Devils Millhopper Hike May 6, 2017

So this post is super delayed as we went hiking here in May but I want to start keeping up here again and wanted to share our experience!


Devils Millhopper is a state park here in Gainsville, Florida. Since being on my weight loss journey we have been doing a ton of hiking. I found Devils Millhopper just scrolling through state parks that had unique natural lush hiking trails. We live about 1 hour and 45 minutes away from the park but we knew we wanted to make the day trip to explore it.

Weight watchers week 1 & 2 update!

Weight watchers week 1 & 2 update:

I seriously can't believe I'm going into week 3 tracking on weight watchers! It's crazy how less stressed I've been about food. I've been feeling good and still losing weight even though I have done a complete 180 on what I was "allowing" myself to eat. I'm so happy with how things are going and my relationship with food is getting better everyday.

A big non scale victory has been being able to talk myself out of binging. Like on the verge of doing it, thinking about it for hours and then be so close to putting the food in my mouth and then throwing it out or putting it back. My mind is becoming stronger and I'm becoming more accountable to MYSELF.

I always hear people saying to just throw out the food that tempts you or just don't allow into the house. Well when you have kids it's different, I can't take away their snacks and I will not make them conform my weight loss food regime. They are only 5 and 3 and as kids they can have those type of things, they are just kids.

So back to the updates for my 2 weeks. Week 1 I lost 6.3 pounds and week 2 I lost 2.8 pounds.

My starting weight was on 1/13/17 at 255.6 and my weighin on 1/31/17 was 246.5 so I've lost a total of 9.1 pounds since starting weight watchers.


                                                               Week 1 weighin

Week 2 weighin 

Jade turns 5

Jades 5th Birthday!

On January 10th Jade turned 5, my oh my where does the time go? It's crazy because I still can remember the days I was pregnant with her like it was yesterday. She is very quiet and creative. She loves to color, draw, write and she loves little toys her current favorites are chubby puppies. Her 5 year well check is next week so I'll update her stats then :)

We celebrated the night of her birthday with cupcakes but had her actual Birthday party this past weekend. It was super fun and we got to make use of our new roof on our deck. We did a rainbow theme and she was super excited because we kept it 100% a secret!

I still can't believe she is half a decade old, it's so crazy. My baby girl is growing up!

Weight Watchers Day 1 & 2

January 18, 2017

Today was my second full day tracking with weight watchers and being back on my exercise routine since getting hurt last week. 

Eating wise, tracking my food has been super easy on the WW app. My first day I had 7 points left over, today I used every last one of my 42 daily points. I feel full and satisfied. I wanted to try weight watchers to build a better relationship with food. I have a problem with thinking I'm eating too much. When I'm 100% on track I get so focused on the numbers that I think that counteracts the whole reason I'm trying to lose weight. I want to lose weight to be healthy - mind, body and soul. So getting caught up in the numbers really messes with my head. I found myself getting upset in the morning and I weighed .5 more than I did the day before. Ridiculous right? But in my head to me it's a big deal and that's the mid set I'm trying to shift away from. I have a very all or nothing attitude. I struggle with binge eating and have for along time. Which coupled with my anxiety, depression, and then 2 pregnancies in 2 years is what led me here where I am today health wise. And honestly I was just lazy, I wanted a quick fix. I didn't want to do the work. I've come so far from that mindset in the past 4 months, I still struggle with it but my good days outweigh the bad. But now I need to steer away from the obsessing over numbers, calories, workouts, food etc and just focus on healthy habits. Being active, but not spending so much time thinking of when and how I'm going to workout and how long or how many calories I need to burn. To me that's not healthy either. I just want to find a happy medium, and LIVE life. I feel like I haven't been living, I've just been existing and I really want to enjoy my life with my family. That's the whole goal here. 

Exercise - I have felt so much better since last Thursday when I hurt myself. I had all intentions on getting back into my exercise routine on Monday but had a very emotional day and put it off. So Tuesday (also first day tracking WW) was my first day back to working out. I've been taking it easy and doing light cardio just because I'm nervous to get hurt. Hopefully if all goes well this week I will be incorporating my higher intensity workouts next week. 

On our walk today I was taking a photo of Cash and he just gave me the biggest smile and thumbs up. It really melted my heart a little bit. Ive been kinda down about my progress this past month but he showed me today that no matter how everything is going as long as I'm trying I should be proud. Him and jade both are always encouraging me to be better even though they don't know it and don't do it intentionally. It's really crazy how kids can do that. I need to star being proud of my accomplishments again even if they are small. My mentality has been so negative since Christmas that I've just been taking everything so harsh and I think that's one reason my progress has slowed as well. Definitely working on the mentality aspect hardcore this week so I can get back to being all positive. 

Weighin - I plan to weighin on Tuesdays. So I'm really hoping by next Tuesday I will be back at 250. I've been gaining and losing the same 10 pounds for about a month now. I'm so ready to get into the 240s and keeping up the momentum from there on for the next few months. 

In October I will be the maid of honor in my best friends wedding so my goal for then is to be 201. That will put me at 100 pounds down, it's a crazy goal that I hope is achievable. This summer I will be going up to New York to go dress shopping so I would like to be 230ish by then. 

Setting goals is very important for me, I feel like it gives me something to work towards! 

Cash : Age 3

Weight loss + weight watchers?!

So it's been awhile since I've updated here but this is going to become a regular thing as I feel it's important to keep up here for not only myself and family in the long run but also in case my weightloss journey can help anyone out there :)

On October 7, 2016 I fully commuted to a healthier lifestyle. I invested in myself and bought a program that cost me $100s of dollars. I wanted to have something to keep myself accountable. Unfortunately that system didn't sit well with my body and I was in extreme stomach pain within the first week so I decided to cut it out and just try healthy eating habits and exercise. I have tried to lose weight so many times and quit within the first month (hence why I shelled out money to "try" and make it harder for me to give up) but once I stopped using the system I was nervous my binge eating would creep back in and my mind set would go down hill. Thankfully I was able to keep my mind right and keep chugging along. I had saved my birthday money from September (I started making more conscious health decisions in September) and instead of eating out with it I saved until I had enough to buy a Fitbit without having to take a big chunk from our family needs. Now let me just start off by saying this Fitbit has been SO motivating. It is definitely worth the investment to me.

These past few months have been super trying, I've had good days and bad days but the good outweighs the bad and that's how I know I'm on the right track. I will do some more in depth posts about what I eat and my exercise routine :)

What I eat brings me to my next point, I decided to join weight watchers today just so I can learn healthier eating habits. I want this to be a lifestyle change and I know I need to work on my relationship with food so I thought this would be a great way to start. So today January 14,2017 is my first day of weight watchers. I get as of right now 43 daily points and 42 weekly points. I weighed in  alittle but over my lowest weighin from last week (last night was cheat meal, pizza night) so 254.7. I look forward to learning a lot in this new part of my journey.

Starting weight - 301.8
Lowest weight - 250.7
Current weight - 254.7

Here's a before and during photo (black outfit was taken last week)
before and during photos on my Instagram click here!

- Ivy 

Crochet baby carrier pattern **FREE**

I've been meaning to get back into my blogging and I've had lots of requests for this pattern so I figured this would be the best place to get it out there and give me that push to start blogging again!

My daughter absolutely LOVES this baby carrier. She is constantly toting her babies around and now she can still play, and carry other things while having her baby close! I've also made one for my niece and now my son is requesting one so his is up next :) These are super fast and easy to make, I can make one in about 1.5 hours.

You will need
• 1 skein of loops and threads impeccable yarn
• size k or 6.5mm hook
• scissors
• darning needle
• 2 buttons


This pattern was written out while making one for my son who is almost 3 so it should fit 2-4 years.

if you need it bigger just add a few stitches too the end, don't forget to lengthen the arm straps as well if your making it larger.


Waist strap

•Row 1 - chain 55
•Row 2- HDC across, ch 1, turn work
•Row 3 - HDC across, ch 1, turn work
•Row 4 - DC across, ch 1, turn work
•Row 5 - HDC across, ch 1, turn work
•Row 6 - HDC across, ch 1, turn work
•Row 7 - HDC across, ch 1, tie off



Top piece, attached to waist strap

Fold work in half, count 6 stitches over on each side and mark with stitch markers.

•Row 1 -  fasten yarn. HDC across to other stitch marker, ch 2, turn work
•Row 2 - DC across, ch 1, turn work
•Row 3 - HDC across, ch 2, turn work
• Row 4 - DC across, ch 1, turn work
•Row 5 - HDC across, ch 2, turn work
•Row 6 - DC across, ch 1, turn work
•Row 7 - HDC across, ch 1, turn work
•Row 8 - DC across, ch 1, turn work
•Row 9 - HDC across, ch 2, turn work
•Row 10 - DC across, ch 1, turn work
•Row 11 - HDC across, ch 2, turn work
•Row 12 - DC across, tie off



Arm straps (make 2)

•Row 1 - Chain 40
•Row 2 - HDC across, ch 2, turn work
• Row 3 - DC across, tie off


Sew arm straps into body piece. Attach button on back of waist strap onto the DC row. Attach second button to the middle of one of the arm straps keep support  ensure the arm straps don't fall down the shoulders when your child is wearing their baby.

Happy hooking!
- Ivy

facebook.com/mommadecrochetcreations

Cash Alexander 10 months old!

Cash Alexander 10 months old:

Weight - 22 lbs lbs

Length - 30 1/2 inches long

Diapers - Size 5

Clothes - 18 months!

So this little boy is a teething machine! He has gotten 3 more teeth since last month and he has one more on the top ready to poke through! He is still sleeping really well, 2 naps during the day between 2-3 hours each then he sleeps for 10+ hours at night time! I am so glad teething hasn't affected his sleep schedule because he is SO cranky when he is tired! He is a speed crawler, still crawling everywhere and getting into EVERYTHING. His new thing this past month is pulling his self up on any and everything including the stand up lamp which has fallen over onto him, the trash can which has also fallen over multiple times (I ended up moving it into the laundry room behind the door) He is so mischievous, and is a lot more hyper than Jade was. 

He's learned so much this past month it's insane. He is starting to catch onto things so that is really exciting. It's so fun to watch them learn new things and then be excited to do it. Everytime someone says "yaayyy!" he starts clapping uncontrollably and smiling and giggling, it is the cutest thing ever. I'm sad knowing that soon he's going to be walking and talking, becoming more independent. Soon he will not be my little baby anymore but I am so happy and feel so blessed to be able to watch him grow and learn everyday. Only 2 more months and then these updates will not be monthly anymore, I can't believe he will be 1 so soon! 

2 ingredient Banana bread pancakes!

So last night I was having a major craving for pancakes. It was 11pm and Aaron was at work, both kids were sleeping and I had no pancake mix! So I scavenged my pantry for something, anything that would make my pancakes and I didn't even have all the ingredients to do made from scratch pancakes. Well I came across this little package of banana walnut muffin mix that I use to make Jade mini muffins that cost about .98 cents at Walmart (instead of buying those tiny muffins already made for over$5!) so I had the idea to just use that for pancakes. It worked, and it was soooooo good!

You will need:

• One package of banana walnut muffin mix
• 1 cup of water

Optional for topping:

• Cinnamon
• Banana

This will literally only take you maybe 5 minutes from start to finish (including cooking time!)

1. Take your mix and all you have to do is add water and stir it up!
2. Grease your skillet or griddle, use about 1/3 c of mix and cook on each side for 1-2 minutes
3. Stack them, add any toppings you like (I used banana, butter and cinnamon because I had no syrup!)

And this is what you have!

This recipe using one muffin mix yielded 6 larger size pancakes, enough for 2 adults I would say. 

While I love making scratch home made banana bread (one of my favorite things to bake!) this was super fast, super easy, super cheap and it tasted really really good! This would be perfect for Sunday morning pancake breakfast, if you're looking to jazz up your pancakes really easily this is perfect!

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! :)

July 4, 2014!

We had a very eventful 4th of July over here. Lets just start by saying it rained ALOT. On July 3, we went to watch fireworks and go to the Freedom festival at one of our malls in the area and let me just say it was chaotic. It poured rain the whole way there, we almost turned around because it was so bad. When we got there we decided to eat since it was still raining (it is an outside mall) all of the restaurants lines were super long, there was no seating anywhere it was madness. Aaron ended up standing in line at Moes (one of our favorite places) for well over 30 minutes to get food while the kids and I sat at an outside table with one of their umbrellas(luckily it was only sprinkling now and no thunder or lightning!) Once we had got done eating it was around 9pm the time fireworks were supposed to start but since it had been storming really bad they were delayed until they had gotten clearance from the fire department, so we just ended up walking around for about 30 minutes to find a good spot to watch. We were really beginning to think the weren't going to do them when all of a sudden you hear the booms and the flashing lights! The kids were SO excited. i was a little nervous about Jade because it was her first time really seeing fireworks but she loved it, and Cash really surprised me he just sat in his stroller mesmerized by the fireworks he didn't even cry once! We had also taken my nephew Noah who is almost 4 and of course he loved it, all the kids had a good time and when it was over Jade said"Do it again!" She was so sad to leave. The way their faces lit up made the whole process of waiting, rain and everything else all worth it I couldn't help but have a huge smile on my face. I was so happy for them :)

Now onto July 4, Jade woke up excited to see Fireworks again it was a chore to keep her occupied until we left at 5:30pm. Once again it pored on the way to the fairgrounds and not only was it pouring but it was thundering and lightning. By the time we had gotten to the fairgrounds it was just drizzling so we walked around (the had animals,bounce houses, and a fair going as well) for awhile and then the guys took the kids to get balloon animals while me, my sister, my friend and Cash went to set up our area to watch fireworks. Well it started pouring but we stuck it out and hid under our umbrellas and it would lighten up and then start pouring again but we were determined to let the kids see fireworks again and they were having fun playing in the rain and wet grass so we stuck it out. Around 9pm (scheduled firework time) still no fireworks, at about 9:10pm it literally started down pouring. The guys took all the kids to go under the shelter and us girls stayed because I just had a feeling it wouldn't last long. I'd say about 30-40% of the people had packed up and left at that point but not us! Sure enough the rain only lasted maybe 15min and the guys and kids had came back, Aaron went to talk to some of the guys up by the stage to see about time frame for Fireworks and they told him any minute, around 9:30-9:45 all the lights went out everyone started clapping and fireworks began. The kids were so so so excited they were so anxious to see them and again all of the kids did awesome no melt downs or anything!

All in all we had a good time although it was a little stressful because of all the rain but that's Florida weather for ya! And of course the past 2 days, hardly any rain!! Well I've been crazily packing and trying to get the house in order, we're leaving for Georgia for a few days. Possibly some big life changing things going on so I'm nervous and excited to see what happens. I hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th of July! And now for the fun part of the post, pictures!!

July 4, 2014

July 3, 2014 

Looking back at June!

This month seemed to fly by! Our family has gone through a lot of changes this past month. Aaron started a new job after spending half his life literally at his previous job (he had been working there since he was 14, now he's 28). He's also gotten sick twice this month which is really unusual since he NEVER gets sick but you know going through this big change there were bound to be bumps in the road. He had cellulitis which was horrible, I thought more than once that his leg was literally going to fall off because it was so bad. The second time he got sick was right after he was finally starting to get over the cellulitis which took almost a month, but this was more like being over exhausted working almost 100 hours per week. I think his body just wanted to shut down. Thankfully he is now feeling better and I'm hoping July is a good month for us! We didn't do anything especially exciting during June with everything that has been going on so I think Fathers Day was the highlight of the month for us. I am so thankful to have an awesome husband and he's such a great Dad, I'm glad he got to have a great day that was centered all around him! This month was also a big growing/learning month for both the kids. I can't believe how fast they're growing! Jade is now 95% potty trained, still working on over nights but other than that we're good to go! She has also been picking up on every little thing we say which is good and bad lol! As for Cash he is so mobile now it's insane! He is completely opposite from Jade as a baby, she was super chill and calm and he is definitely not! I am pretty sure he will  be walking before his 1st Birthday! Well I am looking forward to July and I can't wait to take the kids for all the 4th of July festivities this weekend!

*Now here's an iPhone dump of some of the photos from June!*

Backyard bubbles and a picnic. They love watermelon <3

 Being mischievous ;)

 Morning smiles <3

 Cashs first time in the big pool!

 She loves to paint :)

 Pool fun :P

 Baby model? <3

 Loves her bubbles <3

 Chalkin' up the sidewalk <3

 He loves the grass! My little adventurer 

 Spending time with Daddy!

Loving his watermelon <3

 Bathtime twins