What did you call me?

The other day while waiting at the doctor's office, a family friend arrived. While chatting, she mentioned that Aidan looks so much like his daddy. Aidan immediately responded, "Mommy, kfhbsoufehoqwh (undecipherable) dump truck, garbage can!" I think that he was telling her that daddy was not there with him, mommy was. The other words are his favorite words that he just repeats randomly, or so I hope!

Tall for her age

While at the doctor's office the other day, the receptionist asked me Reese's birthdate. A few moments later when Reese was talking to me, the receptionist asked Reese if she was in Kindergarten. I replied that she was only about to turn 4 and start 4 year old pre-school and was tall for her age. To that the receptionist replied, "My grandchildren are tall for their age, she is smart!"

After being called back into the office, the nurse also asked if Reese was 5 or 6. I just laughed and replied again, "She is tall for her age."

Better pops

Since it has been warmer out, I have been giving the kids an icee pop for a bedtime snack. The other night, I made the mistake of having one of my fudgesicles, while they were enjoying their icee pops. Reese really wanted to try one and I explained to her that they were special for mommy for my diet. The next night she asked me to try it again and I obliged. Of course she loved it! Tonight when I got home she asked me if she could have, "one of the better pops" for a snack!

Success!

Well, after 7 days on my new diet, I am down 10 pounds and feeling great! I am following the South Beach diet and have cut all carbohydrates per the guidelines of the diet. Although I have not had any carbohydrates, I really am not craving them! I was so shocked as I thought that I would really miss my pasta, potatoes, chips and popcorn, but I feel so good that I want to keep going. In fact, there were several treats at work this week, including cookies and doughnuts, that I never would have walked by before and this week it was easy to say "no thanks!" and mean it. Before I started this diet, I always felt gassy and bloated. Since starting the diet, I have not had these feelings, and I even had my period this week! I used to come home from work and want to go to bed, now I get home and have plenty of energy to play with the kids and keep up on household chores. I did workout for 1/2 an hour 4 of the past 7 days, 5 if you count yardwork which I would have done anyways. So really I have not done anything extreme or had to work very hard. I recently went on a diet and was working out an hour a day and watching what I ate, Weight Watchers style, and did not come close to the same loss after several weeks! I am supposed to go without carbohydrates for another week and then slowly start adding in healthy ones. I know that there will be times when I want to have something that is not on my list, but I think that that is part of the lifestyle change. If I want this to be a lifestyle change, I have to make it something that I can live with. Having the occassional pasta salad or birthday cake should not derail me, if I allow myself a sensible portion during a special event or when I have a craving and get right back on track. Unfortunately, though my weight loss was great in pounds, the inches are not as telling, or where I would have wanted them! Here are my stats this week:
Weight: 230 (down 10)
Bust: 41 (down 3)
Waist: 44 (down 1)
Hips: 47 (down 1)
Thighs: 25 (up 1)
Arms: 14 (same)

Excited for a night out

I was telling Randy that we needed to call his grandparents or aunt to ask about watching the kids this coming Friday night, while we go out to celebrate our anniversary. Without missing a beat, Reese hands me her play cell phone and tells me, "it is Linda (Randy's aunt) and she said that it would be fine. We can go play and sleep over. Here she wants to talk to you."
I guess we are not the only ones excited about a night away!

Major Meltdown

Sunday we went to visit my mom and sister. While we visited the kids played very nicely outside. Several hours later, it was time to head home. We put the kids into the car and Aidan immediately began crying. I assumed that he would tire himself out as he had not had his nap and would sleep on the way home. Unfortunately, we had driven about 20 minutes and Aidan was still crying and screaming "Outside!" Randy pulled the car over and took Aidan out of his carseat. Though he was finally outside, he immediately began trying to climb into the car. Randy buckled him back in and Aidan kind of wheezed while we slept for the next 30 minutes or so. When we were about 20 minutes away from Aidan, he woke up and immediately began crying and screaming to go outside. When we got home, I sent him to his room to regroup. We definitely were not going to reward his behavior on the ride home with being able to go outside and play! After a few minutes he calmed down. Though the meltdown was over, I was sure of it, we are definitely in the terrible two's!

X-ray vision

Reese woke me up at 4am the other day. I walked her back up to her room and asked her why she was up so early?
Reese: "My night light went out and I couldn't see anymore."
Me: "Your eyes should be closed! You don't need to see while you are sleeping!"

Growing Pains

The other night Reese came downstairs complaining that her leg hurt. It was a Saturday night, so I let her stay up and snuggle with me for a little bit. While we were snuggling we discussed the cause of her leg pains.
Reese: "Mommy, why does my leg hurt?"
Me: "Because your little body is growing so fast."
Reese: "Yeah, my body says, I still want to be a littly bitty baby!" (said in a very high pitched baby voice)
Me: "Mommy does too, honey!"

Healthier Lifestyle

After a recent checkup, my husband's doctor instilled a real fear that he would need a blood transfusion or liver transplant. Thankfully, an internist disagreed with these concerns. Though he disagreed that my husband's liver would cause his untimely demise, he did believe that issues with weight and heart disease would be a more likely culprit. Though we were relieved that his liver was not the issue, we have agreed not to become complacent. After his initial diagnosis with diabetes two years ago, we eradicated all cookies, chips and ice cream from the house. We also cut back on eating out and substituted salads and healthier options for fries whenever possible. We lost weight and were feeling better. Then slowly we started to slide back into old habits. Two years later, the chips and ice cream have made their way back into the house. We are eating out several times a week and definitely not making the healthiest choices. When Randy's doctor referred him to the internist, I began to really think about what it would be like to raise our children as a widow. Randy kept saying that I would have plenty of money to survive, but the money could never replace him, for me or the kids. This also got me thinking about my health. I have always been overweight and would not want the kids to be left with no parents because I did not take care of myself and my health. When the internist told us that losing weight should be our focus, we were both relieved that major medical interventions would not be necessary and resolved to living a healthier lifestyle. After a weekend spent planning a menu and shopping to stock up our pantry, we are starting our healthier lifestyle tomorrow. It will be a lifestyle because we plan to adopt this healthier way of eating and living for a lifetime, there will be no sliding back into old habits. On top of eating more healthfully, I also plan to work out several days a week. I plan to follow the South Beach diet. I have about 90 pounds to lose to be within a healthy range for my height, 5'8". At a healthy rate of lose of 2 pounds per week, that would put me at about 1 year to reach my goal loss. I will post my struggles and achievements weekly along with the following statistics:
Day 0
Starting Weight: 240
Total Weight Loss: 0
Goal Weight: 150
Bust Measurement: 44
Waist Measurement: 45
Hip Measurement: 48
Thigh Measurement: 24
Arm Measurement: 14

Kissy language

Reese was playing with her dolls today and started kissing the dolls face. "Mommy, that is the kissy language."

I got that

Aidan standing on the Wii board and itching his butt.

Me: "Aidan does your butt itch?"

Reese: "I'll get that for you buddy!" (Goes over and starts itching his butt)

Things I love

Yesterday I went to pick up the kids as I usually do after work. My husband was home early and was also there (my mother-in-law watches the kids). Soon after I walked in Reese came out of the bedroom where she was napping. She saw me and started sprinting towards me. Then she noticed dad and kind of veered the other direction. Then she tripped sideways back towards me. After a very quick hug, she ran the other way and tackled her dad in a huge hug! It was so cute!
The funny thing was that when Aidan woke up he did almost the same thing! The kids so love their daddy!

Preschool Things

Tonight Reese announced, "When Aidan gets older I am going to teach him pre-school things, like how to get off the four wheeler, how to share things and how to sing his ABC's."

Don't ask me why getting off the four wheeler is essential pre-school knowledge!

She then revealed that she is going to teach him because, "She is the girl that loves going to school." Keep in mind that she has yet to start school herself!

Boating

We recently picked up our new boat, a pontoon. Since picking it up and taking it out, the kids have wanted to do nothing but go boating!

We spent all day Saturday boating and playing at the beach. The kids had a blast!

Aidan enjoyed co-piloting the boat, while Reese stayed busy playing in the sand.

They were so tired when we got home, that they napped for a few hours. Unfortunately they woke up at 10pm and stayed up for a few hours watching tv. In order to prevent a repeat sleepless night, we decided that the kids would take a nap before going out on the boat. I put the kids down for a nap at home, while my husband and his family got the boat out. A few hours later, they were hoping that the kids would be up and ready to go out. I checked on Reese first and she was just waking up. She looked at me and immediately said, "I'm ready to go boating now mommy!" When I woke up Aidan a few minutes later, he could not get his shoes on fast enough!


I am so glad that our family has something that we enjoy doing together that keeps us active and spending quality time together.

Already trying to act older

While waiting in line at the grocery store, Reese and an older woman had a short conversation. The woman asked Reese, "How old are you?" To which Reese immediately replied, "I am 5!" I laughed out loud and explained to the woman that Reese is 3, soon to be 4. Though she did not say anything, I think that the woman totally would have believed Reese's response!

Also, this weekend a new neighbor came over and we were visiting and getting to know each other. Reese started telling her that in a few weeks she would be going to school. The neighbor asked, "Will you be going to Kindergarten or 1st grade?" I responded that Reese would be starting 4 year old pre-school in the fall, after her birthday in June. The woman looked shocked and said that Reese easily looks at least 6 years old because she is so tall.

Mean Aidan

Randy and I were talking recently about having a third child and disagreed about what sex we would prefer. I would prefer another girl so that Reese could have a sister, while Randy would like another boy.

Reese had another idea, "Mommy and daddy would like a nice Aidan, not a mean Aidan."