Julying (picture heavy)

July has been off to a great start! We started the month with extended time together as a family and that was just what the doctor ordered.
Also, we have been able to get a lot done around our home including working on the basement. In a couple of weeks, we expect to be completely done with our basement renovation. I still can't believe how long far we've come with that and how much we love using the space. The girls get really excited whenever they go down to the basement. 

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to make these light switch decals for some of the light switch plates around the girls play area. They LOVE them! 
Below is Moana and one of my favorite saying of hers. This one is in their room.

Ultimately, Tinkerbell won as far as the decals. I made several and put them on the light switches in their play area.

This picture just made me smile/laugh. JAE is almost the same size as JOE! Never mind that JOE is almost 3 years older than JAE! It was too cute! My babies...

The Saturday before the 4th, we all headed out to a local parade. I figured I'd get a good workout in and the girls would enjoy hanging out with some of J's co-workers. 
Boy, did I get a workout! We walked A LONG distance and since I was still wearing my ankle brace at the time, it felt really tiresome. 
But overall, we did have a great time.

Us...

Darth Vader and some of the Storm troopers came along for the walk. I can only imagine how HOT they must have been in those costumes.

Since I was feeling creative when I made the light switch decals, I also decided to make this sign for our basement bathroom. I love the way it turned out.

On display!

For Church the following Sunday, I wore these Tassel earrings from AyoBE Boutique. I LOVE THEM! They are lightweight and can transform well from a daytime look into a nighttime look.

They come in beautiful color options so be sure to check them out for yourself.

Speaking of AyoBE Boutique, I love that my girls see no boundaries when it comes to style. Check out Princess Elsa wearing the Zuma African Print dresses from AyoBE Boutique. She looks great by the way ;-). 
Next to her (in green) is a PAG (Pretty Afrocentric Girl) doll in the Capella Summer Dress. Oh and Princess Sofia and the PAG doll are wearing earrings from AyoBE Boutique. Yup...my girls LOVE these items and enjoy playing dress up with their dolls and doll accessories.

Speaking of PAG Dolls, have you visited our shop lately? This cute outfit was recently added to our shop. Fun way for a little girl to play dress up with her 18" doll. 

A silly selfie of me and my mini.

2 weeks ago, I posted this picture on Instagram. Oftentimes, we don't see how we are going when it comes to weight loss. However, seeing this comparison picture definitely made my day!
Of course, a week later, I gained 2-lbs! I was very disappointed but more on that later...

Talk about inspiring creativity. Here is Elsa wearing a head covering in the African Print dress and sitting in a "Crazy Crab" bucket. This definitely made me laugh. It was done by my litle JAE.

The Monday before the 4th, our childcare fell through. But thankfully, J's mom was able to step in and save the day. J and I decided to see Wonder Woman. It was definitely entertaining. Not sure I'd give it a 5 out of 5 stars though. I'd say a solid 3.8 stars. It felt a little long and took a while for the story to build up. So perhaps they wanted to introduce us to all the key players for future movies? Who knows? I am glad the movie is doing great. #girlpower. However, I wasn't as swept away as I expected to be by the storyline.

We wore matching sandals so I promptly took a picture. I hadn't worn these sandals since I went to Greece back in 2009.

And since I hadn't worn them since 2009, this is what I ended up with. ICK! I need new shoes. Not happy. :-(

On the 4th, the girls set up their table in their playroom and decided they were going to have a picnic in their playroom.

Enjoying their picnic.

Even Hally came in a purple shoe! LOL...that is another one of JAE's creations.

We took a much needed afternoon nap since we spent part of the day working in the basement. Right after we woke up, it started to pour. We had heavy winds and thunderstorms. So that canceled our outdoor grilling plans. We ended up "grilling" in the oven.

I decided I wanted to still get a bit of a workout in so I danced during the July 4th performances. We watched it on TV. 
And of course, JOE decided to snap some pictures of me.

Great way to burn some calories and have some fun :-).

This guy was front and center during the DC 4th performance. Heck, you can't miss his shirt. Really cool. I love that he was having fun with it.

The following day, I took the day off and got to spend some time with the girls. They played dress up and we went for a walk. It was such a fun day that I am now determined to do this more often with them. 
Check out "Catboy" and "Owelette".

We also went for a walk. I let the girls run back once we got to our street. They love doing this and it helps since it is often an hour long walk.

Later that evening, they sat together and watched the ipad together. They almost never do this so I had to take a picture of them.

And then JOE decided to "do a fashion show" for me. Complete with pink light up slippers, a pink bag and a poodle.

Needless to say, I stayed very active last week which is why I was surprised when I gained 2-lbs. However, I am guessing because I stayed so active, I was likely eating more!

Anyways, back to the grind. I am going to work hard to be at a -31# loss by vacation in August. Gaining the weight puts me behind by 11-lbs. But I won't fret. I'll just go back to basics and work towards my goals.

For those in the US, I hope you had a wonderful July 4th holiday and were able to either relax or spend time with loved ones. Often, we forget to take a moment to count our blessings. Make it a point to do so going forward. You'd be surprised just how truly blessed you are!

Enjoy the rest of your week and remember to be kind to strangers!