Graduation!!!

Brian is (almost) graduated!!!!! He walked at least, but he is still writing his dissertation, so we'll be VERY excited for when he's done with that. However, we'll talk about his defense when it's done. May 9th. May 9th! Can't wait.

Graduation was wonderful and eventful. I can't believe that after 6 years he's finally done! I'm so proud of him and he's been such a hard worker. Writing a dissertation is horrible and I can't wait 'til it's over, but I think he deserves a long vacation. 

His parents came out here and it was so much fun to have them here! It's always too busy and too short of a stay. I can't wait 'til we're in our new place and can enjoy all that Dallas has to offer and do it with family. 

CONGRATULATIONS, Brian! You're amazing!

Weight Watchers: Weeks 1 and 2

So, I'm not sure if there is a person alive who misses crappy food as much as I do. Ok, maybe my mom. And maybe my best friend. And maybe that girl I saw at Ikea who I heard had just started weight watchers and was starving at the end of the day. So....the four of us. :)

Anyway, I thought I'd just, you know, document how far I've come since starting 2 weeks ago. If I ever stop and start this thing again in the far future, I'll be able to look back and remember that I didn't die of starvation.

Day 1. Oh....day one....how cruel you are. If ever people start and stop weight watchers, it's gotta be within the first 2 days. I seriously thought I was going to starve to death or turn red from eating my weight in strawberries. I was soooooo hungry!!!!! I felt as if I would never get enough food to sustain life. I was ornery. Brian was understanding. He would ask what was wrong and immediately answer his question, "Oh yeah....you're hungry. This will take some getting used to." He has been very supportive (until he eats all those delicious looking Doritos...curse).

I have also been doing Jillian Michael's 30 day shred because I also want to tone those lovely love handles out of my life and dieting alone isn't going to do it for me. I also thought I was going to die on the first day of this too. Never has that amount of liquid left my body from sweating. Never.

Days 3-7: MUCH BETTTER! Ah! 26 points are starting to seem like quite a bit of food these days. Funny. I never realized how much unintentional snacking I did...all day long. Food is always on the brain since I'm just a fat kid at heart. I'm not that person who eats an apple for my extra 2 points at night. No, no. I ate my jelly beans and they tasted like heaven....all 13 of them.

Week 2: Weekends are hard. Babyshowers and birthdays make it harder because all those darn sweets just taste soooo good! Oh, those 14 M&M's for far too many points made my entire weekend evolve into a tasty bubble of sweetness that made my brain burst with happiness.

By this time I have lost 5 pounds and my 30 day shred workouts are making a huge difference! I'm not dying with every hop, skip and jump. I can feel myself getting stronger and heaven only knows how far I've come with crunches. My pants are fitting loosely and I'm feeling more confident. I went down a dress size and I can't say enough how much I love that!

So, needless to say, I love weight watchers. LOVE IT. I'm a little obsessed with it. I thought it would be so annoying to count everything and measure my food, but it's good, healthy, and fun.

I do have two sort of after thoughts. The first: Why is it that when you loose weight, it always comes off of my bust first? Doesn't your body know that all of the fat should transfer up there and make you more busty? Goodness. Someday I hope that I figure that one out.

Second: POPCHIPS. They are delicious and....dare I say it....a health(ier) chip! Try 'em.

Family Pictures

We had our family pictures taken last month and I'm completely in love with them. My friend Kayla took our pictures and I just love that she does such a good job and got BOTH of our children to smile. 

One of my fav's

Look at those baby blues!

The only picture we got of the two kids together. Why? Because Claire wanted to run around and Jared wanted to eat moss. 

Toward the end. This picture sums up how the kids were (if you can see them both screaming). It was sooooo cold, so they were being such good sports.

Jared's Birthday/Easter

I just can't believe what a blog slacker I've been. Having two kids, teaching piano, being in the primary presidency, and trying to pack has proven to be a blog killer. Sorry for the lack of pictures from the Anderson family (as if we've even been missed, right). 

Jared turned 1 on March 20th, which I did write about, but we did also have a party! It was fun and he was so much cleaner on the cake eating than Claire was. I'm hoping that he's just a little ogre of a cake eater when he turns 2. :) 

He is still so small. Only 6th percentile for height and 15th percentile for weight at 19 lbs. 1 oz. I'm sure he'll hit a growth spurt any day and play for the NBA....right?

A monkey cake for my little monkey. Turned out better than I expected for only having an hour to frost it. 

 He loves that new ball!

So clean.

This is just about as messy as he got. Pretty darn clean.

 I don't know when this picture was taken, but how uncomfortable. She's on an ottoman and most of her body was hanging off. She stirred, it wiggled, she jerked, and stayed asleep. Thank goodness for warm days that exhaust children.

Easter was pretty fun. I think we're starting a tradition of never making it to the city egg hunt and having one in the neighborhood. Both kids really liked finding eggs and Claire was so excited to see all the candy inside of it. Yes, I'm one of THOSE mothers who allow their children candy. I know, I know. I say whatever to that. Claire and I bond while eating jelly beans and we both love it.

 I couldn't resisit. Look at those saggy pants!!! So funny!

Jared looks just like grandpa!

Kiss that egg, Claire!

Uh...I Joined Weight Watchers

Thanks to my dear friend Lindsey, I have finally took the plunge. It's not that I think I'm terribly overweight, but I'm just a little bit more "rough around the edges" than what I'd like to be. I've been doing this for a whole 4 days and it's getting easier and easier. The first day? Well, it was hungry and ornery. I didn't realize how much I snack every day!!!! Oh. My. Gosh! If the world were snacks, it would be gone in one day with just me munching. I ate so many strawberries during lunch that I just may have started to turn red. Maybe.

Brian asked me what was wrong and answered himself like this, "Oh....I guess I'm just going to have to get used to this. (sigh) What an adjustment." He was talking about be being ornery. Starting a diet and having that womanly part of the month on the same day was, shall we call it a blessing because we got it over in just one whammy? Well, I guess that depends on who you talk to. Good thing conference came this weekend telling me to be a better person and a better wife or I'm sure the family wouldn't have survived.

So, it's kind of fun, this whole keeping score thing. It's fun to know where I'm at and fun to see what I can make up. Super huge help as far as my 3 pounds already lost are! But...

Oh food....I miss thee.