our week by iPhone - week 37

hey guess what?  last week we had our biggest number of participants ever in the "week in camera phone" link up with 61 people!  yayyy!   that makes me a very happy panda.  thanks for playing everyone!

also, a couple people have asked what ap i use to "edit" my camera phone pics.  i use instagram & if you have an iPhone, you should too!  download it & then find me {amy_agoodlife} so we can be friends.  ok?

now on to our fun week!

monday.  started off with some playground time after stroller strides.  i'm not sure when this kid got so big but he is obsessed with climbing to the top of the bigtoy.  not a huge fan of the slide yet though... still needs his mama for that.

then after some football practice with dad it was time for a bath.  parker learned how to make farty noises with his hands which was pretty impressive.  he also practiced giving mouth to mouth to the blue whale on the faucet... because he is a baby genius & knows cpr.

tuesday.  we went to visit our friends at my work where parker walked around & looked really little in my big office.  then it was off to some mexican food with a co-worker where parker ate his weight in chips & colored like a pro.  proud mama moment right there.

that evening parker enjoyed gazing at himself in the mirror while wearing my headband, being pushed around costco really fast by his dad, & watching the beautiful sunset.  actually he probably didn't even notice the sunset.  what a jerk.

wednesday.  parker & his pillow pet hung out & watched the morning news while i got ready for work.  i was pretty excited on the drive to work because i was already looking forward to the pedicure i was gonna get on my lunch hour & yes, it was heavenly.

parker spent his day hanging out with heather & kaylee & doing grown up kid things like eating his pudding with a spoon, playing drums while sitting on a stool, & coloring with his serious face.  i swear he ages years while i'm away.

thursday.  parker & i stepped out for a run early thursday morning.  while i pushed he held his feet straight out & giggled.  we love our runs.  he's smiling in that last picture because he had such a good time, i'm smiling because i'm feeling pretty good about the 4.5 miles i just ran.  heck yeah.

thursday evening we headed over to heather's to get our feet wet in the kiddie pool.  parker had to borrow one of kaylee's lil' swimmers so he sported a pink dora diaper with dora's face planted front & center.  it seemed a little inappropriate but we rolled with it.

friday.  yay for family coming into town!  sam's brother's family is here for the weekend & we've been having all kinds of fun.  and by fun i mean back porch bubble dance parties, making goat friends at the cider mill, & hanging out with cousins kicking them in the back & pushing them off the couch.  i love seeing parker with his cousins!

and of course, who would we be if we didn't finish off the day with some fro-yo.  see parker's face?  that is a kid who loves him some fro-yo.

that was our week!  how was yours?  i wanna see, so link up!

Game Rules:
1.  your pictures have to be taken by your camera phone. that's it!  you don't even have to have a picture for every day.  got one camera phone pic of something fun from this week?  link up!

2.  if you want to grab the code below & put it in your post to have the linky with all the thumbnails show up on your blog do it.

and please post a link to my blog so others can come here to grab the code, too.
the more kids who come out to play, the more fun it will be, right?

Grab the code here:

<script src="http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=100210" type="text/javascript"></script>

...and get on the linky here:



we've moved up to #8 thanks to your votes!  keep 'em comin' friends!

mama-vation: my "diet" philosophy.

you said you liked it the last time i talked about what's been workin for me.  so here's some more.  my "mama-vational" spcheal for the day!

i definitely have some room for improvement, but overall i am pretty satisfied with where i'm at fitness & health-wise.  and you guys, i'm no expert.  but i have reached my post-baby weight goal & i wanna share what's worked for me.  but this is also pretty much the way i've lived the last five years & i'm pretty sure it's what i'll be doing for the rest of my life.

which brings me to philosophy number one:

repeat after me:  there is NO quick fix or one-week diet that is gonna get you healthy & make you lose gobs of weight.  throw away the diet pills, keep eating those {healthy} carbs, & step away from the cabbage soup.  sure there are some de-tox methods that might give you a little boost, if that's what you're looking for, but overall it's all about learning how to eat on a daily basis that you're gonna be able to manage for the rest of your life.

no, seriously.  if you think you're gonna use some drastic diet until you lose the 30 pounds you need to, & then go back to all your regular eating habits, you're gonna find yourself right where you started.  thirty pounds overweight, or maybe even more.

a good diet isn't a "diet".  it's a lifestyle.  the weight will come off slowly & gradually, but it will stay off because you are doing it for life.  it might mean making some hard changes like giving up your daily can of dr. pepper or a nightly bowl of ice cream, but just remember those things are what got you in this mess in the first place.

on most days, i use a calorie tracker on my iPhone to track my food & exercise stuff & make sure i'm where i need to be.  this probably isn't something you need to do every single day for the rest of your life but if you've never done it before i highly recommend doing it for a little while.  maybe just a week.  you might be surprised at how much you're eating when you grab a handful of cinnamon toast crunch every time you walk in the kitchen, or when you finish off those uneaten bites of pb&j from your kid's lunch.

for the most part i track what i eat almost everyday just because it keeps me accountable.  that doesn't mean i never go over my daily allowance, it just means that when i do, i know i did.  oops.

there are so many little changes you can make in your daily diet that will make huge differences in your daily caloric intake.  switch from 1% or 2% milk to fat free.  give it some time & i promise you'll be able to stomach the difference.  sam & i have been drinking skim milk for years & when we drink anything more it kinda grosses us out.  ew, who wants to drink fatty milk anyway?

other little changes that make big differences:

-use fat free sour cream & fat free mayo.  you really can't tell much of a difference & it's totally still satisfying.

-use ground turkey in spaghetti/taco/casserole/other meat dishes rather than ground beef.  don't start off with the 99% fat free stuff or else you'll notice a big difference.  start moderately & i bet your husband/kids/neighbor won't even know they're not eating red meat.

-buy slow churned ice cream.  i get dreyer's brand & it's got like 1/3 the fat & half the calories or something.  and it still tastes dang good.  buy it, & then use some portion control.

-cook using small amounts of extra virgin olive oil.  the monounsaturated fats in it are actually good for you & will keep your heart healthy.  want an even lower calorie option?  cook stuff using water.  you'd be surprised how you don't even need cooking oil when you fill up that skillet with some good ol' fashioned water instead.

this might sound counter-intuitive but every now & then i think it's healthy to fall off the wagon.  this is real life.  and every now & then i fall off.  hard.  but i'm not trying to walk the victoria's secret runway anytime soon & for me, a life without pizza or ice cream just isn't worth living.

and you know what?  having the occasional burger & splitting a milkshake with your husband on a friday night is fine.  going out to fast food & eating french fries & milkshakes for dinner regularly because you don't want to cook, isn't.  save the "bad" meals for special occasions.  it may feel like two steps forward & one step back, but that's ok.  this is life & it's your lifestyle.  it's not a sprint, it's a marathon!

just so long as you're consistently being "good" more than you're being bad, i think it's ok.  at least that's what i tell myself!

when you do fall off the wagon?  hurry up & get back on.  don't let it get you down & make sure you just keep on goin'.  sometimes when i find myself out with girlfriends eating potato skins & nachos at 10:30 pm {like last night!} i don't sweat it too much because i know tomorrow i'll be up gettin my work out on & eating healthy again.  i know i'm healthy more often than i'm not & i make sure of it.  so that way i can allow some wiggle room from time to time.

also, be nice to yourself.  recognize good decisions & give yourself a pat on the back for it.  it'll make you feel good.  when you do decide to forgo that blizzard on your way home from grocery shopping say to yourself, "hey, i made a good choice back there... way to go me."  then you start to realize you're doing these things just out of habit & the decisions will become easier.  

or at least that's what i've found!

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and now i'm realizing there is a LOT more than just these five things to a healthy lifestyle.  like, a lot.  i could write about this stuff all day you guys, but sometimes i have to change diapers & play with a certain little man {and parker too} so i can't.  i guess that just leaves more for later!

so what's working for you?  

two clicks for good eats!

wordless{ish} wednesday: parker's senior portrait.

i was not making it up when i said this kid was growing up fast.  but this already?  too soon.

and as promised in yesterday's post, a clip of parker's booty-shakin' moves.  this is totally worth a minute {& thirty-seven seconds} of your time.  promise.



i'd like to see you attempt those moves.  no, seriously just try!  my kid's got wicked skills.

ps:  if you didn't make it all the way through you totally missed his best moves.  just fyi.

pps:  please ignore my messy house, my headless brother-in-law on the couch {no offense jason}, & my awful curtains that i need to update like, yesterday.  mmmk?

ppps:  was your sound on?  because that increases the cute factor too.  i'm just looking out for you here.  ok, i'll leave you alone now!

{linking up wordless wednesday at baby baby lemon, the paper mama, & a little king & i}

click twice to vote? i love ya for it.  no really.  i love you.

fifteen months.

how can i start this off without sounding like a broken record?  i guess i can't.  so i'll just say it again & again.

this little guy gets more & more fun every month.  no seriously, he gets more & more fun everyDAY.  because everyday he does something new or says a new word or catches on to something we've been trying to teach him.  i am so lucky to be parker's mom.  i never knew that being a parent was gonna be like this.  i never knew that i would often find myself just watching him & feeling like my insides are gonna burst because i am just so happy & so proud & so in love with my little boy.  and i may or may not have tears welling up in my eyes thinking about it, so let's just move right along to the update stuff.  because this could get real mushy real fast.

here's my little man... all growed up to fifteen months.
{compare previous monthly pics here.}

i had a hard time picking his fifteen month picture.  parker is seriously the kid of 1,000 expressions, so how could i pick just one to sum him up this month?  he can go from being cute & sweet, to snuggly & somber, to goofy & playful in like zero point nothin.

here are some runner ups from our shoot today.

clearly we had one major milestone this month:  walking.  once he had it figured out, he never looked back.  this kid is constantly on the go & is walking all over the place.  i love that i can now put him down in a grass field & he won't get mud caked all over his knees or soak through his jeans if it's wet.  or that i can let him loose on a playground & he can move from toy to toy without much help.

this stage of walking isn't bad.  he isn't running yet so although he never comes when i call him, he doesn't get too far too fast.  we still have a handle on him.  but something tells me that won't last long... he's definitely getting faster & more confident on his feet which means i'm gonna have my work cut out for me here real quick.

parker's done some other new things this month too.  he loooooooves to dance.  every morning he picks up the remote, hands it to me, & starts shaking his head.  this means i'm supposed to turn on the apple tv & play some music he can dance to, duh.  and he totally does.  he holds on to the coffee table & shakes what his mama gave him.  makes me proud.  {video to come}.

he's learned a few new words this month.  new this month is puppy, bird, hi, up, baby & bubble, & he says them without being told.  he is kinda obsessed with dogs & if he hears one bark a block away he immediately says "puppy?" over & over.  

he kinda freaks out when he sees them... in a good way.

he still loves {mostly} everyone he meets & will wave "hi & bye" to you as you come & go {particularly cute cashiers at fred meyer or target}.  he blows kisses to people he really likes & has started to get a little bit of anxiety when sam or i leave the house for work & he is left with a sitter.  he knows how to turn on & unlock our iPhones & is learning how to get into the iPod ap to play his videos.  he is obsessed with home videos of himself.

he's working on cutting a few molars {hard to see how close they are & how many} & is still sleeping pretty dang well.  he's down by 8:30 pm & sleeps til 7:30 am with a 2-3 hour afternoon nap.  he loves loves loves to eat & says long dramatic mmmmmmm's with every bite.  he signs "eat" whenever he's hungry... at snack time, meal time, or whenever anyone else is eating.

he is seriously the best little boy.  and?  he is still so dang cute.

love this kid.

and as always, i love your votes. i love your votes like parker loves cheese.  that's a lot.

gimme s'more.

it decided to be summer again here in the northwest & we decided to take advantage of it.  we hung out with some of sam's family whilst sitting around a fire, stuffing our faces with s'mores.  does not get much better than that.  have you ever had a reese's peanut butter cup s'more?  no?  it will change your life... so try it.  like, yesterday.

and parker pretty much ate his weight in graham crackers.  so that was cool.

and did you know that pineapples grow on the ground & not in trees?  because i learned that this weekend.  ooooh, the things you learn while sitting around a fire.  life changing stuff, people.  life changing stuff.

oh, & remember that photoshoot i mentioned in my iPhotos post that happened last friday? {this is where you nod your head yes like you remember} well, i posted some of the pics on my photo blog.  maybe you might wanna stop by there & check them out?  because if you said something nice about my pretty friends & their pretty faces {and my pretty pictures?} it would probably make me feel all warm & fuzzy inside.

voting makes you awesome.  so thanks in advance for being awesome :)

our week by iPhone - week 36

let's just get this out there right off the bat... i took a lot of pictures this week.  but i can't help it when i have a kid that is constantly go-go-go with a huge smile on his face all. the. time.  i want to capture every single second of his silly life!

here are a few from this week.

monday.  i attempted a sweet mother/son picture after stroller strides.  parker wiggled out of my arms to go run around with the kids.  is this already happening?  i thought i had a few good years of being cool to him before he picked friends over me!  boo.

after a quick trip for groceries {where p-ray just really really wanted to play with a random pepper}, it was home for lunch & a nap.  and it was one of those days where he woke up from his nap super giggly & snuggly.  so we giggled & snuggled.  and took pictures.  it's what we do.

tuesday.  parker insisted i put these shorts on him right after his first diaper change of the morning.  not even kidding.  he was signing "please" & trying to put his leg through them.  so why would i say no?  then he proceeded to break into an interpretive dance... apparently.

after naptime we headed to the mall where i may or may not have relaxed on a fitting room bench while parker ran around the room yelling & listening to his echo while sucking down a squeezy pouch.  yup, i'm that mom.

and then sam read parker some stories before bed & it was adorable.

wednesday.  parker obviously keeps up with internet memes because he did some planking before our work out.  he obviously doesn't know you're supposed to point your fingers towards your toes.  or that owling is totally the new planking.  oh and?  parker may or may not have spent our entire workout pants-less.   long story.

the rest of the day consisted of a bubbles party in the kitchen, baby yoga on a basketball, wrestles with dad, & stealing all of the water out of my cup.  because water from my cup tastes much better than his.  go figure.

thursday.  i went to work & did my hair, so that deserved a picture.  then sam & i met for lunch at our favorite burrito bus {yeah, it's literally a school bus}& i enjoyed rubbing my very satisfied food baby afterwards.  yummm.

i rolled around on the floor with p-ray when i got home, sam made him laugh hysterically during dinner, & his bubble-bath-toy brought a bout of bath-anxiety to an end.  hooray!

friday.  i made up for parker playing it cool at stroller strides on monday by making him take lots of pictures with me after class.  but see that first picture?  he was totally down with it.  he's gonna be a mama's boy a few more years after all.  oh yes, he is.

and?  it had been wayyyy too long since we'd been to target so we went to there.  then we came home, sam & parker did their thing at dinner & i went out to take pictures of my bestie's family.  don't i look like a pro?  i was totally faking it.  this was my first family shoot ever.  but i look legit, right?

that was our week!  how was yours?  i wanna see, so link up!

Game Rules:
1.  your pictures have to be taken by your camera phone. that's it!  you don't even have to have a picture for every day.  got one camera phone pic of something fun from this week?  link up!

2.  if you want to grab the code below & put it in your post to have the linky with all the thumbnails show up on your blog do it.

and please post a link to my blog so others can come here to grab the code, too.
the more kids who come out to play, the more fun it will be, right?

Grab the code here:

<script src="http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=99301" type="text/javascript"></script>

...and get on the linky here:



we've moved up to #8 thanks to your votes!  keep 'em comin' friends!

a call for awesome people in august!

whoa, for reals?  august?  i'm not quite convinced.  if you live in the pacific northwest then you're probably not either.  but that's what the calendar says & that's what we go by.

you guys.  august is gonna be a real darn fine month, i can feel it.  real darn fine.  the sun is bound to come out, we're gonna get a taste of summer, & there's gonna be sunshiney happiness splattered all over the blog.  who doesn't like that?  i'm pretty excited about it.

and you should be too.  which gives you all the more reason why you should become a totally cool awesomely spectacular sponsor of this here little blog.  august is gonna be filled with not only lots & lots of p-ray cuteness {per the uge} but also all kinds of bbq's, playdates, & something i want to post more about:  health & fitness topics.  hooray!

think you might be interested?  you totally should be.  here's what ya do.

1.  pick out your ad size:

2.  email me to reserve your spot:

3.  send me your ad to display.  don't have one or do you need it resized?  no worries, we'll get it figured out.
4.  wait for august to roll around so you can see your pretty button on my sidebar & your pretty face featured in my posts!

i look forward to working with you & getting your shop/blog/website more traffic!  let's do this.

how about a way to support us that you can do right this minute?  click twice to vote.  now you're my fave.

a good life giveaway! - ($20 to Alexandra Rose}

it's giveaway day, yay!

today's giveaway is from this month's large sponsor Alexandra Rose!  her shop is full of super cute handmade goodies like taggie blankets, burp cloths, glass magnet sets, zippy pouches, checkbook covers, tote bags & more.

p-ray got in on this cuteness when alex sent us parker's very own taggie blanket!  she even matched it to the colors of his nursery.  we love it!

oh & another thing?  all her items come giftwrapped.  we loved receiving our gift for Alexandra Rose & parker had a blast opening it!

we love our taggie from Alexandra Rose!  the fabric is so soft & & cuddly, & parker loves all the fun tags.  but like i said, there is lots more that her shop has to offer.

like all this stuff:

and now Alex wants to share the love even more with a good life readers!  up for grabs is:

{$20 credit to her shop, Alexandra Rose}

here's how to enter:

•  check out Alexandra Rose on etsy & tell me what you'd get.

and bonus!  you can do these bad boys for extra entries:

•  follow Alexandra Rose {the blog}

•  favorite Alexandra Rose {the shop} on etsy

•  "like" Alexandra Rose on Facebook.

there ya go!  four chances to win & as always, leave a seperate comment for each entry ya do.  that way you get full credit.  giveaway ends july 28 at 11:59 pm pst.  

and last but not least, Alex is offering my readers 15% off your order with the code GOODLIFE.  

so.... go SHOP!  

feel like clicking a couple more times?  i'll love ya for it.