Shopping for Free

$20.00 Target Jeans...$0.00
$11.98 Printer Paper...$0.00
$3.79 RSVP Pens...$0.00
$4.00 Post-its...$0.00

Total for mere mortals= $39.77
Total for me= You guessed it $0.00

If you think I am a bargain shopper you should see my mother and sister-in-laws. They are queens of coupons and rebates. I've never been much of a coupon or rebate girl. If I collect coupons I usually forget to use them and I find rebates to be a hassle. Anyway, we hit up Target and Staples yesterday and got these deals through, yep, rebates and coupons. Maybe I should use them more often! The coolest find I think was the jeans. I found Mossimo jeans earlier this week on clearance at Target for $5.00 and told them about it. My mother-in-law remembered seeing a coupon on Target.com for $5.00 off Mossimo jeans. It was so cool to see them ring-up for $0.00. You should all print out the coupon on the Target website and check and see if your local Target has any $5.00 jeans. Hopefully you'll be successful too! 

San Fran with the Bonners

Because it is a long drive from Washington Steve's family decided to stay an extra few days after the blessing. Today we went into San Fransisco to ride the Trolley. We started at  Ghirardelli Square and rode to China Town. We finished the day off with some In-N-Out. It was a beautiful, bright, clear and crisp day. The city was empty as can be. It was the perfect San Fransisco day! Plus Luke was an angel and Carson...well he could have been worse =)... He had the time of his life on the cable cars though! (Side note: Notice Carson's new haircut? I didn't have an option because he decided to cut a few big chunks out of it a few days ago. Now he has this short choppy 'do. I don't like it. I liked his longer blond baby hair better. We will be growing it out and hiding all the scissors!)

Carson and Grandpa waiting for the trolley

Sarah posing in front of the yummy ice cream shop

Riding the cable car

Sarah, Janel and Megan 

Luke's Blessing Day

Luke was blessed on Sunday by his Dad Steve. Steve did a great job! Luke is a lucky boy to have him as a father. We were lucky enough to have a lot of family come to town to share this time with us. Steve's parents, sister and her two girls along with my parents, sister and her two kids. Thanks for coming guys!

Luke was blessed in the gown Steve was blessed in

Left to right: Janel and her girls, us, my parents, Becky and her kids

My parents on the left & Steve's on the right

I have yet to get a decent picture of the four of us!

A few pictures snapped before bedtime last night

Biggest Loser Update

Well, we just passed the 1/2 way mark (4 weeks) of our biggest loser couples competition and things are going pretty well. I've lost 7 and Steve's lost 11 lbs on our scale. According to the official weigh-in for the competition  I've lost 11 and Steve's lost 17 lbs. (We had our first weigh-in at night after big meals and a lot of water.) I think we are in 4th place right now. I feel pretty good about my numbers- due to the fact that I shouldn't be losing tons anyway b/c of nursing and that it is hard for me to lose while I am nursing as well. I mean heck, Luke is only 6 weeks old and I am well on my way!

In the past to drop pounds I've counted calories and done Weight Watcher points, but this time we are focusing on high protein, low carbs, no sugar, no flour, etc. way of eating. I've been surprised how quickly I've grown accustomed to it. The no sugar has been the hardest part for me. No crackers or snacky items hasn't been hard at all. It is different than anything I've ever done because I am not hungry. In the past I've had a bowl of cereal for breakfast and an hour later I am hungry again. Now I have an omelet with lots of veggies and bacon bits and I am full until lunch. It's just a fact, protein keeps you a lot fuller. I thought I'd be eating a lot more meat, but my meat intake really hasn't increased much. I am eating WAY MORE vegetables, and snacking on nuts and cheese. Just to clarify I don't think carbs are the enemy or anything. I'll have a high fiber pita sandwich a few times a week for example.

It is crazy how my body has "re-programed" it's self. Last week I ate some candy and I found myself hungrier for the next few days then usual and my cravings for sugar were a lot stronger. Another thing that happened was we went to a super bowl party where there was a baked potato bar and I had a big old potato. By the time I got home I was drowsy, with no energy. It was a very strong carbohydrate coma. This is not something I am planning on doing forever, but doing this has opened my eyes on all the empty carbs (calories) that I was consuming. When looking at a nutritional label in the past I never worried about the amount of carbs, but now I will. I would encourage anyone who is looking to lose weight or re-program their body to try this type of eating out.

SLEEP!

Last night I was able to sleep for 4 straight hours! Seriously I think I haven't slept that many hours in a row since I was 7 months pregnant. Thank you Luke, considering he doesn't go longer than 1 1/2 -2 hours without waking up every night!

Luke's Newborn Pictures

I like to get the boy's pictures taken at two weeks in their blessing outfit. It's far enough passed their birthday that their heads and faces aren't smushed anymore, but early enough that they look like a newborn. Here's how Luke's turned out.

Stats:

• Weight: 7 lbs 9 oz (16%)
• Height: 21 in (67%)
• Head size: 35 cm (15%)