Storage Unit Packed!

This morning this is what happened!

Our storage unit is all packed up and loaded onto the truck. A full 3 crates! 

Tomorrow they are due to arrive at the condo to pack the remainder household items. Our bedroom furniture and additional odds and ends we have that we cant fit into suitcases or send in our unaccompanied baggage, like toys, kitchen things, bedding, etc. 

We really are moving. 

After so long and waiting for this day for the past 16 months since we started counting down- it doesn't seem real!

6 weeks to the day until we are on the plane!

Bye Bye Highlander!

Today we pick up my car from being at the spa all weekend. Then she gets on the boat for her long voyage to Texas, where then the Dad has to fly to pick her up and drive her back to New Mexico.

Then we are on a mission to find a soft pet carrier for Pooh Bear so we can have him as a carry on for our  trip back to the ole USA. (Should be interesting. 2 toddlers and a cat on the plane to entertain)

And then we have our pre-inspection for packing.

I apologize for not posting. I hate getting behind in posts and pictures. I will be back soon. Things are hectic!

Sorry folks,

Its been busy around here.


It's Christmas Eve in the Alessi house. Santa comes tonight, and then 1 more sleep until Ms. Highlander is on her voyage to NM (she is currently at the spa!), and then only 2 more sleeps until the packers come!!

Update on baby Hannah

Induction date is set for Dec 20th.

Tammy and Mark will have their Christmas miracle this year.

I couldn't ask for a better present.

Amazing.

Abs and Belly Buster Update

For my records and motivation and to help others!

So, today is Abs day 17 and the Belly Buster diet day 16. The past few days I been lazier than usual. Nick's birthday threw off the diet again with his darn cake balls and dinner out...a taco salad which wasnt too bad at all but the fried edible bowl...not great.

BUT, somehow today finally the scale dropped a pound. And I even weighed myself after breakfast and drinking a lot of water.

To date I am now able to run my fastest mile ever, 8:57.

And am now able to do 10 solid minutes of abs and have the ability to finally do the long arm crunch as well as not struggling to plank for 30-45 seconds.

 I am also now doing 10 solid minutes of arm workout with the exception of right and left plank. Impossible. I only last about 3 seconds on my left and 5 seconds on my right. I cannot do half push-ups either. To be honest, it feels horrid! I can feel my chest muscle squeezing my implants and its horrendous! I supposed I will get used to that. I am using 3 pound weights but really would like to go up to 5 pound weights we must wait until we move. No point in getting them now to be shipped to NM next week.

Still doing about 50 incline push-ups per day but I could easily increase this if I tried.

Pictures: in which I can finally SEE a difference and not just feel stronger.

 Egh, Look at the stretch marks over my hips...why did I let myself get so out of shape to begin with?

Reminder of my goal:

Less jiggle and and more muscle.

The Dads 31st Birthday

Yesterday was the Dad's 31st birthday along with the 8 week mark until we are that plane!

The morning started out with me finishing up last minute touches on his gifts and making a no bake cake! That's right, a no bake cake. We don't have an oven in this condo so I had to come up with something.

Thanks to pinterest again, I found this: 

http://chef-n-training.blogspot.com/2011/09/no-bake-cake-batter-truffles-take-2.html

A no bake cake batter truffle!

After finishing his gifts I put them under the tree.

Caden licked the cake batter from the mixer. And got it all over his belly.

These are the truffles before the candy coating on top.

And this is the inside of them after they were finished.

I'm not kidding here when I say eating these was like licking the cake batter from the bowl.

Wait, No...eating these was even better than licking the cake batter from the bowl.

They were amazing.

(And yes, I went off the diet a tad to eat these!)

Dad opening his gifts.

One of which was a chalk board made by Mom. We are always writing messages to each other with window crayons in the bathroom on the mirror, so I thought this would be fun. 

Plus it matches the color scheme of our bathroom to be in New Mexico.

After this excitement the kids received a very big box from Mimi and Papa

containing their Christmas gifts. We decided that it would be a good time to open them because we dont want them overwhelmed on Christmas morning. Last year it took literally ALL day for them to open gifts. They would open something and get distracted with something else and then go back to the item they just opened and we would beg them to open another gift. This year they are much older so it might not be like that. Also, we figured it was a good time since it was Dad's birthday.

So we proceeded.

They got tons of goodies but here are only some pictures.

They both got a new blanket.

Kayla got a hippopotamus for Christmas!

And here she is hanging it on the tree.

Caden got a couple of hats!

And some Chuck toys.

Sock for New Mexico!

How crazy is it that my children don't own socks?!

No need for them here.

A new tutu! Her pink one is finally starting to get too small. 

The Dad got a family heirloom gift. Cuff links that belonged to his grandfather.

There is no price for things like this.

And after the opening of gifts from Mimi and Papa, we got dressed and headed out to Dad's birthday dinner.

This is us in the lobby of the hotel before getting into the car.

(and  yes, that is Caden's hand on my boob. I didn't even notice.)

Update and Tammy, Mark and baby to be, Hannah Dawn

For those who care about following our long time infertile friends Tammy and Mark...

Their journey of infertility has come to an end and I couldn't be more happy. This is been 8 years in waiting!

Their latest update from their blog:

We talked to the birthmom on Friday. You can tell she's in a lot of pain...a lot of pain. She's having contractions and really bad low back pain. I felt so bad for her when we were talking to her. 

She sees the doctor on Tuesday again. She's hoping to set an induction date. I guess the earliest they will do it is a week before she's due so we're hoping Dec 20 but we'll see what the doctor says on Tuesday.

What's truly amazing is that we had told our social worker that my mom would be there and so before the conference call she told Lois to see how she felt about my mom being at the hospital. Get this...she says it's okay for my mom to be in the delivery room!! Isn't that awesome?? The birthmom said this is our special day and our time and she says whoever we want in the delivery room is just fine and she's very open. 

She is so sweet. I just love her. I've always wanted my mom in the delivery room when I had my first child and she will be. :) Not the way I imagined but I still get my wish. :) 

I know I say it all the time but we really are truly blessed.

My favorite part of this blog post is that Tammy and Mark might have their miracle baby by Christmastime!

AND, what a amazing gift for birth mother to allow them into the delivery room to see their birth of their daughter.

One of my all time favorite memories is being present at Kayla's birth. There is nothing more astonishing than watching your child come into the world. Seeing their first bit of baby flesh peek into the world, seeing her eyes for the first time, hearing her first cry and watching her take her first breath. We are so lucky to have such great birth mothers to allow us to be included in such a private, special moment in their lives.

Lucky.

Tammy and Mark are now up to $310 on their chip in fundraiser on my right side bar. This is wonderful!

Among this, they have received some great packages. I have already mailed one out full of baby bath products, and they have already gotten it. I have a second box ready to go this weekend and my wonderful friend Jennifer at Little Crazy Family has sent them a package too.

I want to blog about her package for a special reason.

Included in her package was this:

1 green/white tutu and 1 red,white and blue tutu.

Why is this reason to blog about?

Because:

Her beautiful adopted daughter (just one month older than Caden)

wore the red, white and blue tutu.

And Kayla wore the green, white tutu for her first St. Patrick's day photo shoot when Dada was deployed in 2009.

And also, my cat wore the red, white and blue tutu. Ha!

And so did Kayla, for a photo shoot right after Dada deployed in 2009.

These tutu's were Kayla's in 2009, then passed to Noey right after her birth in 2010. 

And now passed onto baby to be Hannah Dawn in 2011.

They are pretty handmade tutu's from our old photographer Jamie.

But not only that, they both hold special memories and sentimental value.

And Thank You greatly to Jennifer for passing them down to Tammy and Mark's to be daughter to hold even more special memories. 

I CAN.NOT. WAIT. to see Hannah wearing them.