Counting Calories

It just might be the death of me. Or at least that is what I thought on Saturday when I started it. I totally cheated and ate a huge bowl of ice cream Saturday night before bed. I was SOOO hungry! Since then, however, I feel like I have been doing AWESOME! I am only eating 1200 calories or less each day. I only went over on Saturday and the past 2 days have been way easier. I am so happy. Also, my vitamins should be in the mail tomorrow so that should help keep my energy and metabolism up.

I can't even begin to explain how proud I am of myself. I know that it has only been 3 days, but I do not do well with dieting and losing weight. This is big for me. According to my calorie counting app, if I keep it up I should lose 2 lbs. a week! Awww yeahhh! That means I will be down 40 lbs. by June. Perfect timing to bust out the bikini!

I'm going to make this shirt a true statement!

(My shirt says "Future MILF". Picture was taken when I was 17 weeks pregnant with Ethan).

WARNING: Not intended for those with weak stomachs.

Many of you know that I have a handsome little boy in my life that I absolutely love to pieces. I couldn't imagine my life without my son. However, I could have lived without the stretch marks and extra flab he blessed me with. He is approaching 11 months here in a few weeks, so I am really struggling with the fact that I still have not lost all of my baby weight. :/ Not cool.

This is why I am going to work hard to lose my extra weight and get to a point where I am happy with my body again. I want to lose about 40 pounds, but really any amount would be nice. I am super nervous to publish this post (in fact, I've been putting it off for the past 3 days LOL), but I know that it will be the encouragement that I need. Right now I am at 168 lbs and I am not happy to show you the time line of my body, but here it goes!

Me and Cody at our senior prom. This was about 2 months before I got pregnant.

I believe this was taken at about 8 weeks pregnant.

This was 2 weeks before I had Ethan. 

(Grab your barf bags, this next image is not going to be pretty).

And now, almost 11 months after pregnancy. Absolutely disgusting.

I am in serious need of some ego boost and self esteem repair. My goal is to be able to wear a bikini this summer without looking like a beached whale. I started using a calorie counter today and I have been going to the gym a few times a week. I plan on starting some vitamins and eating much healthier. I am desperately trying to cut back my pop intake, but I am finding that to be more difficult than I expected. It is a work in progress. I can do this! I will do this!

I'm Addicted

to late night blogging (or should I say early morning blogging?). Lately I have been finding myself scrolling through my google reader around 2 or 3 in the morning. Normally this would not be a very good thing since I should be getting all of my rest in while Ethan is sleeping peacefully, however, as I was reading through my daily list of blogs last night (this morning) I came across the most fantastic thing ever. A GIVEAWAY TO WIN A SILHOUETTE SD MACHINE! Ahhhh!! If any of you know me, I have been dying for a Cricut or a Silhouette for so long, but I just cannot bring myself to spend the money on them.

If I win this thing, you will probably see nothing but vinyl and paper projects on my blog for at least 3 months straight. Yeah, I'm PUMPED! Check out the Keeping it Simple blog to find out how to enter!

Buttons!

I had a huge bag of buttons that kept getting spilled so I decided to dress up an empty can of formula to give them a new home. I just wrapped some decorative paper around the base and glued it on with adhesive dots. For the lid, I covered it with a pink paper that accented the base. Then I hot glued a few strips of ribbon and a couple cute buttons that I had laying around.

The whole project took me about 10-15 minutes. It was really simple. Not to mention that it looks much better than an Enfamil wrapper! :)

I'm getting way too confused.

Okay, I know that some people think that you shouldn't put your child's name on the internet, but I cannot keep up with the fake names. While I do call my son Bubba on a daily basis, I keep accidentally typing Ethan instead! I am also finding it hard to post a lot of my crafts because they are personalized with his name. So I am dropping the fake names and from now on we will be known as Momma Meg (or Megan), Cody (He can continue being Duglokk if you play WoW with him. ;) ), and Ethan. Sorry fellow mommy bloggers, I just couldn't follow that rule! :P

On a different note, Ethan has been so funny lately! Check out this video of him being a goof while eating.

Hahaha, isn't he a riot!?

Craft Corner

I finally got our desks switched around and got my craft area a little more organized. It may be small and in the corner of my little living room, but it is all mine! :)

I am using some painted baby food jars to hold my pens and markers, and that formula can is holding my buttons. Since this picture was taken, I have decorated the can. Check out my post about that here!

 That picture frame holds Bubba's very first piece of artwork. I am such a proud momma!

Yummm

Breakfast is pretty uncommon in our house since Duglokk is normally already gone to class by the time Bubba and I wake up. This morning I waited until he got home to make breakfast, so technically it was breakfast for lunch. :) I wanted something fast and easy, but delicious at the same time. While I was trying to come up with something I remembered a recipe that I had seen the other day while browsing through my list of blogs. Bacon & Eggs Toast Cups! Sounds crazy right? I am so happy that I made them. They were awesome.

This recipe is so simple and cute! Especially for those of you with young children. I will definitely be making them more often. To get the recipe, head on over to The Farm Girl Recipes blog.

Annnd I Changed My Mind...

The bedtime stories theme for Bubba's first birthday party is out. Although it is a super cute idea, Duglokk and I decided that we want to go with a farm themed party instead. Why? He got a Little People barn for Christmas and he loves it. He could sit and play with (chew on) those little animals all day long. I've got to admit that I am really excited about this party now.

My grandpa built a headboard for my cousin a few years back that is in the shape of a barn, so they are going to let us use that for some decoration at the party. One of the "windows" on the headboard is actually a picture frame so I'm probably going to get some pictures taken of Bubba in some overalls and a flannel to put in the frame. How cute would that be? I am seriously pumped.

This is what I am envisioning:

I am crazy about this mason jar drink dispenser from pottery barn! Too bad it is way out of my price range and I will not be purchasing it. :(

Of course, this is merely a vision and probably far off of what the actual party will be. I can always dream though! I am going to do my best for his party, that is for sure!

Craft Space

As some of you know, I live in an extremely small, over priced, college apartment. Because of this, I do not have the luxury of having that fabulous craft room like Carole from 3-Dimensional Me. Seriously, go check out her scrap room.

Ugh, I am SO jealous! Someday this will be mine. 

I literally find myself drooling on my keyboard every time I browse through the scrap rooms over at Two Peas in a Bucket. They are my inspiration for when I finally get to have a crafting space to call my own. However, until then, I want to show you guys how I am revamping my card table into a mini craft area that I can call my own (even if it is just in the corner of the living room).
 

I bought this AWESOME ribbon shelf from Michael's the other day for 40% off. I love it! I plan on going back next time I get some extra cash. I definitely want to pick up some more of their neat storage shelves.

As I continue to reorganize my crafting area, I will update my blog with pictures. Hopefully I can create a mini version of the fabulous scrap rooms above. :)

Pure Ridiculousness

Yes, I did just make that word up. Don't judge. (Although, I'm sure this post is going to make you judge more than you ever would have imagined. Brace yourselves, people).

About a month ago I collected two full trash bags full of random fabrics and materials from a fellow freecycle member. (By the way, If you aren't familiar with freecycle, I suggest you check it out. Great stuff for FREE!). So anyways, in one of the bags there was a bunch of furry material to make stuffed animals or related projects. I didn't really plan on using it because it was pretty old and not very good quality. However, Duglokk had this "brilliant" idea of making him a pair of fuzzy boxers. Oh yeah, he's a real genius.

After listening to him ask for these things for a few weeks, I finally made them for him. We made a deal that if I made them, he had to let me post pictures of him wearing them on my blog. Well fortunately for you, they did not fit him. (I know, you all really wanted to see that sight. Sorry to disappoint).

I did take a few photos of the boxers though so you can enjoy the awkwardness of it all.

I even added a cute little star button to close up the pee flap. I know, I'm so fancy.

Birthday Party

I cannot believe I am saying, err typing, this, but my baby boy is going to be a year old in less than ten weeks. It is unbelievable how fast this past year has gone. I started planning last night for his big bash and I think it is safe to say that the majority of my posts are going to be documenting the planning process. I want to make this a GREAT party. I wasn't sure what theme I was going to go with since he is still much too little to actually appreciate a theme, but after searching for literally hours for different themes I found a really cute idea from Hostess With The Mostest. BEDTIME STORIES!

For more images and the full article about this awesome party, you can check out HWTM's blog here.

I am so excited to have a theme for this party! Now all I have to do is plan and run with it! Sooo excited!

ABC

Since Christmas is over I can finally blog about the stocking stuffers I made for Bubba. You might remember the blog post I wrote about them being a surprise for my mom and grandma. You can read that here. I have been so anxious to show everyone what it is!!

Magnetic Alphabet!! I made these cute little magnets out of assorted fabric, batting, and sturdy magnets. I just love them! They are so much cuter than the boring plastic ones. Not to mention, they are safer for young children as well. I can definitely see myself making a few more sets of these in the future. Maybe for birthday or Christmas gifts.

Linking up at:

I have a blog? Oh yeah, I forgot.

I have been SLACKING. Ya know what, though? I really enjoyed staying slightly disconnected during the holidays. I say slightly because I do admit that I checked my facebook just about every single day. It's a problem I have, I know. Anyways, I really did enjoy my couple of weeks of holiday vacation. We traveled back to Illinois to spend it with our family and we had an excellent time with everyone. Not to mention how spoiled we were!!! Especially Bubba. That kid has just about everything a little baby could ever want. We truly are lucky to have such a big supportive family. :D

"King of the castle, king of the castle!"

Seriously, what child needs this much stuff? 

He sure is a spoiled little butt. Oh well, you only have a first Christmas once, right? ;)

How did everyone else celebrate the holiday break? Did anyone get anything exciting? Leave a comment with your favorite gift! :)