Great Backyard Renovation of 2011

As I mentioned yesterday on we began the Great Backyard Renovation of 2011 last Friday and pretty much have everything finished! We have lived in our house for just over four years so we decided it was time for a change. We love our backyard but just thought it needed a little facelift so here are a few before and after pictures:

 Before                                                After

 Before                                                After

 Before

                               With the hostas                                   Now with all the plants

                                                                                    Beasley taking is supervisor
                               My pretty puppy                               duties very serious

 The $10 "flower" I bought at the craft fair

It fits perfect with the new flowers!

 Beasley guarding the pond

 The whole pond area post renovation

 You may remember when I posted here about my flowers that I planted and I promised pictures...

:well here they are

Weekend recap on Wednesday

Happy Wednesday! I meant to get this post done on Sunday and schedule it for Monday but as you can see it is already Wednesday and I am just getting around to it!

We didn't have any too exciting planned for last weekend but all the sudden we didn't have a free minute!

Friday
We had Kinley's final swimming lesson and Jason got to go down the big slide with her!

It is pretty funny all and all especially since last Friday when I took Kinley down the slide I was complaining about how fast it was going and Jason laughed at me! Right after he got out of the water he kept saying "that was really fast!" After swimming lessons we ate a quick dinner and put Kinley to bed so we could start the Great Backyard Renovation of 2011. There will be an update coming soon complete with pictures! We didn't get very much done because we were missing a lot of the supplies were were going to need.

Saturday
Each year Old Navy has one Saturday where they have their tanks for $2...yes you read that correct $2! Last year my friend and I attempted to go but at like lunch time and there was NOTHING left so this year we were at Old Navy at 7:00am for the store opening! I ended up get all of this good stuff:

For me: 9 tanks

For Kinley: 3 tanks, new swimming suit, capri pants

For my niece and Kiley: 4th of July shirts

All for $40!!!

Once I got home from stocking up at Old Navy Jason, Kinley and I headed to do more shopping! First on our list was Menards to pick up the things we needed for the yard then a picnic lunch at Sonic. By the time we got done with lunch it was starting to rain so we headed home for nap time. After nap time was over it was dinner time then we headed out to start working on Great Backyard Renovation of 2011. 

As you can see Kinley and her gold fish were a huge help!

Sunday

Another early morning! My friend (the same one that went to Old Navy with me the day before) and I completed our 3rd 5K of the summer! This was the earliest race we have done, it started at 7:00am which meant we left my house at 5:45am! Weekends are suppose to be for sleeping in!

We finished the race in 51 minutes our second fastest time! I felt like this race was really slow but I think it was just because almost the whole race was up hill but I guess we still did great!

After the 5K we headed to the craft fair that was going on in town. It wasn't suppose to start until 10am but by 9:30am the booths were already getting pretty packed. I spend $10 on a really cool sunflower looking thing for the garden, I will post a picture when I do the back yard update. Then we enjoyed a picnic at the park by the craft fair while listening to some local bands and if you couldn't already guess it was nap time again! Kinley and I both enjoyed nice long naps while Jason worked in the backyard. Once we were up from our naps it was time for sand volleyball. The Waterloo Jaycee went 2-1, so we are 13-5 on the season so far. 

Overall we had a great weekend and the best part is we have a newly landscaped backyard! I hope you all had a great weekend and are having a good week so far!

Hodgepodge Friday

It's Friday, Friday. Gotta get down on Friday...ok sorry for the crappy song lyrics but that has been stuck in my head ALL DAY! I don't have anything too exciting to write about but there are a few things floating around my mind so here you go!

Bad Weather Dress
As some of you may remember I went on a little shopping trip and found some awesome dresses! One in particular I was super excited to wear to work. You see I work at a University and their main color is purple and if you notice at the bottom of the dress is has just a hint of purple which would be perfect when you are trying to be a "panther" but not trying too hard.
Well let me just tell you about this little dress...I have worn it twice. First time was about a week after I bought the dress. The temperature had pretty warm so I thought it would be perfect to wear a sundress, well wouldn't you know the day I chose to wear the dress the high ended up being in the 50's! Yes it went from mid-seventies to fifty over night!
So I finally decided to wear the dress again on Thursday oh yeah guess what...no rain in the forecast however it end up down pouring and the high was only in the 60's when it has been mid-80's!
Thus I have deemed my pretty new dress the Bad Weather Dress! 

Sloppy Joe Muffins
Ok, don't say anything before you try them! I know this sounds a little weird but my mother-in-law made them for us a few years ago and we both LOVED them well when I was at the store last weekend I remembered the yummy recipe and decided to give it a try for myself.
Basically you make Sloppy Joe's the same way you normally would by browning the hamburger then adding a can of Manwich. However instead of serving the mix on buns you bake the mix on top of biscuits. I bought the regular "Home Style" biscuits and basically you open a can of biscuits, spray a muffin tin with cooking spray then push one into each hole in a muffin tin then scoop the Sloppy Joe mix on top. I used about two table spoons of Sloppy Joe mix per biscuit then top with cheddar cheese and bake as directed on the biscuit can. I think I baked them for 10 minutes.

This is what they looked like in the pan

And here is the finished product on a plate

 Next time I make them I am going to by the "Grands" biscuits so that the biscuit goes more around the meat. These were still really yummy plus we still had about half the Sloppy Joe mix left for leftover the next day!

Bloom Blog Birthday giveaway
Make sure you all head over to Nicole's blog Bloom Where You Are Planted she is hosting an awesome giveaway!

Lastly,
131/184
You might ask why these numbers are important to you, well let me just tell you. There are only 131 shopping days left until my birthday and 184 shopping days left until Christmas! The last couple of year Jason and I have combined efforts when it come to gifts for our Birthdays (both in November, mine is the 2nd and his is the 30th) and Christmas so we could get one really big gift. Two years ago we were lucky to have his mom buy us a VERY nice camcorder so we could capture Kinley's every movement to share with our family then last year we asked for Best Buy gift cards so we could buy a new TV for our bedroom. We ended up having just over $500 in gift cards! So this year  I wanted to give everyone enough shopping time for both occasion. We will again be asking for gift cards to Best Buy however this year we will be buying a new camera!
See this gift not only benefits us but our family and friends as well. I have a point and shoot that my parents bought me a couple years ago for Christmas that I love! It is small and I can take it anywhere with me, actually it is always in my purse so I don't miss any great picture opportunities. However, the shutter speed is VERY slow! When I am trying to get pictures of Kinley it is just too darn slow to catch the really good pictures thus we are asking for gift cards so I can get one of these beauties:

Cannon:

                                         ESO Rebel T2i                                   

ESO Rebel T3i

or

Nikon:

D5000

D3100

I have been looking at all four of these camera and just can't make a decision. Basically I think it is going to come down to which brand then picking one. If anyone knows more than I do about these four and wants to provide some incite I would love to chat! Anyway, just wanted to give everyone a change to get a jump start on their gift buying and if you would really want to send the gift cards early that would be ok to so we could have the camera for the holidays!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! We don't have any major plans just some house and yard work on Saturday then my 3rd 5K of the summer on Sunday!

My little fish!

My little girl is growing up so fast! She is in her second round of parent/child swimming lessons and yesterday at 13 months went under the water for the first time! I was crazy scared but she loved it! I got a few pictures of her and Jason in the water together tonight.

Blowing bubbles

Kinley and her boyfriend jumping off the side of the pool together

I was also able to get a couple of videos of her jumping off the side of the pool and swimming with Jason. I can't figure out how to get the videos on here so you will have to click HERE and HERE to watch them.

We have two more classes but she is having so much fun that we might need to sign her up for a lesson later in the summer!

WHAT A WEEKEND!

This weekend was so super busy that I feel like I blinked and it was over.

Friday
OH what a day Friday was! I had a semi busy morning at work then headed to a meeting over lunch then took the second half of the day off because I was feeling like poop.  I didn't sleep very well Thursday night then I woke up with a killer headache on Friday so that was a recipe for very long nap Friday afternoon! Once I woke up from my nap it was time for Kinley's swimming lessons! It was Jason's day to get in the water with her but after some bargaining he agreed to let me have Friday! Yeah! The best part, at the end of the lesson our swim teacher turned on the big slide and we went down it together!

We then met up with some of our friends for dinner at a local restaurant then headed to good ol HyVee for some Friday night grocery shopping, yeah you can be jealous! I wanted to hit the hay early since Kim and I were meeting at 6am to leave for our 2nd 5K of the year!

Saturday
Kim and I were invited by our friends Joe and Angie to compete in a 5K to raise funds for and awareness of suicide and suicide prevention. We forgot to take our traditional before picture but oh well! Our time was about four minutes slower than the one we did in April but for good reason Kim sprained her ankle last Sunday and I got a huge blister in the first 1/2 mile!

Yeah pretty gross huh?!?
Time aside we had a lot of fun and had great conversation!

Traditional after picture!

Quick picture with four of us! 

Once we had finished lunch Kim and I headed home and I took a very long nap! Once I woke up we went into major cleaning mode! We had decided last weekend we wanted to have people over for a fire and smore roasting but didn't really think through the idea I would be dead tired! Anyway, some of our very close friends game over for a BBQ, yard games, beer and smore roasting! We had a great time and still made it to bed before mid-night!

The awesome fire Kim and I built

Sunday
Happy Father's Day!
We spent most of the day having family time, which is my most favorite way to spend the weekend! We headed to church then Kinley wanted to take Jason to Godfather's for lunch then it was home for nap time! I am beyond thankful that Kinley takes two hour naps in the afternoon because that is also my nap time! Once nap time was over it was time for Jason and I to head to sand volleyball. Our team went 3-0 and we are now 11-4 overall on this season! We decided to skip going for celebratory drink and take time to skype with our dad's. We enjoyed talking to all three of them!

Overall it was a great weekend, very busy but great! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm linking up with Jamie for What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm Loving my new Trevis Tumbler I got at J C Penny this weekend! Seriously how cute it this!

  

I'm Loving that my friend and I are doing our second 5K of this year together on Saturday! This 5K is in a small town about 15 minutes from where we live. The town has 816 people who live there and there are currently almost 600 people signed up for the race! Holy Cow! 

I'm Loving Kinley is taking her second round of swimming lessons for the next two weeks! It is a parent/kid class so Jason and I alternate which night we get in with her which is great extra exercise for me, bonus!

I'm Loving the swimsuit that my parents got Kinley for her birthday.

I'm Loving that Kinley, Beasley and I get to celebrate Jason's 2nd Father's Day with him this Sunday! I can't wait to give him the gift that we bought him, I think he is going to Love it!

most of all...

I'm Loving my old co-worker is coming to visit tomorrow! I got to see her in May for graduation but I have really been missing our summer morning coffee talks so tomorrow we get to spend the WHOLE day together! We are doing Starbucks for coffee, then watching the beginning of orientation, then lunch at the dinning center then an afternoon full of visiting people around campus! Oh I can't wait for a fun filled day!

Lastly...

I'm Loving the Blogger Meet & Greek that Michelle over at a little bit of this & that is hosting

Have a fabulous Wednesday!

Meet & Greet

Michelle over at a little bit of this & that is hosting s run blog hop so I thought I would join in to in hopes of finding some great new blogs to stalk follow and hopefully meet some new people!

 

Hi everyone! I am Jessie, a 20 something (almost not 20 something) wife and mother. I started Journey to Fit and Fabulous in July 2010 on one of my first days back at work after coming back from maternity leave. I had actually been blogging for about 10 months before that at my first blog, The Stinson Family Adventures which I started on September 4, 2009 which was two days after we found out we were pregnant!  You can read my very first blog post here. I started The Stinson Family Adventures to keep our family and friends informed about our pregnancy and then once Kinley was born about our lives what I found after I came back to work after having Kinley is I needed an outlet for myself. Something that didn't have to do with our family but it might. Something where I could put the very random thoughts in my head on "paper" as well as journal about my journey to getting back to my preKinley body and from that Journey to Fit and Fabulous was born.

 

I started blogging because I had stalked a few blogs for awhile and thought I loved the idea of being able journal about my thoughts, feelings, and things going on in my life. It was an easy way to share information with lots of people all at the same time. When I started blogging I had no idea how much I would enjoy it. I mean I was excited about the idea of being able to share information but did I really want to put everything out there but I can say that I love my experience and the women I have "met" through blogging!

Some of my favorite posts I have written are...

Meet Jessie

My Friends

ABC's of Jessie
Shoes, Shoes and more shoes
A Birthday Fit For a Princess

Things I love to blog about...

Kinley

My Family

Beasley

Friends

If you want to learn even more check out the 30 Day Blog Challenge I did with Katie. This link will take you to day 1 and you can learn all bout me though the 30 days!

 I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday and I cannot wait to "meet" you!

Friends

Beware random thoughts to come. I'm not sure where all these thoughts and feelings are coming from but I just have to put them down on "paper" so please forgive me if some of this doesn't make sense.

Tonight while watching the Bachelorette (totally boring but we will leave that for another post) I started looking back at all 1009 photos that I am tagged in on Facebook. I started to think about all the friends that I have all over the world and how relationships and friendships change over time. Of course people and friendships change overtime but I got to thinking about what do some of these people mean to me, how do they fit in my life, what was their purpose in my life. 

There is a great quote that started to weigh on my mind as I was looking though these pictures

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go. 

Some stay for a while and leave footprints on our hearts. 

And we are never, ever the same." 

-Unknown  

I have very different friendships with every one of my friends. Jason often accuses me of calling people "friends" when I have only met them once but that is how I live my life. I don't believe that people can have too many friends. I do believe that it is ok to call someone a friend after only meeting them once. I also believe in the quote above that some people come and go quickly and some stay for a while but either way I am not the same person I was before I met that person. What I wish is to know if that person is suppose to come and go quickly or if it is a friendship I am suppose to fight for and keep our friendship alive.

For example I have several different groups of friends. High school, college, sorority sisters, Greek Life at ESU, communication (my major), camp, grad school, fraternity/sorority professionals, UNI, Jaycees. I like categories. I like keeping my friends in their category and I don't like the categories to cross. I am also really bad at fighting for friendships. Once that phase of my life is over, for the most part I let those friendships go. The are a few exceptions to that rule and sometimes that makes me sad. Sometimes I wonder if I should fight harder to keep friendship alive. Don't get me wrong, I have only once wrote someone out of my life. For the most part my friendships don't end they are just put on pause until we have a reason to interact again. At any minute I could call one of those past friendship and have a great conversation but that is just it, I don't pick the phone up, I don't write, I don't make an effort.

Now I can't totally be to blame because those other people don't pick up the phone, don't write and don't make an effort but if I am the one wanting the friendship to continue should I be the one to open that door? This brings me back to my original question: what friendships am I suppose to fight for and what friendships are only suppose to be there for a short time. 

What is in a name...

I have seen this a few times so I thought I would join in! 

How did you parents decide on your name?

My maiden name is James so my dad wanted my name to be Jessie but my mom said they wanted to give me options so the named me Jessica but I have always gone by Jessie. My middle name is my mom's and now my daughters.

Do your initials (first/middle/last) spell anything funny?

No, they used to be JRJ and are now JRS, nothing funny there.

Did you take your middle name from childhood or did you drop your middle name and take your maiden name as your middle name? (Or if unmarried, what do you plan to do?)

I had always thought I would take my husbands last name as mine because I knew I wanted to keep my middle name since it was my mom's and I had planned if I ever had a daughter for it to be her middle name as well. Then I got engaged and I didn't want to give up my last name, it was my identity. After months of deliberation I ended up keeping my middle name and taking my husband's last name and I am very happy with my decision.

Are you or will you name your children systematicallIy (ie, same first letter, same origin, etc?)

No. I we just went with what we liked and if we have more we will do the same.

Did you decide on names as a little girl? Did you stick to them or change your mind?

When I was a little girl I was set I would name my little girl Annie or Ann after Father of the Bride but of course that changed over time and I'm glad I changed my mind!

Does your family have any names that have been passed down through generations?

Not on my side of the family but in my husband's family the oldest son had the dad's first name as his middle name. For example: Keith Dale, Jason Keith then our son with be something Jason.
PS-do you know how hard it is to find a good name to go with Jason as the middle name?!?

Do you look at the meaning of the name or just the name itself?

We did look at the meanings of names but that wasn't a deciding factor for us.

Do you name pet names with human names or dog names?

Not as a child growing up (Smokey, Bandit, Pepper, Duke) but Beasley is named after a K-State basketball player.

Are there any names that you have an affinity or dislike for based on a childhood experience or someone you once knew?

Yes, of course! I since I work with hundreds of students each year there was a laundry list of names that were not even an option!

What are some of your favorite names and why?

When I was pregnant with Kinley we could only ever agree on her name which we chose when I was 11 or 12 weeks along but we never agreed on a boys name so it is a very good thing we ended up with a girl! We didn't tell anyone her name until she was born so we made a list from A to Z with a name for each letter then let people see that list with K being Kinley. There ended up being a few other names that we really liked off that list so if we have another girl we are set!

A Woman Should...

TGIF Friends! I don't know about you but I am so excited it is the weekend! We don't have any major plans for the weekend but more family time! I wanted to leave you with this that I found a few weeks ago and I fell in love! Have a great weekend!

{A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE}

...enough money within her control to move out and rent a place of her own even if she never wants/needs to...

...something perfect to wear if the employer or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...

...a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to retelling it in her old age...

...a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...

...one friend who always makes her laugh ... and one who lets her cry...

...a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family...

...eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honored...

{EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW}

..how to quit a job, break up with a lover, and confront a friend ... without ruining the friendship...

...when to try harder ... and when to walk away...

...that she can't change the length of her calves, the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents...

...that her childhood may not have been perfect...but its over...

...how to live alone... even if she doesn't like it...

...whom she can trust, whom she can't, and why she shouldn't take it personally...

...what she can and can't accomplish in a day... a month...and a year...

Monkey see, Money do

Apparently cousins will be cousins! Just take a look at the two pictures below and you will see what I mean.

 Last Thursday night Kinley was helping with dishes, she likes to push the drawers in. shut the door and play with the lid of the dish soap container. Well, she was helping when Jason and I turn our backs for two seconds to find this:

Well I sent it to my sister and and she sent this back to me:

Apparently, Ebony likes to help with the dishes also!

Grandma and Papa's visit in April

This post is WAY WAY WAY overdue!

My parents came to visit the last weekend in April. They left KS after work on Thursday night so they didn't arrive at our house until almost 1:30am! Unfortunately, this was a super busy time for both Jason and I at work so we couldn't afford to take the day off on Friday but Kinley got to enjoy a day with Grandma and Papa.

morning cuddling with Grandma

Playtime with Papa

Grandma & Papa took me shopping and I took a nap

Riding my 4 wheeler Grandma & Papa bought me for Christmas

My pretty flowers

Playing on the swing Grandma & Papa got me for my early birthday present

We had a great weekend with my parents and were so glad they were able to get away for a few days to come to IA! We can't wait for the next time they come back!