Another project checked off!

Almost a year and a half ago, I put together a shadowbox featuring Audrey's blessing dress and highlights from her blessing. It's been hanging in her room, sweetly reminding me of my tiny little girl. When she grows up and moves away, it will be one of the keepsakes that I hope she will be more than happy to take with her, along with the Baby Socks shadowbox I just made the other day.

Today, I finally completed the Blessing Suit shadowbox for Henry, which will also go to him when he grows up as a set with the Baby Socks shadowbox.

My children are so important to me and, though I don't always remember when they are screaming and crying, I love them more than I can ever express with words.

One day I will inundate them with pictures, scrapbooks, keepsakes, afghans, and who knows what all else.

Next on the list for kid memorabilia? Plaster hand prints. I'm terrified.

P.S. How can you save a lock of your child's hair if you never intend on cutting a long enough piece to save?

Hot off the Presses!

I put these cute shadowboxes together in about an hour! They'll go in the kids room with their Blessing outfit shadowboxes.

The text reads:

Dad got these socks for Mom shortly after we were married. He thought that Mom might be pregnant and excitedly got a little gift. As it turned out, Mom wasn’t pregnant and wouldn’t be for a long time. This made Mom and Dad feel incomplete.

When Mom was working for the healthcare company, she had to go to the doctor for a work injury. Dr. Love, when she found that Mom has hypothyroidism, asked what medicine she took for it. Dr. Love suggested a change and said that if Mom was having a hard time getting pregnant, this new medication might help. Mom was amazed because she hadn’t told the doctor that she had been struggling to have a baby.

Three months after Mom started the new medication, she found out she was going to have a baby! Nearly eight years after Mom and Dad got married, Audrey was finally born and we knew it was a miracle. We used the pink socks for her tiny little feet.

For a while, Mom wasn’t able to take the medication and couldn’t get pregnant again. When she finally got to take the medicine again, three months later she was pregnant! Henry was born two years after Audrey. He was the first grandson born in the Thompson family in 15 years. Henry is a miracle to us too. We used the blue socks for Henry’s tiny little feet.

Mom and Dad love Audrey and Henry so much. We know that if Heavenly Father hadn’t guided us, we may never have had children. We know He sent us two very special, wonderful spirits to be part of our family.

Motivation

I have never enjoyed exercising and, for a large chunk of my life, I didn't need to. I was active in many other ways and so I didn't need to exercise. When I got married, I was a slightly ribby, but toned 125 pound thing that squeezed into a dress with a corset-like top. It's no wonder women back in the corset days fainted on a regular basis. Shortly after I got married, however, I found that reality was slapping me in the face... or thighs, belly and chin as the case may be. I will always blame this on my job, the temptation to eat out all the time and pure unadulterated joy. I was in love, and so were my fat cells.

I have tried on and off to exercise, nothing lasting any more than a few weeks at a stretch. I have tried on and off to eat better. I must say that this was easier to do... when you have no money, you don't eat out. My weight has bounced around a bit, depending on how active my job was or how well I was eating.

Then I had Audrey. She was a lovely (nearly) eight pound baby and yet, somehow, I had gained 50 pounds. I buckled down shortly after she was born and started exercising every morning. This lasted perhaps three months. I lost a little bit of weight but I never got down to my pre-pregnancy weight which was quite a bit higher than my pre-marriage weight. Just over a year later, I was finally getting my energy back and feeling ready to add fun activities into my days with Audrey. Trips to the zoo happened multiple times a week and playing with my little girl wasn't completely exhausting. Within months I was pregnant again... that stopped nearly all attempts at reasonable exertion.

So, here I am, nine months after Henry and finding myself a few pounds heavier than my post-Audrey, pre-Henry weight... If I keep having kids, I'll slowly die in an avalanche of cellulite. Anyway....

I have continued to exercise on and off the past nine months, but nothing consistent. I'm one of those people who needs a routine to stick to, or I'll forget or lose interest. So, here's my brilliant idea:

I've set up a little reward jar for myself. Ben and I made these cute little origami stars tonight.

Every time I exercise, I put a little star in my jar. Any time I want to reward myself for being good, I take two out, so I will need to consistently fill my jar in order to keep rewarding myself. Ben will be keeping me honest, ensuring that I don't "sneak" rewards. Once I get into a routine, I may not need the reward jar anymore since, as they say, the action reaps it's own rewards. I'll let you know when I hit my target weight. 36 pounds to go!

What have you done to shed the body clutter???