Catchin' Up

Here is the quick version of what's been going on:

• We had to send our #1 laptop off to get fixed.
• #2 laptop crashed on Christmas day.
• When we get home, I will not have a computer. :(
• Finished my baking extravaganza without any meltdowns.
• Wonderful Christmas day spent with Richard's family at our house.
• Richard turned the big 4-0.
• Spent some time at my mom's house.
• Saw Blind Side and HIGHLY recommend it!
• Possibly gained 10 pounds over the past two weeks.
• Will start a new eating plan when we get home!
• Rudolph drank out of a bucket of water at our house and turned it bright red. So red, that it looked like Santa gutted him. When Matt saw it, he exclaimed "I knew he was real!!"
• Matt is the KING of Lego's. We spent a total of 5 hours building a police semi Christmas Day. Thanks Uncle Earnie and Aunt Chrissy.
• Matt is also the king of toys. I feel guilty for the amount of toys my child received. Does anyone else feel this way?
• We laid new flooring in the kitchen, dining room, and in Matt's bathroom. It looks fabulous!

That's it for now. I hope you had a blessed Christmas and have a wonderful New Year!

Christmas Baking

Christmas time is here...Happiness and cheer.

Fun for all that children call

Their favorite time of the year.

Snowflakes in the air

Carols everywhere

Olden times and ancient rhymes

Of love and dreams to share

Two of my favorite Christmas traditions are baking and A Charlie Brown Christmas. The above photos are homemade peppermint marshmallows, snow cookies, and reindeer poop. Tonight I spent about 4 hours in the kitchen and baked more snow cookies and reindeer poop, fudge, and Christmas Mice. Tomorrow I will wrap up my baking frenzy with Santa cookies.

(I cannot post any current pictures because my laptop is in the shop.)

My baking frenzy's used to drive Richard crazy but now he has come to accept them. Actually, I think he looks forward to the endless buffet of sweets and spatulas that need to be tasted.

Christmas

Ever since I became a mother, I look at Christmas differently. Don't misunderstand me, I have always celebrated Christ's birth. However, after having a child, it makes me think of things that I had never thought before. I'm not sure if that even makes sense or if this post will make sense at all. I am not a philosopher or theologian at all. Just a mom trying to express some thoughts.

A couple of years ago I participated in a Beth Moore bible study titled Jesus, The One and Only. One of the most vivid discussion memories I have is when we were talking about His birth and what Mary must have been thinking. As a mom have you ever wondered what kind of pregnancy she had? Was it easy or did she have complications? Was her labor hard? Did He arrive on schedule or was he late? This was a group of moms, so you can imagine what the discussion was like.

Then I think about the manger. When I was pregnant a few months ago, I was freaked out about our local hospital and if it was "good enough". Looking back, that is pretty ridiculous considering our Saviour was born in a dirty, stinky, stable amongst the animals. I don't think we can comprehend the conditions Jesus was born in. At least I can't. I have always imagined the quaint little mangers we see on display or the church pageants done with fresh hay and clean animals. In reality, it was nothing like that. It amazes me that God chose that humbling beginning for His son.

This morning I was driving back home, listening to Christmas music, and I started thinking about Mary again. Thinking of her cradling her newborn son and stroking his face, I wondered if she had any idea. Did she realize she what the future held for her son? Did she know that one day, her sweet precious baby boy would be nailed to a cross and crucified for our sins?

So many question race through my mind about that day in the manger.

However, there is one thing that I don't have to question. God's love. I know that God loves us like crazy. His word says that "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." That is amazing love!

Another "Matt"versation

Yesterday afternoon we wrapped up (no pun intended) our Christmas shopping with a stop at Starbucks. Rich and Matt went in to get Dad's cup of coffee and the following took place while they were getting back in the car.



Matt: I wish I was a grown up so I could drink coffee.

ME: Really??

Matt: No, I hate coffee!

*long dramatic pause*

Matt: But I still wish I was a grown up and could drink coffee.

Look Before You Buy

Today I went to Walgreens to purchase some stocking stuffers and candy for Matt's class. While I was shopping, I noticed a sign that said if you spend $25, you will receive $5 Register Reward. I wasn't too concerned about this because I didn't think I was going to spend that much.

Of course, when everything rang up and the coupons were subtracted I spent $24.01. I asked the lady if I could grab one more item, but when I turned around, the line was quite long. Feeling five pairs of eyeballs glaring at me, I frantically scanned the counter shelf for anything of use. Amidst the mini bottles of energy drinks, cigarette lighters, and travel meds, I see a bottle of hand sanitizer. I didn't really need it but it made the most sense. So I grabbed it and finished my transaction.

Once home I was scanning my receipt and noticed the price of the hand sanitizer, $2.99!! That kind of defeated the purpose of trying to save money. You can imagine how thrilled I was to realize that I had spent $3 on a bottle of hand sanitizer that I really did not need. To make matters worse, when I pulled the bottle of sanitizer out of the bag, it was used. About a quarter of the gel was missing! I think it was the desk sanitizer and someone mistakenly placed it on the shelf.

I felt like an absolute genius at that moment.

Not!

I went back to Walgreens and explained my problem. I showed the used bottle of sanitizer and explained why I purchased it. I also told them I really did not need the sanitizer and asked if I could exchange it for something that I really needed. Thankfully, they said yes.

This time I knew exactly what I needed to buy and I made sure it wasn't half empty.

Toilet bowl cleaner!

Who Knew

I am happy to say that I am finally back to feeling like my old self. I almost hate to make that statement because of Murphy's Law, but I am going to chance it. I have been taking vitamins like a mad woman the past couple of weeks and a few days ago I added something extra to the mix, liquid chlorophyll.

Some of you are probably thinking "what is THAT!?" I know I did the first time I read about it. I learned about LC the week after the miscarriage in the comment section of a blog. There was a large group of woman who had experienced the same sudden blood loss that I had and used this product to help increase their blood count. After reading up on it, I finally decided to give it a try. I add one teaspoon of LC to a small glass of ice water and drink it in the morning. This particular brand has a minty taste, I'm not sure all of them do, so it taste like a watered down ice mint tea.

I have been using LC for four days and I already feel much better. I'm not even sure if it is because of this or that my body has finally had time to heal. Whatever the reason, I am thankful that God has answered my prayers and I am feeling better.

Snow Day!!

Can you believe it? It snowed!

I'm so glad it did because Matt's teachers told him that there was a chance of snow. Do you think a four year old understands the word chance? No. In his little mind, chance means yes.

We did have one small problem this morning. Matt thought it was Christmas and did not take it well when I told him otherwise.

This little girl did not like the snow much. She spent her time outside shivering and trying to drag us back into the house.

What a great day! I am so thankful I am home to share these moments with my little man.

A Doggone Thanksgiving

There were three ladies that attended our Thanksgiving holiday and made it very memorable and entertaining.

First, there was our little cutie, Lola. This picture makes me laugh because it reminds me of "Where's Waldo?" She kind of blends right in to the background.

Next, we have everyone's favorite shepherd mutt, Angel. This sweet girl is my mom's dog and she is as country as a country dog gets.

Finally, my in-laws slightly neurotic mutt, Sissy. She spent the majority of her time in my in-law's bus because she would not play nice with the other two dogs. However, in Sissy's defense, she has always been an "only dog".

The girls were so cute when they played in the leaves. Lola was as bad as Matt in the morning; she would wake up super early and cry to go outside. Once out, she would immediately jump on Angel and then they would take off running.

Mawmaw

I'm back from the land of food, family, and Thanksgiving. I am pretty sure I'm about five pounds heavier but it was worth it. We spent the past week at my mom's and one of our "outings" was spent visiting my Mawmaw in the nursing home.

I could write a week long post about my amazing grandmother, but that will have to wait for another time. Right now, I just want to share some of the moments I captured.

Potluck, A Little Bit of Everything

Just when we finally thought we were back to normal around here the "sickies" hit our house. All three of us have seen the doctor within the last week! To give it to you in a nutshell:

• Matt has had allergies, congestion, and impetigo.



• Richard had the flu and strep throat.



• I had some weird viral throat thing.

Who wants to come and hang out at our house? Ha! Of course, as luck would have it, I got sick in between the two boys so I never really got any "sick time". I guess as mothers we never do.

Any who, who is excited about Thanksgiving?? ME!!!! I absolutely adore Thanksgiving. Food and family are two of my favorite things. In order to kick things off, I went to Target today and scored a great deal. I purchased a Rival oven roaster and 10 pound butterball turkey and got a $15 Target gift card. The roaster was on sale for $27 and I got a ten pound turkey for $6.80 (I had a coupon for $2 off!). When you factor in the gift card, it was a great deal.

Finally, since it is the season of apples, here is some inspiration if you find yourself with too many.

These were delicious!
Of course, you could just take really cute pictures of your kiddo holding them.

Finding the Moments

If you know me, then you know I am really good at finding the silver lining in situations or always looking for the positive. Richard likes to call me Pollyanna because of this characteristic.

One thing that I am grateful for since the loss of our baby is that it has made me slow down and really enjoy my time with Matt. Don't get me wrong, I always enjoy my son but since we lost Cookie, it's like God shook me hard and said "Look at what you have!"

The other night I was tucking Matt into bed and he passed out before I was even done singing our song. This may not seem like a big deal but Matt never passes out! I think I laid next to him and just stared for about 5 minutes. He looked so peaceful and sweet. I love watching him sleep because it takes me back to when he was a baby but catching him in the act is almost impossible.

After I had my time with him, I went into the other room and got Rich. We both just sat there, side by side, staring at our son and marveling at the miracle of him. I think I will remember that moment for as long as I live. I know, that sounds kind of dramatic.

I decided to snap a picture of the little guy. The picture is kind of weird because his Christmas lights were the only lights on in the room.

How I love this little boy!!

Matt was sitting next to me while I typed this and saw the picture. He asked what he was doing and grinned from ear to ear when I told him about it. He thought it was "silly" that I watched him sleep and took a picture.

Perfect Fall Day

The Final Chapter

Just so you know, this post is long, rambles, and I pretty much emotionally throw up on you.
I thought I should warn you

I decided it's about time that I get back to my blogging life. Honestly, my mom will not quit pestering me, so in order to get her off my back (I love you mom) I gave in. I'm sure this isn't the post she had in mind but it will have to do (love you again mom).


After a few chaotic weeks, things are finally starting to settle down and life is pretty much back to normal. Well, as normal as normal can be. Even though most of you know everything that has happened, I feel like I need to write about it anyways. I think it is kind of like therapy or something of that nature.

Two days after I got the news about the baby I began hemorrhaging. We went to the ER and of course, they looked at me like I was overreacting and didn't know what I was talking about. I kept telling the nurses I know that I am having a miscarriage, I have had two others, but this did not happen before. Of course I got the "Oh honey, it looks worse than what it really is" response. Finally, after Richard had a fit, the Dr. examined me and his response was, get this, "Oh, poor girl, you are bleeding".

REALLY!!! Do you think I would make this up!?!

Another great response I got from a nurse was "The baby probably wont make it."

Uh...duh. After two ultrasounds of not seeing a heartbeat, my doctor telling me a miscarriage was going to happen, and now that I am bleeding all over the ER, I would NEVER HAVE GUESSED THAT!

I totally get that people who work in the ER are of a different breed. You would have to be in order to work in that environment . But still, can't we try a little harder.

After spending about 5 hours in the ER, they finally decided to move me upstairs and have me stay overnight. Let me stop right here and say that I had wonderful nurses upstairs. They were kind, considerate, and compassionate and I thank God for these women.

The bleeding finally slowed down and I was allowed to go home the next day. Praise God, they did not have to do any kind of invasive procedure or transfusion. I was terrified one of these would be needed.

When I left the hospital on Monday I think my blood count was somewhere between an 8 and 9. A normal person's blood is anywhere between a 12 and 15. I don't know if you have ever experienced rapid blood loss but it is not fun. For about a week my head throbbed, every time I got up the room would spin, I had shortness of breath and could not do anything because I would tire out too quick. It was horrible. Because of the traumatic events, the actual realization that a miscarriage had occurred did not even hit for about a week. The following Monday I think I cried all morning.

I have been back to the doctor for a check up and have had to get blood drawn once a week the past two weeks. My blood is still low, who knew it took this long to build back up and if you can believe it, the pregnancy hormone is still in my system. It doesn't mean that I am pregnant, it just takes a while to get out. I have to keep getting my blood checked until the hormone is below a 5. Isn't that a nice little bonus?

The loss of this baby has been pretty hard on us. We did tell Matt, thankfully before the hemorrhaging started, and he responded as a typical 4 year old. He got kind of upset and said "that's not fair, I want Cookie here!" and then ran off to play with some sticks. (We called the baby Cookie in case you are confused) But he will randomly ask why God decided to take the baby back to Heaven or he will tell people at odd time about how his mama's baby is an angel now. Obviously, it's been a lot harder on me and Richard. We truly believe that God has a plan and is in control but it's still difficult.

We are going to meet with a specialist soon and have some testing done. I'm not really sure what I want to hear. In one way, I want answers but when you get answers, that means something is wrong. If our problem is related to genetics, I don't think there is anything that we could do and who wants to hear that. On the other hand, I would like to be told we can't find anything wrong but then you are left still feeling confused. Does this make any sense?

Anyways, this post has been long. On a positive note, I would like to say that I have been absolutely blown away by the outpouring of love we have received the past weeks. The Lord is amazing. When I needed it, a friend called, food arrived, an encouraging card or email showed up, flowers brightened a sad day, or someone had the right words to share. In each of these things I was reminded that God was there with me, taking care of us, and loves us.

I heard from my doctor Friday afternoon and sadly, the news was not good.  I have a blighted ovum which is when there is conception, the pregnancy sac forms, but because of chromosomal abnormalities, a baby does not develop.  It's very strange because the body thinks that it is pregnant and will carry on with the normal pregnancy symptoms until it eventually miscarries.  Since this is our third miscarriage, my doctor has recommended that we have genetic testing done. 
 
Please continue to pray for us, especially as we begin testing and learn what our options are.  Also, we have not told Matt yet and I would greatly appreciate your prayers in this area.  I think this is what breaks my heart the most because he is so excited and I am just not sure how to tell him.  Pray that God would give us the words to share with our son. 

My new favorite song

At the moment I have no news to report. The ultrasound tech did not tell us anything, but that was expected. I am hoping the dr.'s office calls in the morning to give us the news.

Changing the subject, I heard a great new song today on the radio. I don't know how new the song is but it was new to our station. It's by J. J. Heller and called "Your Hands". If you listen to KSBJ then you probably heard it this morning; it's generating a lot of buzz.

Here are the lyrics:


I have unanswered prayers
I have trouble I wish wasn’t there
And I have asked a thousand ways
That you would take my pain away
You would take my pain away

I am trying to understand
How to walk this weary land
Make straight the paths that crooked lie
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine

When my world is shaking, heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave your hands

When you walked upon the earth
You healed the broken, lost and hurt
I know you hate to see me cry
One day you will set all things right
Yeah, one day you will set all things right

When my world is shaking, heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave your hands

Your hands that shaped the world
Are holding me
They hold me still

Here is a link to hear the song. Hope you enjoy.

Tomorrow

We go back for our second ultrasound in the morning. It's been two weeks and I have not had any negative symptoms. Praise the Lord!

I think the Thursday that followed my first ultrasound was my breaking point. The first few days following the u/s I spent having anxiety attacks every time I turned around. I prayed constantly for God to grant me peace. I debated on asking my doctor for a blood test to check my hormone levels but finally decided against it.

Friday, peace finally settled over me and I felt like God was saying "wait on me, I will take care of you." Truthfully, it's like I literally heard that in my head on Friday. I think some people thought I was crazy for not asking for the blood test but I really felt like I didn't need to get it done. As I thought about the baby and all the "what-ifs", I finally came to the conclusion that God was in control and whatever happened was His will and that was all I could ask for. As a Christian, what more could I really want?? (Easier said then done of course.)

I also know that I have many friends and family praying for us and I know that is another reason why I feel the way I do now.

I hope this has made sense because I am exhausted. I have wanted to write this for a couple of days but we had to make an unexpected trip to Brenham for a dear friend's funeral and I have been playing catch up for the past couple of days. I feel very positive about tomorrow but am still nervous. Please keep us in your prayers tomorrow and I will let you know something as soon as I can.

First Astros Game

A couple of weeks ago we went to our very first Astros game. One of Richard's co worker's gave us free tickets. This was very helpful since we spent an arm and a leg on food.

Isn't he cute? Matt's Astros outfit was a hand-me-down from a neighbor. We actually had people rolling down their windows when we were walking to the ballpark to tell us how cute he was!

In the Kid's Zone there was a game where you could race against this cardboard cutout who was on a moving track. I'm not sure that description made any sense but it's the best I can do.

Go Matt go! He looks like a speeding bullet right? He took the challenge very serious.

This is the famous Minute Maid Park train. If it has an actual name, I have no clue what it is.This might have been Matt's favorite part of the game. Every time we hit a home run the train would blow it's horn and chug down the track. It was very cool.

I can't refuse a good picture of Lance Berkman's backside.

Here he is at the bat. I think he was just about the only one who hit the ball that night. They played the Cardinals and we got creamed.

Matt could not understand why he could not bat. He kept asking me when it was his turn and every time I told him he could not go down he would say "but Mom, I have my uniform on!!" Considering how bad they lost, I don't think it would have hurt anything.

This Week

The past four days have been so difficult. I try so hard to stay busy and think of other things, but I find the majority of my thoughts are about the baby. I cannot get the statement, "empty sac", out of my brain. I am clinging to the hope of just being early and the ultrasound not being able to pick up anything but my human fears and worries get the best of me.

If I would have never experienced the two miscarriages, I don't think this would faze me all that much. You know the old expression, ignorance is bliss. However, one of the two miscarriages was called a blighted ovum and that is when you have an empty gestational sac but your body continues to think you are pregnant and you continue with the normal symptoms until you finally miscarry.

I find myself in constant conversation with God, praying for peace and comfort. It's so true that when you are struggling the most is when you are most intimate with God. I can look back over my Christian walk and see this and for sure, now.

First Day of Pre-K

Update

First of all, thank you for all the prayers, encouraging words, and emails.  I am so blessed to have each of you in my life.
 
My doctor's nurse called yesterday morning to discuss the results of the ultrasound.  She said that they could only see a gestational sac and nothing else.  However, she said the sack only measured around 7 weeks which means that not seeing anything is pretty normal.  Originally, they thought I was around 9 weeks.  My doctor has scheduled another ultrasound in two weeks to check the baby's progress.
 
Hopefully, when I go for my next ultrasound I can have the same tech so she can see that I am not a complete emotional wreck now that I know what to expect.  She really was a sweet girl and I know she was just doing her job.
 
Please continue to keep us in your prayers and I will keep you posted.

Prayer Request

Today Richard and I went in for an ultrasound to check for viability and how far along we are.  We were not told any information.  The tech did not say anything about baby, heartbeat or anything encouraging. I could not even see the screen and what Richard could see, he could not understand.  At one point he asked what the black spot was and they said a gestational sac but Richard said he could not see much inside the sac. 
 
Needless to say, we left with more questions than we went in with. Actually, I left a basket case.  We had two miscarriages after Matt and I was really looking forward to today.  I was expecting to see some kind of life on the screen or at least hear a heartbeat.  I was not expecting to leave questioning my pregnancy.
 
Please pray for us and our baby.  Hopefully, I am overreacting but I could really use some prayers for God's peace and comfort at the moment.  
 

April 25

I know it's been a long time since I have posted but I do have a good reason.


I have spent the last three weeks lying on the couch in a sleep and nausea fog.


What's wrong you ask.


Are you ready?


Ta-Da!!!

Good Eatin'

Some friends blessed us a couple of days ago with 2 beautiful home grown eggplant. I am sure that some of you do not think of blessed and eggplant in the same sentence. Honestly, I stared at them for about two days before I figured out what do with them.

My Mawmaw (my mom's mom) had a HUGE garden when I was growing up and she always grew eggplant. I can remember her making fried eggplant; I think these are also known as eggplant fritters.

On a side not, she had such a large garden that she had a whole room dedicated to her canned fruits and veggies. I loved this room. I always thought the jars were so pretty sitting on their shelves filled with their delicious treasures. My favorite thing that she ever canned was watermelon rind preserves. Talk about frugal!! You eat the red fruit then peel the skin off the ring, dice it up, and candy it. Oh my gosh, it is sooo good! I've made this once or twice and it is a lot of work, but well worth it.

Anyways, back to the eggplant.

I called my mom yesterday and asked how Mawmaw prepared her eggplant. Mom couldn't remember except she thought Mawmaw soaked them in something and then fried the eggplant. I decided to soak them in a mixture of buttermilk and milk for around 30 minutes. I peeled and sliced the eggplant first. Then I set up an assembly line of seasoned flour, egg/water mix, and seasoned breadcrumbs. I took a slice out of the milk, dipped it into the flour, then egg, and then the breadcrumbs. Finally, I fried the eggplant in grapeseed oil. until golden.

Oh my gosh!! These were sooo good. I also made a pot of collard greens I bought at Kroger for $1 on quick sale. Talk about a cheap meal! Matt actually loved the eggplant and he was so cute eating his greens; he called them green bean paper!

Old Navy

Here is what I found at Old Navy today:

• Hoodie orig $16.50 paid $1.98


• Star Wars tee $10.50


• Button up shirt orig $12.50 paid $3.49


• Button up shirt orig $12.50 paid $4.74


• Cargo shorts orig $12.50 paid $3.99


• Swim suit for next year orig $12.50 paid $1.74


• Socks on sale for $ .99

If I wouldn't have bought the Star Wars shirt, I would have saved a bunch but you can't refuse a man when it comes to Star Wars

Last Night

Yesterday was a great day. I was able to get a huge amount of stuff done including:

• cleaning kitchen baseboards
• going crazy with my label maker and labeling where things belong in my kitchen cabinets (talk about anal personality!!)
• washing my kitchen floor with a rag on my hands a knees
• cleaning up my dining room
• sorting through the massive collection station that is known as our dining room table
• cleaning out a drawer in our secretary furniture
• laundry

I feel so organized right now! I feel like I can finally take on the world, well not really but maybe if I had to.

To top off our day we had "Family Movie Night". Matt picked out a video, "The Love Bug". If you haven't seen this one, it is a classic Disney movie about the adorable VW bug Herbie. It's kind of like a friendly version of Stephen King's "Christine". I know, strange comparison.

Matt and I made chocolate chip bars for our fun night but the best part was the couch. While Matt was outside doing one last chore, I pulled out our sofa sleeper. When he came back inside and saw it, he squealed with delight. Who would have thought that something as simple as the couch made out would bring such joy.

It was great! You should try it.

A First!!

We have a first this morning in our house.

Richard said he will watch Dancing With the Stars this season!!

Why is he going to subject himself to this?? Because his UFC hero, Chuck Liddell, is going to dance. When I told him this I think he almost peed on himself. Michael Irvin and Tom DeLay are dancing as well. This made the event even sweeter.

Now the big mystery will be if I can keep him watching after they are voted off. It would be great if it did come down to Liddell and Irvin, but I doubt it.

Today I am going on a ladies overnight retreat for MOPS. I am very excited. Just an evening of girl chat. The last time I did this was Women of Faith about 3 1/2 years ago. Did I say I was excited?

More Playing Around

I was playing around with Picasa again last night. I thought I would share my pitiful attempt at photo editing and trying to be "artsy fartsy".

This is the original photo. Don't you love the art deco details at the top. I'm sure there is a much better way to capture this but I do not claim to be a photographer.

This is after I adjusted the fill light and highlights. Can you see the difference? It was more noticeable on the software program. Maybe I just posted the same picture...

Next I did something called warmify.

Finally, I used the soft focus effect. I thought it turned out pretty cool.

My Thirties

Ever since I was a young girl, I have always looked forward to my thirties. I'm not really sure why. Maybe it had to do with my naïve nature. Or maybe I was just a moron.

Two weeks ago I celebrated my 32 birthday. Would you like to know how I celebrated? It was really awesome.

Is the suspense killing you?

Are you ready?

With a sinus infection that I guess turned into a nasty cold! I was sick for over a week. For at least five days I thought my head was going to explode, became close friends with a Neti Pot, and was pretty useless.

It's very strange but I think after my past three birthdays I have become sick. After I turned thirty, once a month for three months straight, I threw-up (too much info, I know). After I turned thirty-one I got a bad cold. Now, after turning thirty-two I get a sinus infection.

What's the deal!?! These were supposed to be my best years, at least in my 10 year old mind.

Seriously, isn't this strange?

I have decided to take action. I am going to take a closer look at my diet and make sure that what I am eating is quality food. I use to be a freak about making sure we had our daily requirements of fruits and veggies, how much fat we were eating, and yada yada yada. Not so much now. Don't worry, I am still going to make my goodies but in moderation and with quality ingredients.

Regular exercise is another action I am taking. I used to go to the gym a couple of times a week before we moved. Now, I just exercise my fingers on my laptop. I am not going to buy a gym membership but I am going to start walking the dog daily and doing "The Biggest Loser Workout" video a couple of times a week. It's weird, I haven't gained any weight but my butt and thighs have grown tremendously along with my midsection.

I am not trying to have a pity party right now but this is the most unhealthy I have felt in a long time. My plan is not to lose weight or eat some kind of strange diet, I just want to feel healthy and set a positive example for my son.

Does anyone else feel this way? If you do, let me know and we can encourage each other.

 

Playing Around

I installed Google Picasa today and am playing around with the program. This is a pic from our trip up to Dallas last weekend. We are at my favorite place, Teepee Hill at White Rock Lake.

Cutie Pie

Just in case you forgot how cute my son is.

Milestone

Matt is a unique little fellow in many ways. One major thing that sets him apart from most other 4 year olds is that he will not eat cereal. I'm not sure why or how this started but he has always revolted when offered any kind of cereal and milk.

I guess it is in his genes because his dad and both grandfathers are serious breakfast eaters. The longer it takes the woman to fix breakfast, the better. I think if Richard had his way, I would make him homemade biscuits, bacon, and fried eggs every morning.

Anyways, when Matt and my mom were at the big box mart the other day he begged her for a bag of Tutti-Fruittis (it is the Malt-O-Meal version of Fruit Loops). Of course, Grandma's are not created to say "no" so he got a delicious and nutritious bag of the colorful loops.

The next morning we decided it was a cereal morning. I told Matt to come eat his breakfast and when he saw it he recoiled and started shrieking "I don't like cereal and milk!!" Being the good mother that I am, I told him to eat or go hungry. He finally took a bite and shouted "I love cereal and milk!!!"

Once he began to happily eat his food, I looked at my mom and Richard and said "I'm not sure if this is a good thing or bad thing. I just forced my child to eat sugar cereal and he loves it." My logical husband responded very enthusiastically " of course, our life just got easier!!"

Anyways, this was a big day in our house. It's not everyday that a four year old eats cereal for the first time in his life. Can't say this is my proudest moment but it will make some other mom's life easier when she fixes my son breakfast after a sleepover. Can you imagine, "Matt would you like some cereal for breakfast?" He replies "no Mrs. Jones, can you make me a cheese omelet with a side of bacon instead?"

On a related note, Matt just walked in and asked for a snack. I asked him what he wanted and he said an avocado. That's my boy!!

New Outfit

Isn't this a cool picture?

When I was a child (and even now), I use to love hunting for their shells. I would stick them on myself or anyone who was around. I know, I was kind of a wierd kid.

Unexpected

I went to Pet Co today with Matt and my mom. They had these cute little kid grocery carts for the munchins to use which thrilled Matt. We cruised around the store for a little bit and then I loaded him up with the biggest bag of Science Diet dog food I could find. (By the way, it was on sale and I had two coupons. Otherwise my dog eats Purina.)

After we checked out he pushed the tiny buggy with the giant bag of food out to the car for me and helped me load it up. After he was in the car, I pushed the tiny cart back to the door and met this old man pushing an adult cart. I guess I must have looked pretty silly because the old man looked at me said "that's the weirdest thing I have ever seen!"

Well, I was thinking the same thing, but not about myself. The dude had a very freaked out Himalayan cat sitting in the seat of the grocery cart. Not in a carrier or anything, just in the seat looking like it was going to bolt any second.

I just laughed after his comment and told him my four year old had been helping me shop which seemed to be a relief to the old man. What I really wanted to say was "so, what's your excuse?"

Selective Hearing??

Have you ever noticed how the sound of a plastic wrapper can get a person's attention?

To be more specific, how a cellophane wrapper can get attention.

A while back when Richard's family visited, we ate dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. Richard's dad was sweet enough to surprise me with a Mexican coconut confection after we left the restaurant. Of course, I was stuffed so I put in into my purse to save for later.

Later happened to be the next afternoon when everyone was halfway passed out in the living room. Richard and the dog were sacked out on the couch, his dad was dozing sitting up against the couch, and his mom and Matt were playing on the internet. I snuck into the kitchen, found my treat, and began to slowly unwrap it. After about two seconds of the package rattling, in the other room, I had EVERYONE's attention. Even the dog bolted up and was wagging her tail in anticipation.

Seriously, you would have thought I screamed I have free money by the way everyone reacted. It was hilarious.

This makes a great social experiment. You should try it!

By the way, I figured out how to post through Word. Since this is so much easier then writing through Blogger, I might actually post more frequently. Just think, you will have the opportunity to read even more of my random thoughts.

Testing to see if I can upload pics from Word

Testing

This is a test to see if I can import from Word.

Vacation Pictures from Gulf Shores

Path leading down to the beach.

First evening at the beach. The sand was like sugar.

Our beach house.

Playing in the sand with one of many beautiful sunset.

Lola having a great time. She ate sooo much sand!!

The kids buried her and she loved it.

Matt and his new friends burying Lola.

Richard with his parents.

The only picture of us.

Heading out for a crab hunt.

Matt and his girls.

Matt sitting in one of his many holes pretending to drive a race car.

Gorgeous sunset on our last night.

We took this early morning while we were waiting on the fairy.

The big bus riding on the ferry.

Matt and Lola on the way home in the bus.