New Disney Blog

If you were sent to this link for the Disney Information, I've created a new blog!! Here it is! http://thismommydoesdisney.blogspot.com/ Enjoy!

Weight Loss Journey

Ive been struggling with my weight. That is an understatement. I've been "struggling" for about ten years. Pretty much as soon as I started college and realized that gym class and rec sports would no longer keep me in shape. Then there was college living. Dorm Rooms, Drinking, Fast Food. And then there was the big 2-1. 21. Which lasted until I was about 24. Binge drinking every weekend. Smoking. Dancing (drunkinly, not actually enough to burn off the alcohol that I'd consumed.) Hangover food. Regular Food. Then I met Lee and we got comfortable. TOO comfortable. Add in a move to a new town, stress (LOTS of STRESS), Planning a wedding and honeymoon, preparing for a new baby, having sed baby, buying a house, switching jobs.....it all adds up to ME. AT a current weight of: ??? Yeah right, did you really think I would spill those numbers? Anyway, I started feeling pretty poopy. I realized that I"m never going to feel better, or get back all that energy I had in my younger days if I didn't change. So I decided to do just that. Implement Change in my life. I can't tell you how many times I've tried to implement change a little at a time, and "Gradually" add more things into the mix to change. That didn't work for me. I was too lazy. I decided that If I was going to do it, it was going to have to be extreme!

Enter-Jenna Lawrence. Jenna is a Botetourt transplant stuck here in Hampton Roads with me. She feels my pain! Several months ago, she emailed me and asked me if I'd start jogging with her because she wanted to run a 10K. I would like to clarify that NEITHER of us had EVER been runners. EVER. And while I liked her excitement, I pretty much ignored the message until I could figure out what type of lame excuse I could give her NOT to do it. Then it hit me. Maybe I should do this. Its totally out of the box for me. I have no clue what I'm doing. Why not? Then I researched a little bit. A 10K definetly seemed like a ridiculous bit of a stretch for me. Then I saw online where one of my friends started using an app on her I-Phone to train for 5Ks called "Couch to 5K!" I'd actually heard about this several times but the thought of having an app on my phone intrigued me for some reason. So I wrote Jenna back a couple of weeks later and said "Hey, Here's a thought....."

So we hit the ground running! Well, more like hit the ground in general. We decided to meet three times a week at Mount Trashmore Park to run around the lake. Sounds doable enough. The first day was supposed to start us off pretty easy. Any normal runner probably would've laughed at that work-out. I will say though, if Jenna wasn't there struggling through it with me, I probably wouldn't still be doing it. The poor girl runs a good quarter of the mile ahead of me these days, and I'm surprised she still likes meeting me there and putting up with me and my snail pace run! Anyway, that first day I thought "this is only going to get harder. Then its going to get easier. I can do this!" Fast Forward to a couple of months later.. ITS STILL HARD. BUT I've pushed through bad shoes, a knee injury, a back injury, rain-lots of rain, pants that wont stay up while running, and little dogs that chase you. There's been so many days where I want to quit, throw up, pass out, etc. Everytime I think I need to stop and walk (when I really don't because its totally mental) I just thank God over and over in my head, for letting me be ABLE enough to actually run around that lake! Everyone said from the beginning that it would get easier. It still hasn't, but thats the beauty of it. I can now push my body to limits I didn't think possible, and believe it or not I'm starting to enjoy and look forward to running! I'm scheduled to run my first 5K in less than two weeks. I Still have 2 and a half weeks left of my Couch to 5K program. This is more of a practice 5K for me. Basically I'll be trying to finish without dying. And I'd like to not be the last person crossing the finish line, but hey if I am who cares? I'm giving myself permission to walk if I need to and not feel guilty. I have already signed up for several other 5K's throughout the coming year...about one a month so far! I really have no 5K goals...I didn't see my life going in the direction of running...and maybe it wont. I definetly don't have the body type of a runner, and no one says I have to do this forever. But for the time being, I'm enjoying it. Im getting in shape. And I'm being all Healthy and what not. Look out world....here I come! (maybe a little slower than the average human)

Back

Well, If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times! my vowel is to continue to blog again. I always forget how freeing it is to be able to post about life. I really want to blog more often and have decided to really, REALLY, no really, truly, Reallllly try. So once again, here's an update on life here in Virginia Beach with the Hammarbacks :)

I guess I must start with Bauer. He's a vivacious 18 month old now! I can't believe he's halfway to two! This kid has completely stolen our hearts. He's walking, running, talking, and doing all the things he enjoys..for example: Chasing the kitty cats, bike riding, chasing the kitty cats, watching Sesame Street, and Mickey Mouse, working puzzles, building with blocks, chasing the kitty cats, chasing mommy, chasing daddy, laughing, high-fiving, laughing while chasing kitty cats...etc. He's  blast. Now, when I say talking, Bauer really doesn't say a lot in actual "words." I guess at this point, some would be worried, but I"m not. I know he'll start chatting away in his own time, and he does, its in his own gibberish language though. :) And while I'm looking forward to him talking more, I'm enjoying this little phase of his life. He does still say Mama and Daddy and fish. He thinks everything is a fish. If you ask him what a cow says, he'll say BOOOOOO :) its so cute.  He knows pretty much all the animals as far as pointing them out on the IPAD (Which he loves) but he doesn't say the words yet. We know he'll start doing it in time!

Hub is currently working at a new company where he started a few months ago. Hankins and Anderson. He loves it so much more than his last job. He works in Town Center which is a great area for shopping and dining and he loves the people he works with. He even has a great office on the 12th floor with an amazing view. He actually took me up there a few weeks ago for a little date night. We had dinner and went comet watching :)

I also recently started a new job. I'm still with CHKD but I'm now working at a Doctor's office instead of Pediatric Surgery at the hospital. It's actually the Dr's office where Bauer goes as a patient. I really like it, and the best part it, I'm only working part time! 730am to 1130am! Its a great change because I get to pick up Bauer from school and spend the rest of the day with him! Oh yeah, did I mention we started Bauer at a new school? He now attends Courthouse Montessori School In Virginia Beach! He absolutely loves it. He transitioned really well, and we noticed almost right away that he was "talking" more! He loves his Teacher, Mrs. Tina. She has been there a long time and she works great with Bauer. I love picking him up everyday and seeing a big smile on his face as he runs to me! Oh the little things.

I've also recently started a new program called Couch to 5K. Its a program that starts you in interval running and allows you to work your way up to a 5K. I've never been a runner and its not necessarily something I've always wanted to do, but for some reason, I thought I'd like to run a 5K and scratch that off my bucket list. I've actually really enjoyed running and its a great stress reliever. I've been sleeping better and have more energy. I haven't lost really any weight, but I'm trying to eat better and add in some other exercise through the week...that's been my biggest downfall. Im really buckling down though!

Last weekend I went with one of my best friends, Hope, to Florida! I was actually going down there for a wedding for some close friends, but while I was there I couldn't pass up going to DisneyWorld! It was also my birthday, so it was a great way to spend it! We had so much fun, the whole weekend was incredible. Hope and I hadn't seen each other in almost a year and it was something we both really needed. I also got so spend a tiny bit of time with one of my other best friends, Shaylynn :) Mama is having twins any day now!! So excited to meet Cohen and Elsie! I'll be heading back to Roanoke soon for a friends wedding shower and hopefully to meet the two new additions :)

That's all for now..looking forward to more updates soon!

Flash Forward

Blogging fail. Epic Fail. I haven't blogged since April? I will continue to forever blame this on the fact that my laptop hasn't been replaced. It died almost a year ago, and that was the easiest way for me to blog. Now that I have a ONE year old (How time flies!) I don't make it upstairs very often just to sit down and blog. I promise that I'm going to try to start blogging again....starting NOW. Its official. I will do my best to make this happen. In the mean time...I'll be shopping for the perfect laptop!

I would like to take a moment to update you on Bauer. A year ago...he was this:

Now, he is this!

This has been one of the best years of my life. The Best! I love my baby boy! He's not a baby anymore! He's sneaking his way into Toddler-hood. I hope I'm ready for this....We celebrated his birthday party at Jeter Farms in Botetourt. We had  ball....here are some highlights :)

22, 23, 24

Hello, again :) I suppose we will continue to play catch up!

Bauer will be 6 months old this week! I can't believe it!

You love almost every single food we have given you..except for green beans. But you still eat them as long as mommy gives you some sweet potatoes with them :)

You love bananas, carrots, peaches, sweet potatoes, pears, squash, peas...I know I'm probably leaving something out :)

You can hold your own bottle and feed yourself. You're still working on sitting up straight but you can sit up on your own..with a slight lean:)

You're trying to crawl. Mommy is amazed at how hard you try to get up on your knees and crawl. Time to babyproof this place!

STILL NO TEETH...you have been gnawing and chewing on your fingers and drooling for over 3 months now and we haven't seen the first sign of a tooth. I'm positive you'll get it this week while you're staying with your grandparents in Roanoke..of course!

Sometimes you laugh so hard, you can't catch your breath. Its hilarious.

You love Elmo, Nemo, and Hop.

Your hair is growing back in so fast...I'll miss my little bald man :)

We love you sweet boy..you continue to amaze your daddy and I everyday!

Lucky Girl.

I can't believe I've lived in Virginia Beach for three years! I guess I have to officially start calling myself a resident! I moved here on Saint Patrick's Day 2009. It was on a Wednesday. I wasn't going to come down until Saturday (Lee was already here and had been for 2 weeks!) but, I couldn't wait and decided to surprise him! On my drive here, I thought, "Oh No! It's Saint Patrick's Day, he's probably out having fun with some work buddies!" When I showed up, I snuck in the house and up the stairs to happily find my sweet husband to be playing on the computer.. (Shocker!) I couldn't have been happier to see him! What an exciting time...to start our life together in a new city. Newly engaged, planning a wedding, getting married, and no idea we'd be having a precious baby boy in just a couple of years! I consider this day a VERY lucky day indeed. Its always going to have so much history behind it :) Here are two big reasons why I'm so LUCKY! :)

19, 20, 21 :)

Thank you for playing catch-up with me :)

I have a 5 month old now.

He's HUGE.

He eats bananas, carrots, peaches, and the occasional lemon.

He's 19lbs and 27 inches long.

He wears size 6 month-12 months..it varies.

He giggles and laughs and rolls over.

He's still sitting with assistance.

He's teething. He should have a tooth ANY DAY NOW.

He's amazing.

I love him :)

You are now officially updated! :)

18 weeks!

Our sweet boy is 18 weeks old and growing like a weed! Bauer, you are so entertaining! Unfortunately, we weren't able to spend very much time with you this week. Mommy and Daddy were very sick so you spent the week with Grandma Money :) You had a good time with her in North Carolina. You got to spend time with Sir, Grandma's work and church friends, and even got to spend a few hours with Uncle John. He played Mozart and the oboe for you and let you watch the animals on TV. You're so big that Grandma even took you to get some new clothes! You're wearing only 3-6 months and 6-9 months! You get rice cereal in the morning and at night. We can't wait to start you on solid foods because we know you're going to love to eat! You're still sleeping all through the night. This week you slept from about 10pm to 7:30am. We are so lucky that you didn't get sick because everyone around you did. We praise the Lord that he has kept you healthy through this terrible stomach virus! On your first Valentine's Day, mommy got you a new book and a Winnie the Pooh and Piglet friend that you love to chew on. Speaking of chewing, you're chewing on everything and I just know that one day I'm going to wake up and see a little tooth poking through! You rolled over for the first time last night from your back to your tummy! You were so funny. Those chunky thighs and big head give you a hard time! Mommy watched you do it three times but by the time Daddy decided to videotape you, of course you wouldn't do it! You are growing and changing daily and Mommy had a hard time this week not being able to see you! Thank goodness for the Logitech Revue. We got to watch you at Grandma's on the TV every night! You will have your 4 month appointment this week! You were supposed to have it last week but Mommy and Daddy were too sick to take you to the doctor! We can't wait to see how big you've gotten :) Also, this is your last week in this apartment! We are supposed to close on the new house this week and move in next weekend and next week! We are so excited for you to have a big house and place to play :) We love you, Zubba!

A sweet surprise :)

I can't help but be a little sentimental today. Exactly one year ago today, Lee and I found out we were going to be parents. It came as a HUGE shock to us. I remember everything about that day, right down to what I was wearing!! The weird part is that as I'm typing this I'm staring at my beautiful 4 month old boy and watching his Daddy play with him while he squeals :) He's such joy in our lives.

That day, Lee and I woke up and decided to spend the day at Mount Trashmore. I had been doing a vegan diet for a little over week and felt absolutely wonderful! I had just lost 5 pounds and it was a gorgeous day. It was unusually warm for February and lots of people were out and I remember snapping a few pics :)

Little did we know that later that day, we would get some life changing news. When I read the test...I started crying and Lee had a look of shock on his face. It was the scariest and happiest day of our lives. We couldn't believe it. The funny thing is, life wouldn't feel normal without this little guy.

We love you Bauer Ross! :)

Our Love Story

I've seen this on a few other blogs and I planned on doing this for Valentine's Day, but as you know, we were a bit under the weather this week. So I'm doing it now. And by the way..I feel the need to share my feelings on the big V-day and all it's cheesiness. I LOVE it. Pun intended. I've always loved Valentine's Day. I love all the pink and red and doilies and Valentine's cards and chocolate hearts. I may have secretly dubbed it Single's Awareness Day or "SAD" Day, several years in a row, and I may have made black "SAD" day cards for all my friends and co-worker's. I may have even carried a copy of the well known piece of literature called "I Hate Valentine's Day" with me to work on several occasions. BUT, that's when I was bitter and single. Deep down I still loved all the fun that came with Valentine's Day. I can't wait for Bauer to love it too. He already does. Because I got him a sweet little book called "I Ruff You" and a stuffed animal dedicated to all things love. SEE?!! I'm even swayed to buying my son ANIMAL FLUFF! I hate stuffed animals and all the clutter and fluff that goes along with it, but V-day does it to me man, it just does. Cue birdies singing. Anyway..on with the LOVE story <3

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

Lee and I went on our first date, June 15th 2007. We consider ourselves as being together since then because we can't really remember the date that we made our relationship official. 5 years in June...wow :) feels like twenty..

2. How did you meet?

We met at work. For more info on THAT heck of a story you can see our wedding website here

3. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?

We were married in Fincastle, Virginia at the Kyle House. September 5th, 2010. It was a gorgeous day and one of the best days of our lives :) As far as how big...I'd say a decent size. We had 160 guests...lots of attendants..lots of food..and lots of alcohol! LOTS of fun of course! :)

4. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!

We call each other ....Poo...Poop..booboo...it's as ridiculous as that. I don't know why we do. We just always have. :)

5. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

His sense of humor. The man makes me laugh EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. I need that. His Geekery. I love it immensely. And his caring personality. He cares for anyone and everyone and helps anyone he can. I wish this list had more because I could go on forever.. <----whoops! See? It got really "Cheese" there for a minute!!

6. Tell us how he proposed? On one knee. :) Another great story to be told here. I'm too lazy to type today apparently.

7. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.

I planned on making Lee a fancy candle-lit dinner and home-made oreos (HIS FAVE) but since being sick, that didn't really work out. We actually did get to have a light dinner at our favorite mexican restaurant..and had a lovely evening on our couch skyping with our little one :)

8. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?

We did buy gifts for each other this year. We both wanted some stuff for the new house. I'll post about that later :) There was a lot of ETSY involved :)

9. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.

Communicate. EVERYDAY. Even when life is busy..sit down and talk to each other. Not about things that happened that day, but things other than that. Spend quality time together as a family too...we have snoogle time with our little man EVERY night :)

10. Show us a picture of what love means to you.

because you KNOW you wanted to see it just ONE MORE TIME! :) Happy belated Valentine's Day everyone!! :)

Ewwww.

This has been a rough week, folks! It all started last Thursday. I stayed home for work because I had a bad cold....I'm talking (the stay home from work type of bad cold). The next day it was even worse! How could it get any worse? I stayed home Friday and I let Bauer stay with me because he had a pretty decent cold too. Lee left work at noon to come home and help me. In all honesty...I'm pretty sure Saturday we spent the day resting. I made chicken noodle soup for our illness and we had our first snow.

Sunday Morning. DUM DUM DUM. We woke up feeling refreshed and decided to run some errands for the new house. (WE ARE MOVING NEXT WEEKEND...OMG!OMG!OMG!) We looked at some new appliances at Home Depot and decided to stop for a quick lunch at Hardees (it was right there) and head over to Target afterwards. Reason we chose Hardees: (I feel I have to explain myself because WHO really EVER eats at Hardees??) It was literally right next to home depot. Plus, I really wanted a hot-dog. When we got to the drive thru, Lee ordered a Frisco burger which looked REALLY tasty to me so I changed my order at the last minute. We both at the burger. DUM DUM DUM. We went on to Target and after about twenty minutes in the store, Lee said he didn't feel well. I told him to take Bauer to the car and get some fresh air, and I'd meet him in a few after I paid for everything. We didn't even make it home (which takes less than 5 minutes) I had to pull over for Lee to vomit. Of course first, I didn't think anything of it. I dropped him off at home to rest and Bauer and I ran out for one more errand. I came home. Fed Bauer. All of a sudden Lee is throwing up again. 10 minutes later, I'm throwing up. I just knew we had food poisoning. THANK GOD for Nana (see previous post) She came and got Bauer and took him to her place for the night. Lee's mom drove 5 hours from High Point, North Carolina to take care of us! Bless her! I vomited and had diarrhea (I KNOW...TMI..please put down your sandwich) till around 10 that night. Lee did the same until 4am. It was horrific and violent. Not only did I now have a terrible cough, but I had to deal with this. I truly just wanted to lay in the floor and not move, but you know how men are. They're babies when they're sick. I guess my mommy instinct kicked in and in-between vomit sesh's I was taking care of my husband. It took every ounce of strength I could muster. There is no WAY I could have cared for Bauer at this point. Did I mention we only had ONE bathroom. I'm mentioning it now. We have ONE bathroom. Let's just say...I had to make my way to the kitchen sink. I KNOW. HORRIBLE. and let's just say I DID ruin a few pairs of underwear in the process. IT WAS THAT BAD. BTW-if you're new to reading the blog...its not ALWAYS this gross. Only most of the time :) AND I'm an open book...so get used to it.

The next day could only be described as the sunshine that comes after the storm. The really bright kind. The kinda bright that reflects off of day old snow. That blinds you when you walk outside after drinking all night. That kinda bright. It was eerily too bright and my body was very very weak. The fresh air felt good. I even rode down to the ocean front with Julie just to breathe in some salty air. Lee was another story. His body hurt so much from vomiting that he had to stay on the couch. My body did too, but he actually had this far worse than I did. I felt so bad for him. MY heart literally broke for him and I hated seeing him like that. We decided to let Julie take Bauer back to NC with her for the week so we could recover from our "food poisoning" and my insane cough. Which by the way makes me sound like I've smoked 2 packs a day for 28 years. I haven't. A little peace and quiet and restfulness was in order and we received.

Fast forward to Thursday night. My mother in law calls me on Friday morning and tells me that she vomited all night long. Cue the DUM DUM DUM. I work all day Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday with my co-worker, Nikki and friday night I get a text saying that she's been vomiting since 6pm. DUM. DUM. DUUUM.

I'm starting to see a pattern here. I've come to the conclusion that we caught the norovirus. It's going around Virginia like wildfire. There are outbreaks everywhere. There is a 48 hour incubation period and you can spread your symptoms for up to three days after your symptoms stop. They symptoms start suddenly..out of nowhere! You can be sick for up to three days but we all were VIOLENTLY sick for about 14 hours or less. It is HIGHLY contagious. You have been warned. I hope you don't get it. Its probably the worst stomach bug I've EVER had in my life! I'm terrified that my sweet baby is still going to get sick and I'm hoping and praying that's not the case. He's already had one major stomach bug and it killed me to see him so sick. Keep the lysol handy and for goodness sakes...stay home if you get it (although, I don't know how you'll feel like going anywhere).

For the record. I probably wont be eating at Hardees anytime soon. Or EVER. AND-vegetarianism is starting to look better than ever. Fo SHO.

You wish you had a NANA

Before we had Bauer we were worried. Very worried. Worried we wouldn't be able to find anyone to watch him when my maternity leave was over. I mean, who wants to leave their child's life in someone else's hands WHILE they WORK? Not this girl! AND, I'm sure not too many others like myself out there. We waited until the last minute to find someone because I was dreading the process. Then, Care.com came along. (No, I'm not promoting, nor have I been paid to say that) I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but I knew. I KNEW as soon as I saw NaNa's picture that it was meant to be. I didn't even read her stats. I just emailed her and got right down to business. THEN, I read her stats. We interviewed with her a couple days later. I broke down crying in her living room. I wanted my sweet little baby to be in the best hands possible. Well folks..I'd like to introduce you to NANA!

WE. LOVE. HER. Period.

Mary Poppins ain't got nothin' on NANA. (And if you know me, you know how much I LOVE me some MP!) From DAY -1 we felt so comfortable with her. She has been a huge blessing in our lives. I LOVE seeing my baby boy happy everyday..that's how I know he's in good hands. She's so sweet and so caring and honestly..don't know what I'd do without her :) We love you, NANA.

Enough said! :)

What??

Legend.

Snow.

It snowed today! Bauer's first snow and the first snow of 2012! We were so excited just to go outside and let B see the white stuff. I know he would've LOVED to grab a big hunk of it and shove it in his face..but I controlled myself and limited my time to taking thousands of a few pictures. Thumpity Thump THUMP!

a few out-takes

Bauer was in a Glorious mood today when we took his Valentine Photos...so we had a few cute outtakes that we didn't use for our card that we would like to share. Prepare to GUSH. (That means YOU, Briggley Mae Grant!)

Just get a load of those chunky thighs, ladies...he'll steal your heart away :)

Love is in the air

We decided to do a Valentine's Day card to send to our closest family and friends this year. I am not revealing the card to facebook yet..but to all the masses two of you who read the blog..you are getting a sneak peak.. :) If you ARE in fact receiving one of these in the mail..you can expect it around March. Yup. We just ordered them today. Fact. Happy Valentine's Day. Love and be loved. Or as Ellen Degeneres would say..Be kind to one another :)

Super Bowl.

This was Bauer's first superbowl! (duh.) This year, the match-up was between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants. SO. Being that we are Viking fans..it didn't leave us with much of a choice in who to root for. So naturally, we made a mature decision and picked the Patriots. It was the only fabric they had at the fabric store. That's how we made our decision. It would figure that they would lose. I did get great use out of the fabric as seen here...

and here...

We had Seth over for the big "game" and I made sloppy joes, baked beans, fresh salsa and lots of little snacks :) We had a great time...too bad Bauer couldn't hold his alchohol (j/k)...we couldn't resist.