Even a Pirate Has to Eat Lunch

Nora is obsessed with her pirate attire. It is all too often that she wears this patch around. What you can't see in the picture is her "ord". Silly little lady, I love the mixture of boy and girl you have in you!!

Denial

I'm in denial. My little lady turned FOUR MONTHS OLD today. This seems impossible. It really seems like it was just yesterday when I was sitting in shock that she was here, that my drug free labor was a success and that she weighed NINE POUNDS. Where does time go? I will never know. What I do know is that everyday I fall in love more and more with my little ladies and everyday this little lady gets just a little bit cuter =0)

Wouldn't you agree?

Just Because....

she's so darn cute. I had to share this picture =0)

Adventures in Dieting Week Four: 2.3 lbs lost

WOW!! Has it really been four weeks since I started this little adventure? It honestly doesnt seem like it has been that long, but I guess it has. I have to be honest and say that I was bad this week. Really bad. I ate like a horse the entire weekend, but somehow I managed to lose yet another two pounds. Im pretty excited that I am managing to lose weight at the recommnded pace that Weight Watchers recommends without having to try too hard.
Overall I have lost about 15 pounds. I would like to lose about 30 more. I figured if I were to continue losing two pounds per week, then just maybe by the beginnning of the summer I might like how my body looks in a bathing suit. Before I had kids I always said that I did not want to be the fat mom, that I wanted to be able to physically do anything that my children wanted to do, be it a bike ride or a hike up a mountain. I've spent the past two years with that ability being questionable and I ready to overcome it. Afterall, my motivation aside from all of this is to be skinny so that I will feel comfortable in a swimsuit so that we can have Nora's birthday party at our subdivision swimming pool and NOT have to have a million and ten people in our house!! I guess we will just have to wait and see, but I have a feeling come August this WILL be happening =0) Wish me luck. I know I can do it!

Reese's Baptism Pics

Reese's Baptism

Today was a very special day for our little lady, Reese. She was baptized. Ironically the sermon for the day was regarding abortion and the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. A rose was carried to the alter for each year that has passed since the passing of this law in rememberance of all the baby's lost as a result of an abortion. Sitting in the cry room with my ever so vocal chilld I couldn't keep myself from crying. It broke my heart to think about the lives lost, the little children who never got to see life, and for their mothers, who for whatever reason were not able to experience the miracle of childbirth and being a Mommy. Needlesss to say it was a very touching ceremony and perfectly timed. The remainder of the service I sat there and thought about how thankful I am that my life has become what it is. That I myself was never put into a predicament that would make me have to make a decision as to rather or not to continue on with a pregnancy. That I not only have two beautiful little girls who I would give anything for, but that I also have not a worry in my life. I have all that I need and more. I am so thankful that life has been so good to me! I am also thankful that although my childhood was not perfect, everything in it was there for a reason, and I can now not only continue my belief in Christ, but also share it with my children.

By the way, pics are to come... lets just say the little lady was NOT fond of the idea, let alone the water over her head, the oil rubbed on her, or the strange man touching her. Afterall, she  is the little girl who doesn't even like her OWN Daddy to hold her  =0(

Adventures in Dieting, Week 3: Total lost: 12.8 lbs.

Well the whole dieting thing is going pretty well. I have to admit there are days where it is the last thing I want to do. I want to eat crap, non-stop all day instead of thinking about what to eat, planning what I am going to eat and eating only that. On top of that, I have fallen into a slump this weekend. We have a lot going on and with that I am stressed. Since I am totally a stress eater this has been TRICKY! Come Monday I am hoping to snap out of it and get back on track. Although I have been no angel with this whole dieting thing, I continue to lose weight and have now lost a total of 12.8 pounds. I figure if I lose 2 lbs per week (weight watchers recommended weight loss) then maybe by the beginning of summer I will have met my goal. I sure hope so anyway!!

A Purpose in Life.

Today was my first day back to work and I have to tell you it felt GREAT. This morning I felt like a little kid on their first day of school. I was so excited to get there, I could hardly wait for Patty to get here. Once I got there I got a great big welcome back and the smiles on the folks' faces were enough to make me know I had made the right decision. I thoroughly enjoyed my day. It was great seeing everybody and once again feeling like I had a meaningful, appreciated, educated purpose in life. Today was a perfect example of proving the saying "you dont know what you have until its gone" is SOOOO true. I missed my job, I missed the folks at my job, and most of all I missed having a true purpose in life. Heres hoping that in the weeks and months to come that I continue to LOVE the decision I made =0)

Preschool. Really, already?

I cannot believe that my little lady is old enough to be going to pre-school, or enrolling in it at least, but she is. Today we enrolled her. We decided to enroll her at our church preschool, St. Michaels. Being fairly new to the area we don't know a whole lot about our options, but since our nephews go to this one, we knew it was okay. I REALLY cannot believe my little lady is this old, but she is and I know without a doubt she is READY!!!

Adventures in Dieting Week 2.5: Sorry I Couldn't Wait!!

WOOOOHOOOO. I did it. For the first time since having Nora I weigh less than I have since having her. It feels GOOD. Really good. Stepping on the scale paid off. I had a feeling I had lost some weight, but I had no idea I had lost 4 pounds since Wednesday!! I can't wait until Wednesday's weigh in so I can see how much I have lost overall this week. Maybe, just maybe I will have another 8 lb weight loss week. I guess only time will tell. Until then, I must keep reminding myself, "being skinny again is worth so much more than that ______________(cookie,pizza, 2nd helping, etc).

Adventures in Dieting Week Two: 1.6 lbs. lost

I knew at the beginnning of the week that this week would be tough. There were many challenges facing me  including my Mom coming to stay, me scrapbooking all day Saturday and Ryan being gone. I was hoping that I would be able to be stronger than the challenges but unfortunately I wasnt. Needless to say, after consuming a 9 pt. piece of carrot cake, eating at Chilis not once, but twice, and eating at First Watch, I was was scared to step on the scale. I cheated Sunday evening and weighed myself and sadly, the scale had went the wrong direction. I quickly got back on board and by Wednesday I had managed to pull off a 1.6 pound weight loss. Nothing compared to last weeks loss, but I guess its better than nothing. On a positive note, Weight Watchers told me that I met my first goal, and that I have lost 5 percent of my total weight. 10 lbs lost. 40 more to go!

God Speaking?!?!

Do you ever feel like that something was just meant to be? You know, like an opportunity couldnt have panned out better than it did? Honestly it has been a long time since I have felt this way, but a few weeks ago on what should have been my last time to walk out the doors of CLO (my job of the past 6 years), I instead was offerred an opportunity that was exactly what I wanted. My job, part-time with the folks from my favorite house as my caseload!  Did I ask for this? NO. Did I want it, YES. Was I sure this was what I wanted, NO. Am I excited about it? YES. Did I lose sleep over making this decision? YES. And so you have it, I am returning back to work. Next Tuesday to be exact. I am beyond excited. In fact I cannot wait. I am stoked to get away from my children (dont get me wrong, I love them) and use my brain. I am excited that Nora gets her "Nanna" back (yep, thats another God thing) Most of all I am excited to get that piece of my life that was missing filled. I'm pretty certain I made the right choice. Or God did, and I listened!

Adventures of Dieting: Life lessons are sometimes learned the hard way!

So today was one of Ryan's employee's 50th birthday. Nora is quite fond of "Mr. Lee" and found out that it was his birthday when daddy went to his party this past Sunday. Since then, Nora insisted on baking Mr. Lee a "dirday cake", taking it to Auto Now and singing Happy Birthday. Since "Mr. Lee" is a single man I thought heck, why not, but didnt really push the issue thinking maybe it would be dropped. Guess what? The little lady DID NOT forget and last night there we were making Mr. Lee his "dirday cake" (carrot cake with cream cheese frosting). I knew the entire time that I would have to have a piece and planned, looked forward to and consumed it this morning. Once I returned home I typed in the nutrition information and HOLY COW, guess how many Weight Watchers points that darn thing had?!?! NINETEEN. NINETEEN people. That is insane. When I was on WW last time that would have been nearly ALL of my points for the day. Thankfully since I am nursing, I have plenty more points than before, but HOLY batman that is ALOT. I guess the lesson I learned from this one is to NEVER consume anything before knowing the point total.... that is unless that is all I want to eat that day!

Adventures In Weight Loss Week One: 8.4 lbs lost

As many of you may know I have struggled with my weight pretty much my entire life. The battle started in fifth grade when I was diagnosed with a thyroid disorder (at age 20 I had my thyroid removed and am now completely dependent on syntroid). As a result my body would go from being really skinny to really fat every few years. Example: Freshman year of high school I weighed all of 110 lbs at 5 ft. 8. This stuck around until my senior year when the weight started creeping on. By the time I was 20 I weighed around 160 lbs. When I was 22 I decided to follow weight watchers and was able to get down to 132 lbs. I felt great, could wear anything and for the first time in a LONG time I felt GOOD. Unfortunately shortly after this, I graduated college, started my job, hit my goal weight and lived in a fantasy world that the weight would just miraculously stay off even if I ate like a cow. Guess what? It didn't. Instead it slowly creeped back up and by the time I became pregnant with Nora I weighed 148 pounds. While pregnant with Nora I gained nearly 70 pounds and on my delivery date I weighed 212 lbs. Thankfully after having her I lost some weight without trying, but that some only got me down to 168 pounds two years after the fact. I'll be honest in saying that I did not try one bit during this time. I knew more than likely I would be having another baby in the near future and I didnt want to put in the effort only to turn around and gain it all back. Thankfully with Reese I did not gain 70 pounds and on my due date once again I weighed 212 pounds. Three months after Reese was born, the weight on the scale started saying the same and I knew it was time to get to work. Last Wednesday I decided to rejoin Weight Watchers. I weighed 183 lbs. This week I weighed myself and guess what? I weigh 173.6. I'm pretty stoked. It really hasnt been that hard and thankfully since Weight Watchers revamped its program I can eat fruit for "free" so guess what? I do. When everybody else at a playdate is eating crap, I pull out my lovely little tangerine. 10 PM at night and the hubby grabs something to eat before going to bed , no worries, I eat a banana. Im so excited to have taken the initial dive and to have lost so much so quickly.  WOOO HOOOO. Here's to another great week to come!