Pinterest

So, I'm seriously LOVING Pinterest. When I first heard about it, I didn't give it much thought. Didn't think it was really worth all the fuss. Well, I was wrong. It's totally worth all the fuss - it's genius! I love that you can find something online and quickly "pin" it to a board and have the link right there, nice and handy for the next time you need it. I can't tell you how many great recipes I've found and tried - and a bunch that I'm adding to my menu next week.

How many times have you gone online, done a search, found what you wanted, walked away and then had no clue how to get back to that particular site? This solves all of those problems. Have you joined Pinterest yet? If so, go to the top of my blog (under my header) and click the link to follow me! Then, when you do, I can follow you back! It's super fun - believe me, you'll be glad you did!

Happy Pinning!

New Workout and Update

First, the update. I bought skinny jeans. I wore them (with flats) and although at first I felt very weird, they quickly grew on me and I started to like the look. I got them at Old Navy and hope to get to Charlotte Russe soon for another pair. Thank you to everyone that gave such good suggestions!

Now, for the workout. I've been hooked on Pinterest lately. Have you heard of it?? If not, it's basically an online cork board. A place where you can "pin" things that are of interest to you - hence the name, Pinterest. You create different boards and pin things to the board that fall into that particular category. I have a recipe board, a clothing/accessory board, home decor, organization ideas, etc., etc. Click my link above to check out my stuff. :) Ok, back to the subject. I found a pin the other day for this thing called the 100 Workout. I read it and thought, "that looks pretty easy, I think I'll give it a try!" - and off I went. The first thing you do is 100 jumping jacks. Easy, right? Well, about 60 jumping jacks in, I was already breathing heavily, by the time I hit 100, I was sweating. Then you drop to the floor and do a "simple" 90 crunches, followed by 80 squats, and so on - check it out:

Now, the first day I did it, I didn't do the 10 minute run. Mabrie was napping and that night was church, so I didn't get home until late and I don't run alone at night. Safety first, people. The next night, I did the run first, because Macie wanted to run with me and we had to get it in before her bedtime. So I ran a mile and then did the rest. My body is FEELING IT! I thought that since there's no real arm work in this workout that I'd have to add in some weights, but oh no, apparently jumping jacks also work your arms, because mine are killing.

This might be my new workout plan. Most nights, I'll do more than a 10 minute run - I need to get back up to my 3 miles, so it might be closer to a 30 minute run, but the rest of this stuff is great and targets all the important areas that need toning. Give it a try if you are looking for something new. You can do it all in about 20 minutes or so and it really does work. I've got the sore muscles to prove it. If you try it, let me know what you think!

Skinny Jeans

HAHA! That title just makes me laugh. I've decided that I want to try out some skinny jeans this fall - I'm slightly scared of them, though.

I know a couple of things:

1. By no means do I want these jeans to be skin tight - that doesn't look good on anyone. Well, maybe Giselle, but since I'm neither 5'10" nor 100 lbs., mine will not be painted on.

2. I'm not going to spend a ton on these. I can't. I won't.

So, that being said, I need some recommendations. Where can I find a cute pair, that fit well, that don't cost a small fortune and that don't make me look like I should be on a Ludacris video?

Any tips, girls?? Have you seen cute styles out there that you've bought or tried on that you like?

And if there's no such thing - no problem. I'll stick with my boot cut and call it a day. :)

Fun Giveaway

Hey - Head on over to my recipe blog to get entered in a great giveaway!

Click HERE to check it out!!

1 Year Old!!

This time on September 3, 2010, I was sitting in a hospital bed at St. Edward's Mercy holding this little 6 lb. 15 oz., 19" long baby girl.

And just like that, here we are 1 year later and that tiny little bundle has turned into this sweet, busy, talking, walking energy ball of fire that we like to call Mabrie Clarie.

The first year of her life has literally FLOWN by. I don't even believe it actually. I woke up today and thought, "Whoa, she's 1 - what just happened here?!" It's been a great year. She's the final piece to our family's puzzle and she fits perfectly. I knew the moment she was born that our family was complete. And it hit me once she was born that I would have made a terrible mistake had I thought otherwise before that. She's a precious gift. She makes all of us smile every single day. She's a daddy's girl. He said he had to have 3 to finally get one that liked him! :) She's as loud as anything you've ever heard. She's impatient as all get-out. She's funny, silly and sweet. She throws things like she's practicing to be a shot-putter in the Olympics. She walks as fast as her legs will go if she spots her sister's bedroom door open and goes in there like she's on a treasure hunt. She sucks her first 2 fingers all day long. She will go to anyone and smiles at everyone. She has a temper - and I'm sure she'll see her fair share of spankings. (Yes, I said it. Yes, you'll get over it. :))

We love her more than I could put into words on this little blog post. I pray that God would bless us with many, many, many more years with her.

Happy Birthday, Mabrie! We are so thankful for you and are blessed that God chose us to be your mommy and daddy!

Psalm 127:3 Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from Him.

Saying Goodbye

Last night, our family had to do what I've been dreading for about 3 weeks now. We went over to see our sweet, dear friends and told them goodbye. Travis, Sarah and their girls are moving tomorrow to the Philadelphia area as they follow God's call on their life for Travis to service as Music Minister at his dad's church.

Saying goodbye to them wasn't just wishing friends well as they move, it was saying goodbye to people that are as close to us as family. It was heartbreaking. We cried, and cried, and cried some more. To the point I had a splitting headache when we finally got home.

We have grown to love them over the years. We both have 3 kids a piece and all of them are girls. And our kids adore each other. They played last night, made up songs and sang and danced for us, laughed, giggled, ran around and just had a ball. It was like they really didn't realize that was the last time they'd be playing together for a while. When it was time to leave, they all said their goodbyes and hugged and it wasn't until we drove away that it really hit all of them. Our girls cried all the way home and Travis said their girls went inside the house and bawled, too. It's like it was finally real. Travis and Sarah have precious girls. It makes me so sad to know our kids won't grow up together. But, I also know that God has something huge in store for their family and He is going to do great things through them. They are going to be terribly missed. Our date nights where we sit and quote old "Friends" episodes and just crack up over and over again, nights where we know finding a sitter is out so we head to one house or the other and have a fun (albeit, wild) night visiting and chasing around 6 kids, spending the day celebrating each others kid's birthdays, and so much more. We will just miss them. Like so many other people here will - they are loved by many, not just us.

Praying for you as you start your journey in PA. Excited for the times that we'll get to see you all again. Looking forward to a lot of time on Skype! We love you, Sarah and Travis - you'll be missed by the Cash family!

First Day of School

Yesterday was a big day for 2 of our girls - the first day of school! Macie is in 3rd grade now and Maddie started Kindergarten. They were both excited and ready to go - they had a great summer, but I think they were truly looking forward to getting back to the routine of school and seeing their friends. They hopped right out of bed, got their new outfits on and had one of their favorite special treats for breakfast - Orange Rolls!

I surprised each of them with a feather for their hair that I found at Walgreens. They are a clip in style and work great. I got Macie bright purple and Maddie a bright orange. They have been begging for a feather all summer and I promised them that they could get one right before school started. They were so excited about them and they really looked cute in their hair.

They finished getting ready and after a few pictures, we headed out the door to drop them off. I was praying that I would do better dropping Maddie off at kindergarten than I did with Macie. (Let's just say I started crying on the ride to school, and didn't stop for about 30 minutes after we left her.) Thankfully, Macie is a very independent child and seeing me cry didn't phase her too much. I knew full well that if I cried in front of Maddie that it would not be good. She's much more emotional and would have been a basket case if I was upset. We took Macie to her class first and then headed down the hall to Maddie's class. She was chewing her nails the whole way. We got to her class, found her seat and her cubby, put her things away, snapped a few pictures and told her good-bye. No tears from either of us! YAY! Well, until I got out the door. A few tears did fall at that point. Mike was carrying Mabrie and said, "Just one more to go!" - and then he told me not to worry, that Maddie would do just fine. I dried my eyes and headed home excited for her - she's come so far - this is the child that would cry every single Sunday when we'd take her to the nursery, or every single time she had a babysitter, or every single time I'd leave the house and leave her with her daddy! She was and still is a momma's girl - but she's growing up and she's become so much more confident. I'm so proud of her!

When it came time to pick them up, I walked to the kindergarten door where all the other parents were also getting their kids, and Maddie came running to me, yelling in her loudest voice, "Momma, guess what??!! There's a boy in my class named ELMO!!" And she started cackling! I told her to be quiet, fearing that Elmo and his mom were right by me. We got a kick out of that the rest of the evening! It was too funny!

Macie also had a great day! She was excited about her new teacher and her class. She seems to think she has a great group of kids in there and that she's really going to like her 3rd grade year. She's always been a great student. I have no doubt that she'll do awesome again this year. She's is a blessing and a pure joy to parent. I couldn't be more proud of her!

And so that leaves me and little Miss at home 5 days a week. She's a ball of energy and just so much fun! I'm looking forward to our time together. It won't be long and I'll be posting her picture as she heads to kindergarten, so for now, I'm enjoying these wild, busy, fun-filled days. (And some very tiring days, if I'm being honest!)

Looking forward to a great school year! I hope all of you that have school age kids had a great first week back as well.