Paulina's giveaway!

My friend Paulina is doing a giveaway on her blog!

http://www.prettypinkposh.blogspot.com/2009/08/cuttlebug-giveaway.html

Check it out you crafty blogging friends and follow Paulina while you're at it!

Take me out to the ball game!

Mackenzie got to go to her very first baseball game. We went to watch the Everett Aquasox play. It was so much fun! Mackenzie had a blast. She wasn't sure what to think at first when the announcer came on. She does not like loud noises at all. But she got used to it and before we knew it she was yelling "RUN!" and "CHARGE!" She was clapping and dancing too. She and I got to be on the screen when we were doing the chicken dance. I can't wait to take her to another game. She loved watching the kids behind us acting crazy and dancing all around. You can tell she's watching them in the video below. She did have a minor accident while she was dancing. She hit her face on the metal rail in front of our seats. She liked the mascot, Webbly, until he got closer to her. He's a frog. All in all, we had a great time. Mackenzie was super happy the entire night.

Walking into the ball park

Our happy family-taken shortly after hitting her face

Sporting her new Everett Aquasox hat

Chicken Dance!

ABC Giggles

I finally was able to capture Mackenzie singing her ABC's. I just love how she sings "l-m-n-o-p." I was quite surprised at how giggly she was in the early evening for only having a 30 minute nap today. The giggles stopped though at about 8pm and she was then ready for bed. She fell asleep super fast too.

Pure Kid Fun

Why the heck did I wait so long to go to the Children's Museum in Everett? I think it's because I had taken her to the one in Mount Vernon and after paying $5 (each) for her and I to go, she didn't like it. She didn't want to play with anything there. So knowing that the one in Everett was more expensive, I was a bit nervous to take her. I hate wasting money.

Well yesterday I HAD to get her out of the house. I HAD TO. Let me repeat: HAD TO.

So, off we went to the museum in Everett. I do NOT know Everett at all but I have to say, the place was so easy to find, and I found my way back to the Hwy 2 with no problem. I can be directionally challenged at times so this was a plus in my book.

The museum in Mount Vernon is NOTHING compared to the one in Everett. First off, that one is in the mall. Again, why did I wait so long to go to the one in Everett?

Mackenzie had a blast! She loved the farm area and the water room. She also really liked the glow room and the rooftop playground.

The pictures speak for themselves, Mackenzie LOVED it there. We got there about 3:30 (little miss decided to throw a few tantrums before we left) and stayed until closing at 5pm. We could have spent a lot more time there and I will for sure be taking her back and will for sure be getting a membership. I wanted to get one yesterday since the money I paid for admission would count towards the membership. However, I did have to clear it with Matt first. I can see us spending a lot of time there. Especially since we live so much closer to it.

The Juicing Begins

Alright people, I have jumped on the juicing bandwagon and I don't plan on jumping off. I am once again going to talk about my friend Sarah. Ok I will admit it, I secretly want to be Sarah. Are ya happy?

About a year ago, Sarah started blogging about her newly found love, juicing. She did a giveaway on her blog of a juicing book, I didn't win. Darn. But, reading about her juicing experience got me interested in it. I will admit thought, I wondered why I would want to take the time to juice vegetables when I can't stand vegetables. I guess I thought maybe juicing fruits and vegetables together would get me to consume some good nutrients. And then, just maybe, Mackenzie would drink some too. See, Mackenzie hates vegetables too, just like her mama.

I have been wanting to juice ever since.

I had no clue what to juice or how to juice.

While packing up the house to move about 6 months ago, I found that we had a juicer. Hmm, not sure where that came from exactly and I know we had never used it. I waited until we moved to actually try juicing. At the end of May I got the juicer out, on a whim I guess. Again, I had no clue what to put in there. I first tried carrots and apples. Did I like what I had just made? ABSOLUTELY NOT. It was thick, gritty, and gross. Awful. But, I didn't blame the produce that I mixed. I blamed the juicer. It was old and not to mention cheap. I put through like 3 apples, 2 cups of baby carrots, a peach, and some kiwi and got only about 9oz of juice.

I put the juicer away.

My problem is that I just want to wake up one morning and be 20lbs lighter and have great skin. I don't want to do the work. Yes, I am lazy. Busy. One thing I've noticed is that I don't have the energy to play with Mackenzie. She loves for me to chase her around the house and I tell ya, after one lap around, I am dog tired. I'm in a funk most of the time, even while taking Vitamin D. Don't get me wrong, the D helps me like you wouldn't believe. Matt didn't believe that it was helping until I stopped taking it. He then asked "are you taking your vitamin D?" There ya go.

Well I have had the pleasure of seeing the results in Sarah that I want to see in myself. So, yesterday I bought a juicer. The old one will be going to the good will. I got the Jack Lalane juicer from Costco for $89.99. I went and bought organic produce: carrots, apples, celery, cucumber, ginger, pears, and lemon.

Tonight I juiced with a good juicer. It wasn't gritty, IT WAS GREAT JUICE! Mackenzie even liked it. I had to try one that I thought I would like before I venture out to the ones that have celery and beets. My recipe tonight was 3 apples, a carrot, and a 1 inch piece of ginger root. That juicer spit out 24 ounces of juice! GOOD JUICE. The picture I posted is only half of what that juicer spit out.

The plus side to this, I drank half (Matt had the other half) and was only able to eat about a quarter of my dinner. Yep, I think this is going to be a good thing. Tomorrow I will try something else...apple, carrot, cucumber, and celery. Maybe I'll throw in some ginger again.

Thanks for the motivation Sarah.

Need a photographer??

Yesterday, Mackenzie and I met my dear friend Helen at the park for a photo shoot. Words can not describe what Helen captured with her camera. At first, Mackenzie was a bit shy as you can see in some of the pictures. But after a little bit, she was hamming it up for Helen. It was too funny.

Helen and I used to work together. When I was pregnant, she offered to take my pregnancy photos. She did a fabulous job and I was hooked on her photography. She was new at it but she really caught my attention.




We got together last summer and had a "Rainy Day" photo shoot, again she did an AMAZING job.



She took our Christmas pictures last year.


Here are some of the pictures from yesterday. Can you see how much Helen's talent has grown? I certainly can and I am so thankful for a friend like Helen who knows how to capture the emotion and the curiosity of an energized 2 year old.






Please check out Helen's website to see her other great photos and to see how to get in contact with her should you need a photographer. We had so much fun playing at the park. In about an hour, Helen had already taken 169 photos and I'd say about 97% or more are keepers. I want to frame just about all of them!