Boy's Day

What does a mother do when it's finally sunny outside and she really feels guilty that her children did not get school photographs this year?  

She tortures them by making them pose and squint into the sun.   Actually, they were quite cooperative. It was a good memory (for me).  We laughed and had fun taking pictures, so I'm sure I didn't scar them for life.  At least on this issue.  

Chloe was hanging out with Gamma, so I stole an opportunity to capture my four boys with my sub-par camera.  It doesn't have the range of distance/aperature/ISO, etc that I need want.  I really shouldn't have taken that digital camera class.  It's made me desire a good DSLR like you wouldn't believe.  

One of these days I will purchase a good camera and I promise I won't just stuff it in the closet.  I pinky swear. I might even bug my photographer friends to take me out for a typical 'you-can't-just-talk-to-Lorri-you-have-to show-her' lesson. 

I don't have any Photoshop software (my trial ran out), not that I'd know how to use it anyway, but these are the real deal.  If anyone has any idea what I could have done to improve these I would appreciate hearing feedback... (besides composition...that's something that I know I need to work on. I tend to center all my subjects.  Bad photographer! Bad!!)

My Four Sons!!

Casey will be 13 in a little over a month.  He wants a leopard gecko for his birthday.  Oy!  I'm not sure I'm ready for liberated crickets chirping as they cricket-hop their way around my house to freedom.  I guess it could be a good homeschool project.  What is the survival rate for gecko's?  I wonder if Lilo, our cat,  would enjoy playing with it?

Caleb is 7 and is in the 1st grade.  He loves school and is extremely smart!  He's a great reader, excels at spelling and math and has the biggest imagination ever.  He loves LEGO's and remembers every detail about anything and everything.  You have to watch what you say around this big guy. 

 

Caleb recently lost his 2nd top tooth.  After he lost the first one, I told him that since he was my last one to lose their two top teeth he had better get the other one out.  I just couldn't be happy if I didn't get to have a 1st grader with TWO missing teeth at the same time.  Seems most of my kids have lost one, the other one grew in half way and then the second one fell out.  This little boy, wanting to make his (joking!!) mommy happy, wiggled and wiggled it until it fell out.  PRECIOUS!!!

Here he is...Braden..the x-ray baby.  He's not so much a baby anymore.  At 15, Braden is doing very well in Kung Fu.  He works hard at school, but struggles with finding a balance between school and fun.  I think all teenagers go through that.  We set limits and stick to it...so we aren't the most liked parents on the face of the earth at the moment.  That's okay...we're not trying to be their friends.  We are raising men.  

This 15 year old boy is, Brenden.  He is my first born (by only a minute. Braden will not let you forget that!) He has struggled with his health for many years and we finally found a diagnosis when he was 11.5 years old.  Double Aortic Arch.  He had surgery on August 22, 2005 to correct this congenital birth defect and is doing very well.  He still seems to have a mild form of tracheomalacia, but has never had to have anything done about it.  Hopefully it will continue to get stronger and he'll suffer no adverse effects from the severely delayed diagnosis.  He also stuggles with finding a balance between education and social life. Again...God willing.... We are raising men, not friends.

These are my guys!  I love them so very much. 

Not feeling so great and slightly busy.....

I have been pretty busy this week and it's only half over.  Of course, having the added stress of Science Fair projects that were procrastinated on, dental appointments, a doctor appointment and me not feeling well,  just makes things seem unbearable.  I've sat down several times to try and finish a decent entry and as you well know, that hasn't happened.  I do have an entry partly ready, yet I haven't had the energy to take "after" photographs yet.  I need the after shots so you can see how well we did with organizing.   

I'm not sure what's up with me lately.  I'm guessing it has something to do with the storms we've had here and probably because we are so busy this week.  I'm also having a hard time concentrating and when I try I can't seem to get my brain to formulate anything.  My brain feels like oatmeal.  

Here is what my week has been and what the rest of the week looks like:

Monday:

Picked up Casey from school-9:10

Worked -10-1

Irish Dance (Casey, Chloe & Caleb) 4:30-6:30

Dave Ramsey FPU- 7:00-9:00 (2nd week/11 weeks to go)

Tuesday:

Worked -9-4

Irish Dance (Caleb) 4:30-5:30

Finished up Chloe's Science Fair project- 6:30-9:30 (She got picked and is being judged now!!)  

Wednesday:

Picked up Casey from School-9:10

Went to grocery store 9:30

Home at 10:45

Put chicken in crock-pot

Watched movie because I felt sick

Fixed dinner (Chinese Stir Fry w/ Pot Stickers)

Rob took the older boys to youth

I have the younger two here, one is in the bath and one is whining to use the computer.

Thursday:

Work (if I feel better) 9:00-1:00

Pick up kids by 1:30 (two different schools)

Dentist for cleanings (family of 7) 2:00-4:00

Irish Dance for Casey & Chloe 4:30-6:00

Friday:

Pick up Casey from school at 8:45

Doctor appointment that I forgot about until just now..not sure what time.

Hopefully finish laundry and get started on my craft room.  Again.  It was 95% complete until...well, that post is in the works. 

I was supposed to go over to my Nana's house, but it doesn't look like that will be the case.

Coffee-Talk with dh 6:30-8:30

Saturday:

Cleaning Day

Hopefully FINISH the craft room

We will hopfully be able to go see a local celtic band, Swaggar.  We are fond of the piper. :)

Sunday:

Worship practice for Rob 8:00-9:15

Church #1 9:30-10:45

Church #2 11:00-12:15

Home to cook and probably take a nap...just to start the majority of this list over again.  

I look at all I do in a week and wonder just how I manage to do it all.  I'm not complaining because I truly feel blessed to have my job.  I love what I do and it allows me to work while the kids are in school and be home when they are. I also enjoy contributing to our already stretched finances.  I know it helps take some of the pressure off of my husband and allows us to pay for things like Irish Dance.  

Speaking of Irish dance, that is another thing that takes up alot of my time.  Irish dance is in our blood.... my husband loves it, our dancers REALLY love it and  I love it!  I do have a bit more responsibilty with my position there and it has taken some time to get adjusted and organized. I'm still not there,  but I will figure it out soon.  

My boys are in Kung Fu and a wonderful friend from Irish dance has made it possible for them to be involved in that.  She's been a huge blessing!  I think she reads my blog so I just wanted to say thank you!!!  

My mom helps us all the time and I can't thank her enough. I appreciate her more than she knows.  She has a wonderful relationship with all five children and takes one or two almost every weekend.  She is also picking up two of them on Monday's while Rob and I are at Financial Peace University classes.  We couldn't do it without her.  My mom also reads my blog.  Thank You mom!!!!!!

I know this is a lame post full of jumbled thoughts and no real direction, so I'll leave you with a few pictures in hopes that you'll continue to read my blog.  

Caleb, eating a processed powered donut, while on a break from swimming over Christmas break.  

Grand Canyon Feis trip 2008

Casey at IN-N-OUT 

Oops! For Renee....

**Edited 1/23/09 @ 10:44 AM to add photographs**

I'm a compassionate person.  I want other people to know they are not alone.  I want them to know that we all make mistakes and so I tend to spill my horrific stories just to make them feel better.  Don't you think that's extremely compassionate?   So.... when reading some of my favorite blogs today, I couldn't help but let Renee know that I've done the same thing.  Err...but on a very different level!!!  

It's an "Oops!" day.  In honor of Renee...  (giggle)

My first two beautiful babies came in one package.  I suffered through 8 months of pregnancy with them, and I mean suffered.  From 5 weeks on I was puking at the sight of food.  We found out I was having twins when I was 6 weeks along (and ohhhh so sick!!).  It was at my first ER visit where they found I was carrying monoamniotic-monochorionic twins.  A week later,  I had to have a home health nurse take care of me because I couldn't keep anything down.  The only good moments, for my then 18 year old body, was between the 3rd and 4th month when I felt pretty good and could feel them rolling and softly kicking. 

Around my fourth month of pregnancy, I started contracting heavily and was given the vile Trebutaline and ordered to do  Tokos monitoring from home.  I contracted daily and was constantly told to go into the hospital for shots of morphine and trebutaline.  Not fun!

At thirty-five weeks, they arrived via c-section weighing in at 5 lbs & 14 lbs 11 oz.  Identical boys with identical 2.5 week NICU stays.  

Moving on to about 7 months old.....

Brenden was a sick little boy.  Constantly having breathing issues, coughing, heavy mucous and seemed to catch every horrible cold/pneumonia/bronchitis there was.  We spent a lot of time at the doctor's offices trying to find out what was wrong with the poor little guy.  Despite his constant coughing, retraction and stridor, he was a very happy baby.  

On a certain trip to Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas (we lived there at the time), Brenden was having a chest x-ray ordered by his pediatrician.  Rob and I were in the waiting area watching Brenden & Braden crawl on the floor and wrestle with each other.  You could hear Brenden breathing with all the gunk in his chest, so telling my very identical boys apart wasn't difficult.  

The radiologist comes out and calls for Brenden.  I pick him up and follow her into the x-ray room.  She proceeds to strap my baby into this archaic device:

 This is not my baby.  

My son is not having any of this.  He screams that blood curdling scream where everyone comes running and I couldn't do anything about it.  This wasn't the usual response and it wasn't the first time he had been in one of these devices.  I had to just stand there and watch and try very hard to comfort him with my voice.  He shot me glares mid-scream and my own feelings of claustrophobia were starting to make me have an anxiety attack.  The tech lady quickly takes an x-ray then moves the tube into a different position and takes another x-ray.  I think she even took one more.  While he waited (screaming!!) in this contraption, I hear a knock on the door.  I look at the tech and then hear another knock and my husbands voice calling, "Lorri?"  I was agitated because my baby was screaming and sort of yelled spoke firmly at him through the door, "What? He's not finished!"  The tech was walking to the door just as I hear him say, "Um...honey....you have the wrong baby."  We both stop dead and look at each other. I look over at Braden who is now hoarse and sobbing and said, "Oh my god!  That's not Brenden!"  The poor tech was in shock and so I opened the door to see my husband standing there with Brenden who is happily kicking his feet and has this huge smile on his face...along with the raspy breathing you can hear a mile away.  The tech goes over and removes Braden who will not even look at me, but holds his hands out and cries "da da da da da"  (can you blame him?).  We switch babies and  proceed with the original plan.  

Brenden was placed in the contraption and smiled.  He didn't mind his hands being stuck above his head and even laughed. He was too busy moving his eyes from side to side, checking everything out, to care about being immobilized.   To him, this was normal stuff.  The tech went about her job as I stood there wondering what kind of mother does that?  Not one bit of complaint came from Brenden.  Not one!  It was as if Braden was trying to tell me, "I'm not Brenden! I'm not him! This sucks! My mommy is a ninny!"

Braden has suffered no lasting effects from the trauma he experienced that day.  However, at 15 years old...I'm wondering if he hasn't been trying to pay me back for say, the past 3 years.  

Posting comments

I was just informed that I have it set up for only registered users to post comments, so I've changed it to allow anonymous posts, too.  Sorry for the inconvenience!

What my homeschooler is up to.

My future lock picker smith.

Casey was playing around today and showed me what he did! I was so amazed I had to take a video and share it with ya'll! (for you southerner's out there).

There's a hint of MacGyver in him, dontcha think?

Not Me! Monday- First try.

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

This is the first time I've ever done "Not me! Monday", so here goes.  If they aren't that interesting you can go read MckMama's blog....she's funny!  

1.  I  did not drive 40 miles (round trip...each time) to IKEA three times last week just to buy two items that totaled a whopping $30.  Not me!!

2. I definately did not scarf down a deluxe eclair the size of Texas in less than 3 minutes.  Nope! Not Me!

3.  I most definately did not refuse to give my children a bite of the deluxe eclair I was devouring.  Heck No...Not Me!!

Thanks for suffering through this.  I'll try to make next week better.  Guess I had better start doing things I shouldn't do.  

Coming Soon: A New Face

I am so excited to tell you about my new blog transformation. You'll see it pretty soon, so keep a look out for it!! I've hired a fellow blog mom, Trista,  who has a business making custom blog templates to create my new look. I couldn't be any happier at this moment. I've dreamed about this for a long time.

For years I've blogged under the boring (albeit FREE) templates that Blogger offers.  I've had the best of intentions trying to make my own custom headers, but I just can't seem to comprehend how to navigate around photoshop.  I've done a bit of research, however, my family, job & selfish desire to sleep has made that almost impossible.  

One of these days (soon, I hope), I plan on buying these books:

This one because I use alot of these.............and I know some of these,,,,,,,, are put into the wrong places and well sometimes I forget that run on scentences are not quite the way to go, but.....well........yeah......you get the idea.  

I want these books because I hope to create my own blog templates.  Who knows when that will be, but I figure starting to read them will not hurt.  I know my blog will be like the rooms of my house.... where I  constantly rearrange the furniture.  For fun.  For now though, I'm extremely happy to have a fun custom blog.....for ME! 

Talk About Tuesday: My Newish Babies

 For this week's Talk About Tuesday I decided to show you my new babies.  Now that I no longer have any teeny people to care for, I care for these beauties. 

In the 16 years I've been married, I have gone through at least 6 sets of washers and dryers.  At times they were mismatched (which drove me absolutely crazy!). Other times they were the hope of the nation.  The one thing that was going to help me get my laundry done.  Hallelujah! 

When we sold our house a couple years ago, Rob bought me my weekly coveted "Extreme Home-Makeover" washer and dryer set from Sear's.  God Bless Him!  I even got a sweet deal by being nice to the guy.  Rob says that's flirting, but I disagree.  I was being nice.  

Since buying these hefty babies, Rob has had to move them twice.  They are monsters, especially with the drawers underneath.  The drawers that I don't use because I buy bulk size laundry detergent and softener.  Apparently that's something Sear's didn't consider when manufacturing them.  Oh well...they serve a purpose by raising the machines to my level which save my back from going out periodically. 

Now, before I purchased these machines, I knew they were going to be just what I needed to keep up with the laundry.  Who wouldn't want to spend hours upon hours washing and drying clothes while being surrounded by their stunning beauty?  I imagined sipping my hot beverage (coffee, tea, wassil, rum...whatever) while standing over them.  Streams of daylight pouring through the window while I gracefully and delicately fold and hang up freshly washed/dryed clothes.  Of course, this would be on my extra large folding table that never had any junk on it. 

 

Something like this.

Now tell me.  Who wouldn't want to spend hours upon hours in this room?  Call me crazy, but it would be the most relaxing room in my house.  It would be the first place I would bring all my visitors.  I know this would be the room they would want to hang out in, too.  Perhaps even help me fold and fluff. 

After we sold our house we moved into a rental home while our new home was being built.  The laundry room was finished and on the same level as all the bedrooms, but it wasn't big. Our new home was going to be just a tad bigger, but not all that much.  As long as I could put shelving in there to organize, I'd be fine.  When our home builder went bankrupt we decided to pull out of the contract and a home (same model as what we were building) came available, so we jumped at it and moved in.  Of course it was only for rent, but that ended up being a blessing.  Shortly after moving in gas and food prices skyrocketed.  I hadn't even had time to put in new shelves and organize how I wanted before we moved...again.  The first picture is what that laundry room looked like.  Not much room, but at least it was finished. 

With the prospect of not buying our "dream home" and living out in the country commuting to Irish Dance classes several times a week, we decided to move back closer to the city.  The house we moved into in August 2008 is nice and works out for our family, but it's still a rental and there is no hint of them selling the property or even if we could rent here another year. 

As luck would have it, the one room in the house that is unfinished is my laundry room.  It's in the finished basement (where the boy's rooms, our one living room, and dance room are) and a tad bit bigger than the one we just moved from. Which would be nice for all the IKEA contraptions I have to hang on the wall, that is, if it were finished. There are some major issues with this room and since we don't want to put our money into finishing it, I'm stuck with an unfinished laundry room. Far from my grand desire of a laundry room like the photo above.  

I've decided to try and make the best of it, though if the flex pipe continues to leak onto my babies (I do have a towel there to proctect it) I will be demanding change.  It won't be pretty!  I'm not sure how that's all going to work out, but I'll be sure to keep you informed.  You can count on it. 

My Blogging Life

I've had a few blogs in the past and Google claims I am not the owner of them...or at least they can't get enough information from their automated forms to determine if I am the real owner or not.  You would think they would just contact me personally. 

After creating Semi-Organized Mom, I got tired of viewing my main page and only seeing a handful of posts...especially when I've been blogging off and on since 2005.  So....

Tonight I've been viewing my old blogs (which are still there..dumb Google) and retrieving my old photo's and blog posts.  It's been a pretty big undertaking, posting some...saving others,  and I'm not even close to being done.  The post below this was one that slipped by me and ended up as a new post.  Oh well....I'm 32 in that post.  You can believe it's from today if you want.  

  

another post of jumbled thoughts.....

As I was reading one of Mel's blog entries, I found myself dreaming of what I've never had.

A tight, flat belly.

I don't ever recall being "skinny", nor do I recall really caring about it. I didn't play sports or exercise so my muscles weren't very tone in the first place. I think I, uh, failed Gym in high school. 

Nutrition wasn't high on my priority list either. Sure, like some teenage girls, I would refuse to eat while in the presence of a boy I liked....actually, pretty much any boy. This meant I hardly ever ate anything healthy while in school. When we moved to Utah and I was no longer forced to eat in the cafeteria with the whole school, I was able to hide a candy bar (non gooey of course) in my backpack and take a chunk out without anyone noticing I was eating. I'd guzzle down soda after soda and not care about what I was putting into my body. In my teenage years, I probably drank a gallon of water......unless I was forced to because of an ultrasound or whatever. Even then, I'd puke it up. Nasty vile water. By the time I would arrive home from an outing or school, I'd be gorging myself on whatever I could find or I'd make a batch of brownies and eat until I was sick. When I turned 16 and was able to drive, I found myself using what money I had to secretly buy food through the drive-thru's. I mean, if I went into McDonalds by myself I might run into a group of kids from school. The horror!!!

Getting married at 17 and pregnant with TWINS at 18 didn't leave me much time to worry about my figure then either. We then had 5 more pregnancies (two ended in miscarriage). I was trying hard to be a mom. I didn't have much time for myself and when I did, it was wondering what the next meal would be or where we would eat out next. I used food to smother the feelings of boredom, guilt, anger, depression, horrible self image/self esteem issues, jealousy, sadness and frustration.

I'm 32 now and I doubt I'll ever have a tight, flat belly unless it's surgically done. Currently, the 37 lbs I've lost has left what was a firmer "spare tire" into a deflated mass of skin that just...hangs. It's riddled with stretch marks that are as wide as the Grand Canyon (thanks twins!!) and it's a daily reminder of how I let myself be unhealthy from a very early age.

I have learned many things since joining Weight Watcher's last January.

1. I am in control of what I eat.
2. It's okay to feel my emotions.
3. It doesn't help anything if I stuff them away. Oh..I'm a good stuffer!!
4. I can make good choices, even when I don't want to.
5. What I crave usually reflects my mood.
6. Healthy food tastes good.
7. High fat foods make my tummy hurt.

and the most important of them all.....

8. I CAN wear tighter shirts even though I'm not "skinny". Take a look at most "thin" women (teens included) wearing the layered tighter (stretchy) shirts. They too have a jiggly mass around their midsection and the shirts still look cute on them.

Weekend Accomplishments

Photo of me this past summer 2008 when I chopped off my hair.  

This weekend I started developing a Chore Chart system for my kids.  I wanted to make something like THIS, but I only have a trial version of Photoshop at this point and it is very foreign to me.  I also wanted to get it done and sewing anything would cause the whole project to be delayed by months.   That said,  I can't believe I was able to make THIS on Friday after finding a step-by-step tutorial on how to make a button on photoshop.  Go Me!!

Right now the Chore Chart system is in the developmental stage.  I will still have to tweak a few things to make sure it's mostly fair and perhaps do-able on those extra busy days.  I also want something that transitions from school days to summer easily, though I may have to make new ones because I'm that OCD.  I'll write more about these charts when I'm completed.

Last night, while hubby was at work for a few hours, I  decided it was high time I started on my 2009 Goals List.  I have an obsession with lists and love to cross things off that list. Usually with a big yellow highlighter.  It makes me feel as if I'm accomplishing something.  For most people it would seem that writing a To Do list of :

TO DO List for the not so crazy people:

1. Clean bathrooms (no matter how many bathrooms they have..this is sufficient)

2. Clean bedrooms (they could have 9 bedrooms and still accomplish it)

3. Spring Clean house (would this type of personality really Spring Clean? I'm just sayin'.)

This would be my TO DO List. 

1. Clean / Organize Upstairs bathroom cabinet.

2. Clean/ Organize Upstairs bathroom countertop.

3. Wipe down Upstairs bathroom baseboards.

4. Clean Upstairs Bathroom tub & fixtures.

..............and so on, and so on.  You get the idea.   I would put mine on here for you to laugh look at, but it's at one hundred twenty-four goals at the moment and some of them are pretty personal.  In Semi-Organized fashion they are not organized by rooms, some are all over, but that will give me the visual encouragement I need as  I flip through the pages.  Currently there are four pages.  I am still working on it, but I can't imagine adding more than twenty. We'll see. 

Sticky Lemon Chicken

Sticky Lemon Chicken

Olive oil- I just guessed...maybe 4-6 Tbsp

7 boneless-skinless chicken breasts cut in half (you can use any chicken pieces in this recipe)

1.5 lemons

2 tbsp Seasoned Rice Vinegar (or any cooking vinegar)

3 cloves of garlic -sliced

Salt & Pepper

Big Pinch of Dried or Fresh Basil

Big Pinch of Dried or Fresh Rosemary

1/2 c Honey

Heat olive oil in frying pan on med-high.  Cut chicken breasts in half (or any other pieces use whole).  This just aids in the cooking process.  Slice one lemon in thin slices and set aside.  Slice another lemon and use the juice from half the lemon to add to the chicken once you put it in the pan. When the oil is hot, place chicken in pan.  Add lemon juice from half a lemon and vinegar at this time.  Chicken should start to brown after a couple minutes....make sure your pan is hot enough so that the chicken doesn't boil.  Add salt, pepper, basil and rosemary.  Add lemon slices on top of chicken.   Browning should take about 4-6 minutes depending on thickness of chicken. 

When chicken is almost done cooking add sliced garlic and allow to cook for just a couple minutes.  Do not cook for too long or it will become bitter.  Add honey.  You'll see the sauce thicken.  Turn chicken to coat in honey.  

Place chicken on a serving dish and pour sauce w/ lemons on top.  Serve with rice and vegetable. We also served it with a speciality bread that hubby brought home from Volker's Bakery here in Utah.  They have the most amazing breads and the dipping sauce is to die for!!  The garlic is amazing!  If you don't like garlic chunks you can just use garlic power, but I LOVE garlic. It's has the perfect flavor when cooked for just a couple minutes and doused with honey/lemon sauce.  YUM!!

By the way, not one piece of this chicken was left from our family of 7.  The kids loved it so much!  They weren't so sure about the lemon flavor, but the honey really sweetened it up.  It's really yummy.  I'm not so sure how to make it any more sticky without having the honey be to overpowering.  I'll have to play with the recipe a little more.

Fabulously Fit Friday- First Steps.

Last week my friend, A, and I were discussing how nice it would be to have a companion to work out with.  We both have different schedules, and getting together on a regular basis may not be easy, but we wanted to try. We were supposed to go yesterday at noon, but by 11:45 I knew there was no way I would be done with my deliveries, so I texted her to say I couldn't go and we were on for Friday.  

After dance practice last night, Rob and I decided we would drive to Target to see what sales they had on work out clothes.  I have some old sweat pants, but nothing I wanted to wear to the gym.  I have to look good...like I know what I'm doing, ya know.  I should have looked at the price tags before I went to try them on, but I was so excited to see something I liked, I didn't even glance at the tags.  They fit so well.  I looked at the tag on the jacket.  $29.99.  Then I struggled to find the tag for the pants, found it by contorting my body in some sick fashion.  $24.99.  I was feeling bummed because I knew they weren't on clearance and with my luck, they wouldn't even be on sale.  After I undressed, I found the tag for the shirt.  $14.99.  Below is a conversation I had with my loving husband shortly after I appeared from the dressing room.

Me- ::BIG SIGH::

Rob- "What?  You don't like them?"

Me- "I'm going to see if they are on sale."

( I go check and look on the clearance rack just in case I missed something good)

Me- "Honey...I just can't buy these."

Rob- "Why?  I like them."

Me- "They aren't on sale and I just don't feel good about spending almost one hundred dollars on a work-out outfit that I may only wear once."  I'm being honest people!

Rob- "Did you check the clearance rack?"

Me- "Yes.  There are only sizes extra small, small and medium.  I'm sure that's because all the other FAT people are wanting to lose weight, too."

Rob- (says nothing and quietly puts back the items he was thinking of buying.)  

As we are walking through the store I get a bright idea.  I'm always full of bright ideas.   Another good friend of mine has worked-out hard for a year (I think) and has done very well with losing weight.  With all the weight she has lost I figured she had to have something I could wear.  So....I called her and left a pathetic message of begging (pouty lip and all) on her cell.  We left the store and went home.  She called me and while laughing (can you believe her!!??) said she did have something for me.  Of course I made Rob drive me over in a blizzard to get it (along with 3 other bags of clothing to go through).  

Due to the big storm we were having my joints were killing me.  I had a very restless, pain-filled night of "sleeping".  I would wake up often and tell myself I would call "A" and cancel.  I didn't want to cancel though.  I had a really good excuse, but I knew that if I made this one excuse and let my joints win, I would end up gaining more and more weight.  Believe me...I can't afford to gain any more weight.  

At 9:30, A and I were on our way upstairs to the walking track.  I told "A" that I wanted to weigh myself.  Little help she was...she told me to "Go for it."  We rounded the corner to where the scale was and all I could see was the 20 or so people on their machines who seemed to be staring at the scale waiting for someone to step on it.  I declined and so we started walking. After we walked around the track for 20 minutes, I decided I really needed to weigh myself.  I had not weighed myself for a very long time.  It was one of the many first steps I took today. "A" told me she would stand backwards and protect others from seeing the numbers if that would help.  Awww....so sweet!  The scale was one of the non-digital ones.  You know...the big white ones where people who weigh 100+ lbs move the weight down to 50 after they are done, and those who weigh 200+ lbs move the weight to 100.  Apparently, I had a 100+ pounder weigh in before me.  So....in the spirit of being Passive-Aggressive (oh...you didn't know that about me. Nevermind)...I moved the weight back to 50...just for spite.  

Next, we decided to ride the "bikes for lazy people".  Maybe I'm just a gym newbie, but wow....they have bikes that don't necessarily look like bikes.  I swear, it's like a motorcycle without the motor and with pedals.  I had never been on one of these contraptions, but I liked it.  We both rode for 20+ minutes, my heart rate shot up to 160 at one point, but stayed around 145 mostly.  I rode over 7 miles (or so my bike said) and I burned just over 115 calories.  My legs were burning and when we got up to go walk again, they felt like JELL-O.  That's good, right?  We walked for another 20 mintues (slower this time!) and then decided to call it good. 

I'm proud of myself for not making excuses.  I'm thankful for good friends who work out with you and who give you their really nice clothes.  I'm grateful I did not gain all the weight back that I lost a couple years go while on WW's. 

I'm going to try and weigh myself every Friday so I can see if I need to adjust anything else.  I'm sure being extremely conscious of what I'm eating, portion sizes and working out (that's more than I did while on WW) I should be fine.  

I'm not going to focus on my weight, but I do want to make sure what I'm doing is working.  Part of my 2009 goals is to get healthy.  That's why I've started "Fabulously-Fit Friday".  If anyone wants to join, go ahead and copy the very first button I ever made to your blog and post about your success.  Please link back here to my blog and post in the comments section!!   Remember...try not to focus on your weight, but do focus on your successes.  One success at a time.  That's all we can do.  

Some Christmas Pictures

I just recently found out that the 'White Balance' setting on my camera is really important in low light settings. Who knew? Too bad I didn't realize this before the Christmas photos were taken. My camera is a Sony DSC-H5 and while it has many options it does not take nearly the quality that I would like. I shouldn't have taken that digital photography class. Now I'm wanting a DSLR. Someday......

For now I present you with a few Christmas pictures. Enjoy!!

L-R: Braden, Casey, Caleb, Brenden, Chloe

The kids were excited to get the Wii and a few other small gifts on Christmas day. The main present was a huge blessing and purchased the day after Thanksgiving...of course there was no way we could wait to surprise them with it!!! With "what we would have spent on you" gifts from family members we were able to get a 20" iMac for the family. Some of the monetary gifts spilled over to help purchase a portion of the Wii, too.

Chloe (9) wanted Mancala for Christmas. We happily obliged...especially since it's only $4.99 at Target. Everyone loves playing this game.

Rob & Caleb (7) are pretending to be asleep. You know...because it just looks good to fake like you're asleep. I guess. Lilo (the cat) just barely closed her eyes. She was worn out from playing with her new mouse. Perhaps they've called a truce.

Christmas brunch was yummy! Mmmm......Cinnamon Rolls.

We had a very white Christmas as you can see. It was beautifully peaceful. Unfortunately, my mom & Nana were both snowed in where they lived and roads were very dangerous. I felt bad they were both home alone on Christmas.

"Isn't there a child labor law? Or something like that?"

Gotta love teenagers!!


Brenden (15) was helping assess the damage. The wind tore off the gate and a section of fence (behind Brenden). When he tried to move it the pieces just fell apart.

My Nana has the greenest thumb and my mom comes in a close 2nd. These were in my Nana's sunroom a few days after Christmas when we finally were able to drive to her house. The next few pictures are of the kids playing at Nana's house.

Caleb (7)

Casey (12) & Brenden (15)

Caleb, Chloe, Braden & Casey

Talk About My SuperStars of Dance!!

I've just joined "Talk About Tuesday".  This is where I get to brag  talk about anything I want to. This TAT I will "show and tell" my Irish Dancers. I know you're excited to read all about them.

These are my five beautiful children.  They all Irish Danced together for a time, but recently the twins, Brenden & Braden (15) moved on to things that interest them more.  I know they have fond memories of dancing, competing and winning medals and trophies. My youngest son, Caleb (7) is still dancing.  He has competed at his "First Feis" and this past June competed in the Utah State Feis at Beginner I level.  He's working on his solo dances and seems to enjoy dancing the figures with the girls.  Gee...I wonder why?  

This is Chloe, my 9 yr old and my only girl.  This is a good thing because solo dresses are EXPENSIVE!!!  Chloe has been dancing since the fall of 2003 and since September 2005 with Crawford Irish Dance.  The picture is from the 2008 Grand Canyon Feis in Arizona.  This past November, Chloe competed in the Western Regional Oireachtas U9.  It was her very first Oireachtas and out of 37 dancers she placed 26th.  They recalled 19.  I am so proud of her!  Even after slipping up she held it together to complete her reel.  We can't wait for this years Oireachtas!!  Chloe told me "Mom, I'm going to be a Champion dancer." on the way to dance practice today.  I believe you, sweet girl! 

This is my third son, Casey (12).  He's been Irish Dancing since September 2005.  We pulled Chloe from her uncertified school to put her with Crawford School of Irish Dance (which has recently merged with An Daire Academy) so that she could begin competing at feisanna. The day Chloe came home from her first class, Casey told me that he wanted to Irish dance, too.  The next week he was dancing and hasn't stopped.  Casey is currently at full Prizewinner Feis level, with one at Prelem.  He's an amazing dancer and I couldn't be more proud of him.  Casey wants to be a Broadway Director someday, but for now he's content acting out drama's and musical's as well as practicing for dance competitions and performances.