Rain, Rain, Go Away!

While I am working on my education, I have opted to become a nanny vs daycare teacher, secretary, sales associate...

Major reason I am a nanny... I get to spend quality time with my little man :)
No weekends, holidays, and cash money is nice too!

Well... I am now nannying for a house that is over ran by FIVE children, 4 boys and 1 girl. So Monday - Friday I am in charge of 6 children (including B). My first week I was ready to throw in the towel. I was being super nanny -- dishes, mopping, nerf gun fight, outside games, walks, board games.....

That came to an end real fast... the older boys are 7,8, & 10 -- they can entertain each other. I started focusing on the wee ones. Don't worry I still interact PLENTY with the big dogs too!

I have gotten us all on a pretty good schedule. I make sure we are outside twice a day for at least an hour. The wee ones are easy riding toys, plastic pool, hose, chalk = one hell of a good time! But with this all this rain... we have been stuck inside and it is driving us all a little bonkers.

So I decided I needed to step up my nannying game and come up with some activities for all 6 kids to participate in.

Activity 1:

Smore cake pops:  Chocolate chips
                            Graham crackers
                            Marshmallows
                            Sprinkles

I had  a bowl of melted the chocolate chips, smashed graham crackers, and different sprinkles. I set out the marshmallows on plates and the kids were able make there own smore cake pops -- decorating them in different sprinkles and toppings. I got in on the fun.. and they were amazingly good -bad for the diet.

Activity 2:

They had a large box sitting in the recycling bin. I grab that out, cut it open during nap time, and went on a hunt for some crayons. After snack I laid it out on the living room floor with the crayons and ALL the kids went to town drawing and coloring on it.  It kept every one entertained for a good hour -- MAJOR bonus -- TV WAS OFF!!

  Happy Rain Days :)

-Mandy :))

The house that built me....is SOLD :-(

Well today is a very emotional day for me.  As of 5PM someone else will be the new owners of my childhood house. I know I need to act like an adult and just face the fact that this is happening -- is it wrong of me for wishing some type of misfortune on the walk through and closing. Like their loan didn't go through or my parents have a change of heart at the last minute..

I can't stand the fact that a new family is going to occupy MY house and call it home. 10216 187th was my safe haven, a place I was always felt loved and just being there brought up my sprits and changed my mood. 

Even though I moved out over 4 years ago, I always considered my parents house -- home. When I was visting them I would always tell Nick I'm home, not my parents house, lake house, or Bristol -- it was always HOME! 

I felt like this house made my family closer. I am 7 and 8 years younger then my brothers --- so we were never 'close' and I would have never consider them friends. But when I got older, we became close, thanks to the summers spent on the boat, beating the heat in the water, BBQ's in the front yard, partying in the garage (gameroom). Sharing this common place and doing all of these activities together made us friends. 

Last night was my final time being in my childhood house.  I took my final walk around the house and the memories starting flooding in my mind. Isnt it weird how you can bypass the same spots for years without triggering those memories. I took pictures around the house, trying to preserve every memory of my home.

The tears really started pouring down my face when I was driving away from 'home'. It truly isn't easy driving away and leaving 20 years of memories behind...

Please disregard the mess... 

- Mandy R. :((

Support system!

Thank goodness I have a good support system! Crissy really helps get me through my cravings and turns my attitude around when I am having a hard time with my diet. 

Every dieter needs a friend who has your best interest at heart. Thanks Crissy :) 

My diet is still on track today :) 

-Mandy :)) 

DIET DAY 1: COMPLETED

I successfully completed my first day of my diet {insert happy dance}.
Hey, you have to celebrate the smallest of achievements ;)

Today went pretty smoothly.... I ate the healthy food I packed, drank water, got 30+ minutes of exercise, and even made a healthier dinner... which was bypassed for McDonalds, OOPS!

No worries, I picked the healthiest items on the McDonalds menu -- a vanilla ice-cream cone (150 Calories) and a grilled chicken snack wrap (270 Calories).  Hey, I was starving and I felt like I deserved this treat. I started my hip hop abs DVD today. I did the 30 minute DVD in the sweat box I call a living room (Fiancé refused to install the AC units). I also took a 2.3 mile walk around the lake in the rain,  now that's dedication ;)

A Mcdonalds ice-cream cone was suppose to be a treat for B, who braved the rain with me without complaining, but I couldn't help from ordering 2. Oh-well I am not going to beat myself up about it, still gotta live. I was still inside my daily point allowance (W/O using activity points).

Even with my Mcdonalds relapse, I feel pretty good about day 1!

On the Brightside:: dinner is already made for tomorrow, woop-woop!!!

SIDE NOTE: I was scrolling through my 'Workin' on my fitness' board  and I came across a 5-Week-Challenge -- a weight loss challenge. Each weeks brings a new challenge (challenges are cumulative). The blogger who posted this posted the following channels:

Week 1: Hydration Nation – Drink 64oz of water per day.
Week 2: Sweet Tooth Cured – No sweets (i.e. cookies, brownies, etc.)
Week 3: Bust a Move – Work out for at least 30 minutes per day.
Week 4: On the Wagon – No wine, beer, etc.
Week 5: Clean it Up – Clean eating.  No processed foods at all.


She made it as a competition between friends, but I am using this outline as personal challenges for myself to follow! I think Week 5 is going to be the hardest one for me to follow :-//


Anyone else up for the challenge?


-Mandy R. :)))

 

Getting stuff done :)

Organizing. Cleaning. Packing.

Were the only things on my mind & to-do list this weekend.

 I am hoping we will have a house by September so I can ditch this rental and start on the road to home ownership... Scary thought! So, I want to begin the consolidating and packing up the insane amount of stuff we have. I have one room dedicated completely to storage - holiday decorations, pile & pile of baby junk, old clothes that I am longing to fit into, and soooo much more. This room is a hot mess...

During nap time on Saturday I was feeling dedicated and went though every box, bag, and bin. I organized all of the holiday decorations, movies, games, blankets -- putting them into their own labeled bins. I even sifted though the mountain of baby stuff and consolidated it to a corner of the room (before it took up at least half). 

I tossed 3 garbage bags and the rest I put outside for our garage sale (that I have been meaning to have since May) 

I made a list of 30 spots in the house that need to be cleaned and organized. So far I only completed a handful... But I plan to do a task a day. 

My weekend accomplishment:: cleaning off/putting away the boxes that were stacked on the treadmill. Now I have no excuses. It's time to kick my booty into shape for my wedding (only 800 days to go :)) 

My ULTIMATE GOAL: walk down the aisle looking &  feeling my best, and being my ideal weight.

Staring Goal: Lose 10lbs by August 24th. 

Day one of my diet starts tomorrow - NO MORE excuses 

-Mandy :))

Fish - Fish - Fishy

We have a new member of the family, a fishy.

Bryson got a pet fish!! We were going to wait to get him one until we moved into the new house but who the hell knows when that is?!?!?! 

So.. we hit up Petsmart. I already had the fish bowl, pebbles, and fun water plants, so I really expected to leave the store only spending less than 20 bucks.  I was SO wrong, our cart was full of new fun plants, rocks, signs, and a new fish tank -- one with a lid, to keep those little hands from petting the fishy! 

I think it is VERY important to allow B to make his own decisions, so he picked the fish and everything else on his own. We ended leaving with a pretty blue and red Betta fish --  its name is still to be determined. I am pretty sure his name will end up being Fish. 

-Mandy :)))

Round Two....

 Welp... Let me try this again. 

I am back to blogging. My last run at this was a WHOLE week... lets see if I can last a bit longer this time around because I have a whole lot to talk about. There is a TON of changes happening in my life....
                       
     1. I got engaged :))
     2. We are buying, well attempting to buy a house
     3. I graduated college & in search of a career
     4. My parents sold my childhood home && I'm very bitter. 


So my plan is to share my journey through these huge life changing events.... planning a wedding, buying and remolding a house, along with the other bumps and surprises that show up in my day to day life....


-Mandy :)))