Isn't he getting big? Look at those long legs. As I type this post, he is trying to force me to play tug-a-war with him. :) Silly Champ!

So the other wonderful man in my life was super busy over the holidays remodeling our master bathroom. Our house was built in 1948 and was fairly updated when we purchased it. The bedrooms, kitchen and living room were beautiful but the bathrooms, especially the master bath, left something to be desired. A quick coat of paint and a new mirror made a huge difference in the guest bathroom, but we knew the master was going to be a much larger project. It started out looking like this.....

It wasn't necessarily terrible looking (although definitely not my style), but it not very functional. Can you say zero counter space and non existant storage? Luckily, my hubby is very handy. It doesn't hurt that my amazing father-in-law can fix pretty much anything and came up to help! Thanks Dr. George!! Eric started out by ripping out the old sink.

E hard at work. Check out that backside! ;)

Mission accomplished!

After everything was unhooked (no floods thank goodness), and hauled away, the bathroom looked like this.


I never doubted E's skills, but this is a little bit of a scary sight. Plumbing is no joke! In the end, it all turned out absolutely amazing. We have way more storage space now, and I can actually set my makeup and straightener on the counter. This is huge!! Check it out!

Much more my style! I don't know about you, but I was pretty impressed the George boys were able to do that all by themselves in one day!

Sadly, the holidays are officially over, and 2012 is off and running. I know a lot of us have health related New Year's resolutions, so I thought I would share some of my all time favorite core exercises incase you needed to spice up our strength routine. Face it, we all get tired of doing 1,000 crunches all the time. These moves force you to recruit more muscles to help stabilize the core.

WomensHealthMag.com

How to: STABILITY BALL MOUNTAIN CLIMBERAssume a plank position with your hands shoulder-width apart on a stability ball (a). Draw your right knee toward your chest (b). Hold for one second, then return to the plank position. Repeat with your left knee. That’s one rep. Do 12 to 15 reps. Lauren's Tip: If it's too hard to balance while lifting your knee up, try just hovering your foot a couple of inches off the ground to start out.

WomensHealthMag.com

How To: THE MATRIXGrab a five- to 10-pound medicine ball (or dumbbell) and kneel on the floor with your knees hip-width apart. Keep your torso upright and hold the ball against your abs (a). Slowly lean back as far as possible, keeping your knees planted (b). Hold the reclined position for three seconds, then use your core to slowly come up to the starting position. Do 12 to 15 reps. Lauren's Tip: I love doing this one while squeezing a pilates ring out in front of my chest.

FitnessMagazine.com

How To: Criss Cross
Lie faceup on floor with elbows bent out to sides at shoulder level, hands touching behind ears and knees bent, feet flat. Crunch up, lifting feet off floor, and rotate torso toward right as you bring right knee into chest; simultaneously extend left leg diagonally up at a 45 degree angle. Keeping torso and legs lifted, switch sides and repeat to complete 1 rep. Do 10 to 12 reps.

Have you ever done any major home renovations?

How did they go?

What's your favorite core exercise?

In health,

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