time for a change

I've struggled with my weight all of my adult life. I'm not one to always be on a diet. I'd rather eat what I want... and that's not good. Sweets are of the Devil and I'm one that can't resist them. Unless you're talking about anytyhing containing coconut, gooey sweets with nuts embedded or carrot cake. I'm just not a fan of those. But chocolate - anything with chocolate - I'm in. Way over my head.

Two weeks ago I decided to join Weight Watchers for the 2nd time in my life. Yes, I did it. The first step is the hardest, right? Not really, that was just a few clicks of the mouse. What followed after THE decision was not easy but very thrilling for me.

I had made up my mind that I wanted to get serious about dropping some of this weight so I had to make lots of eating habit changes - and quick-like. I was on the plan back in 2003 and by the time I met my then-future-husband in April 2004, I had just lost 30 pounds and was at my goal weight and happy with it. Well, the courtship started and the pounds slowly crept back on. Then life happened. A baby was delivered via c-section (August 2006)... then a gall bladder was delivered via laparoscopic surgery (August 2007)... then another baby was delivered via c-section (May 2008)... then a uterus was delivered via laparoscopic surgery (January 2011). You get the pattern here? All abdominal surgeries - bam, bam, bam, bam!

~ Insert thought bubble ~ I don't mind being "fluffy", but I'd like everything to be evenly distributed please! This spare tire around my waist was getting more prominent and I am not thrilled about that!

I've been walking for exercise, counting points and re-creating recipes on their cool website so I am aware of what I'm eating and how much it costs me. My new saying is I have to know where I've been to know where I'm headed. That applies in many aspects of life, but also right down to the root of my eating habits. Deprivation is not the key... I still partake of some things that I want/crave. But I have also changed so many other things that I eat during the course of a typical day, that I just don't worry about eating 2 Snackwell cookies dipped in melted milk chocolate. Or sampling my homemade cream cheese icing.

Another good thing that's come from this already is the fact that Allen is also eating some of these "good fer ya" foods - and liking them! This trickle-down effect will make both of us feel better. Heck, even the kids were stealing my Wasa crackers (1 pt. for 3 of them!) and my Weight Watcher ice cream bars!

So here I am on Week 2's weigh-in date and I'm down a total of 3.5 lbs! It's not a huge number, but it's going in the right direction. Itty bitty steps... eventually I'll get there. My first goal is to lose 10 pounds. Then I'll keep setting small goals to keep my focus. My ultimate goal is to lose 34.5 pounds. That will be 10 pounds less than I ended up before on Weight Watchers. Keep checking back (I'll update more often, I promise!) to see what's going on! 'Til then, I'm off to track my points and shed some fat layers!

Selective hearing is prominent even at 4 years old

Just about an hour before bath time every night, my two little ones shed their layers of clothing to run around totally buck naked. They love to feel the wind whipping through their unmentionable places. A total transformation takes place once the underwear comes off. Thy act like they've just been given a new lease on life - running around, chasing each other and acting all giddy.

Well, just after the "nudey" hour started Friday night, Seth was running around the love seat over and over and over. Toys were scattered everywhere and I had had enough of it so I told him to stop running. He chose to continue running and I started counting the rounds out loud "okay, that's one time you've gone around after I told you not to... that's two times... if you do one more, that's three strikes which means a pop" (that means the wooden spoon and he knows it). Well, guess what. He looked at me and listened as I got to number three. Dad got the spoon. Now remember, Seth has absolutely nothing on. After about 15 seconds of struggle and him giggling, "whack!" - one good pop on his butt. He ran off like a scalded dog, hollering and crying, grabbing his butt and wishing he had a bucket of cold water to jump in to put that fire out. Don't get me wrong, I know it hurt. He was truly in pain. But he knows what the countdown is and as much warning as you give him, he continues to push the limits. The only thing we can do is follow through with the end result stated so he knows we're serious and not push-overs, right?

Here's where the funny part starts.

He got mad and sassy. He gets this way quite often. But this time I played along. He tells us, "I'm going to Nana & Papa's!!" I replied, "Go ahead. You may want to take your blankies and just sleep with them tonight."

"Well I'm going over there RIGHT NOW!"
"Okay, see ya later."

Remember, he's naked. He proceeds to put on his shoes and warns us again that he's going over there. Again, I encouraged him to go. He walked out the door in his birthday suit and me and Allen just burst into laughter. We ran to the front window like school children watching a school mate walk into a trap we had just set. He was still standing on our front steps. My guess is that he was hoping we'd open the door and tell him to get back inside. That didn't happen. A few seconds later, he started on his journey, with the outside pole lights shining on him. We stared as we laughed, and waited for the door to open at Nana & Papa's house. Allen said, "I wonder what they're gonna say to him when he gets there." Abbey said, "They gonna say 'boo-hoo!'"

We laughed and laughed and laughed at her!

A few minutes later, the door opened again and I saw Papa's head coming out. Being the school children we are, we giggled and ran back to our places - he in the computer chair and me in my rocking chair. Papa walked in holding him and said Seth had told him Daddy popped him and he didn't know why. Go figure!!!

A cherished memory | Gator date night with my son

My dad keeps telling me to update my Blog. Updating a blog is easy as long as you have the material to use. I keep thinking of a special event or something really funny to center a post around. Well, in the past few days I've finally got some good material that's more than just a one-line quote that sent us into laughter or a funny short story.

Seth and I had a date night Thursday night. We were given tickets to the Gator basketball game by someone I work with. I didn't want to accept them before finding out if he was really interested in going, so I called home to Nana & Papa's. Nana answered.

Nana: Hello?

Me: Hey, can I talk to Seth?

Nana: Sure - Seth, Mama wants to talk to you.

Seth: Hey Mom.

Me: Hey, would you like to go see the Gators play basketball tonight?

Seth: WHAAAT??!!!

Me: Yeah, we'll go see the Gator basketball game! You want to? It'll be a date night for just you and me!

Seth: Yeah! Hey, Nana! Me and Mama are going on a date to see the Gators play basketball!!!

So, the answer was yes - he was very interested in going. This thrilled my soul!! 1) He actually wanted to go to a basketball game, and 2) he wanted to have a date night with ME! My first "real" date with my son. Just me and him. Him and me. And to a Gator basketball game where the seats are right under the basket, two rows up. (This lady has given me tickets before so I knew they were very good seats before I even accepted them.)

So after I rush home from work, I got him changed into his Gator shirt and I changed into my Gator gear. We said our goodbyes to Dad & Abbey (who also get a date night together). I grabbed the camera and off we went. He was excited for something he had never seen in person before. I was excited at his excitement and wondering how he'd react in that HUGE O'Dome with all the excitement and loudness.

We finally made it there in what seemed like 2 hours because of the traffic backups on University Avenue. We found a good spot in the front lot and walked up to the O'Dome. He had no idea what he was about to experience. I knew, but he didn't. That knowledge had me a little giddy! Before going to our seats we had to stop at the concession stands to get something for dinner - the traditional hot dog I always had to get at a Gator game, no matter what kind of game. (Bear with me for a minute as a veer off to some old memories.) We used to go to quite a few Gator football games with my Grandpa's tickets. I can't remember a time at one of those games where we didn't get a hot dog. I've had the priviledge to go to many games in my adult life and yep, you know it - I had to get a hot dog. It's just not a Gator game without a hot dog.

Okay, back to October 28, 2010, 7 pm. We got a hot dog, a large Diet Coke and a bag of cotton candy. $12. I didn't care - it was date night with my son, right? We made our way through the doors to the inside of the O'Dome at just the time they were doing the pre-game thrill - lights down, video screens on showing the names and numbers of each player, fans cheering crazily. It was loud. LOUD. I really thought he would be scared but when I looked over at him to see his reaction, he was starting to run ahead of me. I knew at that moment he was a true Gator. He wanted more. And more he'd get! Just then, the lights came back on and as we got to our seats, the game was starting. Our seats just so happened to be on the Gators' end for the first half. The players were right in our face and looked like giants. He was in awe!! The first Gator basket was made and the crowd went wild! He cheered and clapped right along with everyone else, saying "He made it, Mom!"

A little ways into the game he spotted Albert. I had told him Albert and Alberta would probably be there. He was thrilled to see him, although he was up in the nosebleed section. I have no idea how he saw him up there really. But he latched on to him, following him as he made his way through the sections to shake hands and have his picture made with fans. All of a sudden he dropped out of sight. "Mom, where'd Albert go?" "I don't know - he'll be back around in a few minutes." He went back to watching the game, watching the crowds and eating his cotton candy. Right before half time he asked if we could go and get popcorn. Sure we could! I was hoping we'd see Albert on our half time walk around the dome, so I had my camera ready.

We got to the concession stand and chose an empty spot with a nice woman behind the counter. I asked, "Can I get a popcorn please?" "Small or large?" "Small." "That'll be three dollars." I said to Seth "Tell her thank you." His eyes were getting big as he pointed behind the lady to the soft pretzel case. He said in what seemed like slow motion, "WOW! I see a really fresh donut back there!!!" The lady and I looked at what he was pointing to and I giggled, correcting him that it was a pretzel, not a doughnut (after all, I KNOW my doughnuts). She, on the other hand, burst out in laughter and said to me, "He didn't just see a doughnut, but a REALLY FRESH doughnut... hahahahhahahah!" We all laughed and as we walked off, I could still hear her laughing even as we rounded the corner.

Yes, this story is long, but bear with me for a bit longer. I'm trying to insert as many dramatic effects as there actually were that night.

By the time we got back, it was half time so we just walked around for a few minutes. He wanted to see the drums in the band. The band was on the same end of the court as us, but on the opposite side, so he could hear the drum the whole first half but not see it. So we walked around where he could see it. As we stood there, we watched the half time show, a bunch of students in a dance-off. We laughed at how goofy they were acting. Let me just say, I was loving this time with him. Finally half time was almost over (and no Albert sightings, I might add) so we finished walking all the way around and made it back to our seats right as the 2nd half was starting. Just as I looked into the student section to our left, there he was. Albert was in the midst of the Rowdy Reptiles - on our level! Seth spotted him just as I did and I told him that we'd watch him and when he walked back up the steps, we'd go find him. A few minutes lapsed and there he goes, up the steps. We grabbed the camera and ran up our steps. As we made our way around to meet up with him, he had actually gone into the ... oh, I don't know the real name for these ... the hole where the entrance/exit doors are. We scampered as fast as we could without getting in trouble for running. As we went through the first set of doors he had stopped at the concession stand to chat with the people there. Then a lady was telling him someone was outside to see him, so before he went through the turnstile I yelled "Albert - don't go out just yet!" He turned towards us, then fell down on the floor when he saw Seth, who was several feet shorter than him. He leaned back on his elbow and patted the floor next to him, gesturing for Seth to sit down. Seth was smiling the whole time and giggling at how silly Albert was acting. He finally sat down next to him and there it was - the photo opp we'd been waiting for all game long. My boy got his picture made with Albert the Alligator - the official mascot of the Florida Gators!! I know, I know. Lots of folks get their pictures made with him. So what, right? No, this was something I had hoped to have in my photo archives one day and I finally got it. A cherished snapshot memory of a special date night.

After that, we floated back to our seats on a high that only a true Gator fan would understand at this moment. We even showed the picture to the lady on the row beneath us. She acted interested but I doubt she really was. No matter, it was exciting to us. A few minutes later - about 10 minutes left in the game - I asked Seth if he was ready to go home yet. He said no. Fine with Mama. A few minutes later he said he was ready to go. So we gathered our stuff and headed out. When we got in the car, I had to call home to tell Allen we were on the way. Seth had to tell him about his special photo. He was also telling him about Alex Tyus, one of the Gator players. He seemed to like him, I noticed. Then after that call, we had to call Mimi and tell her the good news. Then Pepaw and Mamaw. Then Aunt Sheila, Jessica and Justin. By that time we were home. Papa drove in behind us, coming home from school. He walked over to ask Seth if he had a good time and he told Papa about his picture with Albert. I think most of the county would have known if I had a way to announce it. He told me I had to post it on FaceBook. lol

I love my son!

The Pledge... from a special little lady

Here's Abbey saying her Pledge of Allegiance with my guidance. It'll melt your little heart.

<:o)

"Weff" :: The First Sighting

Things are pretty "normal" around here lately. The kids are so curious and mischievious I constantly find myself cleaning up after them (drinks, food particles, pee, etc.) and just can't stay ahead of them. You know what they say about curiosity, right? It killed the cat, right? Well, not this time. This story ends a little differently. It ends with you laughing your butt off.


I had to do some grocery shopping today after work. When I got home, Seth was outside playing, as he is most days. Allen came out to help me bring in the groceries. Once they were all unloaded and put up, Allen said to me "I have something to show you. And you're not going to be happy about it at all", as he walked to our bedroom. Immediately I knew this was a "kid issue"... something one or both of them had obviously destroyed or completely messed up. There are so many things it could be. He pointed to the video monitor sitting by my bed. As you can see by the picture below, the cord had been severed. I was pissed, shocked and totally curious all at the same time. He said Seth had cut it with my wire cutters that I use for my beading projects. Wire cutters. Seth had grabbed them and cut the wire to the video monitor. THE VIDEO MONITOR. The story as told by Allen is funny. But the story as told by Seth is even funnier.








Allen's story
He walked into our bedroom as Seth stood by my side of the bed with a most mischievious look. A look we've seen so many times.


Allen: "Seth, what did you do?"


Seth: "Nothing."


Allen: "Seth, I know you did something, just tell me what it was."


Seth: "Nothing, I didn't do nothing."


Allen: "Just tell me."


Seth: "No."


Allen: "I'm going to spank you for not telling me." (Goes to get the wooden spoon)


Seth: (As Dad is coming back into the room) "Go ahead and spank me. I'm not telling you." (Whack! Whack!)



A while later Seth was watching TV and really wanted a toy he saw. As he told Allen he wanted it, Allen said to him "I'll talk to Mommy about it if you tell me what you did." He said "Okay, I'll tell you. You won't spank me right?" "No, I won't spank you, just tell me what you did." Seth points to the monitor and obviously missing cord. "Your Mom is gonna hit the roof" and explained to him how dangerous that is, messing with electricity. Going as far as to say if he cut the wrong thing, it could explode and may even kill someone. Seth was taking it in and seemed to grasp the importance of staying away from this temptation next time. He even said "Then there'll be no more Seth around here?" Yes, exactly. He understands now. Lesson learned.


Now on to Seth's story. Unfortunately, you'll have to look elsewhere for the 2nd part of this story. You see, I have it on video but this here blogging site won't allow it because of its size. I tried to shorten it, but it's still too large to upload here. So, instead, I'll upload it to FaceBook so you'll have to go there to see it. I'll have to email it to a certain family member who is not on FaceBook.


When you're done laughing and cleaning up the wet spot off the floor, I'd love for you to post comments or send me your thoughts.

The end of summer... the start of our first school year

Well, we're 3 weeks into Pre-K - wow! I'm already noticing some changes in Seth. He seems to be acting a bit... a bit more grown-up at times. He actually told Abbey "I love you" on the way out the door to school today, which he never says to her. Believe it or not, he refuses hugs or kisses from her every night. But today, he surprised me - in a nice way. Made my heart melt a little, ya know?

He's learning things already at school. I don't know why this surprises me, but I was a little shocked last night when he started saying the days of the week and the months of the year! I looked at him with a blank stare and a smile and I think I had a tear in my eye. The proud mama moment had arrived. I can see my child learning and it's so exciting!

He's been saying some cute things lately, too. Yesterday morning he was laying in our bed with Abbey after she woke up. I went in there from the bathroom where I was getting ready for work and started chatting with them, "What are y'all doin'?" Seth said with a big smile, "I just love livin' here with my family!" It was so cute! Later we took Abbey next door to Nana & Papa's house and were walking out the door to the car. He was dragging behind and I said he was slow as molasses. He said "what?!"... I said "molasses... it's kinda like honey... really thick and slow to come out of the bottle." He said, "bees make honey with flowers." Just like that. Just a random fact he threw my way to let me know he's learning things, I guess.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not at all surprised he's learning things. That's what school's all about, right? It's just so cool to see the progress he's made through week 3!

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Now, onto miss Abigail. She's been cracking us up with her little sayings lately too. She came to me last week while I was sitting in the recliner, propped her chin on her wrist and said "hey guys - I gotta quession." After I finished laughing hysterically, I said "Okay, what's your question?" "Nuffin" she replied.

She loves to watch Barney. Oh my gosh, does she love Barney. I was in Target today and saw a Barney DVD for $4.25 that she doesn't have so I bought it. Put it in when I got home and she started singing along with the songs. I called Allen in there for him to listen. All we can guess is that she has this DVD over at Nana & Papa's house, because she was singing right along with them to everything. For a second there, I thought I had a genius on my hands!

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Labor Day Weekend, 2010
We took a family trip to the beach on Sunday, 9/5. It would be our last beach trip until next summer. :( The kids had a blast. I must admit, this big kid did, too. The weather was so nice! It wasn't too hot (barely broke a sweat, thanks to the little bit of overcast cloud cover) and there was a nice breeze blowing. Unfortunately, I didn't put any sunscreen on, knowing it was a stupid move, but nevertheless, I chose not to and have been paying for it all week. My back got pretty red. Not excruciating, but tender. Anyway, back to the kids. They love that water! You couldn't keep them out of it. Seth was "swimming" in it the whole time and when Abbey wasn't in the water, she was sitting at the water's edge digging in the sand, throwing sand, or chasing the sandpipers. I hated to pack up and leave, knowing we were saying goodbye to beautiful St. Augustine beach for several months. Below are a few pictures from our trip.

Changes are good!

Times - they are a'changin'. THANK GOD! Just a not-so-quick update for those of you who may have read about the sleeping woes of our little princess.

I can't imagine any of you reading (if there are any others) could be more excited than I am that miss Abigail is finally sleeping through the night. If I could, I'd hire a band of angels to sing a firm "Hallelujah!!" to commemorate this milestone. Now, when I say sleeping through the night, I don't mean she's snuggled up in her own bed with her lovey's throughout the night. That would be too ideal and I think I'd been whisked away to Heaven. She's still sleeping on the love seat, just outside our bedroom door, like she has been for a good 3-4 weeks now. Yeah, so what? I'm taking delight in the simple things... the fact that I don't have to sit with her while she falls asleep every night... that she's not raiding our bed a few hours after I've sat with her for 30+ minutes... oh, not to mention that my body has actually gotten a FULL night's sleep - for the first time in about 4-1/2 years! Those are major accomplishments in our house and I'm proud of them!

Today she found a part of Seth's ceiling fan (no clue how this was found in his closet and brought out, but anyway...) and came out with it on her head. We laughed and laughed at her. She looked like a little Japanese woman serving saki at the Japanese steak house. The smile she gave Allen when he took the picture even makes her look asian. Too funny!








Now, on to Seth's latest adventures. As of this moment, he's been sent to his room as punishment for letting his anger out on a cute little book that's been around for ... who knows how long. He got mad and ripped the little cover off of it. It was the last straw of the hour for me, and he's abolished to a few minutes of agony in his toy-filled room. What a punishment. If he only knew that he could actually play and forget about the "punishment" part, he'd be a lot happier, but no... he'd rather cry, wail, cough, hack, kick, etc. for more attention.


Okay, now that that's said, he's had a milestone of his own this week. He completed his first week of Pre-K and actually liked it! I think we're onto something here. Tuesday morning when I tried waking him up, he just didn't want to get up. He hollered at me "I'm not going to school! I don't want to go to school!" Oh, boy... already??! Do I really have to deal with this on day TWO of school ever?? Once I tickled him out of bed he was ready to get dressed and head out. I'm so proud of him and at the same time I could just cry that he's already school age. I just hope he's a good student and makes some good friends, which I know he will. His teacher, Ms. Renorda, has her hands full!!


We had his 4 year pictures made today at JCPenney. He was excellent for the girl! I've had a bad experience there before with a different girl, but this one is really good and I'm glad I went back there. You can't beat the $3.99/sheet deal! I'm posting a few of the ones we got of him. He's so grown up!






This is totally non-related to these updates, but my Dad suggested I "journal" the sayings of my kids and that's really where this new blog has started. There have been many funny lines from both of them, but before I end this post, I'll leave you with a recent story. Something you can laugh about.

We took Seth to his 4-year check-up on his actual birthday. After that, we took him to eat at Long John Silvers (yes, we love the greasy food). As we were standing in the line, a larger lady was standing ahead of us. Seth pointed to her, cocked his head to the side and said "Now, THAT lady is fat." After I dug my head out of my backside, I gave him the eye. You know, the mom eye... the one where your eyes are opened as wide as they can get and you try your hardest to give them that "you better fear me" look. After I distracted him with asking what he wanted to eat, he realized I hadn't really acknowledged what he had said, so he started to say it again. He pointed that finger and I grabbed it right away before he could say a word. I was mortified, knowing the fat lady (and yes, she was quite large) had heard him. What can you do??? You know she heard it and you know you're mortified and you know she's probably mortified. Seth, on the other hand, was just being a kid, and really thought nothing of it. A kid too much like his mama. I did that same thing when I was little. A couple of times. And this is my payback. All I can do is laugh. I know my Papa would be laughing his head off, slapping his knee, if he could hear this story. Man, how I wish I could hear him laughing right now.

That's all for now. Bath time for the kids. Thanks for reading (and I hope someone is)!