Photo Dump Wednesday: They are watching...

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that this year, I have chosen to focus on my weiht loss (and eventually weight management) journey.
A few weeks ago, we decided to finish up most of our basement. Anyways, I have a workout area in the basement but we had to move a lot of things out of there so that the work could be done. 
While moving things and showing the contractor around, JAE decided she wanted to get on my workout bike. 
It was so cute because she was making faces and acting the same way she's seen me while on the bike.

I don't think I look this intense but apparently, I do :-).

As part of my weight loss journey, I decided to use atkins to get me to my goal and follow most of its eating plans. 
Since we often eat breakfast together on Saturday, I made the same breakfast for J and I BUT I decided to skip the bun. I thought being on atkins would be difficult but I have surprisingly been doing well on it and while I do miss a few of the things I got used to, I have been able to resist junk foods for the most part.
I also fell in love with unsweetened ice tea. I never used to like it but it actually tastes good! 
Here's my tea with my breakfast.

And J's breakfast with orange juice.

Here are my stats from last week. I have been consistenly doing 10K steps 6 out of 7 days for the last few weeks so I have decided to challenge myself a little more by doing 11k steps 3 out of 7 days but still do at least 10k 6 of the 7 days of the week. 

So far, so good. I have already beat that this week and will post my update next week.

The great thing about this is that now, whenever the girls see me stepping, they walk along with me and while they are often joking, I like that I am inspiring them to keep moving. 

Last week, I attended a forum in DC. After the forum, I walked by my very favorite cupcake place. Guys, this is THE BEST CUPCAKE in the DC area! Forget what you've heard about the competitors. Their cupcakes are DIVINE!!! BUT, I actually walked away from this store. I couldn't even believe it as I walked away but I did and was extremely proud of myself and gave myself a HUGE pat on the back :-).

After breakfast last Saturday, I decided to tackle some of the items I have been wanting to make for AyoBE Boutique. Well, one of the items required the use of elastic thread. But the machine doesn't automatically roll them. You have to manually roll elastic thread. I don't really like doing them BUT JOE on the other hand saw this as an excellent opportunity to help. 
So I put her to work and promised to pay her for her services. She happily accepted and went to work. 

She was very happy to earn her money along with some tick tack mints. 

I know...cheap labor. But here she is earning the remainder of her "coins for oinky".

And of course, while taking pictures, her sister decided to jump in and be funny. :-)

These beautiful dresses are now available on AyoBE Boutique's site so be sure to go check it out. It can be work as a dress and eventually as a top later. It is a "grow with me" item and will make an excellent addition to your little one's fashion closet. 

Church last Sunday. Check out the Zuma headband I am wearing. I seriously LOVE these headbands and wear them every opportunity I get. If you haven't already done so, go ahead and order one. You'll love it as much as I do :-).

I know I have been saying I'll do a hair post. I never remember to take pictures of my hair but I posted an unofficial length check on my Instagram account a few days ago so if you are interested in seeing it, go check it out here. You have to be following me to see the picture.

Since mother's day is around the corner, I wanted to make something extra special for mom using African Print fabirc. Well, introducing our custom handmade shaker card. Just in time for mother's day. It is not too late to order one and have it in mom's hand (if she lives within the US) before mother's day. 
There are also other options available. 

JOE is now into making crafts and I am so proud of my little DIYer. Definitely following in her mom's footsteps. 
She made this necklace from one of her Easter eggs. How cute is this?

Often, I leave home a little after 6am in the morning while J is still sleeping. However, one morning last week, both J and I had an early day. We unintentionally wore complementing colors. So of course, that called for a selfie while the kids were still sleeping.

We have been renovating our basement for the last few months. It is taking a bit of time since we aren't rolling in the dough as they say. However, we are VERY happy with the progress and I am very much looking forward to sharing the final pics with you all. 
Since we will be hosting Christmas this year, the liveable/usable area will definitely come in handy. 

Last week, J took JOE to get her hair done. She has been asking every now and then to straighten her hair because a good friend of hers straightened her hair. But her friend is a few years older and I don't think JOE will sit still long enough to straighten it. 
I plan to hold off on that for a few more years. In the meantime, check out this child't hair. Swoon...

Car selfie!

I love that now, JAE is forward facing and can be in the pictures too. 

If you haven't already done so, go check out our Sunday Family Chronicles from last Sunday. 

After Church last week, it was pretty warm so we put the girls in bathing suits and let them run around the fun water hose we got for them. Everyone had a great time and it cooled them down. 

Enjoy the remainder of your week, have a FABULOUS weekend and remember to be kind to strangers!