Weekending Link up

After a hectic week last week I am back at it and linking up for Weekending!

My weekend began on Thursday celebrating Jady's 8th birthday!  Lots of swimming, fireworks, food, and fun!

Friday was my favorite part of the weekend.  My sister quit her job and moved home!  Last August she made the decision to move 2 1/2 hours away from us.  I hated it and cried multiple times the day she moved.  She wasn't around as much as she would have liked to be for the first 5 months of Hudson's life but she is back now!  So naturally we played baby dress up all day!

I can't wait to get back into a good sister routine like we have always had.

Saturday Aaron and I took Jadyn shopping for her birthday.  After an unsuccessful trip to Toys R Us and hitting just about every store in the mall, that kid walked away with only a bag of candy from the candy store and 5 mini hand sanitizers from Bath & Body Works.  She is always so careful about spending her own money.  She will be traveling to Alabama with Aaron and his dad and grandma next week so she is excited to have more money to spend on the trip.  We also tried out the new Hibachi restaurant we have been wishing for in our town. It was fabulous.

Yesterday was spent cleaning our house and going to a cookout.  It has been such a busy weekend that I am thankful for the calmness that a weekly routine brings me.

Happiness is a choice

When I was in my teen years I had two people who were very influential in my life always tell me that happiness was a choice.  Anytime I was upset, having a bad day, or feeling like life sucked one of those two, sometimes both, would always tell me to suck it up because happiness was a choice.  They tried telling me I was having a bad day because I chose to have a bad day.  I thought they were ridiculous but they were right.

I can honestly say that every single time I have had a bad day or been in a bad mood, if I really think about it, it was because I made a choice when I woke up that morning to BE in a bad mood or to let the negative things affect me in a negative way rather than letting them go. 

"I'm having a bad day."  "I'm just in a bad mood and I don't know why." "Today sucks."  Those comments no longer hold any value with me.  All of those things are only true because I let them be and I decided they would be.

The same can be said for working out and not being in the shape you want to be in.  There are many days where I say I don't have time to work out or that I'm too tired.  Maybe I ate a bunch of stuff that wasn't great for me and my excuse is that I really wanted it or that I couldn't stop craving it.  That is all a choice too.  I haven't been super strict with myself since I became pregnant so I forgot what it was like to MAKE time for workouts (big or small) and to MAKE the decision to not eat the chocolate bar or the ice cream. The last week or so I am finally getting back to getting things on track.  

So after that random spiel I just had:

Baby barely slept all night.

In order for her to sleep she had to be attached to me, eating/comforting herself. Which meant little sleep for me. 

Finally falling into a good sleep at 7am meant I slept in way too long and woke up at 10am.  

And the biggest issue....

I am out of coffee.

Now, excuse me while I go choose to have a good day and choose happiness.

Pre & Post Workout

I'm sure if you have read any of my previous blogs you would know that I am an Saba/ACE distributor.  I lost 20 pounds last year before my wedding by taking ACE.  Shortly after that I found out I was pregnant and could not longer take it.  It has been a LONG 13 months without it.  Since I am still breastfeeding I am still not taking it.

I have always been anti-diet pills and all that stuff but after literally running 60-80 miles per week for 7 months and only losing 10lbs I decided I would give ACE a try.  After all,  all the research I did showed me it wasn't a typical "diet pill."  Its a natural weight loss and energy supplement and my doctor immediately okayed it.  I have never been overweight or even close to it so the fact that my doctor looked at it and said "go for it" then asked if I could get her a sample made me jump on it!

Here is my before/after photo from last year:

Once I gave birth I decided I would try the new pre & post workout supplements the company had to offer.  Now keep in mind the workouts I have been doing since Hudson was born are very light and I don't do them as often as I would like.  I used to do really long runs but now my workouts usually consist of running for about 30 minutes, going for a long walk with Jadyn and Hudson, light hand weights when I get a chance (not often), and honestly, cleaning my house quickly and thoroughly.

Pre-Training Formula & Muscle Recovery Formula:

Protein powder is on its way but not released yet.

The photos below were taken 1 week after my baby was born and the other was taken last week.

If you are interested in trying it or would like to check out any of the other products, contact me.  I have free samples for most of the products.  Email me @ ACEwithLayne@gmail.com or visit my website www.sabaforlife.com/laynemoody

Summer Fun!

Obviously this is Hudson's first summer and I am so excited that she is just big enough to enjoy it!  Aaron and I just moved into our house in our new neighborhood last August so we haven't put in a pool yet and our neighborhood is still in the construction process so there is no neighborhood pool yet either.  Little J, Hudson and I have been going to my parent's house a few times each week to enjoy the pool.

The water has been a bit too chilly for baby to enjoy just yet but she has been loving being outside, laying in the shade, and dipping her little toes in the water.

I am so excited to get her in the water but I will wait until the water warms up quite a bit.  Sydney, BH and I have always lived in the water during our summers so I am sure Hudson will be the same way.  The local Rec Center is having baby swim lessons starting at 6 months of age.  I can't wait to get her in!

5 On Friday:

1. My little nugget is 5 months old this week.  The time has gone way too fast but she is still the cutest thing ever.  She is rolling over like crazy and even trying to scoot to her toys.  I fear we will have a crawler on our hands before long. 

2.  Seeing all the Saba 60 results from my customers is making me anxious to get started myself once I'm done breastfeeding!  ACE and my other Saba products are truly amazing! Cant wait to look like this again!

3.  Cloth diapers are amazing! I was completely grossed out by the idea of using them before Hudson was born but now I love them! They are cute, save tons of money, and are so much better for her skin.   

This is her before I learned to put them on correctly!

And now that we are "experts":)

4. I have been a loyal Erin Condren customer for years and I love my Life Planner.  I am considering trying out the Plum Paper Planner on Etsy after seeing all the issues people are having with their ECLPs this year! 

5.  I could use a day at the pool and a nice tan so pray with me for sunshine today!

Stay At Home Mom

Whether or not to become a stay-at-home mom is such a controversial topic.  On one end of the spectrum you have the mothers who look down upon the women who "choose" to continue working once baby arrives.  On the opposite end you have the women who chastise other women who make the decision to stay home and take care of the house and the baby.  And somewhere in the middle you have the other 80% (obviously not a real statistic!)  of the world. The people in the middle have no thoughts or opinions on it.  Either they don't care what you do, they don't have the option to stay home so they don't know what its like to consider that, or they don't have the option to work for whatever reason.

Growing up my mom always stayed home with us.  I always remember thinking it was so weird when other kids said their mom's were at work.  I was extremely grateful and happy that my mom could volunteer in my class, tag along for field trips, and pick us up from school everyday.  Sydney and I always thought it would be fun to go to that place with the playground and all those kids daycare but only if our mom could come and only if we didn't have to stay longer than an hour or so.

As I got older and college, careers, and families became closer than childhood I just assumed I would always work.  I knew how hard my mom always worked for us and that she NEVER got a break and still doesn't so being a stay-at-home mom wasn't appealing to me.  I can remember HEATED arguments and debates with co-workers over stay-at-home moms.  They felt that women who "chose" to stay home were lazy, had no self worth, or were incapable of providing for themselves.  I always flew off the handle at that statement because from my view it was apparent to me that my stay-at-home mom was the backbone of our family.  She kept it together. Without her we would have lived in filth, bills would not have been paid, meals would not have been cooked, billing for my dad's businesses would not have been done, and none of our life problems would have been solved by talking it over with mom in the car. But even though I was a huge supporter of mamas who stay at home I had no desire to be one myself.

I understand completely that some households run smoothly and all is fabulous when mama has to work but when I found out I was pregnant a switch flipped in my head and there was no way, no how was I going to be returning to work once I had this baby.  Its was a scary decision to make but to me it wasn't even an option.  Thankfully I have a great husband who can support our family financially, we aren't too bad with money so we were prepared on the savings front, and God happened to bring a successful business into my life that has blossomed into more than I ever could have imagined and I don't even have to leave my house.