It's Time for an Update

It has been an absurd amount of time since I have posted anything here...  I mean, I have had a lot going on, but I feel like I would like to share an update of recent happenings. 

First of all, the BIGGIE -- we have a new addition to our family.  Dylan Kate Hall made her debut May 14, 2015 at 10:44 pm.  She is an absolute joy and seriously, the best baby.  We are very blessed and although it has been challenging, I am really enjoying being a mommy to two beautiful girls.  I plan on sharing her birth story and what life as a family of four has been for us soon!

7 lbs  & 20" long

Second of all, we planted a (small) garden and me and the Lineman are trying hard to keep it up.  Between the girls and us both working full time, it is a job, but I am enjoying getting the yummy produce out and trying to learn to preserve it for wintertime.  We have lots of squash, cucumbers, a few zucchini, tomatoes, peppers (hot, sweet and banana), okra and corn.  It is not much of a garden compared to most around our area, but it is more than enough for us, and almost more than we can keep up with.



Our tiny garden, that is producing a lot!

We also have some home projects that we are working on.  We have to have a new roof -- we have been avoiding/dreading this one since we moved into the house five years ago, but we are going to bite the bullet and things should get started in the next week or so on that.  I will share pictures before and after...I am sure it will make a huge difference in how our house looks.  (Although, I really wish it was like a new kitchen or something...).  I have also decided to try to de-clutter and re-vamp the house one room at a time.  I recently cleaned out the laundry/mud room.  This seems to be the room where everything gets dumped and it was bothering me, so I decided to do something about it.  I will be painting and organizing it when I get a chance, and I plan on sharing that. 

Finally, I am working very hard to get back in shape and lose some lbs since the birth of Dylan Kate.  This is something that I find very personal because I feel a lot of disappointment in myself for letting "weight" rule my thoughts.  I don't want either one of my daughters to ever feel like that...I want them to be beaming with confidence and not to stress over body image.  However, I feel like I need to make improvements in the types of things that I eat (not fast food every other night) and I know that I need to be more active.  I had always exercised in some form or fashion, running, gym membership and even cross fit before Carter was born.  After her birth, I just fell completely off the wagon.  I don't know if I just wasn't motivated because I was overwhelmed with the change in my life from having a baby, or if I kept thinking "why should I change...I'm just going to have another baby soon enough."  Most likely it was probably a bit of both.  However, I am feeling much more motivated since Dylan's birth and since I am pretty sure that more kiddos are not in our future, I am ready to get back on track.  So far I have lost 30 lbs...ok, that's from the day I gave birth.  It still makes me feel more accomplished, even if I did lose most of it during the birth process.  From the point in which I actually started trying to lose, I am down 7 lbs.  I am excited and am looking forward to sharing what I have been doing and eating. 

I may not be able to keep my blog updated as much as I would like, but I really enjoy having an outlet to share the happenings in my life.  Here is another pic of little Dylan Kate in the hospital.