Around here..

Life has been so full around here. I sit back and reflect at the end of our days and I smile.  Seriously! Don't get me wrong. Not for one minute are things always rosy. I have three boys four and under for Pete's sake! There are fights, meltdowns, scrapes, tantrums, and days that really suck! But the sum of these days lately have been amazing!

Our schedule has been jam packed so here is the run down of what has been going on around here!

On Friday we had some friends over for a fire pit and some food! The yummy recipes I shared back here were a hit!

On Saturday, I woke up earlier than the family to get out the door to my Saturday Cize Live class. I had six new faces join me and we worked up incredible sweat as we danced our booties off! If you have not seen the craze of Cize, check it out!!

Nothing like a beautiful space to work up a sweat in.

I jetted out of class and drove home to help Andrew (my hero) finish getting the three boys ready for Hudson's first soccer game.  Can I just pause and say that I know it isn't babysitting when it is your own kids and my husband has never been the guy that says it is. But, it is a lot of work to get three little guys fed, teeth brushed, dressed, extra set of clothes for Hudson laid out, pajamas out for all three, diaper bag packed all by yourself when it is NOT your normal morning routine! See--hero is accurate. I'll explain later why we had to have pjs set out at nine in the morning. 

We got to Hudson's game and I can't even tell you how cute it was to see all the different teams playing. Hudson was nervous but so excited. They play three on three. He is on a team of five boys total so they practice subbing in and out.  At one point it was Hudson and two of his best buddies (boys of some of my best buddies) all on the field.  I think I teared up.

Hudson was so stinking cute. He kept looking over to us as if asking if it was okay to run after the ball; take the ball from another player; go fast; turn around. We had to eventually tell him on a water break to not look at us! Near the end of the game he scored a goal!! #proudparentmoment

After the game, we took all three boys to Andrew's parents house.  My nieces were in town for the day and I had planned a day date for Andrew and I. It is such a huge blessing that we have both sets of grandparents close who are always so willing to take our boys. Three is a lot to take on but they do it so graciously! #shoutouttomimiandgammy

Andrew and I headed about an hour and a half away to an event called Hobnob Market. It was my heaven, y'all! It was a huge event with antique, craft, vintage, you name it vendors! Over 200 vendors. Tents and tents of the best stuff! All right next door to a winery. Oh, and some yummy food vendors flooding the air with the most delicious aromoas. #heavenonearth

Andrew and I came with some ideas of what we were looking for and found so many other great finds as well! We left with a car full! I can't wait to show you some of the finds later as we get them all situated in the house!

We picked the boys up and had dinner and baths at Mimi's and headed home. They were wiped. Soccer in the morning, play day with cousins, fun at Mimi's with no nap kind of tired!

Andrew and I were planning on staying in but a good friend invited us to her father-in-laws house. He was throwing a get together and had hired a country singer that was traveling through town prior that week to come play. Like, a legit, "I-have-a-record-deal-you-may have-heard-me-on-the-radio" country singer. Now listen, if there is anything my husband loves as much as I love going and picking through "junk" to find my next treasure, is live music.  He doesn't really care who it is. He LOVES live music....

So I called a babysitter last minute who really just had to make sure our kiddos stayed asleep and we went to hang out and listen to live music. It was such a nice night.

Sunday was a typical day so I won't bore you with details.  ;)

I am reminded that each day with my family is a gift.  Not every moment is glamorous, fun. Some can be downright exhausting. But they are mine.  They are the heartbeat of my life.  I am choosing to look for joy in our days!

Friday Favorites: Feeling Fall

The busyness of our week sure made it fly by.  That, and of course, Monday being a holiday and making the weekend extend into the work week. I love when that happens and we have an extra day all together!

Anyway, I'm linking up today and sharing some of my favorites from this past week and things that are making me feel ready for fall. 

Andrea

Amy

{O N E} 

As I posted last week, I had a hair appointment to go darker and I shared some of my cut and color choices.  I basically went with the Megan Fox color and a really textured long layered cut.  My hair lady, Tonya, totally hooked me up and I love it. Here it is making it's debut on last weekend's date night. 

{T W O}

We survived Hudson's first week of school. You can read about his first day on yesterday's post.  I sure do love that sweet boy and his excitement!

{T H R E E}

One of my very best friends had her twin babies this week!!!! I am over the moon ecstatic for her and her family.  Mama ROCKED her pregnancy. She was considered high risk twins aside, and she carried them to 37 weeks like a pro! They were born both weighing over seven pounds! No tubes, no NICU needed! They are just champs and I can not wait to meet them this weekend!!! 

{F O U R}

I like to switch out my soaps with the season. I just love how it makes our moods change. My boys love making me smell their hands after they wash! {I'm just glad they washed, ok?!} I'll be picking up these three scents today while shopping for a few other things for the boys.

{F I V E}

We love a good night around the fire.  My husband would probably have a fire every weekend but me, I love to wait until the weather gets a little cooler. And tonight is the perfect night to kick off Fire Pit Fridays with our friends!! I am cooking up a new chili recipe and making this snack mix. If you want to check out more of what I love on Pinterest, you can follow me here. 

Hudson's 1st Day of 4 year-old Pre-K!

It's official! Our house is "back to school!" I can not believe Hudson is in his last year of preschool before Kindergarten! It is absolutely crazy how fast these years have flown by!

Hudson attended preschool last year as well, but because we moved halfway through the fall, there were no openings in our district's preschool program. Although we loved where he attended last year, I wanted to get him in district so we could meet other families and so Hudson could start building friendships with kids he would go to school with in future years.

His new preschool is a co-op. Parent involvement is a requirement which I love. Every day there are two parent helpers in the room that act as aides.  I can not wait to go in each month and be part of his day and see him in action!

Yesterday was Hudson's first official day. Parent, and then child, orientation took place before Labor Day weekend. But yesterday was him, on his own, with his teacher and classmates!

Tuesday night we read the "Twas the Night Before Preschool." My mom had gotten Hudson a little back to school gift and the book was included. We saved it to read. When the story was over, Hudson admitted that he was a little nervous about his first day too but a lot excited! :) We reassured him that he would have a great day and prayed about his school year.

I wanted his first day to be special and to make it exciting to help ease his nerves. After my workout and shower, I whipped up some Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins.  I found the recipe over at Mix and Match Mama a few falls ago. My boys have loved them from the very first bite and ask for them all the time! They become a staple at our house when fall hits. And since Labor had passed, I felt like we could officially call it fall!

Andrew stayed to have breakfast with us, and to drop Hudson off for his first day! (It was also my first day teaching my Cize class at a new gym! Overlapping times equals Dad to the rescue for week one!)

Our guy looked so sweet on his first day.

The little boys and I went to Cize Live. They played in the day care area while mama got her sweat on teaching a fantastic group!

After we went home, snacked and played, it was time to pick up our missing piece! He was so cute packing up his bag and was thrilled to tell us about his day. Beau held Hudson's hand as we walked back to the car and asked, "So, how was your day at school, Hudson?" Melt my heart, would ya?? So cute! 

Hudson got to choose where we had lunch and picked Culvers. As we were finishing up, another boy from his class came in with his mom and came up and said, "Hey Hudson, remember you went to school with me today?" 

I can already see so many fun moments like this happening. Love it!

We ended his big day by meeting some friends at a church outreach called Real Encounter. BMX bikers and motorcyclist stunt men showed off some tricks and shared their testimony.  The boys ate it up!!! 

That's it! First day of 2015 in the books! Here is to a year full of fun, memories, learning and growth, sweet boy!!

Meal Plan and Week 1 of my Fit For Fall Accountability Group

Next week I am starting a BRAND NEW accountability with a group of ladies. The purpose of the group is really create a healthy lifestyle. Every day I see people trying this diet or the next fad that promises results. But so often, what they are trying isn't going to bring about a lasting change.  And that is really all we want, right? To be able to feel our best, look our best and have it last. Or at least, live a lifestyle that helps us maintain what we have achieved and worked hard for.

Each month, I work with my groups and one of my favorite parts of the group, is the meal planning portion. Each program comes with a nutrition guide that spells out specifically a plan for you that works in parternship with your workout program. I create meal plans cor my group members to plug into their plans so they can achieve their best results.  Even more than that, it teaches them how to plan!!! Sometimes we don't even know where it starts when it comes to food, eating healthy and making a plan work FOR us.

I just wrapped up CIZE (you can check out my review and results here) and am continuing on with PiYo. I love this program.  It has been almost a year since I began my first round with this program.  I was well into my second trimester starting my third trimester then and was concerned about if I would be able to keep up.  But the strength, stamina, and flexibility it gave  my body was amazing. And I could totally modify moves as I needed to.  It has been a favorite of mine ever since.

Because PiYo is a high intensity, yet low-impact workout, I have to eat for results.  I try to follow the 80/20 rule when it comes to my eating. I am pretty strict when it comes to my meals.  Dinner has a little more flexibility but that is because I believe in cooking only one meal. Which means, what I eat, my family eats. I have to account for the fact that I am feeding three little ones (one VERY little one) and I that I hate wasting food and having empty tummies leave my table.

Below, is the meal plan I am following for results. When I run an accountability group, I share my plan with the entire group and then go over how to adapt the plan to fit individual needs based on different calorie intake, program guidelines, etc.

You notice the menu is color coded. I do that for those members who are doing the 21 Day Fix/Extreme or use the containers for their meal plans. It keeps it very simple.  (More info about the 21 Day Fix here)

Being part of my groups has it's perks, including me sharing some of my favorite recipes from my go to cookbook, Fixate by Autumn Calabrese. (more info on that here)

I want every person I work with to find success. I want them to take steps towards reaching their goals.  Even more important than that, I want them each to realize that working out and eating healthy is something they have to do to check off their list.  But it is something important to do for themselves. Not just to get results, but to feel their best! 

If you are interested in learning more about how my accountability groups work, meal plans specific to your needs, or any of the programs mentioned, visit my facebook page and let's connect! 

Monday is the big day! Here's to hard work, being prepared, and kicking butt!! :) 

Friday Favorites

Weeks are just flying by and trying to fit it all in is beyond crazy! This week was packed with fun and as I wrote out or September calendar, it seems like all our weeks are going to have the common theme of being packed!!!

This week I am just sharing some of my favorite moments from this past week!

{O N E}
Both our big boys are playing soccer this fall. Hudson moved up from Little Kritters to the U6 level. He has 45 minute practices once a week and a game every Saturday. He is the youngest on his team but plays with two of his best buds and the coach is one of our great friends.  It is so exciting to see them try hard and gain skills.

Beau is starting with Little Kritters. We do soccer through MidState (a popular program in our area that focuses on skill). The coaches are absolutely amazing. It is a half hour, once a week, and they learn how to control the ball, work on balance. I look forward to it every week!

Beau was a little leery so wanted me close by but he did awesome!

{T W O}
This summer I stepped WAY out of my comfort zone and became a certified instructor for Cize Live. Cize is a brand new program from Beachbody. Cize Live takes the concept from the Cize at home program and puts into a live group fitness class format.  I was actually part of the first group of instructors to be certified and got to do my training with the creator of the program, Shaun T. and his crew.

I'm in the gray Nike tank! So much fun!

This week, a local gym scheduled me to teach class twice a week and an occasional Friday evening class! I am beyond excited! I LOVE this program and saw great results when I did it last month! I can't wait to share it with others even more!

If you are interested in the at home program, customized meal plans or an accountability group to help you get healthy, let me know! :)

{T H R E E}
Some of our closest friends found out this summer they were expecting their first baby! They had been trying for some time and so it was such wonderful news when they told us!! This week they found out the gender of the baby so another friend and I threw together a "Sweets and the Sex" gender reveal party. {I say threw together because I got a call late Monday morning that we were doing a gender reveal in just a few days! HA!!)

We served a variety of sweets and since mama and daddy to be were a dancer and football player in their earlier years, we decorated with a Tutu's or Touchdown theme.

I added letters for the Touchdown or Tutus theme.

Excuse the terrible flash. Guests voted what they thought the baby's gender was.

Dipped everything was my contribution! 

{F O U R}
I have naturally darker hair. It isn't a beautiful hue and so have colored my hair since college. I have gone light and dark but always love being dark. This summer I went lots lighter (my husband loves blondes! ;) ) and today I am going back to the dark side!

Is there anything more glorious than hair appointment day??? Here are some of the ideas I am throwing around.

My hair is no where near this long but I like the color.

Love this whole thing. I really like dark.

My hair is pretty close to this length. I love the layers. And her eyebrows. are they not on point??

Why must it take so long for hair to grow? I am dying for my hair to get longer but it isn't happening as quickly as I'd like.

That's all I have today! I hope you all enjoy your l-o-n-g weekend! We have a whole lot of nothing going on. Date night tomorrow, cookout Sunday. Sounds pretty perfect to me!

Andrea and the crew

Amy and Karli