It's official.

I finally weigh less than I did when I got pregnant with Stella. Hooray. The "funny" thing is that I haven't worked out since September, AKA the start of school. This is because:

1. I had Stella, school, and a grad class that I eventually dropped.
2. It's been DANG freezing cold here for quite a long time.
3. I don't want to pay for a gym membership since I'm paying for "other things" relating to my health, it'll be warm in the near future, I got a jogging stroller for Christmas, and I love to do my workouts outside. I hate paying for something I'm not taking full advantage of.
4. Since my surgery 1/18, I can't do any working out that involves sitting down or laying on that bum region for 6 months. That includes almost all very effective ab workout I did when I was actually working out. No exercise ball, pilates, free weights on the ball, squats currently, etc...And as the mommies know, the abs take a beating from pregnancy.

So, it's been done through portion control and eating super good things. However, I still apparently have 8.6 lbs more to go to be at my ideal weight. I'll let you know when I get there:)

Onze mois (11 months)

Stella turned 11 months old 1/28. It's incredible to think she's almost a year old. We've been planning her party for a couple of weeks now. We all went to Hobby Lobby and Party City to pick everything out. It was so much fun, because this was the first time Joel has truly cared about planning a party, making invitations, decor, food, etc...He'll always give me his opinion when I'm planning a party, but is usually impatient and constantly urging me to not be a perfectionist and just get it done and not spend 3 hrs searching for the perfect font to download (and yes, I do do this). So, he actually picked the theme for the party. It won't surprise you when you get the invite. I've been working on invitations throughout the week, but it was one CRAZY week after having been gone due to surgery, organizing my school's spelling bee, going to appts, getting gifts for random things, arranging observations/meetings with a student teacher, organizing a book study I'm leading with my fellow teachers, etc...Thank goodness for a snow day today for Joel, Stella, and me! State Farm actually shut down due to 9 in. of snow. So, we'll be putting together all of the invites today. Joel has some painting to do for them and for another special part of Stella's bday party.

These are some random pics and videos - some are over a month old, but cute nonetheless.