Hop on over...

Want to win a great prize? Hop on over to Sweet Peas and Sassafras (her link is in the list of My Blogs) to see her giveaway that is honoring her 200th post! Congrats Heather!

Restaurants, Relatives, Rain, and Resumes...

What do Sugar Sisters Bakery, Panera, Wendy's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Olive Garden, and El Rodeo have in common?

Other than they fact that they are east side restaurants, they all helped contribute to the 2.5 lbs I gained eating at each and every one of them this weekend! First off, don't fret, it is very common for me to gain 2 or so pounds each weekend only to have to start my Monday and Tuesday by re-losing those, and then losing a couple more throughout the week.... if I could only keep those weekend pounds off, but I do love indulging a little on the weekends, so whatever.

Sunday was a very busy day. My Aunt Marie and Uncle Bruce came into town from Texas. They always travel in for their birthday/anniversary trip in April to spend some time with the Kansas family. We went and had dinner with them, and then they came back to our house to play with the boys. Their evening here was concluded when Cole used an orange crayon to color all over our dining room walls, but I will now endorse the Crayola Washable Crayons, and say it all wiped of VERY EASILY with a baby wipe. Thank goodness. I think it sent Brian over the edge for the evening though, so we had to give hugs, and prepare to send our babes to slumber land... one glitch...

If you live in Wichita or any of the surrounding communities, you realize that last night we had quite the rain storms. Carter did fine with it, but Cole told his daddy, "I will just sleep in your bed until the thunder goes away." I think Brian was OK with that, that meant that Brian had to go to bed also, so I got to watch Sunday night TV in total peace. I turned out all of the lights in the house, and just let the lightning flash away. We suffered no damage, but we have some family that have had some flooding issues from the storm. Wichita received somewhere in the 7 inch range in a matter of about 12 hours last night... here is a pic I took. It literally poured for hours.

Finally, resumes.

Yes, that's right I am preparing my resume. Breathe. I am not done being a stay-at-home-mom yet. Not even close in fact. I am applying to be the Director of our Church Nursery on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. I will still watch kiddos, it would just be some bonus money to pad our pockets a little. I have no clue what my chances of actually obtaining this position are. Although I feel fully qualified (I have nothing other than running church nurseries, Sunday school, VBS, day cares, Early Head Start... you get the point, in my background), this is a larger church, and they may already have their eye on someone. This is how I feel about it. It's in God's hands, and how can I complain about our financial situation if I don't make smart moves to try and improve it. So if God wants me do this job, I will, with joy. And if he does not, that is fine also.

So there you have it... I hate to ramble, so there is a reminder of the rain, restaurants, and relatives we relished in over this restful weekend.

All Things Orange

So today we did all things orange. I tell you I started out praying for little Stellan first thing this morning, and thought and prayed for him all day long. It helped that every time I saw something orange I was reminded of that sweet little boy. So here is a recap of our day...

We started our morning with a breakfast on orange plates and orange sippy cups.

This is my feeble attempt to dress my family in orange, and get a decent picture... impossible. I guess we don't own much orange, but I did think of Stellan the whole time I was perusing our drawers and closets. I tried. (Carter has orange stripes in his outfit... in case you can't tell.)

We spent some time playing with orange balloons... we were praying and playing for Stellan.


And then, we ate a lunch that consisted of chicken nuggets, cheez its, and peaches (if their poop is orange tomorrow... I AM taking a picture of it... HA!)

Cole helped me say a prayer for Stellan this afternoon, and when I got the news that he had come through the surgery I choked back tears. Thank God, the ultimate healer. So there you have our orange day. Keep praying for Stellan tomorrow.

Quick Update

I thought I would give you all a quick update on the 30 Day Shred that I did. I ended up losing about 6-7 lbs over the 30 days, but the muscle tone I have gained is amazing. I really do like her video. Like I may have mentioned before I did not do the Shred every day instead I did all three levels of the shred every other day, and on the opposite days I did 1 hour of cardio at the gym. A single level of the shred is only about 20 minutes, and that is just not a long enough workout for me anymore, so that's why I do all three levels at once. I ordered two more of Jillian's videos from Walmart.com last night (they are half the price of Target) if you are interested. I am looking forward to more time with Jillian in my living room! Oh, and a quick funny about the video... I have been doing it so much that I basically have it memorized, so last night instead of watching her on the big screen I watched Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters while I just did the video from memory...BONUS!!!!!

Secondly, I know MANY of you are reading MckMama's blog (click on the Praying for Stellan button on the right of my blog). Baby Stellan is either having surgery tonight or tomorrow morning to correct his problem, and in his honor WE WILL BE WEARING ORANGE for Stellan tomorrow. We will do as many things orange, and pray for baby Stellan as many times as possible... will you? Please. I'll post our orange day tomorrow.

Prom

So 10 Years Ago, Brian and I went to our high school prom together.

And who would have thought that 10 years later we would be going to "Peanut Prom" with our two boys! My moms group had "prom" for the families last night. It was a fun chance to dance with the babies. The had streamers, cupcakes, and blowers... what fun!

Immediately after prom was over, we went to a birthday party for our friend Ashley. She was celebrating her 30's with wine and chocolate at a store called Coca Dolce. They make all of their chocolates, and they are wonderful. Ok, try not to drool too much, but I had (too much chocolate) a champagne truffle, a raspberry truffle, a blackberry truffle, a creme de brule truffle, a caramel truffle, a margarita truffle, a pina colada truffle, and a key lime truffle. (Most of them I ate half and Brian ate half.) So good. They paired the chocolates with flights of wine. It was a very relaxing time and a fun way to celebrate Ashley. Happy Birthday Ashley!

Sisterhood Award

I received my first blogging award today from my good mommy friend Heather. (Thanks Heather, it was a really nice pick me up.)

Now, apparently I am supposed to pass this award on to some other WONDERFUL women.

(Here are the rules.)

Rules of The Sisterhood Award: 1. Put the logo on your blog or post. 2. Nominate 10 blogs with great attitude and/or gratitude. 3. Be sure to link your nominees in your post. 4. Let your nominees know they have received the award by leaving them a comment on their blog. 5. Be sure to link this post to the person who nominated you for the award.

I AM GOING TO BREAK THE RULES A LITTLE BIT.

I have decided that I am going to let 10 Amazing Women know how great they are whether they blog or not (although some do).

In not particular order... ( I am putting their blog name next to their names... I still can't figure out how in the he** you add a link without showing the whole address... someone want to help me here?)

1. Erin A. (Stronger Than Armour)... you are a wonderful sister, mom, and woman. I wish you lived closer so we could spend more time together. I envy your adventurous spirit.

2. Mom A. (no blog)... thank you for all you do for me. Although my mom will never be replaced you do a great job of picking up the slack. When it comes to MIL's I got lucky!

3. W-O (no blog)... you are such a great friend who puts up with our family like we are your own. Love ya girl... (even if you do erase The Biggest Loser!!)

4. Linds (no blog)... you have such an amazing spirit. You are someone I can truly confide in, and I always value your opinion. You are level headed, but still keep me young!

5. Heather (Sweet Peas and Sassafras)... to a great mommy friend who opened up new worlds to me. Thank you for introducing me to so many great mommies...

6. Jenn (no blog)... you are constantly lighthearted and fun to be around. Your kind and giving spirit radiates out of you... I wish I could be a little more like you!

7. Kelley (no blog)... if I can't have a sister living in town with me, at least I have you! We have seen some amazing and some tough times together. I am extremely lucky to have such a beautiful and gifted woman that I can call family.

8. Aunt Lynda (no blog)... I can ALWAYS count on you. You are my second mom. Whether it's midnight, or raining, or just silly to call, you never make it feel silly.

9. Aunt Helen and Marie (no blog)... thank you for always sending kind, supporting, and encouraging words my way. Although you are both far away, you always make me know you care.

10. Shaila and Alyssa (no blog)... thanks workout buddies, gripe buddies, mommy madness buddies, shop late at Target for no good reason at all buddies, YOU ARE BOTH GREAT!

So there you have it. I broke the rules, but I don't care, I think you girls are the best, and I want you to know it. Now go and pass it on!

Quick Quips from Cole...

Last week Cole was really into Jesus and Easter. On Wednesday he came into the kitchen to tell me "Jesus is knocking at the back door mommy." Normally I would say let Jesus in (to your life, heart, etc...) but NOT THE BACK DOOR COLE.

Cole came into me today, "I need a paper towel." "For what?", I said.

"For chocolate face!"

Meet chocolate face everyone:

We've been potty training (forever now), and so I sat on the big people potty while Cole sat on his potty. When I was finished, he walked over, looked in the potty, and said, "Good job mom, you can have a skittle!"

Last week I was running around the house doing who knows what and Cole comes running to me and says, "Mom, you should see what your kiddos are doing." (They were unloading every last wipe out of the wipe box. Thanks kid.)

A couple of weeks ago I walked into my bedroom and Cole was sitting in my bed. He looked at me and said, "Good morning grilfriend." (no, that's not a misspelling).

Ahh, if nothing else, they are cheap entertainment.

Eggs

Dye them...

Hunt them...

And fill your tummy with them (or the candy that's inside!)

May we rejoice in this glorious day when Jesus lived so that we may also. Happy Easter from the Andersons!

New Number and Baby Bangs?

So here it is, the new number.... (notice there is no 2 at the beginning!)

I know most people would be devastated to post their scale on a Blog, but I AM SO EXCITED!!!! I cannot remember the last time I have been under 200 lbs. It has been at least 7 years. That also means that as of today I have officially lost 60 lbs. since starting this journey in August. That feels good. I have felt terrible the past 7-10 days with a flu like walking pneumonia. Exhausted, and coughing to the point of no return only touches on my symptoms. So I am super excited that I have been able to continue to lose weight with only half-hearted workouts, but a good diet. So I will trudge on... 55 lbs to go!

Now onto the baby bangs. Last night I got my hair cut and colored, and I told my hairdresser how I always have these baby bangs that stick up... it's not like my hair breaks off, it's too short to do anything with. She told me it is probably because of my new diet. Huh. Never heard of such a thing. I ended up cutting some bangs to maybe try and hide them a little. I will have to post a pic when I look a little better... I've been cleaning all evening.

That is my final topic. I have been cleaning all day and evening because we are going to have lots of company this week. I am starting out by having a dear friend and neighbor over tomorrow night that just lost his wife to a stroke a few days ago. I want to make sure that he is getting some company and warm meals. I am making chicken noodles, mashed potatoes, crescent rolls, and apple cake with a homemade caramel drizzle. I hope he likes it. Then, on Friday, we are having about 40 Moms and Tots over for an Easter Egg Hunt and Picnic in our backyard. What fun!

(I just need to express my constant annoyance that my published posts are never formatted like my original posts... I did not write this in one long paragraph... what is the deal?)

"Can I Go Potty Mommy, would that be OK?"

Yes, yes, yes, yes, (fast yes') yes, yes, yes, yes, (long drawn out yes') yeeeeeesssss, yeeeeeesssss, yeeeeeesssss, (squealing yes' while I skip to the potty) yes yippee, yippee, yippee!

Cole ASKED to go to the potty today... and stayed dry ALL DAY LONG... need I say anything other than "YES!"