Recent Ramblings

~Brooke got her ears pierced. This wasnt the first time! She had it done when she was a little younger than Rachel. And she kept pulling out and losing her earrings. So we let it close up. She kept bugging us to get it done so we finally let her, as part of her Christmas present. She was so excited. She promised to take better care of them this time. She was so brave and didn't cry when they did it. She picked out little pink hearts as her first pair of earrings :)

~I had a girls' night and had some friends over to play Wii. Jess brought over baby Hunter (boy has he grown!) and I finally got to give him his Christmas present. (a good excuse to buy for babies again!) And he loved it.. he chewed all over that packaging ;) He must have thought we were crazy for all of us jumping around playing Just Dance. It was so much fun though.. and somewhat of a workout ;) Thanks to Joanne for letting me borrow the game and an extra controller since we still have only one so far! Anyway, after we got tired of dancing we watched Big Bang Theory and talked. Arnold was sweet enough to take all 3 kids to Hickory Dickory Dock that night with a giftcertificate they got for Christmas. They had a BLAST from what I heard! ;)

~Arnold finally got around to painting our bedroom. He said he was going to do that as part of my Christmas present. We picked a purple/lavender shade, and it ended up brighter than we had imagined. I like it. Arnold has joked around about it alot. Lets see, hes said he is "less manly" now, he has said it looks like a dorm room, and he has said it looks like something out of the show "Friends." I was about to smack him last night! at least it is more cherry and happy than that old ugly color I had to stare at for the first 6 years we were married! we also rearranged the room some and I cant tell if I like it or not yet, we will see!

~Broke down and bought Glee #7 cd. Yall knew I would eventually ;) I am patiently awaiting its arrival in the mail.

~For New Years Eve this year we went to Joanne's house for the evening. Erika and Billy came over too. And yes we brought all the kids too! Thankfully they stayed in the playroom most of the time and were good. We all hung out and played Just Dance, Guitar Hero, and Boogie Superstar singing game. It was especially hilarious after some people had had a few drinks ;) I am so shocked but the kids made it and stayed up ALL NIGHT. I didnt think they'd make it, well at least not Rachel. She was so tired at the end that her poor eyes were droopy, but she made it! We all had such a great time. When we got home everyone crashed.

~New Years Day was also Arnold's 30th Birthday! Woooo its finally happened. I am married to an old man now ;) Haha, I love giving him a hard time. We went to church that morning (I went early because I was working in Boxcar Babies) and then they met up with us at the 11:00 service. I was soo tired that morning from staying up so late. Then we met up with Arnold's family for the buffet at a local hotel. They had LOTS of desserts to sample so I was happy ;) He seemed to have a pretty good birthday, overall.

~I am now into a show called "Hot in Cleveland" thanks to Newflix! I have almost watched all the episodes they have to offer for it. We signed on for Netflix when we got the Wii and Im glad we did. We have found so many things to watch. Its easy to quickly pick a show the kids will like when they want to watch something. And Arnold and I have watched a few movies on it so far.

~Arnold had the Monday after New Years off. But the big kids went back to school. So we went out to hang out with Rachel. We went to Target and looked around, and I wasn't expecting to get anything at all, actually. But they had put soo many of their women's things on clearance. I ended up getting a REALLY cute new pair of boots, 2 fleece jackets (one pink and one black-- already had the white one!) and a green purse for around $30. May have to go back for a few things when Arnold gets paid again ;) Tried on some hats and loved the way they looked but they just didnt fit me right.. I have such a big head! I've never been big on wearing hats at all. But think they are so cute on other girls. I really did need some new shoes and jackets though, so Im glad I went. Usually im buying for the kids. We then went out to lunch at Panera bread. I had the turkey sandwich and tomato soup, it was sooo yummy! Kindof a late birthday lunch for Arnold since I feel like he was cheated out of a Birthday dinner (the night before we hadnt gone out since no one was feeling that great) It was fun having him home for an extra day!

~Yall already know, but I've started my lifestyle change. Yesterday was my first day and I did pretty well. I drank 8 cups of water, ate healthy snacks, and started the Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred. That dvd is tough! I never realized how weak I really am. I am still feeling it today.. my legs especially are so sore, and it hurts every time I bend down :( Oh well, its worth it if it works! I may have to do every other day on that one, though. I also didnt eat ANY sweets yesterday, which is huge for me. I just hope I can keep it up. My first goal is to lose 30 lbs (by summertime or around 6 mos, etc) And eventually Id like to train for the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot. I think Arnold and I will be doing that together :)

Brooke and I while she was on vacation

Joanne and I on New Years Eve