Tell All Tuesday - Week 33

I am so excited to report that I will be going into Thanksgiving with an extra dose of motivation! Today I weighed in DOWN another 1.2 pounds! That meant a couple of milestones for me, first it put me exactly at my 5th grade weight!!! The other milestone was 60.4 lbs lost since going back to WW after having James! My ticker over there to the right is based on my pre-pregnancy weight before I had either of the kids so that number is getting pretty exciting for me too! I can't wait to go home for Thanksgiving and see some relatives that haven't seen me in at least 6 months...some haven't seen me since last Christmas! I am so excited and hoping that they will notice all of the weight that I have lost.

I have a plan for Thanksgiving. First, I plan to get in some workouts. Second, I plan to make myself enjoy all of the family more than putting my focus on the food. We are planning for 27 people for our Thanksgiving dinner, but that number could easily grow if any of the teenagers or college students bring boy/girl friends with them this year or if more family decides to show up. I am excited to see everyone and I'm sure it will be a challenge to keep up with James in that crowd so that should keep me from 'grazing' around the buffet table. Third, I plan to wear my new size 10 dress pants to remind myself that there isn't any "growing" room in them... no stretching clothes this year! Oh and my mom is making some very WW friendly dishes for me. Everything from roasted veggies to my favorite WW pumpkin pie with fat free whipped cream! Can you tell how excited I am!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family! If I don't post much this week it will be because I am busy being THANKFUL for this time I have with family that we don't get to see very often!

Roller Skating Pony Party!

Kirstyn was so excited to be having a roller skating my little pony party! One time while in Target checking out the "pink" toy isle, Kirstyn spotted a tiny pony that was wearing roller skates and suddenly we were settled on a theme for Kirstyn's skating party.

A great time was had by everyone and even James wanted in on the skating action. He kept pointing to Pappy skates and trying to take his shoes off so David got the smallest pair of skates that they had and put them on him. He was really proud to look like everyone else but he only liked "skating" on the carpet. He is too funny!

So, in keeping witht he theme I made her a cookie cake with a Roller Skating Pinkie Pie on it. She loved her cake and was very excited to add the pony that we had found at Target to the cake. Oh and notice the pony is also wearing a tutu. Kirstyn's tutu was her birthday present from her Aunt Neida and it has been difficult to get her to take it off since she got it!

I have more pictures to share from "Birthday Week" that I hope to get to later this week. I really still can't believe that I now have a 5 year old! Wow.

Tell All Tuesday - Week 32

Well, no major excitement on the weight loss front. Today I was up 0.2 pounds. I am totally okay with that because I am taking antibiotics and decongestants and my stomach is finally starting to feel better. I stayed on plan this past week so I am not upset about the tiny gain, I have learned that these little ups are just a part of the going down process.

I haven't been posting because I usually get all of my computer time at night after the kids are in bed and this past week I have been going to bed instead of sitting up reading blogs and writing in mine. Hopefully when I finish this round of medicines I will have some of my energy back. Stay tuned. I have tons of Kirstyn's birthday party pictures to share. And thanks for all of the good wishes this past week....I promise I will be making the rounds, my reader is full of blog reading to catch up on!

Tell All Tuesday - Week 31

I lost for the fifth week in a row! Down 1.8 today!!! That puts me at 17 down in the past 14 weeks. 20 in 20 here I come! Today is Kirstyn's 5th Birthday but this post is about me...I will probably write another one about her later today. I realized that 5 years ago today I was more than 100 lbs heavier than I am today (of course I did have a 9lb 4oz baby girl inside of me). I can't decide if I am more embarrassed that I ever got that fat or more proud that I can even say that.

Now I have a prayer request. I am not feeling very well today. My stomach is bothering me and I don't know if I just have a virus or if it is my Crohn's Disease acting up. Please pray that either way, I will get to feeling better fast. Thanks!!!

Basic Math

Conversation between Kirstyn and I today...

Me: Do you know what tomorrow is?

K: Um, YES (eyes wide and lit up)... It's my Happy Birthday!

Me: How old are you going to be?

K: Five and a half!

Me: No, just 5.

K: Four and a half plus one is Five and a half!

Me: Tomorrow you turn Five, then on Brother's Birthday in May, you turn Five and a Half.

K: OHHHH, does that mean James will be One and a Half tomorrow on my Happy Birthday?

Me: Yes! So how old are you going to be tomorrow?

K: Five and a Half!

I didn't even respond this time because Mimi was on the phone asking to talk to Kirstyn. Then, Kirstyn had the same conversation with Mimi. Mimi is always looking for a good excuse to go to Big Lots, so my guess is that James will be getting a Half Birthday present tomorrow when Kirstyn gets her presents! I am totally okay with that because I used to get presents on my sister's birthday in April (I still do most years!) because my sister got presents on my Birthday (never mind that my Birthday is Christmas Day).

Okay, so if you ask Kirstyn tomorrow how old she is, my fingers are crossed that she will answer 5. Guess we will see.

P.S. My posts may be a little sporadic this week since we are in Birthday Mode around here! Kirstyn and I are about to make Whole Wheat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins for her Birthday Breakfast tomorrow so that we can put some candles in one in the morning (or 5 and a half of them!)

More Prizes!

Guess what!?!?! I found another way to win more prizes! Yeah. And these prizes are sponsored by Mom-Preneurs. So, join me over at Tip Junkie for the 12 Days of Junkie and even though you may lower my chances of winning, at least someone I like might win!

Christmas is WHEN?

7 weeks from today! The countdown is on. So, I plan on trying to win a few little prizes over at 5 Minutes for Mom. You know what excites me the most! They promised that there won't just be toys up for grabs but some gifts for the mommies too! Maybe I will win myself a Birthday present!

My Sick Princess

Kirstyn is running a high fever again today. She has been running a high fever since Sunday. I thought it had broke on Tuesday and she was acting like herself. Then Wed morning she woke up feeling fine so I let her go to dance. All was good until 3am this morning when she woke up running a 103.2! (I'm praying we didn't infect our dance friends...I really thought she was all better!) agh. We took her to the doctor on Monday and she said she thought it was viral and her strep culture came back negative but they are now concerned since she is still running a fever. Guess we will probably be going back to the doctor this afternoon or tomorrow. Please pray she gets better fast and that the rest of us don't get it! Kirstyn's 5th birthday is next Tuesday and we have a packed schedule next week!

A little baseball...

Since James was born, going to the Ranger games has gone from being a family outing to being a date night for Kirstyn and Daddy. It makes me happy that Kirstyn loves the Rangers as much as her Daddy does. She also really enjoys going to the games and cheering for HER team! A month or so ago, David took the afternoon off and we took both kids to the last game of the season. James did a really great job staying in our seats and clapping for the Rangers. Here are a couple of pictures from our afternoon together.




Oh, speaking of baseball... David took Kirstyn to the Ranger game when the Rangers were playing the Red Sox. When Kirstyn came home she was nearly in tears talking about how there were lots and lots of people there that were cheering for the wrong team. She just couldn't imagine why or how these people were cheering for a team other than HER Rangers. She was just sure that Michael Young's feelings were hurt because there were so many people that were not cheering for him. She is so genuine. She really does commit 100% to her friends and she considers each and every one of the Ranger's players her friends because she knows their names and she cheers for them. So... next season, if you are at the Ranger ballpark... PLEASE join Kirstyn and cheer on the Rangers!

Go here for more Wordful Wednesday.

Tell All Tuesday - Week 30

First off, I am so excited to report that I lost 0.8 today. No, it is not a big number but it is a loss and it is my 4th in a row! I don't know that I have ever lost weight 4 consecutive weeks! That also puts me at 15.2 in 13 weeks. I will make my 20 in 20 goal!

Wow, I can't believe I have been posting about my weight loss and well, some gains for 30 weeks now. I just went back and looked to see how much weight I have lost since I decided to make myself vulnerable to the blog accountability and as it turns out, I have lost 27.4 lbs since April 15th. So, thanks for the encouragement and accountability! Keep the comment love coming!

Time

I have been spending a lot of time the past few days thinking about Jessica and the impact that she made on my life. Her love for Jesus and her family and friends should challenge each of us to be better people.

When we first joined the Edge Sunday School class at our church, I remember Jessica and Jake always making a point to speak to David and I and ask how we were doing. Jessica was one of the few people that would wait for an answer to that "how are you" question and then she cared how I answered it. Then, weeks later, she would follow up on what I had said. She had a genuine interest in those around her.

Later, after she had been diagnosed with cancer, when I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, Jessica cooked my family dinner. I remember that she brought us beef and broccoli and an Oreo cookie pudding dessert. She had gone to much effort to make sure that she made us a homemade dessert that was egg free so that Kirstyn could eat it. I remember feeling very special and very grateful that she cared like that for my family even though we didn't know each other well.

Then, Jessica and I served in MOPS together. While we were both serving on the Steering Team, Jessica was my small group leader. We were able to get to know each other much better during play dates at Chick-fil-a, mom's nights out over dinner, and, one time, we scheduled a pedicure night and Jessica and I were the only ones that made it. We had a great time talking and laughing, mostly sharing stories about our girls. I also remember her encouraging me to start exercising. I had started a morning boot camp program with some other women from our Sunday school class and Jessica shared with me how she was getting up almost every morning at 5:30 to go to the gym to get in her workout. Her determination was impressive.

Tomorrow I will be wearing my Journey with Jessica t-shirt to MOPS and I know for sure that because of the impact that Jessica has had on me, I will be a better wife, mother, and friend.

And the winner is...

Tara from Tara's View of the World! Congrats! I can't wait to work on your silhouette!

I used Random.org and here is the proof
Here are your random numbers:
29
Timestamp: 2008-11-02 03:50:34 UTC

Thursday Thirteen - 17th Edition

My 13 Favorite Halloween Candies and their Points!

M&Ms Snack Size Bag Peanut - 2 points
M&Ms Snack Size Regular - 2 points
Butterfinger Bar, Fun Size - 2 points
Snickers Bar, Fun Size - 2 points
Candy Corn, 1 oz - 2 points
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Snack Size - 2 points
3 Musketeers, Fun Size - 2 points
Charm's Blow Pop - 1 point
Caramello, Snack Size Bar - 2 points
Hershey's Miniatures, 5 pieces - 4 points
Sweet Tarts, 2 mini packs - 1 point

Notice the theme --> I love chocolate! I don't like sticky candy like Skittles and Starburst. I love candy that contains nuts, especially almonds, but the ones with almonds usually don't come in the snack size version for trick or treaters.

I do not plan to pass out candy. I just want to be prepared for what my kids might bring back into my house. Knowing the points values will slow me down!

Speaking of candy, we took the kids to Fright Fest at Six Flags this weekend where they had a blast trick or treating from the characters!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Hey, have you entered my giveaway???

Our Scarecrows!

I just had to show you my front yard scarecrows that I got this year! Aren't they cute!!!

One afternoon when we came home the little boy one had fallen over and Kirstyn screamed, "oh no.... James is on his face!" Too funny. When I bought them I knew they resembled my kids but I didn't realize that Kirstyn had noticed it! I wanted to take a picture of James with his but he would have nothing to do with standing still!

I am so excited that fall seems to be here. At least I can wear my new jeans and not sweat as soon as I walk out of the house! What is your favorite part of fall?

Now go visit some more Wordful Wednesday blogs.

I have a giveaway going on!

Bloggy Giveaway!

I have been playing in photoshop and I have learned how to make digital silhouettes. What do you think?

I think it will look really great framed in a solid black frame and hung on my wall!

Would you like to win a custom silhouette image for yourself? Leave a comment on this post and I will use Random.org on Nov 1st to choose a winner. If you are chosen, I will notify you by email. Please make sure I have a way to contact you! Also, you will then have to email me some pictures to use to make your silhouettes. I will work with you until you are happy with the creation. I will then email you our finished high resolution image. You can then print as many as you would like for yourself and family or friends! Since I will be "shipping" the finished product via email, my giveaway is open to everyone!

Okay, ready, set, COMMENT! And if this is your first visit to my blog, please take a moment and look around. I post about everything that makes up my version of Normal. I am currently working very hard to lose 100 lbs while I am raising my 17 month old son and almost 5 year old daughter and supporting my husband as he builds our insurance agency from the ground up. Please stay a while and get to know me or come back next week after you are finished entering all of the great giveaways over at the bloggy carnival that is going on this week.

***If you don't win, but would still like one of these for yourself, feel free to email me (charge will be $20 via paypal)...I could use some Christmas money!***

Tell All Tuesday - Week 29

Today I lost 0.2 but I will take it and be proud. See, because it is launch week at the gym and all of the classes are introducing new routines and I am so sore today I can barely walk! Usually that means a gain for me because of the water retention so I am proud of my tiny loss. The other factor is that I switched from weighing in wearing capris to wearing pants. I also went to Taste of Arlington last Tuesday night...so with all of those factors I am proud to have a loss.

Now, for something I am realizing about myself. I need to figure out how to not see the heavy version of myself when I look in the mirror. I mean, when I was looking through our pumpkin patch pictures yesterday to post, I saw this picture of me and my first though was, why would David take a picture of so and so's butt? See we had run into several people we knew while we were there and had walked around with them for a little while. Then my next thought was, holy crap, that is MY tiny butt!!! Then last night when I was walking into my Body Attack class, I saw a girl that was dressed really cute and thought, I can't wait until I look that skinny. Then we were beside each other and I noticed in the mirror that I am in fact smaller than her. Sheesh. So how do I get my brain to realize that I am not wearing a size 20 but in fact a size 10?

In case you are wondering....8 more weeks until Christmas. So, it is week 12 in my 20 lbs in 20 weeks quest and I am down 14.4.

Pumpkin Fun

Okay, well our playgroup had planned to go to the Dallas Arboretum today to take pictures in the pumpkins with the kids today. Then all of a sudden, Texas got a cold front and everyone decided to back out. (I know my Canadian friends are now laughing because us Texans call 60F cold!) Anyway, this morning after I told Kirstyn that we weren't going to go, I found this on my white board in my laundry room...

I'm pretty sure my hair looked like that this morning when I woke up! Anyway, I was a little sad too and the sun was coming out so I took the tags off of the kids jackets, packed our picnic lunch and loaded up in the car. Then I called David to see if he would want to take a long lunch and go with us on our picnic and he said sure! We had a great time even though we were not there very long. Oh and we even got a couple of family shots!

James and Kirstyn even were enjoying each others company rather than fighting. So that made the morning even more fun! Oh and Kirstyn made a friend at the petting zoo.
Oh and I really liked this picture of me and James! Check out his black eye. I guess he was due for another one since his last black eye just healed and I scheduled an appointment at Target to get the kids pictures made in their costumes!

Happy Fall Y'all!

Miracles Do Happen

I know because I got to go on TWO dates in ONE week! Yes, that's right. I got to go to my very first Dallas Mavs game tonight. See, David got a call this morning from our friend Aaron who had a couple of tickets that he wasn't going to use. David decided rather than invite a friend to go he would see if our sitter was available tonight again. A couple of text messages later, he called me with the surprise! The Mavs lost tonight but I still had a great time getting to go. Stop by and say hi to Aaron and his wife Kim who has recently entered the bloggy world!

Hope you have a great weekend! What do you have planned? We have a busy one scheduled. We will be attending a 2nd Birthday Party, going to Six Flags for Fright Fest, I have a MOPS Steering Meeting, and there is more I'm sure.

The Manager

The other day we were outside working in the yard. Kirstyn went into the garage, got me a rake, got James a broom, realized James' broom was too big for him, went back into the garage and got James a paint brush. David was using the weed eater. Then she said something like, okay, perfect, now we all can work. I looked at her, confused, and asked just what was she going to do while Daddy was weed eating, I was raking, and James was sweeping.

"Well", she said, "Mommy, I'm the manager."

Oh. Sorry, I didn't realize. Hey Kirstyn, Daddy is the one with the manager degree.

She laughed. "Daddy is not a girl." "Girls are the ones that know HOW to do everything".

Exactly, I said. Mommy has the engineering degree! Engineers have to know HOW to do stuff when the Managers realize that it needs to be done!

She didn't get it because she was busy using her hand as a megaphone and teaching James to use his paint brush broom...but one day she will! Oh and David and I had a good laugh. She does love math already and her favorite cartoon right now is Cyberchase. Maybe one day she will be an engineer too.