365/107

Out celebrating my mom's 45th birthday



-my iPhone did this

What you'll see me in this summer...

If I know you personally that is and feel comfortable enough to be near you half-naked. I will never feel comfortable being half-naked though, in public, but this suit sure does help with the stage-fright. Let me tell you about this wonder suit...

It's been a while since I've actually worn a one-piece. I shopped for one after Liam was born. I looked ridiculous. I am only 5'4'' and I have no torso so a one-piece just made me look shorter and wider. So I never bothered with a one-piece again. 

Now, after having faye, I have a few more pounds to lose but more then anything I have more loose skin around my middle that makes a lovely ring that I really didn't feel like showing off this summer. I'm sure it'll go away eventually (she's only 5 mo. my husband reminds me) but it's there right now, and I don't want to see it or worry about it. I just want to enjoy my summer. 

So I started shopping online for some one-pieces. At first I found this one at Victoria Secret...

but for $169 i wasn't about to buy.

So I kept looking. I looked at oldnavy.com, gap.com, forever21.com, etc. etc. with no luck at all. Nothing was really like that suit or worth the price. But then I looked on target.com and I was happily surprised to see an almost identical suit for only $35.00! 

the only downside is that it was online-only but after reading reviews like:

and another woman gave it 5 stars but said, 'don't buy this suit!!!

cause i don't want every woman on the beach matching me!!!'

So I decided to order it and take my chances. I could always sent it back. I ordered a small in the blue (which is actually more of a teal in person). I was surprised with the quality of the suit and how cute it actually was. Much cuter in person then even on the model. Probably cause that model doesn't have awesome baby-baring hips like me.

Anyways, the small fit but it was a little small in the butt area and a bit short in the torso. I didn't feel like having to constantly adjust so I ordered a medium and decided that I also loved the red, so I ordered the red. 

I am very happy with the fit of the medium. It's a little big in width but it's not noticeable and I'd take that over being too small in bad areas. My only complaint is that the strap comes off easily (it's one of those optional straps) and it slips out of the little fabric hook. And it is not adjustable. I am going to figure out a way to make the strap stay where it needs too and maybe shorten it a bit or tie a knot in it. But that's a minor thing. It's not like my girls are gonna fall out. I just like the added support of a strap. 

I would post a picture of me in it just to show you how wonderful it truly is.... NOT!!! I don't know how this review is that helpful since I am not willing to do so, you'll just have to take my word for it and all the other women's reviews. You can always send it back and it's only $35.00!! Can't beat that. 

So if you're looking for the perfect not-my-grandma's-one-piece for this summer, I highly suggest this one.

what i've been feeding my family...

other then our past week because we were 

extremely busy. but we're back on track 

this week! 

i thought i'd share with you what changes we've made to our diet. so far it's worked for almost a month.

after my husband watched food inc and we started watching jamie oliver's food revolution we have decided to try and eat healthier. we are totally grossed out by what is actually in our meat so, we've omitted meat in the meals at home unless i get it from a local organic source. until then, i've been cooking most of my regular recipes just without the meat and by adding more vegetables. 

so example, just the other night instead of making chicken fettucini with alfredo sauce i made vegetable fettucini with alfredo sauce. i used steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and peas. we all agreed that it was better then the fettucini with chicken.

i also make veggie burritos, spinach tomato pizza, veggie soup, rice and veggie stir-fry, etc.

so far, we aren't missing meat. but when we go out to eat (which is about 2 times on the weekends) we usually eat things with meat but since making this change, we really try to order things with more veggies and less meat. 

i feel a lot better eating this way. not to mention that it's cheaper! at the start of each week, i do my grocery shopping. i mostly buy fresh fruits and vegetables with the exception of a few bags of frozen veggies to steam. then i cut-up, what's not for meals and put them into baggies for snacking.

grapes, strawberries, cucumbers, green peppers, celery, cantaloupe, and pineapple

now that we're used to this way of eating and since we're heading into summer with local food markets, we're going to incorporate organically grow fruits and vegetables. i know most of our fruits and veggies from the store aren't as healthy as they can be but it's a step in the right direction. we've also stopped buying milk as most of us, in this house, are lactose-intolerant. 

some days i wish i could live on a farm and raise and grow our own food but i'm not cut-out for that lifestyle nor do i have a green thumb. so until or if ever that happens, this is how we are eating. 

for all my non-facebook or twitter friends...

here is our daughter olivia singing a song
for her baby sister and telling me the
story of adam and eve.

365/106

She's bad-A cause she has a tattoo... And she did it herself... Without medication...


She's not afraid of ink pens...


-posted via my iPhone

my girls...

they mean the world to me. i would do anything for them. and, more importantly, i will be honest

and open with them always. i never want to sugar-coat anything. when i feel myself starting to sweet

talk something, i stop and realize that the words coming out of my mouth aren't even my words.

it's what i've been spoon-fed my whole life. so then i make a conscious decision to speak truth. 

there is freedom in truth. there is life in truth. and i pray they'll find encouragement in their lives from their truth speaking momma.

today i ended up having one of those 'truth talks' with olivia. we discussed molestation, abduction, sex within marriage, gay people, and masturbation... are you gasping? i didn't use that terminology, i assure you. but i didn't sugar coat anything and i didn't make any harsh judgements. i simply explained our beliefs and stressed God's grace and love for us and His plan for us. i made it easy for her to understand without going into actual details. i realize she's only five but nowadays things happen earlier and earlier on in life and i want her to be prepared for anything that might come up. i did not take her innocence away or make her feel uncomfortable. i just talked to my daughter. 

and then i painted our toenails...

and before i get judged, i know that i could have benefited from some truth in my life early on... if only i would have had things explained to me, i would have been saved years of heartache, confusion, and surprises. and no i didn't just dive into such deep subjects with her. it started with her making a woody doll and buzz light-year kiss and then her laughing about it and asking me if that was silly. if you listen close enough, your children will give you cues and you'll have an opportunity to have those 'truth talks'. 

i know i am raising strong-willed (bloodline given) girls but hopefully God-believing women too who know what they want and how to stand-up for themselves and who believe in who God says they are. it takes one 'truth talk' at a time and their momma to be a living example. i'm still a work in progress and will always be learning. but i'm not afraid to share my heart. especially with my children.

our weekend...

my entire family (on my mom's side) headed down

to st. louis because my mom's brother 

(who lives in seattle) and his wife and son

were in st. louis because she was running

 the marathon.

it isn't often that we see them, as you can imagine, so

we took the opportunity to spend some time with

them by driving the short distance to st. louis. 

we had lots of fun! 

friday evening we all went to pf changs. 

afterwards, olivia made wishes in the fountain.

she wished for a puppy that didn't poop

or pee... i wished that she would stay

this cute and fun forever...

that night they swam in the tiny hotel pool.

i don't think i've seen a smaller pool except 

for the one i blow-up for my kids every summer.

on saturday we went to the st. louis zoo.

oh what an adventure.... we were planning

on spending just a few hours there and spend

the rest of the day with the whole family. 

since we had such a large group, we never

stayed together and most of the time i was

stopping to nurse or waiting on other people

or hurrying to find our groups to make

sure they had my children.

we got there at 9:15am and because of

how busy the zoo was, we parked ridiculously 

far away and got to the zoo entrance i think around

10:30. and we didn't leave until 4:30!

we had lots of fun though!

(and now i will flood you with a ton of pictures...)

on our lovely 'stroll' to the zoo...

my uncle and his son, dylan.

(seeing that it's a zoo, you're going to see a lot of

people's butt's cause that's how i roll. 

i like to take a lot of in-action shots)

my youngest brother and sister...

my other sister and her little family...

it was pretty warm and she loved poking her little

piggies out to get some air.

and here is some more cuteness... he was annoyed 

with me taking his picture and he finally just gave

me this look as if to say,

 'here you go mom! go away!'

a lovely candid shot...

(yes he is picking his nose)

my monkeys with some real monkeys...

more butts!

some sweet sister moments...

i ♥ him...

we had some very sleepy moments. 

(waiting for the train)

and even more butts... 

this is my grandpa. his great. it was a special

little moment for me...

another special moment. 

a little family catch-up amongst the chaotic day to 

talk about what we had seen and done...

by the end of our long day we all felt 

a bit like this...

we were all exhausted and

ready to go to back to the hotel and just relax.

and that's exactly what we did. 

the next day most of the family had gone 

back home so we took the opportunity to 

go to a gym that had an indoor waterpark

and spend some family time together. 

it's just what we all needed to re-group before

heading home to start our week.

we thoroughly enjoyed our trip and loved

seeing my uncle and aunt and little dylan.

wish we could see them more often.

we could just move out to seattle...

i'd be ok with that.