weight and wait go hand in hand.

I have never been a girl that you would call skinny. I once was a size 12, and I have also been a size 18. I always use my height or lack there of as an excuse, and my genetics...when really I just don't like to exercise, and I really don't like cutting out food.

After I had Van, I said I will 'wait' to lose the 'weight', because I just knew I was going to have another baby soon. Yeah, just saying that makes me sound ridiculous, I know. Then 5+ years passed, and I got pregnant again. I said I will 'wait' to exercise until after I have Vin. Well, the 'wait' is over, and all the 'weight' from the past um 7 years is still there.

I have always enjoyed riding bikes. I haven't owned my own bike since I was probably 12. Let's not discuss how many years that actually is. I once expressed wanting a bike to Paul, but I think that he thought it would be a waste of money since that exercise bike is being used as a clothes hanger...like it is I'm sure in many other homes. I still defend myself by saying an exercise bike, and a real bike are not the same.

Well people...I finally own a bike. Paul owns a bike. Van owns a bike, and guess what Vin even has a trailor to ride in. It was like Christmas the past couple of weeks as we received a different bike every day on our front porch from Fed Ex. I have been riding every day since we got them. I have successfully crashed both my bike riding solo, and crashed Paul's bike riding with the kids in the trailor (yes, they are fine!). You don't even want to see my bruised legs, and other parts. ;) BUT I am loving it. The 'weight' has to start coming off, because it has not been as easy as I remember it being.

Come with us on our biking journey. Van is going to conquer her fear of a big girl bike, and we might even stop using training wheels. Vin is going to gain weight so that I have more to pull on our rides....and well Paul, he is going to laugh with me when I crash. I'm excited to share our adventures, because I am sure there will be a few.

**I was given all the bikes for free from Schwinn Bicycles and My Blog Spark for participating.

14 days.

(picture taken by my sweet Van...yes, I really am asleep...and Vin is really under that blanket snuggling!)

I remember those first couple of weeks on maternity leave.

Everything was so different.

We were trying to figure out a routine.

Paul was getting frustrated with me, because I never had Van in bed on time...like he did when I was at work.

I was messing things up being home.

We were laughing at that tonight.

Two weeks left, and we have it all figured out.

Just in time for me to go back to work.

It is going by too fast.

I didn't think it would go slow, but man it was like a blink of an eye.Two nights ago when Vin was having a hard time falling to sleep.

I started to cry.

Not the ugly cry, just a quiet tears roll down your face kind.

I can't believe I have to leave him.

My baby.

I remember having to leave my Van.

It was hard. Really hard.

This time is different, I have to leave two of my babies.

Sometimes when Van wakes up in the morning, I swear she gets bigger.

The same thing happens to Vin.

I won't be gone long at work, but an hour away can mean I miss his first word...or first step.

I love being home.

I will miss giving Vin a bath every night.

I will miss reading bed time stories to Van.

I will miss falling asleep watching Food Network...and Paul coming in to take my glasses off.

I will miss going to Tae Kwon Do every day with Van.

I will miss all of our play dates.

I will miss having no where to go...so I can sit in the rocking chair for hours and sing to my baby.

I will miss spending hours watching Van catch bugs.

I will miss naps with Paul.

I will miss everything.

This is where I want to be.

Home with my babies, and my best friend.

baby legs review and giveaway

Let the giveaway's begin again.

I am so excited to start it off with this one.

Baby Legs is a product that has really grown on me.

AND let me tell you why.

Besides being ridiculously cute, of course.

Van is really picky about pants. She gets the "itchies" with pretty much everything. With the unpredictable weather we have been having in Utah I thought these would be perfect. Van could wear them in the morning with her shorts, and when it warms up she could just take the leg warmers off. Well, they created "itchies"! So, we tried them the next day on her arms...MUCH BETTER, and just as cute!

(um, love Van's pose to show off her legs warmers)

One day with leg warmers on Vin was what really made me their #1 fan! When you have a small baby it feels like you are changing there diaper 1,589 a day. With these you never have to take pants on and off!! Really you have no idea how much this made my whole freakin' day.

Don't have a baby? Don't have kids? No problem. Did you know that adults can wear the legs warmers. Oh yeah, my Sista tried it with some she already had...and yes they are smokin' hott on ladies! ;)

Baby Legs doesn't just have the legs warmers...they have adorable socks and tights too! The tights are over the top. Really.

So, giveaway time! Yeehaw! We are doing a grab bag style giveaway. I have three different products from their website. THREE winners will be chosen. I will send you one of their adorable products that is in my hott little hands!

Wanna know how to enter?

Become a fan of them on Facebook.
Follow them on Twitter.

Or join their Forum.

I guess if you want to blog about Baby Legs, I will give you extra points too. Shall we say 5 extra entries.

Oh, and leave a comment. Hello.

I will be e-mailing the winners...so, can ya make sure there is a way to contact you too! -k-

Giveaway will run until Friday, May 28th...Midnight MST.

I received product for free to do this review. I gave you my honest opinion, and wasn't swayed by the free stuff! ;)

Food Review: Tepanyaki Japanese Steakhouse

We decided that we should try a place we had never been for Vin's special day. Tepanyaki Japanese Steakhouse was the one place in Jordan Landing that we haven't been to a bazillion times. I had heard good things about Tepanyaki, but I had no idea what we were really get ourselves in to. I called ahead, and when we arrived our table/grill was ready...which was nice, because there was a wait on Saturday night.

We were a party of 6 plus baby Vin on this occasion, and the seating around the grill is for 8 people. I thought that it would just be us at our grill, but we ended up having two other people sitting with us...not gonna lie...kinda awkward.

Our waitress was unimpressive, but where she was lacking our cook was beyond amazing!!! I could see being a little disappointed if you didn't get a really great cook that knows how to entertain...because let's be honest that is most of what you are paying for. He had tricks that not only Paul and I found hilarious, but Van did too!

Our food was fantastic, and I love that not only do you get to see everything being cooked...it was hot when served. I'm a temperature girl. I would much rather have to wait for something to cool down.

Noodles and rice do not come with the meals, but veggies do. Paul said that the mushrooms were unbelieveable, but I could have had nothin' but onions...those things were addictive!! We were able to share one side of noodles and one side of rice between the three of us. The portions are good size.

Of course Van and Paul got shrimp. The cook makes enough extra shrimp that when he is done cooking he asks everyone around the grill if they want to try to catch a flying shrimp. VERY funny stuff happened when he did this. I passed, because it wasn't steak. ;) Paul was spot on, and caught his "flying shrimp" the first try. I was proud of Van for wanting to do it, but when it landed on her face instead of in her mouth she started crying out of embarrassment!I thought that it was definitely worth the $20+ a person. Would we work it into our eating schedule every week...probably not...I do try to not blow all my money on food! LOL. Next time we have a special event or company come in town this will definitely be a place we take them.

Have you been here before? What do you order? Tell me what you love or hate?

2 month stats.

2 month check up was today.

Vin weighed a whoppin 13 pounds....which puts him in the 80%.

Vin is 25 inches long...which puts him in the 94%.

Vin has a ginorm head...it is in the 90%.

At least he is big all over! ;)

It was a rough check up.

He has colic.

He has reflux.

He has a hernia in his belly button.

He had a slight issue with his "na-nas". LOL.

He had 4 shots.

He is grumpy.

Do you blame him?

wordless wednesday: vin's first road trip to meet his cousins

(and yes that is Alice in Wonderland on iChat)

shake your groove thang...

This is what Van and I like to do in our spare time with Vin. He doesn't seem to mind our goofy ways. We are teachin' him young to enjoy shakin' what his Mommy gave him! =)

blessing.

I don't think that I could describe yesterday accurately. There are no words as perfect as it was. From start to finish we all looked like this...It was intimate.
It was spiritual.
It was personal.
It had all four of us in smiles.I shed tears for the love that I share with Paul.
The love that I have for my children.
The love that I felt for our Bishop who held our baby with Paul to give him this blessing.
We celebrated in true Sell style by going out to eat with those who were there. I couldn't have asked for anything to be better. These are the memories I will always hold dear. These are the days that I will never forget. These are the moments that I realize how lucky I truly am.

vin's big day.

Paul and I like to be unique.
We don't bless our babies at church.
We don't invite everyone.
We don't do it on a Sunday.

Paul is blessing Vin today.
We will celebrate by going to a new restaurant.
Vin is going to look supa fly.
Pink looks good on boys too! =)

I will share the details, but right now I have got to go enjoy my children...and make today special.

car seat pictures weeks 5-8

He prefers his fist over a pacifier.

He rolled from his stomach to his back. Paul and I both missed it.

He doesn't scream as loud anymore, because he knows just a whimper will have me running to his rescue.

He smiles.

He will get the cutest sad face eva when he hears loud noises.

AND we are all still in love with our big boy!

Food Review: Kneaders

The question is who hasn't been to Kneaders? I hadn't been there until I was pregnant. Just saying that makes me think of all the time I was missing out on baked goodness. We haven't had anything that we haven't liked at Kneaders...and we go A.LOT.
Our first addiction was the turkey sandwich. It is perfection. It's like the turkey sandwich you make with your left over turkey from Thanksgiving...which I believe is the only reason to cook on Thanksgiving.
As of this week our addiction is the soup and bread bowls. Paul is always up for the chicken noodle soup, and I can't get enough of the broccoli.
This is our average order of desserts...

Van picks out one dessert, and Paul and I always each get two. What can I say? We like our desserts. I am not a huge fan of the sugar cookie, but it is always so cute...and changes with the holidays. Paul's favorite is the fruit tart, and I would definitely say mine is the turtle cheesecake. Just typing that I want to run there for breakfast...and eat cheesecake.

What is your favorite thing to order when you go to Kneaders?

in all my random glory.

I'm still not overly happy, but today is a new day. I have been productive. Vin is taking a nap in his crib, which makes me happy. I love holding him, but I just can't do it all day...and my back doesn't like to do it either. We spent the morning in the sun. I took the swing outside for Vin, he lasted 3 minutes in it...but he enjoyed listening to Van scream in delight over bugs.

Tonight is Survivor. I have never been much into TV, but now that I am home...I look forward to shows like never before. Weird. Between Glee, Dancing with the Stars, and Fresh Meat...it makes for entertainment almost every night.

I starting thinking today I am going to start my Friday Food Reviews again. I stopped, because I was pregnant...and let's be honest who wants to hear about Taco Bell, Mickey D's, and other gross food that I craved. So, tomorrow I share a new joint.

What do you think of me doing giveaways again? I wouldn't mind sharing really awesome products, I would be picky only sharing uh-mazingly awesome ones...but is there already enough blogs doing giveaways??

Why do I have dog poop in my back yard when I don't even have dog? Oh, the answer...because my neighbor doesn't care and let their dog(s) dig holes under our fence. Van said that she was going to go and talk to them, she loves a good confrontation...and I made her clean up the poop...so she was more bitter than I was.

Thanks for the comments yesterday. It helped cheer me up. Really it did.

wacked.

Wednesday's blow.

4 weeks left of maternity leave.

Health insurance is crap.

They will cover Paul if we pay $400 a month...just for him.

What is the point. We might as well not have health insurance.

I'm out of graham crackers, my new found love.

I have a headache that I swear never goes away.

My back hurts from not being use to carrying a big ol' baby boy around,

and his really ginorm car seat.

My house is never going to be clean again. =/

I gave up Coke, and you would think I would at least lose 5 pounds...nope.

I have a bruise on my arm where Vin's head rests...it hurts.

I'm grumpy.

Vin is grumpy too! I must be rubbing off on him.

It's just because it's Wednesday!

On a positive note...my family is all getting new Schwinn Bikes...including a trailor for Vin. I'm so excited to participate in this adventure with My Blog Spark.

is this REALLY my life?

I feel so loved lately.

My friend Emily is featuring me on her site today.

She does Mad Libs Monday...and it is pretty funny stuff.

Go check it out.

Groupie love is always nice. =)

mother's day.

On Monday while sitting at Kneaders Paul said..."This can be your Mother's Day gift."

On Tuesday while sitting at Carl's Jr Paul said..."This can be your Mother's Day gift."

On Wednesday while sitting at Cafe Rio Paul said..."This can be your Mother's Day gift."

On Thursday while sitting at Baskin Robbin's Paul said..."This can be your Mother's Day gift."

On Friday while sitting at Wendy's Paul said..."This can be your Mother's Day gift."

On Saturday while sitting at Texas Roadhouse Paul said..."This can be your Mother's Day gift."


I am a well takin' care of Mommy. Here at the Sell house we don't need a day to tell us to celebrate each other, because we appreciate and show our love every day! Try celebrating without a holiday...it is way more fun.

To all my ladies...every. single. one. of. you. YOU RAWK!! Remember that ALWAYS!

tempting

I am so tempted to click the "mark all as read" in my google reader.

I am so far behind.

Will you guys hate me?

I suck at commenting this week.

I have been sick for days...now baby Vin is starting to get sick. =(

You will still be my friend, right?

my favorite pictures van has taken

my sweet set up

I have a hard time waking up in the middle of the night. It is getting easier, but I never really get use to it. If you ever look on Facebook or Twitter you'll be able to tell when Vin's feedings are by when I update. This is when I do a lot of multi tasking...but it is mostly to make sure I don't fall asleep (which has happened more times than I should admit to).

So I have this sweet set up in Vin's nursery...

CSN Stores Review.

Have you ever heard of CSN stores?

Neither had I.

They have anything from recessed lighting to baby furniture!

Everyone knows that I searched far and wide for a bedding set for Vin. What I liked, Paul didn't. When we were down to the wire (or what I felt like was the wire) we finally went to an overly priced place locally. I had to special order things, and one of the pieces of his bedroom set didn't come in until the week before Vin was born. Talk about stressin' a pregnant woman out...I had to have his room perfect before he came. (Which is really ridiculous when you think about it, because he didn't sleep in his room for a month! LOL. ) If I would have only known about CSN stores...still makes me a little bitter. EVERYTHING. I mean EVERYTHING that we bought from that locally over priced place I found on this site. Super bummer for me, right? The only good thing is that I didn't buy everything that I wanted, because things started to add up. I found the wall hangings to match his crib set at a fraction of the price that the "other" place wanted to charge me. Yeah, Von!! It gets even better, they are in stock, no waiting 6 weeks. Can't wait to get them! Between the wall hangings, and the framed pictures that Kim took...his room will be well on it's way to being perfect. =)

*I haven't been compensated to write this post, yet. My stuff hasn't shipped to me. =) I would say all of this stuff regardless of what they were giving me, because I really did get jipped out of money I could have saved on their websites.

wordless wednesday: it never ends.

Jennifer Eliason Photography Workshop.

Remember when we had our family pictures taken?

You don't.

Well, just take a looksie at all the cute pictures on my side bar.

They were all taken by the fun-loving Jennifer. Guess who is teaching everyone how to take fantastic pictures, use your fancy camera that you had to have, and is even going to give you photoshop tips!!? Jennifer!

Want details?

go HERE.

You best tell her I sent you, because you get $50 off. Yes, $50!!

Totally worth it, right?

You better hurry though, because it is this weekend.

Clickety-click here to sign up!

we are workin' on it.

There is nothin' like baby rolls.

I love 'em.

It only has taken me 6 weeks to get some cute thighs on my Vin.

go here if you wanna buy one of these cute shirts =)

Monday's Maven

I'm Monday's Maven on Vanessa's site.

Go check it out.

That is all.

Loves,

Von

melts my heart.

Even though I could sit all day and hold our baby. I still have to share him, and I have those pesky household chores to do (boo!). Vin has become quite the fiesty lil' guy. If his eyes are open, I'm not sure that he is ever happy for more than 3 minutes before giving everyone a piece of his mind. I decided to let Van sit in the rocking chair, while I got some laundry done. In the time it took me to take 4 pictures...VAN HAD HIM ASLEEP! She is now going to be the designated "rock Vin to sleep girl"!