Comparing Popular Weight Loss Programs

Today is Part 3 in a series of How to Lose Weight and Get Healthy. In Part 1, I told you about my background in the weight loss industry, and Part 2 was about a great cleanse I recommend that focuses on health (not weight loss necessarily) and I shared one of my favorite healthy recipes.

This post will focus on comparing some fitness and weight loss tools. I also have some recommendations. And at the bottom of the post you'll see details on a challenge I have for YOU! Join the CharmingDoodle DietBet!

 

First, let's talk about inspiration. When you want to change the way you eat, or you want to get the motivation to start exercising more it's important to find something that inspires you. There are lots of places to go for inspiration.

One of the most inspiring things I've seen in a long time was last season of The Biggest Loser. A friend of mine from college named Michael Dorsey was one of the contestants. I came across this picture recently (look at those young kids!). That's Michael and I in college our sophomore year.

And here are his before and after pictures from The Biggest Loser.

Amazing, right? It was SO fun watching him and all the other contestants as they lost their weight. I hadn't watched a full season of the show before Michael's season but a new season is on again now and I'm watching it.

Another completely inspirational person to me is Michelle from One Fit Widow. (image from her facebook page)

Michelle is a good friend of one of my good friends and I have followed her story through the years. Michelle's husband, Mitch died several years ago in a plane crash and Michelle very openly talked about her grief and helping their two small children deal with the loss of their dad. She began using fitness as a go-to stress reliever and grief therapy and not only whipped her body into amazing shape...she also began One Fit Widow as a fitness program. It's definitely not just for widows, she has amazing exercise programs for anyone and I highly recommend them! Her facebook page is super inspiring to follow as well!

Now let's talk about weight loss programs. Below I outlined 3 popular plans. I learned most of what I know about the weight loss industry from the same person who trained Jenny Craig herself, and also founded Nutri-System. These are big companies and I'm familiar with most programs out there since many follow a similar model. But I'd also like to highlight one that you may not be familiar with, The Grace & Strength Lifestyle.

I found out about The Grace & Strength Lifestyle a few months ago after my best friend from high school lost weight very quickly with them. What is interesting about Grace & Strength is that they are a spiritually based Christian program and really see weight loss as not just an issue of what you eat...but why. They look at the spiritual side of a person which is not common in the weight loss industry. They also suggest reading a book that I also highly recommend called Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst.

Here is a link to my friend Bekah's story. She is amazing and is also a coach with The Grace & Strength Lifestyle so if you sign up you may get to work with her.

Below is the comparison of three different programs. Are there any others you'd like me to review? Just let me know in the comments or send me a message on facebook and I'm happy to add to this chart.

Last, but not least, I wanted to share a fun site with you called DietBetter.com. At DietBet you can place a 'bet' on yourself to lose 4% of your body weight in 4 weeks. You can join any bet you want and do a few at a time if you'd like. I've done several and always make my money back plus more. The way it works is that you join a bet (like a recent Jillian Michaels one I joined). Each game has a set dollar amount (usually $25-$35). You send in your pictures per the website's instructions at the beginning and end of the game. Then, if you've lost 4%, you get your initial money back plus whatever is left in the pot. It's an interesting way to find some accountability to yourself.

I'm hosting a DietBet starting next week and ending a few days before Thanksgiving (so yes, you'll be able to have that pumpkin pie!). Join up today!

Have you tried any of the programs I've mentioned here? Or any others? I've love to hear about your experiences!

How to Lose Weight and Get Healthy: Day 1

Exactly ten years ago right now I was opening my first company. I owned a weight loss center franchise and had moved to a city where I knew no one...had finished my business plan, secured financing, found locations for my centers, hired and trained employees, advertised like crazy, and was opening for business.

It was a very exciting...and nail bitingly scary time. I was very young and had a lot to learn but I had wanted to go into business for myself since I was 16 or so and it was finally happening! My dad took a chance on me and we partnered up to make this dream a reality. Our company name? Elisa Clark. Sound familiar?

My full name is Elizabeth, but I lived in Costa Rica for a time and loved how my name sounded in Spanish. Elisabet, or Elisa, for short. Clark is my dad's name (not my last name). We 'did business as' the weight loss company.

Here's a bit of business trivia: If you ever see 'dba' in the name of a business it is just a way to have a company own a different company with a larger name. For example, franchisees of McDonald's will have their own business name and dba (do business as) McDonald's.

Here's a picture of my dad and me about 6 weeks after our business opened. We had a franchisee conference in Las Vegas and here we're standing near the top of the Stratosphere. (we rode the rides at the top...SO fun!) And random fact...this was also about a week after I met my husband. The following year when we went back to this Vegas conference, I was married and Michael came too!

I loved a lot of things about the weight loss business. I literally have helped thousands of people lose weight! My company was built on the premise of healthy eating, managing portions, and having consistent accountability one-on-one to a weight loss counselor. We had nutritionists design the plans and worked with people to lose weight and get healthy.

Not long after I opened the centers, I met my husband. We fell in love at first sight and were married within a year. After we were married I realized it's not much fun to work 80+ hours a week...and I knew I couldn't do that and have a family. So while Michael and I were on our honeymoon we started talking about selling the company. It took over 6 months but we sold it and I got completely...1000%...OUT of the weight loss industry. I couldn't even allow myself to check up on the locations, or find out how the employees were doing. It was too hard since it had been my 'baby' for so long and it wasn't mine anymore.

I think about the centers around the anniversary of when we opened every year (and on the anniversary of when they were sold). Last night and this morning I drove by the old locations...which are no longer occupied by the weight loss centers. They moved a year or two ago...and then they closed. Driving by them makes me feel a bit like Meg Ryan talking to Tom Hanks in You've Got Mail. Remember this quote?

People are always telling you that change is a good thing. But all they're really saying is that something you didn't want to happen at all... has happened. My store is closing this week. I own a store, did I ever tell you that? It's a lovely store, and in a week it will be something really depressing, like a Baby Gap. Soon, it'll just be a memory. In fact, someone, some foolish person, will probably think it's a tribute to this city, the way it keeps changing on you, the way you can never count on it, or something. I know because that's the sort of thing I'm always saying. But the truth is... I'm heartbroken. I feel as if a part of me has died, and my mother has died all over again, and no one can ever make it right.

Businesses come and go. If you've lived in the same city for more than a year, drive around for a few minutes and I guarantee you'll be able to recall different businesses that have come and gone from the locations you pass. It's amazing, really. In my case, there's no Baby Gap in one of the locations...it's even more depressing. It's a Rent-A-Center! Another location is completely empty and looks like this. (yes, I stopped and snapped a picture of the empty space and empty spot where my sign used to be)

I am no longer in the weight loss 'business' but I have a whole lot of knowledge about food and the general concepts of how to lose weight...and more importantly, get healthy. The funny thing is, though, that when I owned the centers I didn't really struggle with weight issues. After having 4 kids in 4 years that's a bit of a different story. (HA!) And the truth of the matter is, kids weren't nearly as hard on my body as spending month after month eating out at least 2 meals a day while in our 'homeless' phase. (read our house story here to see what I'm talking about)

My excuse has been that we still (after 2 years) don't have a working oven or stove. But I've gotten a lot better at figuring out what I can make so we don't go out much anymore. This year I have worked to lose 20 pounds. I have 15 more I'd like to lose to be back to my wedding weight (the weight I was when I owned my weight loss company). My anniversary is around Thanksgiving and I'd love to be at my goal by then.

So I thought I'd commemorate the 10 year anniversary of when I first opened my weight loss company and share some things with you. Over the next few days I'll be telling you about a few plans that will help you feel good and, as a bonus, maybe shed a few pounds. We'll talk about a whole body 'reset' tomorrow (and I'll share my favorite recipe ever), then we'll talk about a structured weight loss plan, and on another day I'll share about an amazing exercise guru. Then I'll have a challenge for YOU.

Remember - even though I don't currently work in the weight loss industry, I have a lot of experience. I've probably seen tens of thousands of pounds lost from my clients (maybe even 100s of thousands???)! If you have any questions you would like me to answer please leave a comment or even private message me on facebook and I'll do my best to answer them.

sewing on television

With the recent royal birth (congratulations Kate!) I thought it would be fun to highlight something British. (and of course it's sewing related...I wonder if Kate sews???)

The Great British Sewing Bee is a BBC show that you can find on YouTube in the US. It takes home sewers and puts them through 3 competitions in each episode. Each week they have to make a garment following a pattern's instructions, do some kind of alteration, and then fit a garment to a live model.

 photo via

It's real world sewing - the kind of sewing that you and I do all the time.

The thing I really love about it is that they break all the sewing basics down so anyone can learn and begin to understand more about the history of patterns, simple terms like 'bias,' and overall sewing concepts.

If you haven't heard of the show, I'd encourage you to watch it. I hope some producer somewhere in the US will grab onto that idea and bring it here. Project Runway is great, but this is a different, more approachable, type of sewing show.

Here is a link to each episode in YouTube. Happy watching! :) And a big thanks to Jenya from While She Was Sleeping for introducing me to this fun show!

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

Dad is Fat

Hope you had a great Father's Day yesterday!

I have some amazing fathers in my life. My dad. My grandpas. My father-in-law. Brother and brothers-in-law. Uncles, cousins, friends. And, of course, my husband!

None of these men are fat. Just wanted to clarify that. :)

Dad is Fat is a new book written by Jim Gaffigan. We are RAVING fans of his!! If you haven't seen his comedy shows, go watch them. Now. Here's one of my favorite clips (because I have 4 children, used a midwife, etc. - he jokes about all of those things).

I've been hearing about his book, and he was in town for a book signing recently. So, we went. (yes, we're crazy fans)


Sadly, this is as close as I got.

I had all 4 kids in the car with me, so I met my husband there and we were planning on taking turns going in for the signing while the kids had lunch in the car. (yes, I realize how crazy this sounds) Little did we realize how many people were also crazy fans. The place was PACKED. Lines wrapped around the aisles throughout the entire store. My husband stood by the door when Jim Gaffigan came in and was able to hear him answer a bunch of questions and do a few comedic minutes.

I went back later that night to get the book as a Father's Day gift. Luckily, they had a couple leftover books that had been signed.

My husband and I both read it throughout the weekend. I'm halfway through already and it's hilarious. I highly recommend it! Get it for yourself. Get it for a dad. Funny stuff about parenting.

To buy the book, feel free to use this link Dad Is Fat (it's an affiliate link), or get it at your local bookstore, borrow it from a friend, or the library. It's good for many laughs.

Speaking of laughter...I've been following this board on Pinterest lately and it's so great. She's pinning loads of images of people just happy and laughing. Brings a little smile to my day when I see her newest pins.

Hope you get a chance to laugh a lot today!

gifts

It's been a couple weeks since my birthday...and I'm still really excited about a few of the gifts I got from Michael. Ok....let's be honest, I chose all of them except for one...you know, to ensure that I liked what I would get. You probably never do that, right? (wink)

I really wanted a big, expensive serger but alas, it is not in the budget right now. So I settled for a $10 sewing tool. It's even vintage, as in, you can't buy these in stores anymore. Ebay is pretty much it. I don't really like to think much about where mine came from. It's still in the original packaging so I'm imagining it was neglected hidden away in someone's sewing box since around the time I was born. And now, it will be loved and used.

I found out about this handy gadget from here (photo credit to her too) and I can't wait to use it!! It basically makes classy looking buttonholes out of fabric...kind of like mini welt pockets. This is essential for me because the buttonhole function on my sewing machine is broken and I have to get creative with button loops and snaps. Now, at last, I can finish up a project or two with some real button holes thanks to this little baby.

In addition to sewing, a new-ish 'hobby' of mine is working out at the YMCA. Seriously, how did I pass up two hours of FREE childcare every single day for this long (especially when it's two minutes from my house)? My Y time keeps me sane and makes me feel totally and completely out of shape, in a good way. TRX is my current favorite thing, although I'm sore for three days after every class. Ridiculous, I tell you! Oh, and BodyPump is super fun too.

On days when I don't do a class, I work out on the ellipticals, stair climbers, or run on the treadmill. That time is really my excuse to watch the Today Show since I never get to watch it at home. But to hear the TV, I have to bring my phone (I had no idea smartphones had FM tuners in them - LOVE) and earphones. That works ok, but several times my phone has taken a fall when I'm not paying attention to it.

So...gift number 2 from Michael was a bluetooth set so I don't have to worry about pulling on the cord and hurting my poor phone anymore. It's a must have!

Gift number 3 was one that Michael came up with all by himself. It's also for the Y. Every day I have had to borrow a lock to use while I'm working out. I mentioned it one day to Michael that I needed a lock...and he found a super cool one for me.

Isn't it weird looking? Have you seen these?

It has a sliding combination. You can see in the picture how I'm sliding it to one side. It works like magic and is perfect for the gym because I don't need to carry around a key (which I used to just tie to my shoelace) and no one else there has a white lock so I never forget where my stuff is. (not that I'm speaking from experience, or anything)
A fun, useful, and thoughtful gift. Well done husband!

And finally, one more 'gift' that I got for the house. I basically used my birthday as an excuse to buy something I've had my eye on for a LONG time (so I used birthday money, an in-store credit, and a coupon). It's still boxed up at the moment (in 3 big boxes...currently annoying us sitting in my dining room), but I can't wait to show you what it is in the near future!

 

I don't like it when gifts are just given for 'gifts sake' only. Why give a gift if it's not useful or something the person really wants? I'm thankful for these little gifts and that each is practical, useful, and fun!

Donuts and Love

Since my camera broke I haven't been able to take any good pictures of our projects-in-progress. And my phone has been working ok for pictures in the meantime...until today when I dropped it on the concrete basement floor and it shattered. Ugh! So my posts are going to be taking a little trip down memory lane for a while until one or both of my most-used possessions are replaced. (and while I sit and have a good cry about having to spend money on something that was working perfectly and didn't need replacing....boo hoo hoo)

So here goes a random post...

A new Dunkin Donuts just opened about a block away from us. It's the first one to open in our city and we were excited...until we tried to go there and found out that their customer service is the worst! Nothing like spending a boat load of money as a business owner to open and turn people away immediately with your untrained staff. Disappointing.

There's another donut place close to our house...but we're pretty sure the 'donut' part of their business is a cover for what's really going on there. Shady, shady place!

So although we're not enjoying donuts locally right now, Michael and I had a fun donut date in Seattle earlier this year.

What's your favorite donut? I like crullers the best when they are airy and light. Michael loves homemade donuts and has fond memories of his grandma making them. I've never attempted to make donuts but I actually found a cruller recipe here. Maybe someday I'll try to make them.

And how do you spell them? Donuts or Doughnuts? Spell-check likes both. :) (it must think they're tasty too)

The Dangerous Shopping Cart

I really try not to take children with me when I go grocery shopping. Every once in a while I have to take all 4 kids and each time I swear I'll never do that again! It's craziness!

Sometimes, though, I choose one of the kids to go along with me. They see it as a special outing with mommy and always fight over who gets to go. Isa won recently and accompanied me to get groceries at a certain store that starts with a W and ends with a Mart. Got it?

That was my LAST trip to the 'anonymous' store to get groceries. I just can't make myself go there anymore because of the incident.

First let me remind you of what Isa's face usually looks like.

My little Isa was being a very good helper at the store and we were checking things off our list in record time. She was walking along side me and had fun putting things into the cart when I'd ask her to. When we got to the produce section the floors were wet...you know...because they spray the veggies down in the open refrigerators. They always have mats/rugs in front of the produce to help cut down on the slipperiness.

Well...Isa had a bunch of celery or something in her hand and was quickly walking to put it in the cart. She tripped on the rug and fell face first into the cart near the wheels. She started screaming instantly and by the time I turned to look at her she was already bleeding all over.

Gross, I know. Especially in a grocery store.

BUT kids fall and that's not my reason for not shopping at this store anymore. The problem was that there were two workers nearby who I flagged down to get me some paper towels. They were clueless. A mom with a baby in her cart was close to me and saw that the workers weren't helping. She gave me some baby wipes that she had with her. SO nice!

The workers f.i.n.a.l.l.y. got me something to help clean up...but there was already blood all over the floor. A manager or someone came out to make me sign paperwork BEFORE I could even take Isa to get her cleaned up. I told them to wait and rushed Isa to the bathroom to help her.

The poor girl was in pain! She had a black eye and a huge gash in her forehead. She had also almost bit through her lower lip and was crazy swollen.

It took a good 10 minutes to clean her up and when I came back to the produce section to get my cart (and sign the stupid paperwork they kept shoving at me) they STILL had not cleaned up the blood. And didn't. Even after we checked out they hadn't cleaned anything up.

Seriously?? It's a grocery store with FOOD next to blood and they didn't even seem to notice it. ICK, ICK, ICK! Is it just me or does anyone else see something wrong with that?

Here's my baby girl's face the next day. Her poor little face. 

Even though Wal-Mart is the cheapest for groceries (we seriously save big money there each month if I get our groceries there), I can't get over the thought of how unclean it is. Sad.

I'm not even much of a big germ-o-phobe, but I won't be buying anything from a produce section anywhere if it's fallen on the floor. Ew!

I would never...

I would never come up with the idea to sew outfits for 5 children who are going to be in a wedding. That would be crazy and would require hours at a sewing machine. Nope, I would never do that.

I also would never put pressure on myself to make a cute little outfit for each of my girls on their birthdays. Especially when one of those birthdays was around the time of the aforementioned wedding. Never.

And I really would never also decide that I wanted to make my own dress to wear to the wedding...and then take it a CRAZY step further and decide to make Michael's shirt and suit too. (seriously, who in their right mind would try to sew a suit...aren't there stores that have nice suits to buy???)

If you did these things, I would think you had lost your mind. Then if you added to this craziness by agreeing to make 15 super hero capes for a certain 6 year old birthday boy to give to his classmates (the day before you leave for the wedding), I would know you've lost your mind.

I'm SO glad my friends are all sane and none of you would do those things.

Now, my overnight break-to-sleep is over, and I have to get back to my sewing machine. (oh yeah, and then to my chiropractor to fix the spinal issues I'm giving myself from sitting slumped over my sewing machine for hours on end) If any of you ever hear me talking about trying to sew everything under the sun at the same time again, please stop me and refer me back to this post.

...well...maybe wait until after Christmas because I still have all of our Halloween costumes and a bunch of Christmas presents to sew. Yeah, after Christmas please stop me if I try to take on too much.
Thanks, you're the best!

an exciting sight in my kitchen

We have now been back and living in our house for about 8 months. The house is far from done still (sadly) but the things left to be done are annoying...and not entirely disruptive to our day-to-day lives. You know, things like the fact that we never had a shower in our main floor bathroom before...and we've lived fine without one so far (although I can't wait for it to be done).

The biggest annoyance left is that we still don't have a working oven. The oven itself works, it just doesn't have any power to it since we have to upgrade our entire electrical service just to get the stove working. (cha-ching - it costs some major cash to do that so we're putting it off as long as possible)

Overall, we've learned different ways to cook everything thanks to a few key appliances (and the grill this summer has been fantastic). But no matter what magic we can whip up around a hot pot...we do miss baked things.

So this is a glorious sight in my kitchen! Cake!

I was in Target one day and saw a mini 'tea' cake maker in the 70% off clearance section! I snatched it up to try it and it makes some delicious mini cakes! The one above is actually a Boston Cream Pie recipe and was delish.

I still look forward to baking a lasagna in the future...but for now, these little cakes are making us remember the fun of an oven!

Start your engines...if you can

When we bought our house we inherited a riding lawn mower with it from the previous homeowners. We're very thankful for this little mower because...even though it looks crazy...it has worked really well. Until recently.
Thankfully, my parents were here for a couple days and my dad took a look at it. He fixed it! Who knew that lawnmowers needed service like cars? (ha - hopefully you can sense a bit of sarcasm here)

We never wanted to invest in fixing our current mower because we planned on getting a newer one. But since we had to fix everything else on the house...the mower priority has moved further down the list. (and is now at the bottom of said list since I can think of about a hundred other things I'd like to spend a few thousand dollars on other than a lawnmower)

Here are the parts that were causing a problem in our mower...along with the new part. Can you see a difference? Hmmmm...I guess we need to add 'maintain lawnmower' to our list of things to remember! :)

Below - this round part is supposed to have a thick piece of rubber all the way around it. Guess it wore off a lllllllllooooooonnnnnnnnggggggg time ago because the metal was even all cut up under where the rubber ring was supposed to be. Oops!

But this is the worst one. See how the new part on the right is a complete circle? Ours was cut the whole length through! Yikes!

 Thanks Dad! Our mower works once again!

Coasters in your fridge?

I recently stumbled across a very fun and ingenious product...a fridge coaster!

These are a cardboard-like mat that goes on your refrigerator shelves or in the drawers. They are absorbent in case you spill anything and they can be easily switched out if they get too gross. Plus, there are lots of fun styles and colors to choose from.

Coasters for your refrigerator...what will they think of next?

I'm a fan

Let me say sorry in advance for this one...it's going to be a strange post.

Nine-ish years ago I happened to stumble across a new TV show and the first thing that struck me about the show was the theme song. I had to find out who sang it. And I did...it was Gavin DeGraw. (and the show was One Tree Hill)

I immediately went out and bought Gavin's CD, Chariot. I L.O.V.E.D. it! Seriously.

I have loosely followed his career in the past and always wanted to see him in concert. The problem has been that I really don't have friends that like his music much...and the bigger problem is that Michael isn't a huge fan.

Last winter I heard about a concert Gavin was doing with a couple other artists and my husband graciously agreed to go as an anniversary gift to me! Yay!

We arrived at the concert a little early since it was all open standing room and I wanted to get a good spot. Ha! We were almost the only people there! And...we felt old!

Andy Grammar and Michelle Branch were the other two acts. We really liked Andy Grammar...but got completely bored during Michelle Branch's part. We actually left and got coffee to kill time until Gavin was up.

Here are some horrible pictures of a fun concert (I only had my phone and it was pitch black except for the stage lights...but bad pics are better than none)!

There was NO personality whatesoever in his concert. He just sang a few songs (which was great) but didn't talk to the audience or anything. That was disappointing. It was totally the opposite of Michael Buble's concert (which was the best I've ever been to because of his personality on stage).

So I guess I'm a fan of Gavin DeGraw's music...not so much of Gavin.

When I heard he was going to be on Dancing with the Stars, I thought it was pretty ridiculous...because of the 'no personality' thing. I've never liked watching that show - but I've seen two of them so far this season because I wanted to see how he'd do.

He's marginal...at best. But entertaining none-the-less and I hope it helps his music career so he can put more music out there...which I will listen to and love, I'm sure.

A little entrepreneur

When I was little I tried to set up businesses in lots of ways. I mean, if you're going to do a lemonade stand as a kid, why not make it a profitable one, right? I think my first try at that was in Viroqua, Wisconsin. Fun memories!

In third grade I remember going to my best friend's neighborhood and knocking on doors to ask parents if they would pay me to tutor their kids in something. Weird...but true. It was the thrill of setting up an idea and maybe making money from it that made it exciting.

The desire to build ideas into businesses is innate to some.

If I sit around too long, I can't help but start a new company or write a new business plan. And yes, I'm even working on one right now. (of course...because I always have something rattling around in my brain as a possibility)

I wanted to share this video, in case you haven't seen it. Pretty amazing stuff from a little boy...a little entrepreneur. Take 10 minutes and watch the 9 year old boy's story.

Way to go Caine...and way to go Nirvan!!

Blurb, Slurp...Blog becomes Book

It's hard to believe it...but this little blog has been going for almost 3 years now! I started with this pregnancy announcement post on January 30, 2009. Wow - I can hardly remember what life was like back then with only two kids! :)
I'm really glad we've tried to keep up with the blog since it's a great way to look back and see what's happened in the past whirlwind years. I think amnesia has taken over and if we didn't have this record of our lives we wouldn't remember anything about it!

BUT...I've heard horror stories about Blogger losing all of someone's posts and it makes me nervous that all of those little details would be lost. So I finally bit the bullet and made this little blog into a book. I decided to do it by year and so far, 2009 is as far as I've gotten. I'm now slowly making my way through 2010 and my goal is to finish up 2010 and 2011 by the end of the month.

If you have a blog you want to print a hard copy of (or facebook, or instagram, or hey...maybe you just want to publish a little journal or book), I highly recommend Blurb! I've researched companies like this one on and off for a year or so and this one is easy...fast....and the end result is beautiful.

PLUS - if you order by January 30th you can use the code here (or click on the banner on the right) and get 15% off your book. (just ignore the 'holidays' wording...the code will work through the end of January)

Here's Isa having a little look at our book. She was really confused by the pictures since the 'baby' in our 2009 blog book is Emma...not her or Henry. But she got to see the pictures of herself as a newborn and thought 'that baby' looked 'silly.' :)

 

Now that I've got one of these books under my belt I think I'll try to be more creative in laying out the next one. The hubs is already writing some crazy-sounding endorsements and quotes for the dust jacket (an optional feature from Blurb) and I'm working up a fun cover design and thinking through page designs. Making books could get addictive...

Have a seat

Remember what happened to our couch? Well...a small miracle of sorts happened and insurance decided to pay our claim! We are very thankful for that because it's not easy to make yourself comfortable on a chair when all you really want to do is lay on a nice roomy sofa.

We had looked on and off to see what prices were like out there. Ouch! One place I went was advertising a 'Huge Sale' and the average price on a sofa the size and style we were looking for was over $3000! I'm going to go out on a bit of a limb here and hope I don't offend any of you...but I think I found a new definition of craziness...

Insanity: Anyone with 4 young children who spends $3000+ on a piece of upholstered furniture.

Our budget for this piece was tight since we had a $1000 homeowners insurance deductible that offset the majority of the insurance money we received. But in the end we found a couch that the hubs and I both agreed on and like and that is as kid-friendly as we could muster. We even decided to pay extra to get 5 year fabric protection (that even replaces the sofa if it is cut with scissors...cuz you know there's a definite possibility that could happen).

The one thing we didn't anticipate is the actual size of the couch. Even though we had measured and knew it would fit...it's still shocking how different it looks in my house. The showroom is so huge and the sofa looked like it was a 'normal' size. But once it was delivered I had my doubts the first morning about whether or not it would stay. It's just so.much.bigger.than.I.thought. (It's 7.5ft in one direction and 9ft in the other.)

Now we finally have an arrangement that works and the size has grown on me. The kids love it because the three oldest can all lay down on it and not even touch each other. They also like to point out that there's enough room for our whole family to sit and still have room left for Asher and grandma and grandpa. (Charlie and Amanda...I guess you're not invited...they just want Asher!)

So now when you all come over for a visit there's a place to sit. :)

Merry Christmas to Me!

Santa's Elves woke me up at a crazy hour this morning (6am...and for me that is e.a.r.l.y) but I didn't mind because it was almost like my very own Christmas morning!

The Elves...were actually two men from Williams-Sonoma's delivery company and they were here to bring my dream dining table right into my dining room!

They call it 'white glove' service and they weren't even kidding about that...the guys actually wore white gloves!

And they left me with the most beautiful beat-up, scratched, dented, old looking table...I love it! The hubs and I have been stalking Pottery Barn looking at this table for 2 whole years and finally had enough cash-back saved up on our Discover card that we could buy the table for almost free.

The 'rustic' look was really important to us since 4 children are a bit hard on furniture (to say the least). But with this table they can stick forks in it and you won't be able to tell.

There were a couple little scratches that we noticed this morning and the delivery guy got a black permanent marker (no lie) from his truck and made the scratches completely disappear. That's my kind of table!

And it seats 12...so who wants to come over for dinner???

Oh wait...little problem...I still don't have a working stove or even microwave so we might have to wait a little while longer for that. But when I can cook again...who wants to come over?? :)

Some perspective

Sometimes it feels like we've been 'homeless' forever...and when I look at pictures like this it really feels like it's been a long time.

Here's Emma trying on her little tutu a month after we moved out of our house...

 ...and here she is when we moved out of our rental and became 'homeless.'

I'm going to try to remember to take another picture of her when we are finally back in the house to see the change over the past few months as well. Crazy!

Jump in a Lake

Minnesota is the 'land of 10,000 lakes.' So what do good Minnesotans do on summer weekends? Go to a lake...of course!

M's family has a cabin on a lake not far from the Twin Cities where there are lots of things for little kids to explore. This year the kids had SO much fun going for canoe rides, swinging on the giant swings, and hanging out with Grandpa and Grandma C., aunts, uncles, and cousins.

And just for a little perspective...here is Isa last year at the cabin. Wow...a lot changes in a year! What a little doll.

Wheeee

The kids have really learned to LOVE going on rides this summer. They've ridden different things at a local festival, a go-kart/restaurant place, and a few times at the Mall of America. Poor Isa has been too short most of the summer for rides...but is finally tall enough now and is loving the new fun that comes with being a big girl!

April:
The kids went to MOA when we drove up to the Twin Cities to meet their new cousin. This is pretty much what Henry did the whole time...

But Elliott and Emma got to ride several things and had SO much fun together.

Emma was too small for this little roller coaster so Elliott went on it by himself. It was fun to see the older kids 'bond' after having so much fun together. They ran around the mall holding hands...cute!

Isa was only tall enough to go on a ride if a parent was with her. Since I had to be with Henry, the poor girl had to sit and watch her older siblings have all the fun....until a nice mall worker took pity on the poor girl and agreed to ride once with her. So here's Isa on her one and only ride that day...a little blue train.

The Wonder Pets ride at MOA lifts the kids up and then lets them 'fall' and bounce up and down. You can see that Emma is smiling here...but that didn't last long. Right after I took this picture she started screaming so hard they stopped the ride and she got off. :)

June:
In June we went to a small local festival that has lots of carnival-type rides. It was raining a bit so the crowds were small...meaning the kids got to ride lots of things without waiting.

 Once again, Henry got to just sit and look cute in the stroller. No rides for him...yet.

July:
We made another trip to Minnesota in July and once again stopped at the Mall of America. Elliott and Isa met the Wonder Pets but Emma was too scared to go with them.

Henry was finally big enough to go on his first ride ever...he got to sit on the carousel...and loved it!

The go-karts are always fun and in late July, Emma got to ride for the first time with Daddy. Henry was too little but it looks like he'll be a future speedster. :)

The kids are now hooked on rides so hopefully next year...when they're all a little taller...we can make a trip to visit Uncle Andrew and show Elliott what a real ride is like at Cedar Point!