday-ing. this year we had Cameron's birthday on a Thursday, the party Friday evening and then Mayden's birthday on Saturday. whewww

another cold & rainy day in NJ forced us to try out Cameron's new water table in the bathroom. they didn't seem to mind one bit!

the birthday boy with his new friend Brobee

some birthday kids ready to party

s'mores was the name of the game @ this party

first s'more of the evening

serving cake at 8pm... sorry mamas!!

Mayden and her friend from school, Julia

this balloon tent got a lot of use that night!

roasting (marshmallows) over an open fire

yes, another s'more... i did it for the kids

May-May had a great idea... "let's sleep in the tent tonight?!" so we did! her very first tent experience, did we make it through the night?

yes we did!

good morning birthday girl!

oh look, Stephanie stopped by!

our painting project... the party guests painted these at random for the kids. i used stickers to write their names and then once the paint dried this is what we got. awesomeness!

nothing says rainy day birthday like Chuckie Cheese.

all in all it was a really great three days! the party ended up being a hit. i usually come away from my parties feeling like no one had fun but this time things were different. the weather was great (we got the one day it didn't rain w/i the last two weeks!), i was able to talk to every one and i even had two cups of tea! i'm glad we survived and thrived. this next year of the kids lives is sure to bring many changes & much fun. a few more pictures here.

Happy Birthday Mayden!

this one is even harder for me to believe.... 4 years old?!?! here's a little slideshow of May's 4th year, in random order.

Happy Birthday Cameron!

Can you believe it, Cameron is two today!?! here's a little slideshow of Cameron's 2nd year, in chronological order

wordless wednesday

run!

this morning the Speer family had two great firsts! Chris ran in his first ever race-- a 5K and Mayden too had her first race-- a lollipop dash (50 yards). Chris joined 160 people and came in around 29:42 minutes which he was expecting... and he wasn't last!! after his race Mayden took her mark and ran with some of the best 0-5 year olds in the county. and yes, she got a lollipop in the end... ahhhh sweet victory!

our runners before the races!

for more pictures of race day click here.

wordless wednesday

The Biggest Loser: Speer Edition! -- one week update

today marks one week into our little 15 lb challenge and i'm sure you are all very anxious to hear the results of this mornings "weigh in".

but first i will let you know how things went this week.

Chris has been really on top of things. he's been very diligent with documenting every single thing he consumes on his diet page at www.fitday.com, he runs approx 3 miles about every other day (he's been doing this for a few months now!) and seems to really be obsessing watching what he's been eating... for example, lots of fruits and veggies, low fat intake etc. he's doing things the healthy way.

now for me, i'll be honest with you i haven't really been giving it my all. i started my period this week (i know, TMI!) and gave into temptation a few times near the end of this week. my strategy has been simple... after dinner i'm not allowed to eat anything except for fruits or veggies. i figure this is a good way for me to get the fruits and veggies i don't get during the day however, it has becoming more like i just don't eat anything after dinner. it's relatively easy as i think about last year when i was working on loosing those 25 lbs -- my real turning point was when i realized that it's okay for me to feel hungry. for Christ's sake millions of people are hungry everyday and lots of people die from hunger related reasons... i think i can give up my evening ice cream or chips. so anyway (let me step off my soapbox for a moment) that's my current plan but if that doesn't seem to be working then i'll turn it up a notch!

Chris:

starting weight- 160.4

current weight- 159.6

loss or gain- minus .8 pounds

Adia:

starting weight- 138.8

current weight- 136.8

loss or gain- minus 2 pounds

basically...

I'm winning!!

wordless wednesday

TROUBLE