Sharing My Jennarocity

Our summer has been fast and furious lately! We are smack dab in the middle of VBS week but up till now, our summer has consisted of a lot of Six Flags and Hurricane Harbor!     We watched Jurassic Park with the kids for the first time (awesome) and The Lost World the next night (terrible). We really are excited that Sophia is getting old enough to start watching the movies we enjoy. For the last few years, each of the kids has basically been in different stages, so movie night together has been challenging. Avery went to bed and the four of us stayed up and watched it.   I blinded the boys with my flash!   Sophia and I continued our theater watching spree for this year with a performance of Shrek at the Uptown Theater in Grand Prairie. I'm so glad this is an interest we both share; I relish our times together when we go to these performances. This is our third show to see this year, the other two being the Wizard of Oz and New...

We just got out of this movie, and I have to say, this was one of my favorite animated movies I've ever seen. The levels upon which this movie speaks to human beings, adult and kid alike, is like nothing I've experienced in a movie before. Not only was this entertaining on a simple level, with the colors and characters attracting the kid-mind, but it also was thought provoking in a complex way, appealing to the adults at the same time.    (inside-outgames.com) This movie doesn't need a huge explanation, you get the idea of it from the trailers. Basically, our main character is a young girl named Riley with two loving parents. She leads a very happy life in Minnesota, where she has friends, she plays hockey and she still has the innocence and silliness of a child. She is told one day that she will be moving to San Francisco after her father's job takes them there. The story is told from the point of view of her mind, with five emotions driving her life: Joy, S...

I have so many other things going on in my life right now that I would love to post. But, I went and saw this movie, so I thought, hey, might as well post a movie review!   (viewallpapers.com)   First and foremost, we saw this movie at the newly remodeled Cinemark Movies 16 in Grand Prairie, with Luxury Loungers. If you haven't been here yet to watch a movie, you are doing yourself a disservice! The chairs are pretty awesome, if they reclined back any farther, though, I'd probably fall asleep. It's not worth taking kids here, because the tickets are a little more expensive (a couple dollars more than regular price). I thought it was worth it for a date night or a fun movie like this.   (scoopnest.com)   Now, on to the movie! We saw this movie in 3D and unlike many other movies I've seen in 3D, I thought the effect added to the experience instead of detracted from it. I'm sure it is just as fine in 2D, but I loved how I felt like I was right in t...

I was recently contacted by someone about the posts I wrote regarding a hospital bill I received for $61,000 back in 2013. I have had many others ask me about that and I really feel like my experiences have helped people in a boat where they are having a hard time navigating the waters of excessive medical bills.   Last week, I received a bill from the hospital where I had my hernia repair surgery. I had this surgery last February and just received a bill. It cost me $25 out of pocket the day of the surgery and I haven't seen another bill since. I finally received the bill and it was $2,600, the remaining amount after insurance had paid their portion. I knew that they tried to charge my insurance upwards of $100,000 for my surgery and that the insurance paid more than they should have for this procedure, because I had been discussing the bill with my insurance when I started seeing the Explanation of Benefits come through in the mail. I wasn't happy with th...

Avery's last day of school was yesterday. She's had such a good year!!   Here are some things Miss Avery has learned this year...   -Avery has learned to write her name -Avery recognizes all of her letters -She has started really learning what the letter say. She will say, "Mommy, m-m-mommy. Mommy starts with M!" -She has learned not just her numbers, but she has learned how to count -She is starting to learn some shapes   This school has really put her in a place where she is going to know so much when she goes to kindergarden in a year. I have subbed in a couple preschool classes and they are learning things in her school now that they learn in actual preschool, and she still has a year of preschool to go.       She has made a lot of new friends and has flourished so much!  Now, onto summer. Oh man, onto summer!    

So...this happened!       I've had these jeans for a long time. In January, I couldn't get them up my thighs, much less button them. Yesterday, I did! Now, I am not saying they are comfortable or that I would wear them out yet, but give me a couple more weeks...   In March, I talked about how I lost 22 pounds since Christmas. I am proud to say I am now down 30 pounds and two sizes!   I am very much enjoying this place I am at in my journey of changing my lifestyle. I have struggled with weight loss for almost five years and it's been difficult at times. I am not really sure what made this time different or what gave me renewed motivation. I think finding the right people (a nutritionist and a trainer) that taught me some good things from the beginning made a huge difference. I didn't feel like I was shooting in the dark and they made it very simple. No cleanses, no removal of a certain food group from my diet, no "cheat days," no crazy work...

One of the reasons I love my job is that I get to participate in things like this....Breakfast with Mom at Avery's school!     Avery gets so excited when we get to go with her to school. It's so fun to be a part of it.     Here we are last year...     What a year can do!!   I love the craft the had us do...it's one I will keep forever!!!