My PB + J

easter p.2

easter morning started out by us all sleeping in until 8 am. it was nice, we didn’t have to rush off anywhere for a few hours and got to enjoy some family time. payton came out of the room and saw the trail of bunny poop (jelly beans) on the table and then spotted her basket, half eaten cookies and carrots, a personalized letter from the easter bunny and brayden’s first honorary pair of bunny ears. she was more than ecstatic and we think she truly got the concept. after digging through her basket with excitement we went on the egg hunt. she was too adorable for words. jim later thanked me for giving him two beautiful children and being able to relive the holidays through our children’s eyes. after eating chocolate for breakfast we made my grandma’s lemon cake (which ended up being a flop), i baked my easter pie (aka pizza rustica for tuesdays with dorie that was also a flop) and then we were off to my sister’s house for our family brunch. we had another egg hunt for all the kids out front and my nieces and nephew had made payton her own egg hunt in the house upon our arrival. needless to say, we had a lot of egg hunts, chocolate consuming, time with family and a few viewings of HOP. it was a magical day, i am so blessed to have the family i have been given. 

showing us how the bunny nibbled on her carrots. our darn dog wasn’t too hungry when i gave her the carrots at midnight. 
her 2012 basket: HOP, sunglasses, sandals, jump rope, pink bubbles (crayola great idea but so damn messy!), polka dot chalk, rubber duckies (in honor of auntie jinger & uncle geoff), see’s bunny and other random candies. 

“hey! there’s money!” 

organizing her loot. 
brayden and his ears. no basket for him yet. 

letter from the easter bunny 

grandma’s cake is supposed to be a sheet cake and it’s supposed to stay in the pan but my genius idea was to stack it and make it look “rustic”. within thirty seconds of snapping this picture the easter landslide began. by the time we were ready for dessert it had sunken and split all over. it still tasted fine, just a funny story. ethan wouldn’t eat it because mimi’s cake isn’t supposed to be “lumpy”. 
my mom’s deviled eggs. always a fav. the mustard, the hint of curry. reminds me of my other grandma. 
after the third egg hunt. 

3/4 of the eggs for the third hunt were filled with money. my mom rallied all the eggs to make sure all the kids got the same amount since ethan found most of them.

monday phone dump {link-up party}

i am late posting this, i usually get it all ready sunday night but last night after creating my collages i couldn’t see straight. we had a busy yet very fun-filled weekend. i just love weekends like those but i always need a day to recover, which i did not get today. we were up fairly early to drop jim off at the airport. he was home all of two days before he left us again for manhattan…kansas. luckily, this trip is a quickie and we will be picking him up late tomorrow evening. like every week they are jam packed. here’s how last week went through photos. 


i am on instagram now, follow me! @melly_atkinson – just like my twitter account. 


 i am linking up with what makes savanah smile


from top left to right
* i ran my third 5k on saturday in like 30 mph winds. it sucked. i was so amped, like couldn’t sleep the night before because i was so excited. but the wind beat me. this was the first time running where it wasn’t fun, in more ways than one. 
* brayden while running errands. this kid is always happy. also, my first insta pic! i love his natural faux hawk! 
* my mom came down friday to help watch the kids saturday morning. i made her dinner friday night and then after the race we took her to claim jumper to celebrate her birthday. i truly do have the best mother and friend a girl could ask for. 
* on sunday we went to the avocado festival in fallbrook. my old boss, robert, has a new venture mcgee’s tavern & grill. they bought it and are currently re-vamping it. the place had to be the busiest on the block. live music, ahh-mazing mac & cheese with shredded corned beef (like dreaming of it today it was so good) and a refreshing snakebite to get the day started off right. the mac & cheese was payton’s, i had a fish taco and a corned beef taco. 
* payton eating homemade chocolate ice cream at bernado’s. her first impromptu fine dining experience. more and that fiasco later. 
* at the park before the last winter storm blew on by. 


* sunday night. i was beat, my hair all afro’d, dark circles and sassy that the hubby was leaving us again. sigh. 

* brayden sleeping on my chest at the tavern. the music was so loud and he was out. 

* my oldest friend, maggie, welcomed her second daughter on sunday. here she is 13 hours old. she decided she wanted to share her daddy’s birthday and my mom’s too! 


easter p.1

we started off our easter weekend on saturday. i had been up all night baking cupcakes for an order and at 8 am we all got ready to go to our church for their family easter service. i took payton to this service last year and it is ideal for children. every kid gets a goodie bag, this year they had hand painted butterflies along with the bags. the service is usually led by the children that attend rbcpc school and it’s interactive. after the quick 45 minute service, they have easter egg hunts for the wee and big ones, a light breakfast, crafts, three bounce houses, a petting zoo and non-easter bunny pics (last year they had a bunny and i was counting on it this year). we quickly took our family photo, ate a few doughnuts (p’s fav) and then she made her way through each bounce house. it was a great morning. after church i delivered the cupcakes, baked sugar cookies with p for the bunny, the kids napped and then we decided to take them to the mall for a last minute photo-op with the bunny because p was begging to see him. she was so excited and even exclaimed, “i’m next hii easter bunny!” then froze as i put brayden on his lap. maybe next year? after the mall we did dinner and then dyed eggs. it was so much better being in our house this year and the fact that two is a lot more fun that one in terms of excitement and understanding what’s going on. she went to bed with the anticipation of the easter bunny visiting after placing out spring cookies and carrots. 

waiting for the service to begin. 

playing with her butterfly outside. 

the family photo, excuse the quality i snapped a pic of it with my phone. 

jumping like crazy. a group of four-year-old girls and boys kept screaming and she was yelling back at them to stop. i pray she’s not a loud screaming girl.

a glimpse of the front view of the church all the activity behind us and in the courtyard. 

so excited to see the easter bunny. 

not so excited to see the easter bunny. 

look! daddy! i’m coloring eggies! 

her artwork. 

it’s a weekly thang {weigh-in wednesday}

so…i am still on a diet despite me not posting. over the past two weeks i have been struggling a lot mentally. remember a few years ago when i was struggling with severe post partum depression? well, i’ve had a few relapse days. i am totally fine i just get days where i don’t want to do much and i sit and mentally beat myself up. i have been juggling a few pounds, i go up to 153 then back to 151, it’s just so weird. when i go to the gym i do a lot of strength training and then an hour of spin or i run. the fluctuation in weight is due to the new muscle. my hubby and a friend have helped me see that i am losing weight.

we booked our rooms in vegas for my birthday. let’s just say the final countdown is on. we re-started cycle #2 this week. we tried last week but it didn’t happen, we had contemplated going back to cycle #1 but i would not physically be able to do spin and run so cycle #2 it is. it’s actually really easy now because this diet is a lifestyle. i even ate two slices of pizza at my friends house on monday and lost a pound. it’s probably because i stopped drinking my starbucks double shots but i have been eating a few pieces of chocolate everyday. whatever it is, i am just accepting it.


my starting weight: 170 
today’s weight: 150
total weight loss for week one: 6 pounds
total weight loss for week two: 3 pounds
total weight loss for week three: 1 pound
total weight loss for week four: 1 pound
total weight loss for week five: 3 pounds 
total weight loss for week six: 0 pounds 
total weight loss for week seven: 2 pounds
total weight loss for week eight: 1 pound
total weight loss for week nine: +.6 ounces 
total weight loss for week ten: 2.6 pounds  
total weight loss for week eleven: 0 pounds 
total weight loss for week twelve: +.02 ounces
total weight loss for week thirteen: +2.4
total weight loss for week fourteen: 3.2 pounds

total weight loss: 20 pounds  
pounds away from goal #1: 2
pounds away from goal #2: 11

i just purchased a deal on living social for the dailey method: barre classes. do any of you take these? i am always nervous to start something new but a friend sent me the deal and said she has lost six inches and she doesn’t have six inches to lose so i am hoping i can see some results! i think i might start these on friday when jim gets home from his business trip. it’s for two unlimited weeks so i need to figure out my schedule since jim is gone again next week and i will have missed two weeks of spin. i cannot wait for brayden to be six months old so he can go to childcare at 24 hour. come on next wednesday! geez. that’s actually scary that he’s already half a year old. 
are you still on your weight loss journey? how’s it going? i would love to hear your stories of triumph or tragedy. 

housewives recap – hi my name is sarah and i rode in on a spaceship…from norcal. {rhoc}

 
heather: loved the champ & bowling party. so something i would throw, ya know, given my extensive bowling background. i loved her impression of cray cray sarah. maybe she was an actress after all…

sarah: first, i am piffed that i even had to add her thumbnail back to my post. if bravo wants to add drama seek a valid source. this girl did walk straight off a spaceship, but i think any alien would be classified as normal after seeing her performance. norcal is not an excuse. you’re f-ing nuts. sarah + champs = nutso. okay, maybe it is the norcal in you. 



gretchen: her voice coach session was embarrassing and the dog had the right decision by running away. i doubt it was the barely screaming at vicki that made your voice go, you sound sick…idiot. this girl cannot sing and obviously she got bowling confused with going to a ho-down. again, as an ex-bowler i was saddened by her performance, form and choice of outfit yet again. i cannot wait to the reunion when alexis calls out gretchen for going to see tamra in recovery vs. going to see her. on a side note: slade seemed non-douche-baggy at the bowling party. i kinda smiled at the end. i said kinda. 


tamra: the removal of her implants is looking like a big mistake. i think she might regret it, but who knows. i loved her full face of make-up too, yeah right. i still love her though. 



vicki: wow. she deserves an award for remaining calm during the madness sarah brought. the cards brooks gives is cute, i do think he is after her money. that convo at lunch was awkward. vicki, can i please get a rundown of your assets before i move onto tomorrows greeting card?  


alexis: said. the um. aria……………um. adria. OH MY GOODNESS san diego fox 5. give me an effing break. like i said in week one, i am embarrassed to watch any san diego news channel after her performance.  she should so not be involved with anything besides looking cute and wearing an apron. i am usually the first to jump on the dislike jim bandwagon but he was spot on with his one flesh statement. he is just as embarrassed as all us san diegans are to witness his wife on local news. btw. where did he throw her jacket?! so lame.  “no judgment only love” – kristen chenoworth 



GAHH! i am dying watching watch what happens:live. i love me some kristen chenoworth and one of my favs jeana keough.