Halloween is almost here!

And I am so excited to get trick-or-treaters for the first time! Growing up we always lived way out in the boonies, so we never had anyone come trick-or-treating at our house and the last 3 years we've had church activities at the time when kids normally trick or treat, but this year our ward Trunk-or-Treat ends at 6:30, which leaves pleanty of time for the kiddos to come a callin! I'm so excited! Last year I waited until the day before Halloween to put up decorations, but this year I'm going to do it as soon as possible! I know, time is already running short, but I still have to make some egg carton spiders and get some nails for hanging my bats. Hopefully I'll be able to whip up a ghost of some kind too, just for fun :) Oh and I need to make sure I've got a ton of candy because one of my neighbors(who has become a sort-of "surrogate grandma" for the boys) said there are a lot of trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood, which makes sense because it's fairly nice and very quiet. She informed me that the only candy she'll be getting this year is animal cookies for my boys and no one else! What a sweetheart!

So this week we've been 'kicked' out of our apartment while they finally fix our falling apart bathroom. We moved out Sunday night with the bare nessesities(TV, laptop, toys, etc :)) and haven't been allowed in there again until this afternoon. They tore out the entire outside wall because of the mold, took out the sink, the mirror and I think our manager said they are taking the toilet too, so although we are allowed to go back in, we are out of a bathroom until next week. So, were are we staying you may ask? We are staying 2 doors down in a unit that was fixed several weeks ago and is now being used for a 'transition unit' until people like us have mold free and beautiful bathrooms of their own. I went inside to check out the work today and was disgusted by what they uncovered behind the mirror. Poor patch jobs and awful paint  that I hope will be fixed. As well as a new shower wall(the old tub is staying even though I'm sure it's been here since the apartements were built in the 40's or 50's), we are getting a beautiful new sink(which is currently sitting in out living room, still in the box), a new medicine cabinent, new linolium and mold resistant paint. I'm still not sure about the toilet, it seems fine to me, but you never know what the professionals will find. They said something about making the mirror smaller too(right now it takes up almost the whole wall from door to shower),though I have no idea how much smaller. I have to admit, I kind of like the size it is now, so I guess we'll see what happens. I'm pretty excited to see the finished job and not have to worry about peeping toms watching me while I'm showering. Did I mention that the reason there was mold in the first place was the big window in the shower? It was frosted, but still, if I could see the shower curtain from outside, I know people could see me showering, especially since the only time I have to shower is late at night. I can't tell you how many times I got freaked out just thinking about it. It was either go without a shower or hope and pray there wasn't acutally some sicko out there watching me. Lets just say I'm not the most pleasant person to be around when I haven't showered. Ick.

Moving on. I've been trying to figure out how to diet without actually having to diet and I'm not sure if I'm going about it the right way, but at least I'm trying. I hate the thought of counting calories and keeping a food journal, just because that seems like too much work, so I've done a bit of research(I think I may be a bit of a research addict) and found some tips for losing weight without actually dieting. Not surprisingly most of it is, or at least should be, common sense things like making sure you eat your fruits and veggies(one site suggested having at least half your plate at lunch and dinner be fruits and/or veggies), drinking lots of water, making sure you get at least 30 min of exersise per day, and turning off the TV so you can focus on and savor your food. How brilliant is that? This was the article I found that was the most helpful, it's called "100 Smartest Diet Tips Ever." I think I'm going to have to print it out and frame it. I've been trying to keep up with my pilates and my yoga, especially since I found out that doing an hour of yoga burns more calories that I thought it did. I still don't get the whole calorie thing, but I know it's important so I'm going to keep it in mind. There are days when I do slack(today was actually the first time in about a week that I actually did my yoga, but I've been doing extra pilates to make up for it) so I make an effort to do better the next day. I still haven't really seen any results, but I know that could still be a while before I do. I know I'm more energized and am willing to do more with Jackson, but having free cable for the week(a convenience for the inconvenience of not having a bathroom) has made that more difficult because I'm prone to veg and lose track of time. Well, it's late, I'm tired and my husband needs to come to bed, so it is time for me to say toodaloo. Til next time, remember "I am a work in progress."

Sweater weather is here to stay!

Brrr! And I thought it was cold when the weather was in the low 70's! For the last week it has dramatically dropped and we are now lucky if the thermometer reads over 50 with the sun shining. Thank goodness for central heating and lots of blankets!

The last few weeks seem to have flown by and so far I'd say I'm doing pretty good on my 'total body makeover,' if that's what you want to call it. I know I still need to do more, but I know even with what I am currently doing it will help at least a little bit. For the last 3 weeks I've been diligent with doing my yoga for an hour every morning after breakfast and usually while Owen is taking his morning nap. I've tried to get Jackson to do it with me but, like any 2 year old, he usually gives up after about 2 seconds and then decide to climb on me when ever I get into a 'climbable' position such as cat pose. I guess he thinks I'm a horse or something. Neigh :) After lunch I've also been doing pretty good with doing some pilates workouts with a resistance band and I am definatly feeling it working. My body is usually a little sore, just to the point that I know it's working even the next day. None of that I'm so sore I can't move stuff, it's much more gentle than I thought it would be, but it's still working. I'm not really seeing results yet, but I think it's probably because I've only been doing it for a week and I'm not nearly as diligent as I should be. That and I have a hard time with a lot of the moves because I'm either not flexible or as strong as I need to be to do them right. I was lazy on Saturday and didn't do either of my DVD's but made up for it by letting Jackson sit on my feet and gave him a ride. I think it was more of a workout than my DVD's are! This morning I skipped my yoga and did extra pilates and I think I liked that better. The pilates workouts are each 10 minutes long, so I can stop between workouts and make sure the boys aren't getting into things I'd rather they stayed out of, like the milk that I stupidly left on the table and in reach of a curious and thirsty 2 year old. Luckily, there wasn't a whole lot left in the jug and he somehow managed to get it all into the glass I also left within reach. He then decided to dip the halloween egg carton bats in the milk to get his drink. Yuck! Needless to say, the milk got thrown out. Good thing we bought new milk last night! Oh the things that boy does.

Anyways, last week Owen discovered the deliciousness of Kix and can't get enough of them! Jackson dumped his bowl of dry cereal all over the floor last Thursday morning and then threw a fit when he discovered that Owen had made his way over to the mess and was promptly eating everything within reach. He was told to pick them up and put them back in his bowl several times but would instead pick up a handful and shove them into his own mouth while still whining about Owen eating the ones still scattered all over. Owen has now decided that anything and everything left on the floor must be eatible and he is the man to eat it. I definatly need to vacuum more often! He is so close to crawling that I say he's crawling anyways. I mean, any forward motion counts doesn't it? He's not on all fours yet, but he's getting pretty quick at the army crawl(pulling with his fore-arms and pushing with his toes and knees) and even managed to make it all the way down the hall and almost into his bedroom yesterday. That's much farther than he's ever tried to go before and I was so proud of him for it. Before I know it he's going to be pulling himself up on stuff and walking! Man time flies so fast. Anyways, once again he's found stuff to eat, so I better go make sure it's eatible. Till next time :)