Lucky Charms official bday party!

So today is Lucky charms official bday party in an army theme. This is a quick post as in about an hour I am going to have 13 five year olds over here throwing ammo (water balloons), and getting camo paint on their faces here. :) I will post more pics later. Hope everyone is having an awesome weekend! Here is a pic of his cake! Yes that was made at home..I made most of it but hubs who used to be in the army insisted he needed to supervise that it looked like a real army tank and not a "goofy attempt at a kids cake" lol. let me know what ya think!

the cheerio queen!

working out and other odds and ends

So I am officially back on my new eating plan, and working out again. I was doing the talesfromthescales.net thing but then life got in the way...or rather I got tired and lazy and used a hectic life schedule (or non schedule) as an excuse to slack off. then you know how it goes after that...oh well I cheated already and I will always be this way since I did not lose 50 pounds the first day so I may as well forget it. Then I saw some pics of me this summer at the zoo with the kids...wow. That was eye opening can you say MOOO???? I also was more motivated after I realized after a cleaning out my closet frenzy that I only have about 3 outfits that fit comfortably and one of those outfits has to be shirts that cover my bum? I never was the girl who had to do that...not that i want to show off my bum anyway..but still realizing how bad and B-I-G it looks without it being covered is what bothered me. That and only having 3 outfits that fit. This is also the first summer ever that I can recall in my life that I did not feel comfortable wearing shorts...this year it was because of the way my legs are right now...flabby...ususally i put off wearing shorts because i am so pasty pale...but with that I can go get that spray on tan lol. Seriously it is pathetic. I could tan people with the glow off my white legs. But I digress.

I have been reading some of those weight watcher success stories for some inspiration, and then also I have a few other inspirations that i would like to talk about here. First is my mom who joined a body building competition (as a grandma of 5) to use as her goal for losing weight. She lost quite a bit but even at her biggest she was never really that big. But she went for it and really did well, the second is my friend Jessica she lost quite a bit as well although I always was convinced the girl was 85 pounds soaking wet but she is short (don't worry Jess good things come in little packages :)) She showed me her before and after pics in fact they are on her blog but you have to go through the archives to find her story...and there was a difference...but I will say she is so cute no matter what. ;) you can see her story and check out her funny blog if you click on the "jess cagle" link on my right side of this blog. I have two more inspiring people but I am only going to tell you about one today because this is getting long lol. I will talk about the other one tomorrow. :) I will also detail my plan tomorrow. But this motivation and inspirational person is a fellow blogger i have gotten to know through her blog "just a mom that's more than enough" .

Jan is an incredible lady who has dealt with a lot in her life and always manages to smile and find the humor in everything! She has had an amazing transformation in her weight loss. She described herself when she started as looking like an "egg with legs" and has gone on to lose about 70 pounds so far I think...and she has done it very quickly! You have to check out her blog to see her story but she is very open about it, and very candid. I am very much in awe of her determination despite all the other things she does. She is also a beautiful artist. really she is she paints some great things! Jan has gotten on her treadmill every day since april or may I think...and she has slowly increased her workout routine, she has cut out a lot of stuff, realized that she felt better, and is doing this in the name of trying to get healthy for herself but to be there for her husband and kids. Oh and her kids are adorable! here is the link to her blog: http://just-a-mom-thats-more-than-enough.blogspot.com/

I will finish this everlasting long post tomorrow....if you have read this far here is a fat free, sugar free, but still yummy tasting cyber brownie for you. :)

till next time,

the soon to be slim cheerio queen

I know I know...it has been a long while...

I have not posted as much as i wanted too. It has just been so busy around here. I am hoping to get back to it soon. ;)

So Lucky Charms turned 5 on Thursday!!! This was bittersweet because he is my baby and he is officially a gradeschool age now, he is no longer a baby, toddler, or preschooler. He is short and little but certainly makes up for it in personality! This little one is also known as the godfather of golfballs around here...remember my earlier post titled " wanta buy a golfball"? Let me update you on that really quick...he wants to buy a quad (4wheeler) and has been selling golfballs to earn money. If you go back and look at the earlier post it talked about how he was selling them for a $1.00 a ball. Well guess what? He is now at $165 dollars! I am not kidding. Seriously that little darling has been working his little rump off sitting out there every day for about 6 weeks asking every golfer that comes buy if they want to buy a golf ball. He even has regulars that come looking for him now lol. Hubs was out in the yard doing yard work the other day and Lucky Charms was helping him and some guy came up to the fence and asked if LC had any balls for him today. haha. The golfers have now taught him the difference in golf balls so he knows which ones are better then others and he saves the favorites of his regulars to sell to them when they come buy. To think this all started becaue some older gentleman accidentally hit his golf ball over the fence and LC was there to give it to him and the guy gave him a dollar for it . :)

To say that we are proud of Lucky Charms (or any of our kids for that matter) is an understatement. Lucky is and has always been such a charming little guy and such a joy to raise. He is so incredibly smart that Hubs and I feel like we need a PHD just to stay 2 steps behind him! This little guy tells just about everyone he knows that "they are beautiful", works his way into the hearts of everyone who meets him, and is going to be the reason hubs and I get calls from angry parents of daughters whose hearts he has broken when he gets older.

He has always done everything early even from conception. He was a "planned surprise" meaning we were planning on having one more but not going to try for a few more months and God decided that he should be here a little sooner. He tried to arrive 6 weeks early which put me on bedrest for two weeks until he did arrive 4 weeks early. He wound up with a really bad case of jaundice that put us in children's hospital for 4 days but was ok. Since then he has walked early, talked early, done everything early. He is alwasy in a hurry to grow up it seems but hubs and I want him to slow down lol.

He is proof that God has a sense of humor..you see we thought we had the parenting thing down our other two kids were so easy going ...so we though yeah lets have one more we are doing pretty well...then we got Lucky Charms and he is so different and so challenging , he is the child that makes you throw your hands up in the air and shake your head laughing because you just never know what to expect next with him. He is the child who doesn't just hug you...he hugs you with everything he has in him, and he ALWAYS has a smile for you no matter what day you have had. He can break a tense moment with a funny remark, or a goofy face or smile. He is our little superstar and we love him dearly! Happy birthday baby!

His actual party with his friends is next weekend and he is having an army party. I will post pics of that later. :)

Happy Monday and pics...

Well hope everyone's weekend went well. I have kind of taken a break from blogging with the exception of the 3 posts I posted on the fourth last week. I hope everyone had a great fourth. We did. Our neighborhood has a huge block party and fireworks so we went out and sat out and watched the fireworks. Hubs bbq'd too and he is sooo good at that.

So last weekend (not the one we just passed the one before that) was my birthday and so my parents took the kids for the day and Hubs and I went to a baseball game, that was so fun and relaxing except I got burned! But otherwise we went out to dinner too.

This past weekend Honey Nut went to camp with our church. I am very happy for her that she gets this time to know God better and have fun with her girlfriends,but since it is her first time away I of course miss her. She will be back Wednesday evening which works out to only 3 nights 4 days but as far as I am concerned that is a long time. I am such a sap. I know this is a great opportunity for her though. She is really growing up fast! She is especially excited to go because they have a "chills and frills" workshop there with all the makeovers, etiquette, beauty tips, and fluff a girl can handle. I just know she will have great things to tell me when she gets back. Until then I will continue to pray this is a good experience for her.

So back to my bday. I got two bday presents from hubs and the kids they totally spoiled me this year! I asked for and received a sewing machine. Don't you just love the pink? It is so me. lol I have been having trouble finding clothes for my 8 year old daughter that cover her rear end lol. So I wanted to get a sewing machine and make her some cute dresses I saw. I also received a new rice cooker...make that a multifunction cooker. Yes you read that right I got not one but two appliances for my bday and loved them both! lol I am one of those weird people who likes things like that. My mom says I am nuts, she also says if my dad ever gets her an appliance for a gift she will club him over the head iwth it lol. I guess he learned because they have been married 35 years and he has no bumps on his head lol.

so I am posting pics of my two presents and also the new gazeebo we just put up on the back deck. I really like it. I had been thinking about it for awhile and then saw over on HsKubes Haven at home blog (http://hskubes.blogspot.com/) where they just got one and she and her children put it together on their own. I will say after setting ours up with Hubs in the hot sun and having some difficulty with it I am IMPRESSED! lol. You should check out her blog anyway she has the cutest little family!

Well that is us in a nutshell lately. I will write more when I can. Been busy this summer with extra daycare kids etc.

till next time
The Cheerio Queen

ok one more post today...

I know it is a celebration and not memorial day lol but you those of you who have read my blog for awhile have seen me type about my cousin "brother in my heart" before who we lost to the war in January so patriotic days are bittersweet for me and our family especially his wife and son.Mainly because it is all so new and raw to us. But I thought you would like to see a face with the name. This is a video clip I finally got recently and this was played at his memorial. The pictures in this slideshow tell it all...he is exactly who you see in the pics. :) He was a father, husband, brother, cousin, nephew, son, soldier, warrior and most importantly to our family he was our hero so instead of mourning him I am going to post this video to celebrate his sacrifice for our freedom...besides if he were here he would be telling me to quit whining and suck it up anyway haha.


Sarge...we love you and miss you dearly but are so glad and blessed that you are in a better place. :)

I Pledge My Allegiance

I saw this video on Military Mommy's blog today and had to post it myself it is great. ;)

HAPPY FOURTH EVERYONE!!

Ok so it is America's Bday and so I am more patriotic then usual and that says a lot because I am pretty patriotic but here is a little note about our soldiers etc. I am definitely a Proud American, I am writing this little bulletin here and now because of our troops who are fighting for my right to free speech and to live in a great country. I know that there is a lot of people who disagree with our politics and our president's choices, BUT none of this would be possible without our troops. Recently a family member of mine was at work when she heard two customers loudly putting down our military and saying what cowards they were to be over there. etc. you know how it goes...I am betting neither of these guys had ever been in the military and probably never seen any of the images of the "good" that our military is doing over there, especially since the news here chooses to only see the negative side of things and forgets to show all the good things that are happening overseas. The news loves to glorify one or two bad events but refuses to show the troops helping rebuild buildings, and helping little children. These guys who were complaining about our "wimpy soldiers" have probably never stared death in the face, and never seen mass ruins. I am not so ignorant as to say I have witnessed anything even close to what our troops have however I know that because these men and women are over there sacrificing their lives, time with their own families, and because they are true proud American's then I don't have to witness up close and personal all the scary things they are seeing and fighting. These guys who put down our military the other day as well as all the other "americans" on our home turf who are putting down our troops sure did quickly forget all the patriotism this great country displayed after 9-11 , it was so sad that so quickly after that we had to go back to being "politically correct" by taking down crosses and flags in schools because it "might offend" someone. These two guys in the store made the mistake of asking my friend what she really thought about them. Being that she was at work she could not say what she really wanted so she told them she had just buried her own family member on her birthday this year so she did not feel like talking about it. Well I am not afraid to say anything and I am not at work. So here is what I would have said. I would have looked at the two real cowards and said: Well, your entitled to your opinion because our military is busting their butts to give you that right even though you are backstabbing them by talking behind their backs, furthermore I will pass on your "educated remarks" to my brother's widow, and young son I am sure they will be grateful to you two weenies and all the other weenies out there who hide behind our great american troops and then bad mouth them, and I will be sure to pass on your remarks to our soldiers when they get back, heck I am sure they will appreciate the fact that you are toatlly taking advantage of all the freedom they are fighting so hard for you to get. :) THAT is what I would have said. As for those two guys in my family member's store they stood there for a minute as she politely explained she had buried one of our own soldiers on her birthday this year and hung their heads and apologized, and walked out of the store without saying another word. They could not handles one sweet girl politely and "politically" explaining to them the sacrifice she had to make so they could have the freedom to say things like that. Gee I am sure glad they are not on our front lines I mean seriously they hot footed it out of that store so fast. wonder what they would have done if they had to face our enemies.As for me...I am proud to be an American and whether or not I agree with any political decisions on our soil I will ALWAYS support our troops, and not just because I had a family member who was in the military, because I have always been a supporter of our troops, and always been a true American.

To our soldiers: THANKYOU. :)

To our soldiers families:THANKYOU. :)

Happy Birthday America!