Merry Christmas Eve!! (Didn't have a chance to post!)

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! I am soooo excited for the next 48 hours!!!!! I can't decide what I am most excited for- From Christmas eve mass, to putting out presents for the FIRST TIME for my little baby, to having her rip the present paper to shreds... It is just SOOOOO STINKING EXCITING!

All the side dishes and appetizers I'll be making this year are coming from one of our Local Arizona Farmer's Markets!  This last weekend we went to the one in Scottsdale Arizona that I have written about before!  I love their organic vegetable and fruit selection and I got my hands on some amazing homemade breads, cheeses, and jams for our Christmas Day nosh hour before the main meal!

Even though the market is super busy I braved the crowd with the jogger stroller!  This thing holds so many groceries that I couldn't NOT take it!  Olive was all warm and snuggly in her favorite blanket and puffy vest and got to try a few yummies with mommy!

I tried to get a selfie with Olive in her cutie pie Elmo Vest, but as I looked back at the pics I took I realized- she was covered in snot!  Lovely :)

 

After the farmers market I had to spend the rest of the weekend finishing up Christmas gifts for the kids in the family!  It was a late late night and on the LAST blanket I managed to give myself a war wound- I nearly cut a huge chunk of flesh of my finger!  A few minutes of my hand above my head, a blueberry shortcake bandaid, and some chex-mix later I was back to the grind!

I ended up making 5 blankets in total, the three below and 2 tie blankets not shown!  All purchased on super sale or with a Joann's coupon! Super thrifty heart warming gifts!

1. The Whale blanket is for in Olive's Christmas present ( a teepee!!) It is double sided with fleece on one side and soft fake fur on the other!  It is a super easy project made like a typical pillow! You just sew the edges, turn inside out, and close the remaining seam!
2. The raccoon blanket is also made of fleece and sewn like a sleeping bag!  David's nephew can use it as a double thick blanket or a blanket bag to put his feet in! I just added the bias-ribbon at the top opening to finish it!
3. The Tinkerbell blanket is also made of fleece for David's niece who adores tinkerbell!  Hers was the simplest of all the blankets, I just added the bias-ribbon around the edge of the entire blanket to make the edges more polished!

1.2.

3.

These blankets were so much fun to make and really warmed my heart!  All of my mom's sisters have made me many blankets throughout the years and I wanted to keep the tradition alive in making blankets for David's niece and nephews!  It really gave me a perspective of how much my aunts loved me!

Sunday and Christmas eve eve unfortunately were not as fun as I had dreamed with little baby Olive.  She came down with the flu/stomach bug that her daddy had!  After spending a few hours at the pediatricians we came home to rest and try to rehydrate!

Poor baby was soooo tired and it hurt my heart!  

But once she woke up she was a little better but did not want to leave my side! 

I have no words for this face.....awww

I had a million things to do and presents to wrap before my parents arrived, so she decided she was going to be my little Angel helper!

She loved crawling in all the boxes, trying to rip the paper as I was wrapping,

and wanted to help with the tape!  She was sooo cute! She would hand me the tape dispenser when I needed it and would go back to shaking it in the air after I was done! I had a little fun and put a piece on her hand, until she got angry because it wouldn't come off haha!

Mommy's little helper!

We finally got all the presents wrapped and organized from all 3 families!

I can't wait for everyone to get here tomorrow and share our first Christmas with baby Olive and as hosts!

Hope you have a Merry Christmas!

X, Jamie

Iron Girl Fountain Hills 5k! (A little late in posting!)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years everyone!

So I am a little behind on posting- I had my last few posts written but hadn't uploaded the pictures until yesterday! So here we go.....

December 15th we participated in the Annual Athleta Iron Girl 5k in the beautiful Fountain Hills AZ!  

Flashback AHEAD!

Last year was the first year my mom, dear friends, and I participated (walked) in the event! I was 6 months pregnant with Baby Olive and we had a blast!  This race is so special to me! The Iron Girl Team even printed a racing bib for Olive as a keepsake, I wore her bib on my front and mine on my back.  I knew in my heart I wanted Olive to see how strong she was- even before birth and to know how important it was to be healthy!  Each year we do the race I am putting our medals and race bibs in a shadow box as a reminder of how much I love her and how amazing she is!

This year was extra-super special because it was the first year they allowed strollers in their event so Olive could race along side us!  And of course they urged participants to decorate the strollers!

Gammy-Daughter selfie time!

My mom bought us matching angel wing hoodies from Victoria Secret so we chose an "Angel" theme for our little team!  

We adorned the stroller with white LED lights and white tinsel and of course a matching white outfit and warm weather wear for baby Olive!! 

We were already exhausted pre-race because we dealt with a smelly poopie diaper for the 30 minute drive at 630 am before the race started... oh and I ran out of wipes.... oh and it was 40 degreees! hahah (Oh and I forgot the diaper on top of the car until after the race peeee-ew)

But after we were all cleaned up Olive was sooo cute, nice a toasty, and fell asleep within minutes!

The starting line was crazy- especially since the stroller striders had to stick to the back (we ended up passing a ton of people along the way!)

We would've made better time had we not stopped to take a bunch of pictures! They weren't kidding when they name the place "Fountain Hills" because there are A LOT of hills- it seemed like we only were climbing and never descended! haha

 Remember I am no photographer- these are all from my phone so don't judge my lack of photo taking skills!  But the Fountain was beautiful as we rounded out the race!

Little Olive even got a medal this year for participating!!

 (Her race bib was on the back of the stroller this year!)

We had such a good time- it truly was one of the most amazing days we had together as 3 generations!

Afterwards we wandered to a cute little cafe and sat outside for a scrumptious hot breakfast!

We had to swing by target afterwards to pick up a few things for dinner and the next few days since I was going to be out of town and I stumbled upon this ADORABLE headband and FOX!

"What does the fox say?" hahaha

She carried that fox around the whole store... and everyone kept commenting on how much they loved her Christmas spirit!

Cutest baby ever...she loves target just as much as her mommy does!

Well I hope you check back over the next few days :) I will be posting a lot of Holiday pics and adventures and hopefully will be able to announce my first 5k (that I will run) and training program in the New Year!  Physical Therapy is going slowly-but-surely so hopefully I will have an idea of when I'm clear to get running again soon!

I hope you all have had a great holiday season-I'd love to hear about one of your special traditions!

X, Jamie

Feel the burn! Lunchtime rehab recap!

Oh I feel the burn today!  Yesterday was my second appointment with Endurance Rehab and Lacey my physical therapist is INCREDIBLE! (My first appointment Monday was just a consultation!)  She told me I would feel our workout today, and I definitely do- not as extreme as I was worried about but I definitely can tell my butt muscles are beyond weak!  

A few posts back I mentioned that I have osteoarthritis in my knees and unfortunately have some severe spurs forming.  Even after years of working out and training it was so very shocking to learn and see that my weak glutes and hips are some of the main contributors to my knee problems since I had Olive!  My core and pelvic floor were just annihilated after gaining 34lbs of baby weight so I definitely have a long way to go to get everything in proper form before pounding the pavement again and participating in the Esprit de She triathlon in May!

I wanted to share with you some of the incredible (but super basic) exercises she has me doing to build my fundamental strength!  They all seem super simple, but when you have to hold your butt and abs tight and keep your posture in check some of these moves are downright hard!  

(Disclaimer: I'm not a physician so please consult a Dr. before trying these!)

    

We are doing lots of

 planks: Standard on elbows 2X35 seconds each, L/RSide 2X35 seconds

 butt-squeezing step ups (3x10) and sit to standing (2X10)....

Clam shells (3X10) with bands, 

bridges/ glute raises with bands (3X10)....

A LOT of IT band stretches using the wall, doorways, and the floor, 

and lateral steps (3X10) in both directions with the resistance bands!

 In addition to these moves we are doing a lot of stretching, rolling on a foam roller, and concentrating on changing my bad every day habits (like carrying olive on one hip, turning my knees in when I climb the stairs, and posture).  It will take at least 4 weeks for me to feel a difference she was saying and at least 8 for me to build new and stronger muscle in my weak areas!  I am so excited and am so very thankful to have this opportunity to work with Lacey and Endurance rehab!  I can't wait to get running again while the weather is still cool!

Speaking of core work and baby weight... 

FLASHBACK AHEAD!

 This time last year I was 24 weeks pregnant with Baby Olive and had only gained like 8lbs at this point! 

(I still have 10 lbs of that baby weight to lost to get back to my pre-baby weight!)  

 This picture was taken at David's parents house when we celebrated an early Christmas with them!!  I was working at Pier 1 and had a daily overdose of glitter, candles, yummy Christmas smells, and 24-7 kicks from little Olive!  December was truly one of the most fun months ever!

Keep an eye our for pics from our weekend adventures on Facebook and Instagram!  This weekend is the Iron Girl Fountain Hills 5k-our yearly girls tradition! I can't wait to share our matching outfits we have planned and cruise around with Olive in her decorated stroller!!!!

What do you all have planned this weekend?! (It's not too late to register for the walk/run!)

X, Jamie 

JOY!!!! Snowflake handprint project!

We were on a roll yesterday with crossing things off our Christmas Adventure list- or well at least attempting to cross things off! After waiting for 2 hours at Bass Pro we decided to tackle Santa another day!

However, EXCITEDLY we did finish our snowflake hand-print project!  My mom (gammy) saw this on pinterest and I just had to do it!

All the supplies you need are:

1. A cheap 16"X20"canvas (from like Michaels or Joann fabrics- they're like $3 each with a coupon or sale)

2. Some leftover house paint

3.  Black sharpie or black paint/permanent marker

4. Some garbage bags

5. Non-Toxic washable kids paint (like $3.49 at Walmart for this whole box of colors)! I used white to simulate "snow" however you can use whatever colors you might have decorated your house with, or ones that are your kids favorites!

6. An Apron!

7. Your camera with quick fingers!

 

I have this alcove at the top of our stairs that I have been dying to fill with a painting of some sort!  I have some Christmas decor I wanted to put on the ledge but it needed something more!

I painted the canvas using the same paint we used for the upstairs hallway- we had like almost a gallon left so why let it go to waste!

 (After letting it dry for a few days) Using a sharpie marker then a black chalk marker I chose one of my fav Christmas inspired words and drew it on the canvas!

I threw down two large plastic trash-bags on the floor, squirted some white paint on a plate, and then debated on "what should I dress her in that is easy to take off and I don't care if it gets ruined (just in case). First I though of an elaborate towel tying plan so I could easily put her in the tub after, and then thought about just letting her go around in just a diaper but it was WAY too cold on the tile floor, and then I remembered...

An old apron from my Grandma! Eureka!

I randomly started tying the apron up so it would somewhat fit and OMG she was the cutest little thing ever!

I almost didn't get a "before" picture because she was already trying to faceplant the white paint!

She absolutely hated having her hands wet at first.  She doesn't like to touch wet food either!

But after she realized she could "drum" anywhere she wanted, she went absolutely bonkers!

She couldn't wait to smear her hands all around the plate and was more fascinated with the plate than the canvas!

 She would have brief moments of "I just want to keep my hands in the air" and then go straight into a jam session again!

(mommy helped with a few of her fingerprints)

Truthfully, I could barely snap pictures because from start to finish this whole process lasted less than 3 minutes!!! And she only tried to eat the paint once!

I love the smudge on her nose and how she kept slapping her legs too!

Her final product!

JOY!!  I added some glitter and hairspray to kind of "set" everything and can't wait to share pics of her first masterpiece hanging up with our nook fully decorated!

PS. Clean up was a breeze!  The paint dried quick so I can use the plastic bags again, the few spots that were on the floor came up with ease, and within 30 seconds of plopping her in the tub the paint was gone (no scrubbing even!)! I highly recommend this FUN and easy project!

Too bad that we got all bathed and dressed up for Santa, but didn't get to see him! Ahhh next week!

Keep posted for more of our adventures!  

X, Jamie

Christmas Decorating Sneak Peek!!

Decorating has been in full swing since the week before thanksgiving!  We actually spent the holiday with my parents so it was killing me to think I might have to wait until a whole week into December to start decorating! 

I have always been obsessed with the whites, silvers, and glittery Christmas decor!  Our colors remind me of snow and the coolness of the season with a pop of blue here and there.  When I tell people my decor palette they typically cringe, thinking of the silver trees in Charlie Brown's christmas movie tree lot- but truly it's modern and just makes me giddy!

Here is a sneak peek of our dining table!  I have added another candle to the right vase and actually have some vases from my mom that I'm switching out soon! 

White feather trees from Target 2011, similar found Here!  Pinecones from Slatkin & Co 2010. Silver sequin table runner from Target 2013, placemats found here!

 The tree still needs some filler ornaments but I carried the feathers throughout the house!  I kept throwing around the idea that the wall behind the TV needed something but I didn't want it to be too busy- so I suspended and staggered a few sparkly bulbs from the ceiling!

We are hosting Christmas this year and will have 13 people crammed in our kitchen!! My future MIL gave me these gorgeous chargers last year and I picked up these Anchor plates from Walmart to carry the blue into the kitchen!

I will also be using the Anchor Blue serving for all our delicious side dishes- I hope to have everything match as much as possible!  I can't wait to post pics of the silver and white acrylic snowflake plate I bought Olive for her first Christmas!

FLASHBACK AHEAD!

This flashback is a week overdue! This photo was taken in 2012 in the closet of model for our home!!!  The day after thanksgiving we went and visited our house slab and daydreamed around the models as we did weekly!!  Little Olive finally decided to grow and I was getting bigger (and more tired) by the day if you couldn't tell!  The nausea was finally easing up a bit however! THANK GOD!  I LOVE OUR CLOSET by the way!

Hope all your decorating and planning is going well! I can't wait to share the rest of our decor (and take better pictures using something other than my phone single handed) as well as share more of our Christmas adventures!  So excited to be inspired by everyone else's decor!!

X, Jamie