Derb-a-licious weekend update.

Derby weekend is over and I'm still recovering from all the fun. I'm going to try to get caught up here but who knows how far I'll get!

Derby weekend was such a success. Friday night was totally amazing. I had so much fun with my ladies at the Fillies and Stallions Party! I was super excited to get to meet Aaron Rogers and so many of the UofL basketball team! Here are some pictures from that night.  Also, these are totally out of order because this blog site drives me nuts and I can't figure it out half of the time and I don't feel like uploading every single picture one by one. So there.

Me, Aaron Rogers & Ashlee. WHAT!!!

Very nice and soft spoken guy. I was so excited to meet him! (PS...Thanks Brittney for making this happen)

Bonefish apps with the ladies before heading out.

Mr. Chane Behanan 

Creeping on Kris Humphries

Me and my bestest. Love this lady.

Borrowed from the Jenny Drake line.

Found Marissa on the dance floor!

My best girl. 

Momma's ready for some fun!

After the Fillies and Stallions party luckily for me Krista was sober and was willing to drive us home! Yay! I hate not sleeping in my own bed, especially if I have things to do the next morning. So anyway, once I got home I ate some chicken ramen noodles and took my butt to bed. At 4am. Shew wee. Momma doesn't party like that anymore. :-)

I woke up ready to go at 8:45am. Yep. I LOVE DERBY DAY! I quickly texted the husband a big ol' Happy 30th Birthday text since he was in a turkey blind and go up ready to start my day! I really didn't have much to prepare because I did a lot the day before since I was off. I went to try and find Derby programs and that was a complete bust. Everyone was sold out. So I ventured over to Starbucks and had the new Caramel Crunch Frappe. OMG. Talk about life changing. It was seriously the best drink ever. I totally gained 3 pounds last week but I've gotten back on track since then. So, I got my starbucks and a ham, egg & swiss croissant and then I went back home to prepare for the rest of the day.

I had Pandora jamming the Lorde station while I was making food. Ryan got home around noon and started getting the corn hole boards ready and all the fish and turkey set out for the fish fry. YUM!

People started arriving around 2 and Geoff and I got our corn hole winning streak underway. We were beat a few times but I'm pretty sure we were still the champions of the whole wide world. (As my dad would say.) :-)

Me and Krista being twinsies.

Me and momma.

My love. 

Who knows. 

The boys hanging out in the garage.

Krista Sammich.

The Derby pots were selling, corn hole was being played, fish and frog legs were being fried and everyone was having a good time! My baby girl finally got home around 4. My mother in law kept her Oaks night and most of the day Derby so I could get things ready for the party. Little bug was tired but she had fun playing with her best buddy Raegan.

Once the Derby was done and California Chrome was declared the winner I was pumped because I actually won the $5 Derby pot! I never win these things and I always spend so much money! Cali Chrome was the favorite so  when I drew him I definitely didn't think that I was going to win because the favorites don't win often. I knew I was taking my winnings to target to get some cute skirts. Yay!

We hung out with friends until around 930 and then Ryan and I were beat so we went to bed. On Sunday we had his birthday dinner over at his parents. Enchiladas, chocolate cake and ice cream. YUM! Jan's chocolate cake is amazing and this time she put a layer of fudge in it. WHAT?! I didn't eat any after the enchiladas but I did have a small piece later that night and it was so delicious. (I told you I gained 3 pounds last week)

So there you have it folks. My Derby weekend update. It was a lot of fun and it was exhausting and I'm already looking forward to next year!

365 update will be up tomorrow along with a few other things!


xxx

Ryan

Progress, ear infections & cranky babies. Oh my!

Hello my loves! Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful Friday! Today's weather is going to be GREAT! I cannot wait to soak up some sunshine and longer daylight hours this weekend.

I have a busy weekend planned, some plans cannot be talked about yet but on Sunday we have a birthday party to attend for our friends little boy. I cannot believe he is one already. Seriously, all the 2013 babies are growing up too fast. So many of my friends were pregnant last year, it's awesome that our kids are going to get to grow up together and be friends!

So, this week has pretty much been hell. I picked Charlie up from daycare on Monday night and she had a fever of 101. I gave her some tylenol, gave her a bath and she conked out pretty early. Throughout the night she kept waking up screaming and she was burning up so we kept the tylenol coming every 6 hours and on Tuesday morning I called into work so I could stay home with her.

By noon her fever was still climbing and at one point it got up to 105. When we saw that, we called the doctor and they told us to come in right away. Turns out little bug has a double ear infection. Our poor girl has never been this sick before and I just feel awful for her. We got some antibiotics, switched to Motrin to bring down the high fever and then headed home. Ryan had to go to work so lucky me was stuck with a crying baby by myself at night. Yay!

On Wednesday I came into work for a few hours but then left because our girl was still having a rough day at home and daddy needed to get some rest before work. I was pretty much ready to pull my hair out by the end of the second night. I have never seen her so mad and upset but I'm sure she was in pain. Poor girl finally started to feel better yesterday (Thursday) and she didn't have a fever anymore so we sent her to daycare. YAY!

She is still on the antibiotics for another 7 days but she seems to be getting better. I'm so glad!

Next topic. Today was my weekly weight in and round 2 of my diet bet weigh in! I have officially lost 16.4 pounds since January 5th. I am SO excited. I'm 3 pounds away from my pre baby weight and about 15 lbs away from my ultimate goal. I'm also noticing a difference in my figure not just the scale! Here is a few progress pictures. Please disregard the no makeup face and messy hair in the last shot. I had just come in from a run :-)

The day before having Charlie. SO SWOLLEN. Crap. Probably shouldn't have went to the Spring Football game. ha!

Three  weeks after having little bug.

Now! I really notice the weigh loss in my face the most right now.

 

Had to move some of hubby's crap away from the mirror to get this shot. I really miss my closet. Boo. Haha.

So yeah, that's what I have going on right now. I have been seriously focused on losing this weight for the past two months. I feel SO much better about myself too. I have a ways to go but seeing progress has definetly made the journey easier. Not to mention the fact that so many of my friends are super into fitness right now, we are all kicking our own asses and it feels great.

I just wanted to update everyone on my life and my journey. I'm ready for the weekend and some fun! I'll be back to update everyone on Sunday!

xxx

Ryan

Ready for sunshine!

Sunday Fun-day!

Today was a great day!

First, Charlie slept until 730. I actually woke up before her and I was soooo glad. Hopefully she keeps that up so I can get my runs in during the time she sleeps in the morning. This morning I did sprints for 3 miles and felt GREAT afterwards. I need to start building my endurance back up if I'm going to do some races this spring.

After I ran, I cooked breakfast which consisted of eggs and toast for Ryan and an egg white omelet for me. Charlie refused to eat her fruit and insisted that she get yogurt bits and puffs instead. How could I say no to that cute little face?! When we wrapped up breakfast I got ready and went to the grocery store to get supplies for the week.

When I got home, Charlie took a nap and I was able to read some of the new book I'm into right now. It's called Divergent. I really like it! There is a movie coming out about it this year and it's part of a series like the Hunger Games.

When Charlie woke up we went to dads house to hang out, watch the game and eat some dinner. Jeannine (my awesome step mom) made some delicious potato soup, a salad and some chicken salad. It was awesome and diet friendly :-) Jeannine texted me last night and asked if I had any recent pictures of me, Ryan and Charlie and honestly I don't. I have one from Thanksgiving of all of us and a few from Christmas but none that I really loved. Today I decided to take one of us three for my 365 project. (And for Jeannine of course).

I set the camera up on my tripod and had Ryan sit with Charlie while I focused. When I was good to go I went and sat down and snapped the shots with my remote control. Here is what we got.

Day 19.

This was my favorite. I really cannot wait to get my hair done this weekend. My mop is a mess these days! I loved the red while it lasted but I'm ready for my brown hair back! Thank goodness I go see my cousin this weekend to get fixed up and beautified. She is seriously a hair genius so if any of you in Louisville need some hair love look her up.  Looks by Lauren

Here are some other fun shots that I took with my remote today.

Charlie is such a trip. She's the happiest baby ever and we are so blessed. I thank God everyday for giving me the chance to be a mommy to this awesome little girl. Things aren't always easy but I wouldn't change my life for anything.

I hope everyone had a great Sunday. I'm rooting for the Bronco's to win the Super Bowl. I don't really have a team in this fight but I like Peyton Manning and I'm glad they beat the Patriots. (Haha Papa)

xxx

Ryan

Crockpot Pot Potato Soup Deliciousness!

Ok. This is hands down one of the easiest and most delicious crock pot recipes I've ever found. Of course I got it off of Pinterest but I've added my own little special touches to it to perfect the recipe.

 Here is what you need: 

1 (30 oz.) bag frozen hash-brown potatoes (I used the shredded but you can also use the squared cut) 2 (14 oz.) cans chicken broth 
1 (10.75 oz.) can cream of chicken soup 
1/2c chopped onion 
1/3 tsp. ground black pepper 
Pinch of salt
1 (8oz) package cream cheese (room temp) 
2 stalks of celery chopped 

 Garnish: minced green onion, cheese and bacon if you have it handy. Bacon bits work too!

(PS. This is day 11 photo) :-)

How to prepare:

In a slow cooker, combine potatoes, broth, soup, onion, celery and pepper. 

Cover, and cook on low for 6 hours.(DO NOT PUT IN CREAM CHEESE YET!)

Stir in cream cheese, cook on high for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until combined. 

Garnish with green onion, cheese and bacon bits if you wish. :-)

Tada!

Deliciousness in a bowl!

Let me know if you try it and add anything super awesome in it to spice it up. Definitely a good meal for a cold Saturday or Sunday while you're watching football!

Enjoy!

xxx

Ryan

Hello Teddy.

Good morning friends! Today I had this whole selfie planned outside with my new 85mm and then my crappy camera remote decided to die. I've got wifi on my 6D and the app on my phone but I still haven't figured that whole mess out yet. I guess I better because my remote is a pain in the butt!

So, since I didn't get to do my fun selfie, I decided to take Teddy out to play. My sister in law, Shawn,  is currently in Africa on a Peace Corps mission until 2015 and she is who got Teddy for Charlie for Christmas. Probably because Charlie kept trying to steal her childhood bear, Norton. Also, Teddy is named Teddy for now because Charlie can't talk to name him, and I like the name Teddy, mainly because of our amazing few years with Teddy B. Teddy and Charlie. Good fit. (More on that later). One day, when she's old enough, she'll probably rename him. But for now, he's Teddy.

So anyway I wanted to capture an image that showed awesome bokeh and this does that. I seriously cannot wait until outdoor portrait session weather. This lens is a gem!

Here is Teddy.

Obviously my backyard isn't awesome for portraits but I love this shot and Teddy was a willing participant.

Well, I guess I better go for now. I have to go pick up my little bug from her grandparents house!

xxx

Don't forget to "Like" my Facebook page and follow my blog!

Ryan