InstaFriday 12

Here I am again with my 12th week of InstaFriday hosted by Life Rearranged.

I'm growingto4 on Instagram if you want to follow me.

Reading to Cody the therapy dog at the library

Spotted a deer while out for a walk in the woods

Mike went skydiving

Unloading stuff from storage and found my beloved Todd

The kids playing with my old Littlest Pet Shop toys

Marley woke me up at 7:30am to tell me there was a deer with antlers in the backyard. When I got up a while later she had fallen back to sleep with her favorite cat. 

Slimming Down

Back in February I decided it was time to lose my baby weight. Yes, Mason is 2, but it's still baby weight.  First, I bought some new running shoes thanks to Meijer's buy one get one for $1 sale. Mike got some too.  Then, I bought a treadmill. I will say, I HATED running. I always said I would never run unless someone was chasing me, but with Marley in school and Mason at home, I couldn't really afford to go somewhere to work out so this was my next best choice.  I also downloaded the C25K app on my phone. It's a great app for beginning runners because it slowly progresses each week, until you can run a 5K.  

So once I had everything all set up, I weighed myself on the Wii Fit to see where I started. EEK!   Then I got on my treadmill and ran for 30 second intervals. It wasn't that bad at all.  Since the app has you run then walk it was so easy because I wasn't overdoing it. 

Each week has a three day schedule and then it ups its length of running and shortens its walking times.  I couldn't believe I was actually doing it.  I would just turn on some Netflix and go. So easy!  

In the 8 weeks that I did the app I lost 15 pounds!  I couldn't believe it.  I also downloaded a calorie counter app on my phone, but I wasn't super strict at all.  If anything, I had to eat more than what I normally did to get my recommended number of calories.  

I haven't ran since we moved in the beginning of May but I managed to lose another 3 lbs since then. I am officially down 18 pounds since I started just 5 months ago.   Once Marley goes back to school in another month I will start running again but this time with the 10K Trainer app.  I just need to lose 2 more pounds until I am back to my pre-baby weight!  

I usually hate when people say 'if I can do it, so can you',  but it really applies in this situation.  I really hated running before, but I did complete the 5K at the end of the 8 weeks which I never thought would happen in my entire life! 

*I am in no way a health expert and you should always talk to your doctor before starting an exercise routine.*

Mike's adventure in skydiving

Last Saturday, we headed up the airport for their fly-in breakfast. We had already eaten so we were just going so we could look at the planes and the fire station had trucks there too.  Before we even pulled in the parking lot we saw the skydivers. Mike was excited already.  We walked around for a while and then we made the decision that he would sign up to skydive!  He was so excited, but I could also tell he was pretty nervous.  He had on flip flops so I ran home to get his shoes and I grabbed the cameras too.  After he jumped we also purchased their pictures since I didn't get very good ones from the ground. I lost him in the sun light and missed all of the landing- oops! Here's the video I made of what I did take and some of the good pictures.  

I also have to share some of the funny pictures and remind you that if you go skydiving- keep your mouth closed lol 

Sorry Mike, but those pictures are just too funny to keep to ourselves. 

I would love to do this someday, but I might cry or pee from fear.  It's definitely on my bucket list and I'm glad Mike got to cross it off of his. 

School Work Photobooks

Two years ago when Marley was in preschool, she was bringing home tons of papers every day.  I hated to throw them out so I decided that I would make a school work photo book from Shutterfly with them.  Every few weeks I would just scan in her papers, and then that allowed me to recycle them without feeling bad about it. 

Once I had them all scanned in I just uploaded them to their website and kept them in order of when she did them.  The first 20 pages are included with the book, then it's an additional fee per page. I didn't want to go way overboard, since I actually got her preschool book free from Pamper's Rewards.   To help figure out how many photos per page, I just divided the number of photos by 20 pages.  Since it was an uneven number, I did add some photos from her field trips and class parties in there too.  

Some of her larger art projects required more space on the page so I just chose a different layout.  

I just finished her kindergarten book too, following the same steps as before.  However, this time I didn't have a free code, so I had to wait for a good sale.  Shutterfly's sales usually last a day or two so I really had to hurry to finish scanning everything and uploading it and rearranging it on every page.  

I had 23 pages and it was about $30 for the book and shipping.  Not too expensive for a whole years worth of school work.  

I think for next year, I will scan and upload as I go so once a good sale shows up, I won't be rushing to make it before it expires.  

On the front cover of the book is her picture from the first day of school, and on the back is her picture from the last day. It's so crazy how much she's grown in just 9 months. 

On the spine I just put her name and the grade so when they're on the shelf I can keep them all in order. 

I don't know how long I'll continue doing these for her because once she gets into higher grades they bring home less fun projects and more work. I will start making them for Mason though in just a few short years.