Crappies and Happies

I was reading some of the blogs I follow this morning & I saw one called Happies and Crappies by my friend Lacy at Charm & Sass

I read through it & thought it was WAY cute! It's a link up with Sarah at Scissors & Whisk  where you do a quick recap of your highs & lows from the week. I started stalking following Sarah, grabbed her button, & had something structured to blog about today.

I like to end on a good note, so I'm starting with my

Crappies

~ I am worn out

~ I am sore

~ I lost the calendar of days off at Preschool

~ Jamie came in contact with Pinworms

~ Kayla has pushed her limits

~ Jamie didn't get to eat a mini cupcake

Happies

~ I am worn out means we've been BUSY at work this week post-flu, which means my family is being provided for

~ I am sore means I've felt well enough to get some workouts in this week after the flu

~ I lost the calendar of days off at Preschool means I got a chance to text one of the girls' sweet teachers & learned the Preschool calendar follows one of the local schools & they have a website I can check out

~ Jamie came in contact with Pinworms means the girls FINALLY felt well enough to go to school & I got a chance to talk with the director of the Preschool {not something we get to do much in the drop off line}

~ Kayla has pushed her limits means I've had to rely more on God to not come unglued with her & teach her about obedience, respect, & limits

~ Jamie didn't get to eat a mini cupcake means I stayed strong & stuck to my word about her not getting a cupcake if she didn't eat what she was supposed to....more of this obedience, respect, & limits

 

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I've decided to do a giveaway! As soon as I get to 25 stalkers followers, I'll do it. Not sure yet what it will be, but I'm thinking on it. I'm up for any suggestions of what you guys might like a chance to win. Other bloggers have given away $15 gift cards to different places or cute accessories. Now to be a follower, you can't just read my blogs, you've got to follow my page over on the GFC (Google Friend Connect). BTW, it's free! And since I know my 14 followers aren't viewing my post 47 times, some of you folks should join! You don't HAVE to blog to be apart of GFC, but it's fun. Blogging is FUN!!!!



 

 

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Tell me about your week!

Let. It. Go. Week 1 Wrap Up

As I mentioned yesterday in the Controllers Anonymous Meeting Blog Post, I have joined an Online Bible Study covering this book:

Let. It. Go. by Karen Ehman

 

Today's Assignment from Melissa Taylor is to Reflect and Respond to the questions below. And well, since I'm a blogger, I'll just do it here.

 

• Which Reflection Verse spoke to you most this week? How were you able to apply it to your life?
• Well, they all definitely spoke to me & I'll leave my thoughts on them with each verse.
• “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” ~ Colossians 3:23 NIV84
• This one spoke to me the most, but here are my thoughts: No matter what I'm doing, whether it be at home or at work, I need to work my hardest with all of my heart to please the Lord. Working like this provides as a great example to others (especially my girls) of what it's like to have the Lord in my heart. I should not try to please others, only work to please the Lord.
• “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.” ~ Psalm 118:8 NIV11
• I need to seek my fulfillment in the Lord. All of my trust needs to be in the Lord. I do not need to rely on any person for these things.
• “My words are plain to anyone with understanding, clear to those with knowledge. Choose my instruction rather than silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold. For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies. Nothing you desire can compare with it.” ~ Proverbs 8:9-11 NLT
• Spending time with God strengthening my relationship & gaining knowledge from His Truth should be my top priority.

• What is the difference between trusting God and believing in God?
• Believing in God means I know all about His wonderful characteristics & mighty acts. I know He is patient, loving, forgiving, powerful, ever near, always faithful....He's perfect! I read the pages of my Bible about men & women who trusted Him with amazing results; but I doubt He'll really repeat this in my modern everyday life. I intellectually believe He does what is best for the world in general, but practically I behave as if in my individual situations, I must know what's best. My lips may say I trust Him, but my actions say the opposite.
• But to truly trust God, I must have a plump line --a solid starting point of reference on which I base all my decisions. I need to be intentional about spending time alone with God in prayer, knitting my heart to the Father's so they can unite in purpose. Then, whenever I'm faced with a choice, I can first sift through the grid of glory. I can ponder: Will this glorify me or will this glorify God? "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing" (John 8:54). To glorify ("to make famous") God, my actions should point to Him & make Him famous to those watching.

• Are you tired of trying to control things/people around you? Are you exhausted trying to keep up a good front? How will you be able to change these patterns? (p 23)
• I am tired of trying to control things & people around me! Keeping up a good front is definitely exhausting. I am beyond thankful I have truly started giving everything to God. In order to change these patterns, I must be trained to embrace this dichotomy of a truth: in order to get a grip, I have to let go.

• What is the difference between a tool, toy, and tangent? Give an example of each in your life.
• Tools are needed, they help me live life. Temporary toys are the little fun now & then to help relieve stress & rejuvenate, to refresh my mind, body, & soul. Tangents are what trip me up...they are the activities, hobbies, people, or time-wasting habits that knock me off course.
• At times my Smartphone can become a tangent for me, with my easy access to my all of my various accounts. But I am learning how to turn it into a temporary toy. Reading non-Christ centered daily blogs became a tangent for me last week while I was home sick with the flu & with 2 sweet little girls who had the flu. But I quickly learned how to just scan those & only limit myself on reading them. I sometimes feel like my cleaning can become a tangent…NOT because I have an overclean house or anything; but because I feel like I get home from work, clean, & then it’s time to put my girls down for bed & I’ve spent no time with them. I’m trying to find a balance on that one where I’m cleaning a little each day & ALSO not having a mass cleaning day. I like the idea of doing a little each day. I HAVE gotten them involved in the cleaning tasks & they love it when they are participating. But I also need to make sure we do something extremely fun afterwards.

• What is one thing you can take away from all you’ve learned in Week 1?
• I am more of a controller than I thought I was. I feel that my struggle is with letting God take things & not thinking: “did God really say”. I need to let it go & let God have complete control. I need to trust God. It’s nice to know that I’m not alone! Karen has hit the nail on the head with this one!!!

This Post is Brought to You by the Letter P

 

Sorry about the Sesame Street reference there, but given that the show was on when I grew up AND I have 2 sweet little cuties in the preschool age, it works.

 

The girls are in a 2-day-a-week Mother's Day Out Program. Kayla was in a different Preschool Program last year so that's why we just call it Preschool (plus Preschool is quicker for me to say than Mother's Day Out --I'm at work, not out while they're there).

 

ANYWAY!

 

Even though the girls missed both days last week AND Monday of this week, their teachers were sweet enough to send me a text to let me know that Wednesday would be P day.

 

 

Pink cup

 

Why not start P day off right with your milk in a Pink cup? If I would have thought about it a little more, I might have made them pancakes....afterthoughts are GREAT!

 

Princess

They got to go to Preschool dressed up as a Princess.

I just LOVED this picture!!!! The boys at Preschool could dress up as a Pirate, but I don't have any boys, so there are no Pirates in my Picture.

 

Princess Crowns, Pirate Eye Patch, & Pizza

Both girls got to make a Princess Crown. Jamie's class got to make a Pirate Eye Patch. Kayla's class got to make a Pizza to represent the Pizza they ate for lunch. Kayla's Pizza has cheese, pepperoni, green peppers (SHOCKED this made her pizza), & 1 little olive (SHOCKED there aren't more since she loves them).

 

Productive

{for Mommy anyway cause I got started on my tone-up}

I DID IT! I spent a solid 20 minutes at a 10 incline walking a speed of 3 & then did a 1 minute cool-down with no incline at a 2.

I also did the Easy Abs workout on my Ab Workout App. I want to start small so I'll not be too sore to stick with it. Plus my muscles had just gotten over being sore from the stickin flu.



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And by the way...I've decided to do a giveaway! As soon as I get to 25 stalkers followers, I'll do it. Not sure yet what it will be, but I'm thinking on it. I'm up for any suggestions of what you guys might like a chance to win. Other bloggers have given away $15 gift cards to different places or cute accessories. Now to be a follower, you can't just read my blogs, you've got to follow my page over on the GFC (Google Friend Connect). BTW, it's free! And since I know my 14 followers aren't viewing my post 47 times, some of you folks should join! You don't HAVE to blog to be apart of GFC, but it's fun. Blogging is FUN!!!!

Controllers Anonymous Meeting

Have you ever been to a group therapy session or alcoholics anonymous meeting?

 

I haven't, but I've seen enough movies & shows about them to get the drift of how they start out, or how they are portrayed to start out according to Hollywood. Heck during my 7-week bedrest during the pregnancy with my 2nd child, I got addicted to Celebrity Rehab, a show hosted  by Dr. Drew that air on VH1. There's even a show on now called Go On that airs on NBC staring Matthew Perry. I watch the premier & it seemed like it would be a good show. But I decided not to get into that one cause I don't watch too many TV shows anymore & I didn't want to get addicted to another one. Oh, I got sidetracked.

 

Anyway!

 

So here's what I'm imagining: Everyone walks in, trying to blend in & not make too much eye contact. Some may or may not take part in the snacks (I would totally hit up the snack table cause I love food). And at the official start time, the therapist or director/leader (sometimes a person recovering whatever we are all meeting for) tells everyone to find a seat & everyone does. Some are thinking, heck I don't have a problem! I'm just here cause I was told I had to be here. Others are like, I know I have a problem & they own up to it & are ready to figure out how to fix it.

 

Well, for this blog post I'm participating in a blog hop that is similar to this group session. I recently started an Online Bible Study (OBS) on this book:

Let. It. Go. How to Stop Running the Show and Start Walking in Faith by Karen Ehman

 

This OBS is hosted by:

Melissa Taylor

 

I tried to participate in Melissa's OBS for Unglued, but I got really distracted & behind & just ended up rewriting the book with some of my own thoughts & experiences. It was a great book!!!! {For those of you who follow me a lot, I will get back to Becoming More, but I really wanted to participate in this OBS.}

 

Let.It.Go. How to Stop Running the Show and Start Walking in Faith gives you practical tips and ideas to letting go of your need to control.  Between housework, meals (okay, I don't cook much but I do some), kids, & a job if we work outside of the home; we women have a lot to control. We are wired to do so (it's like we're born with a control gene). As Karen points out, "The problem lies with our failure to know where to draw the line, to differentiate between leading and bossing, to know the difference between simply taking charge and ultimately taking over."

 

I hope through the course of this 6-week study I will be able to let go of those items I hold so tightly onto and solely rely on God to direct my steps. I hope to "determine the difference between being conscientious (our part) and being in control (God's job)" as Karen points out.

 

So here's my Controllers Anonymous Meeting introduction (sorry it's kind of lengthy):

Hi, my name is Tasha & I have a tendency to control. I tend to alter between being agreeable & easygoing at times &, in some situations, wanting to take charge. I'm a people pleaser. I also tend to worry. But I have hope & so do you! I want to let it go & let God.

Weigh-In Wednesday

Today I'm linking-up with Erin @ She's a Big Star and Alex @ Skinny Jean Pilgrimage to bring you my:

 

This is my first Weigh-In Wednesday Link-Up.

I am a My Fitness Pal (MFP) user & used to weigh-in on Fridays. But there were a few weeks there where my weight was not changing & then I was sick all last week, so I didn't weigh-in at all. I decided I would change my weigh-in day to Wednesdays so I could link up with these ladies & my other new blogger friends.

I've been working on my weight loss for about 2 years now. I like MFP cause when you don't hit your goal weight by the date you picked, it just pushes your date out for you. I didn't really get serious about my weight loss until April or May of 2012.

I got really excited when this popped up on my screen this week:

 

I mean, I KNOW I log into this thing everyday, but I was SHOCKED to see that I had actually logged in for 175 days in a row!!!!

 

Now, my goal calorie intake is set so that I lose 1 pound per week, which is what is recommended in order to have a healthy weight loss AND keep the weight off.

 

I am BEYOND EXCITED to announce:

 

I have OFFICIALLY hit my weight loss goal!!!!! It's just time to shape it up!

 

Now...these last 2.8 pounds were not exactly lost the best way. As I was telling my blogger friend Lora @ Raising Steppe Sisters I had ABSOLUTELY no appetite while taking care of my 2 sweet girls who had the flu & developed secondary bacterial ear infections while I myself had the flu & developed a secondary bacterial ear infection.

 

But my workouts start again TODAY...and you know why?!?! Lora reminded me that Spring is coming & in the Spring, I loss my security blanket of layers that hide the stuff that needs to be toned up. OH how thankful I am to wear baggy scrubs as work clothes!!!! But I do other things besides work & I would like to feel comfortable enough to wear cute close that fit.

 

So I guess my Weigh-In Wednesday will be updates to let you know if I do or don't maintain my weight & how the toning it up is going.

What's In A Name Link-Up & More

 

 

I am linking-up today with my new blogger friend Amanda over at:

 

She loves discussing baby names & is currently surrounded by pregnant women. So today she is doing this Link-up to discuss baby names. Now, she's not just referring to our human babies; she wants to know about about fur babies too! I'll discuss all my babies names in the order they entered the family.

 

Abby Doodles

 

We got Abby when the hubs was still in Optometry School & I was in Graduate School. We were 1 year before being out & I was ready for a baby. But ya know, when you're surviving on a Graduate Assistantship & help from your parents, that's really not time to have a baby. So we got Abby & I DEFINITELY treated her like a baby {she really has no clue that she's a dog}. I was a little obsessed with the show ER (yes, I miss that show). We liked the name of one of the characters: Abby. So that's how she got her 1st name. Doodles comes from the fact that she is part poodle.

 

Kayla Grace

 

 

Let's talk middle name 1st...every first-born son in this line of the Reeves Family has the middle name of Elton. So when we found out we were pregnant, we started discussing names for both genders. Elton was a given if we were going to have a boy, but if we were going to have a girl, we were going to give her a middle name from my side of the family. My Mom's Grandmother's middle name: Grace. Once we found out we were pregnant with a girl, we started discussing 1st names. We really liked the name Layla.....but ya know, kids can be cruel as it is with making fun of their peers. I wish our world was not like that, but it is. We started thinking about where that could go, so we decided to do a variation & both agreed on Kayla.....hence the name: Kayla Grace

 

Jamie Lynn Acie

 

Let's talk middle name 1st...well, you already know what the middle name would have been had we had a boy. But when we found out we were pregnant again, we started talking middle names again since it's a family thing. Since Kayla's middle name came from my side of the family, we decided to look to the female side of the Reeves Family for a middle name. There are several females with the middle name of Lynn, so we went with it. When we found out we were pregnant with another girl, we started discussing 1st names to go with Lynn. We really liked Brooke Lynn, but thought that might just turn into one name. Now, I know there is a famous Jamie Lynn out there with the last name of Spears, but we just really like how Jamie sounded with Lynn. Out Jamie Lynn is not named after the famous one, we just really liked it! Two weeks to the day before Jamie was born, Greg's Grandfather passed away. So we also decided to include his middle name as part of her name. He was so looking forward to meeting her, but just was not able to. Hence the name: Jamie Lynn Acie

 

Tessie

 

And last, but certainly not least, there is Tessie. The girls were asking for a puppy. It had been discussed with Kayla that she could have a puppy if we could go the rest of the school year without crying {this was becoming an issue as Kayla cried everyday while at preschool & did not play with friends}. She started quickly getting rid of this behavior, so we talked to Santa & Tess was delivered to our house. Santa had already named her, but we turned it into Tessie....since we have an Abby, it just kind of worked. Every once in a while, when we're calling Abby Doodles, we'll say Tess Aroonie. Not sure why, but it makes me giggle. Poor thing doesn't have a real middle name.

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Is anyone else as excited as I am that I will NOT be blogging about an illness today, other than to say: we are feeling better!!!!

Kayla felt well enough to help Ms. Beyonce perform the Super Bowl Halftime Show.

Jamie is all smiles again!

And this morning I was feeling back to getting up at regular time so I could have my Quiet Time with God.

This is the best hour & half of my day. I may not get to everything you see in this picture, but I get so much from God out of what I do get to.

 

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And by the way...I've decided to do a giveaway! As soon as I get to 25 stalkers followers, I'll do it. Not sure yet what it will be, but I'm thinking on it. I'm up for any suggestions of what you guys might like a chance to win. Other bloggers have given away $15 gift cards to different places or cute accessories. Now to be a follower, you can't just read my blogs, you've got to follow my page over on the GFC (Google Friend Connect). BTW, it's free! And since I know my 14 followers aren't viewing my post 47 times, some of you folks should join! You don't HAVE to blog to be apart of GFC, but it's fun. Blogging is FUN!!!!

 



Friday Does Not Equal Funday Today

Guess what, y'all?!?!?!

 

 

Yep, that pretty much sums it up!

 

And I know you guys are just as sick of reading about our illnesses as I am about writing about them. But oh well, such is a blogger's life, you blog about what's going on. I think I would have some CRAZY cabin fever (if you know me, you know we don't sit at home much), but the girls & I were able to get out of the house today....more on that in a bit.

 

Before going to bed last night we got some snow! The flakes were so pretty & being the picture whore taker that I am, I wanted to get some on film. Now, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE my camera!

 

 

It's an Olympus Tough TG-820. The thing is Shockproof AND Waterproof!!!! Those are some AWESOME features to me cause I'm clumsy & have 2 preschoolers (aka: we drop stuff a lot) & we are around water a lot.

 

However, I cannot figure out the setting when it comes to take pictures at night. I tried all kinds of settings to take pictures of those beautiful flakes & this is what I got:

 

Anyhow...I'll get it figured out one day. Never the less, we had a dusting of snow when we got up. This brought smiles to everyone's faces!

 

Since we were advised: if you have fever more than 5 days while on Tamiflu, come back to the PCP office; we loaded up & went.

 

Kayla still had a low-grade fever & was complaining of her throat hurting. Jamie had a low-grade fever, was complaining of her ears & throat hurting, & had cough something TERRIBLE last night. I think I got 4 hours of sleep last night & they were not consecutive.

 

So I have a question for ya: 

Is walking into the doctor's office like the miracle drug for your children? I swear, these 2 got some crazy energy the minute we walked in the door saying nothing hurt & they were all better. This is them playing under the exam bed in the room we were in. It was their house.

 

So even though this little sweet said only her throat was a little sore...

...she's got a secondary bacterial ear infection & got a antibiotic.

 

And this little cute... 

...also has a secondary bacterial ear infection along with some nasty crud in her chest. She got prescribed & antibiotic & had to do a breathing treatment to help break up that junk.

Although she kept telling me: Momma I don't wike {like} it; she was a total rock star & sat through the whole thing...Clifford by her side. She also got prescribed an albuterol inhaler along with a mask (cause when you're not 3 yet, you don't really do the inhaler thing too well without it having a mask to assist).

 

While we were waiting on our prescriptions to be filled, we went to Sonic for lunch & had a little treat.

 

 

Jamie had a Vanilla Shake, I had a Caramel Snickers Blast, & Kayla had a Chocolate Shake. I was only able to eat 1/2 my lunch cause this stinkin sickness has completely zapped my appetite & I was full, so I REALLY should not have ordered mine, but the thought of that cold going down my throat sounded heavenly. I was only able to eat 1/2 of it.

 

We got home in time for some quiet time & of course my cuddle buddy had to take her spot!

She's either saying "Mommie I still don't feel good" or "Mommie I'm not better yet". Poor thing.

Someone finally admitted that her ears hurt, but is being a champ & enjoying playing her DS & watching movies all day every day of this week. She's also enjoying not having to do her chores. However, she did tell us she wasn't too sick to give the dogs food & water.

And little Missy here did good with her at home breathing treatment. She said she likes it better. She's even asked to go ahead & do one...seeing as how her cough woke her up from nap & she keeps coughing, but we had 2 hours before we could do another one when she asked.

 

So, PLEASE tell me how your Friday & your weekend is going....I can live through your fun while we are staying cooped up in the house.

 

And by the way...I've decided to do a giveaway! As soon as I get to 25 stalkers followers, I'll do it. Not sure yet what it will be, but I'm thinking on it. Now to be a follower, you can't just read my blogs, you've got to follow my page over on the GFC (Google Friend Connect). BTW, it's free! And since I know my 14 followers aren't viewing my post 21-38 times, some of you folks should join! Blogging is FUN!!!!