Fun in Tyler, Texas

Last Friday morning I had a spontaneous idea to rent a hotel room for the night and go out of town. We ended up getting renting a room in Tyler. Being that Tyler is only an hour and fifteen minutes away. it was an ideal place to go overnight. We stayed at the Holiday Inn (thanks Price line for an awesome room at a great price).

On Saturday we woke up and decided to go to The Discovery Science Place (it is a childrens' museum).Elizabeth had loads of fun "shopping" for groceries,taking care of the "sick" animals and pretending to be a nurse.
After the museum we went to Chuck e Cheese and used up our free tokens.Then we went shopping and to Jason's Deli (yum). Overall it was a great mini vacation.

Really......Are you that Bored

Okay so I know that Elizabeth is only three but really. She was extra destructive today. I was checking my email when I heard a strange noise....(It was quiet). I went in to find Elizabeth sitting on the kitchen floor playing in rice cereal.She had dumped out a whole box. Ughhhh....It was such a mess. I cleaned that mess up and went to change the baby. When I came out Elizabeth was eating Petroleum Jelly. Yet another time I have had to call Poison Control. The lady at Poison control asked us what our zip code was and her name. I am sure they keep a record on kids. One day CPS is going to show up at my door(just kidding). I am glad it is bed time because I need a break.

The Houston Zoo

This past weekend we had a chance to go to the Houston Zoo. We had lots of fun. The zoo had this cool new Chimpanzee exhibit. It was probably one of the coolest exhibits I have ever seen in my life. The monkeys were right there a foot away from us. Elizabeth loved it and kept pointing and saying monkey.I would highly recommend it.

Elizabeth also had fun at the petting zoo. She even tried sitting on a goat (poor goat). The weather was really nice.The animals were also actually out and the zoo wasn't that crowded. All and all everyone had a great time.Yay for family activities.

Dollar Store Decorations!

I was at the Dollar Tree the other day when I came across these cute vinyl stickers. They were of course a dollar which I can never resist. I had to buy 4 sets of the stickers to cover all the walls. For 4 dollars it gives Elizabeth's room a whole different vibe. Being that we live in an apartment complex we can't paint or put up wall borders. These stickers come off easily and took 10 minutes to put up. You may disagree but I think it is super cute.

NO More Excuses!

I really have no more excuses. I have made every excuse in the book why I can't lose weight. I'm tired,was breastfeeding,too busy and so on. 2011 is the year. I am determined to lose 30 pounds in three months. I need to feel somewhat good about myself again. Here is the plan.
*Exercise five days a week for 30 minutes a day--- I am going to start and walk at the trail across the street.
* Eat lots of fiber, fruits and veggies and cut back on bread.
* Limit my sweets.
*Monitor my portions. I don't need to eat til I am full.
* Have a good attitude.

Please feel free to ask me how it is going. I need to be held accountable! Wish me luck because I am going to need it.

Christmas!

I have been a serious slacker on this blog lately. Life has just not been super exciting. The highlights have been Sarah getting her first tooth and everyone being sick including myself.
We did have a lovely Christmas this year at my parents home in Houston. We Opened presents, ate too much food and had a really good time playing games and catching up with my family.
The girls of course got way to many gifts. Which of course are now scattered around my house. Elizabeth's top presents were a hammer and peg set,a monkey pillow pet, Curious George pajamas' and Mrs. Potato Head. Sarah did not have a top present. She loved everything because she was able to put it in her mouth and use it as a chew toy.

I am Thankful!

So I know this post is a little late.
I was at church today and actually got to sit through most of the talks. These 2 talks are just what I needed to hear. They were about service and the ways that service has touched these speakers lives. The talks have stuck with me all day.
While I have had some tough challenges lately (bad back,stress with Elizabeth and so on) I feel the need to share the service that has been shown to me this past Monday in particular. On Monday I had a friend who called me to see how my back was doing and to see if they could do anything to help me out. Then another friend called me to ask if we would like to come to their house on Thanksgiving. Then a while later a member of the bishopric called to see how my back was doing (he had helped give me a blessing the day before). In addition my mom and sister called to see how I was doing that day.

The day before all this had happened I could hardly move due to back pain and spasms (I am happy to report that the constant spasms were gone after the blessing). I also wasn't feeling like I deserved the love of my Heavenly Father. I know now that he cares about me. He wants me to be happy. I am grateful for the people who called that day. I am grateful for small acts of kindness and service.